Hi! I'm trying to publish one chapter a week now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy.

HARUKI

It was day three, and Haruki was beginning to wish someone would hurry up and explain the black class game so she could get things done. Another student named Hanabusa Sumireko had been introduced that morning along with about one truckload of furniture, but that had been the highlight of the day. At the moment, Mizorogi-chan was writing chemical formulas on the board.

School had never been her thing. For most of her eighteen years she had never even attended, save for a few years of elementary school before her family's needs had taken over her life. Because of that, her academic skills left something to be desired. It felt weird being around all these girls who were both younger and smarter than she was.

It was unfortunate, too. She was at one of the most prestigious, richest high schools in Japan, and she couldn't follow what the teacher was saying. At any rate, sleeping was far more rewarding.

While the smooth wood of the desk pressed into her cheek, she thought about her last few years. For the longest time things had been hopeless for her family of eleven. They had been getting by on whatever food they came across and taking odd jobs from anyone who didn't mind hiring underage workers. It was all they could do to try and pay their mom's hospital bills.

One day while job-hunting she had come across a strange looking man on a street corner. She could easily recall his floppy gray hat, stubble, and bad teeth. If she hadn't walked up to him that day, she never would've considered becoming an assassin. He was the one who had led her to her first clients.

She only ever did small jobs, but it paid off, literally. For the first time in ages, her family had had a table to sit and eat at together. With the little bit remaining, she had bought something for herself, which she rarely ever did; a bottle of baby pink manicure.

Gazing at her nails through the gap in her folded arms, she thought for the millionth time that the color didn't suit her.

At first she hadn't thought much about her work. Her family was the most important thing to her, and she would do whatever it took to keep them fed and safe. Then one day, her target was someone she knew.

From that point on it had been harder and harder for her to kill. Her family didn't know what she did to support them. They thought she was doing good, honest work when in reality she'd been ruining peoples' lives for reasons she didn't even know. It ate away at her until she hated herself with every fiber of her being.

News about the black class had reached her from the strange man whose name she'd never learned. He'd stuck around to inform her of job opportunities, and then of the ultimate opportunity. Winning the black class meant she could feed her family forever.

There was a catch, though. Explaining the newfound wealth to her family would mean telling them how she'd been supporting them for years. It would mean admitting what an awful person she'd become.

Her plan was already laid out in her head. She would create a trap for the target that no one could escape, herself included. She would die a killer, her family would live happily ever after, and no one would be the wiser.

"Sagae, don't sleep in class!"

Mizorogi-chan's voice intruded on her thoughts. Grumbling, she sat up and stretched her arms above her head. "Sorry, sensei."

Now that she was sitting up and pretending to listen, she could see Isuke sitting a ways away from her. She couldn't help but chuckle at the way the girl was draped over her desk like a tablecloth. She was out cold, but sensei was too scared to try and wake her up.

When Haruki had first seen her roommate, she'd expected her to be a lazy, ditzy girl who used her charms to get out of everything. To a certain extent she was, but she also wasn't. The way she had talked about her family revealed a very different side of her, one that was a lot more complex than the show she put on for others.

That was why, even though she was tall and a bit intimidating, Haruki wasn't afraid of her.

At the front of the room she noticed Haru and Kirigaya get up to use the bathroom. She recalled her short conversations with Haru, and how open and friendly the girl had been. Haruki would've thought she'd be the target, but showing such kindness in the face of such obviously bad, weird people was a little suspicious. Kirigaya, from what she'd seen of her, was completely clueless regarding the black class and went about more like a normal person, making a few friends and leaving it at that.

Haruki grinned. Which one was the target?

Hashiri raised her hand. "Excuse me, sensei? I don't think Ichinose and Kirigaya know where the restrooms are."

Mizorogi gasped. "You're right! I didn't show them yesterday. Hold on a minute, class. Keep working!"

He rushed out the door to deliver his pointless information. The minute he left the room, Hashiri stood up and looked at each of the girls in turn.

