~ Shun Armada, Entrance to the Dreamtime Dorms ~
Sunday, April 3rd

Heavily laden with various cases, bags, and other such packages, a young man made his way slowly up to the entrance of the dorms that the girl had just entered. He was weighed down by the stuffed backpack on his back, and was somewhat unsuccessfully trying to keep a duffel bag from falling off his shoulder. He was dragging two suitcases along behind him, and the strap of a shoulder bag was held in his teeth while the bag itself hung over his neck. Every few moments, he stopped to catch his breath.

"Gah!" he spat as he pulled the duffel bag's strap back up on his shoulder, "I should have listened and sent some stuff over early." He sighed, then reached over to grab something from his pocket, causing the bag strap to slide down again. He gave a muffled curse, then pulled out a piece of paper and adjusted the strap again. He glanced at the paper, then looked around.

"I think I'm in the right area," he murmured in English, "I think it might be right over...there!" His eyes lit up as he realized the address of the building was the same as that of the one on the paper. He then stared at the small set of stairs leading up to the door and sighed again as he realized that he would have to pull all of the bags up those stairs.

After a while, he managed to do so. Releasing one of the suitcases, he knocked on the door, then opened the door without waiting for a response, slightly surprised that it was unlocked. As he pulled his luggage in with him, he noticed the smell of curry wafting from some distance ahead. Throwing all his luggage by the couches in what appeared to be the living room, making sure to make as much noise so that whoever was cooking would hear him. He made his way forward, and saw with surprise that the chef was a girl hardly older than himself.

"Ah, hello," he said in Japanese with a slight accent, "My name's Armada. Shun Armada. I was wondering if this is the Dreamtime Dorm? I got an invitation to come here and, as you can see, I'm here." Shun glanced at her cooking.

"Hey, bet you I can make better curry than you," he said with a grin.
---
~Chiyoko Ikeda (the Judge), Train Station some distance from Kasaku~
"Attention: We apologize for the inconvenience, but the train to Kasuka has been delayed. We repeat, the train to Kasuka has been delayed."

A young woman listened to the announcement attentively, then pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She checked the time, adjusting the thin black glasses frames that she was wearing. Oddly, the frames held no glass. She closed her phone and put it back, placing her hand on a suitcase that was standing beside her. From another pocket, she took out a small red diary and quickly scribbled something in it. She replaced it and drew out a piece of paper. She blinked a few times and read it.

"It seems I may be running late," she said softly to herself. She folded the paper up neatly, putting it back in her pocket. Dusting off her black jacket, she looked expressionlessly forward, waiting for the train.

[Atsuko Kazumi - Dreamtime Dorms (Room 4A)]
~ Sunday, April 3rd ~

Kazumi let her freeweights down at her side and sighed. Judging from the voices she'd heard earlier and the noise downstairs, it seemed she didn't have the dorm to herself anymore. She checked herself in the mirror: a dirty white camisole and black tights... whatever - she had no intention of getting close enough to anyone to have to worry about making a good first impression. Setting one of the weights on her desk on the way out, she went downstairs.

"Good morning." She quickly noticed the smell of curry wafting through the air, and her stomach rumbled in response. Right, I haven't had breakfast yet, have I? She walked into the kitchen through the other entrance and grabbed a strawberry pocky, and let it dangle out of the side of her mouth as she introduced herself. "Atsuko. Atsuko Kazumi. I guess this means we're dormmates."

[Shiraume Makoto - Shiraume Shrine (Front Steps)]

Makoto checked his watch as he sat on the curb, his duffel bag on the sidewalk next to him. In the distance, he could hear the telltale roar of Kirsa's engine and the squeal of her brakes. He looked up just in time to see her powerslide through a corner and come flying up to him. He got up and went for the trunk, but she rolled her window down and called out to him first.

"No room! You mind keeping it on your lap, Makoto?"

He opened the door and sat down, putting the duffel bag in his lap as asked. "Morning, Kirichan. Not at all," he answered as he shut the door. The back seats were loaded with things as well. "I appreciate you going out of your way like this."

"I should be the one thanking you," she said as she took off once again, making her way to the Dreamtime Dorm.

Makoto shot her a questioning look.

