Author's Notes: Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I apologize for the long delay in this story since I've been focused on Full Court Press recently. I'll do my best to keep this story going though - I already know where to bring this one :D. Thank you for your patience!

Reaching for the Stars

Part III, Chapter 7

"Bring in the troublemakers!" Cried the vice-president of the Ohashi High student council. With that command, two members of the Ohashi Judo Team marched in with Taiga Aisaka and Kouji Haruta, standing in between them to keep Taiga from maiming the clown. Taiga glared defiantly at the vice president, but this only made her smirk.

"Aisaka-san, Ohashi High is a school that values discipline and honors its rules." Said Kano Sumire with a grin, "Even though you are new to the school, it is against school rules to go off and kick people in the hallway. And my, starting a fight the very day you come to this school… in first period too?"

"What?" Taiga growled, "Should I just be punching people instead?"

"Stubborn little rat, you are." Kano said with a raised brow. She then turned to Kouji and said, "The same goes for you Mr. Haruta. Teasing a new student like that is bound to get you into trouble."

"Aww, come on Sumire-senpai!" Kouji groaned, "She just couldn't take a joke! Palmtop Tiger is the perfect name for her, ain't that right?"

Taiga just folded her arms angrily to keep herself from unleashing her fists of fury. Getting the two to apologize to each other seemed like an impossible task and Kano understood this all too well.

"I don't expect either of you to forgive the other, though I highly recommend it…" Kano said, "But, you two should at least apologize to these three. Your horsing around got them hurt badly."

Standing there at the far end of the room were Ryuji Takasu, Yuusaku Kitamura and Satoshi Tainaka, all of them with bandages on their faces. Their class adviser, Sawako Yamanaka was there as well with mixed feelings – one side concerned for her injured students and the other fascinated by the Palmtop Tiger and the clown. At the vice president's command, the two troublemakers bowed to the victims in apology but Kano was not satisfied with just this.

"I don't believe justice has been done just yet." She said sternly, "Another punishment has to be exacted."

"Hey you…" Taiga said, shaking in fury, "If you think that just because you're the vice president of the student council , you can go around tyrannizing people like this then you're no better than me."

"Oh? But I'm actually being kind, Aisaka-san." Kano said calmly, "The rulebook states that blatant teasing is punishable by temporary suspension, running around the halls is punishable by extended cleaning duty and afterschool work and fighting is punishable by expulsion. I'm not handing down any of these for your sake already… Ohashi High is the only High School in the area… unless you want to start packing for Tokyo again."

At the mention of Tokyo, Taiga was silenced and Kano understood that she was going to have her way with this argument.

"I can't think of any appropriate punishment for either of you two." The vice president said, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I'll leave the punishment to the victims. So what do you say?"

"You're asking us to punish them instead?" Yuusaku said, "We can't do that! We may have been the victims of their horsing around, but I'm sure it wasn't intentional."

"Oy, Yuusaku…" Satoshi whispered to the bespectacled man, "You could at least ask for a temporary restraining order from those two. That girl looks really fierce…"

"Yeah…" Ryuji whispered as well, attempting to coerce their impromptu spokesperson to reconsider, "I don't think I could survive being around that girl either."

"But guys, they're people too. We can't just shut them out like that." Yuusaku reasoned, "Maybe if we get to know them better, that view will change."

"What?" Satoshi argued, "You really think so? I care about my life, you know."

"Plus." Yuusaku chuckled, "Aisaka-san seems cute."

Satoshi and Ryuji were aghast at that bold yet whispered statement. Yuusaku then adjusted his glasses as if he had already had come up with a plan. They felt like their friend was just about to start a Crusade straight into the ninth circle of hell.

"Sumire-senpai." Yuusaku said with determination, "Does Ohashi High have a Light Music Club?"

"A Light Music Club?" Kano said, wondering if he heard right, "Our school has some other musical organizations, but a Light Music Club, no."

"Well then, we would like to draft the charter for one now." Yuusaku continued, "I think this would be the best solution."

"L… Light Music Club?" Satoshi stammered, "Are you serious?"

"Very." Yuusaku said, "And instead of punishing them, Haruta-san and Aisaka-san will be part of that club for at least a year."

"Huh!"

Ryuji, Satoshi and Taiga gasped in shock. Sawako however was ever so amused.

"I think it would be a good idea. Please do consider that option Sumire-san." Sawako then said with a smirk, "Having them participate in club activities would be a proper remedy for this mess. Aisaka-san would be able to vent her anger out through music and Haruta-san would have something productive to do. It would be like hitting two birds with one stone."

"That might actually work Kitamura-kun." Kano said with a smile, "You seem to have a penchant for planning… there's an aura of a student council member about you."

"I was part of the student council back in Middle School." Yuusaku said passionately, this time enthralled by the vice president's interest in him. Satoshi and Ryuji felt a little ashamed to be associated with Yuusaku for that one moment.

"I figured as much." Kano said, "Alright then, if we establish the Ohashi High Light Music Club, it will need a president and at least four members to operate."

"I will be the president." Yuusaku replied immediately, "The members will be Aisaka-san, Haruta-san, Tanaka-san, Takasu-san and Kusheida-san."

"This isn't going to end well…" Ryuji moaned weakly. Satoshi agreed for reasons of his own. Not only would this mean that he would have to stay with a possibly homicidal girl after school whenever he or Minori didn't have work, he would be staying with someone who knows him all the way back from Osaka. Already, Kouji Haruta was looking at Satoshi as if he recognized him but couldn't seem to make the connection. That would buy Satoshi some time to plan something out.

The papers for the establishment of the Ohashi High Light Music Club were drafted and the founding members were asked to sign it for clerical purposes. Satoshi felt like he was selling his freedom, risking being found out yet again. However, this was a chance for him to finally form that band he had wanted to be ever since he was in Osaka. Perhaps Sawako and Yuusaku did that for him too.

With such a line up though, would they be able to make good music? Satoshi could only hope.

To Be Continued