"I have an announcement!" she said, baring her sharp teeth. "The day after tomorrow, we'll be having a secret orientation meeting! If you want to know about the target and the rules of the black class, come to the warehouse outside this building at midnight."

Haruki frowned. Normally she would have used the announcement as a method of elimination. Whichever of her two suspects was gone would've had to be the target, because Nio would never reveal that information around them. Both Haru and Kirigaya were gone, though.

Oh well. She'd just have to wait for the orientation to learn who the real target was. She hoped it was Kirigaya. Killing someone as sweet as Haru-chan would be painful.

Then again, she wouldn't be around to feel that pain.

Class ended within a few hours, and all the students filed out to do whatever they wanted. Haruki saw Haru, Azuma, and Takechi leaving together. They were soon joined by Namatame and Kirigaya, and then by Hashiri. The little blonde girl just loved to slyly insert herself into every situation.

Once the largest group had left, the quieter girls headed off to their dorms; Shutou with Kaminaga, Hanabusa with Banba, and Kenmochi on her own. Haruki chuckled at Shutou's attempts to start a conversation with Kaminaga. They weren't bad attempts by any means, but Kaminaga was about as sociable as a statue.

Sensei left as well, and the hallway cleared out, leaving a long stretch of big, square linoleum tiles and columns. A few minutes passed where the only sound was the air conditioner. Haruki peeked back into the classroom to see what was taking Isuke so long to leave.

What she saw was a mass of long pink hair cascading over the sides of a desk. Haruki sighed. That girl just loved to sleep.

She walked over to the desk and shook her shoulder lightly. "Isuke-sama, it's time to get up. Class ended."

"No…" the pinkette grumbled. "Not yet, Papa… it's only eight…"

Deciding on a more direct approach, Haruki lifted a few locks of hair away from Isuke's eyes. The girl squinted and began to awaken, her bright orange irises slowly becoming visible under the veil of her eyelashes.

Haruki smiled. "Morning, Isuke-sama. You slept through class again."

Isuke blinked at her and pushed herself away from the surface of the desk. Yawning, she arched her body like a cat might and relaxed into the back of her chair.

Letting go of her hair, Haruki sat on top of the adjacent desk. "I enjoy sleeping too, but you really do sleep a lot. Didn't you go to bed before I did?"

With a grin, Isuke rolled her head back onto her shoulder. "Being as smart as I am means I need a lot of sleep. Besides," she shrugged. "It's not like he was teaching us anything important. If it were a class on economics or business, maybe I would listen."

Haruki thought all of the fields of study were equally important. She suspected that Isuke just brushed off the subjects she didn't find interesting and insisted that her opinion was the correct one. Most people would've found that self-centered and annoying, but Haruki found it more amusing than anything else.

"Also…" A hand clasped around her wrisp, and she noticed Isuke's angry smile. "What in all hell made you think you had permission to touch my hair?"

"I didn't really think about it at all," Haruki replied, waiting patiently for Isuke to let go. "Sorry, Isuke-sama."

If Isuke was satisfied with that apology, she sure didn't look it. But Isuke never looked satisfied with anything except herself, so Haruki didn't take it too hard.

"Of course you didn't," the girl said, releasing her and standing up. "Let's go back to the dorm. By the way, did I miss anything about the game?"

"There'll be a meeting at midnight the day after tomorrow in the warehouse."

"Figures. Let's go, then."

Haruki nodded, and the two began walkig toward the dorm building at a leisurely pace. As soon as they left its dimly lit halls, Haruki could feel the sunlight rejuvenating her. She loved how it had been nice and sunny the last few days.

On the way there she spotted Banba sitting in the shade of a tree with Hanabusa. It was strange to see Banba talking to anyone.

"Is that Banba-chan over there?" Isuke asked, dropping back a bit to see past Haruki.

"Yep." Haruki watched the silver-haired girl pick a dandelion from the near the root of the tree and pat it gently. "She looks sweet, but I think she's a little off her rocker."

