Highschool of the Dead: Us or Them

by HoTDFan

Three brothers from a military family are transferred to Fujimi Academy one day prior to the Z-Day outbreaks. Just when their lives seem to be getting back on track the world is completely unprepared for the living nightmare that opens up a new chapter in human history. The day humans were put back on the food chain. Rated-M. It is Highschool of the Dead afterall.

1. Chapter 1: Bound by Blood

Reading, Berkshire, England

(Three years prior to Z-Day)

A young boy, roughly eleven years old, looked out the fogged up window of his classroom to watch the snow fall; captivated and entranced by the millions of flakes, each one unique and special. His left-index finger lightly began to tap against the top of his desk as time passed, slowly wearing away at his patience.

He knew he was meant to be paying attention to his teacher, but his mind was far more focused on what awaited him and his father this weekend. Every few minutes he would run his fingers through his short, brown hair, brushing it to the side and enjoying the sensational feeling it gave him.

Both his small legs swayed back and forth out of excitement as he knew that he was going to now be following in his older brothers' footsteps, as they both had to go through this event themselves. This had to be the infamous survival trip that would bring him into what their father considered manhood. His dark blue eyes were still looking out the window, becoming lost in the slowly gliding flurry of snowflakes that filled the air. The English and Union Jack flags both waving outside for some reason were captivating to him, more than usual at least. Forgetting entirely about the snow, he felt a strange swelling of patriotic pride in his chest. Perhaps it was the sense of taking one step closer to following in his fathers' footsteps that made him feel so proud to be a natural born British citizen at that very moment.

"So who can answer this question? How about you, Noah?" the teacher suddenly asked as she stood by the blackboard with a piece of chalk in hand, focusing her gaze on the young boy gazing out the window.

"Noah? Hello? Are you still with us, or are you daydreaming again?" the teacher asked again, maintaining a calm demeanor as the other students began to chuckle at their classmate's lack of response when he realized all of their eyes were now focused on him.

Suddenly the bell rang, effectively dismissing the entire class along with the rest of the school. This caught Noah's attention and spurred him to rise from his desk, immediately moving towards the door without having to answer the question his teacher asked.

"Noah, could you stay for a minute?" the teacher asked right before Noah could reach the door. He was very anxious to leave anyway, but Miss Thompson was always very sweet on him, so he let out a sigh before approaching her desk while his classmates all left, leaving just the two of them in the now empty classroom.

"I'm not in trouble am I, Miss Thompson?" Noah asked nervously as he approached her desk. Even despite how nice she had always been to him, Noah felt certain that even her patience could be worn thin, given how many times he'd been spacing out in class this week.

"Not at all, Noah. I just can't help but feel a little concerned about you. Is everything alright? You've been really quiet all week, at least more than usual." his teacher asked in a sincere voice; her light hazel eyes looking at him with far more concern than annoyance in his behavior.

"I'm okay, Miss Thompson. I've just been really focused on this weekend for a while now." Noah explained calmly as his body began to visibly relax now that he knew he wasn't in any trouble.

"Oh? What for, if I may ask?" Miss Thompson asked, curious as to what her eleven year old student could possibly be so hyped up for.

"Well, my family has deep roots in service to the armed forces. My Uncle Mark is a former Royal Marine, my father is an elite S.A.S. commando, and their father even fought in the Second World War, just as his father did in the Great War.

"My older brothers, Marcus and Frasier, have been learning all kinds of survival and combat skills from our father for the last several years, preparing for the day our country might be in need of the Lawson's service again. Father said that this weekend, he'll start to teach me the basics, and I've been really excited all week for it!" Noah exclaimed with pride in his voice, speaking with such speed and excitement that Miss Thompson nearly had a hard time trying to keep up.

"Wow, it certainly sounds very exciting! Well, I wish you the best of luck then, Noah. Or should I start calling you 'Mr. Lawson'?" Miss Thompson asked with a smile, glad to see the gleam of childlike excitement in Noah's eyes.

"I prefer Noah. I'm not a man just yet...oh, I have to go now. My older brothers are walking me home today. Have a nice weekend, Miss T!" Noah replied with an embarrassed blush, before suddenly realizing he was going to be late.

Without giving her a chance to even say goodbye, Noah bolted from the classroom and took off running through the crowded halls; dashing past students and teachers alike as he headed forthe front doors without any time to spare. He then stopped mid-dash when he could see his second elder brother, Marcus,heading right for him.

Marcus stood roughly a head over Noah and was two years older. His hair was a darker shade of brown and slightly styled to where the front was lifted upwards like a wave. Both his eyes had a charming light green color that stood out against his otherwise light skinned complexion.

"About time you got out, Noah. I was almost convinced you wankers left me behind again." Marcus said with a half smirk across his face before stopping to observe his younger sibling breathing heavily from his marathon run for the door.

"I...just got out of... class. Sorry." Noah apologized as he grasped both his knees while having to gasp for air between each pause he made.

"Its fine, you sod. Let's keep going before Frasier decides to leave without us. You know his patience isn't worth testing." Marcus responded with laughter in his words before he escorted Noah through the crowds of people making their way out of the school.

Both siblings walked side by side until a teenage boy no older than fifteen approached them. He was noticeably taller than both of them and had a much thicker frame. His hair was practically shaved down to less than that of an eyelash, but what little remained showed off a sandy blonde coloring. Both his eyes were a pure crystal blue that only made his predatory like gaze all the more intimidating.

"About bloody time. One would think you two would be more eager to get home and enjoy the weekend." Frasier announced as they all began to walk side by side with Noah in the center.

"Just got caught up is all. Sorry." Noah apologized before Frasier lightly tussled his hair affectionately.

"Don't apologize, Noah. There are some things you just can't control. The sooner you accept that, the better." Frasier replied as he they walked through the crowd of hundreds of other students and parents leaving the school grounds.

"So, are you finally going to tell us what father's training is like?" Noah asked as Frasier looked down at him with a somewhat disapproving glare.

"No. You both know I'm not allowed to talk about it." Frasier explained as he placed his hands in his pockets, his eyes now solely focused ahead.

"Oh, come on, Frasier! Can't you just tell me? I won't tell Marcus or father. Promise!" Noah then whispered as he noticed Marcus wasn't paying attention to either of them. His focus was clearly on a group of young women across the street from them.

"No." Frasier said in a somewhat annoyed tone before it became silent moments later, clearly ending the discussion for another day. He always did hate it when his siblings would try to prod him on the matter. 'No' was never enough, despite how often it would be said.

Soon after that, the snow finally stopped to reveal murky grey clouds in the sky. Along the way home, a cold nip would breeze by every now and then, a car would sometimes honk its horn as it passed, and on a few occasions the brothers would see someone arguing on a corner or outside a shop. It wasn't perfect,but this was their home and nothing could change that.

At one point, they were suddenly stopped by a gangly-looking man who certainly seemed out of place when he approached them from an alleyway just outside a pub. His hair was unsettlingly greasy, and his beard was very scrappy looking. What really set him apart though were his beady eyes that glared down at them, and the sickeningly yellow, splotchy teeth that showed when he grinned at the sight of them. The clothes he wore seemed quite worn out and had a strong odor that smelled distinctly of cheap cigarettes.

"Can I help you?" Frasier asked as he stood in front of Noah and Marcus, instinctively keeping them back just in case this man was going to be trouble.

"You lot seem to be off in a hurry. You were going so fast you almost forgot to pay the alley tax." the man chuckled in a rough voice, coughing heavily afterwards, yet he still managed to keep one eye on them the entire time.

"Sorry, sir, but we don't have any money. Can we still go by?" Noah asked naively as he began to feel his pockets.

"There isn't a tax to get by, Noah. This tit is trying to get a quick quid off of us." Marcus said in a soft whisper that wasn't as quiet as he thought. The man simply glared down at him before shifting his hand back into his pocket only to draw out a small pocket knife.

"Perhaps you boys would be more persuaded to help me out now. Unless you prefer a trip to the hospital." the man threatened as he watched them recoil, certain they'd be more complacent now.

However, what he least expected was for the eldest of the three to suddenly reach outwards and clamp down on one of his wrists; even less when his grip actually hurt the man.

"Oi, let go, you little shit! I'll fuckin' cut you, I will!" the man snarled as he suddenly backhanded Frasier across the face with his freehand. The young teen recoiled back against the sturdy brick wall, effectively losing his grip.

Before the man could shove the small steel knife into Frasier's chest, Marcus suddenly tossed Noah's book bag at their attacker to distract or hopefully stun him for even a second. Noah meanwhile had run back to get help from anyone in the nearby pub.

The mugger turned his focus to Marcus, only for Frasier to suddenly bash him across the face with an empty bottle left atop a rubbish bin. Glass splinted in the man's left eye and into his face as he nearly dropped the knife to hold his face in agonizing pain.

"Gah! Fuck, that fuckin' hurt!" the mugger cried out as blood trickled down his face. His senses were on fire as he wildly swung his knife in an attempt to retaliate.

Frasier however was only just getting started as he slashed the broken stub of the bottle down along the mugger's forearm,leaving a nasty gash exposing the torn flesh to the cold air as blood poured onto the snow below. The knife instantly dropped from his hands this time, only for the young Brit to grasp it in midair and swerve it around until he held it in a far more professional stance.

"Hold this, Marcus." Frasier said as he handed the knife and bottle to Marcus before taking a step towards the mugger. He grasped the man by the back of the neck, shoving his face down only for the tip of Frasier's knee to smash into the mugger's nose. Multiple splotches of blood painted the young Brit's pants each time his knee made contact.

He then cocked his fist back only to punch the man square across the cheek, releasing his tight grip at the last second to watch the man tumble backwards onto a pile of trash bags that had yet to be picked up.

"Enough! Enough! I fucking give up! Just please stop hitting me, kid!" the mugger pleaded as he held his hands up in defense. Fear was all that could be seen in his eyes as he tried to crawl backwards only to slip and look up at Frasier.

"It's over, right, Frasier? We can go home now? I mean, the police can take it from here." Marcus noted as he looked up to his older brother for a response.

"No." was all Frasier grunted before walking over to the beaten down man, pinning him down with one knee on his chest as what was once his attacker was now his prey.

Marcus stood there frozen in shock and fear, knowing he could do nothing as he just watched his older brother take swing after swing. His face cringed with every brutal strike made as if he could personally feel it too. The mugger's cries for mercy and help were soon muffled by bloody gargles. A woman screamed out in terror as she walked by while two large men came running out from the pub to cease the fighting immediately. They were most likely bouncers, given how quick they were to leap into action.

"Get him off! The kid's going to fucking kill the bastard!" one of them said as Frasier's voice was reduced to vicious snarls and grunts as he tried to finish what was started.

"Christ, this one's strong! Hold him down! Don't let go!" the other bouncer warned as they struggled to keep the young teen down and away from the bloody mess he left.

"Everyone, out of the way. We'll take it from here." one of three police officers announced as they made their way in to restore order. Noah soon came out to see Marcus standing there with his jaw hanging. Both siblings watched as people began to crowd around the alley to see what was going on. It wasn't long until the police had Frasier subdued and in captivity while the mugger was thrown into another police car that had arrived at the scene.

