Kotone was grateful her body had decided to wake her up before her alarm, or else she wagered she would have been very put out by the sudden - if muffled - blaring of the Phoenix Featherman theme song coming through her doorway. Sitting up, she stared at the door through her mussed auburn hair, snickering when she heard a panicked string of 'no no no stop' before the tune abruptly cut off.

"Someone had their alarm up too loud," she mused to herself as she stretched, her rabbit covered pjs slumping off a shoulder with the motion. "Hopefully all the boys downstairs are already awake … Although Minato would probably sleep through it." Hopping out of bed at the thought, Kotone quickly readjusted the pillow she had knocked askew before turning to the closet.

The sleek, charcoal colored uniform was mildly daunting to look at, even though it was far more modern than the serafuku of her old school. "... Well, it's not like the uniform's going to come to life and talk to me, right?" She said to herself, brushing some of the wavy auburn hair out of her eyes. "Besides, you got through the entrance exams fair and square; you can do this. Just two more years, and maybe the classes will be big enough to avoid problems."

Still, she stared at the uniform for what felt like another five minutes before she opted to shake her head and go to the one open clothing box. "... Where's my bike shorts? Those first…"

A few moments of shuffling and bunny pajamas being tossed onto the top of the unpacked boxes, and Kotone drew a deep breath before looking at herself in the closet mirror. The skirt barely brushed the top of her knees, the black socks stopping just at the hem line. The button down blouse and blazer were unusually crisp, with the red, black and white school emblem on the left of her chest.

Taking a brush to her hair, Kotone rapidly pulled it up into her favored messy ponytail, giving herself a smile. "There, Kotone; you did it. You look the part of a new student, no worries … Aaaaaagh …" Groaning to herself, she undid the top two buttons of the blouse before rubbing at her neck. "How much fabric stiffener did they use?!" Muttering curses, she reached down to tie on the blue ribbon she preferred, the blue and gold butterfly brooch glinting as she fastened it.

Reaching down to grab her Mp3 player and book bag, Kotone tilted her head when a knock came to her door. "One sec!" She called out, scooping the objects up and slinging the lanyard over her neck as she moved to the door.

Opening it revealed a girl about her age in a pink cardigan and the same uniform skirt Kotone herself wore, albeit only reaching her mid thighs. Brown eyes seemed to look past her in embarrassment, the hand that had knocked on the door now fiddling with a heart shaped choker. "Hey, I didn't wake you up, did I?" She asked after a moment, trying her best to not sound flustered.

Kotone shook her head. "Nah; I was already awake … although I hope that you remember to fix the volume on that before bed tonight." Smiling when she got a laugh from the newcomer, she offered a hand. "Arisato Kotone; are you Takeba-san?"

"Yeah; Takeba Yukari," Yukari took the offered hand after a moment with a light shake before moving to brush honey brown hair back over her shoulder. "Mitsuru-senpai asked me to show you and your brother to the faculty office before class started. Just to make sure the last of your paperwork was set, or something."

"That's fine. Lemme just wake Minato up real quick - he can sleep through a typhoon, but I have a few tricks." Shutting her door behind her, Kotone smiled and gave Yukari a wink before heading down to the second floor.

Surprised, and curious in spite of herself, Yukari followed. "I think the other boys are gone already anway." She commented as she glanced at a door on the second floor, slightly ajar. "At least, I hope they are …"

"There's what, four of them with Minato now?" Kotone asked, even as she reached the door to her brother's room. When a light tapping got no response, she sighed. "As I thought, I'm gonna have to do it the hard way."

Yukari stood back a few paces as Kotone then rapped out the telltale rhythm to 'shave and a haircut', and had to fight the urge to laugh. When a minute went by with no response, Kotone sighed and let out a muttered string of fast Osaka slang before she opted for a fast, yet oddly set, series of knocks that Yukari swore was familiar.

That seemed to do the trick, as Kotone's attempts at knocking were interrupted by Minato yanking the door open to scowl at her. "Must you wake me up in morse code?" he griped, morning voice carrying an Osaka-ben dialect thicker than anything Yukari had heard on television.

"When you didn't wake up to Roger Rabbit? Yes!" Kotone retorted cheerfully, reaching up to pat Minato on the cheek. "We gotta do some clerical stuff at school, so get dressed. I'll buy you lunch and make it up to you." Minato just sighed and mumbled something else before he closed his door, the sound of shuffling coming from inside.