"For helping me bring all my stuff up to my room," she said with a smile, as though he'd already agreed to this and she was only reminding him.

He let out an exaggerated sigh. "Fine - I suppose I can take care of the heavy stuff." She was still saving him bus fare, though it was hardly an even trade. "How can you have so much stuff to bring, anyway?"

"How can you have so little?"

"I had more, but I sent it ahead of time."

"So did I." She smiled in response to the shocked glance he shot her. "These are just some little valuables I didn't want to trust to the movers."

He looked at the boxes in the back seat. Every last one of them was marked 'Sound Equipment.' He was glad he'd picked a room on the first floor, and pitied whoever had the rooms next to and beneath her. "Where's the guitar?"

"Packed tight in the trunk. I didn't want it sliding around loose up here, you know, in case I got in an accident or something."

Makoto shook his head. He couldn't understand how a ¥150,000 guitar could be worth more than what had to be a million yen of sound equipment (or a twelve million yen car, for that matter), but then, he wasn't a musician. "You going to join the music club this year?"

"Maybe... I'll have to think about it. Between the band and gymkhana competitions, joining a school club would pretty much kill what's left of my 'me time,' you know?"

"Yeah. It'll be nice to get away from the shrine...not have to practice my kyūdō every single day. Though, I wonder if my skills will suffer as a result?"

Kirsa laughed. "You worry too much." To drive the point home, she did a Scandinavian Flick and a handbrake turn, flipping the car around 180 degrees and bringing them to a stop in the opposite lane of traffic, right at the edge of the curb. "We're here."

Makoto looked out the window. Sure enough, it was the Dreamtime Dorm. He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. "I'll just drop my bag inside then I'll help you get your stuff up."

Kirsa cut the ignition and nodded back. "Don't take too long."

~Kimura Toshio: Kimura Residence ~
Sunday, April 3rd

“Ouch!” Toshio winced as he felt the tip of the needle dig into his skin, precariously close to drawing blood. He shot an acid look at the woman kneeling beside him, the quick spark of pain dulling. “Grandma, try to be more careful!”

The old woman looked up apologetically, her teeth clenched over the head of a needle. “It’s being difficult with how often you’re moving! Can’t you stay still for a while?”

“It’s so stuffy!” Toshio complained, hooking a finger around his collar and loosening it. Thinking again, he dragged his finger down the collar buttons and unfastened them. Air hit the bare spot underneath his neck and he let out a suppressed sigh. “They didn’t have uniforms like this over at the states…” He took a look at the long mirror in front of him, tempted to turn in place to get a better view of what he would be forced to wear for a year.

Meticulously weaving one of her needles through the fabric of the yellow coat, Toshio’s grandmother shook her head slightly, “Oh, stop complaining. You look nice in it, Toshio. Really, you do.”

“You’re just telling me that.” He replied snidely, arms getting sore from holding them out to the sides.

“Yeah,” Toshio’s grandmother said indifferently, switching the needle in her mouth for the one in her hand and vice versa, “just keep quiet as I taper your coat please.”

For a few unbearable moments, Toshio managed to remain still and silent, a task made even harder by the increasing soreness in his limbs. Finally, he heard the snap of a thread as his grandmother bit off a section with her teeth. She stood up, admiringly, with her hands on her hips, the needles and spool of thread clutched tightly in her hand. “There, all done.”

Toshio immediately began to relax, observing how his school uniform fit him better than it did when he had first received it. “Are you even allowed to do this?” he asked, turning his body to take a glance at the back.

“I’m not sure.” His grandmother replied in turn. She wore a huge smirk on her face like a clown mask. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she screamed something in Japanese while facing the direction of the kitchen. “Love, get over here and look at your grandson in his uniform!” Meanwhile, Toshio picked at his white dress shirt, pulling it forward and watching as it fell back like a deflated balloon.

“The shirt’s still a little big…” he said a bit annoyed, attempting to smooth it down to make it look fitting. He looked over to his grandmother expectantly, “I thought you tried to fix this too.”

“It looks fine, Toshio!” she replied exasperatedly, switching back to English. A man came up beside her, strong features like carvings against stone. Slightly surprised as she turned to him, Toshio’s grandmother gestured toward him to Toshio. “Come on now,” she told the man in Japanese, “You think he looks nice, right?”

