Homura let out a small groan as she curled up underneath the thick blankets draped over her, hugging the pillow beside her tightly and burying her face into it. Her breathing was slow and steady, the sounds of birds chirping and Takuya's energetic shouting outside barely fazing her. Homura felt a hand ran through her hair before gently shaking her awake. Homura moaned in protest, until she heard Narita's voice whisper into her ear.

"Homura. Homura, wake up."

Her protesting eyelids peeled open and Homura slowly sat up from a large bed she was in. She let out a drawn-out yawn, rubbing one eye with her hand while registering the her surroundings with the other. When her fuzzy mind cleared up, she realized that Narita was sitting beside her in her morning attire and a cup of coffee in her hand. The school nurse's brown hair messed up as if she had just woke up as well.

"Had a good sleep?" Narita said and sipped her hot drink.

"Where am I?" Homura asked, sleep still in her eyes as she looked around the room she was in. Holding the pillow in her hands tightly to her chest, the room was basic in design and wooden in material. Pictures of the two Fujimaki brothers were placed on the shelves beside med-kits and various awards Narita and Takuya had won. A slow fan span above her, there was a bathroom in front of her and sunlight poked in through the small window on her right, the curtains wide open.

"You fell asleep on the way back to my house; it's 8 A.M right now," Narita stood up and headed for the door, scratching her messy head of hair, "I prepared breakfast and your uniform's in the shower room. Come on, you don't want to be late for school."

Homura blinked and tilted her head, "School?"

"I'll talk about that later. Right now, take a shower and spruce yourself up. I'll be outside," she said and pointed at the bathroom before she went into the living room, closing the door behind her. Homura could hear the sound of a piano being played leaking into the room when Narita opened the door for a moment.

"R-Right. Shower," Homura put her pillow and blanket aside and got off the bed, dressed in a pair of comfortable pajamas that seemed a bit big for her. She blushed when her clothes started to slide off her figure and held it up with a hand as she went inside the bathroom.

After a nice, hot shower, Homura looked at the uniform that was placed in the laundry basket. She thought it was cute as it was beige in color and had long sleeves which ended at curly cuffs. It also had a short, black skirt and big, red bow that would be placed on the white segment of the chest area. Taking it out of the basket, put it to her chest to measure it. It seemed to be her size and Homura wondered where and when did Narita get this for her.

Homura had marveled at herself in the mirror after she had put on the uniform. Liking how comfortable it felt, Homura smiled and stepped out into the living room. She was greeted with the peaceful melody of a piano Tomura was playing in one side of the room as Takuya relaxed on a couch next to his little brother. Takuya was covered in beads of sweat, a towel wrapped around his neck and a bottle of water in one hand. He probably was doing some acrobatics practice just now since he still wasn't in his uniform.

To her right, there were two doors which lead to the brothers' room and one to the front-yard. On her left there was the kitchen where Narita – now dressed in her formal business wear and lab-coat – was setting breakfast and the tableware with relative ease. The wooden walls were decorated with simple pictures and antique bows & arrows. For a small house, it was quite comfortable and felt easy to adjust to. The brothers in front of her didn't notice Homura until she had tried greeting them.

"G-Good morning."

They turned to her and exchanged the greeting in turn, "Good morning, Akemi."

"Mornin', Akemi!"

"Takuya," Narita called the older brother as she sat down at the dining table, a cup of coffee in her hands, "Take a shower first and then you can eat breakfast. I don't want you eating with sweat all over your face and it's not good to shower after eating either."

"OK!" Takuya chirped, leaping off the coach for the bathroom in his own room.

Seeing the older brother dash into his room like a blur, Homura looked back to Tomura and saw that he wore a set of prosthetic legs attached to his stumps as he sat on the piano bench. They looked rather close to a real set of legs but still looked more artificial. Homura almost felt a bit of uncanny valley as she stared at them until the boy noticed her eyeing him and smiled in response. Again, the boy didn't mind at all, but Homura avoided his gaze out of shyness and walked into the small kitchen.

She took a seat beside Narita and stared at the food Narita had prepared on the table. The meal was simple, but it made Homura's mouth water a bit since the soup Narita had given her yesterday alone already tasted quiet well. The school nurse gestured the girl to dig in instead of staring at it longingly before sipping her coffee and Homura picked up her utensils with a hint of anticipation on her face.

As she ate, Homura couldn't help but ask, "M-Miss Narita... Where did you get this uniform?"