Later that night, after a fully written police report had been filled out, Frasier now stood before his father, whom was sitting in his leather chair within his personal study. Normally their father would be proud of Frasier defending his brothers and using his training to do so, but for some reason, their father was actually scorning him for it this time. As Frasier tried to piece together what went wrong, he couldn't help but feel fear coiling around the deepest pit of his stomach.

The Lawson brothers' father was a quite large and powerful man, standing easily at 195cm (6'5) tall while his body was covered in dense, thick muscle. His gaze was quite powerful and dominating, both of them a light blue similar to what Frasier's were like. His head was completely shaved, but most likely would have a few grey hairs if he let it grow out. He was known as Commander Arthur Lawson of the 22nd S.A.S. Regiment.

"All my life, you've taught me to protect the family and just about everything you know!" Frasier argued as he stood his ground before his father, his words of reason being swatted aside like common house flies.

"Yes, at first you did what any good father would be proud of, Frasier. However, when he was disarmed, on the ground and at your mercy, that should've been it. But from what I've been told, you kept going anyway, to the point that you made it near impossible to even identify the bastard." Arthur said in a sharp tone, his voice gruff and heavily judgmental with the choice of words he went with.

"Father, be realistic here! I did what you would've done. Hell, I take that back, because you would've gone even one step further!" Frasier defied as if he was now convinced that this man wasn't even the father who raised him all his life now.

"Frasier, what I would or wouldn't have done isn't what's important. What's important is that your actions today show that you're lacking in the greatest discipline a soldier is able to have: restraint. A strong man is able to use the power he has to utterly destroy his enemy. A stronger man is able to restrain himself from using that power every time someone tries to fight him. He's able to know when to say that enough is enough." Arthur explained as if he were reading from one of his many books as Frasier could only feel his words stabbing at him. It was like his father was calling him nothing more than a loose cannon, some reckless ruffian rather than an expertly trained and refined soldier.

Marcus and Noah meanwhile were just standing in the next room, listening in on the entire conversation. Both were shocked to hear that the two weren't agreeing with one another on the matter as they normally did. A strange feeling emerged in the pit of the stomachs too at this unwelcoming omen. Somehow they could both feel this wasn't going to end well at all.

"Enough. I'm no better equipped to explain any more than you're equipped to understand. This isn't easy for me to say, Frasier,but the way things are looking right now, I see no other alternative than for you be relocated with your Uncle Mark, effective immediately." Arthur then announced as he watched Frasier's look of defiance slowly shift into that of betrayal, shock and uncertainty.

"What?! You mean you intend to send me to Japan?! But how can I continue my training now?! Uncle Mark has been out of commission for years! How can I possibly learn anything from him?" Frasier asked, his voice actually cracking as he found himself quickly overwhelmed with various emotions at this unexpected and unwelcome change, feeling a deep pain in his heart as the man he had been utterly loyal to, and always striving to impress since his military training began at age six, was now casting him away like an utterly broken piece of hardware.

"Your training is over as far as I'm concerned, Frasier. I can't explain why this is happening, but just believe that what I'm doing is for the best and accept what's coming." Arthur attempted to explain in a more calm voice as he just looked down at Frasier. Part of him already showed regret over this incredibly difficult choice.

"I'm sorry. Don't think that this is something I wanted. If I could,I'd do something about it." Arthur then said in a softer, more approachable voice as he then walked away, knowing there was nothing else to be said. Frasier meanwhile just stood in that room like a statue with both fists clenched tight, gritting his teeth, trying to fight back the tears of complete betrayal stinging his eyes.

Meanwhile, Marcus and Noah were both in tears of their own from what they overheard. To see their big brother, whom they'd always looked up to and who was always there for them, now being sent away to live on the opposite side of the world, was unlike anything they'd ever expected to experience. Sadness and sorrow filled their hearts while confusion and anger filled their minds. It wasn't fair. Why must their family be split up even further?

(2 years later)

Things were rough for Marcus and Noah for the next two years. Now that Frasier was gone and attending a place called Fujimi Academy, it felt like a trio had lost a member, and couldn't ever be the same until that said member returned. Both boys had grown a considerable amount and began to form their own personalities in the process as well. Even if not all new qualities were for the best.

Their training had taken some alternate turns compared to what Frasier had received. While it wasn't nearly as intense as it could've been for them, it certainly was the hardest time in their young lives. There were times where the two of them had to spend several days surviving in the outskirts of civilization with nothing but a knife and small rations in case they weren't able to catch anything. Despite Frasier's absence, Noah and Marcus were able to form stronger bonds with one another, which made things all the more painful when Marcus eventually began to slip up in school.

His marks began to drop more and more rapidly the more he realized he no longer enjoyed the constant hour after hour of studying with no real control over his life. Arthur didn't exactly take it too well, and every time he attempted to help Marcus, it only pushed them further away from each other. It eventually got to the point where Marcus was openly defying Arthur right to his face, and once it was clear to everyone that the two couldn't even be in the same room anymore without descending into fierce arguments, the decision was virtually unanimous that Marcus should perhaps move in with Uncle Mark and Frasier as well.

Noah was obviously devastated that he now had to say goodbye to his only remaining brother, but if the alternative was watching him and their father constantly refrain from trading physical blows with each other, Noah couldn't help but see that this was clearly the better choice. On the day Marcus was to leave on his flight, he shared the only advice wit Noah he felt made sense to him in this tough moment.

"Better learn Japanese while you can, Noah. The way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised to see you getting off this plane soon yourself."

Those were Marcus' last words before leaving his younger brother behind.

(1 year later)

With both brothers gone, Noah had nothing better to do than to heed Marcus' last words of advice and learn the language, just in case he ended up being right. Through all the time that followed, Noah felt a massive hole in his heart that nothing else could ever hope to replace. It pained him deeply every time he had to look at their empty beds. There was no one left to look up to, nor anyone that he could go to when he had a problem that he couldn't tell his father about without dying from embarrassment,or out of fear of what he might've had to say. The training had become more and more lenient over time as Arthur finally realized that he now had only one son left to bond with.

Noah was quite fond of him outside the training, and he could somewhat feel his father's dilemma. He wanted nothing more than to earn his father's approval, to be the very best he could before his family and country. In school, Noah's marks kept increasing to the point he no longer felt challenged. Although he had made some noteworthy progress, deep down he still felt that hole in his gut ever since Marcus and Frasier left.

One evening, both Arthur and Noah sat side by side on a small pier overlooking a lake just outside their town. Both had a fishing rod in hand as they gazed out at the peaceful water, neither of them saying a word, just listening to the calming sounds of nature. Arthur had been mostly silent during their day together. Noah would occasionally whistle a song he'd heard recently, which would get Arthur to ask what it was. When Noah would tell him, he'd just grumble in response, given how little he knew about modern music.

"Noah…do you think I'm a bad father?" Arthur suddenly asked as he looked down at the line connected to his fishing rod. His voice was low and full of uncertainty. At first Noah was taken aback, seeing how this had never come up before, and he'd never heard his father sound so uncertain about anything before.

"I…well, I can't speak for Marcus or Frasier, but I personally don't think you're so bad. I mean, maybe you could be nicer at times, though." Noah replied hesitantly as he felt like if he said one wrong word, he'd be hearing about it for the next few months.

"I know I'm hard on you boys, but I hope you know I have my reasons for it. There's an entire world out there full of danger in all shapes and forms, and it's my duty as a father to make sure you three are ready for it when you become full-grown adults. But even with that said, I still feel your brothers will never want anything to do with me again after the note we left each other on." Arthur explained as he turned his head to face Noah, who could now see an unmistakable look of sadness in his father's eyes; something he never imagined he'd ever see.

"Noah, I love all three of you more than anything else in this world, but I've come to realize now that I've kept you apart from them for too long. Your Uncle Mark writes to me continuously and claims the two of them have made incredibly changes in the right direction during their time in Japan. He feels the change in surroundings; atmosphere and the people have really helped shape up their attitudes. Perhaps... if you're interested, you'd be willing to stay with him for a year or two to see if you like it there better as well?" Arthur finally confessed as he gave Noah the unexpected option to finally reunite with his elder siblings. Noah could scarcely believe that his father was legitimately giving him this option, but once it became clear that he wasn't hearing things, he could practically feel his once heavy heart become as light as a feather.

"I'd love to! But what about you? If I'm gone, then who will take care of your old arse?" Noah exclaimed with sheer excitement before asking in a more humorous tone what would become of Arthur.

"Don't make any assumptions, Noah. I may be well into my forties, but my body is still in prestige condition. Hell, I can still out perform those twenty year old wanks out in the field. General Monty also believes I'm worth keeping around, so I'll be back in the field where I belong before too long. You're more than welcome to stay, Noah, but I figured you'd still be lonely." Arthur grumbled after finally explaining his own situation and plans for the future. It took Noah a good couple minutes to really consider his decision. He wanted to see his brothers again more than anything, but a part of him felt really hesitant about leaving his father all to his own devices without anyone by his side. But in the end, listening to his heart, Noah knew what his ultimate decision was.

"I'd prefer to see my brothers, father. And perhaps, one day, we can all see each other again?" Noah finally answered before proposing his hope for a family reunion.

"I'd like that, son. I truly would." Arthur said with heavy pride in his words before Noah's reel began to spin; both of them suddenly trying to pull in an unlucky fish that would surely become their next meal.

(One week later)

Johann Johannsson – Free the Mind

Time passed like nothing at all, and before he knew it, Noah was on a plane bound for Tokonosu City, Japan; a metropolis that had Noah beyond excited to explore, as well as finally see his elder siblings after all this time. The flight was fairly quick for him because he had fallen asleep quite fast from the over-excitement. Hours turned to minutes and minutes soon turned to seconds when the plane finally landed. Noah was now in Tokonosu Offshore International Airport, a major airport located offshore in Tokonosu Bay.

After several minutes of awkwardly shuffling past the other passengers, Noah looked around to make sure he was following the right signs to lead him. He patiently stood by a conveyor belt with others crowding around it for their luggage. As he waited for his small suitcase to arrive, he'd look at the various signs and advertisements set up all around him in order to test his ability to read the Japanese language. Luckily he'd really taken Marcus' advice to heart and found he had little to no trouble translating the characters into English.

Eventually his small suitcase had finally come around. He quickly snatched it and verified it actually belonged to him. Noah then slowly backed up before continuing down the designated pathways that led him to the ferry headed for the mainland of Tokonosu City. He was unable to contain the excitement boiling inside of him as he stood by the railing, his eyes glancing at the other passengers before just staring out at the sea.

The smell of saltwater was heavy in the air as the sun had finally gone down. The once beautiful orange skies filled with soft, white clouds were now consumed by a pitch black darkness countered by the illuminating city lights that could be seen for miles, along with a full moon that hung in the sky, glowing as white as snow.

The ferry let out a loud *toot* from its foghorn before it finally docked. Noah was the first one off the boat, and without wasting a second, he began to look around frantically for his Uncle Mark. Minutes began to pass as strangers maneuvered around Noah, who was continuing to stand there, hoping that his Uncle would weave around the crowd any minute now to greet him.

A soft breeze blew by as Noah lowered his head. Uncertainty began to brew in his head as he began to wonder what had possibly gone wrong. Could it be possible that Uncle Mark had taken gotten lost? Did Noah somehow take a wrong turn somewhere? Or did Uncle Mark simply forget about him?

