Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 I stood at the front of Amanogawa High while holding a map of the school.

 I winced, nervously, at all the students who arrived, conversing with each other in Japanese, laughing...just generally having a good time as they headed for their first classes of the day.

 I just hoped to the high heavens that nobody would...or, could...see that I was hiding a secret: that I was actually a girl, disguised as a boy.

 I came from Tennessee, USA, so this felt like a huge change to me.

 I had always dreamed of visiting Japan since I was little. And now, here I was! The only downside was that I knew next to no Japanese. Because of this, I was expecting communication to be rocky, for a while. At least, until I picked up on the language.

 With a deep sigh, I bravely walked forward, occasionally looking down at my map to keep myself from getting lost. 

 "Ohayo." a teacher told me in Japanese with a polite nod as I walked by him.

 "Ah - ohayo." I replied, equally as polite, though feeling awkward. 

 As I made my way down the halls, I prayed that nobody would realize my true identity. My heart was already pounding with anxiety about it.

 Ah. I'm sure you're wondering who I am, and why I'm beginning high-school, all the way in Japan, as a boy.

 My name is Jasmina Thundewel, and this is actually my first year of high-school. And I'm on a mission.

 It all started five months ago....

Flashback

 I had a twin brother named Junpei. He was really smart. Smarter than me! It was enough to get him an education offer in Japan! He was really talented in photography and journalism. Unfortunately, we didn't have the money for plane tickets, at the time, so he couldn't go.

 We were loners at school, for the most part...but, he still got some attention, thanks to his journalism. He would share everything with me. Every detail, every story. Not so much with Mom. But, then again, at that time, she had been really busy with her job, so she didn't have the kind of time that I had to be listening to him.

 I told you that I was from Tennessee. Since day one, Junpei and I were really close. We did everything, and went everywhere, together. Neither of us had a fantastic time at school, growing up, so we only had each other to hang out with. That being said, we had our differences.

 My brother was into journalism, and I'm not gonna lie, he was also a coward.

 Meanwhile, I was the opposite: I was braver, and into martial arts, and breakdancing.

 However, we did share a love for space. Deep space, to be exact. Neither of us really thought to start studying it in school, but whenever we were bored, we would just random research on it.

 But then...tragedy struck....

 One day, Junpei told me in a text that he was knee-deep in something big, and that he couldn't wait to share it with me! He stayed, late, at school, for most of his journalism work. From the sound of it, it was nothing like any other story that he had covered! But then, that was the last I had heard from him...and, he never returned home. After twenty-four hours, I received absolutely nothing from him. No calls, no more emails...it was as if he had gone completely off the grid! Of course, that had me worried. I told Mom everything, after waiting a couple of days...just to see if he did come home. But, he never did. And as soon as I told her everything, she felt just as worried. So, she called our school that Junpei and I had been going to. But according to the faculty, there, there hadn't been a single sign of him, in two days! You can imagine what that did to Mom....

 Three months later, his body was found in a forest...in Japan! How the hell did he even get over there? When?? What happened?!

 Mom and I were so confused, and we cried for weeks. Mom took it, the hardest. I mean, I did, too...but to me, something felt oddly off about Junpei's death. I couldn't explain it. It was just a gut-feeling that I had.

 I remembered his last text to me about being in something big. Whatever it was, could it have something to do with his death? What even was this thing? Who else was involved? Did anybody over at that school know about it? Nothing made sense! I had to know.

 Unfortunately, Junpei had left me absolutely no details or clues about whatever he had gotten himself into. Where would I even start? And that's if I was able to fly to Japan to uncover the truth! After losing Junpei, there was no way Mom would ever had allowed me to go....

 Since he died, I made a vow that no matter what, I would find the truth.

 That's when I came up with the idea of looking exactly like him, and planned on leaving Mom a note before sneaking off to the airport. There was just absolutely no way she would let me go off to a different country on my own. But I felt like I needed to keep my vow, so I needed to figure out a way.

 One day, I was bringing in the mail. I had just graduated from ninth-grade, so I was pretty much home alone while Mom was at work.