Chuckling, Isuke caught back up to her. "Same with Hitsugi and Haru-chan, I'll bet. One of them has to be an assassin, after all. Actually, no one ever said the target couldn't be an assassin herself, so maybe they both are."

"Yikes," Haruki laughed, rubbing her head. "You've thought about this a lot."

The pink-haired girl stopped and turned to face her. "Why shouldn't I? There's a lot to this game that they aren't telling us. I don't like being kept in the dark, so I theorize."

Haruki stopped on one foot. "Okay…" She folded her arms. "Mind sharing those theories with me?"

Her request only earned her a shake of the head. "Aren't we rivals?" Isuke asked, twirling one of the curls that hung down by her face. "I don't know if I should be giving you pointers."

"Well…" Haruki wasn't one to bring up past favors, but this time she really needed info. "On the first day, I talked you out of doing something that might've gotten you expelled."

"Only because you benefitted from me not killing the target." Isuke started walking again, leaving Haruki behind. "You did that for yourself, just like I'm keeping my thoughts to myself."

Haruki wanted to point out that Isuke loved to say exactly what she was thinking, regardless of how it might offend the people around her. Instead she jogged up to the girl. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize for putting your own well-being first," Isuke frowned. "That's what you should be doing. And you did a pretty good job of convincing me, too."

Isuke would never actually admit that her plan had been a bad one. That was okay, though. Haruki didn't understand much, but she knew the impulsiveness that came with wanting to see one's family.

"If you just want a few of my observations, I wouldn't mind sharing them," Isuke said. "But only the stuff I don't think you'll be able to use for yourself."

It was better than nothing. "Sure," Haruki replied. "I'd like to understand you better, Isuke-sama."

"Ugh, fine." Isuke pointed toward the girl, who was showing the dandelion to Hanabusa. "I've been watching Banba-chan since the first day of school. I think she's hiding something."

"I thought so too," Haruki admitted. "She can't be this scared and reserved all the time, or she'd never be able to kill. Either that, or she's the target, but I don't think so."

"She's an assassin, believe me." Isuke grinned nastily. "I came into class late today, and when I passed by her desk I saw the doodles in her notebook."

Haruki raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you spied on people."

"Please," Isuke sighed. "I only look at the things they let me see. Azuma fawning over Ichinose, for instance."

Even Haruki had noticed that. "Yeah. Takechi-san too. That's gonna be interesting."

"For Takechi, she's probably lying to get closer to Ichinose." Isuke tsked. "In Azuma's case, she's just weak."

They were silent for a moment. "Um…" Haruki remembered what they had been talking about before they got sidetracked. "What did you see in Banba-chan's notebook?"

"A lot of jagged lines." Isuke flipped out her hands to illustrate their messiness. "And picture of the stupid cat thing Ichinose gave us. The one that really got my attention was the girl with a giant hammer."

"Uh… giant hammer?"

"Or something." Isuke shrugged. "There was blood on it too."

Haruki sighed. She hadn't really wanted her suspicions about Banba confirmed. If a girl was quiet and reserved, couldn't she just be shy without being some murderous killer?

She heard a squeak from behind and turned around to see Banba clutching the stem of the dandelion in her hand, its seeds scattered in the air around her and Hanabusa's faces. She looked very upset. Maybe Hanabusa had blown on the flower by accident.

"I thought she might've had a troubled past," Haruki said quietly. "I wonder what you have to do to someone to make them that fragile."

Isuke's brow furrowed. "If she can't move on from whatever happened, then it's her own fault."

"That's pretty harsh," Haruki replied, frowning. "You have no idea what she might've gone through. She could've been abused or something-"

Her roommate's expression silenced her.

"If you don't understand what you're talking about…" Isuke growled. "Then you should shut your fucking mouth."

Haruki swallowed and edged away. "Sorry."

"And for god's sake, will you stop apologizing?"

The redhead said nothing, prompting Isuke to take a deep breath and laugh. "I swear, you're the biggest god damn idiot I've ever met."

