I gotta admit, it threw me for a loop when I found out that Shujin's school year started on April 6th (I don't have the game).

Goro quickly noticed that Amamiya had stopped following them, though he wasn't all that surprised. It was raining, after all, and it was fairly likely that Amamiya hadn't brought an umbrella with him.

Still, as long as it didn't make Amamiya late for school, Goro saw no reason to worry about it. After all, he had something much more personally important for him to worry about.

Futaba somehow tightened her grip on his wrist as they passed an increasing number of students. Her anxiety was as he expected, but it was an improvement from the first day of school. Still, the fact that she was even going to high school in the first place was a miracle, even if he would rather that she had gone somewhere else…

They arrived at school before Goro could pursue that line of thought any further, and once they were in the entrance hall, Futaba let go of him and disappeared up the nearest stairwell.

Seconds later, an annoying voice rang out from down the hallway. "Isshiki-kuuuuuuuuuuun!"

Goro sighed and turned to face the girl running down the hallway towards him. A girl with blue eyes and a red highlight in her long, black hair.

"Good morning, Koizumi-san," he said stiffly.

"Anything significant happen on Sunday?" she asked, leaning forward and tilting her head.

"To me personally, no."

She puckered her lips, giving him a disapproving look.

"Anyway, regarding that favor I asked…"

She straightened up. "The rumors have taken root. If they don't deter the first-years from Kamoshida, nothing will."

"Excellent."

0~*~0

The day was uneventful for Goro. He still found it unfortunate that none of the people he was close-ish to were in his class, but he would make do.

He studiously took notes, did his best to smile for the people that inevitably talked to him during lunch break, and held a surprisingly engaging conversation with a boy about shooting games.

"I gotta say, Isshiki-kun," said the boy, "you don't seem like the kinda guy who'd be into video games."

"You'd be right about that," Goro said.

The boy worked his jaw for a bit, apparently not having expected that answer. "Th-Then…"

Goro, anticipating the boy's question, said, "A certain someone I know is obsessed with them, and I'm often roped into playing." He couldn't stop the genuinely fond smile that crept onto his face.

"Who?"

Before Goro could answer, the lunch bell rang.

"Ah, my apologies," Goro said. "It seems we'll have to continue this conversation another time."

As soon as the last bell rang, Goro got a text.

Mari: Guess what?

Goro: What?

Mari: Sakamoto and the transfer kid didn't show up until lunchtime.

Goro raised an eyebrow.

Goro: Really?

Mari: I also heard they showed up together.

Mari: I'm gonna try to get answers out of Sakamoto.

Goro: Good luck.

Goro was definitely curious about what on Earth could have happened after he had separated from Amamiya, but he saw no reason to worry too much about it yet. Goro pocketed his phone, left the classroom, and waited by the stairwell for Futaba. She had insisted that he do so, as she lacked the confidence to go home by herself. So he waited for her.

No matter how long she took to come down.

0~*~0

Futaba took a deep, steadying breath before going down the stairs, passing a glasses-wearing boy with black hair heading up on the way.

Mission "Get information on Kamoshida" start!

The first thing that caught Futaba's eye upon reaching the second floor was a pathetic-looking blue-haired boy directly in front of her. She marched up to him, took a deep breath, and pointed at him.

"You!"

The boy looked up at her, his sad expression not changing. "Yes?"

"Are you on the volleyball team?"

"Yes…"

She lowered her arm. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

She glanced around and lowered her voice. "About things that would be better off discussed somewhere where we can't be overheard. Know a place like that?"

"Uh… I think the roof would work…"

"Great. Let's go."

"Now?"

"Now."

"All right…"

Futaba turned around and strode up the stairs, the boy slowly following behind. What she was currently doing would normally be unthinkable for her, but as long as she thought of it as a game mission, she would be mostly okay. The timidness of the boy also helped.

Upon reaching the door to the roof, she slowly turned the handle and opened the door… and almost slammed it shut.

