Sitting in the small, barely moved apartment in the suburbs of the Tokyo Prefecture, a feeling of exasperation drains me of all energy. Only just arriving in Japan a mere 12 hours earlier, the rush of arriving in a new place has all but worn off, and I can only sit in a dimly lit living room, flanked by numerous boxes of unpacked furniture and clothing. A lone candle sits on a tiny table in the middle of the room, and I blankly gaze in the ember. I grab my phone and glance at the time.

"8:43, huh…." I dryly remark. "It's way too late for me to go out now. I barely know my way around and it's dark as hell."

Standing up, I peer out the window blinds to see street lights moving across the urban landscape, with the only notable viewing pleasure being the neon lights of a nearby convenience store from my second floor perch. Moving away from the blinds, I move to unwrap my sleeping bag from my backpack. Laying it to the floor, I lie prone on the fabric and let out a heavy sigh.

"WHY. WHY DID I DO THIS." I find myself droning. I'd always been the type of person afraid of change, afraid of leaving the comfort of knowing what could happen the next day. Leaving the US to study in Japan seems like the least likely thing I would do. No point in complaining about it anymore, I think to myself. It was a choice I made, and with the unlikely help of a family friend, I found myself on a plane to finish high school in a new country. I rifle through my backpack again to pull out a folder filled with papers-School information. All of my registration information has been filed and ready for a while now. Ohashi High School, Class 2-C, I read as I flip through the pages. My first day is fast approaching, only two days from now as well. Ughhhhh, this is gonna be farcical. I just know it, something is going to happen to make me regret coming here. No, snap out it Dom, this is that new beginning everyone wishes they could have. I can't let my poor attitude mess this up, not before it starts. Putting the papers aside, I look for the boxes labeled "Bedroom" and retrieve a blanket to lay under. Tomorrow, I'll head to a bank and get the rest of this money transferred to Yen, and get my uniform. Don't wanna show up on my first day and look too out of place. Staring at the dark ceiling of my new home, my ears slowly shut and I try to ignore my anxiety.

"This is just the beginning". I breathe as I drift off into slumber.

Standing at the front gates of Ohashi High School, I can't help but feel my stomach tightening up. I look around and see people moving past me at quickened paces, although, considering I'm frozen in fear everyone else is probably moving at normal speed and I'm the weird one for being rooted to the spot. I take a few steps forward and take the scenery in, and it doesn't help my anxiety at all. I see assorted groups of girls and boys moving about, conversing and laughing with one another. The girls uniform seems to consist of a maroon blazer and blue skirt. The boys' (and subsequently mine) uniform is what they call a gakuran, all black with straight leg pants. Definitely different from I was used to in America. Oh geez, I'm staring aren't I, I should probably head inside and find my homeroom now. The less I stand out, the better.

Walking inside the door, I spot the row of shoe lockers. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a tiny index card with various pre-written instructions for myself, since knowing me, I'd forget where I was. D-19, I had scrawled on the paper. I find the locker, and picking through the various keys on my keychain I unlock it and replace my outside shoes with the uwabaki. After locking my shoes up, I peer back at the paper. Apparently, I was in a hurried rush to get the information down, because I cannot for the life of me read what I wrote- OH SHI-! And apparently, I was so focused on what I was trying to read that I tripped over the step up into the hallway. Falling flat on your face is a good way to display your confidence to your peers. The few students that are in the vicinity see my unfortunate descent giggle to themselves as I pick myself up off the ground to my knees. Great, I think to myself, off to an awesome start.

"Hey dude, you alright?" I hear a voice chime. Facing its direction, I see the face of a male student.

"Yeah, I'm straight" I stutter as I lift myself from the hallway tile.

"You sure? Looked like you really needed to have a word with the floor, you fell so quick man." he continued. Brushing myself off I eye the student. The first thing I notice is the blatant disregard for the uniform code he presents, sporting a light blue hoodie underneath his gakuran. His long blue hair drapes his head as he flashes a friendly smile at me. "Hey, you must be the new transfer!"

