"What on earth is going on?"

The teacher who entered the room turned out to be the grandmotherly type Tada had spotted earlier, when speculating about their teacher. She looked at the class in front of her, looking a little baffled as she peered at them all. Although most of the class had chosen desks, not many of them were sitting down. This was because Koujiro was assisting Reimiya and Reno in shifting around the desks All the rest were in place, but the three of them seemed to be widening the gap between those desks. And Tada could see why, as each time one of them shifted a desk, Fuyumi tested it with her wheelchair, to see if it would fit. For a moment, he felt a little bad for not having gone to help out once the whole issue with Kuroba and Ruko had been cleared up, but it seemed like the others had it under control, so he didn't dwell on that too long.

"We've needed to rearrange the space for Yukimura-san." Haru explained politely. "Otherwise it is difficult for her."

The old woman clucked, the sound a mixture of annoyance and sympathy. She looked at Fuyumi fondly, and shuffled up to her.

"Ah, of course. I'd forgotten about that….silly of me, fairly sure there was a note about that in my files….Yukimura-san, do you think you can manage for now?"

"Yes, sure. I can manoeuvre like this." Fuyumi demonstrated, and the old lady sighed with relief.

"Ah, that's good." The old lady sighed with relief, then yawned, before apologising for the yawn.

"Say, sensei, where should we put the leftover desks and chairs?" Koujiro pointed out the small group of desks and chairs. The old woman scratched her head, slightly messing up the grey curls pinned to her head.

"I suppose if you stack them over there, then one of you can take them into storage later, okay? But now, we need to begin the first register of the year." Once Koujiro had done just that (with the aid of Reno), the old woman went up to her desk, then leaned forward conspiratorially. Everyone who had been standing quickly went to their seats, and waited to see what would occur next.

"Now, I'll introduce myself- I'm Rina Ichijou, and I'll be your class teacher this year! I'm very pleased to meet you all, and I hope we have a good time together as a class. Now, I'm going to take the register, so when I call your name, I'd like it if you either stood up or raised your hand when you answered, so that I can get to remember your faces. Okay? Is that all right?"

"Yes." They chorused.

"Okay then, let's begin, children!"

To Tada, Ichijou sounded a lot like a grandmother secretly promising the children that they could stay up past their bedtimes. It was a weird first impression, to be sure.

The register-taking went relatively smoothly at first, the students perfectly willing standing up or put their hands up in response to their names, so that Ichijou could see who they were. And then she reached the name 'Eriko Fujisaki' in the register.

When she'd called the name, the girl with the name had stood up and said 'present' in a calm and clear voice, before sitting down again. But instead of just calling the next name, Ichijou had said something completely unexpected.

"And, Eriko Fujisaki-san's sister?"

"Excuse me, sensei? What do you mean, my sister?" Eriko, who was sitting a few seats down from Tada tilted her head and regarded Ichijou, dark-chocolate eyes narrowed. "I don't have any relatives in this class…"

"Possibly Ichijou-sensei was referring to me. I also have the surname 'Fujisaki'." The almost-whispered statement came from a girl sitting two seats in front of Ruko, who was right in the middle of the room. Her hair was brown like Eriko's, but a lot lighter, and tied in a ponytail. Her eyes were green, and she was one of those people who had a preference for the sweater uniform. She regarded Eriko, then turned back to Ichijou, who looked extremely flustered.

"Looks like you both being Fujisaki's is just a coincidence then….how very odd. I do apologise- I'm very used to my students often including many groups of siblings and relatives. Ahh…..but what should I call you both?" Ichijou fretted. Most of the class sweat-dropped silently at her distress.

"Well, it seems to me first names are the way to go." Eriko pointed out. "Eriko and-"

Eriko looked over at the other girl, who was still standing there, quietly, watching what was going on. She looked a little surprised at everything, but apart from that was calm.

"Kaori." She filled in. She turned her attention fully to Eriko, and their eyes locked for a moment. Neither of them said anything, but Tada got the feeling that the rest of them were all witnessing the beginnings of a friendship. Then, the two of them sat down, and Ichijou continued with the register, although not before confirming the other two people who shared a surname- Reno and Reimiya- were related.

Once they were finished, Ichijou started looking through the things on her desk.

