A/N: Hello, I'm back after one day! Wow, so this chapter is about 3,000 words standing alone! Read and review! Reviews are the first things that writers eat during breakfast!

This entry is rather emo, I'm sorry for the long winding passages. And is anyone interested to suggest any pairings? Ahh, so many possibilities, and high school isn't high school without romances!

Anyways, let's sally forth!

醤油があれば 安心の
Shoyuu Ga Areba Anshin No

Day 5. Friday.

9:23 am.

This time check brought by poor Asian class student Kiku Honda. Thank you.

I was spending the past hour writing notes about the numerous Chinese dynasties. Meimei was too enthusiastic about her brothers being her classmates, but I wasn't too excited about it. Especially with Im Yong Soo, my cheeky younger brother, peeking at my shoulder all the while and shouting at my ear.

Li Xiao Chun, my other younger brother, looks quiet, but I know that I shouldn't talk too much to him. He was too sarcastic for my liking. The two were about Meimei's age, and all are in first year.

Yao Wang, my older brother, was from the graduating batch. He was almost as short as me but for a matter of three centimeters, which I judged to be rather unfair. Yong Soo, however, was taller than the two of us. That, too, totally bummed me.

I doodled idly on my notebook, narrowing my eyes slightly as I wrote the Japanese characters for my name with my nib pen.

Five strokes of the pen for the character Hon: 本

Six for Da: 田

And a little complicated character for Kiku, the "chrysanthemum", the royal symbol for the throne of the emperor of Japan: 菊

Eleven strokes, more or less. Am I right?

本田菊. I dipped my nib pen into the ink bottle and touched its tip on the paper again. I thought about anything more I can doodle about while Chinese History is progressing.

Yong Soo spotted my work and grabbed the pen from me, and wrote his name in his native characters too: 임용수

"My name is more awesome than yours," he said in a really condescending manner with a goofy grin on his face while Yao scowled at us.

I was a little annoyed at what he did, so I told him politely to stop bothering me and do his own thing. He quieted a little, but I swear I can see in his eyes a mischievous streak. I made a mental note to be the first one in our class to enter the canteen later for lunch so that I can eat all the pickled vegetables on my plate before Yong Soo can hog them all.

The recess bell rang. For me, it spelled freedom to the poor Japanese student's ears who was currently seated beside Yong Soo. Yeah, that black-haired one who was desperately wanting to stab Im Yong Soo with the nib pen in his hand.

I had two pieces of melon-pan, oolong tea, and an extra piece of anpan for recess. I wolfed everything down. Maybe it's the result of the stressful morning I had today. Dunno. Luckily, Yao didn't spot me, or else he'll tell me off for gobbling everything. For the Chinese, eating is an art.

I tried to read a volume of the manga series I was following as I waited for the bell to signal the end of recess. I watched everyone as they walked past. We wear different uniforms when it's special class day. For us Asians, uniforms are black with red for boys and black with gold for girls. I won't bother describing the other uniforms, so feel free to imagine them.

I tried to focus on the page that I was reading, but the bell then rang. I sighed and trooped to my next class. Just then, I realized what my next class was. Bum-mer.

Asian Dance was a really competitive subject for me. Yao-san is a great dancer when it comes to his traditional dance, and Yong Soo is also not lacking when it comes to that, as much as I hate it. And did I mention that he's also rather epic in terms of modern dance? And Xiao Chun... I'd rather not comment. He's too quiet. I don't know much about him. Maybe Yao can tell you... If he's available, that is...

Mei was rather flustered about the subject. "I'll never lose to you guys in terms of dance!" she yelled at us. I did tell you, this could get a little competitive. Especially with our cultures.

"I could totally own you all!" Yong Soo said. Great timing to butt in, little brother.

"We'll see about that, aru," Yao said simply, getting his shoes ready.

I said nothing. I don't care much about dance, anyway. I know I can dance with a fan as gracefully as Yao does (he did teach me a little, after all). But I also know that I can sing a bit better than I can dance. Does that count?

Forgive me. I must prepare myself for my class. Let's resume this story later, shall we?

"You dance too slowly, aru," Yao complained, holding out a hand to me as I knelt on the studio's wooden floor, having tripped over myself when we were trying to perform a "rotation" kind of step. What I meant is to spin around faster and faster until the audience can just see a blur of colors where the dancers were just moments ago. It works well with bright-colored kimono, more so if your sleeves are long enough to almost touch the floor. It adds a nice effect.

And why was I dancing with my brother as a partner? Because our teacher told us that this is going to be our term project (yeah, the fact that the teacher announced the first term's project in this subject already although it's just the first meeting confused me too). To combine different dances as a pair and make them complement each other.

"Sorry, I'm just dizzy," I replied, taking his hand and standing up. "Maybe Yao-san is just too fast for me."

"Nonsense, aru. You're younger than me after all, aru." Yao scowled at me. "And stop speaking to me in the third person, aru. It freaks me out, aru."