Seeing her reaction, the boy said, "What's wrong?"

"There are two guys on the roof," Futaba whispered. "Guess we'll have to wait."

The two of them stood around in silence until the door suddenly opened to reveal a boy with short blond hair who nearly jumped at the sight of them.

"Uh…" He quickly glanced between them. "Were you two listening in on us…?"

"Nope," Futaba said quickly. "Now move along. We have need of this rooftop."

The blond-haired boy glanced between the two of them again before heading down the stairs. Futaba looked at the boy still on the roof.

"Come on, you too. Get going."

The boy blinked a few times before doing as she said and leaving. The moment he was on the stairwell, Futaba grabbed the arm of the boy next to her and hauled him onto the roof, closing the door behind her.

Once they had sat down, the boy on a chair and Futaba on a desk, the boy asked, "So… What'd you want to talk about?"

"I want information on Kamoshida. Where's his office? Where and when does he hold volleyball practice?"

"Are… Are you interested in joining the volleyball team…?"

"I wouldn't join even if the coach wasn't a physically abusive rapist."

The boy jolted upright, all traces of submissiveness replaced by surprise. "Wh… If you knew that about him, then why did you come here!?"

Futaba looked down at her skirt. "For… reasons… A-Anyway, just answer my questions."

The boy scrutinized her for a few moments before slouching. "All right. Just… don't do anything too reckless."

Futaba simply moved on to asking her questions, where Kamoshida's office was, where volleyball practice was held, and where he would typically beat people. She quietly absorbed the information as the boy answered. It admittedly made her increasingly unsure if her plan was a good idea, but she was determined to do it.

"He won't be in his office during the volleyball rally, right?"

"I'm… pretty sure he won't. I think we'll have practice afterwards too…"

"Okay," Futaba said, getting off the desk. "That's all I wanted to know."

"What exactly do you plan on doing with that information?"

"…Worst comes to worst, I think you'll want plausible deniability."

He looked surprised, but not confused. "'Plausible deniability…?'"

"No more questions!" she said before dashing out the door and down the stairs.

She gave a tired sigh upon reaching the third floor and checked her phone. She had made Goro wait long enough. After double-checking that she had everything, she went down the stairs and upon reaching the first floor was quickly greeted by the sight of Goro practically surrounded by girls.

She stifled a chuckle as Goro noticed her and gently pushed through the small crowd while saying, "Sorry, I need to get going now."

As the girls audibly expressed their disappointment, Futaba grabbed Goro's arm and pulled him towards the entrance, eager to get home.

She could almost feel the girls' stares on her as she left.

0~*~0

"Hear anything about that Amamiya guy?" Futaba asked.

Goro didn't look up from the ramen he had made for dinner. "He and another student didn't arrive until lunchtime."

"…Amamiya has black hair and glasses, right?"

"Yeah."

Futaba stirred her ramen. "Did the other student have bleached blond hair?"

Goro looked up. "Yes. Did you see him?"

"I think he was talking with Amamiya about something. Not sure what, though."

Almost as if on cue, Goro's phone went off. It was a text from Koizumi.

Mari: Tried to get info from Sakamoto. No luck.

"That Sojiro?" Futaba asked.

"Nah, it's just some girl I happen to know," Goro said as he typed a reply.

Goro: What did he say?

Mari: At first he gave some half-assed excuses then he was really evasive then he said I wouldn't believe him. I dropped it after that.

"You rarely just happen to know people," Futaba said.

"She's very useful when it comes to rumors," Goro said, "so being in communication with her seemed advantageous."

Futaba scrunched up her face. "Spreading rumors or finding out what rumors are going around?"

"Both."

"Do you really need to be able to…" Futaba thought for a moment. "Actually, you probably do."

Goro nodded. Both of them knew full well the hell school could be.

0~*~0

"Have you HEARD some of the rumors about the new kid!?" Koizumi all but screamed. "I've been trying to do damage control, but some of them are absolutely RIDICULOUS!"