"Ah, oh dear." She said. "It seems that I've left your timetables somewhere….I was going to give them out to you before asking about class representatives….."

"I'll go get them, Ichijou-sensei!" Haru stood up eagerly. "Did you leave them in the staffroom, maybe?"

Ichijou blinked at her.

"I think so. Are you sure you'd be okay with getting them, Ichinose-san?"

"Yes, of course."

"Ahh, what a sweet child! Thank you so much!"

Haru bowed, and rushed out of the classroom. A few minutes passed with Ichijou just sitting at the desk looking at them while the class stared back, wondering what would happen next. Tada himself was wondering what to make of the teacher. She seemed nice, but it was just the beginning. Could it be a false sense of security she was aiming for?

When Haru came back, she looked to Ichijou for a signal, and then handed out the timetables before going back to her seat.

"So…" Ichijou said. "I'm sure those timetables aren't too difficult to understand, but if you have any questions, you can ask me later. Now, for something much more important- Class Representatives!" Again, Tada got the image of an over-enthusiastic grandmother. It confused him utterly.

"Now," Ichijou continued. "As you know, each class has two representatives- a male and a female. You might not be a class that's the same as the rest of the school, but this applies to you, too, you know! So...is anybody interested. "

You might not be a class that's the same as the rest of the school. Pah! It was all Tada could do to not snort in derision that that complete and utter understatement. He turned around in his chair and looked around at everybody. Not a single one of them seemed interested, with expressions ranging from sceptical to wary to downright bored. Naturally, Kitabayashi and Akira's expressions couldn't be seen, as they were focused on their puzzles and writing, respectively. The same went for Mikoto, who was still gazing out of the window as if her livelihood depended upon it.

"Hey, Tada…" she mused. "Do you ever think that The Distant Ocean needs a sidekick?"

"Eh?" He looked at his drawing, at how The Distant Ocean looked over his shoulder, hair whipping around his face, eyes as wet as Hiro's had been moments ago.

"I mean, he can't do everything from so far away. Surely he needs….an ambassador of sorts. Someone who is involved in that world, you know?" There was a hidden layer in her tone of voice, and Tada tilted his head at her. In return, she stared him down. Whatever it was they were really talking about, it wasn't just about a comic-book hero's story.

Tada blinked, wondering why he'd just thought of The Distant Ocean. And then he thought about how disappointed he'd been in himself, how he'd wanted to just do something, but had ended up messing up. He thought about Hiro, who'd somehow managed to do well in those end of year exams despite the upsets she'd had in the weeks leading up to it. He recalled Ueno's cold look. And then, finally, he relived the moment he refused to be ashamed, back in the entrance ceremony. He recalled the way he'd managed to throw Hasegawa off kilter, just for a moment. Then all of those thoughts merged into one, single thought.

Maybe I can do something. Perhaps being in the middle of what I want to change can help. I don't have to be The Distant Ocean.

"Oh, Kitakawa-kun, you're interested?" Ichijou inquired, clearly surprised that he'd stood up.

Tada nodded. He didn't dare say anything else.

"I want to make things better for us, as a class." He said, honestly and seriously. Ichijou seemed to swoon at that.

"Ah, how lovely! Now, all we need is a female representative, to help Kitakawa-kun."

Tada remained standing, but he didn't look around him. He just waited for the indication that somebody would stand up. A minute or two stretched by with nobody responding, and then he heard the scraping of chairs. In plural. One near him, and the other further away.

The first person was Tsukuda, standing next to him, and grinning at him. When he turned around, he discovered that the second person was Eriko. She just stood there patiently. Ichijou just blinked dopily, and this time Tada didn't find that depressing. He was pretty stunned himself. First, nobody was willing, and now there were two at once?! It was a big turnaround.

"Ah….well, this is unexpected." Ichijou stuttered, eventually. You don't say!

"Well, one of us needs to stand down, that's fairly obvious." Eriko stated. "Tsukuda-san, what do you say to the rest of the class holding a vote?"

"I'm fine with that, it's only fair, right?" Tsukuda shrugged. Tada wondered who he would vote for. His instinct was to go for Tsukuda, but that was because he knew her well…

"That's a bit biased though, isn't it?" Jori interrupted. "I mean, for some of us, we're only meeting for the very first time today!"

