Fumiko carefully wrote her name on the chalkboard. It had been a while since she wrote Japanese characters. She had begun to study the language as soon as she found out where she was originally from, though it had been difficult, but she hadn't written characters often because she would get frustrated and quit.

When she finally finished, she moved out of the way of her name and faced that class.

"I'm Fumiko Matsushita. Nice to meet you all," she introduced.

Everyone clapped, though many stared, and before the teacher could tell Fumiko where she was going to sit, a hand shot up from the crowd.

"Yes?" the teacher said.

"I have a question for Matsushita," the female student replied.

The teacher gazed over at Fumiko, seeming to ask if it was okay. Fumiko sighed under her breath and nodded. She'd have to get the questions over with eventually.

"Why do you have such severe scars on your arms and legs?"

Everyone went quiet and stared wide-eyed at the student.

"Yamaguchi! That's a very rude question to ask!" the teacher scolded. He turned to Fumiko and said, "You don't have to answer that."

"It's fine," Fumiko replied. "It isn't like she's the first to ask."

The classroom became very still.

"I was abused as a child. I originally lived in Japan, but was forced to live with my aunt and uncle overseas because my family was reported. I was only in elementary school, so I don't remember much about the move, or anything beyond the severe abuse I received. These scars," Fumiko held her arms up so everyone could see, and then pointed to her legs, "were from various instruments that my parents used to beat me with. Majority of the scars you see was from my father's switchblade."

Silence continued to engulf the room as no one dared to move, but their expressions were a range from shock, disgust, horror, and pity. Again, today was not looking up. In fact, Fumiko was beginning to think that she should have skipped after all. Her classmates would probably only befriend her out of guilt and pity instead of out of general interest in who she was.

Another hand rose.

"Rei Ogami, I don't think it's appropriate to ask more questions," the teacher said sternly.

"It's okay," Fumiko interjected. "Again, this isn't the first time people have asked me about my scars."

The teacher only looked at Fumiko with pity before nodding. He probably thought he was feeding her to the lion's den, but she had already been there, and to much worse places than that.

"Do you know what happened to your parents afterwards?" Ogami asked.

"No," Fumiko replied, "but their faces are firmly ingrained in my memory, so if I ever saw them again…" her voice trailed off.

Everyone was quiet.

"Alright!" the teacher interrupted. "Questions are done. Everyone can get back to them after class. For now, Fumiko, please take your seat behind Sakurakouji."

Fumiko nodded and rushed to her seat, almost tripping and falling. Finally, she could sit at the back of the classroom, sink into her seat, and remind herself that she didn't technically exist. She was a Code Breaker from overseas that recently transferred to Japan that still needed her schooling. That was all.

(…)

The bell rang for lunch to start, and Fumiko felt relieved. She could slip away into the crowd and find somewhere quiet to eat where she could be alone. Or, there was still the possibility of skipping the rest of the day. The idea taunted her like a carrot on a stick in front of a donkey, but again, she was reminded that she couldn't skip. Her anxiety was already bad enough as it was, and if she missed classes and started to fall behind, she'd never catch up and she'd have attacks left, right, and center.

"Matsushita!"

Startled, she looked up and saw Sakurakouji standing directly beside her desk with a large lunch box in hand.

"Would you like to eat with my friends and I?" she asked.

Fumiko blinked from surprise. Now that she thought about it, Sakurakouji looked familiar, though she couldn't figure out why. Even her name sounded like something she had heard before. She pushed the thought aside.

"Uh… sure," Fumiko answered, not really sure how else to reply.

"Great! We are eating on the roof today, so just follow me," Sakurakouji said as she turned to leave the classroom.

Fumiko stood up and swung her bag over her shoulder, noticing that Ogami and Aoba were also following Sakurakouji. As she followed suit with the others, she noticed how the two girls spoke so naturally to each other while Ogami tailed behind staying silent, and then there was Fumiko who trailed behind the taller male. He seemed just as anti-social as she was, but maybe she was just imagining it.

Fumiko didn't like people. She didn't like being touched. She didn't like people trying to get close to her. She didn't like bonding. She just didn't like company. She liked being alone. It was one of the few things she could handle.