"Hmmm? Oh, Minami and Yuri passed it to me when you were resting the other day; they gave it to you because they wanted to help you out."

"Minami and Yuri?" Homura cocked her head to one side, the names unfamiliar to her.

"Minami's the school's Council President and Yuri is her younger sister. They help run the school, so make sure to thank them when you see them later. That uniform isn't cheap by the way," Narita said with a light-hearted chuckle and finished her coffee.

"I see," Homura continued digging quietly into her food until she remembered her earlier question in the room, "W-Why am I going to school?"

Narita stood up from her chair and placed the thick mug in the sink, leaning on the kitchen counter as she answered Homura, "Well, we thought it will help you get back your memories if you tried to interact with people, and you could visit my office during lunch break. Besides, the teachers and the boys will be looking out for you when I'm not around. You have to keep track on your studies, too."

"B-But-" Homura wasn't so keen on separating with Narita. She hadn't really gotten used to being alone with the others that well, but when the two brothers went out of their rooms in their uniforms and gave Homura a friendly smile as they sat down for breakfast, Homura thought she could at least try. Being reluctant might bother them anyway and only cause unneeded complications, "A-Alright. I'll do it."

"Atta' girl," Narita smiled and looked at her wristwatch, "Hurry up, boys, the others should be waiting at the park in a few minutes."

As Narita closed the front door behind her and locked it shut with her key, Homura looked up at the turquoise blue sky above, running a hand through her raven hair when a gust of wind blew pass them. She looked at the school bag in her hand and felt the weight of the books inside it. From what Narita had told her, the books were also provided by Minami and her sister at no price whatsoever. Homura made a mental note to thank them later for their generosity.

On the sidewalk, Takuya patted his younger brother on the head, asking, "Pumped for you first class in the morning?"

"I guess so," Tomura gave a light shrug and looked down at his prosthetic legs. They were impressive, sturdy despite being made out of plastic. Each time they clacked together, they made a noticeable sound that was almost distracting, "But, these feel weird..."

"Heh, you'll get the hang of it," Takuya glanced over to Homura who seemed to still be gazing at the clouds passing by overhead, "How about you, Akemi?"

"E-Eh?" Homura stammered and nervously pinched the red bow on her chest. Hands behind her back, she gave a small nod and answered, "I'm okay... I'm just... A bit nervous..."

"Don't worry," he flashed his usual smile and a thumbs up, "If you need anything, you can just call me and my friends!"

Homura appreciated his enthusiasm and easy-going attitude. She needed it if she was going to get used to the boys and being separated from Narita. Once Narita finished locking up the house, she placed her keys in her bag and the group headed off down the sidewalk. Homura could see other students rushing out of their houses as well for school, the occasional girl with toast in her mouth passing by. But during the group's stroll, Narita seemed to be having problems with her cell-phone.

"What's wrong, Narita?" Takuya piqued, turning around to face Narita while effortlessly walking backwards.

Narita groaned in frustration and passed the boy her cell-phone which didn't seem to be working. There weren't any lights blinking to show it was functioning and the screen showed nothing but black, "It's been like this since I woke up. I think I dropped it during my sleep," she scratched her head, heaving a heavy sigh, "Damn it, I just got this thing, too. Think I'm gonna have a word with that electronics salesman."

Takuya examined the phone and smiled, "Don't worry! I think Tateyama can fix this! We just need to ask-"

Suddenly, Takuya tripped on a piece of gravel that was jutting out of the sidewalk and fell on his back with a loud thud. The phone had landed in the middle of the road beside them, clattering on impact. Before they could act, a car drove by and crushed the cell-phone underneath its tires, leaving the group speechless and the phone completely obliterated.

Takuya got up to his feet, rubbing his sore back, "I-I think Tateyama can fix this," Takuya nervously laughed as he went and picked up the shattered remains of the phone that was now completely lifeless in his hands. The screen was shattered, the insides of the phone were barely recognizable and it was now in a worst condition than before. Takuya still tried to turn it on, his mouth left hanging as a drop of sweat trailed down his face, "I think."

Tomura buried his face in the palm of his hand, "Not again..."

Narita could only sigh and Homura really had no idea on how to react. She merely slumped her shoulders and watched as the car that had crushed the phone suddenly reversed until it was in front of Takuya. The window of the front passenger seat pulled down to reveal a girl with short, black hair, freckles on her cheek as she wore the same uniform Homura had.

