Chapter 6: Memories of the School

Author's Note: Welcome to Chapter 6! I originally intended for this to be a part of Chapter 5, but it was way too long so now here's the next update. I know I've said it before, but I absolutely LOVE this chapter! I apologize in advance for any mistakes, this was a really tiring chapter (worked on it for six hours straight). This Chapter clocks in at about 5,435 words, so it's pretty long for my standards. Please review; it's a treat to hear from all of you (that rhymed). Thank you all so much, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Velvet Room

Ever since I'd been introduced to the Velvet Room, I've become somewhat of a regular. I've gotten to know Elizabeth quite well, while Igor is still an enigma. Elizabeth is always excited to see me, as if she hasn't seen me in ages. Despite the frequency of my visits, I feel as though there is a lot I don't yet know. When I come here, time doesn't move. It's a strange place and apparently only I can see and enter. Though I still feel its inhabitants are a lot stranger than the room itself.

As I entered, Elizabeth greeted me with her customary hug and squeal. She'd told me that she was going to explain one of the Velvet Room's features.

"We're going to introduce you to a new system, called 'Elizabeth's Requests'!"

"'Elizabeth's Requests'? I thought you were going to explain some parts of the Velvet Room."

"My requests are an integral part of the Velvet Room. Without them, I fear I will collapse of boredom."

"I see. So if you collapse of boredom, this place will cease to exist."

"It's nothing as severe as that. But a grumpy Elizabeth equals an unpleasant visit," she said with a smile.

"That's definitely something I don't want. So how do these requests work?" I ask.

"It's simple. I give you requests and you fulfill them for rewards! Here's a list of my first requests!" she says as she squeals in delight.

I read from the list aloud, "Bring me Takoyaki. Reward ¥200. You do realize Takoyaki costs ¥400 where I'm from, right?"

"Oh… my apologies," she said in a sad tone. "I haven't been to the Human World, so I don't know how things work over there…"

"Don't get upset! I'll bring you your Takoyaki." I assured her.

"Great! And don't forget the other requests!"

I can't help but feel that I was guilt-tripped into taking up her requests.

I let out an audible sigh and glanced over the list again.

"What is High Cut Armor? Will it protect me more from the Shadows?" I asked.

Elizabeth let out a laugh, "While it does add to one's own defense, I would recommend giving it to one of the female members of your group. Let's just say it's definitely worth bringing me a SoBay."

"Alright, I'll be sure to do that." I said as I walked towards the exit.

"Wait, Yuki-sama. You begin High School tomorrow, correct?" Elizabeth asked.

"That's right. First day at Gekkoukan High," I replied.

"As a special request… Would you mind taking me there one day?" Elizabeth asked, unusually shy.

I smiled at her, "Of course. Anything for you Elizabeth."

"Then it's a date!" she exclaimed.

I blushed intensely. I don't think she understands what a 'date' is.

"Right, I'll be off now." I said as I exited.

"Farewell Yuki-sama!"

Iwatodai Dormitory

"That is one HELL of a mark, ain't it Shinji?" Akihiko exclaimed loudly.

"Yeah, man. What the hell happened to you?" Shinjiro asked as he got a closer examination of the red, hand mark on my left cheek.

"It looks like you got into a lover's quarrel," Akihiko joked as he leaned in closer to my ear. "Which one was it?" he whispered.

I casually pushed him back into his seat and said, "It wasn't a 'lover's quarrel'. I just… disobeyed an order, that's all."

"She's got you on a tight leash, huh? That's exactly why I'm single," Akihiko said as he victoriously threw his fist into the air.

"You're single because you don't talk to girls," Shinjiro remarked.

Akihiko's hand fell from the sky as he slumped into his chair. Shinjiro chuckled at the sight and patted his friend on the back. At that moment, both Mitsuru and Yukari emerged from the kitchen. Both donned an apron and held their own breakfast dish on their platter.