He then spotted a small boy passing close by, holding hands with his mother, before he suddenly took off running only to jump into the arms of what looked like his father. Noah couldn't help but smile at the reunion, knowing that he himself should be more patient before giving up hope.

"Oi, before you feel the need to call for an adult, why not try looking up, Gov?" a familiar voice suddenly asked, causing Noah to immediately do as he was told when hearing someone speaking in English.

Noah smiled brightly as he stood face to face with a teenage boy that could be no older than sixteen. He wore what most Japanese teenage boys would wear in this region, but his features made it quite obvious he wasn't a local. He had a warm, inviting smile as both arms were extended out, his face unmistakable even after two whole years.

"Marcus!" Noah exclaimed in pure excitement as he held his elder brother tight. There were no words to describe the joy and happiness Noah felt here. Tears began to stain Marcus' shirt as the two embraced each other, both of them absolutely ecstatic to finally see each other again. His brother must've been at least 172 cm (5'8) given the difference between their heights.

[]

"Ah, c'mon! Enough with the water works, Noah. You can't be THAT excited to see me." Marcus chuckled before distancing himself a bit to observe his little brothers noticeable growth spurt since they'd last seen each other.

"Jesus... You are one tall bloke now, aren't you? What the hell's dad been feeding you nowadays?" Marcus complimented as he was rather taken aback by how much Noah had visibly changed.

"Just the good ol' shite from a bloody can. But hey! I don't think I look so bad, Mr. I-Think-I-Can-Hide-That-Deeper-Voice. Did your sack finally drop or have you been tugging the prick too hard again?" Noah retorted with a smirk only to form a bigger smile when Marcus burst out laughing at his cheeky was the first time Noah had ever gotten Marcus, the Lawson trio's regular funny man, to laugh that hard. It couldn't help but make Noah's chest swell with a bit of pride.

"So are we just gonna stand here or what? Let's go see the others! Where are they?" Noah then asked as he grasped his small suitcase in hand, his whole body practically shaking with excitement to see everyone else at long last.

"It's just me for now I'm afraid. Uncle Mark requested that I pick you up while he attends to some business." Marcus explained as he walked Noah over to a vast parking garage. He then reached into his pockets to reveal a pair of keys in hand.

"And what about Frasier?" Noah asked as Marcus straddled a fancy-looking motorbike, turned on the ignition, and then placed a crimson red helmet over his head.

"He's...training." Marcus replied bluntly before offering Noah a black helmet of his own.

"Training…you mean, like by himself? But father always said we should train together to avoid cementing any mistakes we might be making." Noah replied with some understandable confusion as he pulled the straps of his suitcase/backpack around his shoulders.

"Nah, he's training with this local girl he majorly has it in for. Kendo or some shite like that." Marcus replied as he suddenly took off without warning, hitting 30 kilometers per hour in less than five seconds flat. Noah's heart nearly skipped a beat as the motor roared throughout the entire parking garage.

"What? You're still talking about Frasier, right? Since when does he care about anyone outside the family, and a girl no less?" Noah asked, understandably shocked; and now very curious on the subject, given his eldest brother's usual motivations and behavior towards strangers.

"You'll have to ask him yourself, but good luck with that. The cold bastard will hardly acknowledge anything beyond a deep respect for her. But I know that look he gets. That look that says'me like you'!" Marcus announced as he stopped at a red light to give Noah a heads up of what was to come if he were to choose to actually pursue Frasier on the matter; talking in a typical Neanderthal grunt to emphasize just how primal Frasier's emotions were towards this mystery girl.

Noah let out a soft laugh under his helmet as he observed his environment. Tokonosu City was filled with all kinds of night life. The lights were all very bright and inviting to fresh eyes like his. Neon signs flashed, buzzed and flickered over the store and outlets as the city's residents flowed through the streets like a flood even after sundown. It was certainly calmer and a lot more mentally uplifting, compared to back home where it was very grey and bleak. Even the advertisements on billboards and signs seemed to be abstract in their own way. The air itself seemed to pulsate with the rhythm of some kind of J-Pop music emanating from large televised billboards playing on some of the larger buildings in the heart of the city.

"So not that this conversation hasn't been fascinating, but I have to know, what time do I get up for school tomorrow?" Noah soon asked as they eventually came to an abrupt halt just in front of a small apartment complex.

"We start at 9:00 AM sharp. But whereas most other people either take the trains or the buses, Frasier insists we walk. But thanks to a shortcut, found by yours truly, it only takes us about twenty minutes to get there, so we can head out around 8:30." Marcus answered before pulling his helmet off to re-style his hair just the way he liked it before turning the ignition off.

"Alright, sounds good to me. I'd better go inside and unpack my stuff." Noah acknowledged before dismounting the bike and handing Marcus back his spare helmet.

"Right. We're in apartment 4-A." Marcus instructed as he motioned Noah to follow him up the stairs that would take them directly to their floor.

Even the architecture managed to captivate Noah as he'd look around to compare it to the buildings back at home. Most of those buildings still had that unmistakable British look about them, giving their hometown a very old-timey look altogether, but the modernist look to everything he'd already gotten to see in the city, even down to these very apartment blocks, managed to feel so new to him. He could only begin to imagine what their school was like now.

*click*

The door to one of the various apartments swung wide open as both Marcus and Noah found themselves standing in a dark room. Marcus' hand slowly felt up the wall before he could finally grip the plastic stub only to give it a quick flip. In an instant the room was filled by a white light before everything was now visible to them.

While it wasn't the cleanest nor fanciest of places, it was still certainly livable for four men. As Noah observed the living room, he spotted a black leather couch set before a medium-sized television in the center, just outside the kitchen area. The young teen slowly found himself following a tiny hall that lead to three separate doors. One room belonging to Uncle Mark, one to Marcus and Frasier, and one would presumably have to be the bathroom.

"Uh... do I even get a mattress?" Noah wondered out loud as he could hear Marcus cracking open a drink out in the kitchen.

"Oh, right! I believe we're working on that. So for now, I guess one of us is sleeping on the couch." Marcus replied in slight embarrassment before walking in to see Noah sitting on his bed with a wide smirk on his face, as if he'd just claimed the territory for himself.

"Oh fine, you little wanker. I enjoy the couch more anyhow." Marcus grinned before lightly punching Noah in the arm, slowly walking away to let him unpack his mini-suitcase as he set himself up on the couch. Minutes passed as Noah would neatly fold and stack his clothing, keeping everything in sets for the next couple of days.

Suddenly, he could hear the sound of someone approaching the door. Two loud *thuds* replaced what should've been footsteps. Noah peered out of his room to see the shadow of a figure through the space between the floor and the door.

Marcus opened the door only for a young man standing at 177 cm (5'10) to enter the room. His arms, legs, and torso were incredible in terms of condition; not too bulky, yet not too narrow neither. Both light blue eyes had an all too familiar predatory like quality to them, yet this time they were accompanied by a warm, loving smile.

"Noah." Frasier said in barely more than a whisper to his little brother, who without hesitation bolted through the apartment only to nearly tackle him with the sheer force behind it. His arms wrapped tightly around his eldest brother's torso as he couldn't help but laugh excitedly now that he'd finally reunited with both his brothers. Frasier however stood there awkwardly as he looked down at Noah. He glanced over to Marcus, who then silently motioned for him to hug Noah back.

"Frasier, oh man, you have no idea how much I've missed you! I can't believe we're all finally together again! Neither of you hardly look the same anymore! Are you excited to see me? How much bigger do I look now? What're we gonna do tonight? Who's your girlfriend?" Noah then began to ask in an increasingly overly excited tone; his mouth moving so rapidly it sounded like his words were on the verge of crashing into one another.

"Slow down, slow down! Of course I'm excited to see you, Noah. Now let's see... you're definitely much taller, that much is for certain. Your face has certainly matured as well, and you've clearly been through some of father's training. I can just see it in your eyes. You've really grown up since last I saw you…it is really good to see you again, Noah." Frasier observed, trying to fight back the surge of emotion beginning to catch up with him now that he was finally seeing his youngest brother in the flesh for the first time in three years. Noah tried his best to keep the tears of joy held back while his heart pounded intensely, still feeling doubt as to whether this long-awaited reunion was really real or just some kind of taunting dream; but deep in his heart, he knew this was all real, and he couldn't be happier for that.

"What about your girlfriend, Frasier? You didn't say anything about having one last time you wrote." Noah brought up again, only to watch Frasier turn his head to Marcus, who was busy restraining all laughter to the best of his ability before Frasier turned back to face Noah.

"I don't have a girlfriend, Noah. Although the fact you're asking about such a thing DOES warrant suspicion." Frasier replied with a raised eyebrow before turning his head to look at Marcus chuckling to himself.

"Oh stop kidding yourself already, Frasier! You're not as subtle as you like to think you are; it's pretty much written all over your face. Just say it. Just say 'I want to be inside of Saeko Busujima.' There! Problem solved! You don't have to hide it—WHOA!" Marcus suggested in an all too humorous tone, only to let out a shocked yelp when Frasier suddenly bolted after him. Both brothers began circling around the kitchen table before Marcus managed to slip by, only for Frasier to quickly tackle him to the floor.

Noah stood there cracking up as he watched the two squirming on the floor in front of him. Marcus reached for a couch cushion and began to smack Frasier with it in the hopes that he'd let go to block his head from it. However, his older brother was far more preoccupied with shutting him up for running his mouth.

"King of the hill!" Noah roared at the top of his lungs before suddenly jumping onto them just before they could get back on their feet. Both elder brothers toppled over as Noah tried to pin them down, laughing hysterically while Marcus tried to squirm out of Frasier's grasp.

Eventually through superior strength and aggression, Frasier managed to gain dominance over the both of them. His powerful arms playfully pinned Noah and Marcus down on their backs as a single drop of sweat escaped from his brow.

"You two lack the strength to contend with a true soldier." Frasier remarked with an arrogant confidence, only for Noah and Marcus to simultaneously cry out "REGICIDE!" and proceed to pull him back down in a joint effort to dethrone him. That moment of frustration Frasier had completely dissipated as he soon found himself laughing joyously alongside his younger brothers. He simply couldn't help feeling happier than he had in years, seeing how their motley trio had finally been reunited. The other two could've sworn he even let out a single tear of joy,but that would be wishful thinking.

"Oi, did I miss something, or have you boys already decided to destroy my inner sanctum of manhood?" a voice suddenly announced from the reopened doorway to reveal their Uncle Mark standing at roughly 182 cm (6'0) tall and weighing in at 15 stones (210lbs).

He had a rather thick physique compared to their father, but he could undoubtedly really get moving should the need have ever arisen for him to do so. The black hair on his head had already begun to fall out around the center, but that certainly didn't keep him from trying to hide it by combing it over. Luckily he was quite tall compared to the locals, so he usually had to just keep his head tilted up and nobody could really notice.

Uncle Mark lived a far more simple life compared to how he lived back in his prime, so now he preferred to dress in casual tan slacks, a red Hawaiian styled shirt with white floral design, and more often than not a pair of black sandals. The man couldn't have managed to look any more like he stepped right out of Miami in the 1980's if he had tried.

"Well I had no intentions of destroying the local whorehouses if this town even had any, you bum." Marcus replied with a sly grin, only for Frasier to stand up and brush himself off while Noah hopped back up to hug their embarrassed Uncle.

