A/N: Heeeeeeey soooo yeah, I was playing p3p the other day for the fourth time when it dawned on me that there totally should have been a Hidetoshi ending option… so I searched for a something to read to try to satisfy my 'awww they coulda had a happily evah afterrrr' feelings that I am embarrassed to even admit I possess. Unfortunately I found none, so I guess this pairing isn't a big fan favorite. Don't get me wrong, I love love love akiXfemc (and don't totally hate her and shinji) but this is just my favorite. So I hope it doesn't suck too bad, I know it starts off slow… most of my things do. But it's orientation week in college so life around here is pretty slow too. That excuse doesn't even kinda sorta work but just go with it haha. DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ATLUS OR ANY CHARACTERS OR THIS TOTALLY AWESOME SONG FROM A VERY POTTER SEQUEL.

Home,
I've heard the word before,
but it never meant much more
than just a thing I've never had.

-AVPS

Briiiing- with a loud, an eardrum piercing, scream the mechanical box beside the classroom's speaker began to vibrate furiously indicating that afterschool programs were to be concluded. It was now almost evening and that meant that the school's janitorial staff would be coming in soon and god only knew they did not want any stray children roaming the halls. In fact, the school manual even stated that anyone in the building after six was no longer a responsibility of the school system and that they could not be held accountable for such person's actions. True it seemed a bit harsh, and somewhat rude considering it was their school too; but it was to avoid meaningless lawsuits that, although they would never amount to much, could truly hurt Gekkoukan's reputation. It was… understandable. Unfortunately it signaled that Hidetoshi would soon be returning to his house and, though he had quite a bit of homework assigned, the charcoal haired boy was not looking forward to residing in that building for the rest of the evening. In fact, he was even contemplating not returning tonight and, instead, calling up Keisuke to see if he wanted to do something. But that was no good, the former leader of the culture club was busy with his own life; his desire to someday become a magnificent doctor meant that he had to spend all his free time studying.

As he opened his mouth to dismiss the rest of student council, not that they really needed him to speak for they had all begun packing up quite a few minutes before the bell rang- slackers, the door to the classroom burst open and their president swiftly entered, a curious face following behind her. Now it was one thing for their 'fearless leader' to be late, but to barge in at the very end with what; a stray puppy? Their room was strictly off-limits to the general public. And who was this girl? He had certainly never seen her around before and the Odagiri boy made it his job to keep tabs on all the students at their High School. Unless… she had to be the new transfer student whose file he had seen on the P.E. teacher's desk. Now what exactly was her name again? Oh well, as long as she did not cause trouble he doubted that he would ever need to converse with her. Besides, it was not exactly as if he jumped on the chance to have a dull conversation with a positively lackluster girl; no thanks, someone always got hurt in relationships so it was far better to remain aloof. "Now I know that you're all itching to leave but first let me introduce Minako. She'll be joining us in student council."

Pardon? He was not aware that being in charge of a group, with multiple elected members with nearly equal power of authority, meant that she could just add students willy-nilly. Who did Mitsuru think she was? Sure her father was the reason they had a school in the first place but really! Talk about an abuse of power; and he despised people like that. Everyone pried on those with less than them, it was just the way life was; but he never would have thought that their leader would sink so low. "Minako-kun, huh…" He repeated darkly, eyeing the long scarlet haired girl whom he had previously admired. Not that he feared this newbie at all, what could she possibly bring to the table that he could not, but she was, never-the-less, competition for next year's seat as president. But upfront aggression would get him no place in the world. Instead he would quietly steam until either the problem dissolved or he found a way to take care of it. Whatever, this girl was nothing and he would not allow her to make anything of herself so long as he was working on becoming number one. "I'm Hidetoshi Odagiri. I supervise the Disciplinary Committee." And don't you forget it.

The next to speak up was their mousy looking teammate. Pushing her glasses back up her nose, Hidetoshi had observed that they had quite a nasty habit of slipping down when she stared at something lower than eye level, she uttered a weak introduction. "I'm Chihiro Fushimi, the Treasurer." How she ever came across that position was certainly a mystery. Hell, he doubted that, if polled, even ten percent of the student body would be able to say they had heard of her. Perhaps no one else had run for that spot? Treasurer certainly was a monotonous role; but who knows, perhaps she was into numbers and such? "I'm a sophomore, and um… I'm still learning the ropes, so… please be patient with me, Minako-san." It took all the willpower he could muster not to scoff at that. 'I'm still learning the ropes', please! She had been at every meeting since the very start of school while this girl had waited around until May twenty-seventh to bother joining up. So what if Mitsuru had invited her; this Minako character had never put forth the initiative to even bother doing anything to help the school. In fact, he bet she wasted her time eating ramen and talking with old bookstore owners about plants; or some other nonsense like that.

