Sora Nakahara's Story

The morning chill slid in quietly inside the room, prompting Shiori to slowly open her eyes to the darkness inside the quiet building. She wondered why her alarm clock hasn't rung yet, even when she's adjusted it to wake her up at this exact hour.
"Oh well, no point in thinking about it." Slowly making her way out of bed, she grabbed the clock at her bedside table, checking to see what time it is. 4:30 in the morning "You were supposed to ring half an hour ago... So why didn't you--" At that moment, her eyes glanced at the calendar. It was a Saturday.
"Oh right...I have no classes." Still, with the sleep completely gone from her system, Shiori decided to just head out and grab some breakfast.

Downstairs, she spotted the landlord, Shizuka giving instructions to a cleaning crew, telling them things such as the places that need to be cleaned and stuff that they shouldn't touch. She walked towards her, curious about all this.
"Hey, what's going on?"
"I'm just cleaning out some of the rooms. I heard we'll be getting some new residents today. Just making sure to leave a good first impression." Shizuka answered back without looking up from the file she was reading. Sensing that she didn't want to be bothered right now, Shiori moved away and headed into the kitchen, to make herself some food.

6:00 AM. Shiori soon saw a man emerge from the basement, looking all flustered, sweat all over his forehead despite the fact that it was pretty chilly inside the lobby. Seeing this, Shizuka approached and asked what the matter was. Shiori couldn't quite hear what they were talking about from her current location so she waited until they were done talking before inquiring about the matter.
"Well, he said he heard voices telling him to get out while he was cleaning the water valve. They didn't sound like they were coming from anywhere near him. He said the voices sounded a little different."
"Different? How?"
"Like they were coming from 6 feet below ground. Hopefully, these rumors won't steer newcomers away."
Shiori sank deep in her thoughts. The water valve downstairs again. That place was getting a lot of attention lately. In any case, Shizuka seemed to want her to keep quiet about the rumors around the newcomers so she decided to just wait at the lobby and watch TV as the preparations went underway.

Yuzuki went downstairs and finally reached the lobby in the first floor. Her gaze was directed at the entrance. Soon after that she smiled, waved and started walking. The front door was opened.

"Heyy, Sora!" Yuzuki called happily at a young boy.
"Sis!" The boy replied before the two of them hugged.

Yuzuki's face suddenly became serious, as she let her brother go. She started walking slowly towards the entrance door, opened it and looked outside.

"Yuzuki, what is it?" Sora asked.
"Oh, I was just checking if there were policemen or an angry mob chasing after you, no biggie." Yuzuki chuckled and closed the door. "Okay, mom." Her brother replied with annoyance.
"Ah! Shiori's there. Hello, Shiori!" The girl grabbed Sora by the hand and led him to the black haired girl. "Sora, This is my roommate Shiori. Shiori, this is my brother Sora."
"Nice to meet you!" Sora smiled.
"Miss Atsushi is here too. Hello, miss Atsushi!" Yuzuki greeted the landlord. "One of the newcomers is here."

As Shiori waited in the dorm's lobby, her roommate Yuzuki had come down to seemingly, wait for something. A few moments later, a boy entered the room, embracing her roommate.
"Do they know each other?" Shiori wondered as she observed. In the meantime, Shizuka had gone down the lobby to show the other group of cleaners the stairs leading to the second and third floors. As they headed out, she finally noticed the newcomer in the lobby.

"Ah! Shiori's there. Hello, Shiori! Sora, This is my roommate Shiori. Shiori, this is my brother Sora."
"Ah...makes sense." Shiori stood up, still holding the newspaper she was holding. "Good morning. My name is Shiori. Kamekura Shiori. Hope we get along."
"Nice to meet you!"
"Miss Atsushi is here too. Hello, miss Atsushi! One of the newcomers is here." Yuzuki greeted, making Shiori turn to the back to see Shizuka walk towards them.