Goddamn it, I think. Do I stand out that much? Already? I reach for the index card I dropped and reply, "Um, yes! I, uh, just transferred in today."

"Sweet man! Always happy to see some new faces around here!" The student laughs as he smacks my back roughly. Dammit, if I was wearing my glasses today that would've surely knocked them off. "What's that in your hands?" He gestures at the index card gripped in my hand.

"Uh, it uh, has some… things I wrote down, to tell me where I should be going." I manage to get out.

"Really huh? Which homeroom are you?"

"It says, '2-C'". His eyes widen and a hearty expression grips his face.

"Well whaddya know? I'm from 2-C too!" Wow that's oddly convenient.

"Would it... be too much trouble to show me to the classroom? I'm new…" Of course you are stupid, we just established you were the transfer student, "...and my rough directions I scratched out on this note aren't doing me any favors."

The student winks, "no prob, man. I'm more than happy to help a dude out." He starts off towards the stairs and motions me to follow him. Phew, I breathe. Crisis averted. As we ascend the stairs, we begin talking again.

"So what's your name man?"

"It's uh... " shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit…"it's Dominic. Drayton".

"Wow man, never heard a name like that." He glances at me and sees the obvious distress I show at that statement. I guess the idea of being a stand out among everyone was such an obvious fear I plaster it on my face. "Uh, don't worry about it man. You'll fit right in. My name's Koji Haruta by the by. Call me what you want. Haruta, Koji, whatever you feel alright with. You need any help meeting people or getting around, don't hesitate to ask".

Before I even realized it, we were already at homeroom. As we enter the classroom, I quickly survey the room. Around half of the seats aren't filled, so I assume more students aren't here yet. The students who are here are minding their own business, conversing among one another.

"Just sit wherever man. People usually just grab whatever seat they can." Koji tells me. My eyes gravitate towards the back right corner. Target acquired. I smile and thank him for helping me out. I reach the seat and place my pack down on the ground as I crumple into the seat. Geez, I just got here and I feel like passing out from exertion already. I pull out my phone quickly to check the time. Six more minutes before class starts. Placing it back in my pocket, I see Koji walk over to another student at the opposite corner and sit down next to him.

Other students quickly start filing in and taking seats. I spy one male student whose eyes look like he'd kill a man who even breathed at him wrong. Danger sense going off for real. Right behind him is a ridiculously small girl, couldn't be more than 4 foot 5 inches, with long, orange hair. Even from my hidden corner seat, I can feel a murderous aura emanating from her. They sit near each other and begin to what seems like bicker, but almost immediately she gets up and moves a few seats away from him. Huh, wonder what's the deal with them. Lost in thought, I didn't realize the rest of the students had finally reached their seats and the teacher *cough*Sensei*cough* was in the room at the front desk. She doesn't look a day over 30, yet her features betrayed her age, with shoulder length peach hair and a kind expression on her face.

"Good morning class! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Before we get started…"

Oh shit. Oh god. Oh no.

"I'd like to introduce…" In that moment, it was as if a million tiny gnomes had constricted my body into paralysis, and began using my heart for kickboxing practice. My pupils dilate like a deer in headlights. How. Did. I. Forget. This.

"...our new transfer student from America!"

Fuck.

She smiles directly at me. How did she see me back here?

"Come on up and introduce yourself to class!" Everyone turns around in my direction. Oh God. My body instinctively unlocks itself from its paralysis. I push myself from my desk and try to notice the dozens of pairs of eyes glaring at me, waiting for me to move ahead. I approach the front of the room and turn around to look at everyone.

"H...H...hi. Uh. I'm… Dominic Drayton." If I died right now, it would be the best possible outcome if I didn't want to look even worse. I uncomfortably laugh and dart my eyes around the room. My eyes glance to where Haruta is sitting and he gives a quick thumbs up to me. That small gesture relieves some of the pressure in my body, so I repeat myself and bow to the students. "I'm Dominic Drayton, and I'm from the United States. I look forward to meeting... you...all…."

