It was another boring day at Hikarizaka High School...
Sunohara decided to skip class again and was roaming about the upper school floors. It was the middle of the spring semester. By this time most of the seniors should know what they want to do by the time they graduate, but Sunohara was still clueless.
He told his friends that he wanted to be a model, but he knew his chances were slim. He yawned as he continued to walk down the hallway.. Bored out of his mind.
Suddenly he heard a loud high pitch sound that made him clasp in ears in pain. The sound slowly receded as he turned around to see if there was anyone behind him. Nobody was there... But there was a faint light emitting from one of the closed doors... The door to the drama club room.
"Argh.. What the hell was that?" Sunohara thought to himself as he cautiously approached the door.
Sunohara reached to open the door when he suddenly heard a voice coming from the other side.
"Jeez...That was too close..."
"Who the hell is that?" Sunohara thought, unable to recognize the voice. He slid open the doors.
Sunohara jolted a bit, thinking that it would be a student or even a teacher whose voice he heard. But it wasn't.
It was a man who he had never seen before, wearing a rugged black military jacket, gray undershirt, dark jeans, and was carrying a black duffle bag. He had dark gray hair, and looked like he was around 25 years old. Despite being older, this man sort of resembled Sunohara. He thought that he was staring into a mirror. The stranger was just as shocked as Sunohara when he saw him.
Sunohara kept his guard up, not knowing who the stranger was or why he was here. "Who are you?"
The man didn't answer, he was frozen. Staring at Sunohara in complete shock.
"HEY!"
The man snapped out of his thoughts after hearing those words. "Who are you?" Sunohara asked once more.
"Oh sorry.." The stranger finally speaks out. "The name's Matsu... Matsu Umino."
"Matsu eh?... So what are you doing here?" Sunohara asked curiously.
Matsu turned his head and looked around the room. "I use to go to school here, but then I transferred out in the middle of my freshman year. I recently came back in town, so I thought I'd drop by and pay a visit."
Sunohara raised an eyebrow. "So, why are you in this room?"
"This is the drama club room right? I use to participate in club activities here before I transferred out." Matsu replied.
"What? So you were in the drama club eh?" Sunohara asked as he relaxed a bit. He started analyzing the stranger when he noticed something. "How come you don't have your visitor's pass?"
"A what?" Matsu asked.
"Whenever somebody visits the school, they have to wear a patch saying that they're a visitor." Sunohara explained to the man.
Matsu rubbed his head awkwardly. "Oh heh, I.. Really didn't tell anyone that I was visiting."
Sunohara looked at the man confused. "What do you mean?"
"I guess you can say I snuck in here." Matsu replied.
Sunohara was surprised at first.. But then again, this really isn't the first time an outsider snuck into the school. Yukine's friends use to do it all the time.
"Meh it's ok, I'm use to seeing that around here." Sunohara said.
"Hey.. If it's not too much trouble, could I ask you for a favor." Matsu asked. "I kind of forgot how to get the lower floors and where to find the exit.. You think you could show me the way?"
Sunohara stared at Matsu, not knowing how to answer. How could someone who had found his way up here suddenly forgot where he came from?
"Ehh... Yeah sure." Sunohara agreed reluctantly.
"Thanks." Matsu said as he walked towards Sunohara."Oh and uh.. I think it'd be best if no one saw me. Since I don't have a visitor's pass."
"Way ahead of you." Sunohara said. "Alright lets go."
Matsu followed Sunohara out the club room and into the hallway. The two made their way down towards the lower floors, cautious about avoiding any teachers. So far, everything is going smoothly. Just as they were about to reach the ground floor, the class bell rang.
"Crap..." The two said simultaneously.
"We'd better hustle." Sunohara said as he and Matsu picked up the pace.
Students began leaving their classrooms as the two fast walked down the hall. Sunohara and Matsu didn't make eye contact anyone, but they can feel their eyes trained on them. But who wouldn't? A high school delinquent and a stranger who no one had ever seen before.
"Are we there yet?" Matsu asked awkwardly.
Sunohara who now has the front exit in sight. "Yup, almost there."
"HEY YOUHEI!" A loud voice called out that made Sunohara stop in his tracks from fear. He turned around to see a large book coming his way at high speed.
Sunohara could already imagine the familiar pain on impact... But before the book even came close to hitting Sunohara, Matsu turned around and caught it in midair.
Sunohara's eyes widen, amazed at Matsu's fast reflexes. He turned his eyes back in front of him to see an angry Kyou approaching.
"You skipped class again didn't you?" Kyou asked as she grabbed Sunohara by his shirt.
"You KNOW Ryou gets scolded by the teacher whenever somebody cuts class, so unless you want me to rearranged your face, you'd better start getting your act together!" Kyou said to the frightened Sunohara.
"Yeah yeah I promise! Scout's honor."He replied back.
"Hmph, good." Kyou said with a smile as she released her grip on Sunohara's shirt. Kyou's heart jolted for a second when she noticed the stranger standing next to Sunohara.. This man... Looked a lot like Sunohara. He was giving her the same shocked expression he gave Sunohara.
"And uh... Who are you?" Kyou asked curiously.
"Uh.. Matsu Umino." He replied instantly this time. "I just came to visit the school but I was just leaving."
Kyou gave Matsu a confused look as she turned to Sunohara, seeing if he knew anything about this, but she could tell that he was just as confused.
"Here, I think this belongs to you." Matsu said kindly as he handed Kyou her textbook back.
"Uh.. Thanks" Kyou responded reluctantly as she took back her book.
"Anyways I'll be leaving now. Thanks for showing me the way out." Matsu said as he left the building.
Kyou looked at Sunohara. "He looks awfully similar to you... Is he your older brother?"
Sunohara turn to look at Kyou, then back at the departing Matsu. "No... Never seen him before in my life."
A moment of silent came between the two. "There's something off about him." Sunohara thought to himself. "What was up with the way he looked at us?"
Kyou looked at Sunohara, seeing a puzzled expression on his face. She nudged him... "Hey, you alright?"
Sunohara reacted a little startled. "Huh? Uh yeah, yeah I'm fine." "
Quit thinking too hard about things." Kyou told Sunohara. "It'll hurt your tiny brain."
"Gee, thanks a lot." Sunohara replied.
"Come on, passing period is almost over. We'd better go to our next class." Kyou said as she grabbed Sunohara by the arm and dragged him to class.