This is my first attempt at writing for TWEWY, but thanks to my love of the minor characters, I had a plot bunny that's just not going away. =) So here it is, the start of fleshing out Uzuki. It's unbetaed, and I will happily accept any criticisms whatsoever (or a beta!) Enjoy!

It all started with a note tossed onto Uzuki's desk.

Pretending not to notice, she waited until her droning English teacher turned to write on the board before she unfolded it.

ren thinks ur hotttt! 3 saori

Uzuki rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh as she scribbled back a reply to her best friend.

ya rite, hes a nerd! no way. r we still going 2 104 after skool?

She managed to toss it just before Ms. Tokuda suddenly whipped around and glared daggers at her mostly asleep students. "Perhaps Miss Yashiro and Miss Deguchi would like to write on the board in English, if they like writing so much."

Uzuki groaned and straightened out her uniform skirt as she reluctantly accepted the chalk from her teacher's hand. She couldn't help it if she wasn't paying attention, it was surprisingly hot in the classroom and wearing her winter uniform didn't help matters. Not to mention that English was her worst subject (well, second to worst, if home ec counted.) But none of that mattered, as she would graduate from the hell of Koyo Senior High in two weeks. Two weeks, and then off to college in April. No more uniforms, no more scrubbing the floors after school, no more being forced to eat oden at lunch when she forgot to bring hers (and after the second year boys' stunt, sneaking out to 7/11 during lunch break was nearly impossible.) First, however, came the impossible task of answering the homework questions. Sure, she meant to do it, but then Dragon Ash was on her favorite variety show and she had to watch it, and then spent hours texting frantically on her phone and hey, homework took a back seat to that!

"What's the answer to number three?" Saori hissed. Her English was even worse than Uzuki's, if that was even possible.

Uzuki stared at the Japanese, trying to put together any translation, no matter how bad it was. At least the vocabulary words were the ones on the daily quiz. "You don't join?"

"Why don't you join us," Ms. Tokuda corrected. She shook her head as she saw Uzuki and Saori's attempts at answering the questions. "I'm assigning this homework again, along with your workbook and homework prints. Next time, do it."

Before the class could wake up enough to protest, the bell rang to signal the end of the school day and the start of the weekend.

"Miss Yashiro and Mr. Nakamura, please stay for a moment?" Ms. Tokuda gave them both a pointed look. Uzuki looked frantically at Saori, who shrugged helplessly and made motions to meet her in front of the school gate.

Uzuki watched miserably as Saori waved and slid the classroom door shut, off to perform her cleaning duties. At least staying behind got her out of that.

"First off, Mr. Nakamura, I wanted to congratulate you on the recent exam. You have the highest score out of the entire school."

Nakamura Ren, who had to be the nerdiest boy in school to Uzuki's standards, blushed and stammered out his thanks.

"Meanwhile, Miss Yashiro…" Ms. Tokuda sighed and shook her head. "Miss Yashiro, you've been admitted to Toho Gakuen, but they can revoke your admission if you don't bring up your grades."

"What?" Uzuki's mouth hung open in shock. Toho was a music college, she was going there to major in violin, not English! "They can't do that!"

"They can, and they will." There was an edge of finality in her voice. "Therefore, Mr. Nakamura, while I know that you also have tests coming up, I'm requesting that you tutor Miss Yashiro."

"…Really?" Ren was trying his best to hide it, but Uzuki could see the start of a smile. She sighed, this was turning out to be the worst Friday of her life!

"You can use this classroom during lunch break. I expect you both to be here, Miss Yashiro."

A lightbulb went off in Uzuki's head. "Can Sa-Miss Deguchi come too? She needs help." Having Saori there would make the lessons more interesting, at least.

Her teacher pursed her lips, considering. If her best friend came along, then it was more likely that Uzuki would show up to the lessons, not to mention that she was right, they both needed the extra work. "That's up to Mr. Nakamura."

"I don't mind!" Ren blurted out, a little too quickly for Uzuki's taste. At least it would be more fun with Saori, and she really didn't want to lose her admission to Toho. The auditions and interviews were grueling, but she had shown herself to be a top performer, enough for admission and a great scholarship.

When Uzuki put her mind to something, she was the top. Unfortunately, English class wasn't one of those things.

"Then you can start Monday," their teacher declared. "When Miss Yashiro and Miss Deguchi complete their homework. Mr. Nakamura, I'm counting on you to make sure that their answers are correct."

"Of-of course, Ms. Tokuda," Ren answered in English, much to their teacher's delight. All of her hard work hadn't been for nothing, even if she happened to have students more interested in the latest idols than present participles.

"Fine. Excuse me," Uzuki muttered, quickly bowed and ran like hell out of the building. Saori's figure was getting closer, and as soon as she reached her, it was off on the train to 104. Sure, Ikebukuro had great shopping, but nothing beat her hometown.

"Yashiro-san!"

She ignored Ren's attempts to keep up with her and sped up, as much as she could. The gap between her and Saori narrowed enough for Uzuki to grab her hand and keep running, not breaking her pace at all.

