Another day in Tawashi high school, the noise of teenage chatter filling the adult-less classroom. It was supposed to be a 2nd year math class, but the entire school staff had been called together for a meeting. It was most likely some assembly, the principal always did a school wide meeting when there was an impending assembly, so of course the students took advantage of their class without an authoritative figure. One of these, was Sakura, sitting there talking to some of her friends, ignoring the work their teacher had left for them as everyone else was. Girlish giggles and boisterous laughter were coming from just about everyone. Only Jin sat alone on the floor, leaning against a wall, his head hanging in slumber. Sakura noticed him, and knew him better than he liked, so she came closer.

The chatter within the room didn't seem to irritate Jin as much as most would have thought. While the students went on and on about random things, Jin sat on the floor against the back wall. He had put his hands in his pockets, and stretched his legs out, in front of him, not caring if someone tripped over them. He had his eyes closed, hoping no one would have bothered him. It seemed to work flawlessly, until he heard footsteps reaching him along with familiar voice right next to him.

Crouching down, she smiled at the familiar face, which she had seen at the graveyard the day before. "Hello there!"

He opened his eyes to look over to his right, seeing Sakura crouched right next to him. He let out a small sigh at the sight, "Out of all the people, of course you would be the one to notice I'm not actually asleep."

Sakura giggled at the comment, giving the brown haired boy a small knowing wink. "You can't fool me! Now, you don't mind if I sit here next to you, right?" Not waiting for an answer, she held her skirt and sat on the floor beside Jin, a kind smile decorating her face.

Even though Sakura gave him no time to answer, Jin wasn't going to bothering answering the pointless question anyway. He knows the caring and sweet girl all too well, and knew she would have sat there even if he had said no. Momentarily after, Jin looked among their classmates and scoffed. "It's funny isn't it? How everyone is all jolly. It makes me sick..." It was true. None of them had any idea that they were doomed, but Jin did.

Sakura couldn't help but blink at the comment, never had Jin said something similar to this in all the times they had worked together in class. "Why would you say that, Jin? It would be great if you were just as jolly!"

Jin wasn't much of a talker, let alone someone easy to open up. He just didn't know how to, but there was something special about Sakura that got him to. "Come on, Sakura. I know you have felt it too." He had pulled himself up onto his feet, his feet carrying himself over to the window, looking out to the spring view. "Something bad is going down. It's the same reason the military jets have been flying overhead."

Sakura's facial expression dampened a bit, knowing exactly what he was talking about. She didn't know what to say as she looked up at Jin's stern face, so remained silent for a moment.

"Yeah, I know..." She only looked to the ground, thinking over the news report she saw last night.

The P.A. had come on, every single student became silent as the sound of rustling was on the other side of the speaker system. The voice that came out of it sounded stern, with a hint of fear and doubt in it.

"Students, attention all students, we are calling a school assembly in the gym. We would like you all to be here and set within 10 minutes, and if you even think about playing hooky from this meeting, you will not be going on the year end trip, to Paris, France. Thanks you and I shall be seeing you shortly." The P.A. had clicked off and as the student looked among each other, talking about what could be going on; Jin glanced back and Sakura, with an 'I told you so' look on his face, and headed out of the classroom door.

Sakura sat there, thinking intently. The principal had sounded so anxious... Could the school board know something we didn't? What about that news report and that guy, Shu? A sigh escaped her lips as she stood; she had to push those thoughts to the back of her head. Surely it was nothing. Sakura walked out behind Jin, taking a few moments to reach the nearly empty gym.

She looked around, seeing the students hadn't decided to come quite yet, so she sat at the bottom bleacher and stared off, wondering what this was all about. Everyone was expecting an assembly, but now things seemed like more than 'just another assembly'.

As both Sakura and Jin reached the gym and took their seats, students began to flood into the gym with mixed emotions. Some were terribly anxious while others were excited or jittery about what could be going on. None the less, the stress level was through the roof. Jin had nudged Sakura, who was sitting next to him. "I bet one of these kids ends up freaking out before the day is over."

