Hey my beloved readers~!

Today it's the 29th of November, and that means that Zero Gaiden exists exactly one year now! :D
And to celebrate this special day, I made a special chapter!
It is about the thoughts and feelings and situations of several know and unknown characters who will be introduced today. The stories are not really connected nor chronologic.

I hope it's not too confusing to read, but anyway, enjoy the chapter~!

Chapter 5: Thoughts, feelings and situations

_The -not so- genius_

How troublesome... my phone keeps ringing the whole day, non-stop. Some old acquaintances are even starting to call me just to ask how I'm doing. I walk to the storage room, where I now have my own little office. I open the door, lock it behind me and turn off my phone. I take place on my chair behind my desk and look up at the ceiling.

Now I think about it, when I'm in Sorajima there will be a lot of people who'll recognise me or who would want to see me again after... 6 years...? Naah, I'm not that important. I should get back to work. I'm getting paid for this after all.

I took the to do list I made and checked off some things I forgot to check off yesterday. Next is the planning... ugh. I smacked my head on the table which hurt more than I expected.
Well where do we go first I thought to myself. Tora said he wanted the students to experience the culture and witness the festival season. That means we have to go through the villages first; the festival season start there. First the village which has the most distance from the city and then the ones a little closer, until the festival has reached the city.
So we have to get the southern ferry and travel to the city trough the villages. They'll see the Sorajiman culture and have fun at the same time, girls will love the stories of the lovely people there and the guys will enjoy the adventure. Ah, I'm a genius after all!

Ok, no I'm not a genius. A genius does not surprise himself. Well, at least not like that... And how do I tell all those little villages to make space for 200 people anyway, they don't have phones...

_Super Mega Gigantic Dumbass Idiot_

It has been a week since the meeting. Zero-kun has called me yesterday too. He was totally different towards me than that he was to Tora. We talked a lot, and not even about the excursion.

He asked me if Usui was still an idiot. He told me that thanks to Usui, the term "Bakami" -baka + Takumi- was created, which meant "Super Mega Gigantic Dumbass Idiot" in their school. Zero also seemed to know that guy was a total perverted alien, but he never thought about naming it like that. He called it 'too early puberty', which means that idiot was a perverted alien in his childhood too.

I still wonder how those two became friends. Zero was very nice and gentle, and from what I've seem in the meeting he can be damn scary too. Unlike Usui, he is a fool compared to his friend who can only be serious at extremely crucial times. Somehow, even now I know about his family problem in England, it still feels like I know nothing about him.

Aaah what! I know he is in Sorajima and I'm gonna see him soon, very soon. We've send letters about the excursion along with the students of my year. I hope most of them will decide to go, but I hope more that we reach there safely and return like that too...

_The hardest task so far_

"Hey... partner." A man, with spiky red hair and a long pigtail at the back of it, says to a bald one with shades.
"What's up?" The bald man utters tiredly.
"How long will we hang around here?"
"Dunno, and this is your fault anyway. We will have to wait until Cloud comes."

"I don't wanna wait for him, I can help myself!" The red-haired man says and folds his arms over each other, looking in the opposite direction of the other man.
"Go ahead and help yourself then. I'm busy keeping my shades on."

"...Hey...partner." The red-haired man says again.
"What is it now, Reno?"
"Why is there a yellow cloud on the ground?"

The bald man looks in the same direction as the other one.

"Uh... it looks like a sandstorm." He said nervously, "I hope it won't come our way..."
"Yeah... uh?! There is something black in the middle of it!"
"That is Cloud."
"Yeah I know it's a cloud Rude! But there look!"
"Uh, Reno, I AM talking about that, it's Cloud with a capital le-..."

"Ah! It's Cloud, finally he comes to save us!" The man named Reno interrupted.
"I thought you said you could help yourself?" Rude asked him with a raised eyebrow.
" I never said that! Who would say that while being tied to a tree, UPSIDEDOWN! Only senile idiots would say that!"
"Only you can insult yourself like that." Rude mumbles while doing an invisible face palm.

Cloud Strife, the featherish blonde sword wielder arrives and descends from his black bike.
"How's it... hanging, guys?" He asks.
"I can't feel my legs anymore." Rude answers.
"Oh. I don't mind hanging here, it's so much fun to feel all your blood going to your head making it feel like it'll explode soon!
"Oh... well if you enjoy it so much, I'll just leave you hanging." Cloud said with a little smile.
"No! NO! NO!" Reno wiggles in panic. "Don't leave me here!"

A few minutes later

"By the way, you two got a new task." Cloud says while the other two are stretching their legs.
"Naah, I think we'll take the rest of the day off. Right, Rude?" Reno looks at the bald man behind him who agreed with a nod.
"That's not an option." Cloud says with a stern face.
"Heh?! How is that?" Reno asks.
"Read your job description." Cloud says and gives Reno an envelope out of his pocket.

"You need to go to Sorajima and function as a bodyguard for about 200 PEOPLE?! What kind of impossible job is that?!"
"It is not impossible."
"Yeah, when my name would be Kim! But it's not!"
"...You will get help on this task." Cloud answers.
"One question Cloud..." Rude says, "why did boss send you to us and not of our colleagues?"

"I received this request from my precious student, and I needed someone I could trust a bit to do it. So when I went to Shinra Co. to deliver a package, I also went to talk to your boss, Rufus Shinra, for people who could fulfil the request. In the middle of it all, you guys called Rufus for help, so he assigned you two on this and send me to help you and give your new task."
"Then we really have no choice, right?" Rude asks, though he knows the answer.

