It turned out that the elementary school was much bigger inside than it had originally appeared outside. The corridors were lit up with a variety of notices and drawings that other children had done over many years. Children would often walk through the corridors, showing their friends the work they had produced and to each other it would have been a masterpiece (to the teachers it was more like blob after blob of random colour, but they could tell the children had fun creating them and had put in a lot of effort so they never had the heart to take them down). Children of ages differing from first grade all the way up to sixth grade had flooded the corridors, in hopes of finding out what class they were in and if they were in the same as any of their friends. Half of them were wearing the Elementary uniform and the other half appeared to be wearing their own casual clothes, they were only required to wear a uniform for the first 3 years of school, for the remaining three years they could wear whatever they wanted. When Haruka asked why he only needed to wear the uniform for half of the time, his parents weren't too sure themselves, all they knew was that it was part of the school rules (perhaps it was to keep an eye on the younger students and make sure they weren't by themselves doing something dangerous, they had considered). All Haruka could think about was how he wanted the first three years to hurry up so he could get out of his stupid clothes.

Makoto made sure to stay as close to Haruka as possible so the other didn't feel too scared. I wonder what class Haru-chan is in? Maybe we are in the same class! I hope so! Despite they had only met for all of a few minutes, Makoto had already classed Haruka as his friend, he found himself smiling at the dark haired boy every time Haruka turned to look at him. He doesn't talk very much, but I just know that he's nice, he has to be. Maybe he'll start talking more when he gets to know people. Makoto tried to sneak another glance at Haruka, hoping to start a conversation, but Haruka looked to be daydreaming, still keeping his eyes to the ground and watching his own two feet.

"It would be great to be friends with some of the older kids as well? Do you think they'll like us? I wonder when we have lunch? I can't wait to have some food here! I bet it's yummy. Hey Haru-chan, do you think we will be in the same class?"

Haruka had tuned out of the one-sided conversation early on and instead just watched absent-mindedly as Makoto poured out countless questions and getting distracted by waving to the other children that passed by, sometimes they waved back but for the most part they just ignored him. Makoto likes to talk a lot and he doesn't seem to mind the large crowds..how does it not bother him? Haruka thought to himself, coincidentally hopping closer towards Makoto once the gap between them started to increase.

"Coming through!"

One of the older boys had darted between Haruka and Makoto, accidentally knocking the first graders over. It was apparent that some children enjoyed rushing around everywhere, judging by the teacher's sudden call of 'Keiichi, how many times have I told you not to run through the corridors?' as he dashed right past her. Makoto hadn't realised that he had ended up on his backside after the trip, however he had noticed when his hat fell off, sliding a few metres along the floor. Standing upright again and adjusting the hat back onto his head with a satisfactory smile, Makoto asked Haruka if he was okay. Well, he would have, if Haruka was there. The brown haired boy looked frantically, but Haruka wasn't in sight, only swarms of nameless faces chatting and laughing amongst themselves. At some point in his fall, even more children had flooded the school halls; Makoto didn't even think it was possible for there to be so many kids in one place at one time. He would have wanted nothing more than to introduce himself to everyone, had Haruka not suddenly gone missing. They would have to wait for now.

"Haru-chan? Where are you?"

Haruka had also been knocked by the fifth grader, falling onto his front. He managed to put his hands out in reflex so they took most of the impact. That didn't put him at much ease though. He had been trying to avoid colliding with any more children that might have decided to fly out of nowhere, so he had swerved between everyone until he was out of harms way. His eyes widened when he realised the sudden lack of questions from Makoto. Haruka found himself spinning round several times in hopes to find the other boy, but with no success, the large crowd of children (and the spinning) making him feel dizzy.

"..Makoto? Makoto?!"