As if on cue the petite girl opened her pursed lips to reveal a bright smile that was positively nauseating. "Nice to meet you all." Oh yes it must be just wonderful to meet an already formed group, consisting of people who actually had to work to get where they were today, while knowing that you just got a free pass in. The crimson haired girl had that oblivious look, as if she had no idea that she had done anything wrong. Surely he could not be the only one who was upset by all of this; someone else had to have realized the lack of reason in Mitsuru's actions. Or maybe everything in life came easily to this girl. She probably made friends with everyone she met, including outsiders and dark mysterious bad boys who secretly had good hearts and really loved to cook. The Odagiri boy was taken a bit aback though when he felt two scarlet orbs gazing at him. It hit like a truck when he realized, much to his embarrassment, that he had been staring at the object of his frustration. She continued to gaze expectantly though, as if she was hanging on some unspoken words. Crud, she better not have gotten the wrong idea. He was not into girls, he was into success.

"…" What was there he could possibly say to make the situation any less uncomfortable? Oh, of course, Minako was female therefore a compliment would work well. Yes, women certainly did respond positively to even the slightest bits of flattery. It really was disgraceful; he would never be so conceited as to fall for such mind games. "…You must be talented if the President hand-picked you." But she merely shook her head a bit; way to put on the modest hero act. Sure it was a nice alternative to the 'I knooooow riiight?' he had been expecting to hear, but she was still not off his hate list. Outstretching a single hand he offered it to her to seal the deal. "Nice to meet you." With another cheerful smile she firmly shook it, a bit too firmly for a normal high school girl. Did she play lacrosse, or maybe hockey? As much as he simply wanted to brush off the girl's existence he could not help but want to learn more. Of course it was purely for the purpose of bringing her down should she choose to fight for the position as president next year; anything else would be ridiculous, right?

His loud, and clearly aggravated, sigh was drowned out by the Kirijo heiress' latest speech. "From now on, you have my permission to enter the Student Council Room whenever you need to." When would she need to come in; it was not as if Mitsuru actually expected her to work with them. Maybe the girl was going to use it as a place to skip class; ha, as if he would let such a horrid thing happen. This room was sacred and no transfer student would ever be welcome until they proved themselves to him. "That includes after school, too." Oh no, she didn't mean… there was no way that their president was going to invite her to… "The Student Council meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We don't meet on days before tests." Ugh how infuriating! They were such an elite group, why on earth was she letting in some random third-year? Not that he believed in witchcraft or anything, but it certainly seemed as if his senpai's vision had been obscured, for this lack of judgment was completely out of character. Just what did she see in this girl that he did not? "Thank you, Minako, for joining us today."

As much as Hidetoshi wanted to bring up the point that there was no 'us' he decided it was best to hold his tongue. Sure their president was never around, but picking a fight with her was as good as giving up his quest for power. As the Vice-President, who had been unusually quiet during all this, and Chihiro followed their leader out the door he turned his back to the new girl and proceeded with the task he had been preforming before Mitsuru burst in: erasing the blackboard. "Might I be of some assistance Odagiri-san?" The girl inquired as she took a few steps closer and reached for the second eraser. But, before her fingers could latch onto it, the charcoal haired boy swept it up with his free hand and tossed it to the back of the classroom. Thankfully it hit a white wall and fell into the trash, otherwise the janitorial staff would not have been pleased with him, but, unfortunately, it was also extremely impolite of him. However he did not realize exactly how childish his actions were until the girl behind him let out a light, almost songbird like, laugh. "Alright, I get it. No problem, really. I'll see you on Friday."

xx

"I'll see you on Friday." He mocked, his voice straining to reach a more feminine pitch. She better hope she somehow got there before him; considering he was always first to arrive to the Student Council room he planned on locking this new girl out. How arrogant she was! It was only their first meeting and she thought she could brownnose him into what, adoring her like Mitsuru? The very notion was an insult to his intelligence. Unless, that is, she actually wanted to help him clean up after the meeting. What if, just what if, she could bring something to the table. Their president had never been one to miscalculate so that meant this Minako must be, like he said in jest, talented. Though unsure of exactly what field her 'talent' lay in perhaps he should not have been so easy to judge her. But it was a fierce world out there and if he did not suspect everyone then he left himself open to an attack. If he could just figure out the mystery connecting Mitsuru and this Minako girl then he was positive that it would all make sense but that was- His thoughts were cut off by a loud shriek of delight.

