Tap-tap-tap. Tap-taptaptaptap-tappity-taptap.

The repetitive sound echoed through the otherwise silent train car, drawing several people to give sidelong glances to its source - a lone girl sitting at the end of the car, whose attention seemed alternately fixated by the small smart phone in her hands, and the view rapidly passing by out the window. Although evidently she'd complied with the request to silence her phone upon boarding the train, she hadn't actually stopped typing on it, which, due to the frantic speed at which her expert fingers keyed in whatever it was she was writing, was making almost as much noise as an actual phone conversation.

High school. Haruka couldn't help but feel both happy and worried by the thought. Today was to be the second day of school, although to be fair, the so-called "first" day had mostly consisted of simply listening to speeches given by the teachers, touring the school grounds to grow accustomed to them, and finally finding a club to apply to, whereas today would be the first day of actual classes. She supposed it would be a nice change of pace from merely sitting in her room reading her Observer Diary, as she called it, watching random videos on Nico Nico Douga, or checking her 2chan threads. It would give her something to do to keep her busy. But, at the same time, it also meant being put in a big room full of other people her age, all of whom she'd be seeing almost every day for the next three years. In a situation like that, it was going to be difficult to escape her classmates notice, and to avoid becoming too attached to either this place or the people in it.

For that reason, she supposed she was glad that Noboru - somehow, it still felt too strange to simply call him her father - had moved from their old house in Tsukimori to a much smaller, cheaper apartment on the outskirts of the nearby city of Kyoto, even if it meant she was going to have to spend the next three years living in such a small place and the inescapable company of that man to reckon with, and that every morning she'd need to take the train to Tsukimori itself, which would cost more money than simply walking to school from her old house would have. Nevertheless, she didn't really mind. Returning to that house would only have made her feel gloomy, especially seeing how much the neighborhood around it had changed, or noting the absence of familiar people she had once known. And, besides, living outside of town would add a certain degree of separation between her and her classmates. Or at least, that was what she had hoped.

A quiet announcement rang out through the crowded car, snapping Haruka to attention. They'd reached her stop, it seemed. Making note of the time in her diary, she finished the update she'd been making - mostly just a report on the scenery along the way from Kyoto to Tsukimori - and rose to her feet as the car slowly slid to a halt and the doors opened with a quiet hiss. Slipping through the crowded car, she made her way out with as little delay as possible, and immediately cut the most efficient possible path to the exit. Stopping only to slide her ticket into the exit gate, Haruka briskly walked out of the small train station and into the equally small town square situated right outside of it. Normally, of course, it would have been problematic navigating the streets of such a cramped, busy town to get where she needed to. Thankfully, the school had been built just a short walk uphill from the station. In fact, she could already see it.

Suffice to say, her opinion of the school's convenient location had changed somewhat by the time she finished walking up the hill. She hadn't noticed the problems inherent in the long walk on the previous day, as she had been unencumbered by a bag full of heavy textbooks that time around. However, now that she had the weight of her backpack to deal with, she noticed all too keenly the many flaws that had escaped her attention on the previous day. The road leading up to the school seemed to wind back and forth aimlessly, and the steep climb was enough to exhaust her completely by the time she had reached the school's front gate. Grimacing slightly, she took a moment to catch her breath before venturing inside.

Although it took her a moment to find her shoe locker, she had thankfully had the presence of mind during her previous tour to take a picture of where it was. One brief consultation of her Observer's Diary later, and she was quickly switching to her slippers, placing her featureless black shoes in the box in their place. Checking the time, Haruka smiled slightly to herself. Despite the time it had taken her to climb the hill, she was still making good time. She had arrived twenty minutes early, exactly as planned. At this point, only the students who were part of the sports clubs would already be here, and, although that comprised an admittedly large fraction of the student body, they would be too busy setting up for activities later that day to notice her slipping off to class, avoiding any interaction with her fellow students entirely - at least, until classes began.