Smiling in her triumph, Kotone turned to the stunned Yukari. "Been a while since I had to go to that step to wake him up." she said, hands propped on her hips.

Yukari just opted to stare for a moment before shaking her head. "... I thought Mitsuru-senpai said you two were coming from Aomori, not Osaka." She commented after a moment, to which Kotone gave a shrug.

"Eh, we were born in Osaka; I've never fully shook the dialect, but Minato you have to get him in the right moods for it to slip out." She admitted. "We just … don't really have a place to put down roots anymore; Aomori was just the most recent place we stayed." Yukari flinched at those words, although any conversation was paused when Minato stepped out of the hall to join them, his headphones clipped onto the blazer lapels.

"... Please tell me there's coffee downstairs…" he mumbled, sounding no more awake than he had been before as he tucked his book bag under an arm. "Or some form of caffeine …"

"Yeah, we have coffee." Yukari chimed up, stepping to stand by Kotone. Minato's head shifted groggily to look in her direction, and the brunette found her smile faltering a bit. "Oh, uh … Takeba Yukari."

"... Minato." the blue-haired teen nodded, and Yukari had a feeling that was as emotive as he would be at the moment. "Just let me get some coffee and we can head out."

"He'll wake up as we walk, don't worry." Kotone laughed and patted Minato on the shoulder as she spoke, the group of three teenagers moving to the stairs. "But is there any reason Mitsuru-san asked you to guide us, Yukari-san?"

"Probably because the three of us are the only juniors," Yukari gave a shrug as they reached the steps. "I only moved in here before spring break, and well? Being here with three seniors and a grade schooler was weird."

At that, Kotone looked at her in shock. "... There's a grade schooler here?"

"I don't bite!" A young, mildly indignant, voice echoed up the stairs at them, and it took more willpower to not laugh at the statement than Yukari ever wanted to admit to. Gently nudging the twins in front of her, Yukari poked her head into the dining area after reaching the ground floor. Minato and Kotone followed suit a moment later.

Indeed, a young boy sat at the dining table, having returned to eat the omelette on the plate in front of him. He wore a smaller version of the Gekkoukan uniform over a bright orange hoodie, a backpack on the ground by his chair. He lifted his head when the sound of footsteps came closer, hazel eyes registering Yukari and the twins behind her in turn. "...G'mornin," He said after a moment, finishing the bite of food in his mouth.

"Mornin, Ken-kun," Yukari greeted, slipping past the table to the kitchen door. Spotting someone in the kitchen proper, she gave a nod to them. "Morning, Shinjiro-senpai; are there any breakfast burritos left in there?"

"There's about four left; Aki grabbed one on his way out. I'll pick some up after school today." a new voice replied, gruff in spite of the casual tone. "Coffee's fresh though."

Yukari said something in response that Minato didn't quite catch, instead turning to look at Ken as he sat at the table. It took his brain a second to register that something was amiss, and another moment longer to register what it was.

The ominous child from the night before.

Minato had only seen one set of children's shoes on the dorm's shoe rack the night before, and it appeared those were indeed Ken's. That meant that the boy who he had signed a contract with wasn't staying in the dorm, so where …?

His thoughts were derailed by the strong scent of coffee under his nose and Minato blinked rapidly as his brain centered back on where he was. "Ah, thank you." He mumbled to Yukari as he took the cup and started drinking it, becoming partially aware that Ken was looking at him in confusion now.

Whatever it was, Ken seemed to relax after a moment with a small laugh. "Not a morning person, Minato-senpai?" He asked, sounding amused. When Minato shook his head and took a sip of his coffee, the young boy let out a small laugh. "That's understandable, especially since it sounded like you got here late."

"Yep, we did." Kotone agreed, laughing at her brother. Taking a bite out of the burrito that Yukari had handed her, Kotone watched the other girl as she started to walk to the door. "Mm!" swallowing her bite, Kotone gave Ken a wave and started to follow. "We have to give more formal introductions later, gotta get going, Ken-san!" Ken waved back as Kotone drug Minato behind her by the arm not holding his coffee, turning to talk with someone Kotone couldn't quite make out as the dorm doors shut behind them.

Yukari managed to get the twins on a faster path to Iwatodai station than their route the previous night. Kotone idly wondered if the speed had to do with the fact that Yukari was more willing to take them down back roads and shortcuts; the threat of ankle biters had kept her and Minato on main roads.