My eyes had moved to the right of the room again during my introduction and that is when I saw her. I'm not even sure how to properly put into words in this hurried, tense moment how amazing she looks, but in that span of time, I felt like my heart had sporadically grown three times its size and tried it's best jumping from my chest. Her gorgeous dark blue hair, her soft eyes, her large...uh...radiance she gives off. She isn't even looking in my direction. She's staring at her desk without a care in the world. I can feel my body tense and forget itself for a moment. At the same time, I realize I've been frozen in place for at least seven seconds in front of a room of strangers. The girl looks up from her desk with a bored expression and her eyes meet mine. And in that moment… I immediately looked away and hurried back to my desk in a hurried mess.

"Uh, alrighty Mr. Drayton" the teacher confusingly mustered. "I hope everyone makes him feel welcome here."

Back in my corner, my body temperature has raised well above acceptable healthy levels and my legs can't stop shaking. I try to see if I can get a glance of the girl from my seat, though all I can make out is her hair from my position. I'm not sure what just happened. I just went from so nervous I couldn't speak to people I don't know, to almost spazzing out because I think I just witnessed the most beautiful girl ever one the first day of school.

I'm never gonna get to talk to her am I?

Oh, homeroom is over. I can't even muster to remember what Sensei was even talking about. I think there was something about student council, and attendance was taken I think. I faintly remember making an empty grunt in response to my name. It was at this time that I realized just how out of place I must be in this school. How do I expect to be able to get around here without looking even worse. I guess I must've missed the entirety of what she was talking about, since I'm aware of other students getting up from their chairs and leaving the room. I notice someone approaching me from the front. and I yoink myself from my stupor to see who would want to talk to an obvious wreck like me. A male student with short dark blue hair and glasses is standing in front of my desk and he greets me.

"Hi there, you're the new student correct?" He asks. I nod with a blank stare. "Well allow me to assist you in getting familiar with our school." He adjusts his glasses and clears his throat. "My name's Yusaku Kitamura, vice-president of the student council. If you'd like I could help you around today, show you how to get to your classes, introduce you to some of our clubs…"

All my mind focuses on is clubs, and almost cut him off right there. My disposition doesn't do me any favors when getting to know new people, and I wanted to say that it was too early for me to put myself out there. I squint at Kitamura and study him for a brief moment. His face doesn't seem like that of an untrustworthy person, and for some odd reason I have an urge to trust him. Though that's probably because I have no clue where I was gonna head after homeroom.

"...uh...sure. Sure. Thank you. I didn't really have an idea of where I was going anyway." I flash a smile to show appreciation for his gesture. I stand up to join him, and he gives me a thumbs up. As we exit, I notice the short girl again walking over the blue haired goddess as she's trying to leave her desk. We're already out the door and into the hallway before I hear a pained YELP! followed immediately by arguing and shouting.

"What the…" My head spins to try to glimpse what just happened before we leave the vicinity.

"I wouldn't worry about that, it happens pretty often between those two, always going at each other's throats". Kitamura nervously chuckles. I want to question it, but I feel as if now is not the right time. The more important matter is familiarizing myself with my environment. And as it stands, I think to myself as Kitamura begins discussing how the classes and school work, this is the best moment for me to do so. I look back to him and (somewhat) listen intently as he leads me throughout my new school, and essentially, my new life.

As I reach my footlocker at the end of the day, I check my phone again for time, thinking for a moment that maybe I should get a watch at this point, and see that it has just hit 4pm after my last class of the day. Wow, they don't play when it comes to school here. I look out the main doors of the building to see the sunset. The orange glow basking the scenery only makes me feel more exhausted over the day I just experienced. Between my little episode in homeroom, learning about what my classes entail, and just thinking about what my future entails, I half expected to collapse on the floor. I take my outdoor shoes out of the foot locker and begin changing them around with my uwabaki. After doing so and double checking my backpack, I head for the door. Except there seems to be a person in the way.

Oh. Great. What now?

