Day One - Morning

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His stride was even and confident: it was like watching a boat sail over calm seas. He was clean cut and put together-and he knew it.

That's why, even now, there was nothing to draw attention to him other than his status. Still, though, he liked to err on the side of caution. Every bathroom break, every time he saw his reflection, every time he was about to enter a room he took stock of himself.

Clothes, clean. Walk, smooth. Smile, warm. Face, hmmm...I don't know what I look like right now.

A few days ago he had overheard Rin and Moriyama talking. They were beginning to catch on that he was putting up a little more distance than usual. That would mean trouble. Extra attention was not what he needed right now.

Moriyama had put it together by taking note of his smile. A smile with open eyes was genuine. A smile with his eyes closed was forced. He didn't even know he was doing it. That was the trick. There was simply no way to account for all the involuntary or sudden movements of the face.

With that in mind, he put extra effort into keeping his eyes open as he smiled.

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1st Class - Japanese

"Class today we will be doing self-study," said Yamada-sensei as she shuffled her papers. "I will be in my office preparing the paperwork for our upcoming field trip. Please behave yourselves until the end of class. Okumura, I will trust you to keep watch over the class."

"Yes, Ma'am. Please leave it to me," Yukio said as he smiled serenely-he made sure it was a serene smile.

"I will. Work hard everyone," Yamada-sensei said as she exited the room.

The classroom was dead quiet until they could no longer hear Yamada-sensei's footsteps. Then the classroom erupted with conversation and the screech of desks being moved to form groups. Soon the entire class was separated into small groups. All except for Yukio. He sat alone.

He wasn't disturbed by it. In fact, it was somewhat amusing to him.

Well, I steered my boat onto a lone island.

His solitude; However, did not go unchallenged. It took about five minutes after everyone was settled for a small group of girls to approach him.

"Okumura! How are you?" said a girl with blunt black bangs.

"Okumura, if you're eating alone at lunch again, you're more than welcomed to join us," requested a girl with long light brown curly hair.

"Okumura! Come and sit with us!" called out a girl with a short bob and flowers adorning her hair.

Here we go...again.

"Kashino, Nishiwaki, Omoto, Good morning. Thank you for your offers, but you know that I like to study by myself. It's nothing personal. I just get more work done when I'm by myself."

Eyes open. Keep your eyes open.

Yukio's smile was easy and his eyes were steady behind his glasses. They were twitching though.

"Good Morning, Okumura. You're always working so hard. A break wouldn't kill you. Come on! Come and sit with us," said Kashino with a determined and strong stare. Her arms crossed firmly across her chest.

"Ha. That may be true, but keep in mind that my work ethic is how I became the First Year Representative in the first place."

"That's true! You are very hardworking. That's part of what makes you so cool, but everyone needs a break. Come and sit with us. You're always alone. It's not good for you."

I've heard this somewhere before...

"That's true, but I have quite a bit of a work to get through today."

Shit. That's right. For a moment, I actually forgot. I have to finish that essay on the Meiji era and get caught up on my calculus homework...not to mention I have to think about what to do about Inoue-Senpai.

"Okumura, you can still do your work while we sit together. We won't disturb you. If anything, we could even help you if you need."

Kashino went from looking determined to looking sulky. Her lips were pouted and her eyebrows were tilted inward. She looked like a child that didn't get the extra snacks she wanted.

"Thank you, truly. I appreciate the offer, but I'm more than capable of getting caught up on my own."

"Hm. Caught up, are you behind on your work?"

Stupid. I am so stupid. what a careless mistake. I can't let what happened with Inoue-senpai rattle me.

"Of course not. I was referring to the work I have with the student council."

"What work? The student council was only recently assembled. Didn't you even say in an interview you did with The Daily Verse that you haven't even met with the other council members yet?" Interrupted Nishiwaki. Her eyebrows were waving. Her left eyebrow was raised in a high arc, while the other was dipping toward the right. She wasn't quite frowning, but she was not, not frowning either.

"You're right. I did say that. I didn't realize that interview had gotten published already. I meant the work I'm going to be presenting to the student council when we first meet." Yukio said gently.

"It's not a problem if you're behind in your classes. You have a lot going on. It can't be easy being the top student and the First Year Representative at the same time. That's a big workload for anyone," said Omoto out of nowhere.

Up until now, she had been passively overhearing the conversation with no intention to join in, well, at least it seemed that way. He was wrong. People were not his forte.

"Omoto, please! Don't be rude like that to Okumura. If he says he's doing work for the student council than that's what he's doing. Don't forget. He's the top student: not only in our class but in our entire school year. There's no way he'd be behind in his classwork!"