Crimson eyes darted around as they got onto the monorail to get to Tatsumi Port Island proper; she could see a few students take note of her and Minato, or rather, the fact that they were with Yukari. A small warning bell went off in her head, and she found a hand drifting up to play with one of her headphones for a moment.

Minato and Yukari didn't seem to notice, the blue-haired teen finally awake enough to hold a conversation. Grey-blue eyes noticed when Yukari's face lit up, and she looked out the window. "Oh, this is my favorite part; like we're gliding over the ocean."

Curious, both twins looked out the window at her words. Indeed, the monorail was significantly higher than the sea level, and Minato spotted boats going to and from the ocean underneath them. Grateful he wasn't scared of heights, he lifted his gaze enough to stare out at the far side of the island for a reason he didn't understand.

A hazy white line at the edges of his vision made him frown, a flicker of red overlapping with the blue sea for a moment. Flinching, he turned away from the window at that, which caught Yukari's attention. "You okay?"

"..The sun got me." Minato responded with a shrug, stealing a glance at Kotone; his sister had shifted to look out the window as well, but it seemed she was more focused on the school that was quite rapidly coming into view. He could see her hands gripping the back of the seat with force, and he frowned more. "... hey, Kotone." He stated, reaching over to poke her nose when she turned to him. "Relax; we can make it through the first day, at least."

Kotone's eyes crossed at that and she shook her head, her grip lessening a second later. "I know, I know … this is just a big school. Probably bigger than any of the others we've been to." She had a small laugh as she shifted to sit back down.

Yukari looked between the twins, curious. "... You sound like there's been a few." She began, voice cautious. Minato frowned as Kotone looked away. "How much have you guys moved around?"

"Since we were eight? … too much." Kotone just sighed. "Here's hoping this one actually sticks." Yukari's eyebrows rose at that, but any questions she had were shelved when the monorail's PA announced that they were approaching the Port Island station.

Standing up, Kotone grabbed her bag and crossed her fingers briefly; this would stick, she knew it. It had to stick.

'Well,' Kotone thought to herself as the first day of school came to an end, smiling confidently. 'This definitely feels more promising!' standing up, she stretched her arms over her head as a young woman in a white coat and purple shirt walked up to her. "Oh, hello, Ounishi-sensei!" She greeted, grabbing her bag.

"I'm just glad you hadn't darted out the door yet, Kotone-san," the teacher replied, a small smile on her face. "I meant to talk with you earlier, but a mishap in a lab kept me distracted until the welcoming ceremony."

"That's fair - Toriumi-sensei was good at explaining things, but did you want to ask me about anything in my papers?" Kotone shrugged, head tilted in curiosity. Ounishi gave a quiet hum before glancing at the file.

"Only just surprised that you were slotted into my class when you have a sibling; was that by request or …" she said after a moment, eyes looking up over her glasses.

"I think Toriumi-sensei said something about her class being full, as was 2-E." Kotone nodded. "It's … a lot bigger school than Narumi High, but we were also pretty far north." Ounishi gave a hum of understanding, flipping through the last few pages of Kotone's file before giving a nod.

"That's an understandable culture shift for sure; I hope you adjust to Gekkoukan easily." Slipping the files under one arm, the teacher offered a small smile. "If you have a problem with anything, then come talk to me; it's a rare case when I can't help talk through a situation with a student."

Kotone had to bite the inside of her cheek quickly to keep from flinching, but she offered the teacher a smile and a nod. "I'll remember that, Ounishi-sensei." She tried to make her voice sound genuine, and then looked at the clock. "Meanwhile, I'm gonna go see how my brother's doing; I'll see you tomorrow~"

Waving to her teacher as she left the room, Kotone manuvered through the hallways and through students, finally spotting the hall marker for room 2-F. The door was halfway open, and she could see Yukari's pink cardigan from where she stood. "Hiiiiii, Yukari-saaaaaan!" Kotone chirped as she poked her head in the classroom.

Yukari turned to look at her, a confused look on her face. "Oh, hi. Is uh … is that normal?" She asked, gesturing deeper into the classroom. Curious, Kotone stepped in fully, and couldn't help but laugh a bit at the sight.

Minato was squatting on his desk, a set of Yu-Gi-Oh cards in his hands while playing a game on the desk in front of him. His opponent had only slightly more respect for the school chairs, and was sitting backwards in the one in front of the card game with his own hand; apart from a dark blue baseball cap and the collar of a blue undershirt, he dressed fairly normally.

