I'm alive! Exams are over! Most of my holidays were taken up by a five-day school tour, so I could only update today. I actually started this chapter well before the exams, but I was never happy with it. I rewrote it so many times I can't bear to read it anymore. So, the update was delayed. Sorry.

To Fanfic Lover:A prefect is basically a student who has been given some authority or control over other students. I guess they're a bit like monitors. I don't think Japanese schools have prefects (I think that they stick with Student Councils), but I'm not too familiar with the Japanese education system, so I'm not going to follow it. Thank you for reviewing!

As always, thanks to all the reviewers:

mortiferum aestus

oblivion of doom

LuvvAlexander

Soul Vrazy

DaPurpleDino

Fanfic Lover

MissMeep

Sajeka

And now, back to the story.

Yukimura Seichii had single-handedly managed to clear the entrance hall of its occupants. And all he had done was smile at them. Sweetly.

Now, his plan was all set for action. But there was just one, tiny problem: his victims were running late.

He blew a strand of hair out of his face, shifting the heavy stack of books in his arms. His school ID card balanced precariously on top of the pile. The moment Fuji had informed him that Echizen was here, he had grabbed the first books he could find and had come running down the stairs, and only now did it occur to him that he had grabbed way too many.

Sighing, he checked his watch and waited some more.

Finally, the door of the principal's office opened, and a young woman came out. She had light brown hair and sharp blue eyes, which reminded him strongly of a certain sadist. Yukimura quickly turned his back to her and busied himself by looking at the notifications hanging on the wall, acting like he hadn't been waiting there for the past ten minutes.

'So his father isn't here? Pity…It would have been more interesting to meet him.'

He heard a dull thud as the door slammed shut, but he didn't turn around. Instead, he waited for her to notice him. A few moments passed, and then he heard her footsteps as she walked towards him.

"Excuse me, are you a student here?"

The answer was obvious, but he nodded anyway. "Hai. Yukimura Seichii," he said, bowing slightly.

At that moment, he just happened to lose his grip on his books, and they just happened to fall tumbling to the ground. He cursed and bent down to pick them up, and he just happened to pick up all his books before his ID card.

The woman bent down beside him, and started helping. Her gaze fell on his ID card, and she picked it up slowly. Once she read the words 'Head Boy of Kaganeiro High', her eyes sparkled.

All according to plan. 'I should use this technique more often,' he thought. 'It's a lot better than having Kikumaru come screaming "HEAD BOYY!" into the hall.'

The woman looked at him with new respect. "Oh, so you're the head boy? My son is new here – we've only just moved to Japan, you see – and I was told that Kaganeiro was the best in the country, and that all the students get more than ninety percent in the Final exams, so I decided to send him here. Is the school really as good as they say?" She spoke very quickly, without pausing between her words, and her sharp eyes watched his every movement, judging him, trying to figure out if the school had a worthy head boy.

Yukimura struggled to keep his smile in place. "Most of the time, yes. The people who can't do so generally commit suicide before the Finals." He said this casually, and watched carefully for her reaction.

"So I've heard," she said, just as casually. "But my son isn't that stupid." And that was all.

"They push us really hard," Yukimura went on. "We work continuously, and anyone who fails to meet the expected standard is punished quite severely. The pressure…" he shook his head slowly. "I just hope your son can handle it."

The woman seemed to consider this. "Pressure is good," she finally said. "It always brings good results."

Yukimura couldn't help it. He smirked. Then, bowing once more, he excused himself and headed back to the fifth floor.

On the way, he pulled out his phone and quickly texted a message to Fuji Syuusuke: 'His father wasn't here. But his mother is just like everyone else.'

Moments later, his phone pinged as he received a reply: 'I knew it.'

"So, this is Yukimura's and Sanada's room, this is Mukahi's and Oshitari's, and this-" Fuji paused dramatically, gesturing towards another room, "-is our room."

In his enthusiasm, he failed to realize that their room door was closed. Ryoma stared at it blankly. Finally, something clicked in Fuji's mind, and he opened it.

The room was bigger than the other ones he had seen, since it was supposed to hold three people. The walls were plain white, and three beds were lined up against the walls, each separated by a desk and a chest of drawers.

The left side of the room was…messy. Really messy. Ryoma could barely see the desk underneath the piles of books, papers, and files. The wall next to it was covered with posters of tennis players, rock stars, and food(?), with each poster overlapping the other. Basically, the place looked like it belonged to someone who wasn't very smart, so he presumed that it belonged to Kirihara. The danger sign, with the skull and crossbows pasted messily above the posters confirmed it.

The middle part of the room was neat and orderly – almost sparkling clean, and it probably belonged to Fuji. On the walls were beautiful photographs of the ocean, trees, sunsets, rainbows...Ryoma briefly wondered if Fuji had taken them all himself. There were also a few photographs of people, and next to it, was a huge diagram of the human brain, that was so detailed and gruesome that it even freaked Ryoma out.

The right side of the room was empty. The walls were bare, the bed was untouched, and the desk had nothing on it.

"That's where you'll be staying for the next three years," Fuji said, smiling happily. "If you last that long, that is. I said the same thing to another junior once, and he killed himself three months later." Fuji's smile didn't waver once.

Ryoma stared at him. This guy was talking about people dying the way a person would talk about getting a birthday present.

He wordlessly started dragging his trunk inside. After watching him struggle with it for a good fifteen seconds, Fuji decided to help him.

Together, they hauled it across the room, and finally dumped it on his bed. Ryoma sat down, starting to unpack, and Fuji sat on his own bed, watching him closely. His stare unnerved Ryoma, but he pretended not to notice.