Recovering from her initial shock, Haruki laughed a bit too. "And you're unexpectedly foul mouthed."

"What can I say?" Isuke grinned. "I give people the respect I think they deserve."

Looking up, Haruki realized that they were in front of the dormitories. She'd been so busy talking with Isuke that she hadn't noticed.

"Looks like we're here," she said, pulling open the door for her roommate.

"Well, aren't you the gentleman!" Isuke rolled her eyes and stepped into the building. "You can go exploring today if you want. It's not like I'm here to stop you from having fun."

Haruki was about to insist on having someone to socialize with, but she really did need some time to herself. "Sure," she said, waving. "Thanks, Isuke-sama."

"Don't thank me," Isuke replied, folding her arms. "If you're dirt poor, you should enjoy yourself sometimes."

While she walked away from the building, Haruki reflected on Isuke's response to her scolding a minute ago. Maybe Isuke didn't like being called out on her rudeness. Being the oldest of ten siblings, Haruki tended to go into "onee-chan" mode when she heard something she didn't approve of.

She got the feeling that wasn't it, though. Her words had triggered something very visceral. The Isuke she had seen was always calm, if not collected. When she got mad, it was calculated anger.

Now she knew that Isuke had another side to her, one that could be unpredictable and possibly dangerous.

Had something… happened to her?

Her gaze fell once more on Banba. The girl had gotten over the flower and was lying on her back with her eyes closed. Hanabusa sat on a fancy chair beside her, considerably out of her element but content. Instead of the negative aura that usually surrounded Banba, it looked like she was feeding off the positive energy of nature.

Haruki was glad. She liked to look out for people who were weak or shy. Her greatest fear each day was that one of her siblings would come home from school saying they'd been bullied. She wished she could take all of their suffering away.

Hopefully I'll be able to. She clenched her fist. If everything goes well, we'll all be free.

She could only hope.

Sumireko

It had been Banba-san who requested they go outside after class. Sumireko had nearly choked on her tea.

She had met her roommate the day before. Banba was a soft-spoken, painfully shy girl with a long silver ponytail and a mismatched seifuku. She was not the type Sumireko usually associated with, but something about her was captivating.

Their outing could have started on a better note. When Banba had exited the building, she had immediately flinched away from the light. She had spent most of their walk with her head down, making it rather difficult to converse in any normal fashion. Her fear might have also been due to Yoshida-san, who had walked beside them carrying Sumireko's chair. Both light and men seemed to upset the girl greatly.

Now that they were in the shade of the trees, she was considerably calmer. She leaned against the smooth, pale brown trunk of the tree, silent except for the occasional deep breath.

Sumireko sat on her padded chair, enjoying the looks she got from other students passing by. Perhaps it was a bad thing, but she enjoyed being looked up to by other people. Fancy furniture was just perfect for that.

A finger tugged on her shoe. She peered down at her subject and found Banba holding a dandelion. It was big and white with fluffy seeds, ready to be scattered to the winds to make the next generation.

Smiling gently, Sumireko shifted onto one side of the chair. "A dandelion. How cute."

"It's alive," Banba mumbled, "so it can't be a relic."

This girl was often difficult to understand. "What do you mean by 'relic'?"

Banba looked up at her, revealing the thin scar that ran down the left side of her face. "A relic," she said, "is something valuble belonging to a dead person."

"Well…" Sumireko wasn't sure how that applied to this situation at all.

"It's very pretty," she finished, reaching to take it from Banba's hand. "May I?"

She slid it from Banba's weak grasp and gave it a good blow, creating a cloud of cream-colored puffs in he breeze. Having a reinforced ribcage required strong lungs.

"Look at them fly," she sighed. "Isn't that beautiful? They're like little spiders with their parachutes."

Her roommate was not nearly so thrilled. "W-why did you do that?" she whispered, her face the image of a child's despair. "Now it's gone!"

Sumireko hadn't expected a highschooler to be quite so upset about one dandelion. "We've just planted the seeds for lots more flowers," she replied. "They'll be back within a month, and plenty of them."

