~ If You Listen Closely ~ Original Romance

[Suzaku]

The soft beams of sunlight glittered off of the darkened windows of the limousine as Miyu stepped out of the car and onto the walkway that lead to the entrance of Aijo Kotogakko.

"Thank you Charles, that will be far enough." Charles the butler bowed graciously and closed the door to the car.

"Please do attempt to stay out of trouble young miss." He rolled away too late not to hear the responding snort of derision as the well dressed girl slowly made her way towards the welcoming arms of a new school term.

Nothing had changed since last year. The teachers were all scrutinizing the new arrivals for uniform violations, while most of the transfers gazed around in awe at their surroundings. Miyu felt a sudden urge to shake every single one of them fiercely and shout "YES, it has a wall! Is that so unusual?!" But she instead settled for flipping her hair over her shoulder and ignoring their existence all together.

The door to the kendo club, which was located just outside of the doors to the main building, swung open and the self-proclaimed princess of Aijo Kotogakko entered.

"Is Haruka here?" She asked, her words somewhat polite, but her tone implying a distaste for the sweaty halls of martial arts. When no one answered she stepped forward and tapped the face mask of the team captain.

"Haruka?"

"Not here." He answered almost as rudely as she had asked.

Miyu then spun on her heels and stormed off, the absence of her friend only fueling the annoyance within her. Of all the days that slacker girl had to miss, why was it this one?!

The intercom crackled with life briefly and the new assistant's voice rang throughout the busy halls.

"All students please report to the assembly hall for entrance ceremony. Once again, all students please report-"

By now Miyu had of course stormed off and was picking her way through the small crowd that had accumulated in front of the hall. She made an annoyed click when her efforts to squeeze through failed, and waited for several minutes before the Judo instructor Mr. Ryohei pushed the entire crowd through the door. She glanced around the hall for a second in the hope of finding Haruka, but it was doomed to failure. She finally conceded and took a seat in the very back, watching the secretary Ayako shuffle through a formidable stack of paper. She sighed mournfully. The summer vacation had seemed so short.

[Rikken Omnious]

Roji looked around at the school. And huffed. Typical. he said to himself as he walked towards the school enterance. He watched as a fine black limousine rolled into view. He assumed one of the teachers. But he was mistaken. A girl slightly younger than him exited the car. She entered the school. Roji looked at the car once again before entering the school behind her. Hands in his pockets.

He walked into the extravagant enterance hall. Ignoring the teachers checking uniforms. A clever manipulation of sorts, had allowed him to slip though unnoticed by teachers. He stood in the enterance hall for a few minutes. He saw that girl again, this time trying to get into the hall. A male teacher quickly followed her pushing the students inside. He walked in behind the teacher. Taking a seat in the hall.

[snowdog]

Yoichi tugged at the uncomfortable collar of his gakuran as he ambled along the path leading towards the school. A number of other students were heading that way, as to be expected, but few seemed to speak to eachother at all. Pacing alongside them, silent, and quick in his step, he just wanted to get to the assembly hall on time. Thanks to the fussing of his mother, he had ended up having to run through Kitamachi just to be sure he'd have a chance of being there for nine. Today was a warm day, thankfully, so there was little to carry in his shoulder bag. He had nothing but pens, papers, and a few letters he had received from the school.

Now, he was just outside of the welcoming-looking building. He could see a few facilities around, and it was easy to notice the assembly hall, just to the side of the main building. It was a large place, grand, and well-built, with two large doors led up to by some stone steps. Pacing up them, following an irritated-looking girl, and a similarly-faced boy, he entered the big room.

He could hear voices echoing loudly in the seemingly endless area. The room sloped somewhat, chairs in rows leading down to the stage at the bottom. Removing his bag, he took a seat, getting himself comfortable for a long talk from the faculty. Hopefully today would go well.

<3

[Zephyr]

Yuuna walked timidly through the front gates, looking around at the people chattering happily amongst themselves.
Ah. There are alot of people here. She thought as she tried to remain invisible to the other students -- especially the girl that had just entered a room off to the side of the main building.

Looking down at her watch, Yuuna saw that she still had some time before the entrance ceremony, so she went looking for a secluded place to wait. After finding a patch of grass shaded by a small cherry tree she sat down and removed her sketch book and pencils. Just then though, an announcement was made telling the students to go to the assembly hall for the opening ceremony.

"Oh!" As Yuuna stood, her satchel tumbled to the ground scattering it's contents everywhere. Ah, gotta hurry. I don't want to be late! she bent down and hurridly gathered her things. After everything was back in place, she ran towards the school building and took a seat in the back right right as the ceremony began.

