"Is this…Ikebukuro?" The question popped up out of nowhere. All from a petite figure standing at the top of the stairs of the metro station. A suitcase was beside them, the handle held tightly in their hand as they held a small paper and a map in their other palm.

The figure was a girl. A white girl with an odd hair color and eyes. They both consisted of pink, her hair being a softer one at best. Her eyes frantically searched from side to side of the busy city in front of her. Ikebukuro. Even though it was a district of Tokyo, it was more of a city than a district.

"Okay, now let's see…Where is my new apartment…?" She let go of the suitcase to fold out her map and the piece of paper.

"Okay…I'm at the station…the building should be right there…so I have to go…"

"Whoa, check that girl over there out!"

"She looks like someone out of a manga, doesn't she Dota-chin?"

"I said don't call me that!"

The pink haired girl shot her head up from her map, only to see a van with four people, 20 meters away from where she was standing. Two of the people, a blonde boy and brunette girl, pointed at her.

"Hey, you! The manga girl with the pink hair!" The girl's eyes frantically looked around before she pointed a finger at herself.

"Me?" She mouthed. The girl and boy nodded quickly and waved their hands, motioning for her to come over. Reluctantly, the pink haired girl took her suitcase and walked over.

"U-Um…"

"Look Erika! She is the cute little sister dandere type who has a crush on her brother's rival!"

"You've got it all wrong Walker! She's more of the goody-goody two shoes type with a more delinquent side to her, but in a cute way!"

The girl stared uncomfortably at the two of them as they discussed who she was…which they really didn't get right.

"Hey, you guys quit that. She's getting uncomfortable by you two" Another one of the four persons said. He stood right beside the two discussing. It was a male, with a black beanie, a dark green jacket, jeans, and black boots.

"But Dota-chin! Just look at how cool she is! She looks like a character out of manga!" The brunette girl exclaimed.

"I said don't call me that!" The beanie wearing guy yelled.

"U-Um…was there something you needed?" The pink haired girl cut in.

"What's your name manga girl?" The blonde boy asked.

"U-Um…I shouldn't be handing my name out to strangers…"

"You're new to the city right?" The beanie guy asked. "If you need to go to a place, we could drive you there"

"H-Huh? Really? Thanks a lot! That'd be helpful!" The pink haired girl bowed.

"Does that mean you can tell us your name, manga girl?"

"It's…"

"…Yuno Gasai"

Flashback

"So, Gasai, is it true?"

"Huh?" Yuno looked up from her desk, and up upon a white haired boy with pink eyes, a blue shirt, and jeans. "What do you mean Akise-kun?"

"Is it true that you're transferring to Raira next year?" This seems to have caught all the other people in the room, and they immediately looked over at the two of them.

"Yeah. I got an invitation not long ago. They said they had seen my grades and thought I'd be excellent to attend the school"

"What? No fair Yuno-chan!" A Hispanic like girl with brown short hair cut in from behind. Beside her was a white girl with long lilac hair. "You're leaving us?!"

"Ah, gomen, gomen Hinata. But, me and my parents think this is a great opportunity for me. Raira is a private school, graduating there means a lot more carrier opportunities"

"That's still not fair!" The Hispanic like girl pouted. "Are you leaving to start there in April?"

"Yeah" Yuno answered, a smile present on her face. "March is just around the corner, so we've ordered the uniform already, just to be safe"

"Will that mean that your family and you will be moving to Ikebukuro?" The lilac haired girl asked, tilting her head.

"What? That isn't true too is it Yuno-chan?!" Hinata asked panicked as she shook the pinkie's shoulders.

"Eheheh. Yes, and no" Yuno giggled sheepishly.

"Yes AND no?"

"My family won't be moving to Ikebukuro. Only myself"

"You're gonna be living in an apartment all by yourself?" Aru (Akise) cut in, holding his chin as he fell into deep thought.

"Yeah. I'm gonna live in an apartment close to the school. The conditions aren't the best, but tolerable. I'll just decorate as the year goes"

"You know, Gasai, Ikebukuro is a dangerous place…" Aru trailed off for a second before continuing. "There are all the color gangs running around, especially a transparent one called 'The Dollars'"

"The Dollars?"

"It's this big online gang that takes place in Ikebukuro. You should watch out. I've heard they're kinda crazy"

"Don't worry Aru. I'm sure I'll be fine as long as I don't get myself involved. After all," Yuno smiled a close-eyed smile. "I'm only there for education"

Flashback End

"So, what exactly are you doing here in Ikebukuro? It's not the safest place you know" The guy with the beanie hat on, who introduced himself as Kyohei Kadota, spoke from the front seat of the van Yuno was now sitting in with the two otakus and another guy. He introduced himself as Saburo Togusa. He was the one who owned and drove the van.

"Funny thing, my friend from my old school said the exact same thing" Yuno chuckled a bit at the memory she when it became public knowledge that she was transferring. "I'm just here because I was invited to Raira. I don't want to get involved with any of those so-called color gangs. I'm just here for school"

"Wait, you're going to Raira?" The blonde otaku, who had introduced himself as Walker Yumasaki, asked Yuno, surprise evident in his voice.

"Wasn't that kid with the manga name also going to Raira Dota-chin?" The brunette otaku, who introduced herself as Erika Karisawa, asked Kyohei.

"I already told you to not call me that!" Note to self. Never call Kyohei 'Dota-chin'.

"Oh yeah! Err, what was his name? It was that boy with Masaomi right?" Walker asked out, particularly to no one.

"Oh, oh, I think it was FlameAnime2038!" Erika exclaimed.

"No, no Erika that's wrong! It was something a bit more manga-ish, not online-ish! Um, I think it was Kiddo Kiroganime!"

"No Walker! It was less SAO-ish! Um, let's see…"

"It's Mikado Ryuuganime!" Kyohei exclaimed, clearly annoyed by the twos bickering about a name.

"Right!" Erika and Walker exclaimed. Yuno just stared confused between all them.

"Um…who's that?" Yuno piped up.

"It's a friend of Kida's, who is going to attend Raira with Kida" Kyohei answered, only leaving Yuno with more questions.

"Who is Kida then?"

"Right, since you're new and all" Kyohei closed his eyes and sighed, before he re-opened them at looked at Yuno again. "Masaomi Kida. He's a friend of ours, and a childhood friend of Mikado. If you wanna get to know more about the two, you should go talk to him"

"But watch out!" Erika warned, pointing her finger at Yuno. "The guy's Tamaki Suoh in real life! You'll find him as the only Host Club Member around though. Just so you know, he'll flirt with any girl in a 100-meter radius!"

"O-Oh. Okay…" Yuno replied sheepishly. She wasn't really sure what to say to that. Love had never been her thing. Family and education always came first.

"Alright, this is our stop" Saburo announced as he stopped the van. Yuno looked outside the window and saw an old apartment building, dark and dirtied, but cozy to say the least.

"Alright, thank you all of you" Yuno said as she stepped out of the van and bowed politely at the four people.

"It was no trouble. See you around Gasai" Saburo assured and drove off with the small gang.

"Now that that's over…" Yuno looked back at the apartment building, and took out a pair of keys she had received with the post.

"Here we go, Ikebukuro"