"Early in the morning and we're already quite lively huh? Welcome to Eden's Wall, Nakahara Sora. My name is Shizuka Atsushi but--yeah, just call me Ms.Atsushi like your sister does. Now, your room is still undergoing maintenance so, I'm going to have to ask you to remain in the lobby for now. The guys upstairs will probably be done in five minutes." Shizuka motioned for the siblings to the sofa set while she checked up on the progress from the bottom of the stairs. Whistling, she called a guy over to help with the bags. Walking over to the lobby, she took out the room keys and handed them to the boy.

"You'll be staying in the second floor, where it's all boys. Your room is Room 207. It's right in the middle so, pardon it for not having a second window. I don't really get to decide these room assignments myself." Shizuka informed him. While waiting for the people upstairs to finish, she decided to call Shiori and Yuzuki to her so she can talk to them in private.

"I know you guys have experienced some weird things going on here so, I request that you avoid talking to some of the newcomers about it when they arrive." She glanced at the boy in the lobby. "Well, this is your brother Yuzuki so, I guess you've already talked about those things but, when the others come, can you--?"

"No problem though, they'll eventually find out on their own. Besides, it's only natural for young people to think that way upon entering a new place. Doesn't really stop them from entering the dormitory nonetheless."

"Heh, you're right." Also taking a seat in the lobby, Shizuka decided to inform the newcomer about one other thing in their dorm. "Well, it's not mentioned in the brochure but, we do have teachers rooming up in here so--I expect everyone to be at their best behavior. Just letting you know."

Clack... Clack... Clack...
Within a room of about 64 degrees in temperature stood a 36x24 aluminum lab table. An array of different objects have been set up on top of the table: A small metallic lamp, a filing case, and a monitor complete with computer, keyboard, and mouse. The filing case was separated into different sections that read 'Tests, Quizzes, Homework, and Lab Books' from top to bottom. Each section was quite noticeably stuffed with ungraded papers. Centered in the middle of the lab table stood a pendulum ball stand, clacking back and forward. A pair of crimson, red eyes followed it's side-to-side movements with utmost attention.

"E-excuse me, sir... Um... When exactly will we get our tests from last week back? Or the last 3 tests rather... It's been a month since we turned in our first one, already." A young man asked, clearly nervous. The hushed whispers behind him didn't make him feel any better, as the rest of the class began commenting on his actions. They were hushed immediately as a pair of slender hands slammed against the top of the lab table. Now, everyone who wasn't already paying attention shot their heads towards the table. The boy asking the question jumped from the sudden action. The pendulum balls however continued their repetitive motion, only slightly disturbed by the change in momentum.
"Now now, Shin'ecchi'... Didn't I already tell you this? A man who knows no patience can never hope to achieve success." A tall white-haired man with a natural perm stated, as he slowly picked himself off of the lab table. Now standing straight up, Ulrich eyed the young man down while picking his left nostril with his pinky finger.

Shinecchi merely stood there, paralyzed by both shock and disbelief. After having a second to gather his thoughts, he spoke up. "M-... My name is Shinichi... AND YOU'RE A SORRY EXCUSE FOR A TEACHER! Seriously, how did a sorry slob like you even get hired?! You always get us the material we need late! You give us pop quizzes every few days that are over things we won't even cover until next semester! You make us do stupid odd jobs for you like getting you milk! You even ask us for money! How can you even call yourself a human being?!" Everyone in the class was stunned by Shinichi's sudden outburst. Seconds later, the entire class was cheering him on.
"At a boy, Shinichi! Tell that asshole what we all think of him!"
"Fight, Shinecchi!"

As Shinichi was about to get caught up in the atmosphere, the mood was interrupted by a loud yawn."Shinichi... Take this." Ulrich said, as he handed Shinichi a paper while making his way towards the classroom door. '... My report card? All my grades are here! Mr. Leh-..."
"Look on the back." Ulrich ordered before disappearing behind the door. Shinichi quickly turned the paper over. After reading the words on the back, his face went paper-white.
Since you seem to be having trouble grasping the material, meet me every day after school for remedial lessons.

As Ulrich made his way out the school building, he received numerous dirty looks from both staff and students. He was truly disliked by the majority of the school. Those who knew of him at least. None of them even bothered to ask why he was leaving the school so early. On his short walk home, Ulrich took out a tootsie roll from his coat pocket and began playing with it in his mouth, using his tongue.

