The weekend went by peacefully. Sora was beginning to settle down in Suzuran. Truthfully, there wasn't much to get used to, other than the constant warring factions within the school. Academically wise, well, there weren't any classes at all. Hence, there wasn't any real reason to actually go to school since the teachers are not going to mark attendance or teach, unless one counts taking over the school as a reason.

A pretty strong motivation, indeed.

Thankfully, mum had tutored her back home in a different school curriculum and she was at least a year ahead of her peers. Otherwise, she has no idea how she was going to catch up with the rest of her peers and go to college. And college is a must. The country of origin of her diploma probably didn't matter but Ivy League colleges can be pretty strict, and she wasn't to go to any colleges other than Ivy League. Mum and dad made that pretty clear, back when they were alive. She's not going to go against her dead parents' last wish.

Even in Japan, Suzuran diploma is not very well looked upon, unless one counts the Yakuza. Sora found it slightly disturbing that majority of Suzuran graduates ended up in the Yakuza. It's almost like Suzuran is the breeding ground for future criminals.

All the more reason mum shouldn't have any association with this school and yet she had. How did mum know this school so well, anyway? Why had she been so secretive about her past?

"Sora!" Tokio's voice rang out behind her, distracting her from her thoughts. She turned around, surprised to see him.

"Tatsukawa -san." She greeted, inclining her head.

"Why so formal?" He asked in his jovial manner. He looked very glad to see her, as evident by his eyes. Sora can't help noticing his eyes. They always seem to sparkle with his every emotions – happiness, sadness, etc. "You can call me Tokio, you know. Just Tokio."

"Alright, Tokio." She gave a brief smile. "What's up?"

"What? Need a reason to come find you?" he asked, strolling along side her, one hand tucked inside his pocket and another slinging his school jacket over his shoulder, face turned up towards the sun with a happy expression.

"Well, no offense, we don't know each other that well." Sora pointed out. "We only knew each other because of that one time?"

A dark expression flitted across his face, but it was gone quickly. "You got me there…" he said calmly, smiling. "So, is it true 3C merged with 3E?"

She was really surprised that Suzuran Communications Network is so effective. It was just a few days after the Goukon incident and already, news of 3C joining 3E has spread around. Seriously, these guys at Suzuran gossip way more than girls.

"Yeah…" No need to deny the truth. "They joined up."

"I see…" Tokio said. He looked down at her, dark eyes steady. "And you? You're in their gang? Or are you with the Ebizuka Trio?"

"Huh?" She gaped, blinking her eyes rapidly at that. "I'm not really in either of their gangs at all! I'm just a... freelance bystander."

"Freelance bystanders don't fight alongside 3 of the strongest fighters in the 1st year." Tokio said dryly. "Nor do they help the head of one senior class to recruit another senior class."

"Did I do all those?" Sora said innocently. "I didn't fight alongside Ebizuka Trio. They are the ones who are helping to defend me, poor them. As for the latter, I assuming you meant Genji. Nope, that wasn't me."

"Really, the rumours flying around said otherwise." Tokio said. "Some say you're with Genji. Some say you're with the Ebizuka Trio. There're even those that say the Ebizuka Trio and Genji's gang is joining up because of you. You sure you're really not with their gangs then?"

Ebizuka Trio joining Genji? Suzuran will close down when that happens.

"Well~~~" She purposely dragged out that word, as she considered. She was more of a freelance bystander - something she suspects the trio to be unhappy with. Either she was with them or against them. But they had yet to say anything, so she left it at that. So, is she officially with Genji's gang or with the Ebizuka Trio? She merely hanged out with Genji once or twice, and Genji did help her out once. And she did survive the First Year War with the Ebizuka Trio. But that made them friends, not gang mates. And she hadn't agreed to join any gangs at all in the first place. But if she were to say that she wasn't part of Genji's gang or part of the Trio's gang, then it somehow feels like she's betraying them.

"Isn't it common courtesy to ask someone if they're willing to join your gang?" She replied at last. "Well, they've yet to ask me and I've yet to answer."

"How about joining me and Tamao then?" That was certainly out of the blue, and it startled Sora bad enough to make her jump.

"What?" She gaped, wide eyed.