Making her way to her classroom - 1-B, as although her grades were fairly good, she hadn't quite made it into the uppermost level of classes for her year - she quickly found her seat - thankfully positioned just one row away from the very back of the room, and, even better, right next to the window - and, setting down her book bag next to her, took a moment to unpack the text and notebooks she would need before shutting the bag once again and sliding it under her desk. At this point in time, she was the only one present, a fact which worried her somewhat. Being the only one in the classroom when the rest of the students arrived would attract attention, wouldn't it? She had expected there to be at least one or two other such early risers as herself, but it seemed she had been mistaken. She just hoped it didn't draw too much attention to herself. But, just in case it did, there was no harm in making herself look busy, and, during the exhausting climb up to the school, she'd somewhat forsaken updating her diary entries for the day to describe the events that had taken place. There was no sense in procrastinating on updating her logs, only to forget later, she mused, taking out her phone and beginning to type. So, why not kill two birds with one stone? That seemed like the most reasonable course of action to her, anyway. Hopefully, this would not only complete the objective of keeping her records up to date, but would also show any other students who arrived that she was busy with something, and would deter them from disturbing her. So she hoped, anyway.

The first day…

It only felt like a minutes passed the previous night when Kota's eyes, at one point, felt revealed to the darkness of his room only to see the tranquil light of the moon shine through his window. This may be familiar moment to any who rests upon their bed only to think of what may be of the next day. In particular, students on there first day of classes never seem to go to sleep easy with thoughts and wonders of the new semester and year that is beginning to them. It was a time when new things could happen and tonight was no exception at least that is what Kota thought as his eyes grew heavier. He slowly blinked as his eyes shifted ahead looking up at the ceiling as his arms shifted up before sliding his hands underneath his pillow. He could hear the his arms moving against the cloth sheets of his bed as the fan hummed in the background. A sigh came from his mouth as he blinked once more only to once again make his thoughts setting down to focus. The boy only found the thought to be a reminder that even though he had gone through his first year and was beginning his second, nothing had changed or perhaps none that he truly noticed or wanted to acknowledge. He could give a short hum in thought wondering why he felt such a way. The young man did in fact meet new friends during his first year and did have some happy moments but were they really not enough to say that it wasn't anything new? He continued with the thought as he claimed it wasn't like anything too big happened. Other then going up a grade he felt normal as if something was missing. Kota at this point began to allow this thought and feeling slowly drift back with all the others that swam upon his mind as his eyes slowly closed hearing the fan hum as and even that to seemed to drift away and eventually go blank.

As it seemed his eyes were closed but suddenly the feeling of the atmosphere around him became peaceful and so suddenly he found himself in the local park not too far from here sitting on the swing. Kota couldn't help but look over when he heard the swing next to him moving. The screech of the chains echo'd into the boy's ear followed soon after by a cute giggle and soon after being called out by the same voice which seemed so close. His eyes finally moved down only to see a young girl swinging with a smile as her hands gripped the chains that held her swing up. Her eyes covered by the long veins of her hair. To Kota dreams such of these have occurred more then once but never was he ever able to see her face nor did it seem like his dreams ever let him ask the name. The lad could only go with it. Smiling back before having a small conversation with the girl and oddly enough it for some reason brought joy to him. Although the feeling was so familiar as if it really happened, Kota knew it was just a dream yet at the same time his mind seemed to nearly make him forget about it and he'd find himself conversing with the girl whom he did not know. Eventually the scene had changed and he found himself on the hill looking over Tsukimori, a place of memory for Kota. It was one of the places that he was able to pend time with an old friend. Here he found himself moving towards the girl which then suddenly began speaking yet to Kota no words came out. It was as if he had just went completely deft. Kota could only suddenly frown and eventually felt pain in his heart as if he could hear the words the girl spoke and it only placed wounds upon his heart. His right hand rose to his heart clutching onto it, not as if he was in pain physically but as if he was being broke emotionally. Eventually the boy could feel his legs going weak as his eyes once again closed. Reopening with himself watching a car leave. He could only shake his head before suddenly hearing the sound of an irritating siren. The sound only grew from a faint sound as it became more real and it was in this moment that Kota was reminded that he was in a dream. The time his body shocked him back to reality was now as he could completely hear and feel the sheets beneath him. It was then when the boy realized he was finally awake.