"Good morning everyone, I'd like to remind you that we all start our lives as Gekkoukan High students starting today," Mitsuru reminded us.

"I'm pretty sure they already know that," Yukari quipped. "They wouldn't be in the school uniforms otherwise."

"If you hadn't interrupted, I might've been able to get to my point." Mitsuru shot back. "Anyway, I want you all to study hard and try to live as normal of a life as possible. Just because you fight Shadows at night does not give you an excuse to slack off."

Everyone, even Yukari, nodded in understanding. Besides, Mitsuru and I have been at this Shadow business for a while now and not once have our grades slipped. Except maybe at last year's exam… I don't really like thinking about it.

"If we're all in agreement, I think it's time we eat," Mitsuru declared.

Mitsuru made a clear beeline for my plate.

"Here Makoto," she said with a smile.

She took one of her homemade croissants from her platter. The smell was mesmerizing; nothing could compete with her croissants.

"T-thanks," I said, turning my head slightly to the right. It was hard for me to maintain eye contact with her now. She's done a complete reversal, as if she forgot last night even happened.

"Oh my…" she whispered as she noticed the red-hand marked on my cheek.

She brought her hand up to my cheek. Though it stung from any direct contact, Mitsuru's hand was like velvet. Soft and tender, it's as if all the pain had been sucked away. I moved my left hand onto her hand, holding a pressing it onto my cheek. She gasped slightly, but not for long. I moved my eyes up to look at her. She was smiling softly, eyes closed, with a red tint across her face.

"Aha, your hand aligns perfectly to that wound, wouldn't you say Mitsuru?" Yukari said smugly.

Mitsuru's eyes darted opened and she quickly withdrew her hand, finally realizing that she's in the presence of others.

"Um, yes. I'd have to agree with you for once, Yukari…"

"Haha! She even admits it. Y'know, Yuki-kun, if I was your girlfriend I'd never hit you."

"But you're not," I said coldly.

"Ehh? I'm sorry; I don't think I heard you correctly," Yukari asked, confused.

"Look, could we just end this conversation now… I'm starving." I said as I began to eat the meal laid before me.

"Yeah… I guess we should," Yukari said as she began to pass put the biscuits she made for breakfast.

As I finished off Mitsuru's croissant, I began to dig into the biscuit. I took one bite and it's was as if I'd gone to Heaven. I stared at the biscuit in wonderment. Everything about it was perfect. Not to mention it was also a perfect circle. I'm sure Yukari saw me in this state, because she started speaking to me. Of course I was too distracted to even notice.

I quickly snapped back to reality, "Did you say something?"

Yukari smirked, "I said, it's really good isn't it?"

"Good? It's great," I said as I took another bite.

"Better than her crescents?" Yukari egged on.

I gagged on the piece I was eating.

"It's no surprise that you can't even pronounce it correctly. It's croissants, not crescents." Mitsuru said.

"Whatever," Yukari scoffed. "Well, Yuki-Kun? Is It?"

I tried to avoid answering, since I knew it would anger either of the girls.

"A-anyway Yukari… Who taught you to cook like this?" I asked.

"Well, it was my father's recipe. He'd always make them for special occasions. After he...y'know, died… I kinda learned it by until I could recite it by heart, "she said solemnly. "Someone had to continue on his tradition," she'd perked up.

I looked around the room. Akihiko and Shinjiro were silently eating their own food. I think they realized it'd be smart not to talk. Yukari was trying to perk up, but obviously I had unintentionally brought back painful memories. I looked at Mitsuru, who had a horrified expression on her face.

She stood up, startling everyone at the table. She tried to speak, opening her mouth but nothing would come out. Her eyes were directed straight at Yukari, but they weren't filled with malice. Instead they were filled with sympathy.

I cleared my throat, which got her attention, "Mitsuru, Yukari, shouldn't you two get dressed now. If you don't start now, I fear we'll be late on the first day."

Yukari glanced up at the clock, "Crap… I need at least thirty minutes to get ready! Excuse Me!"

