"Plan #1 commencing! Ya ready, Kenji?"

"I guess…"

School Rumble and the songs that appear here do not belong to me.
Love School Rumble and Janne Da Arc!

#10 HEAVY DAMAGE

With the first day over, Keiichi and Tsukamoto sisters head home. Upon reaching their home, Keiichi heads straight to his room, which was once the guest room and even was once their parent's room. He starts planning to have Kenji successfully ask Tenma out. Tenma, instead of doing something productive, heads straight to the living room to watch her favorite drama, "The Three Slashed." Yakumo begins the preparations for dinner. After eating and washing up, the siblings turn in.

Once the new day dawns, the siblings begin their routine school day wake-up: Yakumo waking up and taking a bath, Keiichi waking up and watching the news for the weather forecast, and Tenma still sleeping. After fifteen minutes have passed, their status is as follows: Yakumo dressing for school then preparing breakfast, Keiichi taking a shower and singing with the amazing bathroom acoustics, and Tenma still sleeping. After fifteen more minutes have passed, their condition is as follows: Yakumo waiting for her siblings to get ready, Keiichi outfitting himself with his school uniform, and Tenma finally waking up and taking a quick bath. After Tenma finishes dressing up, the siblings take their breakfast and head out to school.

On their way to school, Tenma asks Keiichi, who is holding a piece of paper, "Kei-kun, what's that?"

"This? Nothing very important," Keiichi quickly hoards his plans into his bag.

Yakumo unconsciously reads Keiichi's mind, which says: "These plans are to get you and Kenji to go on a date, Tenma. So, it's VERY important!" However, she has no idea what she has just read.

By the afternoon break at the school's roof, Keiichi and Kenji discuss the plan.

"So, what's the plan?" Kenji, leaning on the gate, asks Keiichi.

"Well, I've figured out the simplest plan: 'give her the ticket to this movie then ask her to come with you.'" Keiichi, also leaning on the gate, answers.

"I…tried that last year, and I ended up seeing a movie with sensei by accident," Kenji retorts.

"Huh? Do you mean that you tried to ask Tenma out, but Tenma disappeared, and, due to a twist of fate, sensei was right in front of you when you showed the tickets?" Keiichi unknowingly guesses correctly.

Kenji stares at Keiichi for a while, before replying, "…How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Keiichi asks in response.

"You guessed it perfectly. Ah, whatever!" Kenji scoffs then asks, "How can you be sure that Tenma would want to see the movie on this ticket?"

"'Ticket'? Ah, ticket! Now I know," Keiichi chuckles then hands Kenji the tickets, "She loves these kinds of movies."

"Really? What kind of movie is it?" Kenji tries to read what movie the tickets are for then feels frozen for having read it.

"Apparently, Tenma still likes transforming robots and sentai movies," Keiichi sighs in embarrassment.

"Okay…" Kenji is in disbelief, "How do you know?"

"I just asked her, 'What kind of movies do you like?' and she answered a number of things. One of them happened to be sentai, so…'I'll go with that' I thought," Keiichi explains.

"I knew that Tenma has always been special! She's the only one for me!" a shameless Kenji yells.

"A special person needs to be with a special person…I guess…" Keiichi remarks.

At the end of the day, Kenji makes his move, while Keiichi observes. Before Tenma leaves the room, Kenji calls her out.

Tenma walks up to Kenji and asks, "Yes, Harima-kun?"

"A-Ah, I know that we have started talking to each other only last year…but…" Kenji suddenly stops talking.

Keiichi quickly notices and throws a pencil to the back of Kenji's head.

In response, he turns around and sees Keiichi mouthing the words "Hurry up!" Kenji quickly understands. "Er…I want to ask you…ask you…ask you…" Kenji's now a broken record player.

"Kenji's such a moron! What an idiot!" Keiichi thinks then yells in his mind, "TENMA?!?"

He turns his head back to where Tenma is suppose to be, shoves the tickets forward, and asks, "Can you come see this movie with me?!"

"Huh?" Unfortunately, the person standing before the tickets is Eri.

"Wrong target!" Keiichi twitches.

"Uh, why should I go see a movie with you?" Eri defensively asks Kenji.

Kenji's color has completely drained, while he stands motionlessly.