 Mom and I had a really good relationship, for the most part. But ever since Junpei passed away, she had become strict with just about everything. My curfews had been cut shorter, and I wasn't allowed to go anywhere, alone, or with friends...not that I had any friends, to begin with. Our recent argument was over me transferring to Japan for high-school. I had the goal to transfer over to Amanogawa high-school so that I could discreetly find out what happened to my brother, and anything about this big story that he had been doing. I was trying to be as subtle about the whole thing as possible while trying to convince Mom to let me go. But, I supposed I wasn't subtle enough, because Mom became very stern about it, and told me, 'no'. On one hand, I understood, completely...but, on the other, if I didn't go there and find out the truth, I was afraid I was going to go nuts. And a nutty teenager was the last thing Mom needed to deal with, this year.

 Anyway, among the pile of mail that I had brought in was a strange package, addressed to me...which, honestly confused me. I knew that I hadn't ordered anything, lately, so I was curious.

 Inside the package was a disk, and a note, telling me to play the disk during a time when Mom wasn't home. Considering she was at work, I stuck the disk into my laptop. It was audio-only....

 "If you are hearing this, I pray that it means you followed my instructions." a male voice said. His accent sounded Japanese, though his English sounded almost perfect. His tone was solemn, however.... I sat down on my bed with my laptop, and listened, intently. "Between you and I, this is something your mother does not need to know. My aim, here, is to guide you as much as I can. I know you seek closure...to put your mind at ease. There is no doubt you are determined, and willing to do whatever it takes to discover the truth. I can only imagine the level of confusion that you are feeling as you are listening to this."

 "Yeah, a little bit." I muttered.

 "I will be clear...." the voice continued. "I am not a good man. But, I am not without a soul. Considering your current situation, my only goal is to make sure you have the answers that you seek. My intentions are only that of a man without redemption." I frowned in confusion. What was this man talking about? "This part requires your utmost attention, for time is slowly of the essence, but important, nonetheless. There are things in this universe that are difficult to explain to...well...to 'normal' folk. What is to be dealt with are things that only few are able to handle. I am one of them, and so are you. I am sure you have many questions, by now...but, if you truly want to find out what happened to your brother, or why it happened, you need to be following the world he was in. Bring with you only what is necessary, but also act as if your only focus is your studies. Make friends as you would like any normal student. Blend in. It is imperative that you follow this as to not raise suspicion. Trust no one. I will handle the rest." There was a pause of silence, for a moment. Then, "Beware, for they are as determined as you, and will be watching."

 Then, the disk popped out.

 I stared at it, mulling over everything that I just heard.

 This man was right about one certain thing: I had a lot of questions. Now, more than I did, before....

 I looked over at the photo of my brother and I that sat on my side-table. If I was thinking what the man in the disk was talking about, this could very well be the only chance I had at finding out what really happened to Junpei. It hurt me to hide something like this from Mom...but, I knew that she would never let me do something like this. She had already lost one kid. I wanted to make sure she didn't lose another. That meant, staying alive if I was really going to do what I had to do.

Present Time

 So, that's why I'm here, now...two months later, and in Japan.

 After Junpei's funeral, I went right to work. Particularly, at night, after Mom had gone off to bed. I had pretty much copied my brother's looks...somewhat. Junpei and I were fraternal twins, so we didn't look exactly alike. But that was fine. I just needed to not look like...well, myself. I had cut my hair to Junpei's style, and dyed it dark-brown. I also wore brown contacts, but kept on my glasses. I needed them, no thanks to my eyesight being poor. I then started wearing his clothes. They were a little big on me...I always was the shorter twin. There wasn't much I could do about it, though. Thankfully, they at least helped hide my size-A breasts, which definitely helped certain matters!

 My mysterious benefactor, who had sent me that disk with his message in it, had sent me keys to a small apartment that was within walking distance to the school.

 It was just perfect enough for me, and was already furnished, complete with a small kitchen, and a bedroom loft.

 He had also sent me Amanogawa's male school uniform. How he knew that I was planning on disguising myself as a boy...or, my clothes sizes...I had no idea.

 I suppose you think I shouldn't be trusting this man, so easily. Well, to be honest, I'm not. At least, not entirely. I didn't have anyone else in my family to stay with, or even lived in Japan.

 Junpei and I never knew our father, and up until this year, it had always been just Junpei, Mom, and I. And I didn't feel comfortable staying with a random stranger in a completely different country.