With that, she ran up the stairs. Mitsuru looked at me, her eyes seeming to say, "Thanks." She also excused herself, and began up the stairs.

"Damn, everything here's a ticking time bomb isn't it?" Akihiko finally let out.

"You can't talk about anything without upsetting someone here," Shinjiro added.

I held the half-eaten biscuit to the light, "Not even biscuits are sacred."

Akihiko and Shinjiro decided to leave before anyone else. Though I thought they were new to the area, apparently they know they're way around.

"Are you sure? We could all go together," I told them.

"Don't worry; we know what we're doing!" Akihiko exclaimed enthusiastically as he was halfway out the door.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Shinjiro muttered as he followed behind him.

I sighed as they left, for now I was stuck alone with the girls. Not that I minded, except rumors are bound to start if other students see me escorting two lovely girls to school. I doubt it'd negatively impact me, not that I care or anything.

As I was deep in thought, I failed to hear the clacking of heels descending from the stairs.

"Ma-Makoto… h-how do I l-look?" came Mitsuru's voice behind me.

I turned around to see Mitsuru dressed in an outfit that wasn't exactly the school's uniform, however one could easily identify her as a Gekkoukan High student. She wore a blindingly, white blouse with a red ribbon tied around her neck. She wore a black skirt, complimented with long, black high-heeled boots. In short, she was dazzling.

"I-I love High School!" I yelled, with a stupid grin on my face.

Mitsuru was taken aback by my outburst; getting embarrassed and flustered.

"Should I change or…"she said shyly.

"No, definitely not! You look great," I told her.

"O-ok, but only because you said so…" she said, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"I don't think our Student Council Representative would be as effective if she only listened to what I have to say," I teased.

"S-stop, you tease too much," Mitsuru replied. "Shouldn't we get going now? We still need to see our class assignments."

"Nah, we still have to wait for Yukari…"

"What!? Let her get there herself. We shouldn't be late because she decided to take all morning to get ready."

"She hardly knows her way around here. The least we could do is show her the way to school."

"Fine, I'll be in the lounge," she pouted.

A few minutes after Mitsuru had departed, Yukari finally emerged. When I saw her, I my brain completely froze. She wore a pink cardigan over a white shirt with a large, red ribbon around her neck. She wore a black miniskirt (which I thought was way too revealing for school) and long boots.

"YUKI-KUN!" she yelled as she scrambled down the stairs and jumped onto me. "You actually waited for me! Now we can walk to school together, and then maybe the school will start rumors, then maybe you'll finally fall for me…." She trailed off into a random tangent, completely oblivious to my reaction and everything around her.

"What is all this yelling…" Mitsuru said as she walked in on the situation.

I glanced back at Mitsuru. Yukari still had her arms around my neck and was still babbling to herself.

"I-it's n-not what you're thinking," I blurt out fast.

"Wait, what is she doing here?" Yukari had finally returned.

"We were going to be nice and show you the way to our school, but I'm finding it hard to be nice to harlot like yourself," Mitsuru said, gritting her teeth.

"Tch, and here I thought it'd just be me and Yuki," she said, rubbing her cheek against mine.

"Since when did you start calling him Yuki!? He doesn't know you like that!" Mitsuru questioned.

"Can we just leave now!?" I asked loudly.

"NO!" they both shouted.

Why me?

"Not until this leech apologizes," Mitsuru demanded.

"Apologize for what? For loving Yuki? What you're asking is impossible," Yukari replied.

Mitsuru balled her hands into a fist, knuckles turning white, "Stop calling him Yuki! Only I'm allowed to do that!"

"Makoto then," Yukari responded, smugly.

"Absolutely not! Never Happening! Not in this lifetime!"

Yukari scoffs, "First I can't call him Makoto, then you tell me I can't call him Yuki. What am I supposed to call him then?"

"Yuki-kun was fine…" I added.