"Maybe, it's because you've always been trying to ask me out, but didn't have the courage?" Eri tries to understand something in her imagination.

"Status: Kenji's completely shocked and asked Eri out! Now what?" Keiichi twitches.

"So…if that's the case, I'll just do you a big favor and go out with you this once," Eri blushes.

"If things continue as they are, Kenji's going to go out with the girl he told me he fears!" Keiichi yells mentally then decides to save his friend, "Ultimate sacrifice."

"So, what movie are we watching?" Eri asks, before Keiichi pats the back of a stunned Kenji.

"Hey, Kenji, you asked her out for me, right?" Keiichi tries his best to act, which is completely convincing.

"Huh?" Kenji snaps back to reality.

"What?!" Eri reacts.

"Actually, Eri, I've been trying to ask you out but have never had the courage to ask you personally!" Keiichi says but thinks differently, "I'd rather date my own sister than an arrogant princess like you!"

"Huh?" Kenji's still snapping back to reality.

"Is that true?" Eri asks, "I thought you said that you liked Mikoto…"

"Of course! Wanna go now?" Keiichi swipes the tickets from Kenji's hand and takes Eri's arm.

"Wha-Wha?" Eri yells as Keiichi pulls her away.

"Kenji, you owe me big time!" Keiichi thinks as he drags Eri away.

The next morning at school, Keiichi's head is lying on his desk and looks almost asleep, if it weren't for the powerful gravity lines around him.

Kenji sees him and says, "Thanks for helping me yesterday…So, how was the date?"

"I don't wanna talk about it!" Keiichi replies gruffly.

#11 LUNATIC GATE

At room 2-B, Yakumo and her class are being greeted by a new teacher. Her short, straight, dark brown hair is tied into a high ponytail that extends to her neck. The bangs of her hair occasionally fall to her face but are always moved to the sides of her head. She is short; and her figure is more cute than sexy, in a sense that her face looks just like a lolita's and she is flat-chested.

After writing her name on the blackboard, she introduces herself, "My name is Kusanagi Yuki. I'm the real homeroom teacher for this class, but I've been lost for the last couple of days! So, Tani-sensei had to cover for me. I apologize for not being here since the first day."

Various conversations arise from most of the male students and some female students.

Even, a blonde girl with her hair tied into a bun can't help but whisper to Yakumo, "She seems like a very nice person, don't you think, Yakumo?"

"I guess so, Sarah," Yakumo replies and is partially relieved that she isn't the boys' center of attention.

"She is, but sometimes she's a little too strict!" a red-haired girl drops in on the conversation. Her hair is tied similar to how Yuki's hair is tied, but the redhead's hair is longer and her ponytail extends past her shoulders. Even her brown eyes resemble Kusanagi-sensei's.

"Is that so?" Yakumo asks in response.

"How do you know? Isn't Kusanagi-sensei a new teacher?" the blonde Sarah asks.

The redhead starts to explain, "Actually, Kusanagi-sensei is—"

"Okay, class, let's start with introductions," Kusanagi-sensei gathers everyone's attention then points to the redhead, "Kagami, you're first!"

"Eh! Okaasan! Why am I first?!" the redhead stands and talks back.

Many students whisper to each other and give Kusanagi-sensei and the redhead strange looks.

"Kagami!" Kusanagi-sensei glares at Kagami.

"Ah, sorry, Okaasan!" the redhead Kagami bows to Kusanagi-sensei.

"And in class, don't forget that you should refer to me as 'Kusanagi-sensei', Kagami," Kusanagi-sensei reminds Kagami.

Kagami stares at Kusanagi-sensei, before she starts her introduction, "My name is Kusanagi Kagami—"

With that single statement, everything had become a little clearer to the class. Kusanagi Yuki is Kusanagi Kagami's mother.

"Um, I want to just try my best and pass this year," after having said that, Kagami takes her seat and lays her head down on her desk. While she does that, she receives a few more peculiar looks.

"Alright, then. Next, I'll choose…" Kusanagi-sensei looks at the list of students on the paper in her hands, "Tsukamoto Yakumo."

Most of the boys divert their attention back to Yakumo.

Yakumo stands and introduces herself, "My name is Tsukamoto Yakumo. Pleased to meet everyone." After finishing, she takes her seat and looks at Kagami curiously.

