Hey guys! Here's the third chapter! As I said before, this chapter focuses on Ren, Yuuma and Hiroto, so hope you enjoy the Chapter of the Womanizers and the Ikemen!

NOTE: I've changed a detail; I decided that the "Five Virtuosos" haven't been established yet. Simply because I read Koyama did not get his huge ego until Gakushuu encouraged him during their second year (and I wanna write about that) and because I thought Seo wouldn't've come back to Japan until around half of the second year. And we're still in their first year.

So Seo's living in LA at the moment, and while Gakushuu recognizes Araki and Koyama's academic achievements, he hasn't really talked to them just yet. I've already edited the one scene in which the Virtuosos were mentioned, in chapter one, so it's all good. It's only Ren and Gakushuu for now. XD

Hope you like this chapter!

"She really is cute, isn't she?" Sakakibara Ren asks him one day as they are going through some notes.

Asano stops looking at the blue-haired girl that is playing football with Akabane and some other boys and turns to look at him. "Who, Shiota?"

"Well, yeah," Ren raises his eyebrows. He knows Asano is perfectly aware of who he meant. "I mean, you were totally checking her out and all that."

If it was anyone else, Asano would have changed topics (the guy is charismatic enough to pull it off), but Ren knows that Asano has a little more trust in him. (He's not sure if Asano even considers him a friend, but he does know he is the closest thing Asano has to one.) He'll let him talk to him about it. "I wasn't checking her out. I was just wondering how come she always seems to be around boys."

"Well, she seems to get along well with them," Ren shrugs, turning to look at the girl. She's not… particularly good at playing the sport, but she's motivated and they are all clearly having fun. "I guess she just feels more comfortable around boys."

"Perhaps."

Ren stares at Asano and sighs. They're only thirteen (well, he's thirteen; Asano is still twelve, although he's smarter and more mature than he is, Ren will openly admit it), but Asano acts more like a grown-up sometimes. (Although, well, with a father like that... Ren shivers. He's a chosen one, he's sure of it, but even he was intimidated by that man and his perfection. Ren knows that Asano can't be anything other than perfect if he wants to please the Chairman.) "But, you know, Asano-kun... there's nothing wrong in liking a girl."

Asano cut his eyes at him. "I said I don't like her. I don't even know her."

"I'm not talking about Shiota-san in particular. I mean, you have a lot of girls that are in love with you. Maybe you'll like one of them. There's nothing wrong with that."

Ren knows that he and Asano are in the "Top 5 Most Attractive Guys" list that the girls (particularly a loud one, although she's pretty enough, Nakamura Rio) made. While he's not sure of the order, he overheard that he, Asano, Akabane, Isogai and Maehara were the boys selected. It's a bit of a shame (for the girls) that Asano keeps declining the girls that confess to him. (Apparently, the girls that have confessed to Isogai have been declined too. And he heard that one brave girl from C Class even confessed to Akabane, and despite the rumors about him, apparently he was nice about it, even though he declined her as well. It seems that only him and Maehara are interested in dating. What a shame, indeed.)

"I never said there is," Asano says. "But I'm only twelve, going on thirteen. I am not interested in having a relationship just yet."

Ren shrugs. He's getting a bit convinced on the idea that Asano might actually be a little interested in Shiota, but he's not gonna pry. At least not today. "Whatever you say, Asano-kun."

It's when they start their third semester when the tragedy happens.

"Hey, did you hear, about Isogai's father...?"

"Yeah... poor Isogai-kun..."

"I hope he and his family are okay... Well, as okay as they can be."

"It's such a shame."

Maehara Hiroto walks through the hallway, sighing heavily as he hears everyone commenting on Yuuma's father. He feels like crying again—Yuuma's father had been like an uncle to him—but he resists the urge. Yuuma hasn't been coming to school after his father's death, so Hiroto has decided to help him by bringing the schoolwork he's missing and keeping him company. Yuuma needs someone to support him. He's his best friend, so Hiroto is going to be there for him. It's the least he can do.