Finally making it to the dormitory, Ulrich stopped just short of getting knocked out by a mop handle as a man stumbled to get to the next area that needed cleaning. "Slave-driving the cleaning staff again, Shizuka? Tell one of them to bring me some ice cream from the kitchen." Ulrich began wondering how he could mess with whichever poor soul would be in charge of serving him. To start with, he never did say what kind of ice cream he wanted... Trailing off in his thoughts, Ulrich's gaze slowly fell upon the two Nakahara siblings. "Ah. Yuzuki... Stand still a second. I think I found your mirror self. Yes. Clearly your polar opposite in every way. From which realm to you hail from?" Ulrich asked Sora, in a strange mixture of both sarcastic monotone and a hint of interest.

"I began my journey from the city of Hakusan from the Republic of Japan, as my home planet is Earth!" Sora replied like he was describing his origins in the Middle ages. "What is thou home planet?"
"Soraa..." Yuzuki chuckled nervously and grabbed her brother's arm. Then again, even if Sora's reply was casual, he would be still unsafe from mr Lethnur's antics and Yuzuki knew that. This teacher was completely unpredictable for the girl.

"It's not really slave-driving if that's their job in the first place. Besides, we pay them enough, isn't that right?" Shizuka answered the eccentric teacher's question as she turned her head to a man emerging from the basement. He merely laughed and nodded back. The teacher made his way inspecting the newcomer like he had just come across a weird specimen.
"*Sigh* At it again?"

"I began my journey from the city of Hakusan from the Republic of Japan, as my home planet is Earth!"

"Since when did Japan become a Republic?" Shiori wondered, thinking how the teacher would react. Usually, some of them had a hard time meeting eccentricity with monotone but, this boy seems to be doing just fine. "Well, I'll head back to the room for now."
Shiori stood up to excuse herself as she went upstairs. Upon arriving at their room, she rearranged all the materials she needs to submit by Monday in a single folder. The silence in the room was a little unsettling.

"Come to think of it, that man appeared around this setting, only that was in the afternoon. What's up with that?" Shiori recalled that time when this "wraith" appeared in her room. So far nothing really bad happened but, seeing that is enough to disturb her thoughts for the day. It was as if someone threw a stone in a pond, causing a slight ripple. The monotony of her life was vaguely affected.

Heading downstairs, she went up to Yuzuki and asked. "Hey Yuzuki-san? Saturday, three weeks ago, were you expecting a visitor in the afternoon?" She asked, wondering about it. Her words caught the attention of Shizuka, who walked towards her.

"Come to think of it, only me, you and Shinji were in this dorm during that time. The others didn't start coming back until around 6 in the evening. What time did you come back Yuzuki? And no, Shiori. I was at the lobby the whole time. No one came in, at least through the front door."

"Strange...Then, what did I see exactly?" Shiori wondered even more. Hopefully, she wasn't bothering the others too much.

Ulrich took in each word Sora spoke with an unnecessary amount of focus and interest. It was as if he had been observing a lab specimen, taking down mental notes as he watched. "The Republic of Japan... I see. I've studied that galaxy exclusively. I even have some pictures that I took from Hakusen on a vacation trip... to outer space. Although, I never would have thought a local would make their way here." Ulrich stated, clearly making up the outer space portion of his story. "As for where I'm from... My home plant is Gaia. Are you familiar with it? It's spelled 'E-A-R-T-H'. Gaia." Ulrich explained, not really trying to make much of a point, although his actions say otherwise.

Ulrich looked away from Sora for a few moments to ponder something. A smug grin planted itself upon his face before he suddenly grabbed ahold of Sora's shoulders. "Yuzuki. Allow me to borrow your mirror counterpart for a few minutes(days). I have a few tests I want run on him. While you're at it, get me some ice cream." Ulrich stated bluntly, while asking, well... rather ordering Yuzuki to do so. As Ulrich was about to practically kidnap Sora, the conversation between Shiori and Shizuka caught his ear.

