A/N: If you spotted the inconstancy from a prior chapter, then I throughly commend you. If not, then please carry on, nothing to see here…

I'm just gonna go in the corner and wallow in sorrow at how I managed to mess this up. THANK YOU LAST MINUTE PLOT CHANGES.

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"I don't get this!" Ira boomed over the transmitter, "I thought I was supposed to be next!"

"Give me a break," Hōka stated as he adjusted himself in his seat, "it gets stuffy over there, so I decided to institute some…last minute changes."

"Translation: Ya got jipped." Uzu added. Hōka heard a small smack over the earpiece, and assumed that Uzu could now add to the impressive collection of bruises on the crown of his head.

"Point 1 for Frog!" Nonon declared in a tone that imitated a sports announcer.

Hōka rolled his eyes as he examined the rather unimpressive chemistry classroom. It had your basic 3-person desks with outlets, and a compartment underneath to store your backpacks and other supplies. The room itself had several cabinets here and there, some embedded into the walls, that all boasted various collections of textbooks and boxed chemistry supplies that were decorated with stickers and warnings depicting poorly illustrated stick figures getting their limbs burned off. Several students were already there, and had begun to frantically scramble to complete the prior night's assignment, earning a huff of indifference from Hōka. What did peak his interest, though, was the fact that Aikuro Mikisugi was the teacher here.

"I don't get it…" Hōka quietly said to himself as he took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "how does one man manage to procure four different teaching positions?"

"Wasn't that in your database?" Satsuki inquired over the transmitter.

"I checked every available source on the guy," Hōka stated as he glanced down at his phone, and then at Aikuro again, "he has a rather bizarre past. He apparently worked as a mechanic back in the 60s before finding himself-"

"So he's a hippie?" Uzu inquired.

"If you wanted to use the lay vernacular," Hōka stated as he stowed his phone momentarily to put on his glasses once more, "and also he's apparently a former nudist."

"Eh?!" The group collectively exclaimed (sands Satsuki), causing Hōka to take the earpiece out and readjust it to accommodate his newly busted eardrums.

"What's so shocking about that?" Satsuki inquired, her tone as unamused as ever.

"Are you kidding me?!" Uzu exclaimed, "The dude was a nudist! He walked around naked wherever he went for fuck's sake! How do I know that he doesn't have some weird nudist power?! How do I know his nipples don't…I don't know...glow or some shit?!"

"Do you ever shut up…?" Ira inquired. Even Hōka could tell just by the tone of his voice that he had just as splitting a headache as himself.

"My Mom never taught me manners," Uzu replied, his tone soaked with a horribly faux sense of innocence, "if you wanna blame anyone, blame her."

Yet another whack, this time unmistakably from Nonon, as this one was forceful, yet had a girly essence about it.

"At any rate," Uzu began, Hōka heard the sound of him kicking up his feet on the table, "there was some degree of bizarreness to his and Matoi's interactions."

Hōka raised his eyebrows slightly, and replied, "Elucidate, if you please."

"I don't know," Uzu responded, "I guess they just seemed too…familiar…it wouldn't surprise me if they knew each other."

"A connection to one another's pasts, perhaps?" Satsuki theorized.

"Like I said, I don't know," Uzu replied, "I'm just spitballing. Add whatever you will to that at your own discretion…"

After a few moment's silence, Satsuki chimed in, "Remember Hōka," Satsuki stated, "get anything and everything that you can out of her."

"Vague," Hōka replied as he adjusted he glasses, "but I'll see what I can do."

"Hey, Ira," Uzu began as Ira grunted in response, "are we still on for that bet?"

After a moment's pause, Ira sighed and said, "Alright," a thud could be heard on the table in the background, "five bucks, right there."

"And mine," Uzu said as he obliged by slamming down what Hōka could assume was five dollars as well, "now we wait."

"I must say," Hōka said as he surveyed the classroom, "I expected this one to be more punctual than she actually is."

"Hey, my advice-" Uzu began.

"Did we ever ask for your input, Uzu?" Satsuki sharply inquired.

"The obvious answer: no." Uzu responded, "Am I still gonna give it? Yes."

"Isn't there a way to shut a monkey up?" Nonon sighed, blowing a heavy puff of air into the microphone which was in-turn sent over the earpiece.

"I think a banana shoved in their mouth normally fixes that problem." Hōka replied, a small smile crossing his face underneath that red turtleneck tracksuit.

"Yeah, or a banana up his a-" Nonon began but was interrupted by Hōka telling them all to shut up as Ryuko was walking in.

"Jeez, what was up with guy?" Ryuko inquired of Mako as she walked in the classroom.

"Aw, c'mon Ryuko," Mako huffed, "don't be so hard on Mr. Sanageyomo…I liked his shoes!"