"Okay, next is…" Kusanagi-sensei randomly chooses again, "Sarah Adiemasu."

Sarah stands up and introduces herself, as well, "My name is Adiemas. Pleased to make your acquaintance, everyone. Let's do our best this year, okay?" With that done, she takes her seat and, with concern, looks at Kagami.

By the afternoon break, Yakumo and Sarah eat with each other like they have done in the last school year. While eating, someone puts her bentou on their desks. In reaction, Yakumo and Sarah look to who had done that and find Kagami dragging her seat to their table.

"Mind if I eat with you guys?" Kagami asks the two.

"Go ahead!" Sarah allows her to sit with them.

"Thanks," Kagami replies.

While eating together, Sarah asks Kagami, "Is Kusanagi-sensei really your mother?"

"Yeah, unfortunately," Kagami replies and follows it up with a scoff.

"Is she always like that?" while taking in some rice, Sarah asks Kagami.

"Of course! Having Okaasan as my teacher is such a hateful experience!" Kagami retorts and slams her fist on the table, causing the bentous to shake a little.

"How so?" Yakumo asks in curiosity.

"Normally, you'd think that school would be a haven away from home, but, with Okaasan as my teacher since middle school, I get freaking pissed about this!" Kagami answers, oblivious to the fact that Yakumo and Sarah each had both lost their parents.

"Are all parents like that?" Sarah asks, since she is an orphan.

"I don't think all of them are…Whenever I think of Otousan, I always see him keeping me warm and safe," Yakumo answers Sarah's question.

"My dad's a pain in the butt, but I don't see him often, since he's a hockey player. Uh…Tsukamoto, your dad seems to be either a nice guy or a pedo'. Either way, I'd like to meet him!" Kagami comments about Yakumo's father.

"Um…I wish I could see him and Okaasan again, as well…" Yakumo talks to herself.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kagami tries to confirm what she had just heard, "Did she say that she hasn't seen her parents in a while?"

"It's nothing…Sorry…" Yakumo replies.

"Right…" Kagami feels as if she had just hit something within Yakumo's heart but brushes it off and turns to Sarah, "So…Sarah, what about your parents? What are they like?"

"My parents?" Sarah starts to think then quickly answers, "Sorry, I don't remember much about my parents."

"What do you mean!?" Kagami feels as though Sarah had been abandoned by her parents.

"When I was really small," Sarah explains, "the only parents I had were the nuns and monks at the orphanage…"

"Did your parents abandon you!?" Kagami stands, leads towards Sarah, and curiously looks straight into her eyes.

"I don't know," Sarah refuses to make eye contact with Kagami by looking at the floor, "I don't have many memories about my parents…but, before I came to Japan, one of the monks told me that both my parents were dead."

"I see…" Kagami sits back down, "Who am I to say that parents are annoyances?…When these two don't have any parents!"

After an interlude of silence from the three, Kagami changes the subject, "Tsukamoto, what time will the afternoon break end?"

"One o'clock," Yakumo answers and follows it up with a question, "Why?"

Kagami checks the time on her wristwatch and replies, "Because we only have fifteen minutes to finish eating our lunches!"

Yakumo and Sarah realize the time they have left and continue eating. Kagami sighs and takes in the rest of her lunch.

#12 IN SILENCE

After class, the first weekend of school has officially started. Tenma, Eri, Mikoto, and Akira head out, while Keiichi stays behind with his bead lying on his desk.

Kenji sees that there is something wrong with Keiichi again, "Yamazaki, anything wrong?"

Keiichi lifts his head and glares at Kenji, causing Kenji to feel somewhat uneasy. As his sunglasses fall before his eyes, Keiichi stands then answers, "I have a weekly date with Eri…"

Kenji takes his words literally, "You guys are going out?!"

"WRONG! NO WAY! Eri's teaching me Japanese…and I don't like that…" Keiichi looks to the door.

"Okay, when does she have to teach you?" a curious Kenji asks.

"Today…" Keiichi takes his cellphone out to check the time and quickly realizes that he's going to be late, "See ya later! I'll be late if I don't go now!" Keiichi takes his bag and dashes out.

"Good luck, Yamazaki…" with sympathy, Kenji looks at Keiichi dashing off.