"No," Banba insisted, shaking her head. "It's gone, it's gone."

"It's all right, Banba-san," Sumireko said. "It's only a flower. And as I just said, there will be many more. You'll be able to look at all of them."

"But they'll go away too. Why does everything good go away?"

This was getting very out of hand very quickly. Sumireko searched for the right words to use. "By that same logic," she offered, "all the bad things must go away too, yes?"

Banba's violet eyes trembled along with her hands. The tree cast a shadow over them both, making their faces look blotchy.

Sighing, Sumireko patted the girl's head. "Sometimes when a good thing leaves, it paves the way for something even better. How's that?"

That statement rang true for Sumireko in particular. She could remember a single moment, lying on cold stone surrounded by blood, where she had wanted to die. The entire world had felt so bleak and lifeless in that moment. In the midst of such unbearable pain, she had screamed into the night, and that final scream had saved her life.

Had her arms and legs not been taken from her that day, she would never have become so strong. She would continue to become stronger until she could finally break out of the game she had been trapped inside for so long.

"Really?" Banba asked, turning her gaze toward the grass. "Is that really true?"

"Yes, it is." Sumireko nodded. "I don't know what you've been through personally Banba-san, but trust me when I say that it can get better if you put in effort."

Her roommate went quiet and returned to her spot at the base of the tree. A few leaves had fallen around the area where she lay, clustered around the edges of her body like a chalk outline. Sumireko had seen far too many of those in a short forteen years.

She decided to let the girl rest for as long as she needed to. It was a very nice day to relax outside and watch the other students go about their business. Watching gave one a sense of power.

"Maybe… I need to try harder."

"I didn't mean to be presumptuous," Sumireko replied, glancing back at Banba. "In that case, what do you need to try harder at?"

Banba's face twitched, and her eyes widened. "M-making friends?"

An unexpected answer. Carefully, Sumireko retrieved the lonely stem of the dandelion from where she had discarded it. "I think that's a great idea. Friends would be very nice."

"Um!" Banba cried suddenly. "Do you have any friends, Hanabusa-san?"

Twice in two days this girl had left her speechless.

"Well…" she made her mouth move, despite the clenching feeling in her jaw. "Yes, of course I do."

"I'm sorry!" Banba was already bowing in apology. "That was very rude of me."

Coughing lightly, Sumireko gave her a not-quite-angry but not-quite-kind look. "Please calm yourself, Banba-san. I am not so thin skinned that I can't handle an unintentional insult."

Then she remembered Banba's comment from the night before. "If you'll recall," she added, "I have rather thick skin."

Silence followed, during which even the birds stopped singing.

"Was…" Banba stared at her, flustered. "Were you making a joke, Hanabusa-san?"

"Yes, I was making a joke."

"Then, it's all right to laugh?"

Sumireko sighed and put her hand on her forehead. "I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't allow you to laugh at my own bad jokes, would I?"

Stun and amazement passed over Banba's features before she finally giggled into her hand. Her cheeks were tinged with pink, and her smile was like that of an innocent child. Happiness looked surprisingly good on her.

"Thank you," she mumbled, her shyness returning. "I had a friend a long time ago, but I had forgotten…" she trailed off.

An idea bloomed in Sumireko's mind. "I have an idea," she said, grinning. "But you have to promise you won't get upset, no matter what it is."

"Eh?" Banba clutched her hands to her chest. "How can I promise that?"

"Please trust me," Sumireko replied, rising from her seat. "A friend would not hurt another friend on purpose."

While her roommate reveled in her new status as "friend", Sumireko bent over and picked every puffy dandelion she could find around the trees. When she straightened up again, she had two fistfuls of flowers.

Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she shook them all around, spreading the fluff all around the tree roots and perfectly mowed grass while Banba watched her in awe.

She turned back to her roommate, a true smile on her face. "I've planted a garden. We need to remember this spot."

"Wow," Banba breathed, leaning over as though she were trying to find the tiny seeds. "How long to they take to grow?"