Silently, the man surveyed Toshio from top to bottom, taking in all his features with his steady eyes. After a moment, his head stayed still before finally forming a nod. Smiling as if that was exactly what she was expecting, Toshio’s grandmother turned to him. “You see? Even your grandfather agrees!”

“Thank you, grandpa…” Toshio replied in soft Japanese, still not convinced.

“Everything else fits though right?” His grandma asked, inching closer, “You can just wear something else besides the dress shirt. It’ll be fine. Stop picking at it.”

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Toshio complied and started to slip off his uniform to dress back up into his normal clothes. “Fine, okay grandma…”he said. He had more pressing matters to stress out about anyway. Like how school was going to start soon, very soon…

~ Shun Armada, Dreamtime Dorm (Kitchen) ~
“Ah, pleased to meet you,” said the cooking girl with enthusiasm. As Shun walked closer to the counter, he noticed that the girl was significantly shorter than himself, easily an entire foot. He was slightly surprised that he may have mistaken her for someone his own age, as she seemed more of a child than anything, though he guessed that anyone in the dorms was probably at least his own age. Shun was looking around at the food that was laid out on the table when the girl continued.

“I’m Erihana Avalon but you can just call me Avalon," she said. Her pronunciation of her last name was awkward on his ears, since it sounded more like a name in English than one in Japanese the way she said it. She continued talking as he was thinking.

"Yes this is the Dreamtime Dorm – I got here myself not too long ago actually and…” He saw her eyes narrow in what looked like glee.

"You dare challenge my cooking? Loser has to clean wash the dishes tonight if you accept the challenge now. I'll let you decide." Armada opened his mouth, preparing to respond, when he heard another voice coming in the direction of the stairs.

"Atsuko. Atsuko Kazumi. I guess this means we're dormmates," said the new person, a girl dressed in casual clothing that showed well-developed muscles. She was unadorned with jewelry or anything extraneous and only slightly shorter than Armada. Despite the fact that he was wearing a sweatshirt and the time of year, Armada felt a slight shiver in his spine when he looked at her.

"I guess we are then, Kazumi-san," he said, nodding his head at her. He quickly turned his head back to Avalon, hearing her reply to Kazumi's greeting with what was slowly beginning to appear as natural enthusiasm and then picking up the same screeching tire noise that she had.

"Doesn't look like you're going to make enough curry," he said to Avalon with a shrug, "Well then! I'll just have to accept your challenge! Our dorm mates will be the judges, of course." Armada quickly made his way around the counter, grabbing and separating some of the curry ingredients from Avalon. He then opened the refrigerator, looking for anything else that he could use as ingredients and spotted some lemons.

"Hm, curry with lemon juice sounds nice," he murmured to himself, though unintentionally loud enough for the others to hear. Opening one of the cupboards, he found a hand juicer and placed it with his own ingredients. He continued finding other ingredients, some not exactly put in traditional curry, and began to cook his own curry, talking to himself. Suddenly, he realized he had accidentally switched to his fluent English while speaking and looked up to judge the reactions of his dorm mates if they heard. As he did so, he switched back to Japanese and tried to start a conversation with the others, nervous of what they would think if they found out he wasn't from Japan.

"So, I presume that everyone who's in this dorm is participating in the Dreamtime Dorm experiment, huh? And we'll be attending Shizuka Kaigan. What grades are you all entering into? Do you know how many more people are coming?"

- Nace Haruka - Dreamtime Dorms 3A

Nace arrived at the front door near the dorm room, where she was going to be staying at from now on. In her both hands were two separate bags full of clothing and other materials. The room she stepped in was open free, not a single person in sight besides her. For the time being she allowed herself to rest at the table where from here on out she'd be studying. On her way there after she was dropped off outside by her mother, she in countered others who were going to be staying there as well. She did not speak with anyone other then the person who had shown her to her room before heading back the other way, once she was there she sat everything down and left the room, along with the rest of her belongings. "Maybe I should check out the place while I still have my energy."

[Shiraume Makoto, Renka Kirsa & Atsuko Kazumi - Dreamtime Dorms]

The girl introduced herself as Erihana Avalon. A strange name, but Kazumi decided not to ask about it.