Dark hues rocketing upwards he caught sight of the shrine's playground, filled with children chasing one another and having their own adventures on the jungle gym. There was something about kids that he simply could not stand. They were just so happy, so content all the time; even when something terrible had occurred in their lives. Was it their blissful ignorance that he despised or, perhaps, was even slightly envious of? You could scold a child and ten minutes later they would be running up to you, pleading for you to play with them, whereas adults could hold grudges for years. Hidetoshi could not help but wonder just how much easier everything would be if people never grew up, if they remained the free-spirited individuals they were born to be. But if everyone was a child their society would fall for nothing could be accomplished. Children could barely tie their own shoelaces, how on earth would they run a government? These were all trivial thoughts though; what he should be focusing his attention on was the latest History assignment, ten ever so delightful pages on the fall of the ambitious Julius Caesar. How did he even get on the topic of a children-run world anyway? One thing was for certain, he needed to start getting more sleep.

As he continued past the shrine the child from before let out yet another shriek; however this one was a bloodcurdling screech of pain. She appeared to have skinned her knee after jumping off of a moving swing. Well honestly now, what did she expect would happen? The tiny girl continued to wait and cling to her wound and, as much as he just wanted to return home, he could not help but feel a tad guilty. He had been watching her when she was injured so, therefore, it was only right that hen assisted the fallen child. With a loud and over the top obnoxious groan he hurried up the steps, over the woodchips, and bent down next to the brunette. "Where does it hurt?" The arrogant student inquired as he brushed off some of the dirt sticking to her leg. With a sniffle she pointed to a pink spot just below her knee. Alright, so it was not bleeding; but chances were her shin was going to turn into a massive bruise by the next morning. Unfortunately there was nothing more he could really do for her… but children were somewhat simple minded so, perhaps, he could help her.

"You know what would make this better?" The Odagiri boy asked with a single raised eyebrow to which she responded with a quick shake of the head. Apparently she was too busy overdosing on tears to bother actually looking at him; but whatever, it was easier this way. As soon as people made eye contact with him he could not help but feel a tad uncomfortable. People in general were not worth the effort, so he never really bothered to master even the most basic social skills. However he was constantly watching interactions of all sorts so, for now, he could fake it. "Some takoyaki of course." His voice dropped to a whisper as he glanced around the shrine which was now nearly empty. "Don't tell anyone but it has magical healing attributes." At this she removed her hands form her face an gazed in awe at the clearly lying boy. "Some why don't we go get some? My treat of course." Where were this girl's parents anyway? It was almost night time and here was this child who had to be in second grade, tops. If this was one of those 'mommy will be right back and then she never comes back' situations he was going to be beyond ticked off. Not only would it be horrible for such a young girl to be abandoned, but he would also be stuck with her considering he would go to hell if he just left her out here.

Springing up from her spot on the ground the girl in the navy jacket dashed across the play area and grabbed a red backpack that had been carelessly thrown under the bench. "My name is Maiko!" The brown eyed girl stated happily as she grabbed his hand and pulled Hidetoshi up. "Normally I'm not supposed to go with strangers but takoyaki is my most favorite food on the planet, seriously!" Well now, she would be easy to abduct, wouldn't she? Instead of 'come with me kid, I have candy' someone just had to offer to buy her some takoyaki from the store down the road; oh, life. As he brushed off his school pants, noting that they now had light dust stains on their knees, the supervisor of the disciplinary committee could not help but wonder what he had just gotten himself into. "You know I've seen you before." Maiko continued as she hurried down the steps of the shrine. "Yup, you walk by every day." Her face fell a bit though, as if she was concentrating on something. "You look too serious though, just like my dad. Mom says he needs to lighten up…" She trailed off sadly as she fiddled with one of her braids.