Although Sumireko had studied many exotic plants, she had never bothered to put her time into lowly weeds. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I suppose we'll have to stick around and find out."

That statement made Banba uncomfortable. "Are you saying that you plan to stay at Myojou for a while?"

"I will not kill the target immediately." Sumireko sat back down in her chair, welcoming the cushiony support. "I have my own very specific motive."

She had to be the last one to make her attempt, no matter what. If the target was killed before then, so be it. Since this was Ichinose Haru though, she doubted that would happen.

Ichinose-san has a power of her own, after all.

She peered down at her roommate. "Will you be leaving us soon, Banba-san?"

The girl swallowed hard. "I-I don't know."

"Then it would serve you well to decide," Sumireko replied. "Though, it would make me happier if you stayed."

Nodding, Banba laid down on the grass beneath her tree. She gazed upward into the hundreds of tiny branches that sheltered her fragile form.

She closed her eyes. "Hanabusa-san?"

"Yes?"

"Will you make tea again?"

What a simple, yet complicated girl. Sumireko couldn't help but love her.

"Yes, I will make tea again."

Kouko

Kouko tried not to think about the large pile of papers in front of her. She'd volunteered to help sensei copy and sort worksheets for the next week of class. Part of her wondered if things would last that long, but this seemed like a very laid-back group of assassins.

I might have a chance against them, she thought as she put another pink worksheet into its respective stack. My best chance will be to catch the target off guard.

According to Hashiri's announcement, she'd know who that target was tomorrow, on the fifth day of class. It was an odd choice to give so much free time between their arrival and the start of the game. There had to be a reason why.

Sorting papers was a calming pastime that helped her think about those sorts of questions. Back at her orphanage, no one had trusted her to help out with big, important jobs. She would just trip on a board, or spill paint everywhere, or something far worse that was always left unspecified. Kouko had a knack for novelty when it came to being a klutz.

All that came back around to the biggest mistake Kouko had ever made. She grimaced and crinkled the edge of one unfortunate paper. If only I hadn't rushed connecting that one wire…

None of that mattered now. If she could do this one job right, she'd never have to kill again. She could atone for her sins and live a good life.

Like Irena-sempai would've wanted.

She adjusted her glasses and lifted her head to see Kenmochi and Shutou seated at and on two desks. Shutou was looking at her with a grin. Her roommate had taken an uncanny interest in her, particularly in the necklace she kept in their nightstand drawer.

Her inquiries were sincere, which made it all the more difficult for Kouko to remain stoic and emotionless. Still, the fact remained that she had a job to do, and she couldn't let anything distract her from it. Once she was free of her shackles, she could make friends as she pleased.

"Are you sure you don't want any help, Kaminaga-san?" Shutou asked, eyeing the huge workload strewn across sensei's desk. "Work goes much faster with two people."

This was the third time Shutou had offered to help. "I assure you," Kouko replied, "I prefer to work on my own. This is relaxing for me." She nodded at Kenmochi. "Why don't you and Kenmochi-san go do something fun?"

Shutou laughed good-naturedly. "I've already explored the campus. If I went out there now, I'd run into the other half of the class. They've been parading around out there, just like yesterday." She poked her thumb toward the window. "See for yourself."

Kouko stood in a lady-like fashion and went to the window. Through the thin glass she saw six of her classmates- Azuma, Ichinose, Takechi, Kirigaya, Namatame, and Hashiri- walking down the central path in a large group while the regular students stared and giggled. They took no notice of their onlookers, instead talking merrily and in some cases being overly friendly with one another.

"Namatame and Kirigaya-san are very close, aren't they?" she commented, absentmindedly dusting off the windowsill.

"I think it's cute," Shutou sighed, sitting crosslegged on her desk. "Young love."

Kenmochi frowned. "I don't think it's really love. Anyone would feel protective of Kirigaya-san. I mean, look at her."

"True." Shutou was pushing her legs into a butterfly stretch. "Then again, maybe you're a little biased, Kenmochi-san."