The silhouette of a girl blocks the door, with her arms on her hips and an oddly determined look on her face. My eyes are drawn to her hot pink hair, and then back to her face. She's...strangely cute I find, but the silence that swallows the scene leaves me at a loss. I say nothing for what seems like a good few seconds. I don't know what to say. I don't even know what she's doing. She just continues to stare directly at me with a furrowed brow and small frown. Since Mexican standoffs were never my forte, I'm the first to move to break the tension.

"What's up, can I...help you?" I manage to get out.

"You didn't think you'd be able to escape my clutches did you?" she shoots back.

Excuse me what, I think. Is this for real?

It probably was for real since in that instant the girl jets from her standing position into a sprint towards me. I brace my upper body in defense since I have no idea what she's attempting. I seem to have predicted wrong, and the girl has already built up enough momentum to perform a baseball slide that connects cleanly with my lower legs. Needless to say I felt the glory of freefalling for but a moment before hitting the hard tile. I flip around quickly to face my attacker, but only fast enough to see her lunging towards me in my prone state. She lands on top of me, knocking the wind out of me for the second time in five seconds, and places her hands on my chest.

"I can't believe you were just gonna leave without introducing yourself to me!" She laughs at me.

...what. WHAT IN THE HELL?

I have no response to this student randomly accosting me. Studying her face, I recognize her slightly.

"Ow. Uh, you're...from class 2-C... right?" I gasp out in short breaths.

"I've gotta meet all the new people dude, it'd be rude of me not to help welcome you to the class!" She continues. I had imagined having a cute girl sit on my lap possibly a half dozen times before, but now that it's happening, I have nothing to say or do in response. I cough in an attempt to regain some of the air that was ejected from my lungs in the struggle.

"Oh! Sorry, didn't mean to be so rough!" The girl apologizes as she stands up and helps me off the ground. "I was gonna tackle you but my softball instinct kicked in when you held your hands up like that."

"Those are some killer instincts then, goodness." I chuckle.

I look down and see our hands are still clasped together. I never did release the tension from my body when I first noticed her and this doesn't help out at all. She makes a meek yelp and blushes when she realizes and retracts her hands from mine. I can feel the blood rushing to my face as well, though it's probably less visible than her's. An awkward silence ensues as we both look at our shoes in embarrassment.

"My name is Minori Kushieda", my attacker finally says after looking up. "Feel free to call me Minori if you want, I'm fine with it. You're Dominic right?" I nod in response. It'd probably be rude not to say something would it…

"Yep, that is...me. Yeah, I definitely remember you in homeroom this morning, while I was introducing myself to everyone."

She giggles. "You looked really nervous up there earlier, I thought you were gonna have a meltdown or something!" Geez, I am "that guy" to everyone else apparently.

"Oh, I hoped I wasn't that obvious to everyone. I guess I'm just a little 'too' new here to be able to hide it."

"Nah don't worry about it man. Give it a little while and you'll fit in with the rest of us. I've been raring to see a new face around here anyway, and you fit that bill perfectly ya know?"

I get out a nervous laugh but the fact I was just slide tackled and pounced on has rattled my nerves ever so slightly. Reaching for my backpack and resting it on my shoulders I glance at Minori again. I can't even begin to process the thoughts running through my head at this given moment, but a feeling in the back of my head tells me I shouldn't be freaking out too much right now. Not the worst way to meet someone I guess. She flashes a smile at me, a gesture that allows me to breathe slightly easier.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Minori," I give the best smile I can muster right back.

"Likewise S-…." She begins but stops when she sees my squinty eyed reaction to being called by my last name. "Dominic!" Minori finishes. "Me and some friends are talking about going to hang out in a little while. Wanna come with?"

I pause for a moment and ponder it for a quick moment. Except my mouth already said "Sure!" before my brain could comprehend the situation.

"Cool! This'll be great since this is one of the few days I'm not busy, you'll get to meet everyone!" Minori beams. If I'd used my head I would've said no, not only because of my apprehension of just jumping head first into a new clique of people, but I feel like it would be smart to get home to get a jump on unpacking and settling in. But I'm in it now, so there's no helping it. Minori grabs my arm and leads me along out the door of the school. I don't even attempt to resist and follow closely behind. We move briskly through the courtyard and she says quickly, "you're gonna meet the coolest group of people you'll ever know". Just as we get past the front gate, she yells out in a dramatic bellow.

