Author's Notes: Hello, obligatory backstory chapter! Also, the plot thickens (kinda sorta not really).


Kana let out a deep breath as she stood at her locker, sending a quick glance toward Chojo a couple lockers over. She was hoping to speak to him again before classes started but she'd been agonizing the entire walk to school over what she'd say to him if she did.

'Maybe Taro's right,' Kana thought. 'Maybe I am overthinking this. He's just a guy, right? Like any other guy. Except for the part where he's probably the cutest guy I've ever met.' She subtly tilted her head just a bit, her gaze drifting lower, before abruptly shaking her head. 'No! Don't think about that right now! I need to be talking to him, not checking out his ass! Dammit, I'm just gonna go over there and say something. It can't be that hard.' She let out another breath before finally steeling herself and walking over to the blue-haired boy, a small smile on her face as she gently tapped his shoulder.

Chojo jumped at the touch before slowly turning to face the source. "Kana?" He took one look at Kana's smile and couldn't help but return it with a shy one of his own. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Kana replied, feeling her cheeks heat up. "I just...I wanted to..." She took a breath, hoping to get something, anything, out before she lost her nerve. "Do you wanna hang out on the roof with me before classes start? I mean, I know you usually go to the Occult Club but..."

Chojo could only stare at Kana in surprised disbelief. He was convinced that the incident yesterday had been a fluke and she wouldn't speak to him again unless she had to. He wouldn't deny that the thought had disappointed him; Kana was extremely sweet and very easy on the eyes and he'd had a hard time keeping her out of his thoughts. But the laws of high school were unwavering and cute popular girls like her didn't associate with weirdos like him.

That was what he thought, anyway, but Kana had not only approached him but asked him to hang out with her. He tried to keep himself from reading too much into her invitation, much like the previous day, but he was unable to keep the color out of his cheeks. Maybe she wasn't asking because she was crushing on him the way he was starting to on her, but it had to mean something, right?!

"Umm...Chojo? Still waiting on a verdict."

Chojo was snapped out of his inner musings at the sound of Kana's voice and he glanced up to see her looking at him expectantly. "Oh right! Sorry, I kinda spaced out for a second." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I'd...I'd like to hang out with you. If it's okay."

Another bright smile lit up Kana's face. "Of course it's okay; wouldn't have suggested it otherwise." She tilted her head toward the stairs. "Let's get going."


"Anybody seen Chojo?" Shin asked the other Occult Club members, nodding toward the empty chair in the clubroom. "I know Oka usually spends her mornings stalking the Basu sisters but it's not like Chojo to just...not show up without telling someone."

"He walked into school with the rest of us this morning, so I'm pretty sure he's here today," Kokuma replied. "I thought I saw him walking somewhere with Kana-senpai but it could've just been my imagination."

Shin was about to reply when he felt his phone buzz. He pulled it out of his pocket to see that he had a text from Oka. His eyes widened slightly in surprise as he read the text. "Looks like you weren't imagining things, Kokuma. Oka says Chojo and Kana are talking on the roof. Apparently she's just as surprised as we are." He was silent for a moment. "What does someone like Kana want with Chojo anyway? Do you guys think this could be some sort of prank?"

"What, like she's setting him up for something?" Supana asked. "I doubt it. I've never talked to Kana one-on-one before but she doesn't really seem like the type to be needlessly cruel to someone."

"Either way, we can't take the chance," Daku argued. "Looks can be deceiving; maybe Kana-senpai just wants everyone to think she's sweet."

Shin nodded. "Let's meet Oka on the roof and see if we can figure out what's going on."


"You know, I'm a little surprised you went out of your way to talk to me again," Chojo said. "Most of the other students here just kind of...ignore everyone in the Occult Club."

"Yeah, well, I used to be one of those students," Kana replied, turning to face him from her spot against the railing. "Really sucks too because you seem like a really nice guy."

"Seriously?" Chojo asked, trying to ignore his heated cheeks. "You don't think what we do is weird?"

Kana shrugged. "Not really. I'm not gonna lie to you and say that I understand it, but I don't think it's all that strange. I mean, if you were sacrificing virgins to summon your demons, I might have something to say about it but I can't say it freaks me out all that much." She sighed. "That could just be because I'm used to it, though. My brother's been into the occult for as long as I can remember so I've had a fair amount of exposure to it."

"Brother?" Chojo asked.

"Mmm. His name's Shion," Kana replied, a fond smile on her face. "He's studying business at university in Tokyo right now so he can help our dad manage his restaurant. Easily one of the most remarkable people I know. Our father's very proud of him."

Chojo couldn't help but smile in return. "And what does your mother think?"

Kana's smile dropped a bit. "She, ah, she passed away when I was in middle school."

"Oh," Chojo replied, mentally slapping himself. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Hey, don't beat yourself up," Kana assured him. "It's not like you knew. Besides, mom had been sick for a long time. We miss her every day but at least she isn't in pain anymore."

The pair stood together in comfortable silence for a while until a cold wind swept past them. Kana shivered and moved closer to Chojo without thinking, pressing herself against his side in an attempt to warm herself. She felt him stiffen when she did so, but he made no move to put distance between them. She was too afraid that he'd notice her reddening cheeks if she looked up at him, so Kana kept her gaze fixed on the town. A warm feeling bubbled up in her stomach as they stood there together but she couldn't quite place it; all she knew was that she'd stand on the roof like this with him forever if she could.

All too soon, however, the school bell rang to signal that class was about to start. Kana sighed as she reluctantly pulled away from Chojo. "Guess we'd better head to class, huh?"

