NOW. I know this came late and I'm sorry for that. But I made two chapters in the span of time I was gone so please forgive me ;w;

Originally I wanted to post this entire arc as one chapter since I couldn't find the proper way to end it. BUT I didn't want to have you guys gulp down so many events in one so I divided it into two (The Trip and The Night)

I'd like you to treat them as one chapter though since they're connected that way after all.

I'll post the second part not long after this one so #KeepCalm ^o^

REVIEW REPLIES:

kawaiichoconeko: As always, ARIGATO FOR THE REVIEW! I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed that last bit as much as I did 8"D And yay new adjective to the urban dictionary. MUST LET THE REVOLUTION START. (Btw: LOVING THE ABC STORY KEEP IT UP I WANT MORE!)

Guest: Love you too~! Thanks for that review and I'll put as much of that ship as I can

animeandmangafangirl: Thanks for another review and for pointing out what you liked about the chapter! It makes me giddy like a school girl with bread in her mouth sailor moon style ^w^ Yeah she's older but you don't need to pay much mind to it

akikarui: YES AMEN! Thanks for reviewing and thanks for the reactions! Okay leave Mai to me~ ouo No no Thank YOU for motivating me

KisaragiMaru: I HONESTLY REALLY LIKED THOSE PARTS TOO! GO KARMA! Mimura will return or not is a secret~

Akabane-san: Thank you! You're amazing too for leaving a review ^w^ Well I guess I can tell you they're dating but they're not in this fic :3

blank9395: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed those parts as much as I did!

TheRoseShadow21: HELLO~Thanks for yet another review and for answering the question! I hope to see more of you AND your fics of Karmanami! (btw: Selfish and The Meaning of Forever made my kokoro snap)

Quilla The Silent: EYO~ And nah it's fine! Thank you for telling me all of that! This review really got me motivated! I'd like to see more of you! And yes #bestansweroftheday goes to Manami. Hands down. Blushing Karma makes my day XD

I12BFree: HEY~ Thanks for another review! Let's both feel happy for Manami-chan now! :3

natsuki DDS: As usual thank you for reviewing! I'm so happy you liked it cuz I worked hard on it~!

Binx: Love you!

stephenguerry: Thank you! Honestly I await that too but it's pretty far away 8"D. NAGISA WILL ARRIVE DONT WORRY (He'll only be in support though)

Resa: Thanks for the review! It got me going there really x'3 And yeah some references of KnT will arrive and I'm sorry for that X'D ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT~ (Psst! Down there!) And it's okay your english is understandable ^W^

Now let us begin!

*is stopped by a lawyer*

*Sigh* Disclaimer: I dont own Ansatsu Kyoushitsu. Would I be writing this if I did? JFC

Chapter 8: School Excursion and Growing Feelings (The Trip)

Nagoya…

Above the head of a particular raven-haired girl, a bright azure dome spread out like a vast sea of blue and white. The clouds formed like gigantic cotton balls that appeared to be soft to the touch as it soared slowly through its gentle spring breeze. The sun shined brilliantly that day – the leaves in the trees were pleasant to the ears of many who walked by it with themselves, loved ones, pets, etcetera; and upon the branches of those aforementioned trees, the morning birds that sang in tuneful chirps added up to the wonderful sounds of mundane living. The breeze that kissed everyone's skin sent chills through her spine; as always, the girl's side of the city had more provincial type of folk – which is one of the many reasons she loved residing here, even if her home is but one of the many rooms in a single apartment complex.

A city in the provincial side of Japan famous for being the capital of the Aichi Prefecture…and a very peaceful, rural place along with a wonderful seaside.

I can't wait to see it…

…If I do see it…

"WAIT!"

The heavy, rapid footsteps and the heavy breathing of a small framed girl carrying a backpack much too large for her said size pattered through the Tokyo Station's Shinkansen area. Droplets of sweat flew off the sides of her head as she frantically took each large step to her wanted destination. Her face and some hair strands were drenched – the weather was indeed undeniably chilly, but the luggage she brought with her to this overnight trip seemed to be too much for it to be considered under the category of 'pack light' (as instructed by the school in the Excursion orientation).

Okuda Manami wasn't one to be late – she was very punctual, in fact. But when it came to having your caretaker hungover on your kitchen table the next day after her night out with a chemistry teacher, there was no one left to take care of the mess except the supposed 'one being taken care of'. Manami had a feeling she was up all night bragging about her to her friends and fellow co-workers about the recent events for as the bespectacled chemist carried her to her bed, she would catch slurred lines like 'My girl's wonderful.' Or 'Your daughters are worth crap compared to my baby' and so on.

Thus explains her tardiness.

"Hurry up!"

The poison-lover's eyes rose to the doors of her car being held by a girl and boy. The former had walnut-toned hair styled in its usual ponytail and hazel brown eyes that fit perfectly with it – it was Orihara-san. The boy next to her who struggled as much as she did to keep the door wide enough for her to enter harbored a black crown and emerald eyes – it was Miyamura-kun.

"Come on, Okuda! Run!" yelled the boy as his arms shook from the amount of force he was putting into keeping that door open.