[Sora_Rox_My_Sox]

Midori grimmaced slightly as she nearly fell face first onto the black asphalt below her. She had tripped on her way out of her fathers car, which was now speeding away on its way to work. She was standing in front of her new school, students already pushing their way through the front doors. She sighed and adjusted her sera fuku, which she pretty much detested in every way possible. It wasnt comfy, it wasnt cute...she may as well have been wearing a tatami mat.

She was supposed to be heading to an assembly, but she quickly scowled as she took note of the mob of people trying to shove their way to it. She wrung her hands together and pushed onwards, into the throng of bodies. It could have been worse really. Maybe she would have forgotten pants? Or she might have tripped again and made a fool of herself. Fortunately, none of this happened, and she casually pulled herself into the auditorium as the assembly began. Most of the closer seats were taken, so she chose a pair of empty chairs by the aisle. She exhaled quickly, a mixture of relief, excitement, and paranoia settling over her.

[Brol]

A hot red car drifted into the front of the school, only to be blocked by a limo. Brol popped out of the window,"Whatthe...." He looked at the girl who walked out of the limo. Brol looked at the driver," yea next time...," Brol walks out of the car," DRIVE FASTER!" he slams the door as he walked into school. He was with his casual uniform attire, opened up collar shirt and whatnot. He cleverly snuck away from the teachers as he walked into the Assembly Hall. He looked around, it was not even crowded,"Damn... What a graveyard..." He popped his MP9 in his ears as he sat into his chair.

[sakurablossom07]

Sakura finished dressing up as she walked out of her apartment with her bag in her hand. The bright, warm sun had greeted her when she stepped out onto the open. Breathing the clean air that was blowing through her hair, she knew she was going to have a good day today. While walking to the new school, she saw the blue ocean that was near her apartment and soon washed away all the worries she had before moving here and deciding to attend this school. Sakura saw students who were walking by themselves, a group of friends, or with the one they love. She knew this school would be interesting and couldn't wait to see what the school year had in store for her.

Walking into the school, Sakura heard the announcement of meeting in the assembly hall for an entrance ceremony. Being the new person that she was, she just decided to follow the students who were also on their way to the ceremony. Upon entering the assembly hall, she saw students slowly filing the seats that was within this room. Walking a little down the alley way, she saw an empty seat and waited for the ceremony to begin. Aside from that, she was more excited about the people she'll be meeting.

[snowdog]

The cavernous assembly room echoed with the eager chatter of the new students, most sat in their pristine uniforms, every one of them polished to perfection. Some cradled bags of possessions, others sat with suitcases at their feet; these students were, assumingly, from other parts of Japan. A few simply held school bags, obviously hailing from Natsujima itself. Ayako peered out from stage right, taking a quick view of the room - and those within it - before taking a deep breath, and strutting across to the podium at the centre of the stage.

Speaking into the microphone, she cleared her throat to attract attention before beginning to speak.

“Good morning, students,” she announced, green eyes flickering across the fresh faces before her. Her usually harsh face in a smile, she hoped to leave a good impression upon these new people. Dressed to perfection as always, a black pinstripe blazer and matching pencil skirt hugging her slender, toned figure, she shuffled a few papers she had laid out in preparation before going on.

She withheld a sigh as she moved on to the first point.

“Headmaster Kirin couldn’t be here today,” she reluctantly said, her previously cheery look turning sour quickly at the mention of the unprofessional man, “but he apologises. He had what you might call - more important issues to attend to.” Ayako could not resist a sarcastic comment beneath her breath - although, still into the microphone. “He watched Ghostbusters and has now turned his attention to the pressing matter of any potential poltergeists in the area.”

“Anyway, I am Kato Ayako, the school secretary,” she went on. “I’ll be here to answer any questions you have at any time. Naturally I will also deal with any administrative issues such as monetary problems, accommodation, timetables, and, well, anything you can think of. Don’t be afraid to come see me. Unlike the headmaster, I shall be available all through the school day. If necessary, you may contact me at night.”

Usually someone giving a speech might pace to add some variety, but she couldn’t move from the podium seeing as the microphone was there. She stood still, but looked around while speaking.

“The school day usually runs from nine in the morning until three at night, however, we have the facilities available for school clubs, both on site, and on some of the neighbouring islands. Naturally, those ones are primarily used during holidays, but they are available for free provided you take student identification when you visit.”

A few students seemed restless, and it was making Ayako nervous.

“Similarly, we will be running a number of trips over the year. You will be seeing all of Natsujima, and within the coming weeks you’ll learn it all like the back of your hand. The island, as you’ve probably seen, is very traditional. People are quite superstitious, and the island is home to a number of myths and legends. The most famous of these is the story of our summer snow, which is known as Natsuyuki. The school will take a large trip during the summer to visit the cliffs during the festivals in celebration of the legend.”