Immediately the boy stretched out his arm, reaching for the machine and pressing the button upon the top, suddenly turning the alarm off. It was then when he felt his heavy eye lids slowly rise to be revealed to the morning sun. Kota could only find himself laying there as he drug his hand over his forehead to block some of the sun. A gentle sigh came from his mouth as his eyes looked up at the brightened ceiling he was looking at to what felt only minutes ago in the dark. His mind felt more at ease then it did in the night yet when he tried to remember what he dreamt, only small second pieces came in to where he couldn't even remember where he was properly. the boy sighed as boy flung his hands to his sides upon the bed before pushing himself up before propping himself up, crossing his legs with his head down. His eyes obviously heavy as any who just woke up. Kota rose his hand and scratched the top of his head before pulling the sheets from his body before lifting himself up to start his first day. Starting by going to the restroom and splashing water upon his face which was a normal thing for him to do. It never failed to wake him up. After that he immediately went to the shower where he could only think of how tiring the first day would be having to stand in the assembly and meeting his teachers. It wasn't that he disliked the free day without any homework but the day itself just seems dull. The boy sighed as he rested his arm upon the wall as he could feel the water sprinkling upon his back. The soothing sound of the water splashing upon the floor of the shower was relaxing as anything in the morning of a school day time was rushed and it had to come to an end.

After his shower and making sure he was dry, Kota got dressed in his uniform and then styled his hairstyle in his normal wild style after looking in the mirror. When the boy was finally ready he gave a smile before grabbing his student case and made his way into the hallway of the the home. He listened for only a second but not much was heard other then the sound of an old clock hanging on the wall. This was normal since his mother had to wake up early and head to the cafe but through her kindness managed to always leave food on the table ready for Kota. Once the boy got downstairs, he immediately sat down at the kitchen table and ate his breakfast at a normal pace until noticing he only had about thirty minutes to get to his school. Seeing this on the digital clock never made him feel good and at times he'd wake up with only fifteen minutes to do everything, he considered himself lucky. With that Kota lifted himself up taking his toast with him, holding it by his mouth as he locked the door with the case in left hand. Once his hand became free again, it had risen to once again hold to the toast as he turned to see his neighborhood lit up by the warm morning light. It was then when the boy finally began making his way towards his destination and the beginning of his new year.

As Kota walked down the street and got further into town, he made sure to stop by the cafe. Immediately opening the door made the bell upon the door ring and in that moment a woman who looked to be only five foot three, Light brown eyes and brown hair rose her head with a smile. She was cleaning a glass along with two college looking students who seemed to immediately go about waiting their tables for the few people that were there. The woman grinned towards Kota, setting her glass upon the bar counter over a napkin before walking around raising a finger to point at him.

"Oi! I'm surprised, Y'know I was worried you would sleep through your alarm on the first day. Especially from how you jacked up your sleep pattern during summer hehe" She said looking down observing if her son had dressed properly. Her eyes drifted onto to his waist before lifting up again to make eye contact. Her arms folded as Kota began to speak.

"Mom, you know the alarm never lets me sleep that long. Anyways, I was just coming by to check up on you" Kota said with a smile as his hand went to scratch the back of his head. He then looked around noticing there wasn't much customer's in today but that was natural due to the fact that it was around eight-fourty.

