By the time I reach Yamaku Academy's gates, I am a sweaty wreck. My right shoulder is aching from the constant strain of both my rucksack and suitcase and I'm completely exhausted.

I'm going to have to visit reception to let them know I have arrived. I'll probably be asked if I want a tour of the school too. Right now, though, I just need to rest my shoulder.

(I could have arranged some kind of help when I arrived here)

Taking a quick breather, I look around at the school gates. This isn't what I was expecting...

The black wrought iron of the gates is shaped into a pattern that could only be described as regal. The red brickwork of the walls looks stylish and upper-class too.

The hill leading up to Yamaku Academy reminds me a little bit of the gentle slope lined with Sakura trees back at Hikarizaka High School. The view from the top of the Yamaku hill is truly a beautiful one. I feel relaxed just by looking at it.

Although the road isn't lined with Sakura trees, I can still imagine myself being at home here.

The town at the bottom of the hill has everything I need too. A convenience store, some small cafe's and coffee shops, even a nice little public park. A very small part of me, and I emphasize the word small, is actually glad my dad was responsible for my being here.

I give a small sigh then take in a deep breath and take up the handle of my suitcase again. Time to get settled in to my new life.

*Scene break*

"Ah yes, Tomoya Okazaki. You're eager to get here" the receptionist says as she looks down at her computer monitor. It's not that I'm eager, I just prefer to get here as soon as possible.

"Is there any forms or paperwork I need to fill out?" I ask trying to sound as polite as possible but I can't help but sound a tiny bit annoyed. After all, I'm exhausted and in agony.

"No, thankfully all that kind of thing has been taken care of. All you need to do is get settled in" the girl behind the desk says happily. That's a relief, I never really was good at filling in forms or doing paperwork. An office job would not suit me at all. "I guess you'll just want to go to your room?"

(She catches on quick at least)

My general appearance must give away the fact that I'd rather not prolong a rest on a warm bed. She looks a bit awkward, can't say I blame her. She must greet people like this all the time. I give a forced smile

"I think that would be a good idea. Is there any chance I can get some help with my baggage?" I ask her. I wipe some sweat away from my forehead and give my right shoulder a little rub. The girl nods enthusiastically and smiles with a truly sincere smile.

"Of course you can, what kind of place did you think this is?" she rhetorically asks. Can't say I really share her enthusiasm at the current moment in time. "I'll call up a nurse to help you with your luggage. They'll be able to show you to your room as well"

I'll be able to start my unpacking straight away. I have the maximum of three days to get settled in without any school work. It'll give me time to scope out the local napping spots. Wow... since when did I start thinking about napping spots?

The nurse that was to help me out arrives a few minutes later. It was a middle-age man with auburn hair and a well endowed, full beard. He wore a white coat and had a stethoscope slung around his neck. He looked a little haggard and stress lines were dominant on his face. None the less, he gives a cheery smile and shook my good hand. It's amazing how much energy the staff have here.

"Welcome, young man, I take it you're the fellow who asked assistance?" he asks, his voice booming but gentle at the same time. I give a nod and he chuckles. "Not very talkative, are you?" the playful jab at me irritates me slightly. To be honest, all I can think of right now is the bed that's waiting for me. I force a smile of my own.

"Thank you for the help" I get out and give a bow. He laughs again and then welcomes me sincerely. He holds out his hand to gesture me to hand over my rucksack and he takes it without question. I kind of feel bad for the guy. He looks like he has enough work to do, the last thing he needs to do is help out some transfer student with his baggage.

He slings the rucksack over his shoulder and picks up the handle of my suitcase. I catch a glimpse of an irritated frown as he turns around and leads the way to my room.

(Yeah… he is stressed after all)

As we head out into the school's main courtyard I take a look at the school itself. The main building looks like it is western inspired with red brick walls just like the gates. It looks exactly like it does in the brochure I was given back at the hospital. Adjacent to the main building is another slightly newer looking building. It still looks western inspired but maybe a more modern era.