The group reached the roof, and Sakurakouji grinned and said with profound joy, "The weather is fantastic! There is not a cloud in the sky!"

Aoba nodded enthusiastically while Ogami didn't care.

"I brought enough food for everyone," said Sakurakouji, "so don't hesitate to take some food, Fumiko."

Her expression was warm and welcoming. It made Fumiko nervous. All the memories of her parents' abuse washed over her and she looked to the ground, feeling her body betray her as it began to tremble. If only her doctor allowed her to take her medication more than twice a day… She would take it so the shaking would stop.

"Fumiko?" Sakurakouji said while sounding concerned.

"Uh, I brought my own lunch, so I'll be fine," Fumiko replied, slowly lifting her head again as she tried not to fidget or appear nervous.

"Oh, okay," she replied. She hadn't noticed Fumiko's efforts to hide her mental illness at all. She felt relieved.

(…)

The bell rang, signifying that school was thoroughly done for the day, and Fumiko was more than willing to go home. Everyone had been extra kind to her, which was more bothersome than anything, and teachers were far too kind as well. The only one in the school who hadn't seemed to treat her differently than everyone else was Ogami. She wasn't sure what to think about that, but it was nice.

Her cell rang.

She sighed and opened her bag, searching for a while before finding and answering it. "07 speaking."

"There's a car waiting for you outside the school," said the voice on the other end.

"I assume I'm meeting the other Code Breakers today?" Fumiko asked.

"Yes. Two are already in the car."

They hung up.

Fumiko stared at the screen of her cell phone with curiosity. Two others were already students in the school? That couldn't be a coincidence. Was there a person of interest in the school?

She slid her phone back in her bag and looked up. Sure enough, there was a black truck that fit at least 4 people parked outside of the school's gate.

"Why do they always choose black as a color for vehicles?" she muttered under her breath as she headed towards the truck.

She opened the door to the back and stared at the other person who was inside.

"Ogami?"

He looked over and trailed his eyes up and down Fumiko. "So you're the new Code Breaker. I'm not surprised."

She climbed in and set her bag on her lap, closing the car door.

"So who's the other Code Breaker?"

Ogami pointed to the passenger seat in front of her, and the Breaker turned around in his seat, his yellow eyes seeming to pierce into Fumiko as his white hair began to cause a shadow over his eyes.

"My name is Heike Masaomi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Fumiko Matsushita."

"Uh… you too," Fumiko replied before the other male turned back around to face the front.

The car began to leave the curb and merge into the rest of traffic. Fumiko hadn't thought about who was driving the car until then, so she looked to the drivers side. A young female with brown hair and square glasses sat, her gaze focused on the road. She looked familiar, like she had been walking through the halls of the school earlier today, but Fumiko couldn't be sure. She could only see a slight profile of the woman's face.

Fumiko stared out the window on her left side, watching the cars, buildings, and pedestrians pass by. Her mind drifted back to the memories of her past, trying to connect to anything that could spark a memory that wasn't spoiled, yet nothing she saw reminded her of anything that could connect her to Japan. It was understandable. She had received so much damage from her family that all she wanted was to block it out; pretend like it wasn't happening, or that it even happened in the first place. There were probably many things she didn't recall. Hell, she didn't even know what school she went to in elementary, or what she even looked like. There were no pictures of her from that time, and no photo album to speak of. There weren't even pictures of her as a babe. At least, her aunt and uncle didn't have any.

She noticed a park just before the car turned a corner. Children were playing on the jungle gym, and two girls were playing in the sandbox. A feeling of nostalgia overwhelmed her as an image of a girl with purple hair, styled as a bowl cut, flashed in Fumiko's mind. She blinked a couple times, pressed herself to the window, desperately trying to get a better look at the park, but she was too late. The car had long left the area.

She slowly peeled herself away and stared at her lap.

What was that?

"Fumiko?"

She lifted her head and stared at Ogami, her eyes wide. "Ye-yes?" she asked, startled.

His gaze kept hers for a minute before he sighed, resting his elbow close to the window, his hand holding his chin as he stared out of his side of the car. "Never mind."

Fumiko blinked out of confusion before saying, "Okay," and turning her gaze back to her own side.

I'll try and figure it out later. Right now, I have to focus on meeting the other Code Breakers, she told herself.