A few others nodded and murmured in agreement. Akira looked up at this point, and put down her notebook, evidently having decided to watch the proceedings. She caught Tada's eye, and gave him a quick brief smile before becoming serious again.

"On the other hand, there are others in here who are already close to each other, and will defy the constraints of life to continue that way." Azama added, earning odd looks from pretty much everyone in the room, Ichijou included.

"Ah, ah….you are certainly right….." Ichijou fretted. "Whatever should I do…?"

"You're meant to be the teacher, aren't you?" Hirigi pointed out somewhat snappily.

"Hirigi-kun, there isn't really any need for that." Tsuwabuki placated. "This IS an unusual situation, especially for us. "

"Then, Tada-kun should decide!" Ayako said, unexpectedly chirpy. Tada looked at Ayako questioningly. She gave him a goofy thumbs-up as a response, and he sighed, deeply. He looked back at both Tsukuda and Eriko. It was clear that both wanted the role, so he tried his best to look at it objectively. Tsukuda was lively, energetic, and clearly believed in justice. She was always defending the weak, which made her the perfect candidate for helping him to help them get a better time out of their situation. He had no idea what Eriko was like in those terms, or even what had gotten her into Class 3E, but she seemed calmer, more disciplined and less rash, which was an indicator that she would be the less likely of the two girls to get expelled in the process of changing 3E.

Oh, I don't know! Mum, what would you do?! He mentally asked, despite how useless doing such a thing was.

"Kitakawa-kun, have you decided?" Ichijou enquired, clearly aiming to hurry him along.

"Tada, please." He corrected automatically. "I think they should both be the female class representatives."

It was an impulse decision, which had everyone looking at him gobsmacked. Tada just shrugged at all of them, and waited.

"Surely that isn't allowed." Eriko said eventually.

"No, it isn't…." Ichijou murmured.

"But I think it's better that way!" Tada said, warming to his idea. "We're never going to get listened to properly, in the conventional way…"

"But if there are three instead of two, then that'll make them sit up!" Tsukuda finished, excited. Her eyes glinted as she punched the air with one fist. "I approve, I totally approve!"

"I do, too!" Ayako declared.

"I second that!" Ruko added.

"I think it's a wonderful idea." Kinomoto stated.

"It's certainly an interesting proceeding." Kuroba conceded. A few others chimed in with their own words of support for the idea, and eventually Ichijou sighed and yawned.

"Well, in that case, I'll leave the decision up to the Student Council." Ichijou said. "Tada-kun, Eriko-san, Tsukuda-san, please see me during the morning break, so that I can inform you on what to do next as Class Representatives, as well as when the first meeting is."

"Yes, Sensei." They all chorused. Ichijou clapped her hands once, and then smiled at them all.

"Well, since that's all sorted, let's begin the first lesson of the day."

P.E. The last lesson of their day. And nothing much was particularly happening.

"So….erm…." Ichijou stood on the grass in front of them, still in the same jumper-and-skirt combination she'd been wearing before, looking fairly clueless. "Do any of you have any particular games you like to play?"

"Games?" Haru echoed.

"Any physical games, like dodgeball or football or tag….." Ichijou explained. "You see, I'm not really familiar with what it is a P.E teacher really teaches…"

Are you for real?!Most of the class's expressions reflected the very same sentiment.

"Then is there any point in you being here?" Ruko muttered caustically. Out of the corner of his eye, Tada saw Ayako place a placating hand on Ruko's shoulder despite looking like she agreed all too well with that sentiment.

"Couldn't we just do our own things?" Jori asked, experimentally doing a few backflips, causing others near her to scatter.

"Yes, let's have this as another free period." Not yet able to distinguish all the voices from each other, Tada didn't know which boy had said that, but the comment had Ichijou nodding.

"I suppose….I suppose it's not such a big deal for now, since it's the first day….but I'll think of something later. For now though…well, you're all fourteen and fifteen year olds, you'll be fine out here alone."

"Why, where are you going, Ichijou-sensei?" Eriko asked.

"Just inside, to do some things. If you need me, I'll be in the staffroom, okay?" and with that, Ichijou plodded back inside the building. Tada stared at her receding form for a moment, and then sat down on the grass in defeat. For a moment, he found himself thinking it would be good if Hiro had been there. That way, they'd be able to practise some sort of sparring, even if it was just fist-work. But he got rid of that thought really quickly. He wouldn't want Hiro here, not under any circumstances.