"Shut your gob, you cheeky muppet." Mark replied with an even bigger grin as he held Noah and nearly lifted him up in a tight bear hug, more than eager to catch up with the youngest of his nephews after so much time had passed.

"Good Christ, you've gotten to be one tall sod. I haven't held you since you were still wearing diapers. What are you now? 165 cm (5'5)? 167 cm (5'6)"?" Mark asked with a hearty laugh as he was greatly pleased to see his youngest nephew was still healthy and growing into a man.

"165 cm"." Noah answered with a proud smile as he looked up at Mark, who put on a face to exaggerate his shock.

"165 cm? 165 cm?! Blimey. You two better be nice to THIS one,because he's going to keep growing!" Mark playfully joked as looked over to Marcus and Frasier, who simply let out a soft chuckle. Uncle Mark then tussled Noah's hair before walking over to the fridge to grab himself a pint of lager.

"So, Noah...you drink yet, or do we still have to wait another couple years?" Mark suddenly asked with his head hanging over the various bottles and cans he kept stowed away in his fridge.

"He's far too young, even by English standards, Mark. You should know better." Frasier scorned as he stood by Noah with crossed arms.

"Firstly, don't think that just because you're as strong as you are means you don't still have to address me as your uncle. I could still plant your arse on the floor if I wanted to. Second, no need to let your own stubbornness ruin his good time. You know I'd offer you some too, but you're never up for it. C'mon, just a pint,you sissy." Mark teased as he held out an unopened glass bottle,shaking it at Frasier as if to entice him into taking it.

"You know he'd drink it if Saeko was doing it." Marcus brought up as he closed the door to the apartment before ducking to avoid Frasier's attempt to pop him in the arm for bringing her up again.

"Oh, yes. How can I possibly forget about HER? Frasier, I know you don't aim to be the most sociable chap in the world, but please tell me you've at least taken her out before." Mark sighed in acknowledgement as he recalled his nephews' obvious fondness for the young woman.

"I...well...not exactly. W-why should it matter if I have or not,though? Saeko is a friend, and that's just how it should be." Frasier grumbled in embarrassment as he knew they had him in unfamiliar territory.

"He says while bright red in the face just talking about her. Face it, Frasier. You like the bird, regardless of whether or not you choose to accept it. Just go up to her and tell her what's going on in your head. And if that fails, you could always just show her your O face and see where it goes from there." Uncle Mark suggested as Frasier was now somewhat curious as to what he was getting at.

"My 'O face'?" Frasier asked confusedly, as he was quite certain he normally didn't make anything of the sort.

"You know. OH! OH! OH! OH! OH!" Mark suddenly moaned out at the top of his lungs with a hilarious, yet over exaggerated sexual look on his face which immediately was followed by an eruption of laughter from Noah and Marcus, who both took great pleasure from the spectacle. He then took it up a notch by thrusting his pelvis back and forth to add to the demonstration.

"Wise words from a drunk who spends nearly all his free time bedding whores." Frasier replied in an unamused tone as he just narrowed his eyes, slowly walking away before closing the door to his bedroom behind him.

"Oh, don't like that, do you? Maybe try this then." Mark asked before raising both his middle and right index finger at Frasier with a soft grin behind it before taking a long, uninterrupted drink from his beer, wiping his mouth off with his own forearm.

"Do they always get like this?" Noah whispered to Marcus while trying to keep it from getting any worse by being overheard.

"Only if you mention Saeko. I swear, if I have to talk that icy bugger step by step into her heart and parts beyond, I'll do a girl of his own could be exactly what he needs to get that proverbial stick out of his arse and lighten up." Marcus responded before he looked at his wristwatch only to realize just how late it really was.

"Shit, we better get to bed. We can catch up on the way to school. You have a long day ahead of you, Noah." Marcus then said as he hugged his younger sibling one last time before settling down on the couch with headphones on.

Hours passed while Uncle Mark sat alone for a majority of the duration at the kitchen table, drinking bottle after bottle while watching the TV before eventually stumbling into bed with his ass hanging in the air. The occasional car would drive by on the elevated freeway, shining a beam of light through the windows and cheap curtains. For the most part, it was quiet and clear of any unrest to be heard of.

[One Day Before Z-Day]

The darkness and shroud that panned over the metropolis known as Tokonosu City was lifted once more as the sun began to peek from the horizon of the Pacific Ocean. Its rays reflecting from the light blue waters as the sky went from pitch black to a light shade of orange and yellow. The puffy white clouds emerged to any lucky enough to witness such a sight, indicating that it would most likely be a nice, warm, spring day.

Birds began to enthusiastically sing their songs while people tossed and turned in their beds, cursing the fact they had to get up now. The sound of cars starting up and driving off to work began to become more frequent as time passed on. The honk one car let off was what caused Noah to finally awaken with one eye still closed.

He sat up feeling slightly dazed yet rather well rested. Today was finally the big day, and deep down he couldn't help but feel nervous. On one hand, part of him feared how his new school and its inhabitants would treat him. On the other hand, it was a prestigious academy that certainly caught Noah's eyes, given how much he enjoyed learning new things. Suddenly, his nose began to twitch as he could smell something cooking in the kitchen.

"Morning, Noah. You're just in time for breakfast, Marcus Lawson-style. Hope you like fish, cause the locals around here sure as hell do." Marcus greeted Noah as he turned to see who was next to try his definition of 'breakfast' as Noah stepped out from the hall.

"It's not half-bad, actually. He only cocked it up a little bit." Frasier commented when he noticed Noah's hesitation to answer,as well as the look on his face when he saw his serving of semi-burnt fish.

"Oh sod off, you twat. I don't see you doing any better." Marcus grumbled as he flipped over the fish to cook the other side while Noah poured a cup of water from the sink.

"Oh? Is that a challenge I hear? Alright, Marcus, name it and I will accept!" Frasier said in a rather defensive yet somewhat cocky tone as he stood up from his chair, feeling particularly powerful today.

"Alright...yeah, I got one. You have to cook a fish-" Marcus began to explain before Frasier let out a rough chuckle before he could even finish.

"What, is that all? You know I've been trained many times in the art of survival out in the wild. Cooking a bloody fish will be no issue for me! Pretty weak challenge, Marcus, but I accept nonetheless." Frasier scoffed as he folded his arms, certain he'd taken an easy bet he had no chance of losing.

"AND you have to give it to Saeko." Marcus finished, smiling triumphantly the moment Frasier's rather cocky grin slowly changed to an expression of nervous uncertainty as the words finally sank in.

"Wait, what?! B-but that's not part of the bet! That's not happening!" Frasier suddenly protested, his voice actually shaking much to Noah's shock.

"Noah, what were his words again?" Marcus asked in mock curiosity as he formed a wide smirk at how unsettled his older brother was becoming at the thought of this bet now. While Frasier was undoubtedly the most powerful among them physically, Marcus had certainly developed some power of his own psychologically.

"'Name it and I will accept'." Noah answered as he tried to make his voice as deep as possible in order to even try and imitate Frasier.

"Oh, you cheeky prats. Fine! I'll cook a damn fish for her sometime this week. Happy?" Frasier grumbled as he knew he would never hear the end of it from either Marcus or Noah if he even remotely denied his end of the deal.

"Ecstatic. Don't forget to add seasoning." Marcus commented before Frasier stormed off to gather his student uniform and book bag. Clearly he knew when he'd been beaten, and fanning the flames would certainly not help him now.

"Sooo…what kind of uniform do we wear and where can I get one?" Noah finally asked as he looked back to Marcus while deciding to change the subject so they wouldn't have any awkward silences between them.

"It's nothing too fancy, but I do look rather awesome in it if I do say so myself. As for where, we can buy you one up at the student service center. It'll be easier to find, seeing how it's one of the first buildings you run into when walking in. If you've still got your admittance papers Uncle Mark sent you, they should in fact have a set on standby for you once you get there, since they'll be expecting you." Marcus answered as he was in the middle of turning off all the kitchen utilities he'd been working with. Noah couldn't help but grin triumphantly as he had come prepared and held up his admittance papers like some kind of trophy.

"You will be able to show me around, won't you?" Noah then asked nervously, hoping he simply wouldn't be tossed into a completely new environment without any aid from his siblings, left to fend for himself.

"Of course. I mean...well, I can at least show you where to go at first, but I doubt the school, or Frasier for that matter, would want me missing class. But you don't have to worry. They have some very friendly teachers, Noah. Not to mention the fact that some are total hotties." Marcus said encouragingly before mentioning one of the benefits he'd come to experience from attending Fujimi Academy.

"Why? Fancy some of the male teachers there?" Noah asked with a sly chuckle, only for Marcus to roll his eyes at the remark.

"Oh, ha, ha, you're sooo funny, Noah. Seriously though...it's like they've picked some of these female teachers straight out of heaven. I noticed your schedule and it's almost all women. Lucky duckling if you ask me." Marcus sarcastically laughed before speaking in a more serious tone, certain that Noah had a very nice setup.

"Well, I think I'll just focus on my studies for now. Besides, I doubt they'd be interested in a fourteen year old." Noah replied while cleaning off his plate and heading back to their room to acquire his book bag and fresh supplies for the school year.

'Yeah...you'll change your tune when you see it for yourself Noah. I guarantee it.' Marcus thought to himself as he held his hands under the running faucet; the warm water cleansing his hands before he soon retreated back to his room to get ready himself.

[10 minutes later]

Soon it was finally time to leave, and the Lawson trio was walking side by side down the semi-crowded sidewalk. They stopped every now and then when a train would pass by carrying a large load of passengers around the city. Hundreds if not thousands of voices chattering in Japanese filled the air around them. Despite being far away from home, Marcus and Frasier had come to accept it by now, and Japanese had pretty much become as natural to them as English. Noah on the other hand was still trying to adjust, but he certainly was enjoying the various differences between the two cultures just from what minor sights around the city he was able to see, as well as the way the locals carried themselves and interacted with each other.

The skies were now a calm baby blue color, while the sun continued to reach its peak height. It felt rather warm, but what could one expect with spring just around the corner? Winds would occasionally pick up, giving those lucky enough to feel it a refreshing chill. Noah would occasionally space out from what his brothers were talking about amongst themselves whenever he noticed a plant he'd never seen before, or a store that piqued his curiosity. Along the way, the cherry blossom trees he'd only heard of and seen in photographs captivated him. The beauty and delightful smell they gave off really added to the charm of this real-life metropolis. At one point he knelt down to pick up a fallen petal, only to stash it away as if he'd decided to collect them now. He then looked up to see his brothers both staring at him with curious looks.

"They say these things fall to symbolize mortality, and often do it during the first couple of months in the year. I figured I'd keep it for memories sake, seeing how it appears they've yet to blossom despite it nearly being spring." Noah said in an attempt to justify his actions to them before they just shrugged and motioned him to keep moving along to avoid being late.

"So are you absolutely sure you can take care of this? I can handle it if you're uncertain." Frasier then asked Marcus as Noah caught up to them.

"Of course I can handle it. I'm just showing him where to get a bloody uniform. It's not like I'm teaching him rocket science or anything." Marcus said with slight annoyance while he looked back over his shoulder to Noah only to give him a nod of acknowledgement.

"I think HE'D more likely be the one teaching YOU rocket science." Frasier responded with a rather condescending tone in his voice. Marcus couldn't tell if that was meant to be a poorly delivered joke or if he actually meant it. Either way it was a cheap shot. That was the one thing that really annoyed him about Frasier. Even after the last two years, he still treated him like nothing more than a small child.