Outside, Eri greets Tenma and the others good-bye as she waits for Keiichi, who is causing quite the ruckus for running in a crowded hall. After five minutes of waiting, Eri sighs, as she checks her wristwatch for the time. She decides to head home and start teaching Keiichi the following week. At that moment, however, Keiichi walks out of the school seemingly unscathed.

He runs straight towards Eri, who has left the school grounds. "Eri!" he yells to get her attention.

Eri turns around and sees Keiichi running to her, "Took you long enough!"

"Sorry, if took that long, Eri-hime," Keiichi suppresses his annoyance.

"Whatever, I'll just tutor you at my place," Eri takes a cellphone out and calls her butler Nakamura.

Within a span of thirty seconds, a black limousine appears and stops beside the two. From the driver's side, a distinguished old man exits, walks to the opposite side of the car, opens the door to the passenger/ master's section, and greets Eri, "Here you are, Ojou-sama."

"Thank you, Nakamura," Eri replies then turns to Keiichi, "Get in."

Keiichi feels somewhat annoyed that the princess really is a princess. Nonetheless, he gets in, and Eri follows.

Once they reach the Sawachika mansion, Keiichi and Eri with Nakamura escorting head straight to the study room. Once inside, Eri sends Nakamura away and starts looking through the seemingly infinite number of books in the room. Keiichi can't help but be impressed to know that Eri is a studious person. However, that idea breaks once Eri begins searching everywhere for a single book.

"Apparently, she wasn't the one reading these books…" Keiichi massages his temples, due to the forming headache.

"Found it!" Eri exclaims as she takes a book from the highest shelf, which could only be reached by the use of a ladder.

"What did you find?" Keiichi heads near Eri and looks to her but quickly pushes the shades of his sunglasses before his eyes and looks to the opposite direction after having accidentally looking up her skirt.

Eri looks at Keiichi, "A book to teach you Japa— huh?" While saying that, she slips and falls towards Keiichi.

Keiichi unconsciously reads Eri's mind: "Somebody save me!" He quickly turns and sees Eri falling.

During the experience, Eri had her eyes closed and waited for her body to hit the hard, yet expensively carpeted floor. That never happened, however. Instead, she felt something holding her above the ground. When she opens her eyes, she sees Keiichi's smiling face. Apparently, he had caught her.

"Slipped and fell, huh?" Keiichi asks.

"Yeah," Eri blushes but quickly returns to her senses and gets out of Keiichi's arms and sweeps the non-existent dust from her uniform.

"Let's just hope you don't end up failing!" Keiichi smiles as he refers to a Japanese pun. (For those who don't know: 'falling' and 'slipping' in Japanese both have a double meaning of 'failing')

"Whatever, let's start," Eri lays the book on the table and opens it.

"Try to be nice and you end up being walked all over," Keiichi comments about what had just happened and takes a seat beside Eri.

"Okay, just…" Eri can't help but recall the experience of falling and having a playboy save her.

"What are you thinking about?" Keiichi asks himself and peers into her mind: "This playboy up to something, isn't he? He's probably a monkey who thinks that he can have more than one girlfriend at one time!" Keiichi doesn't understand why she referred to him as a playboy or, even harsher, a monkey but decides to ignore it.

"Um, I've never really done this before…" Eri explains.

"That sounds like something out of a movie which has a guy trying to do something to a girl!" Keiichi thinks then answers, "Teaching? Don't worry! We'll both get it eventually—What the heck did I just say?"

Eri takes a deep breath and answers, "Okay, I feel a little calmer, let's start…"

"Alright," Keiichi replies, "Something tells me that I will end up with a headache after this session!"

Keiichi: Next time on School Rumble…

Mikoto: What?! Yamazaki is coming to check out the dojo?!

Haruki: That is what I have heard.

Mikoto: He really was serious about that rivalry thing…

Haruki: No matter! I will show him the power of kenpo! Next time…

#13 Luck-Based Date
#14 Luckless Day
#15 Lucky Draw

Keiichi: I wonder how strong Mikoto is…

For those who are wondering why Keiichi can even read the minds of those who don't have any feelings for him, that will be explained after the next chapter!

And I've changed the titles and the order of the titles for the next sub-chapters, since, after some thought, I found that the events would make more sense and take less time in that order. That's okay, right?