Great, someone else with father issue; was there no one in this town with a nice, average, home life? "Freeze!" His harsh voice cut through the air and Maiko instantly froze, head turning slowly and eyes wide in shock; he certainly was the king of subtle. "I'm sorry but," Putting a hand to his head Hidetoshi lightly rubbed his temple, how was he going to explain this to her. "Takoyaki, no matter how good or magical it might be, is not worth you getting hurt." A giant question mark made its way onto her face and it was clear that he was going to have to go into better detail. "How do you know that I'm not a bad person? What if I wanted to hurt you or steal you?" Running a hand through his slick backed hair he gave the girl a light shrug. "I might be a kidnapper; and here you are, just jumping to go someplace with me." Half of him expected her to get freaked out and run off but, instead, she remained where she was, finger pressed lightly against her puckered childish lips. Then she did something that actually caught him off guard. She laughed.

"You're not a bad guy!" The tiny girl exclaimed as she hurried back and grabbed his hand, pulling him onward. "I fell and you came to the rescue." Not exactly, more like he was obliged to help. But it seemed inconsiderate to tell her that now. "If anything you're a hero silly. So don't go trying to play the villain, alright?" Someone needed to stop watching so much television, or perhaps pick up an actual book rather than an idiotic comic. The world was not made up of heroes and villains; there were many shades of grey. It was not as if there could really be a save the world situation. There was no single force of truth fighting against the darkness; that was ridiculous. "But, if you want, I'll ask people from now on." Ask? Surely Maiko did not mean that she was going to ask every person that talked to her whether or not they were a bad guy. Not only would that make her seem insane, but what sort of person would say 'yes, I am a bad person'? If anything the serial killers would tell her that they were a wonderful person and that she did not have to worry her pretty little head about it.

For the remainder of the walk Maiko talked a mile a minute about everything under the sun and, by the time they got there, he felt as though he needed an aspirin. But how glorious, Hidetoshi now knew all about the social aspects of elementary school and what a bother cram school was. The latter could be expected though, what child wanted to spend their Sundays studying? Even he had not been that determined to have high marks. Of course, it was by her parents' request that she attended it. Her home life appeared to be quite unsettling from the bits and pieces she had mentioned about it; but he had no desire to press the matter further. "One please." He said to the woman behind the counter at Octopia as he handed her the payment. It was not exactly an appealing food to him, but Keisuke always spoke highly of it when they were trying to figure out where to go for dinner. Sliding down next to the girl, who had taken a seat on the bench out front and was now eagerly swinging her feet back and forth, he handed her the food which he prayed to god was not really made of octopus.

"You're not going to have any?" She asked as she fidgeted nervously, picking at the steaming takoyaki. He merely shook his head; there was no way he was going to put that disgusting massacred aquatic creature in his mouth. Just thinking about the long, suction covered, tentacles on an octopus being mutilated into a child's snack was enough to make him gag. But if it made her happy then he would hold his tongue and merely keep her company. Crossing his arms over his chest Hidetoshi allowed his mind to wander a bit back to what had happened at Student Council. A long crease made its way onto his brow as he tried to figure out just what he had been so upset about less than an hour before. Oh yes, that new girl Mitsuru had invited to join them. What was the deal with that anyway? Did she think that they were not doing a good enough job overlooking the student body on their own? Were they really so bad that she had to bring in outside help? "Are you alright Mister? You look down." Maiko mentioned through large bites. She had already devoured half and was eagerly sinking her teeth into the rest.

Mister? Are you serious, he had really forgotten to introduce himself? The charcoal haired boy mentally slapped himself for being so stupid. "My name is Hidetoshi, Hidetoshi Odagiri." Removing a silk handkerchief from the confines of his trousers' pocket he offered it up to the girl. "There's a little something on your face." If that wasn't the understatement of the year he did not know what was. Why were children always so messy? It was positively disgusting. But she just smiled and slammed the fabric on her face, swirling it around in a very unladylike manner. "But yes, there is something on my mind. Perhaps you can assist me with it Maiko-chan." In the hopes of being helpful she sat up straight and opened her eyes wide to stare at the older boy. "I'm in Stu-…a club at school and the head of our club added a new member without asking anyone. It's completely ridiculous- err, silly, for her to expect us to just accept this new member with welcome arms, right?" He sighed once more, a dreadfully annoying habit he had come to possess, though this time it was more out of mental fatigue then it was spite or anger.