Kashino all of a sudden moved. She went from staring straight at Yukio to getting in between him and Omoto. Her back was to him and she was no longer pouting. Her arms were folded against her chest again and now she was staring straight at Omoto.

"You're taking for granted how much work he's probably taking on. Being First Year Rep. isn't a cushy job. It's a lot of work and it's on top of whatever other work he's doing."

Omoto seemed completely unfazed by Kashino's body language.

"Anyways, that's just even more reason for you to come and sit with us, Okumura. If there is anything we can help you with we will. Don't underestimate us. After all, we're in the Special Intensive class too."

...she recognized how much work I'm doing.

For a moment Yukio didn't respond. He eyes stopped twitching and became softer.

"That is incredibly kind of you. Omoto, please know, that I don't underestimate any of you. You are my peers and my equals I never forget that. I really do appreciate the offer, but I am trying to get ahead of my work. It's like you said, I have a lot on my plate. So, for the time being, I'll take a rain check."

"He doesn't want to sit with us."

Huh?

All of a sudden Omoto mirrored how Kashino had looked just a few moments ago. Her posture, which was sticking straight and focused before, had become slack and dejected looking. Her mouth twisted into a frown and her eyes fell downward to meet the floor.

"That-That's not true! He's just busy. Right, Okumura?"

"Right, Kashino. I would-"

"He hates us. We're a burden to him. We're annoying him even by talking to him."

Whats happening? How did the atmosphere get this bad this quickly? I need to get control of the situation.

"I would gladly sit with you ladies anytime. It's just like I said, with all the work I have to do it's better for me to get as much done as possible as soon as possible. It really isn't personal. I could never hate any of you. You're my classmates."

"Classmates, but not you're friends."

Omoto, she-she's turning my own words against me.

"I'll take a rain check then. When I'm not busy I'll definitely sit with you guys!"

Please. Please, just accept it. I'm trying to be nice here.

"It's always the same with you Okumura. You've been taking a rain check with us since the beginning of the semester. Is Omoto right? Do you really not want to spend time with us?"

Kashino, not you too!

Kashino had turned around and was facing him again. Now she was directly aligned with Omoto. They're body posture also matched now. They were slumped over staring at the floor. They looked like someone told them their cat had gotten run over.

"You guys are being too overdramatic."

Nishiwaki!

"Okumura has proven himself to be very diligent. After all, he is the First Year Rep. If he says he's busy then he is busy. There is no use in trying to make him feel bad for doing what he has to do."

I've been saved.

"Right. Thank you, Nishiwaki. I'm glad you understand. I would really like to spend more time with you guys. I just need to get ahead of the curve."

Yukio's back had gotten ramrod straight throughout the conversation and his fingers were clawing at his thigh under his desk.

"I understand completely Okumura. I really admire you for your hard work ethic."

"Thank you."

Yukio let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Damn it! Please tell me they didn't notice that.

"He's sighing because he's gotten out of sitting with us."

Omoto! What did I do to you? I'm just trying to mind my own business!

"It's true. He really doesn't want anything to do with us."

Haven't we just had this conversation, Kashino? Nishiwaki, please, talk some sense into your friends.

"Calm down. Okumura wants to spend time with us. He just can't."

Nishiwaki, thank you!

"That's right."

"Then how about joining us for lunch?"

"What?"

"If you're really not behind in your classes then you don't need much time to get ahead of your work, right?"

I can't say no.

"Right. I'll probably be done soon."

"Great! Then please eat with us. We'd really love that!"

"That sounds like a great idea! I'll take you up on that."

Please, just leave me be.

"Really?!"

"Really?!"

Kashino and Omoto perked up in unison. Their eyes darted up from the floor and met his. He wanted to avert his eyes, but, of course, he didn't. He couldn't come off as rude. It would spread through the entire class and threaten all the work he had put into building a good reputation for himself.

"Really. I'll see you guys then."

I agreed. I agreed, now leave me alone. Please!

"See you then Okumura. Kashino, Omoto, let's leave him to finish his work. If we don't he won't get it done and he'll have to work through lunch."

There's an idea...

"Then we'll have to have this whole conversation all over again tomorrow. "

I can't win.

"Alright then! Let's leave Okumura to work then! We look forward to seeing you then."

Kashino returned to her original self only...happier looking? She looped arms with Omoto and Nishiwaki and began to walk away back to their desks, but not before throwing him one last smile.

