It's a fifth day already. Just two more to the festival, folks. After that... Act 2.

Alarm clock. Again. This thing will wake me up every goddamn time. Despite the fact that I've been woken up by it since middle high, I still can't get used to it. Even with only one ear the sound is awfully loud and just happens to cause your eyes to snap open in an instant. Despite that, you're far from rested. Actually, your eyes close just a few minutes later. Then, you somehow manage to defeat the urge to just lie on a nearest couch and drift off... But it will come back. It always comes back.

Okay, maybe I'm demonizing it a fair bit, but the point still stands. No matter if you went to bed at 10 PM or 1 AM. It's always, always gonna be the same. So long as you get up early, it's gonna haunt you until you finally give in during some particularly boring lecture and fall asleep, earning your teacher's distaste.

Right now, however... I need a shower.

Ah. The touch of water. Even if it hurts, it's still well worth it... Helps me remove any thoughts. It's just me and the shower. All alone, quiet... Serene.

However, I need to think. Think rationally. About the festival that's just two days ahead of me. About the people. About...

Three faces come to mind. One has burn scars and a purple bang which tries to cover them. The other has pink drills and a giant grin. The last one is adorned with a gentle smile and has two earrings in ears.

Hanako Ikezawa. Shiina "Misha" Mikado. Saki Enomoto. Three girls which are like magnets for my humble person, drawing me closer on each occasion. Whether they're doing it by force, by accident or by a mixture of both, it still works. I'm like a moth and they're the light bulbs. I'm going to burn in their fire once it goes too far.

Considering Hanako's a burn victim, those words seem somewhat inappropriate... Eh. It's weird. I'm a guy who looks like an unholy bastard child of Arnold Toht and Two-Face with a bucketful of cynicism and jackassery. I'm not supposed to be around them.

I suppose people in Yamaku are somewhat more tolerant to stuff, mostly because they have to deal with it on daily basis. I'm new to it. On the other hand, Hisao – who doesn't look half bad on the outside – doesn't seem to be getting that much of recognition amongst Yamaku females. I think he enjoys hanging out with Shizune and Misha, despite his wild reactions any time they corner him in the class. Well, at least he had found someone to talk with... Faux pas, but this time at least it wasn't said out loud.

I exit the shower, wrapped in a towel, just about to avoid any unpleasant situations. Two days left. I need to make a decision during those two days.

Today's lessons are boring.

Very boring.

I feel like banging my head on the desk, but not only would I scare Hanako, but also probably injure myself. Sadly, the times of facedesks are over. It's a shame, since it's a very simple, yet powerful expression which can show your displeasure, disgust, boredom and more. Now, I can only facepalm and even then I can do it appropriately lightly in order not to flinch from the ensuing pain.

I'm not the only one who shares this boredom. Misha's blatantly sleeping on her desk, drooling. Miki tries her hardest not to fall like Misha and she's propping herself with her good hand. The Lelouch rip-off squints his eyes, apparently trying to comprehend what he's seeing. Misaki's got the bags under her eyes again, but she seems to be in a decent shape. Hanako's also pretty attentive, although mostly she just keeps reading. There are also Shizune and Hisao who seem to be pretty good with science in general, but even they try their hardest to pay attention. Class rep seems especially pissed because of the fact her interpreter is slacking off and she can't wake her up for all it's worth. Quite interestingly, Taro's pretty much the most attentive person in the room right now. Unlike almost every other lesson, he sits straight, his eyes are full to brim with comprehension. I guess it's no surprise, considering that the lesson is about proteins.

Now that I think of it, with the exception of Hisao and Taro(Kenji doesn't really count), I don't know a single other guy in that school or even in my class. There are three others here, from what I saw so far: The guy in beret known as Takashi Maeda(if Miki is to be believed), that Lelouch guy and the other one with brown hair and a headband, always frowning. What was his name? Suzumiya? Oh right, there's also that bespectacled one sitting next to Suzu.

Eh. Perhaps I'm paying too much of my attention to it. As a lunch break starts, Hanako almost immediately darts to the exit. Predictable. A part of me wants to follow her so badly... But I don't think she would appreciate it. Besides, I think she still is a bit wary of me after that incident with sprained ankle. I think I noticed a bit of blonde hair. Guess it makes sense for Lilly to come here for her. Well, what will I do then? Shizune and Misha seem to take hold of Hisao again, so I'm sort of left with nothing. I guess I could hang out with someone. It's not like this class is empty. Taro has dozed off, so he's down for a count. Misaki also took a nap. Miki, Molly and Suzu already grouped into one, so I guess I won't bother them. Two girls which sit on the other side of Hanako had already wandered somewhere too. I've noticed they were holding their hands. Hm. So maybe Takashi? Then again, he's a jackass. Also, he seems to be occupied with his Lelouch pal and the guy with glasses. So... The girl sitting next to Taro is absent too. That leaves me with Suzumiya and the girl next to him.