"Hey guys! I caught a live one!" She yoinks me around the stone wall to reveal me, still a bit shaken. "He's our 6th right?"

The group she happens to be associated with consists of Kitamura (how lucky), the short orange haired girl who was giving off the murderous aura, and the guy with the killer eyes.

Oh. WELL. Ain't this something.

"Gonna have to make that 'our 5th', Kushieda" Kitamura mentions as he adjusts his glasses. "Ami bailed out on us last minute so she isn't coming."

"Aww, I promised our new friend here he'd get to meet everyone. Ah well." We move closer to the group and she lets go of my arm and pushes me towards the group. "You guys remember Dominic from this morning right?" They all nod in acknowledgement.

Damn. I need to work on that whole hiding in plain sight thing.

I survey the group left to right. Kitamura smiles and waves at me.

"Hey again, hope you got through your first day alright." He chuckles. I laugh back but then look to the other two of the group. I have to arch my neck just to look at the orange haired girl. She eyes me up and down and squints at me. The other male student steps in front her and introduces himself.

"H...hey there, I'm Ry-"

"Whoa, I don't have any money, I'm broke as a joke." I blurt.

He makes a pained sigh. "No, I'm not gonna mug you."

Oh shit, I'm an idiot. "Sorry sorry I just…"

He motions his hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about it. I'm Ryuuji Takasu by the way." He glances down at the orange haired girl, whose arms were folded and eyes were glued to the ground. "Taiga, you're oddly quiet right now."

"Well maybe it's because I don't feel like talking right now you idiot." Damn son….She's cold. She flashes me a pouty/I'm gonna kill you look at me.

"The troublemaker here is Taiga Aisaka" Ryuuji continues. "She seems standoffish but she really is a nice….OOOF". The girl apparently didn't take kindly to that statement, seeing as Ryuuji is now recoiling from the blow to his lower gut. She retracts her elbow then goes back to pouting.

"So what are we doin' guys?" Minori chimes in.

"I think we should keep it simple, for Dominic's sake." Kitamura suggests. "Getting some food would be an easy way for us to get to know him better."

"Sounds great!" Minori exclaims.

"I'm fine with that, though I'll have to get something for Yasako if we do." Ryuuji responds. Taiga is still standing there pouting. It's a very obvious feeling when someone doesn't like you, and she is making no attempt to hide it.

"Fine. Doesn't matter to me." She eventually breathes. It seems to be a recurring theme today for me to have no real response to the going ons around here. Everyone else though makes an effort to smile and they agree on a place, and they assure me the food will be delicious. Right as we start our walk, I manage to speak up.

"Hey uh, if it ain't too much trouble, you call me something other than Dominic, like Dom or something. You don't have to if you don't want to but I'm just letting you know."

"Hmm…" Minori ponders for a moment, then suddenly becomes very animated. "What about...The Dominator! Or how about, Lord of the Dominion. No, no, this is way better. Dominatrix!" The girl looks at me wide eyed for approval.

"Okay definitely not that last one." I giggle.

"Dom it is then, heh."

"She's always like this, if you hadn't picked up on it" Ryuuji laughs. Minori sticks her tongue out at him. Nice one dude, you've found a group of people who seem to be really accepting of your turtle like self. And on the first day? That's a new record.

"So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?" Kitamura asks me as we sit down in Johnny's Diner. The smells of the restaurant wafting around my nose are immediately ejected from my brain as I realize I'm stuck in between Minori and Kitamura in the diner booth, and Aisaka and Ryuuji are opposite us. Aisaka seems to be focusing on anything that isn't directly in front of her. That question has always baffled me, even when I was home in the U.S. I never knew what exactly people wanted me to tell them.

"Um, well. I. Could you...throw a topic at me? I'm not used to people asking something like that to me." I admit.