"Yeah, keep talking big, you tosser. Don't forget our deal." Marcus retorted, which caused Frasier to fall silent once again, knowing Marcus had the perfect edge over him until the deal was eventually fulfilled.

Eventually they found themselves standing just outside of the private school simply known as Fujimi Academy. To Marcus and Frasier, it was simply another day at the grind; but to Noah,it was like beholding the sight of a colossus. Hundreds of students wearing the same uniforms stood outside talking to one another in groups while others would be heading off to class. The boys would be wearing a matching black shirt and pants; the girls on the other hand wore green skirts down to a few inches above their knees and white tops. While school uniforms weren't anything new to Noah, at least they were something able to remind him of home.

A twin gate system was already opened up; the bars appeared to be made of reinforced iron to keep intruders out. It was a private school after all, and it was abundantly clear no expense had been spared to make it a top tier place to learn. Noah was the first of the trio to run in and observe his new surroundings.

Pulling from his pocket a small map Frasier gave him when they were changing earlier that morning; he began to scan every wing and sector he could see from the courtyard. When he managed to determine where the student service center was, the young Brit immediately took off.

"Oi, wait up, you jumpy bugger. I thought I was supposed to be showing you where things were around here." Marcus announced as he jogged over and placed his hand on Noah's back to slow him down a bit.

"Sorry, Marcus, but this place is just amazing, though! How come you never told me how awesome this place was before?!" Noah said in apology before hyping himself up again when he looked around some more to see this place even had its own cherry blossom trees planted outside, complete with an older looking man wearing gardener attire slowly tending to them in the distance.

"Because it's school, Noah. It's all the same shit if you ask me. You go to class, sit on your arse for a few hours, listen to various adults try to cram shit into your head that will rarely ever be used, especially in our intended fields of work, and you do that for nine months out of the year. Best of all is that you pay them loads of dosh to do it! Does that still sound like a jolly good time to you?" Marcus ranted on before finally taking a deep breath to recollect his thoughts, hoping his little brother would wise up, stop acting like a geek and be cooler about everything like him.

"I also read this place has one of the highest ratings in all of Japan's educational departments, too!" Noah then replied as if everything Marcus just said went in one ear, was ground up into nothing, and then sent out the other.

"Oh for fu-never mind. Let's just get you that uniform, you eager little muppet." Marcus began to curse before realizing he shouldn't be trying this hard to ruin something Noah clearly enjoyed.

They both entered one of the smaller wings of the massive facility. Posters to join all kinds of clubs and after school programs could be seen littered along the walls, each one giving detailed reasons as to why to join, and more often than not was accompanied by a cute little cartoon drawing on it to draw the attention of any passersby. Since there weren't any classrooms in this wing, it was mostly just students, teachers, and other faculty members passing through, giving Noah plenty of space to walk around and take in just how big the whole place was.

He soon spotted a young woman sitting behind a circular desk that had massive stacks of papers around it. Noah slowly walked up while Marcus waited patiently for him at the entrance.

"Can I help you?" the attendant calmly asked when she noticed the young teen standing at her desk for a few seconds without saying a word. This was it, this was the moment Noah's year of training was all for, the moment that would determine if he could efficiently blend in and adapt to their language.

"Hello, my name is Noah Lawson. I'm here to pick up a student uniform, please." Noah said in a confident and direct tone despite his palms profusely sweating as he handed the woman his admittance papers. The fact she didn't say a word for a few seconds certainly did not help bolster his confidence as each second seemed to drag on for what felt like hours.

"Oh, wonderful! We've been expecting you, Lawson-kun! I take it you'd like a medium size uniform?" the attendant finally said after her eyes quickly looked Noah over during those quiet,tense seconds.

Noah let out a sigh of relief before nodding in response, watching as she pushed off in her wheeled office chair when she rolled across to peer into another doorway.

"Naomi-chan, one medium male student uniform please." the attendant instructed in a rather calming voice before rolling back towards Noah with a friendly smile before turning her attention to the phone when it began ring.

Roughly thirty seconds later, the young female student known as Naomi walked out with Noah's uniform neatly folded up and sealed in a plastic bag. She had short raven-colored hair accompanied by lovely brown eyes that Noah could instantly tell had nothing but kind feelings behind them. One noticeable feature of hers was the freckles on her cheeks that were somewhat shaped like downwards triangles.

"Here you go. Have a nice day!" Naomi said in a rather enthusiastic voice before handing the uniform to Noah, both students giving the other a bow of respect before she walked back to the very room she had come out of.

Noah and Marcus, having no further need for this wing, began to head to the nearest restroom for Noah to try on his new outfit. As he waited, Marcus began to check himself out in the mirror while standing outside the stall Noah was using for privacy. He slowly felt his jawline, knowing he was bound to get some facial hair one of these days. Seeing nothing that needed improvement,he just licked his right palm before running it back through his hair to give it a more bed-head look; a look he'd grown very fond of since being able to grow his hair considerably longer.

"Well? How do I look?" Noah finally asked as he stepped out wearing the same outfit as Marcus (and by extension, every male student in the school).

"Wow, not bad. You look almost as good as me even. Almost."Marcus replied with thumbs up before they both left the restroom, now finding themselves in the science wing.

Suddenly, the intercom hung on the wall above them began to crackle before what sounded like a xylophone being tapped played for a brief moment, the echo of the final note echoing for the few seconds of silence that followed.

"Good morning, students. Before we begin the day, I'd like to remind you all that today is the last day to sign up for an after school club. Further information can be found at the student service center. Have a nice day, and remember to support our kendo club as they will be demonstrating during the first break." a rather calm and soothing voice called out; his voice proceeding to echo throughout all the hallways of the school as he would read the daily announcements as usual.

"Kendo? Isn't that what Frasier's doing right now? Think he'll be a part of that demonstration?" Noah remembered as he gave Marcus a nudge, feeling anxious that he'd get a chance to see Frasier in action.

"Possibly. He's a really quiet one, though, if you haven't noticed yet. Even I can barely can tell what he's up to or even thinking these days. Hey, Noah, I have to get going so the teacher won't chew me out for being late, so do you think you can handle things from here?" Marcus replied before realizing he only had a few minutes before his first teacher would mark him absent and most likely follow with a personal lecture when he did arrive.

Noah nodded in response, certain that his map would make finding his classes remarkably easy. Marcus gave him a quick smile before quickly taking off, his sneakers squealing against the floor until he was soon out of earshot to Noah.

Knowing he didn't have much time left, the young Brit reopened the map to see that his first class was located in the language wing, only two wings adjacent to the one he was in now. Making sure to not run too fast, he moved at a light jog while observing any other features of the school he might stumble upon, still basking in the excitement that a place this pristine and overwhelming would be his school for the next, maybe three years.

As he walked up the stairs, he looked out one of the rather spotless windows to see that there was a bridge intersection at second floor that connected the different facilities together. Noah pushed open two doors to find himself standing outside again while looking for the numbers to signify where to go next.

"Here we go." Noah thought in the back of his head when he quickly matched up the right path to follow that took him directly to classroom 24-A.

Noah cautiously grabbed the door handle and gently slid it open,only to feel the entire class go dead silent. All the student's faces looked over in his direction while the teacher, who was still unpacking his lecture for the day, looked up only to smile at Noah's presence.

"Ah, Noah Lawson-san, I presume?" the teacher asked as he stood up from his desk. He was a thin middle-aged man with greying combed-back hair, and he wore a rather casual pair of sweatpants, a long white sleeved shirt with a red sweater vest over it, and sandals to complete what was a rather odd getup for a professional teacher. Then again, this was only social studies.

"Yes. My apologies for being late, sir. I had to pick up my uniform." Noah responded as professionally as he could as he tried not to show how incredibly nervous he truly felt on the inside.

"You can call me Mr. Wakisaka, and you're actually just in time. So please find a seat while I finish setting this blasted projector up." the man instructed after introducing himself.

Noah nodded in acceptance before lifting his head up, trying his best not to make eye contact with any if the eyes that were trained on him when approaching. Unfortunately, most of the seats were already taken up by now, so his only choice was a desk in the second to last row. Managing to keep the awkward eye contact to a minimum, Noah was finally able to release the breath he'd unknowingly been holding in this whole time before proceeding to unpack his book bag and pulling out a notebook with a matching pencil to go with it.

"Lawson, huh? That sounds British, right?" a soft female voice asked from behind Noah as he couldn't help but eavesdrop now that his classmates were talking about him.

"I'm pretty sure it is. Do you think he's related to one of the other British students here?" a second female voice brought up, neither of them trying to be very subtle at this point.

"Let me ask him." the first voice said before Noah began to feel someone's finger lightly tapping at his shoulder.

"Oh, hello. Can I help you?" Noah asked in a somewhat nervous tone while turning around half-way in his desk to face two young girls who both appeared to be looking his physical features over, as if comparing him to someone else.

One had black hair with a slight blue tint tied in a single braid and was slightly combed in the front. Her eyes were a light shade of brown. Her smile was quite shy yet seemed somewhat more confident when her friend spoke up.

The second girl had short reddish-brown hair which was tied in a simple bun and wrapped in one silk brocade. Her eyes were also brown, but had a darker shade near the iris.

"Hello. Hey, we couldn't help but notice you're obviously not from around here, so we were wondering, are you British by any chance? And if so, are you related to anyone from around here." the second girl answered as she spoke in a rather curious, if not rather intrigued, tone of voice.

"Yes I am, and as for my relations, yes, two older brothers who also come here." Noah said in response as he kept an open ear for when Mr. Wakisaka was ready to begin class.

"That's so cool! Do you speak German or French, too? Maybe even both?" the first girl prodded in a more lively voice than her friend beside her.

"Yes, actually. Our father taught us to speak them both since we were very young. That's a very specific question, really. Why do you ask? Can you speak them both, too?" Noah answered before following up with some questions of his own.

"Oh, no, definitely not. But my boyfriend is from Germany, so he likes to speak it sometimes." the first girl explained with a friendly smile and a loving shimmer in her eyes as if she was picturing him right now.

"Oh, where are our manners, we haven't even been introduced! This is Toshimi Niki!" the second girl suddenly brought up as she motioned to her friend as she quickly snapped out of her little daydream.

And she's Misuzu Ichijou!" Toshimi then added as she and Misuzu suddenly locked their fingers together and leaned their heads in together while still focusing on Noah, almost as if they'd been practicing this little gesture.

"And we're the best of friends! You'll almost never, EVER see us apart!" they both said at the same time before softly giggling when Noah realized he was clearly staring at their quirky little spectacle.

Before Noah could respond, the overhead lights went out; leaving the room in near pitch blackness, aside from few cracks of light that could be seen through the blinds on the windows. The sound of a projector could be heard starting up by the fans inside of it making a continuous humming sound.

"Sorry about that, everyone. These projectors are more trouble than they're worth sometimes. Anyway, let's get started." Mr. Wakisaka said from the front of the class room before a slide panel showed up on the board.

Roughly an hour had passed as Noah diligently took notes and would try his best to answer any questions he felt confident in answering. The more he spoke in Japanese, the higher his confidence would rise, seeing as how nobody had to correct him or even ask him to repeat himself. After saying goodbye to his new associates, Toshimi and Misuzu, Noah followed the map down to the first floor to his math class.