Manami did as told and sprinted at a faster pace as opposed to her already tired legs and back. With one swift movement with the sole of her left foot, she leapt just in time with a form that fit what was left of the door's access capacity. It was a success – thankfully nothing got caught in the shutting of the doors as Orihara and Miyamura let go of it with perfect coordination and timing as the car had begun to move; which resulted to the stumbling of the small girl with the large backpack to the wall.

"Uwoah!"

The heavy breaths of three students overpowered the mumbles and chitchat of the students of 1-C. Orihara let out a laugh after having regained enough air after all that hard work of hers "Hah~ Okuda-san, are you okay?" she turned her upper body to the braided girl on the floor; her glasses were disoriented from the floor – and she had to admit it was a little cute for the shy girl as she extended a hand to help her up.

The lavender-orbed female took a moment to stare at the hand offered to her for she wasn't entirely used to this kind of kindness "Th-…Thank you…" Manami took her hand and lifted herself up with the support given – it was a little troublesome with the bag, however; fortunately Miyamura took the initiative to relieve her back of its weight (it was lighter than it looked).

Orihara smiled at the shorter girl "Don't worry about it." She reassured and handed her her bag from the dark-haired boy. Manami took it with delight and smiled warmly at them – this feeling was foreign to her; she had never been treated this way by anyone in her classroom for the past months, and she couldn't help but feel a little warm and fuzzy inside at the two's sudden kindness towards her.

"Okuda-san you're clumsy as always, aren't you?" chuckled Miyamura with a hand behind his head after holding that door too long. Orihara giggled and joined in the conversation "But that's what makes her cute, doesn't it?"

As soon as the words registered in the bespectacled girl's understanding, it wasn't too long before a blush came up to her cheeks "Th-That's not true! Things like 'cute' d-don't fit me—"

The brunette had cut her off by squeezing her soft face with her hands "Don't be silly~" she teased as she moved her palms up and down to play with Manami's chubby-ish face – much to her discomfort, but it wasn't like it was harassment or anything, she just wasn't used to it.

"Orihara, let her go, she'd want to rest from all that running, after all." Miyamura pulled the enthusiastic girl away from the petite scientist from the back of her collar gently. The taller girl, in turn, put her hands together apologetically "Ahah! Sorry Okuda-san! Carry on." And the ponytailed girl stepped aside to make way for the small-framed girl and her ridiculous bag.

Manami lowered her head to somehow hide the idiotic smile she had on her face as she made her way to a vacant seat and set her things down. She had a little trouble with properly adjusting her bag in the luggage compartment due to her height – and there was still the fact that her arms still had bandages wrapped around them; even though a few days had already passed since that incident, an injury as brutal as that isn't so good to time. But the problem had soon been dealt with by a fellow boy in her class not too far away from where she chose to sit. He had to go through the trouble of dropping his book and standing up to keep the bag from falling on her (or anyone else).

"Th-Thank you…" she uttered out with slight surprise. She wasn't so familiar with his name since she hadn't actually paid much attention lately, but the boy nodded nonchalantly and just went back to his reading session. And once again, she couldn't stop the edges of her lips from rising up.

It's been this way for a while now… She caught herself thinking as memories from the day after her little 'episode' had resurfaced.

The skies were clouded that day – not a single ray of sunshine seeped in through the window as it had been hidden away in a flurry of grey. And within a dim building on its 4th floor, a frail girl with tired lavender orbs and aching arms slowly slid her classroom's door open with both hands (the injury hurt more after a night).

As soon as she had a view of her classroom, she hadn't the slightest expectation that there would be a small group of students waiting for her by her desk as they chatted – and there was one right now.

This had caught her off-guard – she was sure that after all the yelling and selfishness she had displayed the day before, she'd be avoided twice more than last time; but it seemed to be the opposite today.

"Ah—…Hey Okuda-san!" said one boy – it was one of the folks that forced his science homework on her.

Manami failed to respond as she just looked at them with droopy eyes exhausted from expending so much liquid recently, but there was still a hint of quizzicality in them. The group of students exchanged nervous glances but kept their attention to the chemistry geek.

"Ah…Okuda-san…uhh…We're uh…" the same boy cleared his throat to somehow shake away some of the monstrous guilt and uneasiness he felt eating away his insides "We're really sorry for uh…everything. Y-You don't have to forgive us really Aha—I mean…we were pretty terrible to you weren't we? So we just want you to know that we regret everything and uh…" he trailed off as soon as Manami heard a set of small and steady footsteps behind her.

"Okuda-san…" this voice was familiar – no doubt, it was the walnut-haired ponytailed girl Orihara Michiru. In the same second Okuda recognized it, she turned around – but all she saw was a very guilt-stricken brunette with her eyes downcast and her fingers intertwined behind her; she noticed how there was a bandage at the side of her cheek and couldn't stop herself from wondering where it came from until she'd been ever so suddenly given a bone-crushing hug by her taller classmate.

"I'm…" her mouth quivered not a second later as her face erupted into a tearful mess "I'M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING!" and from that point, Orihara bawled into her shoulder loudly (and knowing how loud the girl's voice was, it had nearly deafened Manami – and almost everyone in the room)

"We're really sorry Okuda!"

"We hope you find it in your heart to forgive us—Wait no! I take it back! You don't have to forgive us!"