Both teenage boys were staring at their game with an intensity one would more commonly find in a mahjong parlor, Minato's perpetually mussed, sapphire blue hair only adding to the surreal nature of the scene.

"Yeah, he does that." Kotone said as she laughed a bit, shaking her head. "Probably won't get a word out of him until the game's done."

"How long would that take? I got here about a minute ago and they were already playing the game …" Yukari asked, leaning in to whisper to Kotone.

"That depends," the cap wearing teen chimed in, not looking from his game as he tapped a card and pointed at one that seemed to be on Minato's end of the table. "Can Great Shogun Shien survive Flame Wingman's attack that's backed up by Skyscraper?"

Minato simply flipped over a card on his side. "He can if I use Sakuretsu Armor to destroy your monster for attacking."

The hat-wearing teen snapped his fingers. "Shoulda known that wasn't a bluff..." he sighed, picking up one of his cards and moving it to a small pile on his side. "That was my last shot. My turn's over."

"I draw... and unless you can stop me-"

"Nope; Trap Hole won't stop three of your monsters from cleaving off the last of my life points. Good game, man." Giving a shrug of his shoulders, the teen was still grinning despite the apparent loss. Kotone could faintly make out Minato smiling behind his cards, but the impassive face was back in place as he returned the fistbump that was offered to him.

Smiling, Kotone walked over. "Making friends already, Minato? That's good." She teased as the boys both started to pick up their cards. To his credit, Minato just gave his sister an exasperated look as he hopped off the desk.

The newcomer laughed. "To be fair, I kinda introduced myself." he said, most of his cards tucked into a neat pile. "Iori Junpei; wanted to say hi because I know how scary it can be to transfer into a school like this."

Kotone smiled as she took the offered hand, not having the heart to tell Junpei that she and Minato were more than used to the feeling. "Arisato Kotone." She introduced herself instead.

"She's the older twin," Minato replied as he shuffled his cards into a small pocket of his school bag. Kotone gave him a huff.

"By a half hour! We don't have that big of a time difference!" she protested, "you gripe about me not acting like the older twin anyway, why do you point it ooooout~"

"Wait … you're twins?" Junpei looked between the two of them, confusion in his sable eyes. "I … uh, no offence, but 'night and day' twins is never something I expected to see in real life," he admitted. "Manga and Anime, sure? But it's a bit surreal to see in person."

Yukari stepped forward at that, hazel eyes narrowed. "You know, now that you've said that … I do see it." She agreed. "N-not that I mean it as a bad thing!" she reassured Minato and Kotone as the twins looked at her, confused. "It's just kinda jarring."

"...Phrasing." Minato and Kotone said at once, earning a confused splutter from Junpei and a long stare from Yukari.

"... Nevermind, I believe it now." she sighed after a moment. "Either way, I gotta get to archery club; do you two think you can get back to the dorm okay now?"

"Yeah, I should be good," Kotone agreed, and then looked at Minato. "What about you?"

Minato made a noncommittal noise, hefting his school bag under an arm. "I mean, getting lost is a decent way to learn the city." He commented instead, looking out the window. "Haven't been here in years, so my memory is even worse than normal."

At that, Junpei lifted his head. "I mean, if you two want, I can show you around a bit?" He offered, voice easy as he stood up. "I'm not in a club, and I've got nothin to rush back home to."

Kotone's eyes lit up at that, and she smiled with a nod. "Sure! I'm the odd one out, class-wise, so I wanna at least know who Minato's gonna be around all day." She glanced at Minato, wanting to read her twin's expression to see if he'd take up the offer.

It took a lot to hide her relief when Minato nodded his head after a moment. "No problem." was his simple reply, but it seemed to be enough for both Junpei and Yukari. The latter gave a last nod as she left, waving to a dark-haired girl that was waiting outside the classroom for her. Junpei watched her go before looking back at the twins.

"... Is she your nanny?" he asked after a moment, confused. "I mean, you two look like you can at least manage to find your way back to a building easily enough…"

"We got here late last night, and Minato's not a morning person." Kotone just laughed, shaking her head.

"Anyone who claims to be a morning person is lying and I don't trust them."

Both Kotone and Junpei laughed at Minato's dry comment, the three heading out of the school to begin the afternoon.

Evening rolled around slowly, as it was prone to in mid spring. Mitsuru glanced up from her book as she read in the lounge, making a mental tally of the juniors as they returned. Minato and Kotone had come back first, waving to someone outside before they spotted her. Kotone had given a wave and mentioned she was going to unpack her things before bed; Minato had remained quiet, but Mitsuru safely assumed it was to do the same thing as his sister.