She has brown hair in a short ponytail, giant blue eyes and seems a bit more... plump than others. She in general seems big in most aspects... But this isn't something I should mention, just like in Misaki's case.

I guess I could talk to either of them. It's always socializing, especially seeing as they're not doing anything in particular. The girl has just unwrapped a sandwich and begins to chew on it. Suzumiya seems to be just staring at the wall, but every once in a while he seems to glance at her. Huh. So that's what it is. Interestingly, however, a moment later while he's not looking at her and goes back to staring at the wall, the girl glances at him with those giant blue eyes in the same manner before quickly going back to her sandwich. This ping-pong repeats a few times in a matter of a minute.

Hah. Now that's something. Both of them have a crush on the another and none of them are brave enough to tell it to the other. Somewhere, in dark depths of my mind, Nega's laughing his ass off.

Should I really interrupt them? I guess I could talk to one and then get to know the other.

"Uh... Excuse me, Komaki-san..." Before I can even approach them, Suzumiya speaks up to the plump girl. She stops mid-bite, looking at him partially surprised, partially scared. The fact that the guy himself looks like a nervous wreck isn't helping his case at all. He stutters something that isn't audible at all, even to the girl next to him. "I m-meant, uh... I, uh... I was won-ndering if you would h-h-happen to..." Is it confession? Come on, dude, you've got this. I can see that Komaki-san is blushing slightly, apparently awaiting the words. "I-if you... Uh... Iiif you know the current hour!" I'm sure as hell he didn't mean to say that. The girl does not show her disappointment though.

"O-oh, sure." She responds, checking her watch. Eh. I guess I would be like that too if I tried to say something nice to the girl I like.

Nah. I can ask someone else about the two. For now I guess I'll be content with walking around the school. Maybe I can meet up with Emi or Rin. With a polite nod to both Suzumiya and Komaki, I exit the class.

Just as I exit it, someone crashes straight into me. As expected, both of us go down on the floor, both with a curse. I know the corridors aren't exactly narrow, but running around can only end in tears. I get up and dust myself off before taking look at the guy before me. First thing that catches my attention is that he appears to be Caucasian. Completely Caucasian, not even a mix-up. Other than that... Huh, not much. He just... appears. There are no distinctive features in him.

"Watch where you go." I say, sighing. "An acquaintance of mine has a heart condition. You don't want to bump into him like that."

"Right..." He responds with some hesitance. Is it because of my face? Possible. Then again, I'm pretty much unfamiliar to males in this school, with small exceptions of my classmates and Kenji. Dunno. Maybe they have much wilder reactions to stuff.

Another thing that makes me take a longer notice of the guy in front of me is that his voice... it has a heavy accent. I can't quite place it, but it would seem to be a Slavic language... It's most definitely not Polish though.

"Say, is Miki Miura in classroom?" He asks me, looking slightly hopeful. Slightly.

"No, she has left with her group recently." Now that I think of it, the group of Miki, Suzu and Molly doesn't really have anyone that sticks out in particular. True, Suzu's blue-ish hair are kind of suspicious, but comparing it to, say, Misha's pink drills or Hanako's burn scars, that's kind of lame comparison. The guy's expression falls slightly. Very slightly. He seems to be good in reducing his emotions to slight movements. "You might catch them somewhere though. Look for blue hair or double black braids." He nods and dusts himself off as well. I'm surprised he didn't do it earlier.

"Thanks..."

"Stratoavis. Casper Stratoavis."

"Tokarev. Mikhail Tokarev."Huh. So he's Russian. We extend handshakes as he resumes his run in search of Miki.

Now, perhaps I shouldn't be judging, but why is this ridiculously average guy looking for Miki, the girl who is far from average? Eh, perhaps some stuff. Maybe the two know each other. I didn't bother to ask, but that could be perceived as too personal, so...

Well... My interaction with other males so far begs to be killed and buried ten feet under. Maybe Kenji really is right? Maybe this school is ran by women? Then again, most teachers appear to be male. Head nurse's also male, so... Eh, to hell with it.

As I wander around the Yamaku grounds I can't help, but admire the gorgeousness of this place. While it has been build to provide functionality, it is also exceptionally beautiful, especially from the outside. The greenlands, the trees, the park near the school...

Now that I think of it, I don't think I've exited the school grounds yet. After my arrival here at Monday, I was just sitting here and getting involved in various stuff. Heh. That one week hasn't ended yet and it had already offered me a bucketful of experience.