"Shut up, Makoto! You will refer to him as Yuki-san, if anything. End of discussion. Now get the Hell off of him."

As we made our way towards the school, the girls walked on either side of me, not making any eye contact at all. Once we boarded the monorail, both girls latched onto my arms, trying to accommodate for the cramped space inside. When the school came into view Yukari's eye widened.

"Wow! It's so beautiful!" she said.

"The best part is coming up," I told her.

"Huh?" she asked.

Just then the train left the rails attached to land, and continued on the tracks that loomed over the water.

"Amazing… It's like we're gliding over the sea…" Yukari said.

Her eyes were full of wonderment and excitement. I looked at Mitsuru, who'd been awfully quiet, to find that she was closing her eyes shut.

"Mitsuru…" I began.

I could hear her muttering quietly, "I hate this part, I hate this part, I hate this part…"

I pulled her in closer, hoping it'd be of some comfort.

We'd finally arrived at school and, to our surprise, we were still quite early.

"I hope the other two made it here fine," I said to no one in particular.

"Oi! Kirijo-chan!"

Mitsuru turned around and was quickly greeted by a girl who was laughably shorter than her.

"Oh, President Dojikko! I thought we were going to meet in the Student Council Room…" Mitsuru said, baffled.

"I know~~… but I'd just arrived and you'd just arrived, so I thought we could go there together! I think that'd be the best time to discuss your speech!" the Student Council President said.

"Uh, I actually have to check my Class Assignment…"

"It's alright, Mitsuru. We're always in the same class, so I'll tell you after the Opening Ceremony," I assured her.

"You must be Yuki~chan! I've heard a lot about you! Why don't you join the Student Council? Then you'll be with your girlfriend even longer!" the President insisted.

"Um, I don't mean any disrespect, but they're definitely not dating!" Yukari intruded, latching onto me vigorously.

"Huh?" Dojikko said, as she put a finger to her lips and tilted her head sideways.

"Ahem, President, she's Yukari Takeba. She recently moved into our dormitory and will be attending this school starting today…" Mitsuru clarified.

"WAH! That's exactly the kind of fire we need in the Student Council! Why don't you both join?" Dojikko exclaimed.

"Aww, Yuki-kun! We should do it! Then we'll be together even more!" Yukari squealed gleefully.

"I love helping out those that are in love~~," Dojikko said with a nod.

"He definitely does not love her!" Mitsuru blurted out.

Yukari gave Mitsuru a cold glare. Dojikko, however, clapped her hands together and smiled widely.

"That's right Kirijo-chan! Fight for the man you love! That's exactly why we chose you to be your classes' Student Council Representative!"

"Uh…uhm," Mitsuru mumbled.

"C'mon let's go! We're wasting time~~," Dojikko said as she dragged Mitsuru with her. "I just ~LOVE~ 'love triangles'!"

I gently removed Yukari from my side and told her, "We should check on our Class Assignments, right?"

Yukari nodded as we made our way towards the main building. The Cherry Blossom leaves were falling from the trees that lined the walkway to the school. Gekkoukan High is the most prestigious school in the area. No other school can compete, since Gekkoukan is better in every way. Not to mention funds are of no problem, since it is owned by the Kirijo Group. Because of that, people like to believe that Mitsuru gets special treatment, but that's not the case. Everything she's done, she's earned it. Besides, if she did get special treatment, why don't I get it as well? I am her brother, albeit not in blood, after all…

Yukari and I walked side by side as we entered the main building. It was a spectacle, to say the least. Tons of students everywhere, all going about their own business. I saw a large pile up of people, to which I assumed the Class Assignments were posted.

Yukari moved behind me and took a fistful of my coat, so not to get lost. We made our way towards the 1-X list and began searching for our names. It didn't take long to find my name since I was placed in Class 1-A. I scanned the List more.

Class 1-A:

Makoto Yuki

Mitsuru Kirijo

Akihiko Sanada

Shinjiro Aragaki

Yukari Takeba

…and the list continued. But knowing our entire dorm is in one class didn't warrant me to continue.