"Huh?" Kenmochi sat up straighter. "Why would I be biased?"

Turning on her heel, Kouko walked dutifully back to sensei's desk. "If I recall correctly, you almost forgot to turn in your introductory worksheet because you were entranced by Namatame-san's hair."

The brunette turned as red as said hair. "I was looking at the schedule for tomorrow! Her head was in the same general direction!"

Resting her elbows on her knees, Shutou gave her a sympathetic smile. "Don't be embarrassed, Kenmochi-san. She does have amazing hair."

Kenmochi folded her arms. "Oh yeah? If you guys are going to point out those sorts of things, I'll point out how you keep trying to talk to Kaminaga-san, even though you always get rejected."

That statement made Kouko glance over her shoulder. She didn't mind if people gossiped, but she didn't want said gossip to include her.

"Rejected is a harsh word, don't you think?" Grunting, Shutou attempted a half-lotus. "And she's definitely pretty, but I just want to be her friend."

Being called pretty by someone she barely knew made Kouko a little uncomfortable. "I'm still here, you know," she said irritably. "Are you implying that you would go out with another girl?"

Shutou shrugged. "It doesn't really matter to me, so long as there's love. But let's not talk about that."

Her legs were now folded into a full lotus. Just looking at them made Kouko cringe. "In that case," the black-haired girl said, "I'll get back to work."

She bent over her papers once more and returned to her original task. Here, there could be order. Nothing would happen that she wasn't expecting. Organization was something one rarely achieved in life, so Kouko liked to immerse herself in what little of it there was.

Words drifted past her as she lost track of time, the shreds of pointless conversations between Shutou and Kenmochi. At least they were enjoying themselves. From the sounds of their voices, she gathered that there were no hard feelings about the teasing.

I could analyze a conversation all day, she thought, sorting with both hands simultaneously. Why can't I have one?

Thinking back to the orphanage, she pictured all the other children running around and playing. In truth, they were training for the day when they would make their first kill, running around with practice weapons and attacking fake targets.

Just as no one wanted to work with Kouko, no one wanted to play with her either. She sat by herself in the shade of the overhang, or on the old squeaky porch swing, or in the chapel, watching the colored shards of light on the floor created by six stained glass windows.

If she were lucky, someone would remind her it was time for dinner. If not, she would sit there for hours, wondering why God hadn't given her any useful talents.

No matter what, Irena-sempai would arrive before nine to bring her back to the childrens' bedrooms. She didn't object to the way Kouko skipped physical education, and she always brought a little something if it was past dinnertime.

Irena-sempai protected me. She swallowed hard. It's because of her that I was able to go on when no one else loved me.

And I killed her.

"Kaminaga-san, you're bleeding!"

Kouko stopped her feverish sorting and stared down at her hand. Blood trickled down her index finger, smeared near the tip.

"Papercut," she sighed, setting the paper off to the side. "I didn't even notice."

A tissue was pushed into her hand. "Here," Shutou said. "That's a nasty one. Did anything get on the papers?"

There was some on the ones she'd been holding. Because their class was so small, it would be glaringly obvious. "I'll have to copy a few more," Kouko said, getting to her feet with her finger submerged in the tissue.

Shutou shook her head. "It's fine, I'll do it. You should apply pressure with that tissue until you stop bleeding."

Before Kouko could protest, her roommate had picked up a clean worksheet and left for the copy room.

Feeling useless again, she sat back in sensei's chair. She wanted so badly to get a new start by succeeding at Myojou, yet here she was failing at the easiest tasks. She enjoyed filing papers.

From her desk, Kenmochi looked concerned. "Can I say something, Kaminaga-san?"

Kouko met her eyes. "You might as well."

"Shutou-san isn't someone you need to worry about," the brunette said, playing with her braid. "Granted, she's a little too kind and she says some confusing things, but she isn't dangerous like the others."

"I'm sure," Kouko replied. "That said, I don't have time to make friends with her. I have to make absolutely sure I don't fail my mission."