Ulrich walked up to them with an expression that read nothing but seriousness. "Shiori... I know what you saw." Ulrich stated, purposely trying to cause tension, whether he was successful or not. Reaching into his lab coat slowly, Ulrich drew something from the pocket that made a squealing noise as he picked it up. "It was this... WASN'T IT?!" Ulrich asked, unnecessarily yelling out the last bit. Within his outstretched hand stood a small, black hamster. But something wasn't particularly right about the hamster. It's right eye was slightly deformed, as if it didn't quite fit in it's socket. Upon closer inspection, tiny stitches could be seen around the folds of the eye lids. The hamster had a glass eye. Around the hamster's neck a small collar hung. The tiny label at the front read 'Izaak' in bold English lettering. "Well? Was this what you saw?" Ulrich asked, almost hopefully.

''I don't remember well. It was three weeks ago, I was probably playing the violin on the streets.'' Yuzuki replied. ''I don't even remember when did I come back.''

Yuzuki has been in the dormitory for around a year. She was familiar with the rumors. She even witnessed some evidence that they might be true. Whatever happened to Shiori, any explanation would be legitimate.

''You were probably studying too much, Shiori.'' Yuzuki tried to comfort her.
''Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.''

She kept her smile while Ulrich was talking to her brother.

"You don't have to put me trough tests. If we're both from planet Earth, I guess we're not that different." Sora replied to Ulrich.

Both Yuzuki and Sora gasped when Ulrich pulled out the hamster.

"Oh! The sweet thing! Did it wander around the dorms by itself? What's wrong with its eye?" Yuzuki scratched the hamster behind the ears. "Mr Lethnur, what kind of ice cream do you want?"

Shizuka sighed when Ulrich initially appeared to provide a legitimate explanation before drawing out one of his antics again, this time, in the form of a hamster with a glass eye.

"Aahh...not quite..." Shiori only looked a little unnerved by how the hamster looked. It reminded her more of a zombie than the cute, furry animal she sees in petting zoos.

"Lethnur-sensei...please do not let your animals roam free around the dorm. They might damage some walls or scare our less, animal loving residents." Shizuka took a closer look at this hamster's eye. It's glass eye was a little bothersome, reminiscent of old, Frankenstein types of experiments. "Assuming that this is yours...so, is it yours or did you find it wandering around the place instead?" Shizuka eyed the eccentric teacher.

"This is all getting a bit confusing. I'm heading out for a while. I'll be back before curfew. Or when I finally feel like it." Shiori excuse herself as she grabbed her black scarf hanging on a coat hanger. She had gotten dressed earlier when she went up, changing into her outdoor garb instead.

"All right, I'll ask Shinji if he's seen anything out of the ordinary when he wakes up." Shiori bid the others goodbye for now. Seeing that the two were having a good time with the teacher, Shizuka excused herself to go upstairs and check out Shiori and Yuzuki's room. Everything seems to be in proper order.

"Strange...it's not everyday that Shiori reports an incident like this. Visitor...what she saw was probably a man. Human at least. But, what is it exactly? It's still too early to think it's a phantom. I will need some time to figure this out later. In the meantime..." Shizuka headed back downstairs, checking the file she was reading earlier.

"Another newcomer was supposed to come in today but, I'm still not seeing anyone. Where could he be?"

Outside, Shiori stopped by a convenience store to check out the latest publications for that month. Seeing nothing of interest, she just browsed through the aisles, looking for nothing in particular. Her eyes soon turned to the fruit stack, specifically, the apples.
"Apples...what could that mean?" Shiori descended deep in her thoughts, not realizing that she was taking more time than usual.

"Dammit..."
Somewhere in the bustling crowd, orange eyes were lowered as the owner moved through. "Why'd it have to be today? Damn, I have to keep track of my own schedule." Those words were uttered lowly through gritted teeth. Hiro walked on, not minding it whenever someone accidentally bumped into him. It never really was anything special, and he didn't believe in those first-time fated meetings like most romance stories showed. "Huh...they all have the same format." Was what he usually thought about romance.