Maybe I could take a walk down to the city nearby? I've got a whole hour to use, so I guess I could walk around, discover some extra things. That way, I could go there after classes end and buy a thing or two or just relax.

It took me a while to notice, but Yamaku is built on top of a large hill, overlooking the local buildings. The town itself doesn't seem that big, to be honest. It's more of a village. I'm sure there is some city nearby though.

Also, what kind of brainless idiot builds a school for physically disabled on top of a huge hill? Never mind me or, say, Lilly, who have no problems with moving on their own. But what about the likes of Hisao or Saki? I take walking up this hill really tires people out and given his heart condition, he does tire himself out like hell here. And in Saki's case, well, given she walks with a crutch...

Eh, I'm probably thinking too much. Now, to walk around and find a place or two.

Pulling out my MP4 player out of the pocket of my pants, I place the headphone in my good ear. I've always hated to listen to things with just one ear. It's awful, it's low-quality, it shouldn't ever be done. Sadly, after the accident I was kind of forced to do so. While I can still general sounds going from both directions, concentrated source like headphones are a no-go. A pity. Isolating myself from the environment with my headphones and lyrics of Kreator was once one of my favorite things to do. I do it sometimes, when I wander around the corridors or just do something of little importance.

Hm. There's a bus stop near the exit of school grounds. Well, at least there's that. I guess I can take a little walk though. Even if I happen to be late, I can always pin it on me not being familiar with environment yet. After a week, it will stop being a viable excuse though.

The landscape around the road is quite peaceful. I did not expect anything else, although I must admit I didn't pay much attention to it while we were driving here. It might have something to do with the fact that's summer now, but then again, who knows? Maybe this place happens to be a mythical Garden of Eden, carefully hidden as a school for psychically disabled?

Hm. This theory seems even crazier than the ones of Kenji. I don't think it's a good sign. Now that I think of it, I didn't see him since that incident from yesterday evening. Then again, I don't see him that often. Who knows? Maybe he got to his room and cowers in fear, afraid of Saki's fictional assassins? Maybe he crawls around Yamaku, looking for an opportunity to strike?

...Or maybe he's clinging to my leg, having jumped from bushes nearby.

"Man, am I glad to see you!" He says and judging from his body language he's absolutely delighted to talk to me.

"Kenji, what the hell were you doing in those bushes?" The question is asked in a relatively calm, indifferent tone.

"Don't be joking, man! I've been hiding here! All night and half of the day already!" ...Alright. You seriously have to visit a doctor. A psychiatrist. No, wait, loony bin seems more appropriate. "Those feminists assassins wouldn't see it coming." As much as I'd like to tell him that Saki just pulled a joke on him, I know the moment I'll say I know something, he'll go apeshit. Considering he's been here that long, I take he's armed with something, be it a revolver or a letter-opener.

"...What feminists assassins?" For now, I must play this game. Looks like my plan of going to town is going to hell. I offer Kenji a hand which he gladly accepts, getting up.

"That's quite a story." He says and I can see that he's all excited about that. "I've been on the scent of a powerful figure in ranks of Yamaku's feminists. I bet she was at least a lieutenant. Heck, maybe even a captain! Do you imagine how much would those bitches flip their shit should I capture such a high-ranking individual?!"

"I guess I do."

"Hah. Good to know, man. Hisao tries his best, but the moron's too thick-headed. He thinks women are nothing but "delicate flowers that most certainly have no intention of hurting you, Kenji". Just you wait til I tell him about it!" Kenji pumps his fist up in the air with a triumphant grin. "He'll go down in a heart attack, I'm telling you." Yeah. As much as Hisao's heart condition is disconcerting, I don't think he will even shake. "So, anyway! I was sneaking through the school, using my ninja senses..."

"Ninja what?"

"Come on, man. What are you, a trilobite? Ninja sense! Every man has those! Every man is a ninja at heart!" I can't tell him that there were female ninjas. Kunoichi, I do believe. "Well, so my ninja sense! Lets me hear damn everything around me. So I've heard that tapping. At first I thought it's a water from the sink somewhere in the bathroom, but it was too rhythmical. So I went and checked it out. Turns out, the bitch was too busy looking at the stars or whatever shit feminists do to keep their devious minds clean. So I ambushed her. I'm telling you, when she saw me, she was terrified. Completely lost her shit." Yeah... I saw that.

Kenji continues to rant about his glorious adventure from yesterday as I sort of drag him back to school.

And that's how I spent my lunch break. Not even eating anything. Great. And that bastard didn't even show me some minor gratitude apart from saying "thanks, man" and running away to his room. He could at least offer me something to eat, dammit. I was forced to rush to cafeteria, bowl over a few people, get a donut and pray it will be enough.