"I feel the same way." Kenmochi stood up and let her braid fall back to her chest. "You know why I still talk with her?"

Kouko's silence prompted her to continue. "We rode the same train to Myojou," she said. "It was really late, and I fell asleep on the way. Shutou-san could've disposed of me any way she wanted right then and there, right?"

Nodding, Kouko folded her arms over her blue dress shirt. "Go on."

"When I woke up, I was in bed in the dorms, and it was time to get up for school. I asked Takechi-san about it, and she said I'd been carried in by another girl at midnight."

Rather than wake the girl up, Shutou had carried her all the way to her dorm. Kouko did recall her roommate complaining about her stiff shoulders on the second day of school. To think she had done something like that for someone she barely knew.

Walking over to sensei's desk, the brunette took a small stack of papers to sort herself. "The point is, Shutou-san went out of her way to be kind to me. I don't know if she had an ulterior motive or not. She just seems… lonely. If she wants to talk, I think you should indulge her at least once."

Shutou seemed like a charismatic, friendly person. "Lonely" was the last word Kouko would've thought of to describe her. Despite that, she hadn't seen anyone else talking with her. Most of the other girls had split into their own groups and entered the early stages of friendship, leaving her, Kouko, and Kenmochi behind.

We three who stayed behind in the classroom are the ones who can't break into the system. We're the odd ones out in a class full of eccentrics.

Two stacks of papers were dropped on top of the ones she'd already made. She glanced up at Kenmochi, who was obviously pleased with her job. "Looks like I've still got it," the brunette said. "Not to brag, but I'm a really fast sorter."

"I can see that," Kouko replied grudgingly. She didn't like being shown up at one of the few things she was good at. "Were you a teacher's assistant in junior high?"

"No." Kenmochi shook her head, her momentary happiness retreating into whatever cave it had come out of. "It's because I ate lunch separately from the other kids. I had one sensei who'd let me eat lunch in his room if I helped him file papers."

Not unlike her own childhood. "I'm sorry about that," Kouko said, closing her eyes. "I was the same way."

It was then that Shutou came back into the room. "Paper jam," she explained, setting down the last few worksheets on their pile. "Wow, it looks like you finished while I was gone! Did Kenmochi-san help you out?"

"Yes. Thank you, Kenmochi-san." Kouko got out of the chair for the last time, smoothing out her white skirt. "Shutou-san, shall we head back to the dorm? We may as well get to know each other."

"Sure," Shutou answered, surprised.

They exited the room together, leaving Kenmochi to her own devices. While they were walking, Suzu smiled knowingly. "Did Kenmochi-san say something to you while I was out?"

"No," Kouko replied, cracking a smile. "Nothing like that."

As they left the room together, it occurred to Kouko that she could've offered to speak with any number of people over the years. Most of them would have refused, but some surely would have said yes.

She couldn't help but wonder how many conversations she had missed out on.

With that in mind, she listened as well as she could to Shutou while she talked about flowers and other old-fashioned things. The same pathway they had been using for several days to reach their dormitory seemed different now. She could see the green leaves of the trees and the students resting under them, perfectly content on a nice day. There was even a butterfly perched on a blade of grass.

Although she hardly said a word the whole time, Kouko felt oddly at peace. Shutou's way of talking made her sound like an older woman at times. It was as though she were talking to Irena-sempai again, complete with the sudden philosophical comments.

Maybe, she thought, God is trying to tell me something right now.

Her mission lingered in the back of her mind, a constant reminder that she was not safe just yet.

I hope my version of Isuke isn't too bad. For all of these characters, I kind of took the parts of them I liked or found interesting and focused on those. Most of them are intended to be more like their manga versions, though some like Chitaru have a bit more of their anime-selves in there. Since it's an AU, I try to not worry and just let it flow. I was scared to write Banba-chan and Sumireko, but it hasn't been too bad. They're actually really cute together.

On a side note, I realized that I've been calling Haru's hair pink. I know it's really more red or orange, but I already have two redheads and orange just makes a weird image in my head.