The energetic girl shook her head back and forth with such velocity he feared it may come flying off. "No no no!" Good, she saw it his way; but of course she would, his logic was never faulty. There was no way that he could have possibly gone about this whole Minako situation the wrong way, he was too clever for that. "If your leader added a new member it must be because they think he can help you. It's a good thing!" She exclaimed as she took another enormous bite of her takoyaki. What, a good thing? Surely she had to be mistaken, there was no way that having another person around could be beneficial to him… or could it? An extra body might actually not be so bad, come to think of it. She could file his papers, straighten up after meeting; Mitsuru never said that they had to listen to this newbie's opinion. Perhaps she could be his own personal secretary or, at least, be the entire council's helper. Yes, that had to be his leader's reason of adding her to their party. She must have seen how well they were operating and decided to give them an assistant so that they would not have to waste their time with the less important tasks.

To think, it took a child to get him to see the truth that had been staring him in the face all along. Minako was not a threat; she was a subordinate that he could use to rising through the ranks. It all made sense now, how foolish he had been earlier. Oh and she even asked him if she could help clean the board! The crimson eyed girl knew that she was supposed to help out with the lesser duties and had tried to get to work right off the bat. How embarrassing that he had snapped and sent her away. "You're such a clever girl." Hidetoshi mumbled, almost happily, through his constantly frowning face. As he gently patted the girl's head he questioned why he had ever thought such terrible things about children. They could be quite wise, when circumstances permitted it. And, though he never wanted to actually have any of his own, he could see where people who wanted desperately to be parents were coming from. Yes; if, god forbid, he ever did happen to have a child of his own… he hoped they would be a lot like Maiko. Except he would teach them to not agree to get food with random strangers they met at the playground.

"Oh shoot I have to be home soon!" His miniature companion screamed, as if the sun disappearing behind the skyline meant that she was going to turn into a pumpkin any second. That was not right, the carriage turned into a pumpkin, right? Then what did the girl turn into? Even in his youth Hidetoshi had never been particularly fond of fairytales. They were not rational; there was no princess in a tower, no gallant prince on a trusty steed, and certainly none of that true love mush. They only existed to get little girl's hopes up and lead young boys to believe that they had to be this white knight figure if they ever wanted to get a happy ending. It was all worthless in this day and age; but it certainly was comical to see the girl dash back and forth between the bench and the trash. As she scooped up her backpack Maiko gave the older boy a hurried hug before turning on her heels and taking off down the road. "Thank you very much Odagiri-san!" She called, offering up yet another bright smile and gigantic wave, before she dashed across the street and towards the residential area. Before he could stop himself the cocky boy found himself waving back and, although it was only a small wave, he quickly scolded himself for such behavior. People were a burden, there were no exceptions.

xx

In the time it took his brain to process what had happened the boy was already standing outside his front door. As much as he needed to go in and get to work he simply could not bring himself to reach for the doorknob. The whole run in with Maiko had taken up a good portion of the late afternoon, not to mention the early evening, so the frustrated teenager was going to have to move at twice his usual pace. One could only hope that his efficacy did not suffer due to his lack of extra time. Of course the paper was not due until Friday but that was hardly the point. He needed to have his first draft finished by tonight so that he could revise it during study hall tomorrow and fix it when he got home. There just were not enough hours in the day. Maybe he could accomplish all his given tasks if he had, say, thirty hours every day to get things done. But, alas, there were only twenty four and, if at all possible, he liked to get at least seven hours of sleep. Health officials said that six hours was the bare minimum to feel slightly rejuvenated and anything more than eight was too much and could hurt more than it helped. So, just to be on the safe side, he chose to remain snuggly in the middle.

"I'm here." Rather than calling it out so that his mother could come running the boy merely whispered it as he slipped off his school shoes. With any luck he could just tiptoe up to his room unnoticed; if he stayed down here for too long he was sure to be noticed. The only difficult part would be getting by the kitchen since it came off of the main hallway which, unfortunately, was also where the stairs was located. As he progressed further into the house an almost pleasant aroma filled his senses. It seemed as though she had been baking again, sugar cookies by the scent; not that he was into sweets mind you, that was childish, but he might have one if there were leftovers. However her baking could only mean one thing, she had been visiting that man again. There was no reason for her to waste her time on such a miserable person. He lacked power and therefore had been preyed upon by the stronger, it would be best for everyone if she just moved on. But no, no she had some childish vision of love and grandeur keeping her from seeing the reality of the situation.