"I'm sorry," I said quite automatically. Yao frowned this time, crossing his arms.

"Quit apologizing all the time, aru. People will think that you are easy to push around. And seeing how well you handle a shinai (and a katana more so, aru), I think it's quite contradictory to your quiet image, aru." Yao shook his head. "You must change that ready-to-apologize-anytime attitude, Kiku, aru."

"Yao-san is Yao-san," I said dully, "Yao-san must do what Yao-san wants, but please leave me out of this."

Meimei took up her position beside Yao. It's evident whose side she is, although I know that she also wants to back me up. But opinions are opinions. "I've told him that many times already, but he just doesn't listen."

Yong Soo, Meimei's dance partner, yelled, "Aniki's right, da ze~!"

Shut. Up.

It was getting harder to meet their eyes.

I bowed separate bows for each of them as the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson. I gave Yao a deep bow, Meimei a less deeper one, and Yong Soo a mere downward loll of the head.

"Please excuse me," I said politely, and having said that, I picked up my things and left the studio, never to return to class again for that morning.

I spent the whole free hour (for me, at least) in the quietness of the school orchard, my heart beating quite quickly. I wasn't feeling angry, or sad, or even anything at all. In fact, I almost felt a little... empty. Like a snail shell with no snail.

I stretched a bit as I sat beneath a maple tree, feeling the wind against my face. I held out my right arm and gazed at the skin on its underside. Funny. I'm so pale. Too pale. Almost like a sick person. It's because I never go out from my house unless absolutely necessary. Otaku me.

When I had almost an half-hour left, it began to rain steadily. It first expressed itself in big slow drops, then tiny faster ones. I forsook the safety of the maple tree and ran out into the rain, the drops drenching my black jacket and pants and hair and my pale skin. It felt wonderful. It was as if I was being cleansed by the gods themselves. I felt totally refreshed and renewed.

The lunch bell rang suddenly without my being aware of it, so I spent half of the break staring at the sky and letting the rain wash all my thoughts away. After which I decided to go into the canteen to dry myself off before the end of the break.

The last period of the afternoon is Asian Music. All throughout the afternoon, my siblings keep on sneaking looks at my face and clothes (since my uniform did not dry as fast as I thought it would). Since I was used to people staring at me all the time as though I were strange, I didn't take any notice of them.

When the dismissal bell rang, I was the first to grab my stuff and leave the class. Without any backward glance, I started off to my dormitory. In the end, it became a sort of TGIF day for me too.

Thank [the] gods, it's [finally, freaking!] Friday.

Arthur hailed me as I was passing by the European Geography classroom. "Hey, Honda!" he yelled at me as I peeked into the room (I was going to return Feliciano's iPod that I was sneakily listening to during class since I just had to have something to distract me from boredom whenever I find time hanging a little heavily on my hands). I was rather afraid that he was going to confiscate it, but instead, he grabbed my shoulder and said really enthusiastically, "Hey, have you seen the bulletin board?"

"N-no," I gasped, as he slapped me on the back rather a bit too powerfully. "I was just deciding to go after this..."

"Oh," he said with a smile. "Well, I'm going to tell you myself - you've passed!"

"R-really?" I said, surprised. "I did?"

"Um," he said, amused perhaps with my expression. "If you don't believe me, go check it out yourself."

"Yes, I think," and I thrusted the iPod into his hands. "Senpai, please give this to Feliciano-kun and tell him that I want to thank him for lending this to me..."

"Uh, okay -?" I heard him say hesitantly, looking at the gadget in his hands. Then he just realized what "it" was. "Hey, Honda -! Feliciano's -!"

Sorry, senpai. I just have to check it out myself -!

I indeed saw my name on the list with the proud heading "World W Academy Newsletter: Passing Examinees, Good Job!". I was so delighted at the news, I practically want to sing my heart out even if it's not allowed to in the hallways. (Sorry...)

"Ve~ You passed too, Kiku~" a voice said behind me. Shocked, I turned to face Feliciano's tall figure towering over me.

"Ah, Feliciano-kun!" I said haltingly. "Your, ano, iPod..."

"Eh?" he interjected, looking at me inquiringly. "You want to have it a bit longer? No problem!"

"No, it -" I sighed, looked for words, failed, and finally continued on, "Just get it from Kirkland-senpai. I told him to give it to you since I was going here in a hurry."

"Eh -? Arthur?" Feliciano looked confused, then beamed, unaware of the problem - that is, that there is a risk that Arthur will turn it in to the prefect of discipline. "Okay, got it!" He ran off, then turned back to me and cried, "See you on Monday at the newsletter office, then~!"

I wondered about what he meant, then decided to check the list again. Sure enough, Feliciano was listed along those who have passed the admission test. W-o-w. (^_^)

I smiled at the list, and started on my way to the boys' dormitories. Good job, Kiku Honda...