"Glad you two are bonding over a mutual interest in fine footwear!" Ryuko retorted as she rubbed her temples and strutted over to Hōka's desk.

"'Scuse us!" Mako cheerily stated as she sat down to Hōka's left, "Are these seats taken?"

"No," Hōka flatly responded, "go ahead, I don't care."

"Yeah, whatever…" Ryuko muttered as she pulled out her seat. After scoping out Hōka's track outfit, she inquired, "What, did ya lose a bet with the track team or something, Four Eyes?"

"Ryuko!" Mako berated.

"There was no betting latent within my choice of outfit, Miss Matoi," Hōka coldly replied, "however I could inquire that of you…"

"I told you!" Uzu declared over the earpiece, "I rub off on people!"

"Quiet!" Ira boomed.

"Hey," Ryuko began, tensing her muscles before relaxing slightly and inquiring, "the hell do ya know my name? And what's up with the unzipping and re-zipping your turtleneck?"

"And why is your hair blue?" Mako inquired as she pulled at some of Hōka's glacial locks.

Swatting Mako's hand away Hōka stated, "What I do with my clothing of my own volition is none of your great concern, Miss Matoi. However as to my knowledge of your name…Uzu Sanageyama told me."

Ryuko felt a slight chill run up her spine, and she lowered her head as she said, "So…you know that miserable excuse for a human?"

"Let me put you at ease so that this whole atmosphere isn't quite so awkward." Hōka said as he adjusted his glasses, "His perverse nature does not reflect on me…he's just wild and impudent, kind of like a monkey; and a sad excuse for one at that."

"So I'm not the only one who thinks that, am I?" Nonon slyly said. Hōka didn't need to hear Uzu's reply to know that there was frustration written all over his face and mood.

Mako grabbed Hōka's shoulder and inquired, "Hey, hey! Do you know how he gets his shoes so shiny? C'mon, tell me tell me tell me tell me-"

Mako was cut short by Hōka grabbing her shoulder as he sighed and whispered, "Shhhhhhh…"

After a few seconds, Mako's head slammed face first into the desk, and Mako began to snore lightly.

"Mako!" Ryuko exclaimed as she reached over to shake her friend awake.

Hōka grabbed Ryuko's arm and pushed it back as he said, "Relax, Miss Matoi, just a minor sleeping trick utilizing a key pressure point. She'll wake up in roughly 20 minutes, give or take."

Ryuko's blood was beginning to boil, and she suddenly saw how Uzu and this guy got along so well. She shot up out of her seat and said, "Okay look Mr….." Ryuko was suddenly hit with the realization that she had no idea who this guy was at all.

Hōka interrupted her scene by grabber her skirt and pulling her back down as he said, "Inumuta. Hōka Inumuta, and the pleasure is egregiously mutual."

"Eh?" Ryuko said as she realized she was seated once again.

"Alright class!" Aikuro said as he walked in, his crew socks sliding across the linoleum, "Now today we have a packet for you to handle and then the rest of the class is yours to do as you please." Aikuro pulled a matchbook and an incense burner out of his desk at the front that was already a mess with ungraded papers, future and past assignments, 70s memorabilia, pencils and pens, and his computer monitor. Sliding some of the papers aside, he produced a brown paper bag and pulled some incense sticks out of it. Hōka saw the bag was labeled 'Sandalwood'.

He frowned slightly behind his turtleneck and turned to Ryuko as he inquired, "Is this behavior normal?"

Ryuko inhaled as the spicy scent of the incense wafted throughout the room. She exhaled as a relaxed smile came across her lips and she mused, "I love this scent…I really do…"

"Taking that as a 'yes'…" Hōka said as Aikuro lit one last incense stick and began to distribute the packets. As Hōka and Ryuko received their packets (they sat in the far back), Ryuko inhaled once again, and then sighed as she flipped through the four paged packet. Hōka took note of this, and commented, "Problem?"

"Well, I'm no good at this kinda stuff, ya see?" Ryuko replied, flashing the best smile she could as she plopped the paper back on the desk.

"Hmm…" Hōka hummed as he gave Ryuko a once over.

"I know that hum!" Uzu exclaimed, "Hōka's getting an idea!"

"Shut up." Satsuki calmly said.

"Tell you what," Hōka began as he reached over and grabbed Ryuko's packet, ignoring the chatter of his earpiece, "I'll do this all for you…"

Ryuko gave Hōka a look of surprise, but then snickered as she said, "I'd like to see you try-"

She was cut short by a flurry of pencil scribbles coming from Hōka's side of the table. Hōka ran down each page in under a few minutes, handling each question with such ease, as though it were remedial material. After roughly five minutes, Hōka handed Ryuko the packet and simply said, "You were saying?"

