This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Rascal Does Not Dream light novel series, which was written by Hajime Kamoshida. I do not claim ownership of these characters or the plot of the original series.

I thank Kamoshida for the story and the characters he has created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

School started a few days later. Having already travelled to Minegahara for her meeting with Watanabe-sensei and Minami-sensei, and before that for her entrance exams and her application submission, this shouldn't have been so nerve-wracking. But it was. Before the chances of her running into her father had been small, so while she'd been prepared for the possibility she had also gone in with the expectation that she wouldn't be meeting him.

Now she knew it was only a matter of time. Both Shoko and her father would be in the same building all day. He might be one of her teachers, but even if he wasn't the chances of bumping into him in the hallways were high. There was no way Shoko could avoid him.

She stood in the assembly hall on high alert. Watanabe-sensei was giving a speech, welcoming them to a new school year, but Shoko wasn't listening. Teachers lined the walls, and Shoko had to force herself not to go searching for her father. She'd draw all sorts of attention if she went looking all around the hall, nervous and fidgeting. And while she wanted to meet her father, she didn't want him to see her like that. A wreck.

So the assembly passed without a sighting of Sakuta Azusagawa. As Shoko funnelled out with the rest of the students she tried to cast a surreptitious glance around the hall, but she didn't see him. He was here, right? This wasn't all going to be for nothing.

She made her way to class 1-1 and found her seat, nerves jangling.

"Hello," a cheerful girl with short brown hair greeted her. "I'm Miki Sugita. Nice to meet you."

Shoko quickly hurried to plaster a smile on her face.

"Shoko Sakurajima," she replied with a bright, fake voice. "Nice to meet you too."

She may have been incredibly nervous, but she was still an actress. She could put up an act to fool any high school girl.

"Do you have an older sister?" Sugita wondered.

Shoko raised an eyebrow.

"No," she said. "I'm an only child."

"Really," Sugita frowned. "You seem familiar. I thought maybe you had an older sister who was friends with Fuyuko. That's my sister's name. She graduated last year."

"Ah," said Shoko. "Well, I may not have an older sister, but I'm not surprised you recognise me. I'm an actress."

Sugita's eyebrows raised, and then she seemed to remember something, her eyes going wide.

"You were in that horror movie," she gasped. "I remember, you had this really creepy smile."

"That's where you remember me from?" Shoko laughed. She would have expected one of her more family friendly roles. "Are you a big horror fan, then?"

"Oh, no," said Sugita, looking embarrassed. "Fuyuko is and, well, every time I walk in on her watching something horror-related she forces me to stay. I think she finds it funny how scared I get."

Their conversation had caught the attention of some of the other girls around them.

"Did you say you're an actress?"

"For real? That's so cool."

"What sort of movies have you been in?"

It was always the same. When people met Shoko the first time they were always interested in her. But it wouldn't last. The same girls who surrounded her desk, showering her with excitement and praise, would soon forget about her once she started disappearing off for work. Shoko was used to it. So she put on her best smile, pretended to cheerfully answer their questions, well aware that in just a few weeks she'd never be talking to these girls again.

Shoko didn't have to pretend for long before Minami-sensei arrived. The young teacher introduced herself cheerfully, and then had everyone stand up and say a little about themselves. When it was Shoko's turn she gave the classroom her best smile, told them that she was an actress, and apologised for the fact she would be in and out of school so much.

After their introductions Minami-sensei handed out their school timetables. This was something Shoko had been waiting for with bated breath, and she quickly scanned her copy for a single name. Azusagawa.

It occurred to Shoko that she'd never thought to ask Nodoka what subject her father taught. If he wasn't going to be one of her teachers then finding an opportunity to speak to him might be more difficult than she imagined.

But that wasn't a problem. Tuesday morning their first lesson of the day was Math, taught by Azusagawa-sensei. That would be when they met. That would be the day she meets her father.

Shoko gulped.

Knowing that Azusagawa-sensei would be teaching her filled Shoko with nerves. But the fact her first class with him wasn't until the next day gave her some relief. So Shoko was able to enjoy her first day at Minegahara High more than she'd thought. She focused on her schoolwork during lessons, and ate with Sugita and the girls at lunch. When she walked down to the school gates along with the rest of the Minegahara students after the final bell rang she felt strangely at ease.

That didn't last long. That night she tossed and turned in her sleep. She had a dream, one patchy and unintelligible, leaving her with the strange sensation that she'd already lived through the next day. But Shoko knew better than to believe it. It was just her imagination running wild thinking about what was going to happen in the day beyond.

The next morning she did herself up well, putting the same level of care and effort into her appearance as she had the day before, and she made sure to leave the apartment slightly early so that she could be sure there would be no accidents that would cause her to be late for school. She rode the train to Shichirigahama station just as she had the day before and sat at her desk in class 1-1.

All around her the girls she'd talked with the day before filed in, starting conversation, completely oblivious to Shoko's nerves. They laughed, as though this were any other day, and whispered to each other even as Minami-sensei started reading out the school announcements.

Then the bell rang, Minami-sensei left, and the class waited for their math teacher to arrive.

Watching the seconds tick away on the clock at the front of the classroom, Shoko felt like she was going to be sick.