"Maehara-kun?"

Hiroto turns around to see Akabane and Shiota. They're not his closest friends, but he's hanged out with them a couple of times lately and he likes both of them. At first he was worried about Akabane because of his reputation, but he knows now that Akabane can actually be a pretty good friend once you get to know him. As for Shiota, what he likes about her is that she can blend in with the boys, and be girly at the same time. And she's pretty cute, too.

All in all, they're fun people to spend time with and they're good friends. He's glad Sugino introduced him to them. He probably wouldn't've have known them otherwise.

He gives them a small smile. "Hi, Akabane, Shiota-chan."

"Hey," Akabane seems to hesitate for a moment—just a little moment—before giving him a small smile back. Hiroto never thought he'd see the day Akabane hesitated, even if it was for a fraction of a second. He doesn't comment on it though.

"We wanted to ask about Isogai-kun," Shiota says, her eyes showing genuine worry. "We know this is a hard time for him... so..."

Hiroto nods, understanding. "He's... well, he's taken it hard, but... he's doing better."

Shiota nods. "That's good to hear." She gives a small smile. "Just... just know that if you or Isogai-kun ever need anything, you can ask us, okay?"

Hiroto looks at Shiota's genuine eyes. She's such a nice, dependable person; of course she means it. As for Akabane; he can't read him as easily as Shiota (Akabane is that more guarded) but he can tell he agrees. His eyes are serious, not with their usual mirth and mischievousness. It might not be much, but it means a lot to Hiroto to know he has friends that are willing to help them through hard times. He knows it'll mean a lot to Yuuma as well.

"Thanks, guys. That means a lot, and I'm sure it'll mean a lot to Yuuma, too."

Yuuma feels extremely glad for his friends.

His father's death is still painful for him, and it probably will be for a long time, but he's better now. He misses him dearly, but he's getting used to his absence. He's got more responsibilities now that his father's gone. His mother needs help, and he's gonna do everything he can. His siblings deserve to be happy, and he intends to do everything he can to make that possible.

Despite all the hard times, Yuuma is thankful for all the support he's gotten. Hiroto was there from day one, always giving support when he needed it, keeping him company, and giving him his space when he wanted to be alone. Same with Mimura. As for his other friends, even though they're not as close to him as Hiroto and Mimura are, they still supported him. Kataoka, a girl he knows from student council reunions they have both attended and that he's kind of friends with, and Sugino visited him once he was better to keep him company. Hiroto told him about Akabane and Shiota being worried about him and giving him their support. They're not the only ones; students he gets along with, friends he's made, either at the tennis club or his own class, have shown their support, even if it's just by asking how he's doing.

Yuuma knows they all mean it, and it warms his heart.

So when he goes back to school, he makes sure to help his friends and support them in everything. It's not enough to express the gratitude he has, but it's something.

So I was thinking, by the time they started their third year, there were 186 students. I doubt that number varied much in their first and second year. There is no way in hell you can know everyone. Maybe their names, and maybe you can hear gossip about the most popular students. That's it. So the E Class students were probably friends with other people before, you know, transferring to the E Class. Some of them probably never even exchanged words before their third year. Which sucks, because then I have to think of names and whatever. XD

Making Sugino and Maehara friends so that Karma and Nagisa could be at least aquatinted with Isogai and Maehara was kind of a bullshit, plot-driven move but I can totally see it happening (since Maehara and Sugino are both big on sports) so hah. XD It's not like they're that close at this point; they hang out sometimes, but they're not the closest friends ever.

And Isogai and Kataoka were totally class reps before E Class happened. Come on, they were both known as Ikemen long before they were transferred. XD

Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm glad you're all liking this! :D By the way, I was asked if Korosensei will be in this story. Well, all I'm gonna say is that when Aguri comes into the story, Shinigami-san might make an appearance... XD

Most of next chapter is focused on Karma and Nagisa again, so you can look forward to that~!