Goro half-listened to her ranting as they slowly walked to his class. He had heard some of them on the way to school, and while he did agree that they were excessive, especially since he knew the truth, he wasn't all that concerned about it. It just meant he would have to take caution when talking to Amamiya around other students.

"Are you even listening to me?" Koizumi asked.

"Yes."

"What was the last thing I said?"

"A friend of yours had heard that the transfer student was supposedly selling drugs."

Koizumi blinked. "…Guess you were listening. I gotta split. See you later."

She gave an offhand wave as she jogged off to her own classroom.

Goro gave a soft sigh. She was so different from what she had been like when he had first arrived…

-October 6, 2014-

"Today I'd like to introduce to you all a transfer student: Goro Isshiki. Please say something to the class."

Goro gave a slight bow. "Hello. I hope we all get along."

"He's so pretty…!" one of the girls mumbled dreamily.

Goro couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Let's see, your seat will be…" The teacher scanned the room. "Over there, in the back."

She pointed to an empty seat next to the windows facing out in the third row from the back. Goro calmly walked over and quickly noticed that in the seat next to his was a sour-faced girl with a red highlight in her long black hair and unnaturally blue eyes. She seemed to be glaring at him, but he couldn't tell what emotion her expression was supposed to convey.

She continued to glance at him throughout the day, never speaking to him. He didn't think that much of it; it was just unusual, especially compared to how the other girls in the class acted towards him.

Later that day, as he was at his shoe locker, he felt a hand grab his arm and he turned to see the girl there, glaring at him.

She let go of his arm and said, "Something about you… pisses me off!"

When she failed to continue, Goro said, "What, specifically, about me irritates you?"

"I don't know! And that pisses me off even more! And the worst part is that I feel like I'm pissed off for you instead of at you and I don't know why! You're making me feel things I don't know how to deal with!"

She then stormed off, fuming.

Goro and everyone else that had overheard her stared after her even after she was out of sight.

Goro heard a girl next to him sigh and say, "I'm really sorry about Koizumi-san."

Goro, not looking to see who had said that, said, "It's fine. That was one of the most… unusual conversations I've had in a while."

-0~*~0-

About five seconds after the lunch bell went off, Goro got a text.

Mari: I s2g this teacher's out to get me.

Mari: BTW, this a little late, but did you hear that Kamoshita and Takamaki came to school together yesterday?

Goro: I heard a few people mention it.

Mari: He prolly just picked her up somewhere along the way, but that's not what most people are thinking…

Mari: It makes me sick.

Goro: I have to commend her for holding out so long, but I'm worried about the effect it's having on Kamoshida.

Mari: Yeah, nobody wants to see him snap.

Goro: Or have a psychotic breakdown during school.

Mari: Please, no. That would be a horror worse than anything I've experienced so far.

Goro: I can think of worse.

Mari: I don't wanna know.

"Who are you texting?"

Goro looked up to see Makoto Niijima, the student council president and his acquaintance, standing next to his desk.

"The rumormonger."

Makoto sat down in the desk in front of Goro's. "I'm still surprised at how well you two get along."

"I'm surprised that she was able to commit to changing herself. Though considering what happened, perhaps it's not too much of stretch."

A pause.

"Um…" Makoto shifted uncomfortably. "If you don't mind me asking… How's your mom?"

Goro looked away. "…Still the same."

"…Oh."

There was another, uncomfortably long pause.

"Um…" Makoto spoke up. "Would you be available after school today to help me organize some things?"

Glad for the change in topic, Goro said, "I have plans for today, but I can do the day after tomorrow, if that would work for you."

Makoto, surprised at his sudden change in mood, said, "Uh… I-I'll have to double-check, but that should work."

Goro gave a nod of acknowledgement and Makoto got up and walked away.

A guy who happened to be sitting nearby whispered, "Sorry to hear about your mom, dude."