She couldn't help but giggle at the remark, "I doubt it, it can't be anything that bad!" Sakura took another glance around the room, the teachers looked so preoccupied with each other, whispering and shaking their heads at something. Not even Kyoto Sensei was bothering with threatening the disobedient students, corralling everyone to their seats. Everything seemed so... Not normal.

Jin had rested his elbows on his knees, his arms outstretched and his hands cupped together. He didn't know what exactly to expect, but he knew no good would come of it. When everyone was while seated down, the principal and a few of the staff were, standing in the middle of the gym, facing the students.

Then, they began to speak. "Thank you students of Tawashi high, for your cooperation and attending this assembly. Because of the seriousness involved with today's matter, we've decided to skip all formalities."

Sakura raises an eyebrow, how strange... The principal wasn't one for 'skipping' anything

One of the students had stood up in their seat, and shouted out. "What do you mean the 'seriousness involved'?!" It was clear he was very upset, and the assembly hadn't even started. Not only that, he got the others to get all fired up along with him.

One of the teachers scowled and yelled into a megaphone as the uniformed body began an uproar, "Silence! Your principal is trying to speak here, now either you pipe down and sit respectfully, or you'll begin a disciplinary punishment!"

The students had quieted down after a minute or two and waited, still on edge. Jin and looked around not saying a word. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, he blended in with the others. He leaned over a bit in a hushed tone speaking to Sakura. "It's already starting..."

She glanced Jin, the stress getting to even Sakura. Her interest peaked when she saw the principal's mouth begin to move again after the majority had settled down. All ears where on what he had to say, for most likely the very first time.

"No reason to be alarmed children. This is just a precaution within the schools in the entire district. We know you all have gone through this before, but we have the need to go over it yet again. There are to be no, talking to strangers, approaching foreign people, and do not ever go near anyone that is acting strangely. Never get into a car with someone you do not know, and always stay in sight of someone, never allow yourself to be alone." The students didn't even let him finish, they all groaned and booed as the principal was talking.

He furrowed his brow at the student body reaction, but continued either way. "Due to this same attitude of the youth, the schools have decided that no student shall be out after 7:30 pm! If this rule is violated, the consequences WILL BE GRAVE. So do not intend on overlooking this very simple rule. It is also recommended students remain within their homes as much possible even before this hour. Your parents have all been notified, so you can not lie to them either."

This caused a huge uproar within the students. Some even looked as if they were getting ready to riot. One student had gotten out of his seat, sitting at the edge of the bleachers. He had grabbed a steel chair from under the bleachers and heaved it over to the staff. Some of the other students had started rioting along with him, so Jin blinked looking around. "There's my que..." He slips out from under the staff's vision and sneaks to the exit.

"A-ah! Wait, Jin!" Sakura stumbled up from her seat to see three other students heading for the exit, two short haired girls, one jet black and the other a warm brown, and that boy she had run into yesterday. She mumbled to herself, so not everyone is as rambunctious as the other rioting children... She took one last look at the nervous teachers, trying to calm everyone down. Sakura too believed that such a rule was out of bounds, but... they surely must have had a reason for this... Sakura quickly tiptoed down the steps and past the angry uniforms to walks out and catch up with her classmate.

Jin had heard Sakura call out to him, but he had to get out of sight. Once done, he had waited for her to catch up. As soon as she did, Jin continued to walk, sliding his hands in his pockets. "This is getting out of hand. They don't even know what is going on and they are already losing it."

"Well, you know the students in this school; they make a ruckus out of nothing...! That's... probably all it is." She continued to try and convince herself nothing was wrong, but the day became stranger as the clock ticked.

"I'm not so sure." He kept walking and reached a small hallway between the lockers and the bathrooms. "I know you saw the news. I just don't know if we can actually believe that is what's really going on."