Obviously it wasn't. Donuts are awesome, but they're not really what I'd call "filling". I had to spend most of afternoon classes starving and begging the bell to finally ring. It did, but it took me some strong will not to just run out of the class and order a casserole.

Finally. Alright. All plans be damned, now I need to go and eat someth-wait. The ritual of Suzumiya and Komaki repeats again, now that everyone's leaving. Misha sends me a warm smile, then goes back to torturing Hisao alongside Shizune. Hanako does not bolt like an arrow out of the room, which is surprising, but instead takes her time with her books and notebooks and even chats a little with the girl next to Taro. Huh. Wow. What happened? She notices me and smiles slightly. Double wow. That's some serious improvement. Lilly's apparently working wonders.

Hm... Takashi and Lelouch are already talking about something. From what I can hear, the latter mentions something about his sister, although he does it in such a cryptic and barely comprehensible way I'm not quite sure if he really meant it. The guy in the beret seems to understand him perfectly though. Miki, Suzu and Molly are already next to exit, chatting with each other about things, though blue-haired girl seems kind of drowsy. The guy with glasses approaches Taro and starts talking to him about something. The two lesbians have already walked out of the classroom. This leaves Misaki as the only unoccupied person in the room besides me.

I guess I could ask her about those two.

"'Scuse me..." I approach her as she's busy getting her things done. She looks up at me, slightly nervously, but lights up a moment later.

"Oh, hey." She responds. "It was some time since our last chat, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Been photographing again?"

"...Is it that noticeable?"

"Apart from the fact you were sleeping on the lunch break? Yeah." Misaki sighs.

"Weather forecast said that until Monday morning the night sky is going to be absolutely clear. You know how rare that is? I don't want to lose such an opportunity." I guess I get it why she's so stubborn about it. Sometimes, when for some reason I'm outside during the night, I often catch myself staring at the skies. Dotted with stars, it's one of the simplest and yet most beautiful things a mortal man could witness.

Suzumiya and Komaki had left already. Good.

"Say... I've got a question."

"Huh?"

"About those two sitting next to Miki." Misaki blinks a few times, then smiles slightly.

"You mean Haruhiko-kun and Ikuno-chan?" She asks.

"Most likely. The guy with a headband and a girl with giant blue eyes."

"Oh, they love each other." She said it in such a matter-of-fact way. I expected some bigger mystery... "The problem is, they don't seem to be quite aware of it."

"That much I've noticed." I nod. "It's funny, when you look at it. Both of them have a crush on another, but neither of them can bring some courage and say it."

"Well, it's not exactly an easy matter." Misaki seems to be thinking. "But at least Ikuno-chan is quite good at hiding it. Haruhiko-kun has pretty obvious quirks. It's been like that since the last semester of second year. Not sure who fell for who first, but people are betting which one of them will confess." Her giggle seems slightly inappropriate...

"Who are you betting?" I ask.

"Ikuno-chan. Haruhiko-kun might look like he's going to jump out of his skin and kneel before her, but he's too nervous for that."

"Hm. Anyone tried to speed up the process?" The question is met with silence.

"...no, of course not."

"Huh? Why not?" She looks at me as if I were some sort of a moron. It hurts.

"You shouldn't speed up things like that. Love is like a seedling of a tree. It takes a lot of effort and time to make it finally grow into an oak or a cherry blossom."

"Uh-huh... Okay, sorry. Given how my first relationship with a girl ended, I shouldn't try to give advice." I manage a small, forced chuckle. Misaki blinks a few times and a second later considerably saddens.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry..." She mutters apologetically.

"No big deal. We weren't made for each other anyway. " I manage a bitter chuckle. "Hm. They could use a little, tiny push though. At this rate, I seriously doubt he's going to ask her about going on that festival together."

"...I think Ikuno-chan's going to do that first though." Misaki puts a hand under her chin, resting it on a desk. Seems she completely forgot about where she was going. "She told me she wanted to do it for a longer while and the festival seems like a perfect opportunity." The girl stretches a bit and then winces in pain. Alarmed, I look at her cautiously. "Sorry for scaring... I shouldn't do this, but it's so good to stretch your arms every once in a while..." I don't question. It probably has something to do with her disability.

"Well... Guess we'll have to wait and see." Yeah, I guess. Suddenly, there's a short beep coming from my pocket. Text message. I take a look at the screen and freeze dead in my tracks.

"Care to go out? :3 I'm waiting at the school gate. Saki."

Great... Okay, I don't have any plans for this afternoon, but... Since some time I've been doing nothing but seeing Saki on almost every occasion, everywhere... Is there really something she likes in me? Or maybe she just likes hanging out with me for whatever reason.

Well. To the gate then.

Well, there's that. Read and review. :)