"That newer looking building is the nurse's and medical building. All of your medical needs can be fulfilled there. It has a range of rehabilitation facilities from a Physiotherapy room to a fully kitted gym. We even have an indoor pool" The nurse explains to me. I can't help but think about how well this place is funded.

The two dorms are apparently down a path through a small on-campus park. It's a little bit of a walk but taking in the scenery is always welcome in my books.

(Why am I so interested in scenery all of a sudden?)

We arrive at the door to the boys dorm and sure enough, it's a western styled building… I guess the owner of the school must be from Europe or America.

Inside is nice and clean, well, I guess it has to be. Who knows what the range of disabilities there are here. Best not think about it too much though, I don't want to depress myself.

We head up to the second floor and stop at a door which I presume is my room. The nurse turns to me and fishes something out of his pocket. It's a key.

"Well this is your room. There's only one other tenant on this floor and he lives in that room right there" he points at a door directly opposite mine. I read the name plate Kenji Setou. Well that seems like a normal enough name.

(I wonder what could be his disability…)

No Tomoya, don't think like that! You don't want to end up like one of those judgemental assholes like that blonde guy on the train. The nurse must have picked up on my train of thought and gave a light chuckle.

"He's legally blind, encase you were wondering. I think he might be in there now. Maybe you should go say hi once you've finished unpacking." Hmm… Maybe I will. I think it'd be a good idea to make a friend here, although I'm not really good at meeting new people that much. "Do you need help with your unpacking?" the nurse asks me out of the blue

"No, I'm fine here. Thank you very much for your help" I bow again and he returns the favour. He hands me the key and starts making his way back to whatever he was doing. He then suddenly stops in his tracks.

"One more thing, the head nurse wants to have a little chat with you sometime tomorrow. Just stop by the reception at any time and they'll lead you to his office." He says. It sounded like an afterthought. I'll have to keep that in mind… not that I want to though.

I unlock the door to my room and I'm actually pleasantly surprised at it's rather roomy interior. A desk sits facing the wall opposite the door with a chair tucked under it, there was a sink and worktops to the left along with a fairly large wardrobe standing just a little way from it. The bed lies to the right and a bed side table stands next to it… oh? What are these bottles doing here? I pick one of them up from atop the bedside table and read the label Codeine. Take 1 tablet when pain exceeds bearable levels. In other words… Take one when I hurt really bad… They didn't need to label it so formally. The other bottles are minor painkillers such as Ibuprofen and Paracetamol. They think of everything here don't they?

On my bed is two sets of folded up clothes, I guess this is my school uniform from now on. The first set is presumably the winter variant of the uniform, it consists of a green blazer with a white trim on the collar, a standard white shirt, a black tie and green trousers. It's different from the cream and blue colour scheme back at Hikarizaka… that's for sure.

The second set is practically the same as the winter variant, just without the blazer. Wait a minute… how did they know the correct size? Hmm… guess the hospital filled them in on my details… makes me wonder, how in-depth did they go?

Even my bed is ready made. Convenient. Guess I'll get started on unpacking. Too bad I don't feel tired anymore, I was looking forward to that nap… still don't know why I've suddenly developed an interest in napping.

*Scene Break*

Unpacking was a lot easier than I first thought it would. The wardrobe had more than enough space to fit all my clothes in it and still have room for more. After setting up my desk with the stationary I've brought with me I head out of my room and up to the opposite door.

Taking a deep breath, I knock three times. No response, maybe he's not in after all. I contemplate knocking again but then I hear a clattering of several chains and bolts from the other side of the door. I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this.

The door opens and out pops the head of Kenji Setou. His black scruffy hair looks like it hasn't been combed in days… possibly weeks. Inch thick rimless glasses sit on the bridge of his nose completely hiding his eyes because of the gleam on them. He's even wearing a red and gold striped scarf around his neck. The only thing missing is the… no, let's not go there Tomoya.

He frowns a little and brings his face very close to my own. He's almost touching me, the guy obviously doesn't have consideration for personal space… well he is legally blind which could mean his eyesight might not be fully impaired, I guess he needs to be close to see things.

"Who are you? Are you working with those feminists?" he says in a tone that would fit an interrogation officer… wait… did he just say feminists?