Despite his age, he was quite skilled when it came to mathematics, so he ended up ranking in with some of the older students in his previous school; there was no telling where he might end up ranking here after a few days. He carefully side stepped and avoided bumping into anyone while making his way down the stairs. While it was still crowded near the door to his class, he had the time to spare so he simply stood in place, patiently waiting for an opening to present itself.

"Stop standing there like an idiot and move it!" a female voice ordered in a sharp and clearly annoyed tone. Noah jumped in surprise that he was suddenly getting yelled at and turned just in time to see who was scolding him.

He stood face to face with a girl who had to be the same age as Marcus if not the tiniest bit younger. She had fierce orange eyes that glared directly into his. Her pink hair was wrapped into two pigtails; her hair also had two thin, long bangs at the sides, two thin strands over the left side of her forehead, and a spiky larger portion covering the left side of her forehead. While she was noticeably shorter than Noah, that didn't keep her death glare from being any less intimidating.

"Oh, my apologies. I was just trying to-" Noah began to say only for her hand to be held up in his face before slowly moving him out of her path despite there already being enough room for the two of them.

"I wasn't asking for your idiotic excuses. Just shut up and be happy I don't report you for obstructing the hallway, you idiot." she said in a rather smug tone of voice before storming off with both her fists clenched, almost as if she expected him to say something to her after all of that. Part of Noah really wanted to tell her off now, just to see what kind of reaction he could get out of this bossy girl. He had no idea what bug had crawled up her ass, but that didn't mean she had to take it out on him.

However, Noah remained silent instead, still somewhat reeling from such an odd encounter, and finally made his way into his next classroom. He knew talking back and making enemies would only make things worse. Had it been Frasier or Marcus in such a situation, he knew things would've only escalated, and he had no intentions of making a bad impression on his first day if he could help it.

The next class had much more options in terms of where to sit down. He decided it would be best to take a front row seat so he couldn't miss any useful information the teacher would be jotting down on the chalkboard.

Over the course of the second hour of the day, nothing worth mentioning really occurred. Luckily this class went by rather quickly for Noah, so he didn't need to expend that much energy in what was still just over three-quarters into the morning. With his notebook already three pages full of math notes, Noah was one of the first to exit class only to seek out his third one before the midday break could commence.

Noah slowly wandered into wood shop class next, looking with anticipation at all the various tools he'd be working with. Power drills, hammers, pliers, saws, and much, much more was at the ready. Part of it made him feel right at home, thinking back to when he'd be spending hours alone in the garage trying to combine things that normally would never go together. One particularly pleasant memory came to mind when he, Marcus and Frasier had each managed to build their own bottle rockets, and Noah's was the only one that wouldn't launch. He couldn't help but let out a pleasant sigh at such a nostalgic memory.

"Pretty awesome, isn't it? Think we'll get to make something more interesting than a dinky little birdhouse today?" a young boy's voice suddenly asked from behind Noah as he turned his head over his shoulder to see who it was.

There before him was a short and noticeably overweight boy,most likely sixteen years old like Marcus and that pink-haired girl from earlier. He had shoulder-length hair with bangs reaching down from the side of his temples, stretching outwards and obscuring the sides of his face. A thick pair of square-framed glasses slightly hid his dark brown eyes. However, he appeared to be very energetic and quite enthusiastic compared to some of the other people Noah had seen and encountered earlier.

"Hopefully we can make something really bad ass, like maybe a potato gun?" Noah agreed before suggesting something much more interesting he'd be eager to make. The thought alone caused a wide smile to form on the short boy's face before he burst out in laughter.

"Ha! As if they'd ever let us do something that awesome. But I like the way you think, so that counts for something. Oh, my name is Kohta Hirano for the record." the portly boy said before finally introducing himself.

"It's nice to meet you, Hirano-san. My name is Noah Lawson. So what would you have in mind for us to build if we can't build a spud launcher?" Noah asked while they both claimed a desk of their own and sat upon the long steel stools with black and blue seat covers, already sitting next to each other like longtime best friends.

"Oh, y-you don't need to be so formal, Noah-san. Y-you can just call me Kohta if you like. And if you ask me, I'd prefer to be working on firearms. You're talking to one of the only guys in this whole city to appreciate the beauty of firearms and the like." Hirano whispered as he leaned in to make sure nobody else could hear.

"Same goes for you. You can just call me Noah. And man, I know how you feel. Oh well, at least when I join for service it won't be an issue." Noah commented as he felt even more at home knowing the laws here were probably even stricter towards gun owners and enthusiasts.

"You're going into the military? Kickass! What branch were you thinking of? Come to think of it, where are you even from?" Hirano inquired as he was quite eager to learn more, given his rather delighted expression once the subject came up.

"Oh, me and my brothers are from England, and I'm planning on joining the special forces. Father is in the S.A.S. and intends for the three of us to follow the tradition of safeguarding our homeland. Or at least that was the original plan." Noah began to explain, only to gradually fall more silent the longer he dwelled on the deteriorated relationship between Frasier and Arthur.

"Oh...sounds rather personal. Well see you around, Noah. Good luck with all that." Hirano said hurriedly before getting up to move seats when he noticed more students began to enter the classroom.

"Wait, what's wrong? Did I say something I shouldn't have?" Noah asked, uncertain why Hirano was acting so distant all of a sudden, and especially why he was practically cowering to the back of the classroom. He knew he'd most likely done nothing wrong, but it couldn't hurt to see what was going on.

"Well, I know it might not be hard to believe, but I'm not very popular around here; especially in my communications class with Mr. Shidou. I'm just an easy target for everyone because I can hardly fight back…and when I try, it doesn't really work." Hirano began to explain, making it quite clear that he only didn't want to keep sitting by Noah because he feared that he'd be picked on by association as a result.

"What? Oh, bollocks to that noise, you're not that bad! You're actually pretty fun to talk to, and I wouldn't mind teaming up with you." Noah said sincerely as he could care less what some bullies thought of him and his new friend.

"Really?! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise to be the best friend I can possibly be...wait, t-this isn't a trick, is it?" Hirano practically cried out in gratitude as he repeatedly bowed to Noah in respect, only to momentarily stop when he realized he might've jumped the gun.

"Not even in the slightest, friend." Noah said before holding his right hand out, now showing Kohta his respect through how his own culture normally did it, instantly feeling his chubby friend's stubby hand shaking his hand up and down nervously.

This was by far the pinnacle of Noah's first day at this school as he and Kohta bonded like long lost brothers. Their common interests spread far and wide; most of it involving video games, guns, and cartoons though; but Noah still felt great knowing that he'd already managed to make a legitimate friend. It wasn't long before the musical chime of the school intercom echoed out, signifying the end of yet another class period.

"So, Kohta, you mentioned you were being picked on earlier?" Noah asked as he and Kohta began to head out of the classroom.

"Oh, y-yeah…I mean, it's not a lot of people, j-just these five guys in Mr. Shidou's class of 3-A." Kohta responded nervously, instinctively looking up and down the hall in the hopes those three bullies weren't nearby.

"Where do they usually hang out?" Noah asked out of curiosity, concerning Kohta understandably as to just what his new friend had in mind if he was asking these questions now.

"T-they usually hang out by the track in the field. W-why do you ask? You r-really don't need to get involved. Honest. I-I've gotten used to it by now." Kohta answered hurriedly, desperate to talk Noah out of doing anything they both might regret. However, there was a spark in Noah's eyes that showed that his mind had already been made up.

"Relax, Kohta. I just wanted to know so I can avoid that area. I Promise." Noah said in an attempt to calm his portly friend despite the fact he had his fingers crossed. After that, the two temporarily parted ways.

Ten minutes later, the bell for lunch had gone off. Noah stepped out and made his way through the many courtyards the school had to offer. As he walked, his eyes continued to wander across all the sights the school still had to offer. Athletes for the various sports teams could be seen training and honing their skills; and then there were others who preferred to eat their lunch on the beautiful grassy hills with plenty of shade offered by the trees planted there.

The youngest Lawson soon found himself walking along a low-level chain-link fence leading down his intended path. It was quite a beautiful day now that the sun was at its peak point. Warm breezes rustled fallen leaves as Noah stepped through them as they swirled in the air. Both his sneakers rustled against the gravel path as his eyes soon set upon what he was looking for.

"Excuse me, but are any of you in Mr. Shidou's communications class? Class 3-A?" Noah asked as he approached a group of older boys sitting on the fence just in front of the massive dirt track setup for the team to practice on.

"Yeah. What's it to you, kid?" one of them asked with serious impatience, very suspicious why this total stranger decided to ask them such a thing.

"Well, a friend of mine says you guys have been giving him trouble. Does the name Hirano Kohta ring a bell?" Noah then asked, catching all five boys' attention as their eyes all locked on him, assuming he'd come here to ruin any of their future fun with their chubby, timid little victim.

"Yeah, so what if it does? Did that little piggy send you to cover for him? What are you gonna do about it, gaijin?" one of them called out in a louder, much more aggressive tone, walking right up into Noah's face now as if challenging him. This boy easily had a good 8 inches on Noah, yet the young Brit's expression didn't falter in the slightest.

"Me? Not so much, since I'm only one person, not to mention I'm noticeably younger and smaller than all of you. But I can't exactly speak for my brothers, though." Noah humbly said before holding two fingers to his lips and letting out a loud whistling noise, a mischievous grin forming on his face as the five hoodlums stood there waiting for something to happen.

Seconds later, Frasier and Marcus both stepped out from behind a nearby hedgerow; both with their fists closed tight as if negotiations were officially closed now. Both of them seemed visibly enraged and clearly had a bone to pick with them for some reason given how fast they were coming up on them. The realization of how bad of a situation they had just landed in crashed against the five punks like a tidal wave.

"Are these the guys who hit you, Noah?" Frasier questioned as he dropped his book bag onto the grass before slipping out of his student jacket, leaving on just the white undershirt beneath it.

"Yeah. The one that just called me a gaijin." Noah confirmed before pointing at the closest one, leaving the five boys momentarily dumbfounded at what was happening right now, unable to currently process that Noah was turning them into a scapegoat.

"I'll take the three on the right. Marcus, you handle the two on the left. Be sure to teach them the meaning of 'boot shoved down throat'." Frasier ordered Marcus as they drew nearer and nearer with every step. Marcus gave a devious smirk as he began cracking both his knuckles.

"Hey, I don't know who you are, but-" one of the punks began to say, only to hold his hands up in surrender when he realized his words were falling on deaf ears.

*wham*

Frasier hit the closest one with such tremendous force that he tumbled back against the low chain-link fence only to roll over it. The other four all recoiled back, knowing they were in for a royal beating if they didn't get out of there.

"You done goofed once you hit a Lawson, you twats!" Marcus suddenly called out as he kicked another one of Hirano's bullies square in the nuts only to slam his locked hands down on the back of his head when he bent over in ball-busting pain.

"No! Not the face, not the face!" another pleaded as Noah just stood there with his arms crossed, watching his brothers mop the field with these scumbags. He couldn't help but grin to himself,seeing how none of them even met him earlier, let alone hit him. Instead, Noah had simply struck himself and went running to his elder siblings, knowing they would want to naturally retaliate. If there was one thing Noah was best at, it was using his intelligence to get results. And these results were quite satisfying. Noah had to suppress the urge to let out his own wicked little laugh when he saw all five bullies run away with their tales between their legs, and he could've sworn he even heard a couple of them crying like little babies as they ran.