Once he was finally alone his posture finally slipped. He felt his eyes beginning to narrow and his eyebrows beginning to contract inward. Underneath the table, his hands were squeezing his thighs with even greater intensity. He needs to hide his face, so he angled his body away from his classmates and looked out towards the window.

I completely lost control of that situation. How pathetic am I? I let a bunch of attention seeking girls back me up into a corner. Damn it!

He took a deep breath in and did his best to smooth out his face. If anyone saw it then he'd have a lot more problems to deal with and he already had enough of those. He calmed down and felt the muscles in his face loosen up and fall back into their modified neutral position. Quickly and discreetly he threw a glance over his shoulder to make sure no one had seen his little...ugh, episode.

Thankfully, it seemed like no one had noticed. As he gazed around the room he noted that while people were indeed sitting with their friends they were also getting a good amount of work done. The classroom was also fairly quiet. Which was good because it meant he didn't have to focus his energy on policing them.

To Yukio's chagrin, he noticed that the girls, particularly Kashino, Nishiwaki, and Omoto, were all especially bubbly. The girls in question were all of a sudden at the centre of a large cluster of girls who were now presumably whispering about his newly established lunch plans.

There is no one to blame. I let them get the better of me.

Ignore it.

I have to rearrange my plans now.

Originally, he had been planning to get as much of his homework done as possible between classes and through lunch. That way he could just focus on his Exorcist and teaching work. Now he had effectively lost the time at lunch that he was counting on. That meant he had to speed it up and get as much as possible done-right now.

It's not a real blow. If I can just get through my calculus homework now. I can get the Meiji paper done after cram school, assuming I don't get an assignment from the True Cross or Mephisto.

He wasn't panicking, but he felt very disappointed. There were other things he wanted to get done today.

I'm not going to be able to get back to Kinko's today. Although, maybe that's a blessing in disguise. I still need to get to Inoue-senpai and ask him about what he thought he saw. I need to come up with a story; convince him that I was just exploring or something. If I can't then I'm going to have to find a new place to train.

That would be a real inconvenience. He couldn't stray so far away from the academy. He had work to do: work as a student, work as a teacher, work as an exorcist. He was on call for everyone.

His mind then flashed to the train.

It could be so easy. I wouldn't have to deal with all this anymore...

Coward. What a great coward, am I.

Focus.

I need to get this done. I'm already so far behind. I can't afford to dig myself an even bigger hole.

The class was talking quietly again. Yukio did his best to ignore the girls whispering about him. When the class got still again. He looked up from his work and instantly knew what caused the dead silence.

With great stealth, the students moved their desks back into proper order and looked as if they were pretending with all their might that they had never moved at all.

The only sound anyone could hear anymore was the footsteps steadily making their way towards the class.

Yukio wasn't interested.

I have to get through this. I can get at least most of my calculus homework done this class, as long as I don't get distracted anymore.

"Okumura."

Yamada-sensei had reappeared in the class. She beckoned for him to follow her.

Of course.

Once they were in the hallway she began to inform him about a new student that was going to be joining the class.

"He was supposed to start at the beginning of the year; the same time as the rest of you, but it seems he came down with an illness that prevented him from coming to school."

"That's terrible. I assume he's recovered?"

" It would seem so. He looks healthy, to me at least. Anyway, he's missed two months of school there is no doubt that he is gonna struggle to get caught up, so I'm assigning you to keep an eye on him and support him in any way you can."

More work.

Without thinking he gripped the small bottles in his pocket.

"I'd be happy to."

Yukio caught his reflection in the mirror; he was smiling with his eyes open.

He was getting better.

"This isn't too much work for you, is it? I know that you have many responsibilities as it is."

Yamada-sensei's voice was soft and sympathetic. She was the considerate type, she was always trying to make sure he was taking care of himself. She was a favourite of his as far as the teachers were concerned. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she has influenced the type of teacher he tried to be in cram school.

"Of course it's not. I have plenty of time and I'm always happy to help out whenever I can."

"That's good to hear! I really do appreciate all of your hard work. Keep it up!"

"Ha. I will!"

They shared a smile between the two of them.

They made their way to the teacher's room. That's where all the teachers had their own cubicles and did whatever paperwork they had to do.

As they approached Yamada-sensei's cubicle Yukio noticed a tuff of pale purple hair sticking up from the top. When they turned the corner there was a boy there. He was so distinctive of look that there was no mistaking him for anyone else. He had a piercing on his bottom lip and two piercings at the top inward edges of his eyebrows.

It hit Yukio instantly who he was staring at. It was Shiratori Reiji.

He looked up at him and grinned.

"Yo."