-APRIL 28-

The day everyone's excited about has arrived. This one time only social gathering has everyone excited since its announcement by Chairperson nearly a month ago; at the school grounds of Taiyo High, the main hosting school, several students from the school, meet each other, knowing that it's been a very long time already since they've seen each other at school; friends see each other again, yes, smiles are felt by everyone now.

Among the Taiyo alumni are Hinata's friends Batsu, Kyosuke & two of the three planners Ran & Iicho a.k.a. Chairperson

"Fun day isn't it, Batsu?" says the cool headed Kyosuke, adjusting his glasses

"It is, I miss seeing everyone here!"

"You can say that again, I'm getting Goosebumps already"

"Same here Kyos-" a sudden flash came by, courtesy of you-know-who

"Ouch! My eyes!" he exclaimed, rubbing his eyes "Ran!" In contrast, the calm headed Kyosuke didn't even flinch by the bright shutter

"OMG, look at your face here Batsu!" *giggles* "This is so going on Facebook!"

"You wouldn't dare!" the hot blooded Taiyo student threatened her

"Oh I would!" she is unfazed by his threat "What are you gonna do? Cry to your mama?" she teased him

Caught off guard by her last remark, he gave up "Oh never mind, go ahead" She snickered "Booyah!"

"Besides, I need to take a joke once in a while nowadays" he lightened up a bit

"Good for you, Batsu" added Kyosuke

"Wow, I'm glad to see you three by now" Chairperson came passing by, in her trademark red tracksuit

"Hey Iicho!" Ran was the first one to notice her "You're early today and I see that you're still wearing your favorite tracksuit"

"Why wouldn't I wear it? I feel comfy whenever wear it with me" she tidied it up

"Sorry to butt in but have you seen Hinata around here?"

"Oh yeah Kyosuke, I haven't seen her today. It's unusual for her to be late for today" added Batsu

"Oh about her, if I remember correctly I heard that she along with Natsu & Tiffany will perform a special number today"

"Really? Cool. Then again, all of us often hear her sing almost every day"

"I look forward to see her on stage"

"Same here Kyosuke"

"FYI that is one of two performances for today" added Ran, surprising the two

"Get outta here! There's gonna be another performance after Hinata's?"

"You heard right Batsu, after her performance with Natsu & Tiffany, a band will perform after"

"A band you say? Who are they?"

Iicho answered "Well according to Boman, they're a 6-member group and he's friends with all of them, especially the front man, that's all I can say for now."

By this time around, many students from their respective schools have already gathered together by the school grounds; meet and greet sessions are going on everywhere

"I guess everyone's here now"

"I don't think so…" contradicted the Taiyo journalist-to-be

"What do you mean? Who are we missing?"

"Ahem, the Host!"

"Holy crap, you're right! Sakura's not even yet here yet!"

"I told you!"

"Wait a minute Ran, what about Sakura?" asks the hot blooded Taiyo student

"She's the host for this event" answered the now irate Iicho "…and she's nowhere to be seen, some host she makes!"

"But her school isn't invited to this event" added the calm as usual Kyosuke

"She volunteered to be the host where she hesitantly accepted"

"I see, do you think she'll make a good host?"

*chuckles* "I barely think she can" *chuckles*

"Oh Sakura, why did I even made you the host for this? You're not even punctual, even for today!" muttered Chairperson

At a nearly empty parking lot by the entrance, Gedo alumni hung out there, doing their usual juvenile stuff like littering and among others. Two of the school's most notorious students, Edge & Gan are busy spray painting some unfortunate person's car

"Ha ha, that looks good Edge!" the blonde haired rebel spray painted a somewhat crude drawing on the hood

"Thanks Gan; the owner of this will be SO pissed when he/she returns only to find out what I did to the hood" *snickers*

"Lemme give it one final touch!" the big Gedo juvenile added some "detail" on Edge's graffiti

"Wow, you made it look cooler! Nice one Gan!" the two had a hi-5

"Whatcha guys doing?" a voice called from behind, shocking them both

"GAH!" they exclaimed in unison; when they slowly turned around, they were surprised and at the same time relieved to find out it's their buddy Akira from Seijyun, who used to study with them under the guise of a boy.

"Hey Akira! What a surprise!"

"Long time, no see Akira!"