"Takuya?" the girl noticed the state of the phone in his hands and groaned. She rubbed her forehead with one hand and accusingly shouted, "Don't tell me you dropped the phone again!"

Takuya cocked his head to one side, "Mi-Mirai? What are- Wait, what do you mean 'again'?! That's rude! This is only the 3rd time! 3rd!"

"This is the 4th time already!"

"No, it's the 3rd! I counted!"

While Takuya and the girl in the car suddenly got into a heated argument that befitted two young kids instead of teenagers, Tomura, Narita and Homura noticed a gruff-looking man with an eye-patch stepping out of the car's driver seat. The tall man wore a clean-cut suit that was big enough to keep his large physique and had an I.D card on his breast pocket. Narita let out a small chuckle, recognizing the man, "Morning, Kosaku. Quite a way to start the day, isn't it?"

"Morning, Akira. It sure is," her joke got a small laugh from the big man as he spoke in a deep, sage-like tone. For a man of his looks, he was more calm and reserved than one would expect as he went up to the three. Giving a formal salute that was sharp enough to cut glass, he lowered his gaze down to Homura and the black-haired girl retracted a few steps to hide behind Narita, "She's the girl from last night, I presume? Greetings."

"Homura, this is Kobayashi Kosaku, my neighbor and an old friend of mine," Narita explained and as she placed a hand Homura's head, "Kosaku here and I used to be in the military for a bit. I patched him and his friends every now and then, so we became friends pretty fast. The girl over there is Mirai, by the way. She's his daughter, and my assistant in school."

Kobayashi gave a small smile as he looked at Takuya and Mirai behind him who were still arguing loudly, "Well, it seems your phone broke. Again. Do you want a ride to the usual place in return?"

"Sure. I'm running a bit late, so thanks," Narita gestured the two to get into the car and looked back at the man. She noticed that he looked a bit tired, as if he had not gotten any sleep the previous night, "Anything happened last night?"

"Plenty. But, I'll talk about that later," Kobayashi looked back at the two teenagers who were still arguing in broad daylight and sighed. These arguments came far too often for his liking, "If you two want to argue, you can do it in the car. Or at school."

Surprisingly, the small vehicle was big enough to accommodate the entire group inside of it. While Kobayashi and Mirai sat in front, the others sat in the backseats. Homura noticed some parts of the car had a bit of wear and tear, along with some scratch marks and signs of damage. And despite her being in the vehicle, in the middle of the backseat as well, Mirai was oblivious to her presence as it didn't take long for Takuya and Mirai to continue arguing again.

The freckled girl had shifted in her seat to look at the brunette behind her, "I was gone for one day because of a fever, and Minami told me you drenched the entire auditorium in water?! How on Earth can one person do that?!"

"It was an accident!" Takuya defended, puffing his cheeks, "I tripped and ended up hitting a water sprinkler an arrow! Blame the water sprinkler for being there!"

Mirai sighed and muttered underneath her breath, "You're always tripping on something," rubbing her forehead with one hand again, her scowl faded away and the girl gave a more softer look at Takuya, crossing her arms, "Anyway... you didn't get hurt or anything... right?" she tried to avoid looking at Takuya and just focused on the scenery the car drove by outside.

"Nope," Takuya quickly replied, tensions between seemingly faded away just as fast, "After plenty of accidents, I think I got used to them. Like they say, what doesn't kill you, just makes you stronger!" he gave a boastful laugh that got another sight from the freckled girl.

Homura nudged the younger brother beside her in the arm and quietly asked so they wouldn't overhear them, "A-Are they always like this?"

"More than you would expect," Tomura replied with a tired smile, holding a rather thick book in his hands.

"Akira," Kobayashi spoke up from the front, sounding more serious than just now, "Sorry if this may seem sudden, but for the past few days, have you seen anything out of the ordinary?"

"Out of the ordinary?" Narita a memory of the ooze she had found on Homura's forehead yesterday came to mind. Looking at the kids around her, she decided to not bring it up with them like this. She gave only a small, simple reply that hinted Kobayashi that there was more to her answer, "Maybe. I'm really not sure if I've seen is what you're looking for."

Kobayashi's brow furrowed, the man knowing what she was trying to imply as he looked at the kids around him. Deciding as well that it wasn't best to talk about this in the car with them, he gave an understanding nod, "Alright. Then we'll talk about this later," Kobayashi stopped the car as they had just reached the block near the middle-school and were now right outside Tomura's preschool and the park where the others boys were supposedly waiting for them, "This is where you stop, right?"