"Are you alright?" Sugita was sitting at a desk in the row behind her. She leaned forward, looking at Shoko's face. "You look pale."

Shoko put on a smile.

"It's alright, I'm just not very good at math," she lied. "My math teacher in middle school was very strict, and scolded me constantly."

"Ugh, I hate that," one of the other girls commented, barely glancing over.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Sugita offered comfortingly. "Fuyuko had Azusagawa-sensei as her homeroom teacher and she said he's cool."

"What a relief," said Shoko. Though inside her mind went haywire. What exactly did she mean by cool? Was he the sort of hip teacher who made jokes and pop-culture references? Or was he really laid back and let his students get away with things other teachers wouldn't?

As she was wondering this the bell rang and Azusagawa-sensei stepped into the room.

Sakuta Azusagawa was an unassuming man. Nodoka had shown Shoko a picture on her phone, and even though he was clearly much older now he looked very much the same. Light, messy hair that had clearly been left the way it was when he'd woken up that morning. A slim build without any real muscle to speak of. And dull, lifeless eyes that surveyed the room with an air of disinterest.

This was her father?

"Good morning," he greeted, his voice a low drone. His entire expression gave the appearance of someone who didn't want to be there, and as the students returned his greeting he turned to the whiteboard and started writing.

His name, as it turned out.

"I'm Sakuta Azusagawa," he introduced. "You may call me Azusagawa-sensei. If you don't, I won't care, but the principal might so good luck, I guess."

Sugita shot Shoko a look, clearly reassuring her that he was exactly as her sister had described, so there was nothing to worry about. If only she knew half of what was going through Shoko's head right now.

Azusagawa-sensei had the class introduce themselves. One by one, starting from the front of the classroom and moving backwards, the students stood up at their desks and stated their name. Azusagawa-sensei gave a slight acknowledgement to each before moving on to the next one.

Shoko should probably have been paying attention. This was her class so she should get to know the people she would be spending the next three years going to school with. But she just couldn't focus. All she could think about was what would happen when it was her turn to speak.

And as if reading her mind Azusagawa-sensei looked at her, and she hurriedly got to her feet.

"Shoko Sakurajima," she said, bowing before quickly sitting back down. All of a sudden she found it incredibly difficult to look at him, her face burning as she stared into her desk. She needed to know his reaction, needed to see what he thought of his own daughter being in his class. She needed to look up.

Slowly, she raised her head.

"Rokuro Sato."

Her head snapped sideways at the last second as the boy next to her stated his name. Sato sat back down and Shoko quickly looked over to the teacher. He wasn't looking at her. He didn't seem remotely bothered, moving on to the next student with the same bored expression.

Did he not care?

Shoko expected that she would be unable to focus for the rest of class, but she was surprised by how easy it was to fall into the normal pattern of school life, despite the identity of the man teaching her. Maybe it was his relaxed, almost casual style of teaching that seemed to remove any tension in the room. Or maybe it was just the presence of something normal that Shoko's fractured psyche was so desperate to latch on to.

Nevertheless, the math class passed by remarkably quickly, and soon enough the bell rang signalling the start of break period.

"Sakurajima," Azusagawa-sensei called over the class as the students started filtering out of the room. None of them wanted to remain stuck at their desks during break. "Could I have a word before you leave?"

Shoko blinked. Wait, so he had recognised her? Or was this something completely unrelated?

"Come find us when you're done," said Sugita as she and a couple of other girls headed for the door. Soon enough the room had completely emptied, leaving only Shoko and Azusagawa-sensei.

Hesitantly, Shoko approached the front of the class. Azusagawa-sensei had his back to her, wiping off the equations he'd scribbled on the whiteboard, and Shoko made it all the way to the lectern before he turned.

"Sakurajima," he said, giving her a once over as she stood before him. "Do you know what I want to talk about?"

Shoko wanted to say yes. But she dared not expect it.

Azusagawa's eyes seemed to bore into her. It was as though he was able to read her mind, and she tried to put her best quizzical expression in place. She was an actor, after all. She couldn't let him see through her so easily.

Azusagawa's lips twitched.

"I've been told that you are continuing your acting career while in high school," he said. "I just wanted to let you know that, while we will be supportive, your acting career is no excuse for poor grades."

Shoko blinked.

"My grades are good," she responded, somewhat sullenly. She did work hard to keep up with schoolwork. She'd managed to pass the entrance exam for Minegahara, after all. It wasn't an easy school to get into.

"And I expect them to remain so," said Azusagawa-sensei without missing a beat. "Your homeroom teacher will be coordinating with you on any assignments you missed due to being away from school, but I want to stress that this is important to each of your teachers. Including me."

Did he know how much that meant to her? Did he realise he wasn't just some random teacher?

Shoko bowed her head.

"Is that everything?" She asked.

"Unless you have something you want to ask me."

Again, there was that stare. The one that seemed to peer into her very soul. It was almost as though he knew that there was something she so desperately wanted to say.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"No sir," she said, shaking her head.

Azusagawa's head tilted ever so slightly to the side.

"Very well," he said, gathering up his notes. "Then I'll see you in our next class." And he walked out of the room.

A/N: And that's all for this chapter. Please join me again for Chapter 4: Finding Strength.