Sorry for the long wait, but I got a little discouraged, but found it within myself to write this one. As such, I made another long chapter, trying to get through an entire day. I was having trouble at times conveying what the characters wanted to say, but keep in mind I'm primarily doing this at 10:00 at night so it's not my best work. Like always, any constructive critisicim is welcome!

Chapter 5 – Learning More

February 14, 2018 – Friday [?, Late Night]

The room was dark; the only light came from the city down below. A man sat in a revolving chair with his arms resting and his hands clasped to each other. His face was stern with an aggravated look; the rest of his body was shrouded with shadow. All of a sudden, the phone on the desk behind the man rang. He turned around and waited for the phone to ring three times.

The man reached over and picked it up. "Yes? Well… No. Listen, all I can tell you right now are that things are going according to plan… No, there weren't… Agh, well give it another day I'm sure he'll arrive… Now about that research… The one I assigned last week?... Alright, well now all that's left are those criminals… Okay. Goodbye…" He put the phone back down and sighed. His gaze drifted form scattered pieces of paper on his desk to a picture of a young, pretty woman. "What came to this Rie?" He put the framed picture facing down, hung his head in shame, and covered his eyes with his hands.

For the rest of the night, all that could be heard were the man's sobs.

February 15, 2018 – Saturday [Jundo Street, Morning]

Once again, Ryo and Aimi were walking to school. Ryo was staggering because of his lack of sleep and his violent vomiting. Aimi looked at him with concern, "Maybe you should take today off?"

"Nah, can't, already this far…" Ryo only looked forward and continued at a faster pace. This act lead to him crashing into another student with white milky skin.

"HEY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" She yelled with a violent connotation. Ryo looked up and recognized her as Katsumi. Katsumi slapped Ryo across the face and he fell into the river, down the hill that they were on. "You better not do that again, pervert." Her two followers laughed at Ryo and all three walked along.

Aimi came down the hill and helped Ryo out of the murky water; she pulled out a rag from her shirt pocket and handed it to Ryo. "Are you alright? Geez, she was a bitch… I think just about everyone could see you tripped."

"Whatever…" Was Ryo's response when the school bell rang. The twins ran off toward the school building, even if Ryo was soaked.

[Jundo Street - Class 2-C]

Everyone was talking during homeroom, and Ryo and Aimi were just walking into the class. As they sat at their desks, Michio and Takeo walked up. "Hey, Ryo-san! Aimi-san!" Takeo greeted happily. Ryo simply nodded his head at the two.

"Hey Aimi, want us to show you the town too?" Michio asked. His gaze was somewhat dismayed as he looked at the sister.

"No thank you; Hikari already offered and I said no." Aimi said not noticing what was wrong.

"Okay…" Michio sat down at this desk and Takeo sat in front of him. Just after, a tall teen walked in with blue hair and sunglasses. His hair extended out into a massive quiff cascading down his face. His teeth were yellow and chipped and his CHAS uniform dirty and torn. At his entrance everyone looked at him and gasped. Even Michio, who was deep into his book, looked up and was shocked. The teen smirked and continued to a vacant seat in the back of the class. He kicked his feet up and leaned back in the chair.

"The hell is he doing here?" Ryo overheard a loud student say.

"I dunno, I've never actually seen him in school." Another gossiping student said.

Ryo leaned over to Michio. "Who's that?" Ryo asked.

"Guh… Viper, from the back alley; what's he doing in school, I have no idea." Michio responded. Viper looked around and spotted Aimi. He smiled wildly as he put his feet down and walked over to her.

"Hola, señorita… They call me Viper… And what's your name?" Viper said resting his hands on Aimi's desk. Ryo stood up to protect his sister; his stare was deathly and intimidated Viper. "Whoa! Big man in the class here!" Viper said mockingly, keeping his cool.

Aimi looked pleadingly up to Ryo. Ryo just continued to glare at Viper. "Maybe you should just back off." Ryo said. Ryo was bigger than Viper, but it looked as if Viper was the better fighter. Viper just continued to smile, holding back laughs, until finally the teacher came in.

"EXCUSE ME!" Ms. Shimizu commanded her class. As usual all the students hushed up and sat at their desks, except for Viper. "Ah, yes. Well everyone how about we welcome Ricardo back to class. You might be wondering why since he was expelled, well it seems that Chichibu's mayor is forcing teens, like him, to return to school for a proper education."

"Oh come on Shimi! I thought we were friends!" Viper fake pouted.

"So everyone, just ignore his antics until the mayor comes to his senses." Ms. Shimizu continued. The bell then rang and Viper finally took his seat.

February 15, 2018 – Saturday [Rooftop, Lunch Break]

Ryo, Aimi, Michio, and Takeo were all on the roof chatting and eating lunch. Michio was still looking down while Takeo was gleeful and speaking loudly. The doors suddenly swung open and Hikari walked onto the roof with a large smile on her face.

"Well?" Michio began, wanting to ask the question everyone was begging to ask.

Hikari just continued to smile and nodded her head. Instantly everyone's face brightened. "From now on, we'll meet in room 2-F after school." She said.