"If I ever catch you bastards near my little brother again, I'll break your goddamn legs!" Frasier shouted out in a rage before Marcus began to pat him on the back in an attempt to settle him down.

"Relax, biggon. I'm certain they'll need a new pair of pants before they even consider trying anything ever again." Marcus chuckled as they all watched them flee until they were no longer in sight.

"Thanks, you guys. It really means a lot knowing I can count on you two." Noah said with a warm smile as he hugged them both, feeling confident those five punks wouldn't be bothering the Lawsons or Kohta for a good long while.

"Anything for you, Noah." Marcus said as he tussled Noah's naturally messy-looking hair.

"C'mon, let's get you to Miss Marikawa's office. It's best she takes care of that scrape." Frasier then suggested before Marcus suddenly took Noah by the hand and tugged him ahead, a sudden spring in his step like he'd just taken a huge dose of adrenaline.

"I'll take care of it, Frasier. You can go on back to whatever it is you do with your free time here. See you when school's out!" Marcus said in a rather eager and energetic voice as he volunteered himself to take Noah to see the school nurse, not even waiting for Frasier to respond before he was suddenly taking off, nearly dragging Noah behind him.

"Wow, you're full of energy all of a sudden. What's up with you?" Noah asked as he could see that Marcus was far too quick and eager to offer his aid without any hesitation whatsoever.

"What're you saying that for? I'm just trying to help you out, Noah. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Especially when said horse just kicked the shit out of someone; figuratively and quite possibly literally as well." Marcus explained as they were both running up a flight of stairs only for them to quickly enter a small room filled with cabinets and a few cots.

"Is somebody there?" a woman's soft, if not lofty-headed, voice called out from the other side of the room.

"Just me, Marcus Lawson, Miss Shizuka. Do you have a moment?" Marcus asked in a surprisingly soft, timid voice compared to his usually confident, quick-witted one.

The moment he called out, a chair suddenly rolled back to reveal a young woman in her late twenties sitting in it. She immediately got up and walked over to see what the unexpected visit was about. The instant she entered view, both Marcus and Noah felt their eyes go wide and their hearts skip a beat.

Shizuka was a very tall young woman with ridiculous curves and a buxom chest that was like nothing Noah had ever seen before, and even when her massive bosom was right in front of him, he still couldn't believe his eyes. Now he finally understood what Marcus had meant when he'd mentioned how beautiful the female faculty at this school was. Her long blond hair extended down past her waist, and she had a beautiful pair of warm hazel eyes. Several bangs of her hair came down to her face, with two separate locks coming down at the sides, running all the way down to her waist while also framing her flawless face. It was no wonder why Marcus had been so eager to help now, this woman was nothing short of absolutely gorgeous.

"Miss Shizuka, this is my younger brother, Noah. He had a bit of an accident, so if you could maybe help patch him up, I'd really appreciate it." Marcus said as he began to sweat, almost as if this woman actually threw him off his game. Normally he'd play it cool, but clearly Shizuka was beautiful enough to completely sap away his confidence and wit, even if she herself didn't realize it.

Shizuka gently took Noah's right hand and observed it to see a small cut along the side of it, her eyes forming a somewhat sad look, seeing how small and fragile he appeared to be. The expression on her face as she held Noah's hand couldn't be described as anything but downright motherly; to the point Noah wouldn't have been surprised if her first course of action was to actually kiss the cut on his hand to make it feel better.

"Aww, you poor thing. Just stay still and I'll make it all better for you, sweetheart." Shizuka said in an incredibly sweet and loving tone before she held Noah's hand under the nearby sink. Scalding hot water instantly spewed out, causing Noah's eyes to shoot wide open when he'd been expecting it to be much colder.

"Are you sure?" Noah grumbled under his breath when she turned around to fetch disinfectant, only for Marcus to nudge him in the side to hold his tongue.

"Just stay still and it'll all be better in no time, honey." Shizuka instructed as she carefully sprayed disinfectant along his minor injury. Noah's eyes watered a bit as it stung for a few seconds, just like most modern medicine would, but in no time the pain in his hand had completely vanished.

Just as his hand began to go numb, Shizuka quickly wrapped it up in a few bandages before lightly rubbing it affectionately. She then smiled, knowing that he'd be alright if he left it alone, while Noah couldn't help but blush as he felt her hand petting his own ever so gently.

"There we go, all better. Now do try to be more careful, okay,sweetie? I'd hate to see such an adorable face get hurt." Shizukasaid with a cheerful ring in her voice before walking away. Noah slightly blushed at the rather flirtatious remark while Marcus stood there; rolling his eyes at Noah's response, even though he knew his reaction would no doubt be the same.

"C'mon, 'sweetheart'. Let's get going while there's still a break left. Goodbye, Miss Shizuka!" Marcus mumbled to Noah in an obviously jealous tone before saying farewell to the ditzy yet kindhearted nurse, who seemed to have vanished behind her desk on the other side of the infirmary.

"Aww, did I steal your girlfriend?" Noah chuckled to himself as they both walked down the halls together.

"Oh, shut your gob. I was just being friendly is all! Don't look into something that isn't there." Marcus snapped in a rather defensive voice, clearly unable to admit the obvious crush he had on that woman, despite her being a full decade older than he was, if not just a little bit more.

"You two. Hold up." a female voice suddenly announced from down the hall, causing Marcus to stop dead in his tracks.

"Oh no…I know that voice from anywhere." Marcus cringed as he hesitated to turn around; knowing whoever it was that just called out was talking to him and Noah.

"Marcus-kun." the young woman said in a firm voice. Her eyes were a beautiful deep blue, masked by a fierce glare that could pierce even the toughest of hearts. She had long, straight, shiny purple hair that reached far down below her lower back, with a triangular fringe that barely reached the ridge of her nose. Her height was considerably tall for a local girl; even her arms appeared to be longer than most.

"G-good afternoon, Saeko-san." Marcus said; causing Noah to backtrack when he realized this was the so-often-mentioned woman that Frasier so clearly had it in for. As to why, he could not understand, but he certainly could take a few guesses. One being how insanely intimidating she appeared to be with that penetrating stare she had.

"Where is your brother, Marcus-kun?" Saeko asked calmly, yet with slight irritation in her tone. Clearly whatever it was she wanted with Frasier, it wasn't anything good.

"I'm right here, Saeko-san! Allow me to introduce you to-" Frasier suddenly announced as he came running down the hall, but before he could finish, she turned to face him with a rather disappointed look in her eyes that stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Where were you, Frasier-san? You missed our demonstration earlier today. I was really looking forward to it when you offered, but when I was left alone to bring in the new members,you really let me down." Saeko asked in a soft yet clearly irritated voice. She was clearly promised something immensely important that Frasier had failed to deliver, and it now had come back to bite him in the ass, hard.

"I... Saeko-san, you don't understand..." Frasier began to mutter, only to fall silent when her gaze showed no patience. He felt like his entire heart was being swallowed whole and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Failing to follow through on a promise was one thing, but to even slightly disappoint the girl he had deep, if rather repressed, feelings for was beyond anything he could handle.

"I told you that it wasn't necessary for you to participate, but you're the one who insisted that you'd do it with me. Do you know how embarrassing it was to go up there to demonstrate for the new members, all alone and with no substitutes at the ready? I thought you were better than this, Frasier-san. Honestly, if nothing else, I'm quite disappointed that you couldn't at least have had the decency to let me know you'd be unable to go on ahead of time." Saeko said in recollection of the conversation they'd had prior to this day. Frasier bowed his head down in shame as he knew that there was nothing he could say that would convince her otherwise, let alone lift her spirits.

"It's not his fault." Noah suddenly spoke up, causing all three of them to turn their heads towards him. One of Saeko's eyebrows slowly rose up as her predatory gaze was now set directly upon him. Noah could feel his blood go ice cold when he felt those blue eyes pierce right through him like he wasn't even there. However, he continued to stand strong, knowing full well it was his fault this was happening. After Frasier had stepped in for him, Noah knew he couldn't let Frasier down now in his own moment of need.

"I was roughed up by some older boys and he and Marcus had no choice but to help me get them back. It was a matter of family honor, and as such, it was very short notice. Surely you can understand if not appreciate that?" Noah said in an attempt to defend his older brother from her scorn and disapproval, even if it somehow meant becoming the recipient of that in Frasier's place.

"Hmm…that would certainly explain a lot. Forgive me, Frasier-san. I should've let you explain yourself first." Saeko apologized as she realized she'd jumped to conclusions without giving him a fair chance to explain his actions; now speaking in a softer and much more approachable tone.

"It's quite alright, Saeko-san. I know my participating meant a lot to you, and I am deeply sorry for letting you down. I promise I'll make this up to you somehow." Frasier vowed as he was now able to collect his thoughts without stuttering or freezing up mid-sentence.

"If I may give you some advice for the future: don't make a girl a promise you can't keep, Frasier-san. Your promises aren't worth as much to me now, given these current circumstances, but if you are indeed true to your word, then perhaps I can put this minor setback behind me." Saeko said before her icy glare quickly came to be not nearly as intimidating now as it was just a few moments ago; yet her voice remained completely calm and virtually unreadable, every last word digging under Frasier's skin.

"So then, with that all being said, I take it this young man is Noah? The youngest of your brothers, right? It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Noah-kun. I hope your older brothers took care of those cowards. Just know that if you ever run into trouble again, you can come to me as well." Saeko then said to Noah as they bowed to one another. Noah couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised that this seemingly ice cold (yet obviously skilled) girl would offer him such generous protection. Even despite the intimidating depth her blue eyes were capable of showing, the gracious smile now bestowing her beautiful, elegant face couldn't help but bring about a comforting feeling of warmth inside Noah's chest, as if he could practically feel her genuine kindness radiating from her.

"They sure did! Frasier talks about you a lot. He deeply respects and even admi-" Noah began to say in an increasingly frantic pace, as if he couldn't help but try to help Frasier out with his love life somehow, only for Frasier to suddenly cover his mouth before he said too much. Saeko then looked up at Frasier curiously, as if expecting him to explain his reason for doing so.

"You have my word, Saeko-san. I won't let it happen again. Perhaps tomorrow after the second bell, we could discuss how I can make it up to you." Frasier finished before Saeko formed a soft smile of relief, knowing that he truly did not mean to blow her off earlier, and that his only reason for doing so at all was because he did care ultimately about his family after all, despite his clear resentment of his father he'd expressed to her in the past. Marcus meanwhile was nodding in approval, knowing that Frasier was finally going to make his move. Part of him was rather impressed how despite just a few seconds ago being a mumbling mess, he managed to turn things around after Noah helped take the heat off of him.

"Very well, I look forward to it, Frasier-san. Don't disappoint me this time, or you'll most likely regret the consequences." Saeko replied before slowly walking away towards the stairs, stopping just for a split moment to look back at Frasier before moving on with her day. Noah could've sworn that he could see her form a different kind of smile before turning her head away and vanishing from their lines of sight.