“We hope you will all enjoy this year here, whether you are a returning, or new student. We ask that all returning students assist the new ones - there are new students in all years, so we would appreciate it if you could all help each other out. With that, we welcome you all to Aijo -”

A loud crash prevented Ayako from finishing. A blast of soot poured down from above, along with pieces of the roof, all slamming to the ground around her. Dropping to the ground, shielding her head, she waited a few moments before peering over her hands.

The look in her eyes blazed as her violent stare fell upon a sooty figure before her. Sat on the podium, grinning like a loon, Kirin was the one causing such a thud. Blinking, mouth wide, covered in black dust, Ayako attempted to figure out what had transpired.

She could but imagine how the students felt.

<3

[Suzaku]

The soot-layered figure bounced up and regarded his wide-eyed audience with mild surprise.

"Ayako? I thought that you had closed school today." He said calmly, the twitching of the corner of his moth betraying only the slightest sign of annoyance at his apparent lack of knowledge on current events.

Didn't I explicitly inform you of how hazardous this would become if one of our precious little munchkins were possessed?"

Before the secretary had any chance to respond, four teachers burst into the hall, all armed with what appeared to be vacuum cleaners attached to a metal box on their back.

"Kirin! Quick, we can't find it!" Mr. Ayame the nurse yelled, hurling an extra pack into the podium with a heavy thunk, sending all of Ayako's meticulously arranged papers flying into the air. The headmaster donned his adoptive battle gear, blissfully unaware of the sizable dent in the podium as well as the evil aura that was emanating from the woman crouching behind it.

"Sir, turn around! It's here!" Kirin whirled and in a flash drew his dangerously sharp katana, clipping several strands of hair from his already aggravated secretary's head in the process. For a long moment he did not move again, his face scrunched up as if attempting to digest a particularly rebellious clump of natto.

"It's here..." He muttered, scanning his surroundings with intense concentration.
"THERE!!" He yelled shrilly, leaping towards the exit and darting out of the door waving his sword dangerously, leaving some of the more practical thinkers in the audience to wonder why he had even put on the vacuum thing in the first place. The teachers followed suit, screaming an ancient war cry, except for Mr. Ayame who briefly stopped to apologize to Ayalo.

"I'm sorry, but he was having so much fun...."

The vigilante's head poked back through the door for a second and smiled pleasantly at the paralyzed student body.

"We welcome you to Aijo Kotogakko, and dismiss you for this evening. Please be sure to leave the school by- YES, THAT'S IT, TRAP IT IN THE BIOLOGY CLASSROOM!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Miyu sighed wearily, removing her hands from her pounding temples, where they had been since Kirin had crashed. Some of the new students might have thought that it had just been an elaborate play, but she had been here last year.

" Why hasn't he been fired yet?" She wondered aloud.

[Rhapsody]

"Jeez, I hope I'm not late," Kanon groaned to herself. She hastily ran down a street that would supposedly led to Aijo Kotogakko, the new school she would attend. Her bag violently from side to side as the female hurried to the entrance ceremony, all the while praying she didn't miss anything.

Why was she so far behind? Well, in a hurry to get to the school, she absent-mindedly dressed in to her casual clothes instead of what the school dress code: All males were expected to wear a gukuran, and all female students were required to wear a serfuku. Her sister wasn’t able to take her, simply because she wasn’t even home – she had already gone to work, taking the car with her. The school was supposedly two miles away from her home. Two miles? Kanon had only so little time before the ceremony started.

So, she was forced to walk -or, more like run- to school.

It seemed to take forever to get to the academy, but after a ten-minute run, the teen soon came to the main side of the building, most likely where the assembly would take place. She paused for a moment, taking a quick break to catch her breath while examining Aijo Kotogakko’s beautiful foundation. She nodded and started her frantic jog to the building.

Once Kanon entered the building, she weaved through random hallways, hoping that she would somehow end up at the assembly hall. Finally, the teen managed to get a lucky break and found the entrance to where the assembly took place. Before going in, she hunched down and put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. The halls were quiet, so it looked like the entrance ceremony was still on. Although she was late, at least she didn't completely miss the whole thing. "Good... Looks like I made it."

Her eyes went to the entrance of the auditorium as she stood up straight. She opened the door and took a peek inside. What she saw made her gulp: Students were still seated. On the podium looked to be a very professional and stern woman - in other words, a person Kanon did not want to get in trouble with.

The red-haired female took a deep breath and snaked her way to the inside, hoping not to get any stares from the students. She found a couple of spare seats in the back, and swiftly occupied one of them without a second thought.

However, after the teen took a closer look at the woman who was up on the podium, it appeared as if she was also having a rough day. She was covered in filth for some reason, not to mention, part of he ceiling from above her completey torn off, with debris laying on the stage. Kanon, though, just smiled an amused smile at this, even mangaing chuckling a bit. She was oblivious to the awkward spectacle had just occurred in the assembly involving the headmaster of the school.