"Looks like we're all in the same class." I told Yukari.

"You mean our entire dorm is in one class!? Isn't that too much of a coincidence?" Yukari asked.

"… or maybe it's fate," I joked.

"Yeah, sure," Yukari snickered.

Just before we were about to depart, I heard my name being yelled embarrassingly loud.

"YUUUUUKKKKKKIIIIIII!"

"What the…" I started to say.

Before I could finish, someone had leapt onto my back, sending me forward, and smashing my body against the wall. Arms clung around my neck and I was holding this person's legs, as if I was carrying someone.

I saw a finger extend forward, past my head, to point at the 'Class 1-A' list. It moved down until it reached somebody's name.

"Alright! I guess we're in the same class now, Yuki!" said the voice.

I was starting to recognize the voice. I got closer to the person's finger to see where it was pointing.

'Junpei Iori'

"Excuse me, Iori-san. But I don't think I know you…" I apologized.

Instead of receiving an explanation, I was smacked on the head by, what I believe to be, a book.

"Not that one, idiot. THAT ONE!" the person said, tapping vigorously on the name below.

'Fuuka Yamagishi'

"Fuuka…? Oh, Fuuka! It's been a while hasn't it?" I said, as I came to a realization.

She climbed off my back and I turned towards her.

She scoffs at me, "How could you forget me!?"

"I'm sorry, this morning has been something else…"

"It's ok," she says, as she playfully punches my shoulder.

Last time I saw Fuuka was two months ago, at Bookworms. I'd made a challenge for her, I wonder if she remembers?

"Who's she?" Fuuka asks, pointing to Yukari.

"Yukari Takeba, are you a friend of Yuki-kun?" Yukari asked.

"Friends? More like rivals…" she said as she put on a serious face.

So she has remembered…

Before I could acknowledge our rivalry, I began to hear people's comments

"Isn't that Fuuka? I thought she was always quiet?"

"I don't think I've ever heard her speak…"

"Why is she talking to Yuki-san? I'll kill her!"

"She has no right to talk to him, he won't even acknowledge me!"

From the look on her face, I could tell she was greatly affected by their comments. I could see Fuuka revert from an enthusiastic girl, to a reserved introvert.

When she spoke, I could hardly hear her.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble," she whispered.

She turned around fast, and bolted off.

"Wait! Fuuka!" I yelled after her, but it was too late.

I stood motionless, in the center of the crowd. They were still muttering their own crap. Though my entire demeanor was aloof, inside of me was a raging cesspool of anger.

"C'mon Yuki-kun, the Opening Ceremony is about to start," Yukari said softly dragging me along by the arm.

I hadn't paid attention to any of the speeches. Only one had mattered to me, Mitsuru's speech. Yukari sat next to me and to my left was the aisle. I glanced around the auditorium, but saw no sight of Fuuka anywhere. I couldn't find Akihiko or Shinjiro as well. Some poor girl thought I was looking at her, which obviously brightened her mood. She waved at me excitedly, but all I returned was a single wave as I turned back to face the stage.

President Dojikko walked behind the podium and adjusted the microphone to accommodate her size.

"Thank you, uhm- Tanakada for that great (she cringed) speech," Dojikko said.

There was scattered applause, nothing special.

"Next a speech from the freshman's Student Council Representative, Mitsuru Kirijo!" Dojikko exclaimed.

As Mitsuru got up from her seat on stage, the crowd began to murmur loudly.

"WOW! She's gorgeous!"

"What? She's prettier than me? Impossible!"

"Kirijo? The one's that own the school?"

"Now that's one HOT CHICK!" "Please, Kenzou-sensei! That's highly inappropriate!"

Mitsuru was always a shining star against the black of space. She looked flustered.

Perhaps she wasn't expecting such a response?