"Probably," Chojo replied shyly. Kana was pleased to see a hint of red in his cheeks as well.

"Would you be up for doing this again?" Kana asked. "I usually come up to the roof when I don't want anyone to find me but it was...nice...to have someone to disappear with."

"R-Really?" Chojo stammered. "You really want me to- I mean, yes. That would... I would like that."

Kana smiled before gently nudging his shoulder with hers and leading him toward the stairs.


"Ugh, this is so boring! We can't even hear anything!" Kokuma complained as she and the rest of the Occult Club watched the pair from a safe distance. They had decided to remain close enough to the door leading to the stairwell that they could duck back into it if either Chojo or Kana looked their way. Thus far, both had kept their backs turned to them, so it was hard to make out their expressions or any of their conversation.

"But we can't risk getting any closer," Oka reminded her. "We don't know how either of them will react if they find out we were spying on them."

"We aren't 'spying'," Shin replied indignantly. "We're just trying to make sure Kana doesn't do anything to hurt our friend."

"If she was setting Chojo up for something, I'm sure it would have happened by now," Supana pointed out. "Besides, they're standing out in the open so it's not like she's worried about being seen with him or anything."

"What are you saying, Supana-senpai?" Daku asked.

"I'm saying that I think you two are being paranoid," Supana replied. "Maybe she genuinely likes him. I don't think we should be so quick to assume that she's got-"

"Shut up for a second, guys," Kokuma whispered, lightly smacking Supana on the arm before motioning toward Kana and Chojo. The rest of the club looked over just in time to see Kana tuck herself against Chojo's side. "Oh yeah, seems like she really hasit out for him, Shin-senpai."

"That doesn't prove anything!" Shin protested before glancing over toward his club leader. "Back me up, Oka."

Oka, however, was keeping her eyes glued to the couple. "I ship them. I ship them so hard."

"I second that!" Supana chirped. "They look so good together!"

Shin slapped his palm to his forehead just as the bell rang. "We'll talk more about this later. We need to get back downstairs before either of them see us. And don't say a word to Chojo about this."


Kana couldn't help but smile to herself as she sat down on a bench in the plaza and pulled out the bento she had made for lunch. She couldn't keep herself from thinking about that morning on the roof and, once again, she had a really difficult time keeping her eyes off of Chojo during morning classes. The more time she spent with him, the more convinced she was that he was a total sweetheart. A bit shy, but a total sweetheart. She also felt that warm feeling in her stomach whenever she thought about him. It didn't take her long to figure that she had a crush on the boy but she had absolutely no clue what to do about it.

'Well, there's no sense in fretting over it,' she thought. 'I'll start by just trying to be his friend for now. If he's interested in me, I'm sure he'll find some way to let me know.'

"Hey Kana!" a new voice called. "I didn't expect to see you out here!"

Kana turned her head to see Taro walking toward her. "Taro-senpai! It's nice to see you again."

Taro smiled and rubbed the back of his head, his cheeks flushing pink. "You too." He gestured to the space next to her. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Not at all!" Kana chirped, scooting over to give him more room. Something moved out of the corner of her eye and she could have sworn she saw a head of black hair duck behind a nearby tree. She turned her head to get a better but couldn't see anyone or anything nearby.

"You okay?" Taro asked as he sat down next to her.

Kana nodded. "Sorry about that. I thought I saw someone over by that big tree but I guess I was wrong."

Kana and Taro ate lunch together in relative silence, occasionally making small-talk about the various happenings around the school and Kana recounting some of her adventures and mishaps in Cooking Club. Soon enough, the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon classes and Kana excused herself from Taro to head back to her classroom. As soon as she rounded the corner, however, she found her path blocked by someone. Kana recognized the person standing in front of her as Ayano Aishi, the girl that sat next to her in class. She mostly kept to herself but now she was staring at Kana with more intensity than she'd ever seen.

"Umm...can I help you?" Kana asked, trying not to sound too unnerved.

"I was wondering if I could get a picture of you," Ayano requested. "I'm thinking about joining the Photography Club but I need to show them some examples of my work before they'll let me join."

"Oh," Kana replied sheepishly, feeling foolish about being so nervous. "Why didn't you just say so? Of course you can!"

"Thank you," Ayano replied as she snapped a quick picture of Kana's face and then stepping aside. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem!" Kana said as she resumed her walk to class. "I hope it helps!"


"Oh, I'm sure it will," Ayano commented to herself. She waited until Kana disappeared into the stairwell before sending the picture off to Info-chan. Her phone buzzed with a reply a few seconds later and she eagerly opened the text to get a look at Kana's profile.

Kana Amori

Reputation: 100

Personality: Loner

Crush: Chojo Tekina

Club: Cooking

Self-Defense: Incapable

Additional Information: Regarded as one of the nicest girls in school.

She's on good terms with most of the students in the school, but doesn't appear to be genuinely close to any of them.

'So she doesn't have a crush on Senpai, then,' Ayano thought. 'It's only a matter of time until she does, I'm sure, so I'll have to deal with her soon. The only question now is how to eliminate her.'


Ending Notes: I know Shin and Daku kinda come off as paranoid douchecanoes in this chapter but they aren't always going to be like that. I absolutely adore the Occult Club and I always imagined them as being really tight-knit and protective of each other, so I think it's natural that some of them might be suspicious of Kana at first.

I've got plans for Kana's father and brother to appear later on in the story. I'm actually thinking about hooking Shion up with Oka but nothing's set in stone yet. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

As always, feedback and constructive criticism are more than welcome! Thank you guys so much for reading! Geekinthepink, out!