"Yes, and thank you, Kosaku." Narita gave a gesture of thanks which he exchanged with his own.

In the middle of the lush park, Tateyama was sitting on a wooden bench between rows of trees with his computer on his lap. Typing away on the keyboard, a flock of birds flew overhead as beside him, Hideki was attempting to do sets of pull-ups on a horizontal pole between two tall bars of rusty steel. Tateyama sipped his cup of Milo as Hideki started a conversation between heavy pants for air, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his sweaty, aching arms.

"S-So, how've you been doing with your problem, so f-far?" Hideki asked as arms began to feel like rubber, but it didn't stop him from trying to do at least 20 sets of pull-ups. Gritting his teeth, his pants started to become more drawn out.

Tateyama tried to rub away the sleep in his eye, looking at the whispering leaves above him that were falling from the trees. Tateyama could see Mamoru sitting on a tree branch above him while he carved a piece of wood with his chisel in hand. The shaved wood fell onto his shoulders and Tateyama dusted them off, "It's taking a while. But I think I'm close. I might find a cure this time," he sighed and closed his laptop, looking aside at his friend, "What about you?"

Hideki dropped to the grass beneath him and landed on his butt. Grunting while rubbing his sore arms, Hideki wobbly got up to his feet and dusted himself off, "Dammit. I haven't gained one significant inch of muscle, yet. Goddamn it," he groaned and sat beside his white-haired friend, "And to think the competition's registration days are only a few days from now..."

"This is getting annoying," Tateyama complained, his words still said in a blunt tone despite his intent.

"But-" Hideki's tone suddenly changed to a more hot-blooded one as he stood up and raised a fist triumphantly in the air. He winced and retracted his arm when he felt pain inside his sore limb. Despite it, he gave a cocky grin and declared, "I ain't giving up. No matter what, I'm just gonna dust myself off and stand right back up again. Even if I'm beaten senselessly into the ground."

Another hint of what looked like a smile appeared for a moment on Tateyama, who was amused by his friend's persistence, "Jeez. You haven't changed one bit-"

The two's conversation was then interrupted by a very familiar, sing-song voice, "Tateyama! Hideki! Good morning!"

"He's here," Tateyama stated with a blank look and the two noticed the Takuya bouncing over to them with his school bag in hand. With his sharp eye, Tateyama noticed a broken phone in one of his hands which did not surprise him in the least. When he went up to them, Takuya sheepishly tossed the phone into Tateyama's own hands, clasped his hands together and bowed, requesting him to fix it without even saying a word, "You broke it again?" Tateyama asked with dull surprise, "3rd time already."

Takuya gave a cheeky laugh and scratched the back of his neck, "It was kind of an accident... But I'm sure you can fix it! You always fix stuff perfectly!"

"Always looking on the bright side of things, right, Takuya?" Hideki commented dryly and peered at the broken piece of tech that looked like Takuya had just fished out from a trash can, "Man, it looks worse than usual. What did you do, run over it with a truck or something?" his little jab got another cheeky laugh from Takuya, which caught Hideki off-guard for a moment before he realized that it was Takuya he was talking to, "Right. Truck. Were you angry or something?"

"It was a car, not a truck."

"I can fix it. It will take a while," Tateyama concluded and placed the phone inside his bag. He was also quick to take advantage of the situation, "But, I get your lunch in return."

Takuya was going to complain when Hideki raised a finger, pointing out, "At least he doesn't ask for money, right?"

He had to agree with him. The only thing Tateyama wanted in exchange for his help was food. At least he could buy some from the cafeteria with the money Tateyama never takes. Takuya then shook his head and tried to change the topic, "Anyway, where's Mamoru?"

The two quietly pointed their fingers to the tree branch above them and the shaved pieces of wood that were falling on their heads. Takuya glanced up and saw Mamoru quietly sitting on tree branch, focusing hard on the piece of wood he was carving out with his chisel. Takuya then leaped onto the pole Hideki had did pull-ups on and used it to spring himself up to the tree branch Mamoru was on with ease.

Takuya grabbed the thick tree branch above him and pulled himself up to straddle it. He saw in front of the green-haired boy who had a chisel in hand and huffed from the energy his stunt took from him, "Morning, Mamoru!"