 As strange as it is, I have to go with whatever my benefactor had planned.

 It killed me that I had to "disappear" out of Mom's life. I have no doubt that, by now, the woman was wondering where the hell I was, and most likely calling the cops. I had to force myself to leave my old laptop and phone behind in America (after wiping it of everything as of recently) so that she couldn't contact me, or figure out a way to track me down.

 My benefactor had surprisingly left me new electronics in my new apartment, so that that way, I could start my life anew...as my twin brother.

 Yeah, that sounds totally weird, doesn't it?

 It felt strange...walking around, hiding from the only person I had left in my family, and acting like 'Jasmina Thundewel' no longer existed.

 I never took anything theater-related in school, so I was sure my acting, in general, was very weak.

 My first night in Japan, I couldn't help but sob, already missing my mother, and wishing that I could tell her everything...preferably without getting myself grounded for life. I told myself over, and over, again, that I was doing this for my brother. Partly for Mom, too, since I felt sure that she wanted answers, as well. But none of it erased the feeling of total loneliness and isolation that I had.

 I knew that I had to grow up, though. At least, a bit. And, I had to be brave. I was determined to find out the truth about Junpei's death, no matter what it took. 

 So now, here I was, heading to my first class of the day at Amanogawa High as my twin.

 I'm sure you're wondering how I plan on pulling this off. Well...it shouldn't be too hard. All I really gotta do is act and dress like my Junpei! Everyday, and for the next few years.... It shouldn't be too bad. I remember he always told me that while I had a talent for breakdancing and combat reflexes, I had a bigger knack for acting. To this day, I still have a hard time believing that. But, we'll see!

 The only problem, now, is how opposite we were. He was always careful, calm, and a total math whiz. I...was not. I was clumsy, really struggled with math, and sensitive.

 Portraying my brother should be totally fine and easy!

 I hope....

 I kept looking down at my map...I was supposed to be in Class 2-B. Ohh, I was ready to get lost, already....

 I expected school in Japan to be different from Tennessee, but I've never seen classrooms labeled with both a letter and a number! Back home, our classrooms were only labeled with numbers.

 Suddenly, I was so focused on avoiding getting lost on my first day of school, that I accidentally walked right into someone! The impact sent my stuff flying, and me stumbling backwards, onto the floor!

 A few students, nearby, snickered, and I tried not to blush.

 Looking up, I saw that I had crashed into a boy who could've been a few years older than me, if not a couple of years. 

 "S-Sorry!" I said. "M-My bad!"

 I hated myself for stammering. I also mentally kicked myself to remind myself that I was supposed to be acting like a boy...therefore, I had to sound like a boy.

 I immediately began gathering up my things, and even grabbed a book that I had accidentally made him drop.

 The boy took a moment to study me, a bit.

 "....Ahh! You're the new English student!" he replied, and I looked up just as he began picking my things up.

 He was handsome, and had curly dark hair and dark eyes. I probably shouldn't be so surprised that he spoke almost perfect English instead of Japanese. It did not - repeat, not - help that he had a handsome smirk on his face...albeit devilish.

 For some reason, something felt strange and off about him...and I had only met this guy five seconds ago! 

 The student then helped me up...of course, he was taller than me. He had to be at least around five-foot-nine!

 I felt like a shrimp...I hated being four-foot-eleven. 

 "I knew a transfer student from the United States was beginning school, here...." the guy told me. "But, I'm afraid I didn't catch the name." 

 "Uh...." I replied, my brain racing, and I immediately deepened my voice. Or, tried to....

 Remember, you're not Jasmina Thundewel, here. You're Junpei. a voice in my head reminded me. Right. 

 The student seemed to study me, again, glancing me up and down, and seeming deep in thought...scanning my every feature, all while keeping that smirk on his face. It was sending chills down my spine.... That devilish smirk grew, and he had a strange glint of knowing and darkness in his eyes.

 Why was I getting such troublesome vibes from this guy?

 Students had begun to surround us, just then, which made me nervous. And, it didn't help that they were beginning to whisper in Japanese. I couldn't stop the embarrassed blush forming on my cheeks as a couple shared quiet laughs.

 Would choosing to dye my hair blonde have made any difference? I wondered. Ugh...high-school life.... So, this is it, eh?

 I forced an awkward cough.