"Yeah long time no see to both of you as well!" not for long, her 2 friends from Seijyun, Zaki & Yurika, came passing by too

"Oh hey guys! I'm surprised that you followed me here"

"Why not? We wanna know your buddies a bit better" explained the masked Seijyun alumnus. Yukari agreed with her, responding only with a nod

"Umm Yukari, is everything going good for you lately?"

"Indeed it is"

"No disrespect but what happen to your brother?"

"Kurow is now serving a sentence of 15 years for his destructive behavior"

"Sorry to hear that" speaking of brothers, someone Akira knows very well surprised her

"Surprised to see you here" it's none other than Daigo

"Onii-chan!" she greeted him with a hug

"Hi Akira, how's my sister doing?"

"Being a good girl as always!"

"And I see that your friends from Seijyun are here as well" he waved Hi to them, they waved back at him

"Edge, Gan, how are you 2 doing?"

"Doing good Boss!"

"Same here!"

Random Gorin alumni are meeting up near the basketball court. Natsu's 3 friends Shoma, Roberto & Nagare are seen having a conversation by the bench

"Some event this is, Ain't it guys?" the football player told the other two

"It is Roberto, it truly is once in a lifetime, and I'm so relaxed right now"

"Say, have any of you seen Natsu anywhere?"

"I heard that she has a special part in today's event" answered Shoma

"According to her, she'll be performing on stage with her friend Hinata and another friend of theirs from Pacific" Roberto added

"Really? Can't wait to see their performance" The other two agreed with him

Lastly, Pacific alumni gathered together near a certain area by the school, the gates

Boman is busy hanging out with his fellow schoolmates

"Hey Boman, happy to see you're here!" one of his other buddies greeted him

"Oh hey there, it's been a while" they gave one another a hi-5

"So how's the training-to-be-a-preacher biz for you lately?"

"Honestly speaking, it's been very good lately"

"Cool, good to hear that; I wish you luck for some more of it"

"Thank you, I appreciate your support"

"Anytime dude; say, have you seen Roy & Tiffany anywhere?" his question donned to the young preacher-in-training, who seems to know both of their whereabouts

"Roy & Tiffany? About them, I'm sure they'll be here anytime soon" he stayed optimistic

"Alright if you say so" the random Pacific alumnus then went back to with the others

"Where are those two? I already sent both of them invitations over a month ago; I hope they'll be-"

"Boman! Long time no see!" a familiar voice cut him off

To his delight, it's his bubbly-headed female pal "Tiffany! How long has it been since we've since each other last time?"

"I know right?" they approached one another "How's life for you here in the land of the rising sun?"

"Peaceful, simple and great, I've been really enjoying my stay here; how's everything going for you lately?"

"Like yours, it's simple and a little bit delicate, I guess"

"Good to know, and I thought you'd never come"

"Are you kidding me? When I found out about this, I jumped with excitement because not only I get to go back here, I also get to see you and many others again!"

"Who wouldn't?" both laughed

Back with the Gorin gang… while the 3 chill their butts off when a familiar voice called them

"Hey guys" turning around, all 3 guys are surprised to see what she's wearing "Nat…su…" all three said in unison, unable to find the right word to describe her attire

"Sorry I was late, had a hard time picking the clothes to wear for today; so what do guys think?" she struck a seductive pose

"Whoa Natsu…" The soccer player couldn't say anything else, so does the hot tempered baseball player, who has his mouth open. In contrast, Nagare's able to compliment her

"You look very lovely"

"Why thanks Nagare, I appreciate it. I'm not surprised that Shoma & Roberto are at awe with my fashion taste!"

Meanwhile, back with the Taiyo alumni

As many random alumni spend time together, the main 4 are still waiting for Hinata to come, not to mention the host Sakura to arrive when…

"Boo!" someone surprised Chairperson from behind; once she turns around, it was one of their own, one of the three girls that will perform later

"Looking for me? I'm here!" she exclaimed with a high tone

"Hinata, finally you're here! What took you so long?"

"Sorry for being late Iicho, I just had to do something"

"Sure you do, sure you do. Mind if I ask you something?"

"I'm all ears!"

"Where. The. Hell. Is. Sakura?"

"Oh Sakura, well you see the thing is… how can I put this…?" as she thinks of what to say, Chairperson is growing impatient

"Make it quick please; you are aware that she's the host for this event! Not to mention almost everyone from their respective schools are here already!"