[Brol]

Brol sighed as he was about to fall asleep during the assembly when suddenly the roof broke and a small part dropped down. A sooted-figure stood next to the woman on the podium. Brol tried to get closer when suddenly, a few pieces of debris drop on his head, knocking him out.

[snowdog]

Yoichi's face remained interested, and unchanging as the wild man collapsed through the roof, drowning the gaunt woman at the podium in a thick flurry of soot. Pieces of ceiling flew everywhere, prompting many of the students near the front to rise in a somewhat disorganised rabble. That was, of course, until this odd man's team of vacuum-wielding teachers burst into the assembly room. Turning to look at them, his eyes widened, examining the strange contraptions strapped to their backs. The rest of the room stared at them in a similar manner, whispering and almost shrieking as they attempted to decipher this situation. After a short exchange, they ran off, followed by the man who appeared to be the headmaster.

The boy attempted to understand all this. Beforehand, he had quite enjoyed the speech given by Kato. It had been informative, and he hoped that this year would be as interesting as she had made it sound. Kirin seemed so disorganised, and Yoichi knew from the beginning he'd likely trust Kato more than him. He wondered who those teachers were. Like the rest of the room, he now sat with eyes upon her, waiting to see her - most likely furious - reaction.

<3

[Zephyr]

Yuuna sat quietly, listening to the opening speech given by the secretary. Suddenly, with a large commotion, quite a bit of dust and bits of the roof -- followed by an unkempt man -- fell from the ceiling around the poor woman. As the dust in the air began to settle, people she could only guess were teachers ran onstage, armed with what looked like vacuums. Well this was something you didn't see very often, wasn't it. After a brief conversation, the man Yuuna guessed was the headmaster shouted and almost flew towards the door, waving around what appeared to be an actual katana.

The student body no longer appeared bored, instead, mostly everyone was standing now, excited and warily chattering about what had just taken place. The students nearest the front had a thin layer of the dust coating their uniforms and faces.

Yuuna jumped again as the headmaster poked his head back through the door and after telling them they were dismissed for the day, yelled something about trapping something in the biology classroom.
What were they hunting? She recalled the secretary telling them he had lately taken up ghost-hunting, and everything made a bit more sense. But why was school dismissed already? She sat back down and waited to see what the secretary would say.

[sakurablossom07]

Sakura was sitting quietly within the assembly hall with all other students, trying to listen to what the school secretary had to say, instead of the headmaster of the school. Looking around the place, she saw students who were on the verge of falling asleep or already falling asleep. Some were talking with their friends quiety, trying to get caught. Others were looking around themselves, trying to find their "other half" and thinking about how to ask them out after this whole ceremony was finished.

Sakura was just sitting there, waiting for the speech to be done, when a big sound woken her up and caught her attention. Looking down towards the front of the assembly hall, she saw a man fall out of ceiling and near the secretary. She couldn't exactly see the face of the man who fell from the sky but from the conversations that were being carried out throughout the assembly hall, she assumed that it was the headmaster. Sakura herself was quite surprised by this, but all the attention was gone when everyone started settling down and again waited intently for the ceremony to come to an end.

[snowdog]

Ayako couldn't keep track of her own thoughts and emotions. She couldn't bear to listen to another of Kirin's excuses. The woman felt her blood boil, her icy white skin turning redder and redder as the beat of her pulse increased. Faster and faster it went. Angrier and angrier she became. Her reptilian eyes did not divert from their focus of attention - Kirin's beaming face - even when the other teachers burst into the room, all armed in a similar, stupid manner.

She did not move, even when Mr Ayame attempted to explain.

"I'm sorry, but he was having so much fun...."

Ayako's eye twitched. No wonder she had high blood pressure. There they were, in front of all the new students, covered in soot, with five teachers - one the headmaster, no less - running around as if ghost hunters - or rather, busters.

All of a sudden, it seemed there was no time to be angry. A boy had seemingly been hit by some fallen debris. Sighing, she called after Mr Ayame - only to be drowned out by Kirin's voice.

"We welcome you to Aijo Kotogakko, and dismiss you for this evening. Please be sure to leave the school by- YES, THAT'S IT, TRAP IT IN THE BIOLOGY CLASSROOM!"

Growling, she roared after Mr Ayame.

"AYAME!" she shouted, her cool, calm facade unable to cope with this any longer. Kirin had done some stupid things before, but this was the icing upon the metaphorical cake. "Get back down here."

Oddly, then, she regained a more relaxed expression.

"I'm sorry about that, students," she smiled - or rather, attempted to; to those at the back she were smiling geniuinely, but to those at the front, hers was a neurotic grin. "Please use today to get accquainted with the school. Thankyou."

With that, she hopped off of the stage, tending to the fallen boy. Hopefully Ayame would come back.

<3