I was greeted by the sight of Ludwig and Gilbert as I trooped up the staircase to my room. The two seemed to be fighting - Gilbert was complaining to his brother, "That's not going to work for me, man!"

"Well, if I'm going to be the one to treat you, it sure as hell will not work for me," Ludwig was insisting. "We should split up the bill to be fair. I know how much you can drink in one night, and also how much that'll cost me too. I'm not stupid."

"Aw, that's bullshit, bro," Gilbert growled, then unfortunately he spotted me standing there. "Hey, Honda, wanna join us? We'll split the bill into three so that it's not going to be a bother anymore."

"Er - where, if I may ask?" I had a really bad feeling about this, Gilbert-senpai.

"To the pub!" Gilbert said energetically. "We're going with the guys there! Wanna come?"

I knew that the "guys" actually meant the seniors, so I politely declined. "Er, sorry, senpai - I have to do a research work for my World History class because it's due Monday - ano..."

"Come on, Honda, don't be such an uptight student," Gilbert wheedled, smiling at me mischievously.

"I-I'm underage, senpai..."

"That's right, Gilbert," Ludwig snapped at his brother. "So don't go dragging somebody else underage like us here, since it's your problem..."

"Come on -!" Gilbert whined, gaze diverted from me momentarily. Ludwig tipped me a huge wink, clearly saying, "Get your ass outta here now!" I obeyed him and scurried upstairs, terrified for my life.

Upstairs, I almost ran into Lovino, who was standing idly by the door of his room. I bowed and apologized to him, and he regarded me with narrowed brown eyes.

"Don't bother with it," he said to me after. "Anyways, have you seen Antonio? I was going to invite him to Gilbert's plan..."

"Ara, no, sorry..." I tried to smile a bit, but failed. "I'm sure you'll find him somewhere soon, though, so don't worry..."

"Hm. I guess. Hey, are you in?"

I gulped. "No, I'm still underage, you see..."

He nodded. "Oh, right. But you know, I prefer to talk to you a lot more than that Ludwig bastard. And Feliciano still sticks with that... Meh." He made a "tch" sound and looked at me with a rather perplexed look. "Hey, Honda, are you all right? You look as if you're always pale or something..."

"Ah, no, thank you for your concern, but it's kinda natural," I quickly explained, blushing.

"Are you sure?" He looked more worried than ever when he saw my blush. "I'm always afraid whenever I see you 'cause you always look as if you're going to faint or something... And, you look like you're warm or something like that now... Are you sick?"

"Ah, don't worry, I'm fine, I-I have to - uh, go now..." And I entered my room quickly, nervously fanning my face with one hand because of nervousness. I don't really enjoy talking to senpai that much, and to talk to three in one day is overwhelming...

But now I have dinner to look forward to, which I noted with a relief. I do list eating as a hobby, if you'll excuse me. And I eat whenever I want, whatever I want when I diet. That is, in a way, my little Japanese diet plan. Fun, eh?

My today's wish list: Please have the dinner bell ring right now... please please please...

Dinner was a little quiet today, since most of the seniors are out enjoying each other's company for the first time after the summer vacation. I tucked into a bowl of rice seasoned with soy sauce and had chicken to go with with it.

I thought that as long as there is soy sauce, life will be a peaceful trip. That was what's circulating in my mind as I ate. Good. I had to go and get my second serving.

I was surprised to see Heracles asleep on his bed when I got back. Well, not much by the sleeping part. I was just wondering why he wasn't with the seniors goofing out in the bar.

Maybe, I thought to myself, he just wasn't in the mood for it. But the fact was, Heracles was always out of it. Always. I noticed after the first few times when I started talking to him.

I shrugged, pulled out my small trusty Netbook out of my bag, and started my research work. It shouldn't hurt to borrow some materials for this next thing tomorrow morning...

Anyways, I think it'll be better if we're going to resume talking tomorrow. It's going to be an idle weekend tomorrow. If I can't get out of the Academy's grounds tomorrow, I'll just hang around with Yao so that I can practice dance, since that's our assignment for next week's A. Dance, after all. Yeah. That's it.

-Kiku out. Goodnighty.

P.S. I wish that it's a nice day tomorrow. If that's the case, Yao will practice with me in the school garden. I'd love to be surrounded with flowers tomorrow.

P.P.S. A freshman girl asked me this afternoon if I would like to join their gathering tonight. I recognized her as one of Meimei's clique, or group, or whatever. I was a little shocked, so I told her in no uncertain terms that I'm sorry because I'm going to be busy, and to please tell Mei to stop inviting me to join their group, which was a girls' one.

-Kiku sleepy, so I'm out for good...

A/N2: And don't forget to vote in the poll on my profile! I'll use the poll as basis for my story!

Umm, thank you to AK30102 for that small correction and the review! Unfortunately, I can't reply to you personally for my thank you unless you have an account, a pity, but please review more! I'll see what I can do to your suggestion! (Ahahaha...) *wink!*