My Name Is...

Panic filled the girl, as she bent down and began to frantically pick up the test sheets surrounding her. They encircled her feet, encasing her on a small plane of land that hadn't been touched by the papers. If only she had been more careful. She probably should have taken his offer to help her, but being quite stubborn and naive, she had declined it and now she was in this mess. With urgency in ever grab and flick of her hand, Tanaka Kaori bent over the scattered sheets. She picked them up quickly, one at time, and heard the bell ring for class change.

'Oh no, oh no!' Worrying on her bottom lip, Kaori continued to fervently snatch each piece of paper; feeling like there was no end to how many there were as other students began to file out of there classroom.

It was embarrassing enough to be prostrated on the floor, picking up scattered papers, but now there was an audience watching. Kaori felt her face heat up, as she heard passing conversations directed at her, "What is she doing?"

"That must be so embarrassing..."

"Hee hee, poor girl."

Her hand shook as she took a grab at a test sheet - her own test sheet for that matter, before someone accidentally stepped on it.

"Oh..." It was Megumi's voice.

Gaining the courage to look up, Kaori brandished her friend a small smile of embarrassment.

"Um... E-Excuse me Megumi..." Megumi shot her a look of disdain, turning her nose up as she "Humphed!" and walked away.

Kaori bit her bottom lip. It hurt to be openly rejected by her friend, but she kept it in and snatched up her test sheet. By now, she had all the test papers stacked up in a neat pile and the hallways were empty once more.

Grasping the rather large pile, Kaori started walking to the staff room again, unable to see with the stack of papers somewhat obscuring her vision. She swerved her head to peer out from the sides, and stopped abruptly from nearly colliding with someone. The pile shook, unbalanced by the sudden stop.

"Ah!" A short yelp of surprise escaped Kaori, as she leaned back, trying to regain the stacks' center of gravity. Without a word, half of the pile was suddenly gone and Kaori could see clearly in front of her. She blinked, and glanced up at the person who helped her. From the color of his tie, loosely knotted around his neck, Kaori deduced him to be a year or two older. He was taller and had scruffy purple hair, that jutted out in odd angles. What froze Kaori to the core though, was his eyes. They were a cold and emotionless color of dark violet, borderline black if it weren't for the sunlight filtering in through the window.

For some reason, recognition nagged Kaori in the back of her mind, as she stared at him with furrowed brows. He stared back, arching an eyebrow as he coughed and asked in a neutral tone, "Excuse me, but where are taking these sheets?"

Snapping out of her reverie, Kaori snapped to attention, flustered and feeling her cheeks heat up.

"O-over to the s-staff room."

They began to walk there, a tense filled silence settling between them. The nagging of recognition kept Kaori alert, as she glanced at him occasionally. Purple hair and a cold demeanor. Hmm... Then it struck her. He was the new boy the village. Kaori was never able to catch his name since she wasn't too interested, but now that she was beside him, she felt her curiosity peek.

"Umm... Thank you..." she started slowly, keeping her eyes averted and on the stack she was holding, "For helping me... Umm?"

"Yuuki..." he replied coolly, and Kaori waited for him to continue.

"Just call me Yuuki."

She blinked in surprise, staring at him with wondering eyes. "Okay um... Yuuki."

She sounded out his name. Maybe it was a bit of a rude thought, but Kaori felt as if the name didn't really... Fit him. She was tempted to ask what his first name was. Nervousness swelled in her, but pushing it away, she asked, "What's your first name, Yuuki?"

He hesitated, pausing momentarily to look at Kaori as she darted her gaze away. There was something intense and serious in his gaze that made Kaori shudder in slight fear.

"... Natsuno. My name is Yuuki Natsuno."

"Natsuno." Kaori sounded it out. She smiled afterwards, nodding her head in approval as she commented, "I like it."

Natsuno nearly tripped, stumbling on his feet as he regained his center of gravity.

"Are you okay?" Worriedly asked Kaori, coming up to his side to check on him.

"I'm fine." He snapped out rather harshly, glancing away from Kaori, as Kaori saw a bit of red splattered on his cheeks.

Curious, but deciding to ask later since they were already in the staff room, Kaori shuffled in and placed the papers on her teachers desk. She watched as Natsuno did the same, adding his pile on top of her's.

She bowed, "Thank you for the help, Natsuno-kun."

"Yeah... Uh... Who...?"

Kaori smiled. Straightening up, as she introduced herself, "My name is Tanaka Kaori."

Natsuno nodded his head briskly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand as he waved, "I'll see you around, Kaori."

Grinning merrily, Kaori nodded her head and skipped out of the staff room.

A/N: A small scene of them running into each other at school. This is before the beginning of the anime series.