His concentration was broken however by a young woman's joyful greeting "Hideee-chaaaan!" She called as she ran over, long dark locks pulled up into a messy bun on the back of her head. Though he was now a good foot taller than the woman she still managed to crush him with her powerful hug; which, it should be noted, he thought was extremely absurd considering he was now a young man but was too much of a good son to actually bring that fact up. "I was so worried when you didn't come home after school!" Oh Christ, not again. Every time he stayed out a little bit later, though today it had actually become quite late, she had a miniature heart attack. Just because his father was not wise to the world did not mean that Hidetoshi was oblivious to how corrupt the society they lived in was. He would never be caught messing around in anything dangerous, so there really was no reason for her to worry. Still, he could not help but fell a tad guilty as he stared down at his now teary eyed mother. There was a saying he had heard once at school from a teacher scolding a student; what was it again? Oh, right, act your age not your shoe size. Sometimes he felt as though he were the single parent and his sweet little mother was no older than Maiko, perhaps that was why he had bothered to help her out.

"Sorry, I was helping a girl-" His mother's ears picked up at this and her pout turned into a wide smile. Wrong wording, she probably thought that he had been on a date or something like that. Really now, just what sort of person did she take him for? He had responsibilities, aspirations for the future, and a very hectic schedule. If, heaven forbid, he did ever begin to 'date' someone it would be purely for public relations; like if, for example, he was running for a government office. Family men always did better than single guys in the polls, everyone knew that. "A little girl." He continued and his mother's smile quickly faded, much to his amusement. "She fell in the playground by the shrine and, since her parents weren't around I decided to help out." It was not so much as he wanted his good deed acknowledged as it was he wanted her to know that he was behaving himself and not getting mixed up in any gang stuff. The woman gave an understanding nod and retired to the kitchen once more, probably going to heat up dinner or something. Thankfully he never had to worry about her going without eating simply because he had not arrived home yet. She ate at six o'clock sharp every day and he would normally have the same meal several hours later in his room, pouring over the latest chapter in his geography book or something.

A few moments later she returned with a plate of broccoli and some form of meat which he was going to avoid considering her cooking skills were slightly less than astounding. "Thank you mother, this looks delicious." A little white lie every now and then did not hurt anyone; to the contrary, it had made her extremely happy. So, in a way, it was justified. When in doubt find the justice within the act. As horrific as that book had turned out to be Battle Royale certainly did have some powerful quotes. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a paper to write." Brushing past the woman he continued down the hall and, finally, up the stairs to his room, second on the left. Behind the average wooden door was a plain room, hardly what anyone would expect for a high school student. There was a bed decorated in a cream colored bedspread, positioned vertically in the left corner, a wooden desk covered in all sorts of books and folders, a matching chair, his cobalt laptop, and a good sized television that he had never actually turned on. In fact, that useless set was not even plugged in. He had very little free time as is, so watching mindless programs was out of the question; not to mention that everything important he needed to know he read in the morning paper.

Leaving the plate on the far end of the desk Hidetoshi got right to work. He had always been a man of action, and now was no different. Fingers flying over the keyboard sentence after sentence came pouring out, as if he had been planning word for word what he was going to write all day long and had recited it in his head so many times it was now second nature. That, of course, was because that was exactly what he had done. Earlier, in study, he took it upon himself to draw up an outline for his research paper and had been mentally exploring the capabilities of each paragraph. Sure it sounded boring, but by now it had become an everyday task. It was so much easier to sit down and write when you knew what is was you wanted to say. Within no time he was on page three and he had not even begun to run out of topic starters. Just wait until his teacher saw this, he would have to recognize the Odagiri boy then; soon he would be appreciated for the brilliant mind he possessed. And his classmates, well they would be forced to respect him of course.

After a while it became a task for his eyes to stay open and that was definitely not a good sign. If he continued to work then his body would suffer, and that would affect how fast he could process things and would also take a toll on his grades. But, if he went to bed now, he would leave his paper incomplete. Only being on page number seven he still had three to go before he could truly rest. Though his eyelids were just so heavy… no, he had to stay awake. His work came first and he had made a promise to himself that he would finish this first draft by tonight. In his pocket a small alarm went off from his cell phone, signaling that it was time for him to get ready to bed. Living life on a schedule was a wonderful idea, he had learned it from his mother, but at times, like now, it only gave him a headache. Alright, fine, he would call it a night and finish up his writing in study hall. Then he could correct it directly after school, perhaps in the library, and then he would not be so far behind when he returned home again. Cursing himself for allowing that little girl to distract him the silently fuming boy closed his laptop and began to get ready for bed.