Today was the day he was supposed to move into that new dormitory he was transferred to- by himself or by his parents, it didn't matter anyway. And Hiro Izanagi was not exactly pleased. "Stupid alarm clock...giving me false alarms!" He thought bitterly, deciding to throw the blame onto his alarm clock for the moment. After a few more- minutes? Hours? He couldn't tell- he reached the building. Almost for no reason, Hiro felt a small smirk appear before it was completely taken over by his usual glare.

Once he stepped through, his alertness went on full overdrive. Who knew what kind of people was in here? Based on his social level, Hiro just knew that he probably had no familiar faces in this place- nor in the apartment building he was supposed to live in, but he would still pass by Fuchizawa students, so...- A look around told him that he was in the lobby. And there seemed to be quite the crowd gathering in it. For the moment, he was quiet.

"Alright Izanagi, let's see if someone notices you..."

''Ah! Hello! You must be a newcomer!'' Yuzuki exclaimed and walked towards Hiro.
''I'm Nakahara Yuzuki. Very pleased to meet you.'' she shook his hand.
''Is that a feather? It's very amusing!'' Yuzuki took the feather necklace and observed it.
''Hey! Another newcomer!'' Sora joined them.
''Yes. You can probably be roommates.'' Yuzuki replied happily.
''Awesome!'' The brother exclaimed and wrapped his arm around Hiro's shoulder. ''I'm Nakahara Sora! What's your name, Bro?''
''Hey'' The sister grabbed Hiro's arm and tried to pull him to the crowd. ''There's a cute hamster with a glass eye! Come and see it!''
''Yeah! He's one badass little furball!'' Sora chuckled.

Having already forgotten about his fascination with Sora, due to his one-track mind, Ulrich's attention was now focused elsewhere. Ulrich looked at Yuzuki, surprised by her contradictory statement of calling Izaak "sweet" while at the same time addressing the abnormality of his eye. Ulrich's head drooped, as he felt somewhat uncomfortable with the situation.
"W-well, I found Izaak at a pet market while I was looking for potential future experiments... And when the owner told me he was born without a right eye, I just had to pick him up. I thought maybe I could help Izaak look normal. I did a pretty good job too, right?" Ulrich explained, seeming almost bashful and a little timid about his for once, honest explanation.
'Ah... Did I just confess to attempting animal cruelty? Nah. It must be my imagination.' Ulrich thought.

Ulrich's shy demeanor was immediately shattered as Shizuka began questioning him. "No... This little thing was already wandering about until I came across him. I mean look at this nametag. What kind of idiot would give a hamster a name like Izaak? Ahahaha!..." Ulrich exclaimed, turning around to and Shizuka while pointing to Izaak's nametag. He held an annoyingly childish expression, that seemed to mock Izaak's very existence.
'Sorry, Izaak. I don't want to pay for any damages that you may cause.' Ulrich thought, mentally apologizing for attempting to use Izaak as a scape goat. He was almost confident that Shizuka bought his lie.

It was then that the magic words reached Ulrich's ears. "Mr. Lehtnur, what kind of ice cream do you want?" Ulrich smirked as he stared Yuzuki down, almost as if she were prey. Finally, he came up with his answer. "I want strawberry ice cream. I'd prefer if sprinkles were added on top." Before he finished, Ulrich bent down and whispered in her ear, almost as if he were trying to keep these words a secret... from himself.
"Although I say that, I'll end up asking you to get Rocky Road as you soon as you get back." Ulrich stated.
'Huh?... Why did I do that just now?' He pondered, wondering why he passed up this chance to mess with Yuzuki. Normally, he'd have her running back and forth as many times as he could get her to, but after the way she reacted to Izaak, Ulrich subconsciously developed a since of respect towards Yuzuki.

Ulrich watched as the sibling practically forced an apparent newcomer into their little circle. He shot Hiro an irritated glare, that was supposedly meant to intimidate him. "Here. You can pet him if you want. You seem like a trustworthy guy." Ulrich stated, handing Izaak over to Hiro while maintaining his intense glare.