"Excuse me? What are you talking about?" I ask, probably a bad move. By the looks of it, this guy might be one of those conspiracy nuts.

"Don't avoid the question, are you working for them feminists or not?" he repeats the question in a more demanding tone. I might as well humour him, if it'll get him off my back

"No, I'm not working with any feminists…" I say and raise my left hand above my head very slowly. I think this guy is a conspiracy nut, this was a bad idea after all.

"Good, you'd be a lousy spy if you were… just blatantly knocking on the enemy's door like that. Those feminists are a crafty bunch though, maybe it's a new tactic they have going… maybe you are a spy for them and you just want to make me think you're one of the good guys. Well that's not going to work at all! I don't trust you one bit, feminist spy!"

(Yep… he's a conspiracy nut alright… hoo boy)

His face looks genuinely angry at me and it irritates me. I never liked this kind of person. Once you get them started then there's no way of telling when they'll stop unless you set them straight. I sigh heavily. "My name is Tomoya Okazaki, I just transferred into the room opposite you, I just came to say hi"

There's a few seconds of silence, maybe he's processing that tidbit of information. His face suddenly lightens up into a sort of smile that still looks a little angry, but it's a smile all the same "Oh, why didn't you say so in the first place. Are you slow in the head or something?" he says and he then takes his face away from mine. I scowl quietly.

"Well, you seemed adamant that I'm some sort of feminist sp… hmph!?" I'm interrupted by Kenji's hand being forced over my mouth. What the hell is he doing to me? Wait… is that Nitro Glycerine I smell on him!? He looks around with a paranoid look on his face. Can he even see anything around him clearly?

"Are you some kind of idiot? Don't go splurging that kind of thing out in the open. The feminists are everywhere. Spies are always watching us. They're crafty, I wouldn't be surprised if you're a sleeper cell or something… you're not a sleeper cell are you?" I force away his hand and cough slightly

"Even if I was… how the heck would I know? It'd be a pretty bad brainwash if I knew I've been brainwashed" I retort. I'm seriously regretting this now. Kenji's smile turns into a thoughtful line.

"Good point. You're smarter than you look, I like you friend. What was your name again?" He asks. I guess he's decided to trust me. Other than the pointless ranting, he seems like a genuinely nice guy. As long as I keep off the topic of Feminists then I might be able to endure hanging around him. I sigh again. He could make an effort to remember something he's just been told though.

"Tomoya Okazaki…" I repeat to him. He frowns slightly. Great, he doesn't like it. It is a pretty bland name after all. You'd be considered weird by yours truly if you got excited over that name. He puts both his index fingers on his temples and his eyebrows scrunch up. I guess he's imprinting my name on his memory.

"Ok, pretty boring name don't you think? The name's Setou… Kenji Setou" he says and gives a wry smile. Why did he introduce himself like that English spy from the movies does? "Pretty awesome name, huh?" wow… narcissism much?

"Yeah, awesome… anyway, it was nice meeting you. I better get going." I say to him. He nods in an understanding manner.

"Doing recon I see. You got style, man… be careful out there, never know when feminists will try to attack you. Just act like you don't know a thing, they should leave you alone… also, maybe where a hat…" That last suggestion puts me off

"A hat? Let me guess, to protect against brainwashing signals?" I ask… why did I just do that?

"No. You're an idiot. It's to cover up that garish blue hair of yours. I'm legally blind and I saw that hair of yours from my window!"

(Can I punch this nutter?)

I give a slight grunt and walk away from him. I dread another encounter with him, but he's my next door neighbour… it's inevitable that I'll see him again. For the time being… I guess I'll take a walk to try and find my way around the school. If I recall correctly, there where campus maps in the lobby of the main building.

A/N

Hey. Hope you're enjoying reading as much as I am writing. Let me know if I'm getting anything wrong or I anyone seems a tad OOC. Of course, this is set in the first year, so Tomoya is still a freshman (And so is Kenji and Hanako). If you have any suggestions or thoughts, let me know, I'll be happy to consider them.