xx

By the time Friday afternoon rolled around the arrogant boy felt as if he was going to pass out. He had been so worried about his paper Wednesday night that he could not get to sleep for ages and, instead, had spent countless hours staring at the ceiling until his alarm clock rung for him to get up. School had been no better for, during study, his brain function was so low that he only managed to type a page and a half, none of which was coherent so he had to-do it all later in the library. Thankfully that place seemed to be deserted due to some rumor floating around about the girl that worked there. Apparently she was a 'boyfriend stealer' or something? Whatever, as long as it was quiet and he could remain undisturbed he was perfectly content. It took ages to check and edit it but, after much work, he constructed a suitable report. However, his lack of sleep from the previous night caused him to oversleep and, considering it was terribly silly looking to run to school, he missed most of first period and got scolded by his homeroom teacher; what a lovely man their P.E. teacher was.

But he had been on time to second period and could proudly turn in his paper to their less than interested instructor. So, after much struggle to stay awake during the rest of the school day he was more than thrilled when the bell to end school rang. He was so ecstatic even that he had been all set to walk out the door and head home early when an eerily familiar voice called out from behind him. "Odagiri-san!" Crud, it was Friday wasn't it? See you Friday. Now he had never missed a meeting of Student Council but, by this point, he was almost willing to risk his perfect attendance record in order to get some rest. The only thing standing in his way was the scarlet haired girl who was hurrying towards him with an 'I love life' smile. What was it about girls? Every single one he talked to was over the top happy these days. Thank god he was male and, therefore, had some common sense. "Are you headed to Student Council? We can walk together." She offered and he had to resist the urge to tell her to scram. She was like their club's loyal little assistant, just what sort of superior would he be if he told her to get lost when she was only trying to do her job? With a weak nod he decided that fine, he would attend today's meeting.

"Are you always this enthusiastic?" The girl beside him inquired with a carefree grin. What was the matter with her? Was she bind, or just plain stupid? There was no way that he was even remotely excited for today's meeting- ohhhh, sarcasm, nice. Hidetoshi had previously believed it to be beyond the capabilities of his classmates; but, apparently, that was only true with the majority and not this girl. Splendid, he might actually have found someone worth joking with, however that was only if cynicism and mockery were up her alley, and not just a one-time thing. Glancing around the hallway he noted a few students scattered here and there, some were looking at bulletin boards while others chatted about personal issues, and could not help but feel a tad annoyed. Had they nothing better to do with their time then just stand there? Certainly they could find something more productive; perhaps they could join a cultural club or sports team. Not that he had ever been one for sports mind you, although he did have a healthy relationship with the physical education teacher, but having children hanging around after school with nothing to do was just asking for trouble.

Walking in to their designated room it appeared as though they were the first ones there; not that it was something new for him, he was always first in and last out, but why was Minako putting in so much effort right from the get-go? Normally clubs, and new social environments in general, took some time to become adjusted to. But here she was, ready and rearing to go, it showed a lot of ambition; and there was nothing Hidetoshi loved more than a motivated spirit. If the other members of the club had been as dedicated from the start who knows what else they might have accomplished. To think, all the time he wasted alone in the room while if the entire team had been there they could have been working on some new project. Perhaps he had been too quick to judge the new girl; she did not seem so horrible. Of course that did not mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that he enjoyed her company. However, if she kept up the good work, that might be a change he would consider making. Hell, when he first met Keisuke he despised every bone in his body. But now he was the closest thing the egotistical boy had to a real friend.

In due time the other members of the council assembled and their meeting began. Chihiro reported about some budget cuts that would affect the amount of printer paper, but that was no surprise the same thing had happened last year and the year before that. This entire thing could be resolved by removing the printer from the library and only keeping the one in the faculty office. Students were always using it to print out things that they could be doing at home but were too lazy to actually do homework once they returned to their own goddamn houses. And now? They were going to run out of papers before mid-years at this rate and that meant that the teachers would have to provide it for their classes; and, although paper had never been that expensive, a teacher's salary was not exactly something to be envious of. The boy with slicked back hair, that he felt made him look much more official, was about to clear his throat and suggest removing the printer when the crimson eyed girl beat him to it. "Pardon me." She started, causing the glasses wearing girl to shrink back out of shyness. "But what if, perhaps, we started charging students ten cents to print in the library, fifteen if they want something in color. That would make cover the cost of a sheet of paper and the tiny bit of ink with some left over. We might actually make a profit." Brilliant, just… brilliant. He was merely going to suggest having it removed, but her solution allowed the students to still be able to use it while also making money for the school. For a second his smirk actually faltered; she wasn't that bad, not at all.