"Hey, hey, Tada-kun, help me out!" Ayako said gleefully, kneeling down in front of him.

"With what?"

"Why, with getting to know everyone of course! Don't you want to befriend everyone?" Ayako bounced a little. "Don't you want to find out about everyone?"

"Sure, I suppose…." Tada looked around him, and watched how Jori was doing various different jumps and flips while Fuyumi sat in her wheelchair and gave her different tips on how to improve, all while hesitantly flexing her own legs. Izzy and Kuroba were by themselves, again deep in conversation. Eriko and Kaori were doing something similar, but they did occasionally turn to exchange words with Ruko, Haru, Kinomoto and quite a few of the others, who were all sitting happily in a group not too far from them. He spotted Yukiyama further away from them, hands in pockets, walking carefully but steadily away into the forest. I should ask him about why he's here.

"Sure, I'll join you guys. Give me a moment though, okay?"

"What are you….?" But Tada was already off and away, running to close the gap between Yukiyama and him.

"Yukiyama-kun!" the boy seemed determined to ignore Tada, but Tada was determined too.

"Yukiyama-kun!" he called again and again, speeding up a little. When he got close enough, he reached out to touch Yukiyama's shoulder, but tapped at his back instead. Yukiyama flinched violently, and stopped.

"What the fuck was that for?" he snarled, shying away with more vehemence than Tada had expected. Yukiyama then gave him a vicious look. Tada thought of just giving up, of just saying 'never mind' and walking back to join the others, because it really wasn't his business. But then he thought of the way Hiro looked whenever she happened to catch sight of Yukiyama. Like she'd been given the world.

"I just wanted to know why you're in this class. From what I heard, you were meant to be on the main campus this year."

Yukiyama's look didn't become any softer, but he didn't dismiss the question out of hand. Tada waited.

"You're right. I was meant to be." He explained. "But a couple of days before we were due to start, the place I live got a phone call, stating that I'd been found in violation of the school rules, so I would be here, instead. Happy?"

'Place I live'? Not 'my home'? "What rule?" As far as he could think, Yukiyama kept his head down and attended lessons, and hadn't been in any fights, despite being rude to nearly the entire student body. So Tada couldn't think of anything.

"What's it to you?" Yukiyama retorted. In an attempt to be conciliatory, Tada reached out to touch Yukiyama's shoulder, but he stepped away and snarled again.

"Don't touch me!" as he said this, he turned away, and then winced.

"Are you hurt?" Tada asked instantly. "Did someone do something to you? We can go to Ichijou-sensei…"

"None of your business!" Yukiyama said violently. He stayed still and waited for a moment, gritting his teeth, presumably waiting for whatever pain he was in to subside.

"Presumably you're asking because of Chihiro?" Yukiyama said eventually, sounding a little less irritated. Tada blinked, surprised he'd been that obvious, and then nodded. He also found it a little strange that Yukiyama would use his sister's whole given name. But that in itself wasn't so odd when he thought about it, as Hiro wasn't nearly as insistent on her nickname as Tada was for his.

"I know she was looking forward to getting to see you." He offered. Yukiyama nodded, expression softening just a bit more. Maybe he feels the same towards her?! That would be a good thing, I think…the only issue is if I should help things along or not….

"If you must know, I have a job. And not one I'm about to give up, either." Yukiyama said. Tada nodded seriously.

"Okay. I won't ask any more about that." He said. "Just….are you sure you're okay?"

"Not your problem." Yukiyama said shortly, and walked away from Tada again. This time, he didn't bother stopping him, and went back to join Ayako and the others.

"What was that about? Do you have some issues with Yukiyama-san?" Ayako asked.

"No, not really. I just thought he'd be on the main campus this year, that's all." Tada explained.

"Tada's right, he was meant to be there." Tsukuda put in. "Did he tell you why he's here now?"

"Yeah…" Tada decided not to elaborate. This made Ayako question him over-enthusiastically, to the point that Tsuwabuki and Haru had to intervene and get her to back off, while Ruko decided to complicate the manner by pulling up bits of grass and throwing it at them. When they managed to distract Ayako sufficently, they all sat back, exhausted.