The braided girl was taken aback at how abrupt the action was – most especially when another batch of apologies reached her ears from behind her. She had no idea what to do after that; how does one who is so used to apologizing to everyone else accept apologies from others? Heck, she couldn't even try putting her arms around the brunette for it hurt too much to even try moving them.

In the middle of her state of bewilderment, a woman that walked across the hall of her classroom revealed herself for a short moment. She had maroon-toned pixie-styled hair – Inari-nee (to Manami) had stopped in her tracks just for a second and gave her a smirk before walking off after she commented genuinely-

"Good for you."

The science nerd had finally settled herself comfortably on one of the vacant couches at the far back of her class' assigned car – each one had a table for convenience. Despite the finally cleared up troubles she's had with the classroom, that didn't exactly change the fact that they already had their own groups to attend to – naturally, she remained 'friendless', but that didn't mean she didn't start to get along with everyone else; and she didn't really mind being alone in the classroom.

After all, she has her club, and that's already more than enough.

A smile still on her features, Manami pulled out a few maps and tourist information guides from her blazer's pocket along with a tiny pen – careful not to have her arms get in the way of her grip as she gently did so. From there, she had begun taking note of a few things she would like to do – she made it a point to get the rice cracker cookies and visit some confectionaries Nagoya was so famous for (in fact, that was what she was most excited about)

Of course, the things she could do with her friends didn't slip her mind. Keeping them in mind, she encircled a few things on the map she would like to try out, but later she figured that they might just go with the flow and she'll just have to follow and expect nothing to have fun with it – that's what she learned in her time with them.

She couldn't stop her mind from wandering back into her last middle school trip – rather than plotting places to go to or see, they plotted areas that were best for the assassination of their teacher. Manami chuckled lightly at the weird thought of middle school students contemplating how to kill their teacher in a supposed 'happy' school event; though this had brought a glimmer of joy evident in the girl's face, that didn't stop any of the heart wrenching pain that had also started to throb within her chest – especially when the smiling face of a yellow octopus flashed in her mind.

Suddenly, poison geek spotted something from the corner of her eyeglasses – speaking of yellow, whatever it was that stared at her disturbingly from her table also had yellow on her.

"Nakamura-san…what are you doing?" Manami sweatdropped at the sight of the blond eyeing her creepily from the edge of the table similar to that of a pervert – or in other cases, the boogeyman (unless he is also a pervert). From what the chemistry maniac could see, Rio also hadn't taken off any of her bandages or dressings; but they had lessened.

A few seconds more of uncomfortable staring passed through, and the eyeglasses-ed girl was beginning to believe there was something behind her until she checked to see nothing but the dark wall of a tunnel. Manami was beginning to get a little worried as she turned her head back to the blond only to find her a little farther away with a mischievous smile spread across her face – yes, she was still staring at her, this time her eyes looked like stars under the shadow her hair cast above them.

"Uh…" was all the braided girl managed to say as the blond waved her hand as a gesture for her to come closer.

"Come, come~"

For a moment, it felt as if it was some creepy old man trying to kidnap a five year old kid with candy and a knife behind his back. But since Rio so insisted on having her come over to where she was currently backing away to (which was the washroom area that connected the cars), Manami didn't really see any harm and stood up to follow her – the stares were getting too creepy for comfort anyway.

"I got her!" Rio exclaimed into the class F car enthusiastically as the bullet train's doors slid open upon their arrival.

"Oh, great timing! We were just about to start." Sugino praised with a deck of cards within his possession. What Manami saw after she entered the foreign car were some of her club members gathered into one of the train's provided resting areas – only this one was much larger than the one designed for groups of four to five; perfect for big groups when they take the bullet train together. On one side sat the spiky-haired baseball player who looked to be rather lively today, and upon further inspection, the science geek noticed how his hands and left forearm had also been dressed with medical aids. Seated directly in front of him was Karma who leaned back in his lazy fashion along with that carefree grin of his – and like everyone else, his hands were still covered in medical dressing and a few bandages for his fingers and arms. But even if she had taken these things into account, the only other thought that overpowered the rest was—

All of that was just to get me to play cards with you?!

Manami shivered from behind her blond friend; blue lines went down her eye and the side of her head at the thought of the strange stares she pulled just to get her here – it felt as if she was being lured to a demon's cave as a sacrifice with what she had done. Could she not have done it normally? Did she think 'hey, Okuda-san, wanna play cards with us?' wouldn't cut it? Right now, she just didn't understand what it was that went through her friend's mind in doing that as she occupied the free space next to the redhead absentmindedly.

Karma took notice of this discomfort of hers "What's up? Your face looks weird." He stated ever so bluntly as he tilted his head from its rested position on the couch. The poison expert could only give a sigh with a half-hearted "Please don't mind it…" even though the prankster was still rather curious about it from how she said it, he assumed it wasn't anything important and shrugged it off

"What game are we gonna play?" Rio asked after settling herself to sit by Sugino and crossing her arms atop the table to rest her chin behind them with that lax personality of hers.

Before the boy in question could speak, in came the rest of their members as Yuzuki led the couple behind her with an active smile on her face. Hayami and Chiba had come in with her – their stoic appearances never wavered even with the energetic vibe any school trip brought with it.

