First day of school. Chie thought, resting her head on her left hand, her right idly tapping out a dull beat on the desk in front of her, the noise being lost in the noise of the classroom around her. She glanced to her side, watching the rain pattering on the window.

It looks about as bad as I feel right now. She thought with a glum sigh, turning back towards the front of the room. It always felt like an ending when school started up again after a long break. Endings always depressed Chie- if only just a little bit.

The class's teacher hadn't yet arrived and, as usual, most of the classmates were up and socializing. Normally, Chie would be doing the same, but oddly enough the area around her was quiet. Yukiko was busy getting her books and supplies in order, making sure she was absolutely prepared for the day, which explained why she wasn't talking to Chie. It made sense that Yukiko would be ignoring her.

On the other hand, Yosuke was also being quiet. He was usually quite talkative, but he had resigned himself to keeping his head face down on the desk. As annoying as he was usually, Chie would've preferred his ramblings to the boring, depressing silence she faced right now. It almost made Yosuke's lewd comments seem endearing… well, almost, at least.

Oh well. I can always talk to them later, I guess. Chie thought, looking back down at her desk. She idly traced an old drawing on the wooden surface with her index finger, picturing climactic clashes of ancient fighting styles.

Klak. The sound of the door opening made her pause and look up. Their teacher had finally arrived, a scrawny, bucktoothed man who looked as though the vein on his forehead was about to burst out of his skull.

Great. King Moron. She let out a muffled groan, the horror stories of her uptight teacher resurfaced in her mind. Her displeasure was cut off, however, when she noticed that a student had followed Morooka, the "King Moron," into the classroom.

Grey hair? Chie wondered, staring at the student's head, his eyes partially covered by his silvery bangs. An impassive, neutral expression was on his face, his lips drawn in a thin line as he gazed out a spot on the back wall from behind his bangs.

"Alright! Listen up!" The scrawny teacher yelled, dropping a small briefcase onto the desk with enough force to get the attention of everyone in the room. "Welcome to Class 2-2. I'll be the homeroom teacher of you worthless brats for this year."

He paused, scanning the crowd of students. His scowl deepened, and he turned to the side, gesturing towards the student that had followed him into the room.

"Now, this sad sack of garbage is our new transfer student from the city." Morooka continued, his nose wrinkling in disgust. "And don't get any ideas, ladies! This guy's as much of a loser here as he was back in the city, so don't even think about flirting with him!"

The student's calm posture stiffened slightly, and his mouth curled downward into a frown for just a moment, his eyes darting to the side Morooka was standing on. He opened his mouth to respond to the teacher's comment, but decided against it at the last moment. His gaze returned to the same spot on the wall.

"My name is Yu Narukami." He recited smoothly, giving a slight bow as he continued, "It's nice to meet you all."

It was almost too smooth, Chie wondered. Most transfer students were nervous or anxious on their first day, but Narukami had seemed to not care, like he had done it all before.

As their unattractive teacher began again with a new rant, Chie's brow furrowed, trying to decipher something about the new student from his unflinching stare.

Just who is this guy? She thought, making a quick glance at the empty seat next to her. A smirk grew on her face as she looked back to the front of the room.

Maybe I can find out…

Well, this entire plan is a bust. Chie thought, her eyes attempting to burn a hole in the back of the transfer student's head from her position behind him.

The first part of her plan was a success, but it went downhill from there. Morooka gladly let Yu sit next to her in class, but when she tried to talk to him afterwards, he acted like he didn't remember who she was. It was ridiculous! She sat next to him all day! How could he forget?!

Both her and Yukiko offered to give the student a tour of Inaba anyway, as a way to welcome to the town. Of course, Chie just wanted an excuse to learn about the mysterious new student. However, he was quickly becoming the irritating new student.

The entire time on their way through the town, Chie bombarded him with questions, while Yukiko provided support strikes at key junctures. But every one of their attacks was deflected with minimal effort. He never elaborated, answering "yes" or "no" when he could, and shrugging when he could not.

"So, you're from the city?"

"Yep."

"Ooh, do you miss it at all?"

"Not really."

"What do you think of Inaba so far?"

He shrugged again, still watching the road in front of them, and Chie couldn't help but grit her teeth in irritation. It didn't help that Yukiko was giggling at sparse intervals every time Narukami deflected another of Chie's probing questions.

Fine, if she doesn't want to help me, Chie thought, a mischievous smile growing on her face, I think I'll turn the tables on the both of them.

"Heh, well, if you don't have an opinion on Inaba yet, why don't you give us your opinion on something you've had the chance to experience for a bit?" Chie began, putting on a small boost of speed to catch up to Yu.

The transfer student turned his head in Chie's direction, his eyebrow raised in an expression of perplexion.

"Oh no, Chie…" Yukiko said, matching pace alongside her friend, "Don't start this again…"

"So tell me, "Mr." Narukami," Chie continued, her tone mocking Morooka's, "You think Yukiko's cute, don't you?"

"Ugh, Chie…" Yukiko replied, covering her reddening face with a hand.

Yu, however, had no real reaction. His expression retained its usual aloofness as he glanced at Yukiko. Looking back at Chie, he frowned.

"I don't see why you're even asking me this." He answered, his brows creasing slightly, "I'm leaving in a year."

The tomboy's expression morphed into one of confusion at his words. Noticing this, Yu shrugged slightly, a strange look in his eyes.

"Getting to know me won't do you any good once I'm gone," the grey-haired boy explained, his expression neutral, "So what does it matter? Why even bother?"

Chie blinked, taken aback by the transfer student's words. That's not the answer I was expecting…

Taking advantage of her moment of silence, Yu had sped up his walking speed once more, putting himself ahead of the two friends.

There was a pause as Chie stared after him, her eyes following the transfer student's retreating form. She chewed on the inside of her lip as she turned his words over in her head.

Yukiko coughed, the noise sounding awkward in the silence.

"That was… weird." Yukiko said, the redness in her face retreating.

You can say that again, Chie thought, picturing his expression in her head, burning his undecipherable stare into her memory as she watched the boy walk at a steady pace ahead of them.

Her brow furrowed and her trademark brash determination began to rear its head.

I'll show you how wrong you are, Narukami. Chie thought, a small smirk on her face.