Iwatodai Private Intermediate School was a place honor, respect and diligence. Therefore, naturally, it was no surprise to the staff and student already attending when they heard the quiet, cold and intelligent daughter of the Yoshino family, Chidori, was accepted into the prestigious school.
Chidori fit in rather well with the students; she was smarter than most so she was placed in special high-school level classes rather than the classes normal students took. Although she did not converse with the other students much, Chidori was a model student, even if she did not know herself. She never listened to idle rumors; always put her art and studies before anything else, and, ultimately, became a target.
In the third month of her second term there, pair of young twins, both girls, named Naomi and Seiko was accepted on a scholarship.
Chidori paid them no mind, paid no attention to the rumors that stirred when they arrived that first day, and didn't even think about conversing with them.
Later, however, Chidori realized that was a mistake.
"You dress weird. Like a doll. Are you a toy or something?" the cold laughter insisted, "You're a toy. And toys are played with. So, I'll play with you now."
For a whole six months, including the summer, they two twins tortured her, mocked her, and started the worst rumors about her. Life became meaningless. Almost dull, even. She had contemplated it, repeatedly, "Why me? Why did they choose me?"
The more she thought about, the more insults that were thrown her way, the more people looked at her when she passed in the hall, almost to the point when it became unbearable.
She did not speak, not a peep, about the insults the fact that she felt like she was slowly going mad.
Chidori, desperate for an outlet for her emotions, resorted to drawing. She drew when she was sad; she drew when she was happy. She drew so much that her sketchbook was her only friend.
Until he came along.
Junpei was from a lower class family; his father was not famous for anything besides drinking and his mother was MIA. Yet, somehow, he managed to keep a smiled on his face. She guessed that is what got her attention the most. Junpei went to the school rivaling hers, Gekkougan Intermediate, so she thought it best not to speak with him. In fact, they would not have become such good friends if she had not run into her bullies one night.
Junpei, on the other hand, did not want to be just Chidori's friend from the first moment he saw her. He saw her and it was like love at first sight; his heart thumped rather loudly, he got sweaty and was hit with the kind of social whiplash that only Chidori could. Granted, he was only 12 when he met her, but by the time he got to 14, Junpei was having dreams about her. She really had struck him differently then Yuka-tan or Fuuka did. Yukari was a friend, sure. However, she was more of a bro than anything (That, and he knew he would strike out her if he tried). As for Fuuka, well, she was smart (really, really, smart) and super cute too, but was too shy and coddled, too scared of the world. What he need was a cute, outgoing girl who could just chill. Someone he could talk to.
And that was, in everyway, shape and form, was Chidori Yoshino. Not that she would ever know that.