He wanted to call out louder, but being the shy boy he was, struggled to manage more than a whisper; it shouldn't have come to a surprise when nobody responded to him. Haruka could feel the nerves from just moments ago returning quickly, far too many people making their way through the halls. He felt like he was still spinning around searching for Makoto, but he hadn't moved an inch. Without thinking, Haruka started running (despite witnessing first hand why children shouldn't run in the corridors) to the nearest toilets he could find. He could hide in there and hope that everyone would disappear soon. As Haruka wasn't used to areas with large numbers of people, every time he went anywhere in Iwatobi it was usually fairly quiet and when it was busy he was always with either his mother or grandma, who would hold his hand. To suddenly go to elementary school where there was more than enough people, it was overwhelming to the six year old. Haruka sat down in the corner of the room and waited for the dizziness to stop (suddenly deciding to run didn't do the boy any favours) and pulled out his sketchbook, children's chatter still echoing from outside, and started scribbling anything that came to mind.

Meanwhile Makoto was still searching for his missing friend, after a few minutes the crowd had began to die down. In that case it should have been much easier to find Haruka, but after walking more than he thinks he has ever done in his short life, Makoto realised he wasn't going to be able to find Haruka on his own. He spotted a couple of girls walking towards him. Maybe they know where Haru-chan is, Makoto thought, bright round eyes brimming with hope. He leaped in front of them hoping to catch their attention. It certainly did. After all, it's difficult to miss a six year old in a bright orange hat waving his arms around.

"Have any of you seen Haru-chan?"

The girls exchanged puzzled looks, who was 'Haru-chan'? Was he the same age as this child? An older brother?

"I'm sorry, who are you talking about?"

"Haru-chan, he was with me a minute ago. A boy ran into us and we fell over and I looked and Haru-chan was gone and I can't find him. I think he's lost." That didn't really help the girls to identify the missing child Makoto was talking about, after apologising to Makoto they carried on walking to class, the corridors empty once the girls turned the corner to find their classroom.

"Haru-chan! Haru-chan!"

One of the the teachers had sighed to herself, twirling her chestnut coloured hair with her fingers, she had only started working at the Elementary school a few months ago and had yet to experience the 'first day' madness, once all the children had found their classrooms, she paced the corridors, hoping to get a few minutes peace before seeing to her own class. For a moment the only sound she could hear was her own heels echoing on the school floors.

"Haru-chan! Haru-chan!"

The teacher stopped in her tracks, the sudden call almost making her jump. It sounded like it had come from around the corner. She was right, there was one child on his own, he was wearing the Elementary uniform so he was definitely one of the more younger children, she guessed that he must be new since he was so small. He appeared to be looking for someone, but why he was looking for somebody in one of the bins was beyond her though. She walked towards him quickly but carefully, making sure she didn't make him jump and start crying.

"Are you okay? Are you looking for something? Or someone?"

Makoto turned to the source of the gentle voice, it sounded almost like his mothers. She's tall, she must be a teacher so she'll know where Haru-chan is.

"Yes. I'm looking for Haru-chan, have you seen him?"

"I'm not sure who you're talking about? What does he look like."

"He has black hair, and bright blue eyes. He's starting school today, just like me. But he's really nervous, his mama said that he is shy so I wanted us to stick together so he wouldn't be scared, a boy came and we fell over and then I lost Haru-chan. I've been looking everywhere for him."

You were looking everywhere alright. "I'm sure he hasn't gone far, you should go to your class now though. Don't worry, I'll look for Haru-chan for you. Do you know what class you two are in yet?" Makoto shook his head, he had been so worried about looking for Haruka that he had forgotten to find out. "Okay that's not a problem, what's your name and I'll take a look for you."

"My name is Tachibana Makoto."

"And do you the full name of this 'Haru-chan'?" Makoto shook his head again, making a 'nuh-uh' sound in the back of his throat.

"Okay then Makoto, my name is Miss Himura. If you would like to follow me please." She walked with Makoto back to the lists kept by the main doors. They had to walk through several corridors and Makoto hadn't even realised he had travelled so far. Scanning the list quickly she spotted the boy's name "It looks like you are in Class C, if you look down there where the door says 1C, that will be your classroom for this year. If you'd like to make your way down there and I'll keep looking for your friend and make sure he finds his class."