"In any case, the responsibility for your pets also falls on you. So, please be observant." Shizuka reminded the teacher. She was still trying to make sense of what Shiori reported to her. If what she saw wasn't a specter or anything out of the ordinary, then it may be assumed that someone managed to get in their dormitory. "I'll have to ask Shiori for some clarifications."

Cling!
Shizuka looked up to towards the door. She had installed a little wind chime there to let her now if someone had entered the building. A rather, edgy looking young man came in, looking for his room assignment. "Okay...let's see--" Shizuka flipped through the files to see who the newcomer was. "Izanagi Hiro, first year at Fuchizawa. Okay." As she looked up though, she was surprised when the two siblings had already crowded the newcomer.

''Ah! Hello! You must be a newcomer! I'm Nakahara Yuzuki. Very pleased to meet you. Is that a feather? It's very amusing!"
''Hey! Another newcomer! I'm Nakahara Sora! What's your name, Bro?''
"Hey, There's a cute hamster with a glass eye! Come and see it!''
''Yeah! He's one badass little furball!''
"Here. You can pet him if you want. You seem like a trustworthy guy."

"You're the other one eh? Pleasant morning. I am Shizuka Atsushi, the landlord of this dormitory." Shizuka introduced herself formally, handing Hiro the paperwork he needed to fulfill. "That lists down all the general rules around this place as well aside from your personal data. You need to sign it by the way."
Hearing the part about him and Sora being roommates, Shizuka decided to break down the news.
"Uhh...no. Hiro's room is different. He'll be staying at Room 209, right at the edge of the corridor. You're all on the same floor so, no problem there if you want to converse with each other. By the way Izanagi, your room is optimized as a one-person room since it's at the end of the hall. Any problems with that?" Shizuka informs him of his room's condition.

"Too bad we won't be in the same room, but we're still close, right? Heh! Hey, sis, where are you going?" Sora asked.
"I'll be right back." Yuzuki replied.

The girl was walking outside.
"Mr. Lethnur was strange... stranger than usual. Like two personalities inside him requested two different flavours of ice cream... Just like he admitted that he would be mean to me, but decided not to be... So, Shiori saw a man in our room almost a month ago, didn't she? I wonder... if that's the same person I saw that night several months ago..." she thought and entered a store. "What flavour did he say again?"


"Yuzuki, you're back!" Sora said.
"Yep." Yuzuki took out the ice cream. "Here, Mr. Lethnur. It's the Rocky Road with sprinkles you asked for. And you better remove the collar from the neck of the poor Izaak. Hamsters shouldn't wear those."

To say that Hiro was surprised would be an understatement. He didn't expect to be swarmed the moment he stepped in. "Ah, well, I guess I underestimated social people." Well, almost all- except the man who seemed to be a teacher, if his clothes didn't give it away. He was shot an intimidating glare- But Hiro decided to brush it off. He's seen those kinds of glares from quite a lot of his teachers in Fuchizawa anyway. A hamster with a glass eye was shown to him, but he shook his head, speaking for the first time since he entered the place. "No, it's alright, I'm not that attached to animals."

Just then, a blonde-haired woman appeared to him.
"You're the other one eh? Pleasant morning. I am Shizuka Atsushi, the landlord of this dormitory."
"Ah...figures." Hiro thought as he was given the paperwork. It reminded him of that annoying time in Fuchizawa's physics club, somehow.
"That lists down all the general rules around this place as well aside from your personal data. You need to sign it by the way."
"Bam, had it coming." He thought to himself again. He dug around in his jacket for his pen, and felt his fingers brush over about three caps of pens in there. Finally pulling out a black one and scanning the papers over, he signed, quietly listening to the landlord speak.
"Uhh...no. Hiro's room is different. He'll be staying at Room 209, right at the edge of the corridor. You're all on the same floor so, no problem there if you want to converse with each other. By the way Izanagi, your room is optimized as a one-person room since it's at the end of the hall. Any problems with that?"
"Ah, no, it's fine." Hiro answered, his head slightly aching. If his friend from the university was cheerful enough to give him a migraine, then what more in here? "Ah well...I'll be alone in my room anyway, so I guess I can work better."