"Hehe what a good son! I am fine, you need to hurry along though. I'll be home late as you know but I'll be sure to leave you some food on the table!" She said turning around heading back to the counter. Kota smiled and nodded turning around once again placing his hand upon the latch of the door as he pushed his way out making his way into the warm sun again. Only a gentle breeze went along his face he turned to the right making his way to the crosswalk waiting for the sign to change. As he waited he noticed kids around the neighborhood walking from all directions to head towards the school's courtyard which was straight ahead. Shopkeepers were out preparing the stocks and cleaning the ground in front of their doors. Cars of course made there way through the traffic lights as well and after waiting only a minute Kota found himself walking across the street along with a couple of other civilians who just happened to be going the same way when the sign upon the machine changed.

Kota had finally made his way in and begun to walk through the courtyard until he suddenly heard a girl's voice from behind him call out to him with a smile.

"Kota! Hey!"

Kota turned with a smile, before stopping waving towards the girl. Who appeared to have red hair, oval glasses, and green eyes. She was rather small and fun sized. Along with wearing the typical uniform for females, she had two green braids in her hair. The hair length came to her shoulders. Kota often thought she was rather kind and adorable looking, always seemed to smile yet at times was very fragile. Always had a 'hello' for everyone. Kota turned back around as soon as she caught up. They always seemed to walk side by side in the courtyard if they managed to see each other but it was obvious they were just friends, especially when a familiar guy showed up.

"Yo! Boss!"

A boy with short straight black hair, fairly tall called out to Kota. The boy seemed to be jogging towards the two who stopped and waved. As soon as he caught up the three once again began walking normal pace before talking.

"Kaoru, Yuta. ready to start the new semester?" Kota had asked looking down at Kaoru who was the girl, closer to him and then lifted his head to Yuta, who yawned and stretched. The red head decided to speak first as both of her hands were upon the handle of the case.

"Yes, I worked on my garden and then went to my grandpa's farm to assist him for the summer!" She said. Kota nodded giving a simple reply that it seemed nice. Yuta seemed to nod with an agreement before speaking.

"Boss, you and Kaoru should've came with me to Okinawa City for the week! It was great. The bands, shopping and just endless fun!" Yuta said excitedly expressing himself with his hands.

"That sounds great but then I'd be like how you are now and in that mode, I would never get up from my bed" Kota said teasingly and in response the two next to him laughed. Along the way, a few girls had waved at Kota and his friends as well as a couple of guys. Eventually they found them in front of the assembly hall's door which they opened and immediately went into place standing in their class "2-B" waiting for the assembly to begin.


With only five minutes of waiting the assembly started at 9:05 exactly and only lasted fifteen to twenty minutes hearing the regular speech that it is a new year, how they wish everyone to succeed but what seemed so different was when the principal got to the last part.

"You have all endured so much and we're proud of you. Know to all of you, this is a time of change, when you figure out what life has in store for you. This semester will be different and perhaps you will meet with fate. Every step of the way leads some where and each of you are on the right path."

Although that had been meant for everyone, it made Kota feel as if he could exclude everyone from the room as if he was sitting down in his chair and the principal was speaking directly towards him. The boy blinked as the quote went through his head only to regain sense when the assembly was over. Yuta and Kaoru decided to go on ahead to check with old club mates as Yuta just sat there for awhile letting everyone clear only to watch everyone clear the hall to get to their home-room. As Kota sat back he remembered that it was in this hall last year that his other best friend Kazuki had asked him to take over a club for him.

"What was it called… 'the association of varied..?' heh, I owe it too him though. Sorry track, you were great but this has to be done…" He said getting up to walk out.

The rest of the day was the usual meeting the teachers, getting to know the area and you classmates which was rather dull and natural as always. Kota never did enjoy such formalities just due to how receptive they were. It finally came time to where he would sign up to join a club early which was held at the end of the day. He stared at the billboard with his hands in his pockets, his eyes on "Track". Even before a few of his older club mates asked him if he was going to be joining and all he could say was "We'll see" in a teasing manner but in truth he was torn down the middle. He sighed after a minute realizing the answer was obvious and signed up to be in "Association of Varied". It was after that when he turned away with his bag over his shoulder and walked off with a smile.