Her eyes widened as she followed him. So he watched it too...? "Well... when people need answers, they'll believe anything... For all we know, he's just some poor guy with his head in knots..."

Jin let out a long annoyed sigh, "Sakura listen, I know you are trying to stay positive here, but you need to realize...life as we know it, is over." He walks away from her leaving her to ponder her own thoughts as he headed over to his locker.

Sakura was left alone, watching Jin's back become smaller with distance. The world as we knew it... ending...? What a... worrying thought. The minutes ticked away and the students were herded into their rooms for the usual classes, Sakura and Jin included. But, these normal classes... didn't feel 'normal'. Everyone's minds wandered the entire time; it's doubt-able that anyone could remember anything the teachers had spoken. Anything except the assembly. As the classes ended and changed, lunch time came around. There was the same rush to get first in line or to get the usual seating, as always, and as always the food was less than pleasurable, but edible.

"Here you are Miss Seijun." Smiled a cafeteria worker as she handed the 3rd year student Nozomi her tray, just as she has for the past three years. A fake smile accompanied by a single nod was her response, regardless the time passed, as she looked for the least populate table she could find. Miraculously, there was one without a single person, to her delight. Her head held high, she walked past glances and whispers; she was used to comments by her fellow students. Comments of admiration, or intimidation, either or was humorous to her, a small smirk tugging at her lips. Nozomi took a seat, and began to eat with only her thoughts.

Sakura left her class very distraught. Her mind was clouded with so many thoughts. They just overflowing in her mind; but she decided to try and shake the haunting thoughts off. She grabbed her packed lunch from her locker and headed into the cafeteria; she hated the lunch the school had to serve. She had tried it once, and became sick all throughout that day. She looked around, not seeing Jin anywhere, figuring he must have gone outside and was up in the old oak tree like he always was. She huffed at the thought and spoke softly to herself, "That boy needs to make some friends…" She was just about to turn around and go look for him, until she spotted someone sitting alone. She couldn't make out who it was, but that didn't matter, she couldn't help but want to go and cheer up someone who was lonely. Upon getting closer to her, Sakura realized who it was. It was the same girl that she had saw earlier in the gym, the one who was leaving along with two others. She had got up to the table and smiled at the older girl. "Hello, there! Mind if I join you?"

"Hmm?" Green eyes looked up from the tray to see a girl smiling down at her. Nozomi raised her brow "A 2nd year student...? Now, what could you want with me...?" she inquired now that her desired solitude had been disturbed.

"What do I want? I want to sit down and eat lunch with you, silly." She giggled slightly and took a seat, seeing as the emerald eyed girl didn't object. She holds out her hand across the table greeting her. "The name's Sakura Yuzuki!"

The name resonated in her mind. Sakura Yuzuki, eh...? "I am Nozomi Seijun, 3rd year class president." She ignored the outstretched hand, keeping to formal introductions. Nozomi figured that her name was known well enough for this girl to get scared off. At least, that's what she hoped.

Sakura blinked, and rubbed her head sheepishly with a nervous laugh. "Yeah... OH! You are the young lady everyone is always talking about! It's nice to meet you, Nozomi!" Sakura didn't seem afraid of her at all. In fact she seemed happy and enticed by Nozomi. "So that was some stunt they pulled at the assembly today, don't you think?"

Nozomi noticed Sakura's lack in intimidation; a small frown shaped her lips until Sakura spoke of the assembly. A small snicker was heard from Nozomi's smirk. "Quite the stunt, indeed."

"Um..." Her voice sounded small and weak, as if she were about to faint. "D-do you actually believe the staff? I think they are just being over dramatic, honestly." She was lying through her teeth. She knew something sinister was coming, the way she felt about her parent's spirits really gave it away. That sensation of restlessness within the cemetery, a place that is supposed to give the opposite, Sakura knew it was more than just a feeling.

The crack in Sakura's voice only gave Nozomi more reason to snicker. She looked up to the girl with her patented 'kind' smile, becoming amused at her denial. "Why don't you sit closer to me, Sakura? Don't worry, I don't bite." A small laugh was given.

