The dead of October was Chidori's preferred time of year; with Halloween right around the corner, she was very excited. She'd always liked Halloween. That was the time of year when Goth Lolita's like herself could be who they were. It was also a day where she wasn't picked out in the crowd by her bullies.

And that made her very happy in itself. A day to relax, a day to draw in peace. A day to not worry about hiding.

But, at this point in time, it was not Halloween. Today was October 26th, a few days before said Holiday. Today, like most days, Chidori had to look over her shoulder. She had too keep watch. Watch for her bullies. This particular day, however, Port Island Station—the place she normally went to draw—was quite crowded. Not the ideal place to draw, with her bullies lingering about. Plus, it was bound to be very loud, so she wouldn't be able to concentrate. She decided to go to the Mall; there was a quiet little bench there that would suit her needs just fine.

Once she got there, Chidori sat and opened her sketchbook, beginning to draw to her hearts content. She'd gotten in a good twenty minutes of drawing when a large shadow blocked her view. She got curious and looked up for the source. Soon after, she wished she hadn't.

'Oh no… this isn't good.'

Naomi put on a fake smile, "Hey Chidori. Long time no see, eh?"

She looked down quickly, gulping. "Umm… y-yeah." On instinct, she closed her sketch book and clutched it to her chest.

A chuckle, "Oh, c'mon. You don't have to look so scared. We're friends." the smile disappeared, "…right?"

In fear for her life, she nodded quickly, "Y-Yes, of course we a-are." She took a deep breath. Time to be brave. "I-I need to go… I need to do something at home." She said, beginning to walk away.

She did not get very far; however, because Naomi had grabbed her hair, which was average length, to keep her from leaving, she fell to the ground. "Not so fast. I'm not done you yet, Doll."

Chidori's heart raced, like it did every time. She'd called her "Doll," the (rather hurtful) nickname she'd gotten from them. That was proof she was not off the hook today.

"I think," Naomi said, venom in her voice, "we should teach you a little lesson in respect, Doll."

He was bored. There was nothing to do at this time of day, but it's not as if he could go home. He was just wasting time, buying himself some time of solace before he had no choice but too return to his home and his (most likely) drunken father. Normally, he would hang out at Port Island Station but it was too crowded today for some reason. So, instead, he went to the mall to chill.

He had just gotten there, when he noticed a girl sitting all by herself, drawing away, when a group of girls walked up to her. They looked like they were bothering her. The girl was drawing got up to leave, but one of the other girls pulled her back by her hair.

Junpei glared. God, he could not stand people like that. They were so mean. And to make thing worse, they were girls. Girls were the worst kinds of bullies.

But, in all seriousness, the girl they were picking on was cute. Now that he thought about, he'd seen her around before.

Deciding it wouldn't be the best to ignore her, he walked up to the gurop of girls. "Hey," he shouted, "leave her alone."

This boy… who was he? Chidori didn't know. All she knew was that a boy whom she didn't know was standing up for her. No one had done that before.

"Who the hell're you?" Seiko sneered at him. They boy, in his baseball cap and jacket (which, she remarked, had the Gekkougan Intermediate symbol on it), replied with much venom, "I said, let her go. What'd she do to you, any way?"

Naomi glared at him. "Hmph. Whatever… let's go, Seiko." She slammed her against the wall as a final act of cruelty, "Later, Doll. I'll see you tomorrow."

Seiko sneered at the boy, and then at her one last time before leaving, following her sister.

The boy rolled his eyes, and then walked over to check on her. "Hey," he said, "you okay? It seems like they were hurting you pretty badly there."

Chidori nodded. "Yes… I'm alright. I… I'm used to it by now."

Junpei felt himself lurch, just a bit, at her words. She sounded… sad, yet happy. Happy that he saved her, but sad because she was so used to it.

He extended his hand to her, and she took it. Helping her up to her feet, Junpei offered her a smile. "I'm Junpei. Junpei Iori."

Chidori nodded. So, his name was Junpei then. "My name is Chidori. Chidori Yoshino. Nice to meet you, Junpei." He smiled at her, "Nice too meet you too, Chidori."

And so, a beautiful friendship began…