"Are you all always like this?" Hana asked shyly, having been silently sitting by Tsukuda's side up until then. She fiddled with the too-large sleeves of her blazer.

"I can't speak for myself, but unfortunately, Ruko-Chan's a lost cause." Tada informed her solemnly, finding the way her eyes widened funny. Ruko whacked him on the head with her bag of wine gums, and laughed.

"How dare you!" she joked. "I am more than a lost cause!"

"So, what are you then?" Haru asked. Ruko paused and looked at her for a moment, Then, she shrugged cheerfully.

"Who knows?" she said, stuffing more wine gums into her mouth and munching enthusiastically.

"How many packets of those have you eaten?" Tsuwabuki enquired, looking slightly awestruck.

"I lost count at twenty." Ruko grinned, looking unexpectedly feline. "Or was it thirty?"

"How….are you not diabetic yet?!" Tsuwabuki spluttered, following Ruko's gaze to the many empty packets littered in front of her.

"That's a good question, Tsuwabuki-kun!" Tada laughed. "A very good question."

"May we join you?" Fuyumi wheeled herself across the grass, with Jori and Koujiro jogging closely behind.

"Sure, sure, of course." Haru, Hana, Tsukuda and Reimiya all shuffled to a side to give them space to sit down (or, in Fuyumi's case, to park her wheelchair).

"So, what's everyone talking about?" Koujiro said, conversationally.

"We were meant to be getting to know each other." Ayako pouted. "But now we're all just being weird."

"But surely that's just as good a way to get to know each other." Tsukuda objected.

"It's spontaneous." Hana pointed out.

"And some people don't like it much, when they get interrogated too much." Reimiya piped up. "S-so this is more relaxing." When everyone looked at her, she blushed bright red. Reno patted Reimiya on the shoulder and beamed at her. She grinned at him, and adjusted her scarf. Eventually, her blush faded, and she returned to just listening.

"Hmm….I suppose." Ayako thought about it. "We should just do this every P.E. lesson! P.E's a bit pointless, I'm so bad at sports!"

"Hey, I happen to like P.E!" Koujiro said. "It's actually disappointing that Ichijou-sensei's so clueless about it."

"What do you expect from being in Class 3E?" Ruko snapped, surprisingly pissed off. Between them, Ayako, Ruko and Koujiro squabbled for a few minutes, until Tsukuda cut them off unexpectedly.

"Say, perhaps we could do something about that, as Class Reps, right, Tada?" Tsukuda asked. She turned around to where Eriko and Kaori were talking.

"Say, Eriko, what about it?"

"What about what?" Eriko asked.

"I believe they were discussing our P.E. lessons." Kaori murmured thoughtfully. "They do have a point though, Eri-Chan. We can hardly use P.E as a free period all the time."

"Hm….is this going to be the first thing we do as Class Representatives?" Eriko asked them.

Tada nodded. "That was the general idea."

Eriko pursed her lips and thought about it. Tada and Tsukuda also fell deep into thought.

"It seems to me you have two options." Akira suggested as she walked over, evidently having decided to join them. "First, we find something that we can 'teach' each other, so P.E lessons become a form of independent learning. Second, when Tada-san and the others go to the first meeting, they petition to get an additional teacher up here for the express purposes of P.E.

"What do you think, Tada-san?" Akira asked, as if she'd only been directing her words at him. Which kind of makes sense; given that this is Akira-Chan. Tada shrugged.

"I suppose."

"They'll just say we don't deserve it though." Eriko lamented, bitterly. "It's usually the way these things go. You get punished for doing the right thing, in this place."

"Tell me about it!" Tsukuda commiserated.

"I guess it's worth a try, right?" Hana asked. Her facial expression was cautiously optimistic, but her voice wavered just a bit. Tada wondered if she even believed her own words. She noticed Tada staring at her, and gave him a curious look. Tada shrugged, and turned back to Eriko and Tsukuda, who debated it enthusiastically while Kaori offered a few points.

"We'll put both points forward as ideas." Eriko eventually concluded. "Then, we'll take it from there."

"Sounds good to me." Tada said.

"Woot, woot!" Ruko crowed. "Go for it, Class Reps!"

Everyone laughed, and then they changed the topic to talk about TV shows and books they all liked, right until the time they needed to get changed back into their school clothes. As Fuyumi was the only one who hadn't changed, she waited outside the school building, reading a book until Jori, Koujiro and Tada came back out.