"Hey Yuzuki? Yuzuki's attention was caught by Shiori, who called her.
"Has anything bothered you while staying at this place?" The question pierced the brown-haired girl.
"Anything unnatural?" Yuzuki's memories of the sudden light in the middle of the night were recalled in her brain.
"Something you can't explain somehow?" Her heart started pounding at the thought of the light suggenly going off before Yuzuki saw the young boy who flew trough her and disappeared.

Yuzuki remembered. She still wasn't sure if that was a dream or not. Should she tell Siori, who was also bothered by something similar? What if that was only a dream? What if Yuzuki would only bring unneccessary worries to her roommate?


The eternal battle between Sora and boredom was rambling the brain of the young boy. No matter how many times he would win, this feeling of emptyness and lack of amusement will always challenge him. He had to do something enterntaining and memorable. The high schooler went out of the dorm and started walking in the corridor, trying to think of something. This was until something on the wall caught his attention and brought a joyful spark in his eyes.


Yuzuki diodn't know how to reply to Shiori. Soon she realized that she was in silence for solid ten seconds after Shiori brought the question up.

"Well, I..." Yuzuki's reply was cut short once her ears were pierced by the fire alarm.
"What's going on? Is the building on fire?" Yuzuki's eyes quickly moved from side to side.

"Cooool!" Sora's voice trembled in amusement while holding the fire alarm switch. "I better run before I get in trouble." He thought and ran away.

As Yuzuki was about to speak, Shiori heard the fire alarm go off, resonating loudly throughout the room. Taking note of the standard procedure she learned during drills at school, she walked down, trying hard not to panic. As she reached the second floor landing though, she noticed that there weren't any smoke anywhere.

"Strange. Who could it be?" She ran down to the ground floor, outside the dorm, where some of the residents have gathered. Shizuka rounded them all up and looked around.
"All of you stay put. I'll check upstairs if we still have any stragglers." Shizuka walked to the second floor first, going around the rooms, knocking to inform them of the emergency.

"Izanagi, go outside immediately! Fire alarm went off, hurry!" She knocked on Hiro Izanagi's room. As she was about to head upstairs, she noticed that the fire alarm's glass was broken. She conducted a search around the dormitory but came up empty.

"This isn't a funny joke..." Shizuka thought, furious at the perpetrator of the prank as she finished checking the place, down to the lowest basement. Enraged, she went outside and literally exploded at her boarders, bringing her wooden sword with her.

"All right confess this instant! Who pulled the alarm?!!!" She scowled angrily, her sword striking the ground as she did. "For years I've grown tolerant of rumors spreading, exorcisms and blessings held at this place and paranormal investigators setting up surveillance equipment if only to put your minds at ease. Yet these things still happen for whatever reason I don't know! Answer me! Who pulled this damn prank?! He or she can leave if they don't want the way things are around here!"

"Shizuka-san, maybe the alarm just malfunctioned?" Shiori tried to reason out.

"No, the glass was clearly broken. Someone has to have done it as it's the only way to access that switch which shouldn't be pushed unless in the case of an actual emergency!"

Shiori flinched a little. Throughout her stay in the dormitory, she had only seen Shizuka get mad thrice. One was during the time when some kid who claimed to have seen a demon in the basement started preaching about the end of the world. The other was when she caught some boys using one of the rooms as a gambling place. That was when she actually saw her use force to get the troublemakers out. And the third was--well, technically this.
"Best not to get on her nerves when she's this mad." She whispered at her roommate Yuzuki. "Well who were at the second floor during the time interval that this happened?" Shiori asked the boys.
"While I didn't see anyone in particular, I did hear some footsteps walking around the corridor. It stopped for a moment before resuming, faster than last time. I assume whoever it was started sprinting." A young man's voice spoke from the crowd. Shiori turned to look at him and recognized who it was.
"Shinji..." Shiori recalled the incident. At that time, only she, Shizuka and Shinji was in the dorm during that time of her experience. "I'll ask him later. For now, we must listen to Shizuka-san."