"You heard me." Tokio turned and faced her, so it appeared that he was walking backwards. "Wanna join me and Tamao? We're the strongest in Suzuran as of now. You won't regret joining us. "

Now that made her feel even more of a traitor. Besides, joining them is an option she liked even less than joining either Genji or Ebizuka Trio. For one, she doesn't know anyone else in there except for Tokio, and she's not particularly close to him either.

"Er... Well..." She stuttered, brain churning quickly to find a reasonable excuse to reject him. "Well... Erm... You see, I'm really not interested in joining any gangs in Suzuran. Yeah I know the deal going on here but that's not what I came here for."

Now that she started talking, the words seem to flow from her mouth easily enough. "I can't fight. I mean I can fight but I can't fight. Ok, never mind, scratch that."

She is going to make herself look like an idiot if she doesn't get her act together. Damn Tokio for catching her off guard like this. How was she going to phrase this... "Look, firstly, I'm not here to fight. Secondly, I'm not allowed to fight. Thirdly, I don't think my friends AKA Genji and even Kirishima would like ..."

Tokio chuckled wryly, shaking his shaggy head from side to side. "Stop beating around the bush, Sora. It's a question of what you want. Do you wanna join us or not? Yes or no?"

That's... a good question she has yet to ask herself before.

"Well?"

That one word broke her out of her reverie. She blinked rapidly. "No, I really don't want to join your gang, Tokio. It won't be fair..."

"And that's it." Tokio interrupted. He smiled at her in an amused-cum-exasperated manner. "You really are quite strange, you know."

Her blank expression must have been enough to prompt him to continue, but he merely shook his head and switched the subject. "What are you doing here if you aren't here to compete to be the top of Suzuran?"

That seem to be the million dollar question on everyone's mouth the moment they heard that she was not here to fight.

"I... got kicked out of a few schools and the rest refused to take me?" She ventured out. Given her personality, the idea was so improbable it bordered upon impossible.

Apparently, Tokio thought the same way. He stared at her strangely before shrugging. "You don't have to answer me if you don't want to. It's none of my business, anyway... Will you join Genji and his gang if he asked?"

Another abrupt subject change, and a loaded question if she has ever heard one. More and more, she began to suspect this wasn't just a coincidental meeting between the both of them. Someone is out for information.

"Most probably not," She admitted. "But that is a probability not to be taken for certainty."

"Given your… close friendship with Genji, automatically, people will consider you part of their gang." Tokio looked at her with an unreadable expression. "If you're not with us, then you're against us…"

"Heheh…" She scratched the back of her hoodie covered head in nervousness. She could feel the tension in the air now. "But, we can still be friends, right? Just because we're helping out our respective friends doesn't mean we ourselves can't be friends."

She gave him a hopeful smile but Tokio only returned a weak one. "It doesn't really work that way here, Sora." He said. "Here, your gangs are your friends."

Her smile dimmed as she considered his words. "Well, then, I guess I'll see you around."

Tokio nodded. "Oh yeah, Sora?"

"Yeap?" She looked up at him dully.

"Don't be so afraid of saying what you want next time. You don't owe anybody any explanations for the decisions you make for yourself. Just be firm. Remember that, ok?" He gave a wan smile and turned away. "I'll see you around school."

A myriad of emotions past through her as she watch him walk away. What was his last sentence about? They had just, in bland terms, severed their friendship, hadn't they? A part of her felt betrayed. She had helped him, hasn't she? That's not enough to remain friends? But another part of her understood his mentality. Group norms are common in Japan – a country well known for its collectivism. And it's not like she didn't 'betray' him by not joining him and his friends, either.

"He's right, you know." A deep voice sounded from her left, breaking through her reverie. Sora started and turned her head. Genji stood nonchalantly in the shadows of the thick trees, calmly lighting up a cigarette. "You really got stop being so cautious and just go for the things that you want…"

She grunted, and then started as she realised a single fact.

"You were there all along?" She asked, a sinking feeling blooming in her guts. Crap, has he heard her conversation with Tokio? Has he heard how vague she has been about being in his gang? Has he heard about her not joining his gang?

He nodded, moving out of the shrubs.

"Oh..." She said, looking down at her feet like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. What is she going to say now? What kind of excuse can she give? "Well, erm..."