The second day…

Interestingly Kota found himself oddly awake when his alarm rang following his daily procedure before heading out. He once again stopped by his mother's place and met up with his two friends. He couldn't help but find himself slowly falling asleep when it came to sitting down for the first time in homeroom. Obviously nothing to do and the thought that the actual year would start was going to come. The horror of homework piling up and no more free time just seemed depressing. Although he smiled at the thought when he realized school was what kept them all social. He found himself in wonder when he began think of the newer friends he would make, perhaps even more. These thoughts were soon interrupted when the home room teacher came in to call roll. Even more so when his friends began talking before then. Kota sighed and looked ahead with his chin in his right hand as his left arm rested upon the desk.

Fortunately for the observer, it seemed that her presence hadn't been taken notice of after all, even as her classmates began to steadily stream into the room, chatting amongst themselves. Haruka gave a sideways glance toward the door, noticing all too keenly that the students were largely entering in closely knit groups, conversing energetically as though old friends even though it was only the second day. She supposed it wasn't entirely surprising. There were a lot of middle schools in the area, the classes of which would all have probably aimed to be accepted into this high school due to its proximity and prestigious reputation. Likely, all of these students knew each other quite well from previous years. Haruka supposed she should have considered this fortunate, since it would mean that they'd be less likely to bother her if they were busy amongst themselves. Somehow, though, she couldn't help but feel her satisfaction at this thought tainted by a poignant sense of envy.

Fortunately, this train of thought - as well as her diary update, as she'd had to hastily shut off and put away her phone once class began - was disrupted by the arrival of the Homeroom teacher, who, after a short and energetic welcoming speech - had the long and meandering introductions yesterday not been enough for the teaching staff, or something? - began to run a roll call. As each student responded in turn, Haruka couldn't help but be reminded of the little spat of self introductions on the previous day. Her own had been as bland as it had been pointless. "Hello, I'm Shirayuki Haruka. Pleasure to meet you." That had literally been all she'd said before sitting down, leaving the room silent for a moment as everyone wondered if that was really all she had to say about herself. And now, although some of the students tried to joke and chat while responding to the teacher, all she did was nod quietly, say "Present," and turn to look back out the window.

It continued roughly like that through the rest of Homeroom and into the main class lineup. Math, Science, English, Literature, History - her attitude never changed through any of them. She simply sat in silence, speaking only when spoken to, and even then saying as little as possible before once again shutting her mouth and returning to complete stillness save for the idle swipes of her hand over a page of her notes as she took notes on the subject matter. To an outside observer, it probably seemed like she had no interest in the classes and just wanted school to end so that she could go home. In truth, this was not entirely correct. Haruka was interested in school, but only to the extent of wanting to do well in it. The course matter itself, on the other hand, seemed to her boring and somewhat pointless. But, despite that fact, leaving as soon as possible and going "home" - in as much as the small Kyoto apartment where that man lived could be called a home - was the last thing on her mind. Spending time in that place meant dealing with him, and to be quite frank, the man she'd once called her father made Haruka sick. Always trying to pamper her, prodding her with the most insignificant and ordinary of questions - "How was school?" "Where would you like to eat?" - as though he actually cared... no, as though he'd never betrayed their family, he made his presence completely intolerable to Haruka. Did he really think that he could just come back after all these years and act like nothing had happened? To her, it seemed like everything she had suffered was, at its root, the fault of that man, and she had no intention of forgetting his guilt, even if he tried to act like nothing was wrong. The easiest way, then, to avoid an encounter with the man who, to her, was the most disgusting being she had the displeasure of interacting with on a daily basis, was not to go home quickly, but rather to stay at school as long as possible, busying herself with random tasks that might, at the very least, prove slightly diverting. It was to that end that she'd sought out not only an empty club, but one with many different duties and resources. With such a place all to herself, there was no way she'd be bored, and she'd be able to stay at school as long as she could every day, avoiding interaction with that man until the evening.