"That's everyone~" the otaku chimed cheerfully as she and the others approached the table where the rest of their friends were. It was a happy get together for everyone as they waited for their train stop – until of course Yuzuki caught something not so pleasant within the group for the moment the orange-headed sniper walked in and made eye contact with the blond knifeman, the latter only averted her gaze and gave the serious girl the cold shoulder from that moment on as she rose from her lazed position on the table

Rinka, having also noticed how her fellow combat club member displayed no interest in talking to her or even interacting with her, could only avert her gaze as well – only hers was out of guilt. And of course, observant as he was, Chiba had caught a glimpse of this silent and subtle exchange. Yuzuki sighed; they've been that way since that day – however, as there was nothing she could do at the moment, the mangaka wannabe just went over to sit on the same side Karma and Manami were as the other ginger followed and sat by the isle of the same seat to face her fellow shabby-haired gunman; she wouldn't want to sit directly in front of the golden-haired girl nor beside her.

"Ah, excuse me Karma-kun…" The addition of more people to their seats had resulted to the two by the wall to squeeze against each other. However, something odd had come up for the moment the raven-haired girl squeezed herself close enough for the other two to have space, the redhead next to her propped his elbow on the table as he rested his chin on his palm – his eyes shifted from her to the window in a split second as it stayed that way for the rest of the time. It was subtle and could be deemed as a simple everyday movement, but the chemist couldn't shake the feeling that he had done that to purposely bring in some distance between them; even if that was so, all she could do was stare at the back of his head quizzically.

"Alright, everyone's settled." Sugino looked around them with that never-fading smile of his and shuffled his cards "How 'bout a game of old maid for starters?"

"Sounds nice!" Yuzuki remarked ecstatically. The suggestion had aroused smiles on each of their features – even the snipers couldn't say no to the idea. Karma smirked as his eyes glinted evilly as he stretched his arms – clearly he already had some sort of diabolical strategy formed "Aw well, nothing suits me better than a cheap game like this one."

"Alright then, first I'll distribute the cards…" Sugino carefully passed each card to their sides of the table to avoid them from falling off the table.

After they had been distributed equally, Rio gave the redhead a smirk of her own as a challenge "Don't be so sure, Akabane" the blond snickered as she spread the cards in her hand – this only caused her grin to grow wider. As the two tricksters glare-off continued, Manami only sat there – not exactly familiar with the rules while she took time to get a good view of each of her cards.

The bespectacled girl prepared to inquire anyone for how to play the game until a set of whispers reached her ears.

"They're pretty battered up…" remarked one boy over the next table as he and his companions had their heads turned to their direction. Manami's gaze fell to her dressed arms – that must be what they meant; most of them still had their bandages and other injuries evident on themselves.

Unfortunately, she was not the only one who registered these whispers. Her friends had come to a quietude once the shy girl turned her attention towards them – they had their lids lowered and expressions that explained just how bad and fresh the memory still was. All of a sudden, the liveliness that radiated from their table died out and was replaced with a bitter feeling.

The chem maniac could only stare at them sympathetically as her eyes had gone half-lidded. They really were battered up – and it was because she wasn't trying hard enough to fix her problem and ended up getting everyone sucked into it; she was weak, and without their help she would've forever been trapped in the darkness and really end up all alone. But it was that kind of thinking that got her into it in the first place – she'd realized that now. So instead of wallowing in it any more-

"I'm…!"

Manami lifted her head and straightened her back as she grabbed the edge of her skirt. Her purple orbs glossed with determination as she uttered the next sentence strong heartedly.

"I'm…glad I have these." She gently took hold of one arm to indicate what she was talking about. "They remind me that I was strong for a moment…that I was able to get my feelings through to everyone." From this, the group had begun to show her soft smiles from the heartfelt words. "So I hope…you're also thankful for them!" her gaze did not falter even for a second.

"Guess you're right." Yuzuki was the first to respond with a nod of approval and a bright, genuine smile – the small-framed girl had learned her lesson, and the results were beautiful. It just proves that no one can teach better than experience does, and with experience comes a lesson that shouldn't fade away so easily. And from the back of her mind, the short-haired girl thought 'Just like in manga…'

Karma however, had remained nonchalant throughout the time as he looked at the braided girl beside him. He was expressionless, but it was obvious that he was in deep thought as he observed her from the corner of his eye – his face was inscrutable, and Manami couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with him today for he had not spoken to her for the rest of the way.

"Oh, I won."

"Heh—What?!"

Stop 1: Nagoya Castle

"Ah…." Lavender eyes were wide with wonder behind the shine of a pair of spectacles as it reflected against a golden statue stationed above a shelf behind red ropes.

The students were now scattered about in the different attractions offered by the Nagoya Castle. The trip was rather carefree like most – right after the students of each class had been educated with the specific area for academic purposes, they were free to explore the other charms found around the location. As of now, in the fifth floor of this well-known structure stood a pair of students – one who was short, introverted and with hair styled in matching braids as the other was several inches taller, his hands inserted in his pockets with lazy mercury eyes that went well with his scarlet hair.