"I'm glad you didn't join them." Genji mumbled.

"Eh?" She started, looking up at him with wide bespectacled eyes. Isn't He going to accuse her of betraying the group?

"Coz if you did, I'll be really pissed, but still, I probably won't be able to bring myself to hit you at all no matter what... Even if it's on the battle field."

HUH? What on earth is he trying to say? She understood the former part about being pissed. Hell, she would be if she was in his shoes, but the latter part? Sora stared blankly at Genji, trying to digest his mind boggling words. Strangely enough, instead of confusion, shock and disbelief warred within her as if her heart and body understood what her mind did not.

"... As it is, I'm just glad you didn't join them. You probably wouldn't join me if I asked, eh? Kinda expected it. You won't be able to decide between us and the Ebizuka trio anyway."

He's right on that one. Sora cringed as she heard him say that. Both Genji and the Ebizuka Trio are her friends. She didn't want to exclude either by joining one side. Hence, it's best if she doesn't join either group at all. But still, guilt welled up in her, adding to the surging mass of emotions inside her. Is he using some kind of reverse psychology on her? Can't be, he's not that devious. Surprisingly, Genji gave a rare chuckle and ruffled her hair.

"Don't look so serious." His lips twitched into an even rarer smile and his eyes twinkled, making him look even better-looking and even a tad bit dandyish. "It's OK, really. you don't really have to be on my side, as long as you're not on the side against me."

"Well, how do you expect me to look when you're talking shit like this?" Sora burst out, making him break out into a laugh. That was the first time she had seen him laugh. As the Chinese saying goes, there're happy occasions every day, but there're particularly several today.*

"Shit, eh?" Genji chortled. "You know this is the first time I've heard you cuss?"

She flushed, growling in her throat and glowering at him. "So what? It's also the first time today since I've met you that I've heard you laugh, or smile for that matter."

He gave a shrug. "Whatever it is, even if you did join other gangs, I'll still get your back."

Sora started in shock as she heard him. Is he being serious? A he turned and walked away, she stared at his retreating back.

"Why?" She hollered after him. Tokio had stated in no uncertain terms that she can either be his enemy or friend. And she has chosen the former. Why is he being different?

Her only answer was a short wave from him.

Really, Boys. Sora was still brooding deeply about the differences between Genji and Tokio even as she made her way to class 3E to find Chuta and perhaps even Makise.

"Sora!" The first thing she saw when she opened the classroom door was of a larger than life Chuuta flying towards the entrance AKA towards her. With reflexes honed by years of practice, she dodged out of the way, causing Chuta to smack against the wall behind her.

"What's wrong with you?" She demanded, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Well, um." Chuta fidgeted, rubbing his rather sore nose. "Izaki called Genji-san out."

"Izaki called Genji-san out?" Sora stared at Chuta blankly. "Er… So?"

She turned as if to enter into the classroom.

"So?" Chuta followed her into the classroom. Around them, students nodded respectfully to the both of them before turning away. "What are ya going to do about it?"

"Why should I do something about it?" Sora was careful now as she asked. At first when Chuta had told her that Izaki had called Genji out, she had dismissed it due to her irritation at being surprised. But now the more she thought about his words, the more uneasy she felt. From the way Chuta had stressed the words, it seems that Izaki's action of 'calling Genji out' has some significant meaning to it. But what? "Wait, what exactly does Calling Genji Out mean? Isn't it just like, getting him out of the classroom to talk or something?"

CHuta stared at her as if she's an idiot. "Well, both Izaki And Genji-san are leaders of their own class, right? When one leader calls another leader out, it's to discuss and settle any issues. Normally such issues involve taking over of one class by another, or if the underlings of one leader offended another leader, something like that. If no settlement can be reached, well, they lead their class to fight."

Sora stared at Chuta in fascination. More and more, it seemed like a rudimentary battle system, with rules and regulations governing each battle and fights, is starting to appear. "You guys have parley before fights?

"What's a parley?" he asked.

"Never mind." She mumbled, turning her mind back to the original issue at hand. Izaki called Genji out? Why? None of 3E offended 3C, so it must be because of the whole taking over class thing.