So, when class finally ended, Haruka didn't have to think twice. She made her way straight for the Association of Varied Interests' clubroom, cutting her way quickly through the crowds leaving nearby classrooms and heading outside of the main school building. Following a small path around the side of the school, she made her way into the old Art and Culture Center, where most of the more sedate clubs like the Literature, Music, and Gardening Clubs had once been located, before their dissolution, and where, in the old Literature Clubroom, the main headquarters of the Association of Varied Interests was now situated. Taking out the small ring of keys she'd been given - her job of maintaining the abandoned clubs would require access to almost all of the rooms in the Art and Culture Center, so she'd been given a corresponding number of different keys - she unlocked the door, and stepped in, shutting it behind her. Glancing around at the dusty but well-furnished clubroom, Haruka smiled.

This was her shelter from the world for the next three years, and it was going to work perfectly.

(I'll describe the clubroom in my next post, but I don't have time now, 'cause I gotta go. XD)

As the day passed by for Kota, it seemed full of the usual go arounds for most of the first days. Constant repeats of the same introductory events going on in the beginning of classes, explanation of the class and a few beginning lectures but nothing too interesting for him. Of course there were also the short breaks that came around for him when he and his old friends came around. Even a few times he would walk out to a spot where him and his friends hung out, which was usually the corner of the cafeteria to sit down. It was obvious though with given time, the conversations were left short. However, Kota finally got around to telling his club mates about joining the club. They of course were surprised by his decision. They gave him the series of question as to "Why?" or "What happened?" and the boy simply gave them the reply "It's for a friend". It was then said by Kaoru that the club only has one other member which isn't enough to continue even though its a veteran club which was true but to Kota he didn't care to much and figured he'd do what he could until that point. He did however wonder who this other member was. Truth be told, Kota didn't think anyone would approach to join the club for what it was but to each there own.

Finally the first day ended with the ever exhausting repeated intros however this could only be said for the classes and now it was time to go to clubs. After gathering his papers and materials into his messenger bag. He finally slid from his chair arranging it under his desk soon after and looked around the room for a split second only to notice everyone was nearly already out of the room. This was normal though, Kota never liked trying to rush through the crowd. It just didn't seem worth it to him and its not like he had too much to do other then find out where the club was being held this time and to remember exactly what the club was about. It was by the time he finally got out of the classroom and into the hallway that he began to walk in the other direction of from where he should be going. He only stopped himself when he realized his mind was focused to go towards the track field which made him chuckle before turning around. The boy then thought about his friend for a moment and remembered he'd need the key to the club which made him walk to the club director who claimed the key had been picked up. This only made him sigh thinking he should have known.

After Kota walked around the art and culture center he met up with Kaoru who was happy to see Kota of course. They talked for a moment casualty which suddenly made Kota realize she was waiting for another club mate to come along. They were just waiting for there club leader to come along but none the less were excited by what they were saying, none of which really interested him. He smiled with a wave before claiming he had to get to his club to meet his partner. He immediately dashed towards the room panting at the door before opening it.

"Hello…?" He said calmly as he opened the door to the room.

Haruka let her eyes sweep across the wide room around her. Orange light from the setting sun shone faintly through the slightly parted curtains, illuminating the small cloud of dust kicked up by her entry as it slowly spiraled down to the floor once again. In one corner of the room sat a grand piano - a leftover, no doubt, from the music club, stored in the old room since it was too large to move - while along the back wall were rows upon rows of books neatly sorted by genre and alphabetical order. Comfortable looking chairs lined the opposite end of the room, while a table sat at its center - probably meant for group discussions and other such activities.

Yes, this would work perfectly. People seldom came to this wing of the school, let alone this room. She could definitely spend three years holed up in here every afternoon, just considering the supply of books alone. It was perfect.

