1/13, Wed

Early morning - Shujin Gates

News in regards to the transfer student dropping in on the third semester had spread rather quickly throughout Shujin Academy, and whether or not that was a good thing was anyone's guess at this point.

Of course, with every new student came a new wave of rumors. Such was par for the course in regards to newcomers, and although they were rather tame for now, they would no doubt spiral out of control until the next big thing happened in the academy. Such was the way of life, even in a prep school like Shujin.

For her part, Haru Okumura did her best to ignore these rumors, as they did little to affect her everyday life. This was the final third of her second year, after all, and she needed to focus if she wished to pass the finals. She had spent a good chunk of her time prior to now studying for the exams that would start up in February during her Winter Break, and though she was confident in her abilities, she reckoned that it was never a bad thing to be over-prepared.

Perhaps her father would pat her on the head if she managed to pass it with flying colours… though considering how he had essentially sold her off to be married to that punk Sugimaru, a small part of Haru doubted this…

"I think I saw the new kid just now…"

"He was kinda weird…"

"His hair was very girly looking… do you think he dyed it?"

"I dunno about you guys, but something about his attitude rubs me the wrong way…"

"There's something oddly attractive about how mysterious he's being…"

Ah, there they were. The rumors in regards to the new kid. Not even a few hours after he had been inducted, the students of Haru's class in particular were already chatting about him. This continued from lunch break all the way till the end of the day, and though she did overhear the conversations in regards to this pink haired delinquent, Haru paid them very little mind. Considering her status, Okumura was very much used to blocking out gossip, and it served her well, even if she never thought she'd have to use that particular skill in school, of all places.

Classes had ended rather quickly, regardless of the rumors, though Haru did linger behind to get a few more minutes to herself before she left her classroom, though rather than leav the school building, young miss Okumura instead moved on to some of the flowers that lined the front entrance to Shujin.

Haru very much enjoyed tending to plants, and those in Shujin were no exception. The few spots that had flora on them weren't as extravagant as those in her family estate, but even so… there was always a sense of serenity to be had whenever she tended to the humbler flower pots in her school. She had been surprised at just how easy her request to tend to the flowers had been approved by the principal, though she suspected that her status as an Okumura had something to do with it…

Well, it wasn't as though she was complaining about it, anyways. The small yet beautiful patches of flowers were very much a calming presence in her life, and by all means, she felt as though she could spend hours tending to them without getting bored, but alas, she could not do such a thing, and before long, she'd have to part ways with the flora she enjoyed being around.

Saddening… but many things in her life were, so it wasn't too big a deal, she supposed…

Regardless of her sadness in regards to how limited her time of happiness was starting to become, especially as her time in Shujin slowly but surely came to an end, Okumura still managed a smile as she thought about how healthy the flowers had been after she had watered them for the past few days, especially after they had been more or less neglected after the long Winter Break. They weren't perfect, things rarely ever were… but even so, they were still a good source of stress relief, something that Haru desperately needed these days, and with a huff, she exited the front entrance to Shujin and stepped out, hoping to retrieve a watering can as quickly as possible so that she could water the little plants.

And yet, right as she stepped through the aforementioned door, Haru Okumura found herself pausing briefly when she realized that she had not been the only person that had planned to oversee the plants by the entrance, as she was quick to notice a fellow Shujin student crouching by the flowers and observing them silently, with his bag sitting on the ground beside him all the while.

That was… strange to see, to say the least. Haru had remained behind to study for the better part of the past hour, more than enough time for a good majority of the students, barring those with club activities, to leave the school. Not many of them tended to loiter around for so long, and yet… here this boy was, crouching by one of the flower pots and examining one of its blossoming buds with a melancholic gaze.

For a brief few moments, Haru simply stared down at the boy in silence, with her opening her mouth at one point to say something that would get his attention. Before the words could leave her, however, she found them dying in her throat when she realized that… something about this guy seemed… familiar to him. His hair colour and his expression reminded her of all the rumors that had been circulating around Shujin this past day regarding the transfer student… but at the same time, the familiarity with Okumura seemed to extend far beyond mere rumors.

No… it went further than that. In truth, it felt almost as though… as though Haru had met this boy before in the past, and as her mind tried to process this information, she found herself growing silent as she stared at the crouching boy curiously.

"..."

"..."

"...?"

"...!"

Not long thereafter, however, her presence was noticed by the boy, whose gaze abruptly snapped from the flowers he had been observing and darted over to Haru's smaller frame, and in an instant, he grunted and stood up to his maximum height, which was just a few centimetres above Okumura's, though that wasn't exactly saying much, considering how she was a little below average when it came to girls her age.

Regardless of her height, however, the boy's sudden movement, and his admittedly heated gaze, be it intentional or not, caused her to flinch as she took a measured step backwards, with her breath hitching a little as a handful of… unpleasant memories flooded back to her in regards to her fiance's treatment towards her. For all it was worth, however, the boy did seem to notice her discomfort as he slouched his shoulders a fair bit and lowered his gaze, a telltale sign of sheepishness or guilt as he crossed his arms and took a step back as well.

After seeing him back down a little, Haru gulped and turned her attention back towards him and gave him a quick once over, and it took her very little to confirm that this boy was no doubt the transfer student that people were whispering about over the course of the day.

Height aside, the boy had a head full of pink/light brown hair that was brushed down, with a goofy little ahoge sticking up on top of his head, and a pair of sky blue eyes. His attire was the typical Shujin male uniform, albeit a little crumpled and perhaps a size too large. Okumura faintly took note of how the school crest was just a tiny bit crooked, something that amused her more than anything as she stared at the boy before her meekly.

Vice versa, however, the boy was doing his best to avoid direct eye contact with her. Was she making him uncomfortable…? Perhaps, but even so… it might've been weird of her to say this, but she herself was growing a little uncomfortable as well… albeit not in a way that she was familiar with.

Strange… the longer she stared at him, the more… familiar the boy felt to her. Something about the way his hair looked and how his eyes gazed at her made Haru shudder a tiny bit as she recalled… something from her past, but she wasn't able to piece it together just yet as she frowned and rubbed at her head. At the same time, the pink haired boy mirrored the gesture, only to grimace as he crouched down to retrieve his bag, mere moments before Okumura could recover and try to speak to him normally.

"... sorry for intruding," apologised the boy as he slung his bag over his left shoulder, and without waiting for a response, he moved to leave the school grounds. Flinching a fair bit at his seeming overreaction, Haru gulped and took a step towards him, holding a hand out all the while.

"W-Wait, it's…

"... fine! You can stay here if you want!"

Pausing briefly, the boy stiffened and looked back at Haru with a confused and somewhat… frightened expression, his eyes reflecting that emotion all the while. His lips, which were once pressed into a thin line, parted into an O as he processed what he was just told, and as he did so, he turned to glance back at Okumura with an expression of shock.

And yet, despite her assurances, the pink haired boy, after breaking eye contact with her, still left the school grounds, seeming somewhat… uncertain all the while. Haru felt a little hurt by the gesture, though she didn't pursue him as she watched the boy disappear from view, and yet… all the while, she couldn't help but wonder…

'Who was that boy… and why did he feel so familiar to me…?'