Manami had her hands formed into gentle fists right in front of her chest as she stared at the golden fish with a tiger head in awe – almost as if her eyes glossed with a glimmer of rainbow colors for a second.

Karma observed how she was so elated by it and wasn't able to stop himself from displaying an amused smile "You like the Shachihoko that much?"

The short girl nodded without sparing him a look "I think it's cute." Weird; For a girl who's very into scientific formulas and math works she found herself fawning over a superstitious statue said to bring rain – the type of weather she found very lonely. But she guessed people had different sides to them…

Just like him…

"Well then, take a picture of it." He suggested with a grin.

"Oh right!" Manami came to her senses and began searching for the camera that had been given to her for this trip – it was an old digital camera that looked to be secondhand; outdated as it was, it did well for its age.

"U-uh…" she stared at the device for a short while with a questioning look – she was familiar with how to use it rom observation, but since she hadn't really held one herself for quite a time, it wasn't a very regular experience for her.

"You don't know how to use a camera?" Karma tilted his head curiously at her direction – this only had the small girl's cheeks tint themselves red out of embarrassment as she quickly retorted.

"I-I know how!" she stammered but gave him a thumbs up as if to say 'Don't worry! I got this!' Karma only watched as the girl struggled to uncap the camera and push the button with a small yet amused smile played on his face.

"One…two…Shachi-chan smile!" she exclaimed before pushing the button and creating a flash – completely ignoring the sign that says 'No Flash Photography'. The redhead didn't mind the fact that she broke that rule (He was one to break rules himself) but 'Shachi-chan…?' he contemplated upon the weird name she made but shrugged it off; must be the extent of her love for it or something of the sort.

"Huh? It's all white…" she mumbled after she viewed the photo with bemused eyes. True, it was all white – all that could be deciphered from it were the tiny patches of gold that didn't even look good against the light of the flash. Karma took a glance at it and laughed lightly before extending his hand.

"Give it here, I'll fix it"

"S-Sorry…" she gently placed it in his palms feeling a little bad for having help her with such a simple thing; he only smiled slightly and reassured her "Don't mind it."

Manami watched him shift the camera's gears and play with the menu's options like it was no sweat at all. Her face had interest written all over with it as she tried to learn at the same time – unbeknownst to her, she had been leaning against him too closely in the midst of her observation; she only noticed this when the boy sharply took a step to the side to put a distance between them.

"Huh?" she muttered after he handed her the camera again – not even looking at her when he said "It's okay now." Briefly and walked away from her aimlessly (probably go over to where Sugino was); his hands went back to his pockets as he just left her there looking at him quizzically.

"Huh?" she repeated – weird, this sort of happened in the train earlier. Had she done something for this type of behavior? Probably not; he had just finished having another one of their regular conversations with one another. But still…

Weird

"Nakamura-san, you're still having a tantrum over what happened?" Yuzuki sweatdropped at the blond that had her arms crossed and her face formed into a pout – a vein popped on her forehead as she groaned. "Hmph. I knew it was off limits but they didn't have to reprimand me that way." Her brow twitched in irritation at the memory of becoming the center of attention within a crowd of tourists right in front of the Warehouse located in the castle's Okefumaru due to some guards with their incessant rebuking.

The three girls including Manami were now by the food stands just outside of the monument. At long last, the braided girl had found what she was looking for. With a delighted grin, she gladly picked up the paper bag that now had the rice cracker cookies she had looked forward to since the beginning of the trip. She had to thank her two friends for leading her here – even if they did so while running away from a few guards. Too excited to leave it just behind her bag, she carefully inserted her cookies through her skirt pocket and carefully kept it tightly sealed within its tiny plastic jar – thankfully the skirt was just the right size for it, and it was comfortable enough to not be seen or felt too much.

"You tried to break into the Nogi warehouse…" Yuzuki replied with an exhausted smile as she picked up the paper bag of what she had bought from the sweets shop. Rio retorted quickly "They said it wasn't open to the public but it's standing right there! They must be hiding some sort of government conspiracy inside, maybe even some supernatural discovery!" she took her order of dumplings once hers had come up the table as she chewed on one, annoyed.

"Nakamura-san, you may have a point." Manami tried to reassure the girl by nodding her head in agreement "Considering what we've done last year, it wouldn't surprise me if something like that happened." She smiled and faced her companions with bright eyes.

"See?" Rio grinned proudly and put a hand on her waist as the other flipped one side of her hair to the back of her shoulder boastfully – additional cause for this reaction of hers is because the petite girl agreed with her eagerly.

The three were now walking down the Ninomaru Garden with their snacks in hand as they continued the conversation with the beautifully adorned bushes and flowers and other types of plants in view. Their reflections rippled on pond of coy fish they passed by due to the fallen petals and other leaves. The air was fresh as the scent of full bloomed flowers and greenery wafted through the cool breeze. The very soil they stepped upon was fertile and had grasses and other flowers of notable beauty.