Sakura smiled a bit, scooting closer to Nozomi and opening her packed lunch. She had a whole assortment of foods. Fruits, vegetables, sushi, anything to keep her full and going through the day. She began eating and looked all around at the students. "This is so unreal though..." She was speaking more to herself than to Nozomi.

Who watched Sakura carefully, her expressions, her tone. They seemed so naive... or rather, so ridiculously optimistic. Nozomi rested her cheek on the palm of her hand; this would prove to be more entertaining than originally thought. "So, you think they are overreacting? To what, if I may know?"

Sakura looked at Nozomi, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "Well, I don't know if you saw the news last night, but there was a man claiming that these... undead-like creatures are terrorizing the world..."

"And you believe that this is the schools reaction to that single news report, then?" Nozomi held back a sneer.

She stuttered a bit, unsure of how to respond. "Well... I-I, I don't know exactly...I don't want to believe it, but ever since yesterday, things seem so astray..."

Nozomi's smile never wavered as she looked at Sakura's concerned face. She almost felt bad. Almost. After a moment of silence, Nozomi spoke up, grabbing her juice, "The human mind is so fragile, don't you think?" she took a sip, the conversation's change in direction making perfect sense to her.

Sakura tilted her head a bit, wondering why in the world she came up with that, and looked at Nozomi. "Hm, what do you mean exactly, Nozomi?"

Setting her juice back onto the table, she stared at the lunchroom's mess of teens. Her smile widening into a taunting grin, "You mean you don't see it...? Everyone is afraid, desperately afraid of the unknown. It's always been that way within humans, so they try to keep the peace by making things top secret, if no one can suspect anything, no one will know there is something they don't know. No one wants a large scale event like the school wide meeting we had earlier, don't you think? So the teachers take orders from the higher ups, like obedient dogs, weather they agree or not." She closed her eyes, her chest filling with that unceasing sensation of doubt, of something horrible that lies ahead. The uneasy and constant reminder of secrets soon to be uncovered. "All this to protect people from losing their faux sanity, creating a desperate uproar against anything and everything. Lack of trust filling everyone's very soul. All because of questions which will never be answered. So, am I wrong in saying that not only the our minds are fragile, but the system and world we live in as well?" Then, she laughed a bit, turning to face Sakura's face, Nozomi's face dripping with an uneasy amusement, "To add insult to injury, that will all end soon enough. Isn't it just comical?"

Sakura looked down a bit and put her two index fingers together, what could she say to that? "Yeah, I guess so..." She was interrupted by the school's bell, which was signaling the end of lunch. "Oh, lunch is over already?" The P.A. system had come back on, once again students hushed, the principal's voice ringing out of it. "Students, due to the new rules, we are ending school hours right after lunch. We all hope you have a wonderful day and go straight home. Remember 7:30 is curfew. Hope to see you all tomorrow, have a nice day!"

Nozomi looked up to the speaker closest to her and smiled, standing up. "Well, in your defense, Sakura, things these days are astray." She picked up her barely touched lunch tray. "But, do not think everything is an overreaction. Not this time." No longer did a smile find itself on her face, but a stern look of disapproval. "I find the company of someone so naive irritating. Please do not come see me again, Sakura. You are no longer entertaining in my eyes; therefore I do not wish your presence. So as a goodbye, I give you this advice." Nozomi leaned her face in closer, "Wake up, and listen to the crazed symphony that is reason."

She backed away, a smile on her face again; a smile Sakura now knew was a forged lie. Nozomi looked at her perplexed face for a moment then walked away.

Sakura blinks a bit, staring at her as she left, a few moments after Nozomi was no longer in sight, she huffs and rolls her eyes. "Ugh, the nerve of some people!" She picked up her lunch and stormed out of the lunchroom without a second thought. Maybe everything did seem to be going downhill. But what no one knew was that, it would never be going up again.