"I guess we are then, Kazumi-san," the boy said, seeming more interested in the brewing competition than introducing himself. She was a little miffed so familiarly too, but let it drop, lest she come across as antagonistic and confrontational. "Doesn't look like you're going to make enough curry," he said to Avalon. "Well then! I'll just have to accept your challenge! Our dorm mates will be the judges, of course."

Kazumi rolled her eyes dismissively. On the one hand, she hadn't eaten yet, but on the other hand, she had no idea if either of them were even any good. She decided she could do with a home-cooked meal, even if it was just curry, and leaned back on one of the counters; enjoying her pocky while lifting the freeweight she'd brought down with her.

She quickly noticed the boy talking to himself in English. While she wasn't fluent, she could pick up bits and pieces and quickly ascertained that English was his native language, as even if he were an expert in English as a second language, it would be incredibly bizarre to think in anything but your mother tongue.

"So, I presume that everyone who's in this dorm is participating in the Dreamtime Dorm experiment, huh?" he asked, obviously suddenly aware of what he'd been doing and hoping to distract them. "And we'll be attending Shizuka Kaigan. What grades are you all entering into? Do you know how many more people are coming?"

"You first, Erihana-san," she said flatly after finishing her pocky and then went back into the cupboard for a second.

Makoto heard voices talking before he even opened the door. Good, looks like we're not the first one's here. He opened the door and continued only as far as his room, tossed his duffel bag onto the bed and turned back around and left. There would be time for proper introductions later. For now, he just wanted to help Kirsa and get it over with. Leaving the door open, he soon returned with Kirsa, both carrying stacks of boxes. He gave a smile and a quick nod to the people gathered in the kitchen as he deftly balanced on one foot and hit the call button for the elevator with the other.

Kirsa was more distracted by the smell of curry than Makoto, and briefly toyed with the idea of dropping everything and conveniently introducing herself just when they finished cooking, but ultimately decided that'd be a little too mean to Makoto. "Don't suppose I could interest any of you in giving us a hand with my stuff?" she half-pleaded.

Kazumi put her weight down on the counter and gave a slight nod to Avalon and the boy as she left the kitchen to go see who needed help and with what. "They're a little busy with cooking at the moment," she said to the girl, and turned to Makoto, who was still waiting for the elevator. "Girlfriend?"

Makoto practically dropped the boxes. "N-no! Nothing like that; we've just lived near each other for a while now."

"I see. Well, I suppose I'd be remiss in my duties if I didn't help a subordinate in his time of need..."

The doors to the elevator opened as a loud "ding" resounded in the mostly empty dining room. "Thanks!" Kirsa smiled at the girl's answer and leaned her hip towards her. "The key's in my pocket. Nothing left in the car, just the trunk."

Kazumi fished the keys out of the girl's pocket and went out the front door.

Kirsa turned to Makoto with a sadistic grin as they boarded the elevator. Even though she'd immediately recognized the girl who 'offered' to help, she couldn't resist. "Girlfriend?"

Again, he almost dropped the boxes. "Geez - she's the president of the Student Council."

Between the three of them, it didn't take much longer before they'd finished bringing Kirsa's stuff up to her room. Kirsa left to drive her car to the nearest car park, while Makoto and Kazumi joined the others in the kitchen. "Miss much?" Kazumi asked rhetorically.

Makoto coughed slightly, obviously trying to get Kazumi to introduce him.

She got the hint, but just shot him a harsh glance and said "Cover your mouth."

Sure, now she gets a sense of humor. He returned her glare and turned to the two chefs. "Shiraume Makoto, but you can call me Makoto. We're going to be living together after all."

Kazumi just rolled her eyes.

~ Shun Armada, Dreamtime Dorms (Kitchen) ~

Glancing at the recent hustle and bustle of the new dorm mates that were just coming in, Armada turned his attention back to making his share of the curry. As he began mixing together his ingredients, he suddenly slapped his forehead with the heel of his palm.

"Mierda!" he cried out, "I forgot to introduce myself to Kazumi-san. I should start remembering who I introduce myself to if I'm going to be living with you all. Ugh, I hope she doesn't think me too rude." He watched as Kazumi and another girl, one with blue hair, brought some packages to the elevator, which reminded him that his stuff was still in the front, next to some couches in the living room. He sighed as he realized he was going to have to take them to his room, as soon as he figured out where that was.