Goro didn't even try to hide his downcast expression.

0~*~0

Futaba typed rapidly on her laptop. She didn't know if there were any rules against using personal laptops in the school library, but nobody had bothered her yet, so she assumed that nobody cared enough if there was.

She just hoped nobody was observant enough to realize what exactly she was doing.

C'mon… Almost there… Yes!

After double-checking what she had to, she closed her laptop and sent Goro a text saying she was ready to leave. She then stuffed her laptop into her school bag and speedwalked to the door. Right as she left the library, she got a text back.

Goro: I have to change first.

Futaba: K. I'll wait at the entrance hall.

She knew that he had meant changing his clothes, but she couldn't help but think of what else he could've been changing.

If only he could change his secretive ways as easily as he could change clothes…

Once she got to the entrance hall, she leaned against the corner of the wall, silently hoping nobody would talk to her. Plenty of people gave her passing stares, but nobody approached her.

"Hey."

Futaba nearly jumped as she turned to see none other than Kamoshida next to her, standing slightly too close for comfort.

"I gotta ask," he said as he ran a hand through his hair, "is that hair color natural?"

Futaba couldn't stop herself from trembling as she looked away and said, "I-It's dyed."

"Any particular reason why?"

"I just wanted to."

"…I'm curious about those flowers in your hair."

"It's a hairclip. They're plastic."

"Where'd you get it?"

"Birthday gift."

"From who?"

"Not telling."

Kamoshida didn't respond, and Futaba was too nervous to look at him.

"…All right. Have a good one."

Futaba was surprised by how easily he seemed to drop it, but still didn't look at him. Her curiosity quickly got the better of her, though, and hesitantly turned her head to see that he wasn't there. Indeed, he didn't seem to be in the hallway anymore.

Futaba leaned against the wall, letting out a sigh of relief. Their conversation had been brief, but she still felt like she was about to faint.

About a minute passed before another, much more familiar voice spoke up. "I'm here, Futaba."

Futaba looked up to see Goro standing a few feet away, his eyes dull and listless. She wordlessly grabbed his arm and led him out of the school. She didn't have to ask what was wrong.

(And even just knowing what was wrong made her feel… uncomfortable, for some reason.)

0~*~0

Goro glanced at his clock. 8:02 p.m. He had been sitting at his desk for over an hour and had gotten nothing done. Not his homework, not an infiltration tool, not… whatever else he could've been working on at his desk.

(It had been a long time since anyone had asked him about mom.)

Finally resigning himself to not getting anything done that night, he pushed himself out of his chair and collapsed on his bed. (Well, it was more of a mattress on the floor than a bed, but he didn't mind. He had insisted on it, in fact.)

He looked at the framed pictures on the coffee table that served as a nightstand. One was of his 4-year-old self being held by his mother and the other was of him, Futaba, and Wakaba during their trip to a ski resort.

He sighed.

Some son I am.

0~*~0

Futaba scrunched up her face as she stared at her computer.

The cameras are good, but they don't have audio… Guess I'll have to go through with the plan anyway.

She picked up her school bag and checked to make sure she had everything she needed.

Visual and audio recorders, check. Lockpick from Goro's desk, check. Plan to get out of the volleyball rally, check.

Now she had to make sure Goro didn't catch on to what she was planning on doing. He'd undoubtedly try to stop her, and she couldn't let that happen.

For the sake of Kamoshida's victims and herself, she couldn't fail.

She also hoped it didn't backfire, given that-

Nope, nope, nope, not gonna think about it.

Originally, Mari's name was going to be something else, but I changed it for reasons I am currently unable to elaborate on. (I also kept typing it as "Mira" at first.) Oh, and just to be clear, the red highlight in her hair is in the same place as Hifumi's hair knot thing.

I was also going to have Goro go by his canon surname Akechi, but a former acquaintance persuaded me to change it.

Don't expect updates to come quickly.