"Izaki's crazy, man." Chuta began again when Sora hadn't said anything. "He's not against fighting foul. What if he…?"

Sora frowned, understanding Chuta's concerns. The seed of uneasiness and worry in her grew exponentially. Genji may have gone alone, but not Izaki. If the talks deteriorated and a fight breaks out, who's going to back Genji up?

"So what are we gonna do?"

"We got to go find Genji." She decided. Izaki Shun isn't a person who plays by the rules. Suppose Izaki's gang numbers (at least) two whole class. However good in fighting Genji may be, taking on two classes worth of fighters is stretching it a tad bit much for him. And if Genji loses, rightfully, leadership of the combined 3 C&E classes will go to Izaki Shun. However, knowing Makise and Genji, they will definitely not accept Izaki as the leader. The resultant infighting will give the Serizawa Army a chance to move in to wipe out all three classes at one go. Better to get back up for Genji. "Round up some guys to find him."

"Right." Chuta nodded immediately. "Oy!"

"You can't do that." The classroom door slid open to reveal a rather determined looking Makise.

"Why's that?" Sora demanded. Why is Makise, of all people, stopping them? Isn't he part of Genji's gang now? Genji could be in trouble and here he is, stopping them from helping who should be the rightful leader of their combined gang.

"It's between the both of them." Makise said grimly, standing firmly at the doorway. "We have to stay out of it."

"Damnnit, Makise!" Chuta yelled, kicking a chair towards Makise in frustration. "Who knows what Izaki would do to Genji-san?"

"You gotta let them settle it on their own!" Makise said obstinately. "Whether Izaki is joining up with us or not depends on it."

"What the heck does that mean?" Sora exclaimed, pissed off that Makise was stopping them from finding Genji. . "Really, I'm beginning to think that you're not really on Genji's side as you said you would be!"

"Oh yeah? Who are you to judge? Are you really on his side as you ought to be?" Makise retaliated. "Don't think Genji's the only one who saw what happened between you and Tokio just now -"

Sora blanched when she heard that, but Makise wasn't done. "- Genji may be fine with you not joining us but not me. You better make your stance clear! Weaklings who can't decide on which gang they wanna be in don't last very long in Suzuran."

"You…" Sora growled, her fists clenched tightly by her side.

"What?" Makise raised his chin, daring her to continue. He shook his fist menacingly, though that didn't deter Sora one bit. Perhaps in normal circumstances, she would have high tailed it out of there but for now, she couldn't care less.

"Enough!" Surprisingly (or maybe not), it was Chuta who broke up the fight. "Damn it all! Genji-san's the priority right now. Leave your fight for later."

Both of them glared sullenly at each other but neither of them said anything for a moment.

"I was the one who asked Izaki to meet with Genji." Makise began sullenly. He picked up the chair that Chuta had kicked in his frustration, and sat down on it. "Genji wanted Izaki's class to join us, so I arranged a meeting between them to talk it out. Whatever Izaki had up his sleeve, he promised me he won't take it too far, and on the condition Genji meets him alone. Genji agreed."

"We just have to trust the both of them to come to a conclusion that is good for all of us. And I do trust the both of them." Makise said. "For now, we should wait."

There was silence in the classroom after Makise's little truth-out. Sora hesitated and then proceeded to make herself comfortable on a nearby chair. Chuta followed, after reassuring everyone in the classroom. She folded her arms on the table and rests her cheek on them. Makise's right. For now, they can only trust both Genji and wait. And that's the worst part. The clock seemed to tick by so slowly. It's seemed like aeons past when the rest of their classmates drifted back home. And it seemed like forever when the sun began to set, casting a bright orange glow in the classroom where only the three of them remain. Still, no sight of Genji or Izaki.

"Hey Makise," Sora began hesitantly. "Well, I'm sorry for doubting your loyalty to Genji."

A grunt was all she heard. She winced inwardly. Looks like she really offended Makise big time.

"I shouldn't have called you a weakling either. My bad." Makise said grudgingly. "Genji trusts you a lot. Based on this, I should have trusted you, and him, too. 'Sides, you don't seem to be the kind to abandon your friends. Guess you must have your own reason. "

"You guys are my friends." She admitted. "But the Ebizuka Trio are my friends too. If I joined you guys, I'll be betraying them, and vice versa. Ask me to choose between Tamao and you guys, I'll choose you guys hands down. Ask me to choose between you guys and Ebizuka Trio, that's impossible."