Yukari had arrived a few hours later, rubbing her shoulder as she gave Mitsuru an absent greeting in passing. Mitsuru had given her a nod in acknowledgement as well, frowning; she still didn't know how to approach the other girl about much of anything. With a sigh, she went back to reading until the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs made her look up.

A silver-haired teen stood there, adjusting black leather gloves on his hands. The Gekkoukan blazer was completely absent from his ensemble, replaced by a red sweater vest. He spotted Mitsuru as he walked forward, storm grey eyes alert. "I'm going out for a bit; Shinji and Ken back yet?" he nodded to the shoe rack nearby, to which Mitsuru glanced at it.

"Surprisingly, no; the juniors are all back though." She gave a hum, lowering her book to look at the newcomer fully. "But don't you think it's a bit early to head out, Akihiko?"

The now named Akihiko shook his head, eyes hardening a bit. "You've seen the newspapers, right?" he asked in return. "There's been an upswing in Apathy Syndrome cases in the past week or so; hopefully if I get out earlier, I can intercept some of them before it's too late."

Mitsuru let out a hum at his words, shaking her head. "Shinjiro did mention there was a bit more activity on his patrol last night as well, so I can't fault that logic." She agreed. "But, be careful on your own; Takeba is still uneasy with it all, otherwise I'd ask you to take her on patrol with you."

Akihiko nodded. "Yeah; I'm not gonna drag her into the deep end if she's still shaky." At that, he paused halfway through pulling on his shoes. "What about the transfer students? Or do you need to check them still?"

"... They arrived in the middle of the Dark Hour, fully coherent of their surroundings both during and after it ended." Mitsuru sighed, and leaned back against the sofa. "Kotone-san even had sporting equipment on hand to use as an improvised weapon … and they specifically used the term 'Ankle biters' to describe the aberrations within."

Both of Akihiko's eyebrows shot up at that, the athletic tape over his left temple scrunching with the motion. "Really?! That's …"

"The most acclimated we've seen anyone be to the Dark Hour, yes." There was a nod, and Mitsuru looked out the windows. "Kotone-san also mentioned that Minato-san just tends to purposely sleep through it all; they're aware, and have been for some length of time."

"So now it just becomes asking them to help." Akihiko gave a nod, straightening. "Did Ikutsuki-san say when he could stop by?"

"Not until the day after tomorrow; the start of the school year has always been impossibly hectic for him." Mitsuru let out a sigh. "If I haven't figured out how to approach them about joining, I will ask him for his insight."

Akihiko gave a small hum. "Do you think they already can…?"

"I have not ruled out the possibility, especially Kotone-san." Carmine eyes glanced upstairs, a worried look coming on Mitsuru's face. "The way I was registering her presence was strange; it was almost as if she … echoed."

"Echoed? How can a person echo?" There was genuine confusion in Akihiko's voice, even as he reached for the door.

"I genuinely don't know." Mitsuru admitted, the sigh that left her almost bitter. Akihiko's look turned sympathetic, and he gave her a soft smile.

"Hey, you can't know everything; if things go well, maybe Kotone-san will be able to explain that 'echo' to you herself." He said, praying it was reassuring. It seemed to work, because Mitsuru gave a nod in response. Akihiko went to say more, only to blink and look out the window. "Ah; there's Shinji. He and Ken just left the Iwatodai station."

"I didn't think a hot pot restaurant would be so busy at this time of year." Mitsuru gave a small laugh. "Perhaps Daichi-san caught them by surprise when they arrived?"

"Maybe. But … I'm going to go stretch my legs." Akihiko's smile turned wolfish, a sharp gleam in his eyes. "Be back in an hour or so." Mitsuru watched him leave with a shake of her head, even as she opened her book back up.

"Back on his one track mind … but at least, with all luck, we might have more force behind our actions soon." She said aloud; if it was out of reflex or an attempt to assure herself she was correct, Mitsuru didn't want to admit to herself.

Here we go, another chapter! I kept forgetting to post this after posting on my Ao3 account, but I do wanna keep updating on here for people as well.

Related, starting this upcoming thursday - this fic will update every other thursday.

This is both to give me time to write the chapters in between mechanic school and working, and still gives me time to do other stuff. Like draw out some things for this fic because I have Ideas™.

Speaking of which, the first few serves are here, and Hi Ken How Ya Doin?