Yuzuki took the time to ponder on her words with a finger upon her lips "Hm…maybe. But it's not gonna be a government conspiracy or supernatural discovery! If it were, America would've taken it to Area 51 for experimentation then pull human tests to create mutants that are either gonna destroy the world or form together as an alliance of justice! Even aliens from other universes are gonna come together with them! But soon after, they'll break apart and lead their separate lives as modern day folk. But that's not the end of it! They'll rise up together once again after a new, powerless protagonist musters up enough courage to get them back together! And he too, shall have powers of his own! This time it won't just be the fate of the world, but the fate of all the galaxies! And then! Before everything crumbles apart, the new protagonist and the childhood friend he grew up with that turned out to be an alien whom was a descendant of one of the prequel's heroes, take a chance under the crumbling of the sky as they confess their love to each other...and that's when things turn out for the better when all evil is vanquished by the sacrifice of a pure heart! And then, the ending goes as the love interest is the one whose sacrifice is botched by her own hands as she uses a mysterious power to become a goddess and recreate the entire world from scratch! And finally, the girl is not remembered for such a sacrifice as she is addressed as a myth!" as she said these, it was like the entire scene played behind her with the accompaniment of dramatic music and added effects with her narrating it in different voices that fit the mood. In the duration of this, Rio could only look at her with a sweatdrop by the side of her face and a smile that came along with it in contrast with Manami – whom only kept her eyes peeled and watched the girl go with piqued interest (even reacting to some of the melodramatic scenes)

"Fuwa-san, your deduction is amazing!" the dark haired girl praised as she planted a fist to her open palm and nodded in understanding.

Her other club member kept a hand to her waist as her mouth twitched up to a forced smile as she raised an eyebrow at how ridiculous yet somehow undeniably entertaining story "Sounds a little extreme don't you think?" Rio later commented in the back of her mind with 'Oh well, she knows her stuff.'

The otaku crossed her arms and scoffed "The most that could be inside that outdated piece of wood's probably the dead body and secret mystery-solving treasures of a famous shogun of some sort – only helpful to some historian that would probably try to clear his or her name. Then the— Oh! It's Hayami-san!"

The three stopped in their tracks after the newcomer had been recognized. Indeed, it was Hayami Rinka with a few paper bags in hand unmistakably from food stands and other souvenir stalls. Her stoic face never faltered even after she had acknowledged their presence with a nod. She was heading the opposite direction they were – Yuzuki knows that where she would go, Chiba was there as well.

"G-Good afternoon, Hayami-san." Manami greeted a little nervously as she bowed her head a tad. However, Rinka did not return the address for once Yuzuki noticed how her emerald eyes moved to where a certain blond stood with her arms crossed and gaze averted, the sniper's serious surface dropped as it had been replaced with one of brood. A few more tense moments later, Rio sighed and walked right past her – and at almost the same time, the orangehead chose that time to continue her road opposite to theirs.

This short yet agitating scene only left the introverted scientist in a troubled yet confused state as she shifted her gaze between the two light-haired girls. "Uh—"

"Okuda-san, let's get going?" Yuzuki interrupted her before she could be able to inquire about it as she put her hands gently onto her shoulders and began to prod her to move forward.

"Eh—But—"she wasn't given any chance to voice out a retort for she had already been brought out of the garden with nothing but puzzlement written all over her features.

Stop 2: Tokugawa Art Museum/Garden

"It kind of has a scary face…" Manami observed as she leaned her head too close to one of the samurai statues' face with wide, studious eyes. It was a small replica of Oda Nobunaga during a battle with a somewhat cool-looking sword stance – his eyes were wide with fury as his wrinkles were evident with the accompaniment of what appeared to be a battle snarl; she'll have to praise the wax artist for such detail. Despite having said that the doll had a scary face, she didn't say it wasn't worthy to be a part of her first year high school excursion photo album.

With a bright smile, the girl took her camera from its hiding in her blazer pocket and took an (she deemed it to be) okay picture. Her grin grew wider when she got a good view of it and actually thought it wasn't that bad compared to the other times – she had to thank Karma for fixing it for her.

Speaking of the devilish red-haired boy, just right after the thought of thanking him came to mind, there he was inside the samurai merchandise gift shop; from the looks of it, he was examining some of the mock-katanas that were being sold – he must be thinking about what he could do with them if he bought one, and the geek couldn't be more sure that it was for something not really legal.

But seeing this as a chance to say thank you for his help just a stop ago, she skipped over to the shop and opened the glass door with the amusing wind chimes.

The white, cemented floor was decorated with columns of shelves and hangers for clothes, dolls and other samurai-related products. On the second to the last column was the mischievous boy she'd spotted crouched down to check out a few things in the bottom tier of that certain ledge.

Before she could even call out to him, he already recognized her from the sound of her light but audible footsteps. Karma turned his head "Yo, Okuda-san." He said quite cheerfully before turning back to what he had in his hands.

"Karma-kun." She returned his greeting with a warm smile and looked to see what he had with an inquisitive tilt of her head "Is that…Tokugawa Shogun's katana replica?"

"Yep. But it's just a replica. Not sharp at all – more like just a cosplay prop or something." He responded with a mock pout, but the disappointment was still present. Manami laughed a little nervously at this "You can't buy a real katana…"

"Aw, that's not fun; so much for a samurai shop." He chuckled at her words and pushed through with his examination of the other swords present there – all were the same, blunt and not worthy to be used as a device for murder; but despite knowing this, he proceeded to go about it as it reminded him of assassination days – what's more, a good idea might come up just by looking at them.