"Um, G-good morning-everyone. M-my name Is Mitsuru Kirijo and I'm proud t-to be t-the freshman Student Council Representative-" After she'd said 'Representative' the microphone screeched really loudly, leaving Mitsuru surprised and shocked, her mouth agape.

It started out as light laughter, but soon laughter consumed the entire auditorium. To my surprise, Yukari wasn't laughing. In fact she looked angry, even embarrassed for Mitsuru. Mitsuru was seriously embarrassed. She looked around confused, looking for a solution. Her eyes scanned around until they met mine.

She stared into my eyes, tears starting to form in her own.

"Help me…" she mouthed.

"You can do it. I believe in you," I mouthed back.

She sniffled and wiped away whatever tears had formed. She regained her composure and took a deep breath.

"Be quiet," she said.

The laughter hadn't died down as much.

"I SAID, BE QUIET!" Mitsuru had raised her voice.

All laughter had died immediately. There was absolute silence in the auditorium, which is quite impressive especially on the first day.

Mitsuru gave a look over of the entire area before she started, "When somebody makes a mistake, degenerates rip that person to shreds. When someone falls, it's the cowards who keep running. When someone is in need of assistance, it's the selfish man refuses to lend support. When your fellow student stumbles, your response is to mock them, belittle them. When my family starter the Gekkoukan string of schools, it was never our intention to house a bunch of selfish, cowardly, degenerates as to which I've just witnessed. When you put on your uniform, you represent Gekkoukan. When you represent Gekkoukan, you're showing that you are the best of the best. When you acknowledge that you're a student here, you rise above the cowards and the degenerates. That's what it means to be a part of this illustrious school. That is why I'm glad to be here. That is why I'm so happy to be a part of such a legacy. That is why I'm proud to be your Student Council Representative."

The audience was stunned, they were speechless. I slowly began to clap, Yukari joined in and soon the auditorium erupted into a clapping frenzy.

Mitsuru let out a sigh of relief and bowed towards the crowd. When she lifted her head, she gave me a small smile and proceeded to exit the stage.

I met with Mitsuru backstage to congratulate her on the speech. Instead Mitsuru ran up to me and gave me a huge hug.

"I did it, Makoto. I really did it," she laughed.

"You were great," I told her.

We'd been hugging for, what felt like, forever.

"Ok, that's enough now…" Yukari had spoken up.

Mitsuru pulled off the embrace, "W-what are you doing here?"

"I came here to, y'know, congratulate you… I think you did great…" Yukari admitted.

"Um, thanks?" Mitsuru said confused.

"Don't expect a lot of that!" Yukari clarified.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Mitsuru said with a smirk.

"So it turns out our entire dormitory is in Class 1-A…" I told her.

"That's quite the coincidence…" Mitsuru said.

"Maybe its fate," I added.

"Yeah, right," Mitsuru said sarcastically.

We'd all reached Class 1-A together to find it mostly filled.

"There she is!" cried one guy.

"Please go out with me, Kirijo-sama!"

A whole crowd of guys had gathered at the door, preventing us from proceeding forward.

"Eww, they're so gross!" Yukari cried.

"Agreed," said Mitsuru.

"Alright, make way," I said as I moved my way through the crowd.

We were finally able to push past them and, luckily we found three open seats. After being indirectly turned down by Mitsuru, the crowd dispersed, which revealed that most of them weren't even in our class.

"Ugh, I hate boys!" Yukari said irritably.

I looked around and there was still no sign of Fuuka, Akihiko, or even Shinjiro.

"At this rate they'll be late…" I groaned.

BANG! Yukari had slid her desk into mine, completely blocking the aisle.

"What are you doing?" questioned Mitsuru.

"Well… I don't think it's fair that you get to sit beside him, so I'm moving my desk so I can sit beside him too," Yukari explained.

"But how are people supposed to get through?" I asked.

"I don't care about that," she admitted.

"Why don't you sit behind him?" Mitsuru suggested.

"But then he won't ever see me…"

"In front of him?"