"Well, that's Saeko-san for you. Shows up all calm and mysterious, instills that butterfly feeling into Frasier's gut as if she knows exactly where to apply the pressure, and then walks away before he makes that goofy smile of his." Marcus commented as Noah looked over to see that Frasier was indeed smiling whimsically to himself, and that it was rather funny to look at coming from him.

"Noah…you didn't have to do that, you know…but thank you." Frasier said in gratitude as he just stood there in place like a statue, his body still frozen by Saeko's words as he didn't even acknowledge what Marcus had just said about him.

'Oh, yes I did.' Noah thought to himself before the bell began to ring, indicating it was time to head back to class. Each one of the brothers quickly nodded to each other before heading off to their respective classes alone.

On Noah's way to the science wing, he quickly noticed a single female student being blocked off by a male student who was leaning in quite close to her. He was certainly going beyond anything that could be considered personal space to anyone observing from the outside. The male student certainly had a look that made him stand out from most others, mainly in that he had a head of short, dark brown hair that was dyed a bright blonde along the top, practically painting him into looking like a stereotypical Japanese high school punk.

"Tsunoda, I already told you I'm not interested. Now stop asking, you creep." the female student grumbled as she was clearly not interested in whatever the male student named Tsunoda was trying to offer her, though he was still refusing to let her step past him.

"Oh, c'mon, Yuuki-chan, don't make me beg. I know exactly what you like, and I've heard exactly HOW you like it. At least try to consider my offer to help you 'study'." Tsunoda said insistently, leaning in even closer to the girl named Yuuki before her eyes suddenly shifted towards Noah, which caused Tsunodato look as well, both watching him pass by.

Yuuki had light orange hair cut very short, and she used a navy blue hairband to keep her hair back. She also wore a small pair of earrings in each ear that glistened in the afternoon light. Noah quickly found himself observing Yuuki's face and her figure. Her body was not only endowed with some impressive curves, but was also quite well toned, especially in her legs, so she was most likely an athlete given how fit she appeared to be overall. What really caught Noah's attention, though, was her face. Just like all the other girls he'd met so far at this school, Yuuki was incredibly beautiful. The sunlight made her soft-looking lips glisten, and she had dazzling orange eyes that complimented her equally vibrant hair. Noah couldn't help but keep looking over her lovely features, which instantly caught the attention of both Yuuki and Tsunoda when they realized he was no longer passing by but fully staring at them.

"What are you looking at, kid?" Tsunoda asked aggressively as his eyes narrowed at Noah, as if he'd somehow found a way to be jealous when he noticed Yuuki was actually checking the young Brit out herself.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Noah responded as he surprisingly kept moving, knowing that he'd already gotten into enough trouble for one day. This guy clearly wasn't worth it.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Tsunoda said in a rather smug tone, as if he'd declared himself the victor of a fight that never even occurred. The instant Tsunoda turned his back, Noah then stopped walking and took a moment to reevaluate the situation he was currently in. Normally he'd keep walking, but this guy really bugged him on a personal level for some reason.

"Oh, you're actually capable of thought? That must be quite a revelation for you! Your parents must be so very proud of you!" Noah suddenly exclaimed in a sarcastic tone that caused Tsunoda to turn around with one hand clenched tight, gritting his teeth while his face began to go red. Yuuki on the other hand couldn't help but find Noah's instant retort to be quite amusing.

"You really want to piss me off, kid? Huh?! Think you're tough, bitch?" Tsunoda said as he stepped away from Yuuki only to take an aggressive stance with both his fists now balled up, just looking for any excuse to deck Noah right here and now.

"Tougher than you, that much is certain. Now, I advise you start taking a few steps to your six. That would be the smart thing to do, anyway." Noah replied as he stood his ground, knowing this guy was clearly all bark and no bite. However, he kept his right hand close in case he underestimated this guy and how far he'd be willing to take this.

"Tough guy, are you? Well go on, big man! Show me what you've got!" Tsunoda challenged as he pushed his chest up against Noah's, making it quite clear that he wasn't going to heed the young Brit's warning anytime soon.

*Wham*

Without hesitation, Noah's fist suddenly came up with his right arm formed in a U-shape, delivering a very powerful and unexpected uppercut right into Tsunoda's jaw. His eyes opened wide as his teeth clamped down around his own tongue, the taste of blood soon filling his mouth.

"You...you hit me!" Tsunoda practically wailed in total shock as he kept both hands over his mouth. Small drops of blood leaked past his lips and fingers, a few drops painting the floor as he stumbled back when Noah took one step forward so he wouldn't find himself backed up against the wall.

"You told me to hit you!" Noah replied, somewhat confused and sounding surprised rather than angry, seeing how he did not expect to basically take this guy out of the fight in one well-placed blow. Part of him almost felt bad now, as if he'd struck a small child rather than put some loudmouth punk in his place.

"Y-you bastard! I'll remember this!" Tsunoda grumbled before taking off, well aware now that he'd clearly picked a fight that showed no positive outcome for him should he have chosen to continue. Both Yuuki and Noah watched as he took off down the hall in full retreat.

"Thank you. That guy can be so persistent, not to mention stubborn. You didn't have to step in, but I appreciate that you did. What's your name?" Yuuki asked Noah curiously with an appreciative yet somewhat flirtatious smile gracing her pink lips as her eyes seemed to go straight through Noah without any effort as he quickly found his knees starting to go weak.

"Uh, i-it's Noah…N-Noah Lawson." Noah nervously replied, feeling himself becoming lost in Yuuki's shimmering orange eyes as she maintained direct eye contact with him, that inviting smile never once faltering from her gorgeous face. Noah was certain his mind was playing tricks on him, but part of him could almost swear she was gradually getting closer, almost as if she were about to kiss him before he suddenly felt his back against the wall.

"Noah Lawson, hmm? I like that. It really suits you for some reason. I'm Miku Yuuki, but you can just call me Miku if you like." Miku complimented before giving her own name in return, causing Noah to strongly blush in response that she was already giving him permission to address her so casually, if not personally.

The two of them were almost exactly the same height, so that made avoiding Miku's penetrating gaze that much more difficult for Noah as he realized she effectively had him trapped, like an exact role reversal of how he'd first found her only minutes ago. As he struggled to think of something to say, his wandering eyes couldn't help but be drawn to Miku's impressively buxom chest, which at that moment was less than an inch from directly touching him, causing him to feel an uncomfortable heat surging through his whole body as he struggled to remain at least relatively calm.

"You know, I can't quite put my finger on it, but aside from the fact you're obviously not from here, there's something…peculiar about you. Something about your face, in fact. Out of curiosity, just how old are you, Noah?" Miku suddenly asked, snapping Noah out of his temporary panic as he now had something to mentally grasp onto.

"Oh, well…I, uh…I-I'm actually…fourteen." Noah nervously answered, feeling a cold certainty in his stomach that Miku would start laughing at him for being so young. Obviously that reasoning didn't make sense, but right now his long-repressed adolescent hormones were in such frenzy that at the time he couldn't bring himself to think with reason.

"Really?! Fourteen? All the other first years we get are fifteen at the least. You must really be smart if you were able to get in here that young." Miku proceeded to actually compliment him, causing Noah to mentally backtrack as he was so certain he'd set himself up for embarrassment.

"You mean…you're not put off by the fact I'm younger than you?" Noah nervously asked, really trying to pick his words carefully.

"Not at all. In fact, if we're being honest here…I think that actually really adds to the cuteness factor you've got going for you." Miku said in an enticing whisper right into Noah's ear, causing his whole body to shiver. This was unbelievable, no other girl at any time in Noah's life had ever made him feel like this, and yet Miku was practically making him feel like melted butter in her hands as if it were the most natural thing in the world for her.

"And that accent of yours isn't a bad touch, either. Where exactly are you from?" Miku then asked as she actually took a step back, respectfully granting Noah some personal space once she'd seen just how flustered he'd been getting.

"M-me and my brothers are all from England. Surprisingly, you're the first person since I came here who mentioned me having an accent when I speak. It's not muddling up my Japanese, is it? I've really been practicing hard to make it sound as natural as possible." Noah asked nervously, as he began to worry that all this time he'd been somehow ruining his Japanese and everyone up to this point had simply been too polite to say anything about it.

"No, your Japanese is actually quite impressive. As for the accent, I only pointed it out cause I think it actually sounds kinda sexy." Miku explained, once again causing Noah to blush heavily. That was definitely not an adjective he'd ever expected to be used to describe anything about himself.

"Now, one last thing. For how young you are, you handled yourself with Tsunoda quite well. I can't help but wonder; where did you learn to move like you did back there?" Miku finally asked, eager to learn even just a bit more about this young British boy who'd unexpectedly come to be a very pleasant new acquaintance for her.

"Oh, well, our father is in the military, and he trained all three of us from an early age to defend ourselves, so moves like that just come natural to me these days." Noah replied, trying not to make his father's background or his intention to follow in his footsteps too big of a deal.

"Hmm, cute, witty, AND tough? Not bad. Not bad at all. Listen, class is going to start soon, but if you want, YOU can help me study some time. I find you really fun to talk to. So here's my number if you're ever up for it, Noah." Miku said in a warm and inviting voice, almost purring his name in a way that sent a pleasant tingling up Noah's spine, while quickly scribbling down her number before sliding the slip of paper into Noah's pocket. His face went red to the point it looked like steam was going to be bursting from his ears when he read it to see 'Miku Yuuki' and her number written out in pink ink with a little heart at the end of it.

"You forgot 'clever'." Noah mentioned in a rushed, flustered mumble in what was his attempt to reply, which only earned a delighted giggle from Miku before he quickly took off, not only to avoid further embarrassing himself, but also in the hopes he could still get to class on time.

"Even if it's not to study, feel free to call me any time you're feeling lonely, Noah!" Miku called after him in invitation, causing his cheeks to turn red again as he tried to get his mind back in the game of getting settled into his classes. Yet from that moment on, even despite his best efforts to participate in the lessons and lectures to come, Miku was constantly floating about in the back of Noah's thoughts.

(Several hours later)

The last bell of the school day had finally rung. Noah emerged from the school, still as delighted and eager as when he first entered. Despite the few incidents, this was a perfect first day to him. When he looked around to see if anyone was looking at him, he cautiously reached into his left pocket to make sure the paper with Miku's number was still there. Barely a minute later, when Frasier and Marcus finally found him, they began the long walk home. Traffic in the city appeared to be much lighter now as they managed to avoid waiting at the few intersections that forced them to usually waste a good couple of minutes.

The ground rumbled at one point when a train went by. All three of them watched as it rolled on by. One of the passengers, a very young girl, appeared to be waving at them as they smiled back and waved in response. The skies were still a light baby blue with many fluffy white clouds to fill the skies. While the sun had gone down just a bit, there was plenty of daylight left for them.

"So what do you think about it so far, Noah? Still feel like magical wonderland to you?" Marcus asked sarcastically before chomping down on a seaweed wrapping while waiting for an answer.

"Yes! How can you not love this place, Marcus? It's amazing!" Noah exclaimed without dropping any hint of excitement in his voice. Clearly he'd fallen head over heels for his new high school and nothing could change that.

"Stubborn little thing, isn't he? We'll see how long that eagerness of his lasts." Frasier commented as they eventually made it back to Uncle Mark's apartment, slowly closing the door behind them; knowing that tomorrow would be just another day for the Lawson brothers; finally reunited and ready to catch up once the weekend came around. This was just the beginning.