Reno looks at the underside of the paper. "Heh, it's even signed by boss and it's only for us... Whueghe...!"
"What's wrong Reno?" Rude asks him worried.
"We have to do this for a MONTH?!" Reno says, "Ima talk to Rufu-...!"

Reno does a step forward but stops at the sudden gust of wind and looks down to find Cloud's gigantic Bustersword at his neck.
"I won't let you." Cloud said narrowing his eyes at him, "one of the people you have to guard is my student. If something happens to him... you two are dead for sure."
Reno and Rude scraped their throats.
"We'll do it. No complains, no mistakes." Reno says and does a step back, "But... how do we know who your student is?"

"I won't tell, find out for yourself. I allow you to go home and pack some stuff."

With that the blonde man left the most clumsy duo of the Shinra Co. with their hardest task so far.

_Waves of realisation_

The wind blows though my hair.
It feels quite nice to be here again... though I couldn't meet the duke nor settle the family problems.
I sit on the embankment. I can feel some drops of water on my shoes from sometimes when a wave decided to show up.
I used to sit here a lot when I felt lonely. Heh, in that case nothing changed here... I wanna go back, she'll probably kick me for taking so long...

I let out a sigh. I can't go back, this is the only place where that guy can't come looking for me. I can't go back, but I can't go further either...
I have to wait until Miyabigaoka gets here.

Suddenly a huge wave appeared in front of me and in one second, I realised I didn't only feel lonely, I felt cold and wet too. I wonder what else I can feel...

_Failed plan_

Yuuki rolled on the ground, she was bored. Incredibly bored. With her 'teary eyes technique' she managed to stop Hanabusa from giving her maths today, but after that there was nothing else to do; Kaname wasn't home, Ruka went to do some shopping and Kain was still sleeping somewhere.

Yuuki rolled over onto her belly and thought about the letter Hanabusa had allowed her to write to Yori. She hoped the girl received it and wasn't worried about her anymore, tough she was still worried about her.

Yuuki rolled onto her back again, let out a heavy sigh and closed her eyes. She was also worried about him, but she believed that as long as she stays away from him, he will keep chasing her. He won't give up, not with those last words he had said before they parted on the roof of the school. Yuuki knew he was serious, yet she hoped that he missed her somehow and not just her old self.

"I heard Aidou out, Yuuki." A voice suddenly said which had made Yuuki open her eyes and stand up right away. She looked in two clearly annoyed eyes, who were definitely meant for her.
"W-What do you mean... K-Kaname? Weren't you supposed to be at a meeting?"
"You send a letter to your friend..." Kaname said, ignoring her second question, Yuuki looked to the floor and fumbled with her clothes.
"I-I'm sorry Kaname, don't be angry at Hanabusa, I kinda forced him to post it together with me but I didn't write our address, I didn't give Yori-chan that. I just wanted her to know th-..."
Kaname had placed his hands on the shoulders of his precious fiancée and looked more gently at her.
"You must miss them a lot, right?" He said.
"Well..." Yuuki wasn't sure if he was trying to comfort her or something else. Kaname looked in her eyes and saw little tears forming in her eyes.
"It's ok Yuuki,' he said to her, 'just tell me. I can understand that you miss Wakaba-chan."
"...Y-Yeah, I miss them."
Them? Kaname thought, and a image of a certain vampire hunter came flashing through his mind. Even now Yuuki was totally his, that guy still interfered somehow. He noticed that Yuuki was a little frightened by him. Of course whenever Kiryuu came into his mind his face becomes really scary. He quickly changed it into a quite cheery smile.
"Then shall I tell you something?" Kaname said to her. He was going to make her want to forget all about the silver-haired hunter.
"What is it?" Yuuki asked with a excited smile.
"I talked to the chairman. The school is planning an excursion. In fact Zero is planning it and he enjoys it the chairman said."
"Oh... really?" Yuuki said, now a little less excited.
"Yes Yuuki, apparently he likes school more and his relation with his classmates improved too."
"Oh I see..."Yuuki wasn't smiling anymore. She clearly looked disappointed, an expression Kaname couldn't bear seeing on the girl's face. He needed something to make her happy again and smile...
"...The chairman invited us and some of the Night class students to come too..."
"Hah?!"
"I'll say yes to the offer if you want to go..." Kaname said even though he was totally against it himself.
Yuuki smiled cheerfully and said what Kaname expected.

_I'm so sorry_

Zero opens the door of the chairman's office.
"What's the 'extra thing we need to take along' all about?" He askes the chairman who wobbles on his comfortable chair.
"Well Zero-kun..."
"Well what?"

The chairman jumps from his chair, over his desk, right in front of Zero. His eyes were overflowing with tears.
"Zero-rin! I'm sooo sorry to give you extra work but ItalkedtoKanameandwedecidedthatthenightclasswillbejoiningtheexcursiontoSorajimaaa!" The chairman says and desperately grasps for air falls down on the ground.

"Nightclass... join excursion... ok" Zero says and walk out of the office, leaving the chairman on the ground.
"Hi Yagari-sensei."
"Did you talk to the chairman yet?"
"Yeah..." Zero says and walks on.
"Hmm, I wonder why he isn't upset..." Yagari said to himself and opened the door of the chairman's office.

"OHGOD YOU KILLED HIM?! AWESO- oh... he's alive..."