"Alright, what do you usually do in your free time? Any hobbies?"

"Oh. Well. At the moment, my current hobby is cleaning my apartment and getting moved in…"

"YOU ENJOY CLEANING TOO?!" Ryuuji jumps on me. A worried expression is my response.

"N-no not particularly. I just moved in and the previous tenant apparently didn't know what a broom was. Dust everywhere. Not to mention I still need to move in properly.

"If you uh…*ahem* need help getting your place cleaned up, you could give me a call." I'm probably not following what he's saying.

"God, you're such a damn Mom, Ryuuji." Aisaka dryly states as she darts her eyes towards me. "This little dog here gets his rocks off by cleaning up his and other people's messes. He'd probably have a field day getting all that dust and grime in your home." Cleaning? The guy with Yakuza eyes has a penchant for disinfecting and cleansing? That's a new one. Ryuuji glares at Aisaka.

"Like I was saying…" I continue. "When I'm not moving in, I usually just hang around, listen to some music or play some video games. I used to be into sports when I was a little kid. Things like football (soccer) and tee ball. But I was never too good at them, and didn't really enjoy them as much as I thought I did."

"If you weren't having fun with it then it's alright if you stopped playing. No point in giving your all to something you aren't passionate about." Kitamura tells me. Ryuuji asks me,

"How's Japan been treating you since you got here?"

"Eh, well enough I suppose." That was a very reserved response. In all actuality, just the thrill of being somewhere so different from what I'm used to has my senses going on overdrive as I try to make sense of all that's around me. It's the most invigorating thing I've experienced in my life. "Just moving to a new country is exciting enough for me, so I'm just taking things one step at a time, if that makes sense."

"Totally man, it's natural to be overwhelmed when you get put in a new situation like moving to a completely new place." Ryuuji says.

"Oooo, ooo,oooo" Minori goes. "I've got one! What was America like?" Geez. I was afraid of that question.

"America's a big place," I start. "I'm from a state in America called Michigan. If you were to look on a map, it'd be the state that shaped like a mitten. I always found it cool that I lived in one of the most distinctive states in the country, since there are quite a few states over there that are just masses of land slapped together with some lines for borders."

"What was school like down there?" Kitamura inquires.

"My school? Well. I had started high school down there, it was called South Lake School. I mean, they seemed like they prided themselves on educating the children but as for whether they were a good school or not, I have no clue really. I wouldn't send my kids there though."

"Did you leave any loved ones behind when you came here?" Minori asks in a tone that is noticeably less chipper than all her previous statements.

"Oh definitely. Pretty much all my family I left behind. Mother, aunts, the whole nine. Left some friends too. Close ones. Guys I'd take a bullet for."

"What about…" Minori pauses before she asks, and darts her eyes around to build suspense. "...girlfriends?" The most off the wall surprise attack I'd ever seen. Basically a sneak attack advantage hit. I can't help but fidget in my seat just thinking about it. I look at Ryuuji and he's looking at Minori with a slightly concerned face.

"Uh. No. I didn't leave any girlfriends behind. I've honestly never been in a relationship, not even close. I wasn't very popular with girls back home. It doesn't bother me much." I attempt to save face here. "I never really had any interest in a relationship to begin with. Didn't feel like I was ready, and didn't feel like I had met someone I'd click with ya know?"

"Mmm. Makes sense I guess." Minori closes her eyes and nods a few times. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to make of that. Though, seeing the constant eye games between Kushieda and Takasu would imply something else is happening here. The food we order arrives and we begin digging in while also chatting about other miscellaneous topics like homework, their family and the like. Admittedly this feels really great to be able to be open to a group of people like this. They all (well most of them) seem to be really nice people I can see being really good friends with. Through all the idle chatter though, I couldn't have been ready for Aisaka to suddenly speak up out of nowhere.

"You know, there was a question I wanted to ask you. Why did you even come here? To Japan?" And, she went and did it. She went and asked the one question I hoped I wasn't gonna get for at least a few days, maybe a week.