“I’ll be in first year,” Armada heard Avalon say, "and sorry I'm not sure how many are coming. It would've been nice though, I would've made more curry. I'm glad you're here to help though!" He saw her flash a grin at him, and he returned it with his own and a nod.

"Oh, it's no problem. I'd often cook if Mom was late back home. So, you're going to be a first year? So am I! Hey, maybe we'll be in the same homeroom together. It'd be nice having someone I know on the first day." He turned his attention to a man who had just made his way towards the counter, one who seemed a couple years his senior and had white hair and amber eyes. He was dressed almost entirely in black except for a green jacket that he wore over his shirt. Armada found himself instantly taking a liking to the new guy.

"Shiraume Makoto, but you can call me Makoto. We're going to be living together after all," the newcomer said, introducing himself. Armada smiled and nodded, then introduced himself.

"Shun Armada," he said, "Pleased to make your acquaintance." Noticing that Avalon was done with her portion of the curry, he sped up in completing his. In a few moments, it was done and he took one of the plates that Avalon had already loaded with her curry and put some of his own on the uncovered rice.

"I hope you don't mind that I experimented a bit with the curry. I never did much like cooking in the traditional style, so you'll find some ingredients that aren't normally in curry. It shouldn't taste too bad, though," he said as he did so. Under his breath, he added, "I mean, the last time I used chocolate in curry, the major problem was that there was too much and I didn't melt it enough. I think I fixed that." He filled a second dish with some more curry, then took the first one and walked over to Kazumi. Bowing to her, he offered her the plate in his hands.

"I apologize for being so rude as to not introduce myself earlier," he said with his casual grin, "So I'd like to offer you the first plate of curry. Please enjoy!"
---
~Chiyoko Ikeda, On a Train~
The train had finally arrived. She stared out a window, watching as the scenery passed by, her face unmoving and without expression. Sitting next to her was what appeared to be a businessman, dressed in a suit with a small rough patch on the shoulder. He was reading a newspaper. She would have liked to the same with her book, but apparently she had unintentionally put it in her suitcase, and it would have been too difficult to take it out now. She did not remember doing so, but her diary told her that she had. Her diary knew everything, even that which she herself did not know, and there was a good reason for this.

The train had been delayed again, and she estimated that with the time it would take to reach Kasaku, she might be unable to be there before lunch. That was a pity. Her mother had not given her any money for lunch outside, so she had been hoping to be at the dorms before lunchtime. She wondered about who her dorm mates would be. She had never been outside her hometown before, and was slightly nervous about what everyone would think about her. About her condition. She hoped that they would be accepting, though logically she knew that there would be many problems.

She checked the time on her cell phone. She had been on the train for a half-hour. They were slowing down, preparing to reach a stop. It was not Kasaku. The business man got up. Nobody came to replace him. She took out her diary, and quickly wrote something in it. Then she sat still again, staring out the window.

~Kimura Toshio: Outside Dreamtime Dorms~

“This looks like the place…” Toshio remarked to himself as he looked from the neat invitation in his hand to the large building in front of him, “Funny, I never really expected to ever come here…”

He had some reason to after all. His grandmother was dead set against the chance of him living anywhere besides with her and his grandfather. The dorm was only a couple minutes away from the shop, Kimura Sundries, but that still took no account in his grandparents’ decision.

“No…” Toshio thought, recalling her exact words, “Absolutely not.” He sighed as he remembered the livid expression she had on her face. Priceless, though he would never tell her that. He didn’t tell a lot of things to his grandparents, like how he had planned to come here.

“I’m going for a little walk…” he told them as he left.

“I just want to go look at the dorms for a while.” He meant.

He stuck his invitation in his back pocket and walked nervously up the steps. “I’ll just check out the first floor for a little and leave.” He told himself. Hopefully there would be no one arriving yet. That’s when he would have a problem. He wrapped his hand around the doorknob and twisted, expecting it to jerk still in place. However, it twisted all the way, causing Toshio to open the door, loudly.