Or at least, so she'd thought until the door rather unexpectedly opened. The silver-blonde haired girl froze at the heart of the room, her emerald eyes freezing before focusing on the new arrival as she rounded quickly upon him. Why was someone here? The boy's uniform was similarly colored to her own at first glance, but a second look showed that his tie was blue instead of red, like the one fastened around her own collar. So, he was a second year, then, although he didn't exactly look it. His build was average, and his face rather youthful. He wasn't even that much taller than her. His posture was rather good, suggesting some sort of athletic background, making it all the more odd that he was here, in this wing of the school, at this time. Although his light brown hair and eyes didn't seem all that out of place - compared to her own unusual hair and eye colors, that is - she did notice one other thing: some sort of necklace, nearly unnoticeable as it hung partly covered by the tie of his uniform.

But, since she couldn't discern some obvious purpose for his being there - he wasn't carrying any paperwork, or anything else related to beginning the club anew that she would have to deal with, so it wasn't that, at least - it seemed she would have no choice but to speak up.

"Yes?" Haruka asked quietly, her voice as devoid of surprise - or suspicion, for that matter - as it could be, considering her confusion at seeing this unusual arrival. "Can I help you?"

As Kota opened the remaining space of the door, he was suddenly replied and somewhat greeted by a girl whom he saw for the first time. At first he noticed her emerald green eyes that looked upon him, he then observed the rest of her body quickly not to look perverted, noticing her beautiful hair color, and peach skin. He became startled at first due to her looks but that feeling passed as he noticed she was a year beneath him. It wasn't long for him to draw the conclusion that she was if not had to be the other member that was shown to join. He took a couple of steps with a smile before speaking.

"Hey -.. I am actually here because this was where the A.V.I was... I was curious who had signed up" He said looking to her before closing the door behind him.

"I'm Saotome, Kota. A pleasure to meet you"

Kota said with his hand extended. The boy gave a warm smile afterwards only to look in the corner of his eyes outside the window. He saw the rays of sun beaming through the window which seemed to give a slightly orange hue to the room. This only made him realize it was getting rather late and quite quickly not like he was in too much of a rush though. He didn't exactly have homework from this day that he needed to do and his mom didn't need any help at home. In fact, she never was home until after she closed which even then because of the timing they were never expecting to see each other until late nights. The student easily focused on what the girl had to reply with seeing it was there first encounter and they were in the same club. It only amazed him though that she had been here with everything there. It only came to mind that the girl might be a bit more strict then she looks.

"I was curious who had signed up."

The words took a moment for Haruka to register, but after a brief instant of confusion, finally, she understood. So that was why this boy was here. He... he had also signed up for the Association. Then that meant she'd failed. She wouldn't be able to avoid other people after all. Granted, almost any Human interaction would have been preferable to her over the company of the so-called "father" waiting for her back at her current place of residence - she refused to call it a home, a habit she'd picked up after years of moving from place to place amidst a fractured, divided family - but that didn't mean she had to like the prospect of spending the next year in the company of her peer when she wanted nothing more than to escape the notice of people like him.

"...Shirayuki Haruka," She replied at length, bowing in a manner that, while respectful, seemed rather mechanical and forced. "I guess since you're my senpai, I'll be in your care, then." It was an idle observation, but an accurate one. Being the underclassman, the presidency of the Association would doubtless defer to her senior. So, she mused, not only would she lose the hideaway she'd hoped for, but even the freedom to use it as she saw fit. And just when she'd been getting her hopes up, too... She couldn't help but feel more than a little crestfallen, not to mention ashamed that she couldn't entirely keep it from registering on her face. Thus, seeking a distraction, she quickly withdrew her phone from the school bag still slung under her arm, and began typing at a hectic pace, her fingers tapping out words across the keys with astonishing speed as she began to catalog this new occurrence. To Kota, it would perhaps seem odd that the moment she introduced herself, she flushed slightly with an unreadable emotion and hastily turned away, writing something on her trademark phone. But that was, perhaps, an idiosyncrasy he would soon be all too familiar with...