"Karma-kun, you're not really thinking about taking someone's life with something like that?" she had crouched down beside him now as she too had begun to eye the swords with reminiscence – their knives could be compared to these toys; they were rubber and blunt.

"Is that a bad thing?" he snickered and turned to see what her face would look like after those words – probably a pout saying 'of course it's not' or something. But once he shifted his stare to her, he was caught off guard by the proximity of their faces as his eyes grew wide within a split-second.

Manami panicked when his head hit the shelf at his sudden jerk backwards.

The skies above the Tokugawa garden were bright and clear of clouds for it had reached afternoon. The sun that shined across the vast plain of green and many more colors gave the garden its true beauty. The flowers that were in full blossom were the most eye-catching of all – what with the radiant colors that gave the garden itself life and fragrance, one could not stop themselves from sitting back to relax and enjoy the view nature's got to offer; to take a whiff of the bloomed petals of the peonies or adore the cute buds that were yet to reveal their splendor, but albeit the undeniable attractiveness of the entire area, it didn't make the shy science lover move her gaze from the redhead that explored through it.

Her eyes were half-lidded from her deep thoughts as she crouched underneath the shade of a tree. Her lavender orbs followed each movement he made – her lips had formed into a thin line with her chin right above the hands that were entwined on top of her knees.

I wonder…

Her face sunk deeper behind her knees as her eyes were the only ones that could be seen from her position. The braids of her hair puffed a bit at the upward motion of her shoulders as she continued to observe him – how he mingled with others and how he would stray away when it got boring…

"Yo, Okuda." A familiar voice came by – it was Sugino. He had approached her from her left side and stopped not too far away from her under the shade of the same tree. She didn't respond to this and continued with her staring – her eyes were lost in contemplation. After the spiky-haired boy took this into account, he couldn't help himself from asking her about it since it could be another problem.

"What's bothering you?" he tilted his head a little with concern laced in his voice.

Manami took a few more moments before replying with a muffled voice "Karma-kun's acting weird…"

"Weird…?" Sugino raised an eyebrow and turned his head to where the redhead was at the moment – only to find him enjoying himself with a few of his classmates. His smile extended from ear to ear as his eyes looked menacing and demonic underneath the shadow of his hair; in his hand was a beetle that appeared to be not only poisonous but also quite frightening with its large pincers. From the looks of it, he was teasing the lot of boys with the bug by bringing it closer to them to scare the crud out of their pants as he would hear things like "STOP KARMA!" or "YOU LUNATIC KEEP THAT AWAY FROM PEOPLE!" but as these demands kept piling up, it only tempted the devil-boy to inch it closer to one of them and eventually let it fly into their faces and bring them to a hilarious confusion.

"…Looks pretty normal to me." Sugino sweatdropped as a wary smile replaced the horizontal line upon his face.

The girl hugged her knees tighter in distraught "But…he's been acting weird around me." How concerned and troubled she was had been written all over her uncertain, muffled voice. The boy standing next to her raised his eyebrows "What do you mean?"

By this time, Manami lowered her head so her hair hovered above her glasses which glinted through the sunlight and masked her upset eyes "Lately, I feel like he's been staying away from me…he talks to me normally but then all of a sudden he just backs away and leaves me to wonder what happened…" her tone sounded hopeless with her next words "I don't understand…"

Sugino sympathized with her for a bit and got himself thinking. First of all, it was a big improvement on Okuda's part to be able to open up this much to anyone – he'll give her a point for that. But the main deal here was why she thinks that way. He couldn't quite get his finger around it as he caught himself also looking at his redheaded friend with furrowed brows. His blue orbs went back to his small friend as they took in how helpless she looked to be at the moment.

"You want me to go talk to him?" he offered with a smile as the braided girl lifted her head slowly to give him small look of question.

"I can talk to him about it if you want." As if it was a form of cheering her up just a bit, he used his thumb to point to himself with a wink to let her count that he could get it covered for her.

That was when Manami came back to her senses and fell with an 'oompf!' from her crouched position as she waved her hands frantically in front of her "E-e-Eh?! N-No need—!"

"It's no sweat, don't worry about it." He reassured her once more as he helped her up by the wrist – but careful enough not to get on the bad side of her injury.

Truth be told, the mini scientist was grateful for his offer, in the end she gives in to it.

"Thank you."

Stop 3: Nagoya TV Tower

"Hey, Fuwa-san…" Manami began with an uneasy voice as she and the mangaka wannabe leaned on the balcony for the view of the city.

Once more, students scattered themselves about in the tall building doing whatever pleases them with the time they've been given after lecture. Some students would create small commotions from giving each other mock pushes off the edge whilst others would take their time to take in the breeze found from the height of the tower. Then there were others that just stayed in placed with friends and took their time with whatever common things found around.

Yuzuki turned to her bespectacled friend and released the Dango stick she grabbed back in the castle from her mouth. "Hm?"

"They've been that way ever since then. Shouldn't we do something about it?" at first the otaku was puzzled with what the girl was going on about until she followed where her purple orbs were focused at.