A vote did not even need to be taken, everyone was clearly in agreement that this was, by far, the best solution to Gekkoukan's problem; he was only a bit embarrassed that he had not thought of it first. However the point was not who the idea came from, but rather the idea itself. It was wonderful and could even end up supplying pencils, since just about everyone seemed to forget a writing utensil when it came time to take a quiz or test, for next semester if all went well. As Chihiro and the vice president went off to inform the principal of their decision he specifically hung back. Normally he would want to dash in there, throw open the door, and loudly state the solution so that he could get the recognition he deserved; but it wasn't his idea, and he had something more important on his mind. As he turned around from his papers he noticed the new girl following after the others. "Minako, could you please stay here for a moment?" It came out sounding a bit more like a demand than a question, but that was just how he was. If she didn't like it she could go ahead and quit now because he sure as hell wasn't about to change. "I'd like to hear your opinion on something. It's nothing serious, but…" It might not have been seriously important, but it was certainly seriously annoying. "Some students feel the school uniform should be abolished, and they're recruiting supporters…"

"How pointless." Oh? Well that was definitely not what he had been expecting her to say. Especially not when she had been promoting helping her classmates only minutes before… unless, could she just have suggested that to help the school at the expense of the student body? That was low, inconsiderate, and exactly what he would do. The blazing determination in her eyes was enough to inspire even the most apathetic of people and he was beyond pleased that she had, unknowingly, agreed with him before he even finished his sentence. Yes, he took back everything he thought before; the Student Council could use more people like Minako on it, more people who agreed with him. He really wasn't that hard of a person to get along with, people just needed to be open to doing things a new way- his way. The school would be a far better place if everyone thought the same; and his beliefs were as good as any. The dark eyed boy would definitely consider keeping her on the team next year when he was student body president. A somewhat relaxed expression made its way onto his normally wrinkled brow for a moment before his arrogant grin appeared once more, and Hidetoshi merely nodded.

"You're right about that." By far it was the most satisfying response that he could have expected. The fact that she was so similar to him meant that there was a chance for his generation after all. "They think life without rules is freedom. It's ridiculous, plain and simple." He exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding before continuing. "Without rules, the whole system will collapse. They're mistaking selfishness for freedom." Rules were the very foundation of their society. Sure some were imperfect, but you just had to adjust your life, and the type of person you were, accordingly. Humans have always had a wonderful ability to adapt so, with a little effort here and there, anyone could flourish in any given circumstance. "…Sorry, I may have overreacted." Or underreacted, but that was beside the point. "I hate people with no common sense. Sometimes, I can't believe the things that come out of their mouths." His classmate's face faltered for a second before regaining its normally sweet smile. "I don't mean you, of course. I just want you to know where I'm coming from." Normally he wouldn't have gone into such great detail but, strangely enough, she seemed like a trustworthy person.

The light from the window was slowly beginning to fade and that meant the bell would be ringing soon. Crud, he still had a lot that he wanted to get done today but his rant had used up so much valuable time. He really had to get a filter or something; it seemed that once he started to truly ponder a given topic there was no way to stop. "Why don't you head home, Minako-kun? I'll finish up here." Truthfully he just did not want her there to see what was going to have to occur if he wanted to stay on schedule. Writing at the speed of light, dashing around the room to file papers, cleaning the chalkboard, and straightening up was not exactly the coolest thing a high school boy could be caught doing. If word got out that he had become a maid like figure then his pride would take a serious beating, and heaven knows he had more pride than the rest of the island's citizens put together. With an understanding bow the girl gathered up her books and headed towards the door for the second time that afternoon. "…Take care."

A/N: yuuuuuuup, it's pretty bad, sorry. I'm sorta brain dead and homesick and just blahhhh. Oooh look at that awkward sentence structure, don't you just love it? Sorry for any spelling errors, grammatical errors, or random 7's that my computer inserts b/c I have a stuck key; I have calculus homework and can't really take the time to edit it properly. Not really a lot to say here… have a nice day!

Next Chapter: A Place! Finally, a chance for him to prove his worth. This is exactly the sort of thing the arrogant boy has been needing to make a name for himself. Thank god the Physical Education teacher knew to entrust him with this ever so important investigation. There's no way he'll let the school down, this culprit must be found!