"Ready to go?" Tada asked, cheerfully as he showed her that he'd picked up her things for her.

"Yup." She beamed. "Ah, but…could I just check my bag…?"

"Everything is in there, Fuyumi-Chan."

"Oh, I know that, I just need to check how it's in there."

"Oh, Fuyumi-san, it's not such a big deal!" Jori said, pretending to be annoyed. "Just let Tada-san carry it for you and deal with it at home."

"You're right. Sorry." Fuyumi handed back her bag, and allowed Jori to lift her up, while Koujiro took charge of the wheelchair, and Tada assisted, just like that morning. Hanae joined them, along with Reimiya, Reno, Akira, Kitabayashi and Yamada, with many of the others close behind. Although Kitabayashi could not be coaxed into a friendly conversation, Yamada entertained them all by obsessing about the moon, spurting out facts faster than a Google search. But, just like Kitabayashi, when they got nearer to the bottom of the hill, she rushed off. A few others also going in similar directions left, but they at least bid Tada and the others farewell.

"Ah, there's Hiro-san." Fuyumi pointed further along the road, where Hiro was indeed waiting, talking to Yukiyama, who had evidently snuck off ahead of them all. As they got closer, Tada could see how Yukiyama was a whole lot less brusque around Hiro.

"They've definitely met before." Fuyumi murmured almost inaudibly.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"They've met before. Somewhere. Not sure where. "

"That's….not possible, Fuyumi-Chan." Tada said dumbly. Fuyumi just shrugged and gave him an enigmatic look.

"Well, it's no biggie. If you want to go on home now, I'm fine with that."

"Eh?" Tada regarded Fuyumi. "Are you sure?"

Fuyumi nodded hard.

"We'll be fine, Koujiro-san, Jori-san and I. But come in the morning, won't you?"

"Yes, of course." Handing back her things, Tada bowed and ran up the road to greet Hiro, after yelling goodbyes to the others who were nearby. Hiro turned to see him, and waved enthusiastically. When he got to them, Hiro grinned at him, and then at Yukiyama.

"I…well, I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked Yukiyama hopefully. Tada noticed that Hiro was holding her phone in her hand, and that it was unlocked and currently open to her address book. Ah, Hiro. He smiled at the thought, and then looked Yukiyama in the eye. Yukiyama startled for a moment, and then narrowed his eyes, getting Tada's meaning. He nodded once at Tada, then returned his attentions to Hiro.

"Possibly." He said. With that being said, he walked away, almost running.

"Bye, Saito." Hiro said, very quietly. She stood for a while, watching him disappear. Tada didn't say anything, not wanting to ruin the moment, and just waited for Yukiyama to disappear. Once he had, they started walking.

"I was really surprised to see Saito come from your building!" Hiro signed.

"I didn't know anything about it, either, until today." Tada responded. "Did he tell you about it, before I came down?"

"Yeah, he did." Tada sighed at that, relieved. It was good to know Yukiyama hadn't lied to him.

"So," Tada asked. "Good day? Is your class any good?"

"Fast. Very formal. Not a nice atmosphere, really. The teachers are very helpful though, when you ask them something- they really know what they're doing. And I have quite a few friends from last year though, so it's okay. And outside lessons, everyone talks and supports each other. What about you? Will you be okay in 3E?"

"Hm….." Tada thought about the entire day, then signed. "Actually, a lot of interesting things happened today. I'll tell you all about them when we're at home."

"But?"

"But….in terms of being okay, all I can really say is, it's just the beginning. We might have heard about what it's like being in 3E, but it's not like I've experienced it yet, you know? So like I said, it's just the beginning. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah." Hiro smiled. "I get you."

Characters Introduced:

Eriko Fujisaki( Belongs to: Class 3-E Student)
Kaori Fujisaki (Belongs to: MariRuby)

As you can see from those two names, my sense of humor struck again =P Once I noticed that I had two unrelated characters with the same family name I just couldn't resist! But anyway, that's all the 3E introductions done! Meaning this is the end of the Introduction Arc!And...erm, actually, I have nothing else to say, even though I feel like I should have. So, yeah. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Please leave feedback, and don't forget the Ending the End Class tumblr tag!