"But then I'll never see him!"

"If you're in front of me, I get to see you all day," I said hoping to make a resolution.

"Wha-? Makoto?" Mitsuru asked, confused.

"That's perfect!" cried Yukari.

She fixed her original desk, and moved her things to the desk in front of me. We chatted for a short while until the teacher finally showed up.

"Ahem, my name is Tachinomi Tatsuya. Or Tachinomi-sensei to you all. I believe we already have our Class Representative selected, what's her name…. what's her name?"

His eyes scanned the list in hand, in which they widened when he found it.

"WE HAVE MITSURU KIRIJO IN HERE! THIS IS GOINGTO BE A GREAT YEAR!" yelled the teacher.

"Ugh, are all teachers here perverts too?" groaned Yukari.

"P-please, Kirijo-chan… get on with the whole bowing thing you do," suggested the teacher.

"O-ok," Mitsuru said, rising from her seat.

"RISE! BOW! SEATS!"

The teacher was giggling like a school-girl, through the entire exercise.

"Oh, right. I teach Classic Literature, so be prepared to do a lot of reading!"

Fuuka's going to love this class… Where is she?

As I thought that, the door slid open to reveal two guys. Two guys that I, unfortunately, know.

"WE'RE NOT LATE!" one of them yelled as they both scrambled to the two open desks in the back.

"Excuse me! What are your names!?" demanded the teacher.

The white-haired boy slammed his fist into his chest and proclaimed, "I'm Akihiko Sanada and he's Shinji Aragaki." He ended it with a smile.

"You two! Detention after school!" yelled the teacher.

"Ugh," they both groaned as they slumped into their seats.

"Detention on the first day, that's harsh," cam a male voice behind me.

I turned my head to see the owner of the voice. In my sight was a boy who wore a baseball cap, he was in uniform but had a purple shirt instead. He had a decent amount of facial hair on his chin, and from what I could tell he looked very, very laid back.

"I'm sorry. Let me introduce myself! The name's Junpei Iori, pleased to meet you."

"The infamous Junpei Iori, huh?" I said, recalling his name from the list I saw.

"So you've heard of me? Well I am pretty popular, especially with the ladies," he said with a smirk.

"Actually, no. I mistook a girl for you, so…" I told him.

"Aww man, I coulda swore you might've heard of me," he complained. "Was she cute at least?"

"She's in our class, but she's not here now, so you can be the judge of that," I said.

"Haha, sweet!" Junpei exclaimed quietly.

"Anyways I'm Mako-"

"I know who you are… All the girls used to talk about you all the time… Man, you must be pretty popular," Junpei said, then he came to a realization, "So, by default, if I hang out with you I'll be popular too!"

"I don't think it works like that…"

"Sure it does! Imagine! One day I'll be carrying girls on both arms, just like you!"

"Oh yeah, that…" I trailed off.

"How do you do it? You got babes fawning all over you! I heard you rejected a girl's confession to you this morning. They say you sent her off crying…"

"That's not what happened!" I yelled.

I'd realized I'd yelled too loudly, but it was too late. Mitsuru and Yukari looked at me like I was insane.

"Excuse me, what are your names?" asked Tachinomi-sensei.

"Makoto Yuki," I sighed.

"Junpei Iori," he sighed.

"Detention, after school. It looks like you'll be joining Sanada-san and Aragaki-san."

"Alright!" exclaimed Akihiko in the back.

"Shut up, dude," Shinjiro said.

I thought I could feel the disappointment radiating from Mitsuru and Yukari.

After all, this was my first detention….

Author's Note: So there's a lot going on in this chapter, sorry if it might've gotten confusing. I loved this chapter, it was a blast for me to write. Please PM me if you have any questions regarding the story. I'm always willing to talk, so… yeah. If you have any complaints, you can PM me as well, or you can write a review. Either way is great!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and hopefully I'll see you next time!

P.S.: COVER ART WANTED