"Okay, thank you!" Although Makoto wanted to continue looking for Haruka himself, he had a feeling she would have more luck than he did. I hope she finds him soon. And I hope he's okay.

Three pages. Haruka had only been in school for about ten minutes and he already managed to fill three pages in his sketchbook, at this rate he going to need a new one by the end of the week. The pictures weren't anything special, mainly pictures of the stray cats that came by his house and flowers that his mother liked, but he needed something to do whilst everyone else was rushing around. Good thing that none of the boys decided they wanted to use the toilets, otherwise they might have been surprised to see a six year old in the corner with crayons scattered around him. There was hardly any noise coming from the other side of the door, therefore Haruka decided it was be okay to leave now. He stuffed everything back into his bag and peered through the door.

The sound of the door creaking open was quiet, but still noticeable. Miss Himura turned to the door, wondering if she would find the boy she was looking for. She was met with a pair of sparkling blue eyes that looked apprehensive, but curious at the unfamiliar woman. Suddenly it clicked.

"He has black hair and bright blue eyes...his mama said that he is shy, so I wanted us to stick together..."

So this must be the Haru-chan who Makoto was referring to, Miss Himura thought. He's definitely shy, he's still half-hiding behind the door.

"I've been looking for you. Your friend said you had gotten lost."

Friend? Is she talking about Makoto? Haruka blinked a couple of times, but other than that he didn't move from his spot.

"You must be Haru-chan. You don't need to be shy, I don't bite. My name is Miss Himura, come on, I'll help you find your classroom. What's your name?" He opened his mouth slightly and mumbled something, but it was too quiet she couldn't hear what he had said. "I'm sorry I couldn't quite hear you. Can you tell me again please, but just a little louder?" Haruka did just that, but it wasn't much louder, she thought she could pick up a 'nase' but it didn't help much. "I'm sorry, I still can't hear you." She sighed gently, wondering how else to go about this until Haruka started rummaging through his school bag. He pulled out one of his pencils and started writing his name in his sketchbook. His handwriting was really neat for a six year old, which ended up being really helpful.

"Okay Haruka, let's see what class you're in."

"Your name is Makoto? That's a nice name."

"Thanks, what's your name."

"I'm Mariko."

"I like that. Can I call you Mari-chan?"

"Uh-huh!"

Makoto being late in meant he was left to choose between only 2 seats, one of them located in the middle row by the window, the other was in the centre at the front. Makoto had chose the centre seat and it hadn't taken long for him to make friends with some of his classmates. The kids had started talking to those who they were sat next to, Makoto was sat next to Mariko and another girl called Akane, who was preoccupied talking to other kids nearby. Mariko's hair was a pale yellow, which reminded him of the butter his mother used when she would bake cakes for him, she also had blue eyes, which reminded him of somebody else. I hope Haru-chan found his classroom okay and I hope he makes lots of friends, thought Makoto. He promised himself that when they get to have free time, he will look for Haruka.

"Now, now settle down everyone." The chattering gradually went quieter and quieter until it stopped completely. "It's very nice to see so many lovely faces today. My name is Miss Fujioka and I will be your teacher for this year. I'll look forward to working with you all."

Mariko poked Makoto gently in the arm "She's nice." she whispered.

"She is. I like her." Makoto whispered back. Miss Fujioka carried on with her introduction until there was a knock on the classroom door.

"Come in. Oh good morning Miss Himura. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, I'm sorry to disturb you. One of your students had gotten himself lost and wasn't sure what class he's in. I wanted to make sure he arrived safe and sou-"

"Haru-chan!"

Makoto cheered, gaining attention from both the teachers and children in the room, one of them more surprised than the others. Blue eyes widened, reunited with soft green ones, Makoto's mouth curved into a cheesy and childish grin, the two boys sharing a mutual thought.

We're in the same class!