Ryuko took it, and was surprised to see that it was even in a handwriting style similar to hers, so that Aikuro wouldn't get suspicious (if he ever took the time to actually grade papers that is…). "Uh, thanks?" Ryuko said as she set the packet aside.

"Don't think I did that for nothing." Hōka stated as he adjusted his glasses with his right middle and ring fingers.

Ryuko snickered as she said, "All of a sudden I'm seeing how you and Uzu get along…"

"Make no mistake Matoi," Hōka replied as he locked eyes with her, "his personality does not, in any way, reflect on me. This sort of behavior only recently started manifesting itself in me."

"Yeah, cut the chatter, get on with the demands so we can have this done with…" Ryuko sighed as she braced herself.

"I only required some information from you. And then I'll be out of your hair." Hōka said as he took the opportunity to examine Ryuko's feathery mop of a hairdo. "By the way, what's up with only having that one strand of red?"

Ryuko toyed with her crimson streak as she said, "I'm not exactly sure. From what I know I've had this since I was young, but no one knows why."

"Have you ever asked your parents about it?" Hōka inquired.

Ryuko's air of laxness suddenly vanished, and was replaced with one of somber. "Well…I never knew my mom…and my dad's been dead for awhile now."

Hōka felt a small twinge in his heart upon those words, confirming that he actually had one. "…I see…"

Ryuko perked up somewhat and said, "Doesn't really bother me any more, but I guess I should say I'm sorry for making it weird in here, eh?"

Hōka offered the most sympathetic shrug he could and replied, "It's of no great concern to me…"

"Well damn, don't get sentimental." Ryuko said as she grooved her head a little bit out of frustration.

"Make no mistake, I do feel sorry for you." Hōka replied as he adjusted his glasses once more, "I just display my sympathies in different ways than others. The sooner you learn that, the better things will go." Ryuko huffed at Hōka, and calmed herself by inhaling the wonderful, wafting scent of Sandalwood once more.

Hōka took note of this, and said, "I never liked the scent of Sandalwood…too mossy."

Ryuko huffed, and replied, "Say what you will, I love it! It takes me back."

"Unless you grew up in one of the Pacific regions where Sandalwood naturally occurs, I doubt that." Hōka deadpanned.

"Don't ya have any sense of sentimentality?" Ryuko inquired, trying to be as cheerful as possible around this unemotional icicle.

"Somewhat," Hōka replied as he flicked his head slightly to deter his icy locks away from his face, "but not in the conventional means. It thought we just went over this."

"You're no fun." Ryuko droned.

'You're worse than Nonon…' Hōka thought to himself, allowing himself to dwell slightly on the thought of the pink-haired demon.

"Whatcha thinkin' of, Four Eyes?" Ryuko inquired, her voice tainted with mild interest.

Hōka shook himself from his own fantasies as he said, "…Nothing. If it isn't too much to ask, what do you do, now that you have no parents?"

Ryuko shrugged as she said, "I'm kinda homeless, as you probably figured out. So I kinda wander around from property to property until I get kicked out." Ryuko nervously chuckled as she said, "Ain't it funny how that works, eh?"

"Not really," Hōka began, "you're merely making jovial of your plight so that you can dispel any worries or qualms you have."

"Calm it over there, Mr. Fuckin' Dictionary." Ryuko mused, a smile painting her face.

"Off that tangent and on to another," Hōka said, hardly acknowledging Ryuko's comment, "Uzu tells me that you want to be a cheerleader. And that it's very likely that you have a crush on a girl in the cheerleading squad."

Ryuko turned a whole new shade of red, and turned her face as far away from Hōka as she could while still maintaing speaking distance as she said, "W-Well…what's it to ya?!"

"Nothing much," Hōka replied, the amount of interest in his voice increasing, "just curious…what's so great about cheerleaders?"

"Well," Ryuko began, "the girls on the cheerleading squad are so beautiful. Take Amanda Schmidt for instance; that broad smile with the glistening white teeth, her flowing blonde hair, that curvaceous figure of hers…" Ryuko stopped to think about that last one, and found herself blushing and audibly squealing at the thought of Amanda's perfect posterior and ample chest.

It was at that moment however, that Hōka heard something that deeply interested him. Over the earpiece, he heard a fist slam onto the table, one that he thought he recognized.

"Satsuki?" Nonon inquired, curiosity in her voice, "What's wrong? You cracked off a part of the table with that one."

After a moment's silence, Satsuki responded, "…Nothing. I'm fine."

Hōka pondered on this occurrence for a moment, and thought to himself, 'Was Uzu…right?'

Ryuko escaped her self-induced euphoria long enough to notice the bizarre emotion that seemed to linger in Hōka's eyes, as she couldn't tell what the rest of his face was doing do the height of his turtleneck. "Uh, ya alright there, Hōka?"

Hōka snapped himself away from his thought train long enough to reply, "Oh, it's not 'Four Eyes' this time?"