He stumbled forward as he gave out a surprised cry, the door swinging open by his side. Obviously, he wasn’t expecting that. He took a few steps before stabilizing himself, nearly falling onto his face as a result. “I don’t think anyone would have heard that…” he thought, glancing upward. His eyes met the ones of four other pairs.

“Oh, crap…All eyes on me now huh?” Tosho thought in embarrassment. Coughing nervously, he straightened himself up and placed his trembling hands in the pockets of his vest. “Uh, hello there…” He said, giving a little wave. He then realized his mistake. “Accent, put on the accent.” He told himself.

Toshio took a few steps forward, “Sorry for uh…bursting in on you guys like this. But um…I’ll be going now so yeah…” He began to back up, trying to appear as smooth as possible. That’s when the thought hit him.

“Hold on…” he said to no one in particular, “Is anyone here attending Shizuka Kaigan High?” Toshio scolded himself mentally. Of course everyone there was attending, that was the whole point of the dorm. “Scratch that, forget I asked…” he said feebly. No turning back now. Might as well introduce himself so he could leave.

“My name is Toshio Kim-ah, Kimura Toshio!” He said, catching himself at the last moment, “I’m, uh, second? Yeah, I’m going to be a second year at Shizuka Kaigan. It’s nice to meet you all.” He said, though it couldn’t have been farthest from the truth.

~Ito Kotone: Dreamtime's Kitchen~

"It's nice to meet you too, Kimura-senpai," said Kotone, speaking slightly slower for his benefit as she squeezed into the doorway with him. She thought that the poor boy looked as if everyone else in the room were preparing to bite him.

"It's nice to meet all of you," she added to the others. "I'm Ito Kotone, class one. I hope we have a fun time together. At least there aren't so many of us." She smiled a little at the smell wafting in the kitchen. "Is the curry almost ready? I haven't had anything to eat since breakfast."

[Shiraume Makoto, Renka Kirsa & Atsuko Kazumi - Dreamtime Dorms]

The two chefs introduced themselves, and Makoto smiled as they turned their attentions back to the curry. They certainly seemed friendly enough.

"My portion’s done but it can only serve about four people so… but Armada-san should be finished soon. We’re having a bit of a curry cook-off," Avalon explained, "I hope you don’t mind being a judge."

"Not at all - moving all those boxes upstairs worked up quite an appetite."

"I hope you don't mind that I experimented a bit with the curry. I never did much like cooking in the traditional style, so you'll find some ingredients that aren't normally in curry. It shouldn't taste too bad, though," Armada informed them. Indeed, it didn't look like any curry Makoto had seen before, and Kazumi arched an eyebrow suspiciously.

"I apologize for being so rude as to not introduce myself earlier," Armada continued as he handed Kazumi a plate, "So I'd like to offer you the first plate of curry. Please enjoy!"

Kazumi nodded in appreciation and turned back to the pantry and grabbed two more of her strawberry pocky, and commenced eating the rice, using the pocky as chopsticks. Makoto looked at her like she was crazy, and she huffed and turned away. Facing Armada, she spoke quietly. "It's not bad. My compliments." For the moment though, she set her 'chopsticks' down. "Continuing from where we left off: I'll be entering third year coming up, as will Makoto here. As I haven't seen you around before, I assume you're both first years or transfer students. Either way - I'm president of the student council, so if you have any difficulties adjusting, or get any trouble from other students, I'd be more than happy to pawn it off on Makoto here."

Makoto laughed awkwardly, acting like it was meant to be a joke when he had the feeling she was being completely serious. But then, that was how they worked - if she was the CPU of the council, he was the user-friendly interface.

His attention snapped to the front door, however, as another newcomer literally stumbled in. Even Kazumi's face hinted vaguely of concern at the panicked look on his face.

"Uh, hello there…" The young man waved as he greeted them awkwardly. Kazumi immediately took note of his accent, but said nothing. A lot of foreigners coming here, she thought to herself. It wasn't something she took issue with, just that it seemed odd - statistically speaking.

"Sorry for uh...bursting in on you guys like this. But um...I’ll be going now so yeah…"

Did he come here by mistake? Makoto thought as he began to back towards the door.

"Hold on... Is anyone here attending Shizuka Kaigan High?"

I guess so, Makoto confirmed, or he'd know about this dorm.