"If no one admits to doing the deed, I'm bringing curfew down from 9-7 for students and I'll be imposing a curfew on the teachers as well. I'll also abolish the pets are allowed rule along with inviting non-residents of the dormitory inside." Shizuka explained the conditions.

"What do you plan on doing with that dormer in case you do find out?" Shinji asked.

"Depends. I'll decide that in due time. For now--" Shizuka suddenly got cut off when a guard approached her, telling her that the cameras did manage to catch the perpetrator on screen. Asking the other residents to wait in the lobby, she re-watched the video shown by the guard. Afterwards, she finally walked towards them again.

"Sora Nakahara, up front please." Shizuka asked, the two guards just standing beside her. "Explain yourself this instant!"

"Ay, ay, ay... Sora... So experienced with pranks, yet still so easily caught..." Yuzuki thought when Sora was asked to explain himself. "He doesn't even bother covering himself, it's all because..."

"I was bored." The boy simply replied to Shizuka.

He got in trouble anyway... Well, it's not like he didn't get used to it.

"The lightest thing he will get is an enormous lecture. The worst case scenario... " Yuzuki thought in slight horror, as she stepped next to her brother.

"He can help with something, so he can make up for this confusion." She spoke to Shizuka.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Sora tried to opress her.
"He can be in charge of cleaning the second frool for example, or he can help you store stuff..." Yuzuki continued.
"Please, shush!"
"He can do anything for around a month or two."
"No way!"
"Just as long as he stays."

"I was bored."

"Oh no..." Shiori thought as she watched the scene unfold. It's very rare for incidents like this to happen anyway so, it's a little unnerving. Plus, she just heard Sora say the worst excuse possible.

"Bored? That's it? Bored? You know what, I usually relieve my boredom by hitting things with this sword--" Shizuka brought the sword down, so the boy could see the full length and scratches it has accumulated all the years. "So, every time I get bored, I guess I should just start hitting things right? Should I start with you? Would you want that?" Shizuka went on with her lecture. Fortunately for the boy, his sister stepped up for him.

"He can help with something, so he can make up for this confusion. He can be in charge of cleaning the second frool for example, or he can help you store stuff... He can do anything for around a month or two. Just as long as he stays."

His sister really looked sincere in pleading. Yuzuki hadn't particularly caused any trouble during her stay. "Nakahara, I can see your concern. However, causing trouble thanks to a lack of discipline and restraint is asking for a punishment. As for you--" Shizuka's eyes moved from the older sister to the younger brother. "I'll have to bring down your curfew from 9 to 7 PM. By 7, you will no longer be allowed to go out of your room, much less this dormitory. In case of urgency, your sister must be with you. Also, I'll have to write a report to the administration of this dorm, and your school. You'll also be compensating for the broken glass on the alarm. The rest of you, go back." Shizuka finally finished, turning away, feeling a little exhausted after that.

"Now's my chance..." Shiori hurried up and intercepted Shinji on his way back. "Hey Shinji? Where were you last Saturday?"
"What Saturday?"
"Saturday when only me, you and Shizuka-san were in this place."
"You said it yourself. I was here the whole time all holed up in my room. Why?"
"No, never mind..." Shiori backed away, not wanting to come near the guy any longer as he was looking rather irritated. Maybe he was in the middle of something before the false alarm started. Still, she descended down the stairs to meet with the siblings.

"She rarely gets mad so, she can still be reasoned with. Want to talk to her about it?" Shiori offered to accompany Yuzuki in negotiating the terms.

''Aw, nuts!'' Sora moaned. Now he had to find ways to go around the punishment. Well, from the other side this might be interesting. At least he doesn't have to do chores.
''Well, It's my own fault for not covering myself enough. But man, that alarm was awesome, and it caused such noise, everyone went out of their dorms. It was worthed.'' He thought.

''Okay, you know her better. Let's make it quick. Sora doesn't cope well with normal circumstances, let alone restrictions.'' Yuzuki replied to Shiori and smiled. ''Thank you, Shiori. It means a lot.''