"Uzuki! What's going on?" Saori tried to keep up with her best friend. While used to her sudden bursts of speed, she definitely didn't have the same sort of stamina. "The sales are going on all weekend, just chill!"

"Yashiro-san! Deguchi-san! Wait!"

"…Gotcha."

Uzuki couldn't help but to laugh at Saori's sudden realization. "Let's go!"

It wasn't until Uzuki and Saori emerged from 104, laden with bulging shopping bags that they were sure that they had lost Ren in the shuffle. Friday evening and Shibuya was packed with students searching for the latest deals, businessmen walking into the izakayas they would later pour out of, and the scant beginnings of the club crowd, which wouldn't pick up until much later.

"I was serious. You know, about the note?"

Uzuki stopped pushing through the crowd for a moment to glance sideways at Saori. "Seriously? He thinks he has a chance?"

Saori laughed and pushed her hair behind her ears, then dug in one of her massive bags for a clip. "It's not like your dating calendar has been filling up, girl."

That elicited a snort out of Uzuki. "Hello, college boys in two weeks! I'm not interested in high school boys anymore." They were far too immature for her refined tastes. The clerk in Go-Go Gear had even guessed her to already be a college student!

"You know…he is kind of cute," Saori pointed out. "And dork-cute is so in right now."

"Just because he has cool glasses doesn't make him kind of cute." She had to admit to herself that he probably would be cute in other circumstances, but in almost every other class, they were incredibly competitive with tests and constantly fought for the top spot. "And…crap, is that him?" She pointed in the direction of 104 Men's, to a boy in the same school uniform.

Saori's eyes widened. "Uzuki. I think he's trying to impress you. Why else would he shop here?"

Good taste in clothes was something that Uzuki could approve of. She squinted, trying to make out the small bag that he was carrying. "Is that…ohmigod, is that a Pegaso bag?"

"He has taste," Saori marveled. "You're letting this one get away?"

"Not just taste, he has money." Uzuki had never seen stores that sold Pegaso ever have a sale, no matter how much she drooled over it. Suddenly, Ren seemed profitable.

She grabbed Saori again and started covertly following him towards the train station, trying to stay far enough away so that they could "accidentally" bump into him. Even through the thick crowd, Ren stood out simply because of his small shopping bag.

They squeezed through the station entrance, and Uzuki breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Ren head to the Keio line. She had to take that to go home anyway, and while crowded, it would be easy enough to start up a conversation. A bit of deft footwork (and a lot of shoving on Saori's part) got them onto the same car just before the doors closed. A bit more, and Uzuki was close enough to reach out and tap him on his shoulder, snapping Ren out of his reverie of staring out the window.

"Y-Yashiro-san," he greeted, quickly shoving his purchase into his schoolbag. "I spoke to our teacher after you left, and-"

"Oh, did she agree that Saori and I both need lessons?" Uzuki asked brightly, even though she was dying inwardly at the thought of asking. "Because we can totally start on Monday. Or, you know…" She smiled, going in for the kill. "Even earlier."

"Tomorrow?" Ren suggested. Uzuki could hear the hope in his voice. "We have orchestra in the morning, but after that…"

"I have soccer," Saori added. "But it's okay, I mean you and Uzuki can get a head start!"

Uzuki was about to protest when the train lurched violently and suddenly came to a dead stop in between stations. And no matter how she phrased it in her head, she had to admit that their teacher had a good idea. She really did need the help, even if it did come from the nerd.

The nerd with money, she reminded herself.

The conductor's voice came over the intercom, apologizing for the delay, technical problems with the train, but they'd be on the way shortly.

"After orchestra sounds good," she agreed. She could gloat beforehand, seeing as though she was first chair and Ren trailed behind her in third, and she was the one with the admission to Toho.

Granted, that was because Ren was going to Todai. Life was not fair.

The train lurched again and slowly started again, and Uzuki looked ahead, some scenery so that she didn't have to listen to Ren's half-assed attempts at flirting.

She was also the first passenger to see the other train, headed in the wrong direction. "Is that…"

"WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!" Saori screamed, starting the panic radiating down the train. The three teenagers fought for space to hide, tried to help the businessmen yank the doors open as mothers tried to stop their children from screaming while hiding their own sobs while the train kept barreling and the elderly steeled their nerves and the lone tourist couple hit the floor trying to lessen the impact and-

When she regained consciousness, the only thing Saori registered was the slumped over forms of injured god she hoped they were just injured people.

She was injured herself, she could feel blood dripping from a cut on her head. But she could move, just a few scratches.

"Uzuki? Nakamura?" Saori wondered and tried to make her way through the mass of people on the floor. "Guys, where are you?"

That's when she noticed the familiar plaid of her school skirt on a body propped up by a steel pole, slumped over to reveal the massive head wound.

The boy next to her lay facedown on the floor. Both of them unmoving.

That was when Saori realized that the train was eerily silent.

Until she began to scream.