"Just be happy that I'm concerned." Ryuko stated as she narrowed her eyes at Hōka.

"If I desired your concern, I would've asked for it." Hōka stated as he began to gather up his things. "Miss Matoi, this was an informative experience. I thank you for your time, and I wish you the best." As Hōka walked away, he raised his hand and called, "Farewell."

"Uh…yeah…" Ryuko called after Hōka as he left.

'Won't he get in trouble if he up and leaves just like that?' Ryuko thought to herself as she turned to Aikuro, only to realize that he was self-absorbed at a book titled, 'The New Men's Guid to Hair Care'. 'I don't know what I expected…' Ryuko thought to herself. She then glanced over at Mako and began to attempt to shake her friend awake.

'This day just gets weirder and weirder…' Ryuko thought as Mako began to awake.

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"Ah, so that's how one truly obtains data…" Uzu mused over the earpiece as Hōka walked confidently down the halls of Stonewall, taking a few minutes to mire at the outside. It had begun to rain lightly, and Hōka watched apathetically as each falling raindrop melted away the small traces of snow that were left. "Good to know, good to know."

"He got more than you did." Nonon jabbed in a snide tone.

"Not really," Satsuki said, "he merely reinforced what we already knew, but I'll accept it. She's now in a good mood to divulge more and more. We'll get it all out of her, bit by bit."

"And what exactly will be the magnum opus here?" Uzu inquired. Hōka could tell that he was smirking all the while.

"I must concur with him, Satsuki," Hōka added as he leaned on the windowsill while the rain rattled against the glass, "even from the start, you've failed to divulge information on why you instigated this investigation into Matoi. My curiosity is has been thoroughly peaked now that Uzu brought it up."

"Hōka, with the assist," Uzu said as he clapped his hands, "thanks for that man. I owe you a high five!"

Hōka sneered at Uzu while he awaited Satsuki's response. After a moment, Satsuki said, "Just carry on. All will be clear in due time…"

"What'd I tell ya, Ira?" Uzu said, sounding rather proud of himself, "That's 5 easy bucks!"

Ira growled as Uzu could be heard snatching up the money that had been placed on the table earlier. "…Very well, Uzu. I concede."

"Out of the slim to nil traces of curiosity I have for this matter, what was that all about?" Hōka inquired as he began to make for the exit, abandoning his windowsill.

"I bet Ira over here 5 bucks that Satsuki would end up saying something to the likes of 'all in due time'," Uzu explained, "and he didn't believe me."

"Why would you bet on something like that?" Hōka inquired as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to quell the splitting headache he was getting off of all of this.

"I'm sorry, you're gonna have to speak up Hōka," Uzu replied sarcastically, "we catch the occasional bit of interference over here."

"Forget it…" Hōka replied as he heavily sighed.

"Might just wanna give it up, Hōka," Nonon said, "these two have been like this all day."

Hōka stopped dead in his tracks as he said, "Did…you just call me Hōka?"

"Do you prefer 'Dog' instead?" Nonon inquired, genuinely curious.

"N-No…thank you…" Hōka replied, lost in thought.

'What's going on here…' Hōka thought to himself as sat down next to the door that led out back to the football field, 'and what new data will emerge from this…?'

"At any rate," Satsuki said as she could be heard rising up from her chair, "lunch break is fast on the approach. Everyone, you know your positions. Get to them."

"Hey wait," Uzu interjected, "I don't remember a 'lunch' part of my plan!"

"New developments, Uzu," Satsuki mused, "new developments. I thought this bit up after assessing that pathetic mess of a plan of yours. C'mon, I'll debrief all of you when we get there."

"Oh, what happened to all this talk about my 'brilliance'?" Uzu inquired as he rose up out of his chair as well.

"I don't remember ever saying that." Satsuki mused as Hōka heard the group move further away from their microphones.

"Yeah, but you thought it." Uzu replied as Hōka heard the door open, and them continue their muffled chat.

Hōka sighed as he said to himself, "Ryuko Matoi, eh?" he chuckled slightly as he continued, "Satsuki sure has unique tastes in women…"

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A/N: I'm feeling especially generous (lonely) over Spring Break, so I figured you guys deserve more chapters! I think that it's well earned after all the positive reviews you guys are giving! I love all of you!

Again, I beg of you, please bear with me on the length of these chapters until we conclude this little arc of Uzu's plan. At that time, the chapters will return to their normal length, and we'll all be happy again. Promise

And so, as Hōka ponders over this whole ordeal, what does Satsuki have stirred up for the lunch break? That and more in the next chapter which should be out soon!

If you haven't already, please give this story a review (which I love love LOVE reading)/follow/favorite, and check out some of my other works if you get bored waiting on new chapters! And even if you don't, thanks for reading nonetheless!

Until next time!