"Isn't 2-F the really small class?" Takeo asked with displeasure.

"Yeh… But we are a small group, so we get a small room!" Hikari replied. Everyone looked a lot happier; they were now officially a club. "Mr. Ito said that in order to keep our club status, we need to do community service as a club activity. So I say we help students in need, like we did for you guys!" Hikari looked at the twins who thought for a second.

"That sounds great! I can't wait until we actually start!" Aimi shouted. Hikari sat down and the five continued eating their lunches together while chatting. When lunch was over, the bell rang. As everyone walked back to class, Ryo noticed Hikari looking out at the horizon. She had a dreamy look on her face and was just smiling.

Ryo walked up and was about to say something when Hikari cut him off. "Ryo… Do you ever think that… People are good at heart? I think so… But they just need to find it within themselves to do good…"

Ryo looked around awkwardly. "It depends…" Ryo said trailing off. "What's going on with her?" Ryo thought.

"Sorry for asking you this… But I couldn't help but wonder what someone else's opinion is…" Hikari turned her face and looked at Ryo. For the first time, Ryo realized how cute she looked, her smile was warm and kind, her face flawless, and she was very kind. Ryo couldn't help but blush. "*giggle*You're blushing!"

"N-No!" Ryo tried to defend himself, but it was no use. Hikari was laughing her ass off, so Ryo sighed and started back to class.

Hikari finished laughing and looked at Ryo once more. "Wait! Listen, Ryo, maybe we can chat sometime? Like Sunday? I know this really good café that just opened up…" She said as she walked up to him. Like Ryo, she was blushing too.

Ryo smiled. "I'd love too" With that, Hikari started laughing again from the cheesy line.

February 15, 2018 – Saturday [Class 2-C, After School]

Classes had just ended as Ryo and Aimi were packing up. Ryo wanted to get off school grounds so he could play his PSV, but the hallways were crowded around Viper. Both Ryo and Aimi slid out of the crown without getting hurt, luckily. As they walked down the hall, Ryo noticed Class 2-E. "Didn't Michio say something about this class yesterday?" Ryo pulled out the three-hundred yen coins from his pocket and walked into the class, hoping to find Isao.

The class was about the same size as 2-C, but had was much roomier thanks to the fewer desks. Ryo looked around and saw the red-haired student packing up his bags. Ryo walked over and could faintly hear music playing. The music was coming from the headphones around Isao's ears; it was some kind of pop music that was likely from an idol. Ryo tapped him on the shoulder which broke him out of his trance and looked up. "Here…" Ryo said as he handed Isao the three coins.

Isao blinked twice thinking about what just happened, and then he stood up. He studied Ryo for a second. "Wait… You were hanging around Michio and Takeo yesterday weren't you?" Isao accused. "You better get out now, you CHITSU!" His voice rose and everyone was now staring at Ryo now with the same intensity as Isao, but looked more vicious.

Ryo ran out as soon as the students started hurling books, pencils, or anything they could find at him. He ran out the door and continued down the hallway. Aimi already left leaving Ryo alone as he walked off to the school grounds. Without much to do, Ryo left school down Jundo Street towards his apartment.

February 15, 2018 – Saturday [Fujihara Apartment, Night]

Ryo came into the small apartment for the third time, and found he was in complete darkness. Aimi was on the couch like last time, but she wasn't watching anything, she was curled up mumbling things to herself and crying. Ryo sat down beside her and rubbed her back.

"Bro… I want to go *sniff* home…" Aimi said sobbing. "I want *sniff* to be where we didn't have to worry about anything!" Ryo was less than happy. He always believed that the orphanage was terrible, and actually did more harm than it helped. He finally left that run-down, overcrowded house, and now Aimi wanted to go back? "There was this new guy at the front desk and h-he *sniff* said we had to pay bills first and cut off everything! Ryo, we don't have the money! How the hell are we supposed to live like this! I tried looking for a *sniff* job, but no one would hire me… A-and then I thought about things *sniff* and how I'm absolutely useless, and a looser with no friends… I thought the club would *sniff* give me friends, but the only person who still cares about me away… I want *sniff* to go home where we had a life…"

They sat in silence for a moment, "We can't go back…" Was all Ryo said.

"AND WHY NOT!" Aimi screamed as she suddenly sat up. "You are such an asshole! I hate you!" She ran out the door, still in her school clothes.

Ryo sat contemplating. "What exactly happened to her? Everyone is acting strange today… Or is it just me?" Ryo thought. His cell phone started to beep, signifying a text message. He opened his cell hoping it was Aimi, but it was from an unknown sender. It read: do you want your life to change? Ryo was puzzled, he didn't have anyone but Aimi's number on this new phone, and it wasn't from any company… "It's probably just spam?" Ryo questioned to himself. Just as he was about to delete it, the cell phone released a blue wave with numbers at the edge. Ryo froze, his phone shut down and he suddenly felt a heavy pressure. A voice came loud and clear, as if on an intercom.

"A fate has chosen yes, The Rapture has begun."

Sorry if the end got a little confusing there, but again, 10:00 at night. Keep them reviews coming.