The second he opened the trunk, a small, fluffy object jumped out at him.

"Karupin!?"

The cat meowed in response, and snuggled against her owner. Ryoma forgot all about Fuji and hugged her back, smiling happily. "How did you get here? Did you follow me again? How many times have I told you to stay when I tell you to?"

Fuji coughed slightly, and Ryoma suddenly remembered where he was. He looked at Fuji sheepishly. "Er…are cats allowed at school?"

Fuji shrugged. "Kaidoh used to have one once. They're allowed as long as they don't bother anybody. Make sure she stays on our floor, okay?"

Ryoma nodded, then continued pulling things out at random. Karupin settled comfortably on his lap.

An extra uniform. Clothes. His cap…he wouldn't be needing that here. A pair of shoes. His Phys Ed uniform. One of Karupin's toys…? So maybe that was why she was here... A few books, notebooks, files, stationary, a toothbrush…Aha. Photographs.

He hadn't really wanted to bring them, but his cousin had insisted that hanging them up on his walls would make him feel better. However, he still wasn't very keen on the idea.

Fuji seemed to notice this (or he read his mind again). "Trust me, it helps. Bare walls are depressing. Do you want help hanging them up?"

Ryoma shrugged. It couldn't hurt.

The photos were of various things. His happiest moments, his favorite places, his old friends, his cat, his family, his cousin…it was all there.

Fuji started hanging the pictures up at random, while Ryoma looked through the pile. Once he spotted an overly familiar one, he stopped and stared at it.

The picture had been taken in America, outside his house. He was smiling for once, his golden eyes shining in amusement. Next to him was a blonde boy, with his arms around Ryoma's shoulders, grinning like a lunatic, his grayish blue eyes glinting mischievously.

His best friend, Kevin Smith. A wry smile made its way to Ryoma's face.

Fuji looked at him curiously. "Who's that?"

Ryoma shrugged. "A friend. I met him in America."

A few moments later, Fuji found another interesting picture, and his eyebrows arched up in surprise. "This guy looks just like you! Is he a relative?"

Ryoma turned sharply, and as he saw the photo that Fuji was holding, his eyes widened in shock. A moment later, they narrowed. He was sure he hadn't brought that picture, he'd made a point to leave it behind. His mother wouldn't have put it in his bag, either – she'd wanted to throw it in the trash. That left only one option: his cousin, Nanako.

Just looking at the face in the photograph made him furious, and it triggered too many memories, but he forced his face to remain emotionless.

"It's none of your business."

In one swift motion, he grabbed the photograph, pulled open the bottom drawer of his shelf, and stuffed the photo into the back corner. There was no way he was putting that up on the wall.

Fuji's smile disappeared, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. Ryoma refused to look at him.

"Wait, so you don't even remember him?" Kevin stared at him in disbelief. "Just how young were you?"

Ryoma scrunched his eyebrows up in confusion. "He says I was five…"

The two of them were stretched out under their favorite tree in the park. The sun was setting slowly, giving the whole place a golden glow. But Ryoma wasn't in the mood to enjoy the scene that day.

"You don't remember anything?"

"I remember some things, but they're very vague... We used to have an orchard behind the house, and I remember him stealing my oranges there." He frowned. " He never peeled them – he always ate the whole thing. And I think I remember Karupin chasing him around…but I never remembered the fact that he was my brother." He closed his eyes and sighed quietly.

Kevin stared up at the sky. "I don't get why he turned up now. Did he already know that…?" he looked at his best friend knowingly.

Ryoma nodded. "Yes. I think that's why he came." His frown deepened. "Kaa-san hates him."

Kevin smirked. "Of course she would. Most women would hate the son of another wife of their husband."

When Ryoma had finally finished unpacking, Fuji suggested that they go around the school, so that Ryoma could meet the rest of the students of the fourth floor.

The first person they bumped into was third year Kikumaru Eiji, who had pounced on Ryoma and given him a death hug the moment they met. Apparently, this was how he generally greeted everyone.

Then, they met another third year, Akutagawa Jiroh, who yawned, said hello, yawned again, and then fell asleep. Apparently he greeted everyone that way, too.

Next, they met third year Shishido Ryou, who introduced himself normally, and left. Ryoma decided that he was the only person he'd seen so far who wasn't partially crazy.

He slammed into Kaidoh Kaoru (a second year) as he turned a corner, and said boy hissed at him and stomped away without introducing himself. It was Fuji who had told him what his name was.

Third years Inui Sadaharu and Yanagi Renji told him that there was a ninety seven point nine eight percent chance that he was so short because he wasn't drinking enough milk, and offered him a glass of something that strongly resembled tar that would help him grow faster. Luckily for him, he had the sense to refuse the strange…thing.

As they headed towards the entrance hall, something that vaguely resembled a red object came flying towards him at full speed, knocking him to the ground, and sitting on top of him. The red object seemed strangely familiar…

"KOSHIMAE!"

Ryoma's eyes widened. "You!"

The boy grinned at him. "Yay! You remember me!"

Fuji chuckled softly. "Ah, yes, I forgot to mention. Apparently he knows you too."

Ryoma scowled. "Well, I don't know him! "

Fuji raised an eyebrow, and the boy protested loudly. Ryoma quickly continued talking. "I've met him, since he used to chase me around the city on a tricycle. But I don't know who he is."

Fuji sweat dropped. "Kintarou…it never occured to you to introduce yourself to him?"

Kintarou pouted. "I just wanted to play a match with him, but he kept running away!"

"You were chasing me on a tricycle."

"If you'd stopped running, I wouldn't have!"

Ryoma shook his head. This year was getting better every moment.

How was it? Please review!