"Calm down Iicho, calm down…" Ran tried to ease her cool

"Ah I got it, here it goes… You see-" before she can start explaining

"Sorry I'm late guys!" in comes the host, running as fast as she can to the group "The host for this once in a lifetime event is finally-" only for her to trip on the ground "-here!" she continued her phrase with the final word amidst her almost reddish face

"Sakura! Why are you late? You are the host right! Hosts aren't supposed to be late for special events" Hinata scolds her, but in a friendly manner unlike Iicho's way

"I know Hinata, again I'm sorry! I have to run a last-minute errand of some sort"

"Never mind that now, everyone from all the selected schools are here and I think they're running out of patience" Ironically, that's not the case since everyone is having fun meeting each other again

"Growing impatient you say? Look around you" the journalist-to-be joined in "As you see, they don't seem to mind however since they're chilling their butts off for now until this whole thing starts"

"I'm with you there Ran!" says the so-called host

Several minutes of waiting has finally paid off as the host ran to the stage; everyone cheered as the event they've waited for a weeks will finally begin

"Hey, Hinata…"

"Yeah Ran?"

"Forgot to tell you this but, you look cute in your attire"

"Really? Thanks Ran"

"I agree with her, you look quite the lady you are for your performance later"

"Thanks Batsu! That's so kind of you"

"It's rare for Batsu to be like this; don't you think so, Ran?"

"I agree a 100% Kyosuke!" she gave him a thumbs up; Batsu just gave them both an awkward look while Hinata just chuckled at the situation

With Sakura now in the picture, she took the mic and addressed the audience…

"Good afternoon everybody and welcome to the annual Alumni Homecoming!" the audience grew even wilder

"Wow, look at all of you out here right now, what a great day isn't it? Especially when seeing all of your friends around again right?" they responded positively

Returning to the Pacific batch, Tiffany is rehearsing behind the balcony of the school's main building

*sigh* "I can do this, I can do this…" she muttered to herself; before continuing, she looked around her fellow batch mates and to her disappointment, he nor his 5 pals aren't there; disappointed, she let out a sigh when Boman approached her "He's not yet here…"

"Tiffany…"

"Oh Boman…"

"I heard your voice" she blushed "You, you did?"

"Yes, and it was amazing"

"You think so?"

"I'm not lying, it's beautiful, and your voice is lovely"

"Gee, thank you Boman"

"Anytime, so do you think you're ready moments from now?"

"I think so…"

"You can do it, I'm sure you can…"

"I know I can, thanks for the support"

"You're welcome…"

"I think I should go with them to prepare right now"

"You should…"

"Gotta go now, see you Boman"

"Godspeed Tiffany, good luck with your performance"

"Thanks…" she runs off

Ran begins taking pictures of her "She makes a pretty good host, don't you agree?"

"For a klutz, yeah, she quite pulled it off I can say" responded Kyosuke

"She might even qualify for hosting a live event, like that's even possible" added Batsu

"So true, Batsu, so true" agrees Iicho, who's still in doubt, continues to observe her every move

While her friends watch, Hinata prepares herself by breathing in and drinking water to ease her anxiety when Natsu came by her side

"Hinata…"

"Natsu, you're just in time"

"So, prepared?"

"Yeah, I think so… Where's Tiffany?"

"Either she's still rehearsing or on her way…"

"Makes sense…" actually, she is on her way right now

"Hey guys…"

"TIFFANY" they both said in unison "Right timing…"

"Thanks Natsu"

"Ready to put our hard work to the test on the stage?" the volleyball player asked her

"Think so, yeah I'm ready…" she smiled

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure, Hinata"

"Now, let's start this event with a special number from 3 lovely ladies from 3 schools; one from Taiyo, one from Gorin and one from Pacific!" she awaits their arrival; next to Sakura are 3 microphone stands at the center of the stage

"Alright, let's wish ourselves good luck as we step on that stage right there" Natsu urged some confidence within themselves

"We can do this!" Hinata exclaimed

"Failure's not an option!" Tiffany added

"OK here we go…" with enough determination within them, they head to the stage

Sakura, seeing them on their way to the stage, give the 3 a round of applause, showing her support and wishing them luck…

Once they set foot on the stage, the crowd already began cheering for them

"Go Natsu! We're by your side!" cheered Shoma

"You can do it!" so does Roberto; Nagare just whistled and pumped his right fist on the air; their other schoolmates continue obviously followed suit, especially the males once they saw Natsu in a very seductive attire

"NATSU YOU LOOK HOT!" one cheered, which received positive reception from the other males in the form of whistling