Mamoru looked up from his work and smiled at the brunette's presence, "Greetings, Takuya. Here, I have something for you," putting the last finishing touches into his work, Mamoru tossed Takuya the item in his hands and gave a proud grin. In Takuya's hands was a neatly-carved bow that was delicately-made and rather sturdy, "That's to replace the one you had broke yesterday. I made some improvements into the design and I used a different type of wood, so it should last longer than the previous one. How is it?"

"Cool! It's really awesome!" Takuya laughed as he pulled back on the bowstring and aimed at something. Releasing the bowstring, his new bow was sleek, elegant, and was beautifully-crafted. As to be expected of Mamoru's skill with woodwork, it held a candle to his previous designs, "Thanks, Mamoru!" Takuya said as he wrapped his arms around Mamoru and hugged him tight. Almost too tight as it made breathing hard and the sudden physical contact made Mamoru fluster, but he didn't mind.

"I-I have one thing to ask in return," Mamoru said, gasping for air once he was released from Takuya's bear hug.

"What's that?" Takuya cocked his head to on side.

Mamoru cleared his throat and looked embarrassed as he turned away, asking, "H-Help me get down from here. I don't like heights very much."

Hideki noticed Narita and Homura heading towards them and waved at them while Tateyama gave a slight nod. Narita smiled and Homura gave a small wave in return, her face a bit red as she shyly clung onto the nurse's labcoat. Once the two had reached the boys, the school nurse looked around for Takyua and Mamoru, asking, "Where did those two go now?"

Hideki opened his mouth to answer that when there was a sound of loud crash and the rustling of leaves behind the bench. Two figures had fallen from the tree behind them and landed on the ground with a loud thud, accompanied by slight groans of pain and some laughter, "There they are," Hideki said, looking back to see hands grabbing the bench and both Mamoru and Takuya getting up with leaves stuck to their hair and uniforms.

"Perhaps jumping down wasn't such a good idea..." Mamoru groaned, stifling a small laugh.

Takuya shrugged off the pain and brushed the leaves of his hair, exclaiming, "Let's do that again!"

"Hey!" Narita reminded them of her and Homura's presence, "If you're all done fooling around, I think it's time to get to school. We don't want to be late now, do we?"

Mamoru went around the bench, fixing his collar and trying his best to look prim and proper despite having taken a bad fall. He dusted the leaves off his head and regained his usual smug smile, "Of course, I-" he noticed Homura staring at him, as she was probably trying to get the bravery to greet him without being asked too. Knowing that would take a while, he greeted her first and extended an open hand, "Greetings, Miss Akemi."

"H-Hello," she attempted a smile and shook hands with him.

After mere minutes of walking to school, the group finally walked pass the large, ornate gates of the their school. Homura looked around and saw students that were chatting and bantering with their friends, loitering around, or whatever other activities they could do before the first bell rung and heralded the first few classes. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked around to see Takuya giving her a smile of encouragement. As if telling her that everything was going to go alright. Appreciating this, she smiled back and nodded.

Up ahead, two girls, one around Homura's age with short, purple hair tied into a ponytail and a younger girl with more longer hair, noticed the approaching group. They went up to them and gave worried looks at Homura which only confused her. Even more so when they began asking questions, "How are you feeling?" the older one asked, "That uniform isn't too tight, is it?"

Homura took a step back behind Hideki, "A-And you are?"

The two suddenly remembered they had not introduce themselves after Homura had lost her memories and apologized for forgetting. It felt weird to be introducing themselves again, but they went on with it, "Well, my name's Minami, student council president, and this is my sister, Yuri," the older one said, stepping forward, "We're the ones that gave that uniform you're wearing. That, and the books in your bag."

"O-Oh!" Homura gave a quick bow, "T-Thank you for the uniform. It fits nicely... The books as well..."

"I-It wasn't hard finding your size. Don't worry," Yuri added, trying to calm her down, "W-We're just here to help."

"Yeah. Don't need to thank us. Its just-"

The sounds of the school chimes ringing through the air signaled the start of classes and students outside began to head into the school.

"If you're done, I think it's time to head back to class," Mamoru reminded Minami, cutting in with a as-a-matter-of-fact tone that earned him a glare from Minami.

Before leaving with her sister, Minami shook hands with Homura, saying, "Well, I hope you get better. If you need anything, you can always ask us," the younger sister beside her gave a friendly smile at Homura before they all left for class. The group followed them in and Narita went her separate ways as the school nurse went to her office. Before she had left, Homura gave her one last look and then followed the boys to their classroom.