"So that's why you refused to join us. Che." Makise said, smiling a little - an expression that made him look scarier than his 'angry' expression. Chuta remained quiet throughout their conversation but he was smiling quietly. Sora has to revise her opinion of him now. He wasn't just a simple minded blockhead anymore. Chuta has more than a few brain cells in him.

BANG!

The classroom door slid open, crashing against the door frame loudly. The three of them turned sharply as one, staring at the doorway. Izaki Shun stood there, with an unconscious Genji over his right shoulder. Sora gave a loud gasp as she took in the scene and what appeared to be a defeated Genji.

"Genji-san!" Chuta gasped.

Makise and Chuta hurried to help a badly bruised and bloody Genji down onto the tables which Sora hastily put together to form a make shift bed. She quickly removed and rolled up her bulky school jacket to form a small pillow of sorts. Gently, she tucked it underneath his head and took a tissue paper out in order to clean the blood off his wounds. She should have brought bandages and antiseptic. Come to think of it, why hadn't she thought about using the long waiting time to go outside and get them?

"Damnnit, Izaki!" Makise roared, kicking a nearby table away from him. Despite focusing majority of her attention on Genji's wounds, a small part of her still noted his anger and she could understand it. Izaki failed to honour his promise that Makise was holding him to. In a way, Makise's credibility would be lost as well. But most importantly, his friend - and leader - was hurt – badly. Makise contributed indirectly to that. Guilt - and the knowledge that one have cause harm to one's friends - is one of the hardest emotions to bear.

Izaki remained unfazed by his anger.

"Why'd you get behind this guy?" He asked, in a tone of scepticism, as if he really couldn't understand why Makise would want to follow Genji. Sora glanced sharply at him. Underneath all that, she could detect a strange undercurrent of emotion in Izaki's voice. What it was exactly, Sora has no idea. But she could empathise. The closest she could come to describe it would be a need for answers – for enlightenment, perhaps. "Don't say its cause he tried to get you laid."

Makise faltered. "No reason… Not one that I can explain, anyway."

Satisfied that Genji's wounds would not be serious, Sora looked up at Izaki with a steady calm expression. Izaki was not satisfied with Makise's answers, if his frowning expression was anything to go by, and he turned away. But Sora could tell from the way he firmly holds himself, straight and unflinching, that he has already made up his mind.

But what is his decision?

"You tell him this:" Izaki turned his face back and Sora saw a small cocky smirk on his face. She let out a breath that she had been unaware that she was holding at all. A small smile bloomed on her face as she eyed Genji. "Tomorrow, I'll show him how to throw darts."

Step 3 of Operation Conquest – Complete.

* 好事天天有，今天特别多 (For those who knows Chinese =X)

Author's Notes:

When I made that remark about reviews in Chp 4, I honestly wasn't expecting it to lead to so many reviews and alerts. I'm honestly and extremely grateful for them. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. But the stress each alert and review gave me each time I opened my email box to find them was… _ Still, it is positive stress that did force me to stimulate my brain power and so, here it is, chapter 5 and the longest chapter to date, not that there really were a lot of chapters.

When I first started this story, the aim was to explore the both the internal and external environment of Suzuran. Both movies and the manga hadn't focused much on them so my aim has been to try to relate Suzuran to the outside world as best as I could. =X So probably, there will be a lot from Sora's POV that will not be focused entirely on Suzuran and our favourite gangsters.

Btw, Almighty Stalker brought up some questions. Here are my answers, addressed to everyone reading:

Regarding pairings: No, I didn't consider pairings yet. Would you guys like pairings? If, and IF, there is a pairing, who would you like her with? Bear in mind, pairings are still a probability and not a certainty. =X

Regarding violence: I'm guessing you're talking about fight scenes. I'm not that good in writing that I can write fight scenes. I will try though, since you want more violence. But there really won't be much in the upcoming chapters, as I already made my stance that Sora won't be a fighter. So, yeah.

I'm curious. What are your impressions of Asamori Sora, and of the portrayals of the few canon characters so far?