Disclaimer: Don't own Higurashi/Umineko, but I own all these OCs!

Arc 1: The Usuals

Chapter 2: The Intruder

I love how St. Lucia Academy was one of the few schools in Tokyo that offered French. Only students who were forced by their parents or actually serious about using French in the future took it, so the classes were always small, making it was easy for me to become one of the top students in my class.

I'm not saying I'm the top student! No, that person would be –

"Yo, are you even listening to me?"

Hanako Yukina.

"Hikaru-san."

(Who also has a bad temper. It makes her pretty scary, but I don't really mind.)

"Honestly, if I have to explain this all over again, I'm going to fucking punch –"

"I'm sorry!" I cried belatedly. It's kind of hard to pay attention to her when I'm narrating this story, of course.

She only loses her temper around people she knows, though. I mean, when I see her talk in class, she acts polite but serious…or dead.

(Bored.)

Maybe losing her temper with me means she doesn't consider me a stranger, right?

And if we're not strangers, then we're probably friends!

"Hikaru-san!"

Maybe.

"O-ok! I'm sorry…what?"

Hanako sighed.

"Screw this, learn how to do it by yourself, Hikaru-san. I really have to go now for violin lessons so there's no more time for me to teach you. Just figure it out on your own."

"Alright, I can do that," I said easily. Hanako looked at me weirdly. She probably thought I was terrified because I kept apologizing. That's not exactly true.

I just really can't help it. 'I'm sorry' is such a convenient phrase! I mean, I can say it anywhere, anytime.

"Well, I'll be going now," muttered Hanako. She was back to her polite, serious, reasonably dead self. However, as she turned toward the library doors, someone burst through from the other side.

And pointed straight at her.

"IMOUTOASAKURAHIMESEMPAI!"

Hanako turned back to glare at me. My wide eyes stared back.

"…"

"…"

"…Hikaru-san."

"Yeah?"

"Did you plan this?"

"Nope!"

"You do know I have to go now, right?"

"Yup!"

"So why, the moment I decide to leave, does this person burst into the library and scream at the top of her lungs? At ME?"

"No idea! Never met the girl. Anyways, it's a good thing the librarian isn't here right now, isn't it?" I answered calmly.

"That's not the point, Hikaru-san!"

"You! I…I know you," the intruder whispered, grabbing Hanako's shoulder from behind. Her uniform showed that she was a St. Lucia student, but it's such a big school that I'd never seen her before. And despite her staring at Hanako like she was a long lost relative…Hanako violently shrugged her off, disturbed.

Seems like Hanako had never seen her before either.

In her life.

"You're Imouto Asakurahime-sempai, aren't you?" gasped the girl. Her lush lavender locks bounced around her face as she squealed with excitement. She was not deterred by the fact that Hanako had just shunned her. "I've been looking for you everywhere! I'm your cousin, Imouto Sakura! It's awesome to meet you!"

Wow, and I thought Arisa-san was bubbly. Hanako remained silent, and Imouto's enthusiasm seemed to deflate, just a little.

"You are Imouto Asakurahime-sempai, aren't you?" her voice switched from excited and confident to pleading and desperate in a heartbeat. Hanako didn't (couldn't?) respond.

Like I said, guys aren't nearly as confusing.

"But sempai, don't you remember me? Remember when we went camping and you fell onto an ant hill and I laughed at you forever? Or the time where you scared me while I was baking and I splattered hot dough all over you? Or at Halloween, when you lost our bet and you had to wear the really lacy, skimpy, two piece bi—"

"No," Hanako deadpanned. She'd finally had enough. I found it kind of amusing to see Hanako lose her temper again. Maybe these two would become friends!

"But you look just like—"

"First of all, my name isn't...whatever you just called me. Second of all, I can't be your sempai because I'm a first year student. Third of all, there's no way I could ever be your cousin, because I have absolutely no idea who you are. I don't remember ever meeting you before in my entire life. And trust me, I have a great memory."

"…oh."

"Yeah, that's right," Hanako muttered. She slyly tried to step around Imouto to get to the library doors.

"Wait!" Imouto grabbed Hanako's shoulders. She was trapped. "Eat lunch with us!"

"What?" Hanako scowled.

"Lunch, tomorrow! With me, Arisa-chan, Mei-san and Sadako! If you're really not my cousin, we can still get to know each other better, right?" The look on Hanako's face said she didn't agree. But, wait a second, did Imouto just say...

"Wait, you know Arisa-san?" I blurted out.

For the first time, Imouto Sakura noticed me. Looking at her directly, she was really quite pretty. Not unearthly beautiful like Reiko, but more like those girls who always get their makeup and hair just right, every single day. Not that I'm jealous or anything. I just can't see myself waking up extra early every day just to put on makeup and do my hair while I'm half asleep, not in a million years. And I don't want to.

Imouto grinned and let go of Hanako's shoulders at last. "You know Arisa-chan too? Why don't you both eat lunch with us tomorrow then? Just find us in the cafeteria. Sadako's hair is a bright cyan, you won't miss it. Her head's like a neon blueberry, haha~"

Okay. Rusoko Arisa may be bubbly. Imouto Sakura…was something else altogether.

(A neon blueberry?)

Weird as that sounds, I wouldn't mind having someone to eat with, let alone five people.

For a moment a wave of guilt coursed through me as I remembered Ushiromiya-san. By this point, she probably preferred to eat alone, to spare her the pain of exclusion. Maybe it hurt less if you chose to be alone, rather than having others decide that for you.

"Oh, where did that girl go? Wow, I didn't even get her real name," Imouto frowned.

Then I remembered Hanako Yukina.

She was nowhere to be seen.

She must've escaped the moment Imouto relinquished her vice-like grip on Hanako's poor shoulders.

A/N: I had my science exam today and there was a question about the secondary colours of light, and cyan is my favourite light colour. Just had to include it somehow :)

BubblesPopx: It's LONGER. :P