"I uh, don't feel comfortable talking about it. Let's just say, uh, it was probably for the better that I cut ties and leave it at that." Everyone at the table seems to have stopped their idle conversation too and has become silent. Goddamn it, this is even worse. I think to myself. In order to break the tension, I think of the first thing that comes to mind.

"So uh, Kitamura. You said there was supposed to be a sixth here with us but she couldn't make it?" I ask.

"Oh right," he responds. "Our friend Ami Kawashima said something about the gym so she couldn't join us. It's a shame, you probably would've liked her. Me and her have been childhood friends for years..."

"That stupid chihuahua would've just dampened the mood anyway." Aisaka blurts out.

"It didn't help that you tried to pull out some of her hair this morning, Taiga". Ryuuji rebutts.

"If she didn't have such stupid look on her face all the time maybe I wouldn't have to put her in her place so often."

Wait a minute.

"Uh, what does Ami look like?" I ask anyone who would answer.

"Well, she's tall." Kitamura starts.

"She's got beautiful long blue hair." Minori continues. Oh shit.

"She's got huge boobs that probably took up the space of where her brain should be." Aisaka finishes.

"Oh my god." I breathe aloud. "It's her." I didn't even realize I was speaking out loud.

"Oh is that who you were ogling over this morning?" Aisaka jests.

"H-how- it wasn't that obvious was it?" I frantically cough.

"I dunno. Probably not. Did you guys notice?" Everyone shakes their heads in unison. Minori gets really excited in that moment.

"OOOOoooo, you like Kawashima don't you?" She squeals.

"..." Nothing even thinks about coming out. My face has gone so red I could cook eggs on my face.

"Ugh, you would fall for the stupid chihuahua. All body and not much else, I'm afraid." Aisaka scoffs. "Not like her body is anything special to begin with…"

Kitamura chortles, "if you want, I can introduce you two if you want to meet her. Like I said, we've been childhood friends for a long time so it wouldn't be much of a problem." I try to hide my pronounced excitement at the idea of the gesture, but who am I kidding, that would be awesome.

"I would uh, like that a lot actually." I muster out. "Making the first move has always been the failing part of the test for me. Lack of confidence in myself and worth has always been an issue, but if you can help smooth that part out, I may be able to handle myself."

"Don't worry about it," Ryuuji tells me. "We can help you out with that part no problem." Minori grabs my right arm and giggles.

"Dom you don't know how lucky you are. We're gonna get you a date with a mo-" In that brief moment, she caught herself and said "Oopsy" as everyone else laughs at a joke that I don't know the punchline to. After we finish our food, we get ready to get back home once we're outside.

"You sure you know where to go?" Ryuuji asks.

"Yep, got the address in my phone and I'll just follow that." I smile. "Thank you guys. Meeting you all was, who am I kidding, you guys are awesome."

"You're pretty cool yourself." Minori points back and winks. If I could blush any more today I'd run out of blood. Everyone waves as we all split up directions, except Aisaka and Ryuuji who leave together.

Reaching my apartment, I throw my backpack to the ground as I enter and lock and lock my front door. Looking at my living room, a number of boxes still line my walls, with the only things present being the table in the center of the room and my TV. Sauntering into my dark bedroom, I plop down on my bed and I stare into the void and think back on my day. I can't help but let out a genuine happy laugh. I've only been here for less than a week, and already I've met what feels like really special people. Maybe I don't have to go through this alone, not like I did at home.

I think back to when my eyes met with Kawashima's, and I feel that pang of nervousness and warmth in my heart again. It always happens, they just need to be only the slightest bit attractive and I'm left a useless wreck. But my nervousness subsides when I think about how Minori and Kitamura said they'd help me out meeting her. Though, I'm not really sure where to go from there, it may crash and burn right there, but at the very least, I know I won't have to wait until the year is almost out before I make a move. Checking my phone for time, I decided to finish unpacking tonight, I'm so imbued with energy now. It's like a spirit has taken me over and I feel strangely happy. I don't know what my next few weeks hold, but I'm definitely hopeful.

-He was not prepared for what happened next-