"Scratch that, forget I asked..." the boy said quietly. "My name is Toshio Kim-ah, Kimura Toshio! I’m, uh, second? Yeah, I’m going to be a second year at Shizuka Kaigan. It’s nice to meet you all."

Boy, he must be fresh off the boat, saying his name European-style like that, Kazumi thought to herself.

"It's nice to meet you too, Kimura-senpai," came a voice from behind him as a young girl slipped past him into the building. "It's nice to meet all of you. I'm Ito Kotone, class one. I hope we have a fun time together. At least there aren't so many of us."

Makoto was a little surprised to see so many people showing up so early, but it was just as well in his mind. The sooner they all got to know one another, the better.

"Is the curry almost ready?" the new girl asked. "I haven't had anything to eat since breakfast."

"Atsuko Kazumi," Kazumi said, introducing herself to both of them and ignoring the girl's question. As Toshio was obviously a fresh transfer student, and since Kotone had addressed him as senpai, they were both new to the school. "As I was just explaining, I'm the student council president, so-"

"You can take up any problems you have with her," Makoto interrupted. Toshio especially looked like he'd have a heart attack if Kazumi went full-intimidation on him. "But unless it's really important, you can leave it with me, Shiraume Makoto - I'm on the council, too. Kazumi-chan will be pretty busy, what with the beginning of a new year and all."

Kazumi stared daggers at Makoto - mad enough at having been interrupted, he had the nerve to address her as 'Kazumi-chan'? "Right. Well, if there's nothing else to be said, I'm going to go back in and finish my curry."

Before she could turn and leave, though, yet another voice came from the doorway. "Keikoku has entered the building!" Kirsa announced as she stepped in, returning from the nearby car park. "Ooh, quite the crowd we have here. Renka Kirsa's the name," she introduced herself as she sort of danced her way past the two at the entrance.

Makoto shook his head - she usually got revved up like this after a race, so he could only imagine what must have happened on her way to the car park for her to be acting like this now.

- Nace Haruka - Dreamtime Dorms (Hallway)

A great long walk is just what she needed to get back into top gear. She went through the pathway where most of the people were gossiping, though she hadn't the slightest idea as to what they were going on about. They seemed friendly around others, not topically judgmental of a persons standards. One of the girls in the pack would show interest in Haruka, calling out in a cheery voice. "Yo what's up? Come on over here, you look lonely. Why don't you hang out with us." The girl dressed in a sports uniform was the one who recommended it.

Most definitely in the end Haruka was the one to accept the offer. Her face was showing a trust worthy expression as she accepted the girl's invitation. "That's fine with me. You girls seem to be an interesting bunch to hang out with. I hope my expectations won't come back to haunt me in the end." The last part she said was hardly audible for anyone to hear it, in return the girl she had met with would introduce herself along with her friends. "Alrighty then let's get this over and done with. My name is Mikan Tonoshi, I'm a second year attending Shizuka Kaigan High School and a member of the track team. These two here are Suzuka-chan and Tomoyo-chan.

After the introductions the other two smiled and addressed her as their new neighbor. She then happily introduced herself to the trio as Nace Haruka, a second year student attending the same high school. "Nice to meet you. Please treat me kindly during my stay." She muffled her words, saying the end with a hint of shyness. Tomoyo then looked her in the eyes and said to her.

"You need to relax Haruka. To be honest, I think you could do with a good meal or two.

Uh, yeah. Lets go." Haruka concluded in response to her suggestion. Later her stomach would suddenly start growling before making it half way there. Her face became bright red in embarrassment as everyone became silent, her head was lowered before denying that it wasn't her.

"Don't look at me like that. That wasn't me." As if denying it would do her any good after the second time. It happened once more, but this time Tomoyo raised her hand with a none shameful expression. "That time was me." Suzuka's dark green eyes would sway over them like bees on honey. She laughed at the claim that was made by Tomoyo and thought it be funny if she blamed her for the first time as well. "It's always you Tomoyo-chan, so what else is new? Your stomach is a bottomless pit after all."

Upon nearing the kitchen their voices could be heard from the outside as Tomoyo shouted. "Hey I thought I told you to stop calling me Tomoyo-chan! And for your information that happened only one time. One time damn it!" Haruka then stood there speechless without saying anything before going inside after them.