She replied by waving to them and giving them a flying kiss; the juniors she trained and coached with even showed their support for their senior

"NATSU! NATSU!" NATSU!" NATSU!" they chanted her name repeatedly

Hinata also received the same treatment from her schoolmates; then again, it's her school that's the main host for the entire event. Walking on the stage in her dazzling yet cute outfit, she also did what her friend Natsu done to her batch, posing and other playful gestures

Lastly, the blond cheerleader from Pacific, setting foot on stage got the most cheers and support out of the three; the attention she's been receiving surprised her; she waved to her schoolmates and even gave them a flying kiss, not once but twice; aware that Roy isn't in the picture, she successfully hid what she really feels

Seeing her receiving that much attention, the other 2 are astounded by the scene "Seems to me she's not fazed by the fact that Roy isn't here…"

"I agree Hinata, like she's in control of how she truly feels" the 2 childhood friends exchanged whispers

Done acknowledging her school, she joined her pals at the center of the stage

"Good luck you three!" the host gave them a thumbs up, leaving the stage and about to start the music

"Sorry you 2, guess I got carried away there…"

"No it's alright; Natsu & I liked the reception you've been getting!"

"He-he thanks Hinata"

"So, ready to get this show on the road?"

"Let's do this!" now ready, they prepare themselves, waiting for the music to start

Behind them, Sakura checks the sound system

"Where is that thing?"She searches for the play button, until she found it

"Oh here it is, and activate music!" she pressed it

"There's our queue!" Hinata muttered, making her & the other 2 prepare

"Here we go…"

The soothing music makes the atmosphere more relaxing as the audience of teens watch the performance of the three

Hinata starts it off, singing the 1st stanza

I get lost, in your eyes

And I feel my spirits rise

And soar like the wind

Is it love that I am in?

I get weak in a glance

Isn't this what's called romance?

And that's what I know

Cause when I'm lost

I can't let go

By the chorus, all 3 sang it

(Chorus)

I don't mind

Not knowing what I'm headed for

You can take me to the skies

It's like being lost in heaven

When (and) I'm lost in your eyes

Natsu continued with the 2nd stanza

I just felt

Don't know why

Something is there

We can't deny

Ooh, when I first knew

Was when I first looked at you

Tiffany did the 3rd stanza

And if I

Can't find my way

If salvation

Seems miles away

Oh, I'll be found

When I'm lost in your eyes

Again the 3 did the chorus

(Repeat Chorus)

At the last stanza, Tiffany finished it

I get weak in a glance

Isn't this what's called romance

Oh, I'll be found

When I am lost

In your eyes.

Finished with their performance, they received a round of applause and just like before, when they stepped on the stage, they received cheers and a lotta yelling, especially from the males obviously. Done bowing to the crowd, they stepped off the stage.

"That was an awesome performance you did there" Chairperson hailed

"Thanks Iicho!"

"You got a cool voice, Hinata!"

"You really think so, Batsu?"

"I sure do" Kyosuke agrees with him

"Thanks!"

"You guys were awesome!" the klutzy host gave the three a thumbs up

"Thanks Sakura, appreciate it!" thanked Natsu

While the 3 friends regain their composure, they, along with the others near them, suddenly hear even louder cheers from Tiffany's batch, mostly from the girls obviously

When the 3 go on to take a closer look, they discovered that Roy & his 5 buddies have finally arrived at the homecoming

"Hey whassup, dude!" one of the guys greeted

"Doing fine, man!" the newly arrived Roy replied "Sorry we're late, traffic on the way!" he apologized

"It's OK, the fun just got better since you arrived here!" one of his fan girls said

"Is that so? Well, we arrived in the nick of time!" one of his band mates muttered

"Would you look at that, Roy & some of his pals arrived…" Natsu muttered

"Yeah, and I thought they wouldn't" Hinata followed "Look Tiffany, Roy's finally here-" she was cut off to see her continuously gazing at him like she's in a trance or something

"Tiffany? Tiffany?" she tried to get her attention but to no avail

Natsu waved her hand in front of her face but that didn't work either

Seeing him and his 5 pals right now made Tiffany surprised & speechless

Continuing to gaze at him as he approaches near them, she grasps her fists together in front of her chest to ease herself

When he gets closer & closer to her direction, he gazed at her eye to eye; surprised by what he did, she just gazed at the pavement out of shyness & embarrassment, her sudden move just made him smile

"He's here, I thought he'd never come but I was wrong, he's here right now…"