A girl with bright, strawberry blond hair that danced with the wind had her elbows propped on the railings of the TV tower's sky balcony – judging from her face, it didn't look like what she was thinking was something all that pleasant; it was what you would pass as 'blank' but there was a negative vibe floating about. The same went for an orangehead that had her arms crossed upon the fence, not a spec of emotion found on her constant unsmiling face – however, her eyes were downcast and had a sense of yearning to them. Both girls had gone far away from each other ever since they encountered one another again.

Yuzuki frowned and sighed as she was about to speak until the other girl next to her spoke up again – her hands were intertwined in front of her as her brows furrowed with concern; her eyes glued to the floor as she said "I…I don't want them to hate each other. They're both…really good friends."

The taller female presented her with a small smile "I don't think they hate each other at all."

"Eh? How can you say that?" Manami curiously switched her head to face her short-haired friend from their relaxed positions on the balcony rails.

"It's because of what happened. The difference in their personalities has a huge gap – that's why they ended up clashing when it came to their view on how things should be done. This is just the result of that clash; they've acknowledged the difference between them. But if they someday will be able to agree on something the same way then…I think they'd be really good friends." Yuzuki's smile lingered on the last set of words that escaped her mouth.

The girl with the matching braids pursed her lips – still a tad bit worried. Fuwa, having noticed this wasted no time in reassuring her "But it's not in our hands what happens to them. I think it's best to leave them like that for now, they'll eventually come to, I guess. Well, we can hope for that, at least."

"Mm…" the small-framed girl only nodded, but there was no doubt she was still unconvinced by her answers. But her thoughts came to an abrupt pause when she realized just how high she was after looking down for quite a while.

Suddenly, a turning started inside the bespectacled girl's stomach as she felt her eyesight begin to blur more even with the help of the glasses. After a small sickened sound and a cover of her mouth, she said "I think I feel a small…vomiting sensation forming…" with another gag, Yuzuki had been put into a panic

"O-Okuda-san!" she yelped when both of the other girl's hands went to her mouth.

But that was when Manami felt the back of her collar being dragged away from the edge gently – but with enough force and abruptness to cause her to lose balance for a while.

"What are you doing? Don't look down if you're afraid." The voice was all too familiar – lazed and evidently bored, but it was serious. The second the poison-lover turned her head to look at her scarlet-haired friend, he had already let go of her clothes and walked to where Chiba looked out the city with those sharp yet non visible eyes of his.

At this, Manami could only stare on as his back shrunk from her view with distressed eyes and furrowed brows that wanted to know what was up with him.

"That right now…was he scolding you?" Fuwa wondered aloud as she too kept her eyes locked on him with quizzical features.

The shy chemist bit her lip as she watched him interact normally with everyone else. What made her so different today? Is he still mad about that day – he didn't seem like it, and she thought it'd been dealt with smoothly. What was going through his mind after that?

I don't understand.

Her thought process had been interrupted by yet another arousal of a sick feeling that turned her stomach in a nasty way "E-E-Excuse me Fuwa-san I'll…" a growl came from her stomach; and the brunette didn't think that sounded very good "'ll have to excuse myself!"

Without a second passing, Manami dashed across the few groups of people including Sugino – whom was walking towards them until the running girl passed him by – and turned right to where the stairs were, eventually she disappeared from everyone's sight and left the witnesses with something to laugh about.

Sugino stared at the set of stairs where the small girl had escaped to with a raised eyebrow "What was the hurry for?" his question was directed at Yuzuki who chuckled at the scene "Don't mind it."

After a few more moments, the short-haired brunette leaned back on the rails – only to have her eyes tainted with disgust when she saw a couple cuddling and flirting about with one another; she scoffed at this as her brow twitched after the click of her tongue.

The baseball-boy that watched things from not too far away took notice of this clear displeasure of hers "What's up?"

"Damn people with their PDA. Why can't they choose more remote places to share their love for each other like in most shoujo manga; at least there it's felt more – this is just sick." Her tone was cold and judgmental as she narrowed her eyes on other couples that did the same.

Sugino laughed sheepishly "Well, this is Nagoya TV tower – it's been known for couples to enjoy views like this one."

Yuzuki scoffed again – this time it was unintentional, but she didn't regret it "These types of couples make it look like love is all about sunshine and rainbows; it makes my head ache. It feels like…sickening, melodramatic, Romeo and Juliet style romance." At the last seven words, the girl's bangs went over her face and covered half of it with a dark shadow as a few veins popped on her forehead.

"What type of romance do you like then, Fuwa-san?" the dark-haired boy positioned himself beside her on the railings. But the moment Fuwa turned her head and saw how he smiled at her with inquisitiveness, the wind blowing through along with the clear view of his face given to her by the afternoon sun, she couldn't help the puny blush that reached her cheeks. Thinking quickly, she averted her eyes to the floor to hide her face – although a bittersweet smile could still be seen as she said her next sentence.

"I'm…not that in to romance."

Now before you execute me for that...HAHA I JUST MADE A WEIRD SHIP LOL

Ahehehe okay I'll stop. Don't kill me please ;w;

Okay, as always, I hope you found some enjoyment with this chapter! I'm REALLY sorry it took long, but hey wait a few minutes while I post the next one after leaving you with such a scene 8""D

With lots of love, ~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay

Hehe pretty short ender since I'm saving it for the next one X'3