First year

"Can I sit here?" a girl asked Chiba shyly.

He nodded, and she sat down across from him. Chiba turned his attention away from her- he didn't want to look like he was staring- and looked back down at his lunch, his black hair hiding her from his view.

"I should probably introduce myself. I'm Hayami. Hayami Rinka," the girl spoke up quietly.

"Chiba Ryuunosuke," Chiba replied. Looking back up at her, he met her gaze.

"You're in my class, right? 1-D?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah."

Chiba stuck out his hand. She reached out and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Chiba."

"You too, Hayami."

Second year

Hayami leaned her head against the window of the bus, closing her eyes and fighting back tears. She clenched her hand around the letter she was holding, crumpling it into a ball.

Sitting across from her, Chiba glanced over at her. Usually she would be talking animatedly to him- which was really the only time she talked much. Around him, she felt at ease, and so did he when he was around her.

"Hayami?" Chiba asked cautiously.

When she didn't reply, Chiba quickly switched to her seat as the bus slowed to a stop.

"Hayami," he murmured. "What's up?"

She didn't look at him, swiping angrily at the tears in her eyes. She thrust her hand out to him, the crumpled letter resting in her palm. Chiba smoothed it out and read over it.

Hayami Rinka,

Due to your ever-lowering grades, as of the first day of third year, you will be in Class 3-E.

The letter went on to list the classes that Hayami was failing in, and continued on with a list of the various ways that an E class student could get back in the main building.

Signed,

Board Chairman, Asano Gakuho.

"It's okay, Hayami," Chiba told her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't be stupid, Chiba. This is the E-as-in-End Class. Looks like we'll have to each find new partners for projects, huh?"

Chiba shook his head. "No we won't."

"What?" Hayami asked in surprise.

He pulled a piece of paper, folded into a tiny square, out of his pocket and handed to her.

She unfolded it and found a letter that was almost exactly the same as hers.

"It may be Class E, but it's okay. Because I'll be there with you...Rinka."

"Thanks...Ryuunosuke."

Third year

Chiba and Hayami glanced over at each other as they both simultaneously hit the center of the bullseye.

"I hit it first," they both said in unison.

Hayami rolled her eyes and reloaded her pistol. Chiba hefted his sniper rifle and did the same.

"Best out of 10?" Hayami challenged.

"You're on," Chiba answered, taking careful aim and grinning.

Afterwards, they sat down under a tree to eat their lunch- or rather, Chiba sat under the tree. Hayami had climbed up, and was now perched on a branch above Chiba's head.

"Hey, Ryuunosuke. I've known you since first year. Why haven't you cut your bangs?" Hayami asked curiously.

Chiba self-consciously rearranged his bangs to hide his eyes a little better.

"N-no reason," he mumbled, turning his attention to his lunch.

Hayami sighed. "C'mon, Ryuunosuke, you've gotta have a better answer than that. And don't give me that crap about it helping you aim better, like you said last time."

"It's...it's because of my eyes. My father, he has these same eyes, and he always told me to hide them. When my hair wasn't long enough to hide them...people were scared of me. One kid in first grade started crying because he thought I was a monster."

Hayami cocked her head slightly to the side. "Let me see them."

"W-what? No, Rinka, you really don't have to," Chiba spluttered.

Hayami dropped down from the tree and landed lightly on her feet. Reaching out, she swept his hair away from his eyes.

"Red, huh?" she murmured, meeting his gaze. She let his hair fall back over his eyes.

"I don't think they're scary," she declared.

"You really don't think so?" Chiba asked, rearranging his bangs again, feeling the back of his neck heat up.

Hayami glanced down at the ground, her cheeks flushed pink.

"They're...they're kinda pretty," she mumbled almost inaudibly.

"Did I hear you right, Rinka?" Chiba teased.

She rolled her eyes and climbed back up the tree.

"Shut up, Ryuu."

Chiba had always hated the nickname Ryuu. When his family tried to call him by it, he refused to respond to it. But with Hayami, it seemed...different. He grinned and looked up at her.

"Whatever you say, Rin," he replied.

Hayami smiled involuntarily when she heard him call her by her nickname- one that almost nobody called her by because she'd threaten to strangle them. But for some reason, she didn't mind Chiba saying it.

"Hey," she called down to him.

"Yeah?"

"Best out of 10 again, Ryuu?"

"You're on, Rin."