 Tall-Dark-and-Creepy gently took back his book, at last. But, instead of leaving, he bent forward, matching my eye level. He pushed up my glasses...which, was rather unexpected.

 "What's your name?" he asked me.

 "O-Oh! Uh.... Uhm.... Ehh...." I muttered, trying to think fast.

 "Oi...." a random student from behind Tall-Dark-and-Creepy said with a frown. "Your senior just asked you a question."

 "Uhm.... I've got a name!" she told them with a actually-not-so-confident smirk. "And, it's a boy's name, too."

 Stupid. I scolded myself. Don't blow this!

 The curly-haired teen gave a slight shrug.

 "Well?" he asked, his smirk turning into one of amusement. "We're waiting! Unless, you think we should just call you 'Specs'."

 A few students laughed and nudged each other.

 "No-ho-ho, no, no, no! That won't be necessary." I told him with a smile, and cleared my throat, awkwardly. "It's...uhm.... It's...Junpei."

 "Junpei...." Tall-Dark-and-Creepy repeated, lifting an eyebrow in total suspicion.

 "Yes! My name is Junpei." I replied with a small laugh.

 I mentally rolled my eyes. I sounded like an awkward robot.

 The curly-haired student nodded, slightly, as if to himself. He then stepped toward me, until he was practically towering over me.

 Help.... I thought, nervously.

 He shrugged, casually. "Junpei what?" he asked.

 "Eh?" I muttered with a small smile.

 "Junpei what?" he repeated. "You do have a surname, do you not?"

 "Oh! Heh, heh...right! I do, in fact." I replied. "I just...don't think I should say it, now, since you're already laughing at my given name...."

 He raised an eyebrow, as if what I said was challenging him. He still had that smirk, though...didn't he ever stop smiling?

 I shifted, uncomfortably, realizing that I just might have already made a mistake on my first day of school. "....thundewel...."

 "Hm?" he hummed, both of his brows raising. "What was that?"

 He's torturing me, now. I thought with a grimace. I just know it. He's also clearly enjoying my suffering.

 "....Thundewel...." I repeated, a bit louder, this time, though still trying to keep my voice low.

 His dark eyes lit up with great amusement. Then, he looked up at the crowd around them, and told them something in Japanese.

 The crowd quickly moved on, some still whispering to each other and throwing glances at me.

 "Well, then...Thundewel-san," Tall-Dark-and-Creepy said, once the crowd was far enough away. "I suggest you hurry and get to your first class. You would not want to make a bad first impression on your teacher, would you?"

 He gave me a wink, and walked past.

 I just watched him leave, clutching my books to my chest. There was something about his tone of voice that bothered me.... It sounded like he didn't really believe I was who I just told him I was. Almost like...he just knew.

 "Oh, by the way...." He stopped, and turned to look back at me. "I suggest you join a club or two, during your time, here. And, perhaps learn our language, as well. You will need it. Welcome to Amanogawa! I hope your time, here, goes well!"

 "O-Ok!" I replied with a smile and a slight wave. "I will! Thanks!"

 He gave me an amused sneer, then continued walking away.

 Once his back was turned, I let out a sigh of relief, and threw my head back with a wince. He had a point.... I couldn't believe I had already forgotten one of the most important things about coming to a different country: learning the language. I remembered that the real Junpei had picked up some Japanese, a few years ago. I was regretting not choosing to learn it, earlier, now....

 Cringing at myself, I held my books tighter, and followed my map, again.

 That was...creepy and charming.... I thought. And awkward...very awkward. And, I don't think I like the tone he used whenever he referred to me.... Am I too obvious, somehow? Is it my voice? I facepalmed. I need to get better at acting as my brother. That felt like a close call, and I'm not a fan. I frowned as I realized something. Dammit! I didn't get his name! I shook my head, and began walking. Maybe I'm just overreacting. Maybe he doesn't actually suspect anything. I can't worry about that guy, right now. Class is about to start!

 I turned my walk into a jog as I hurried to find Class 2-B.

 It took a bit, but I finally found my first class, which apparently, was homeroom.

 I peeked in...it was a full classroom of students doing absolutely whatever. There didn't seem to be any sign of the teacher, for now...which was great, because that meant that I wasn't too late.

 I walked in, nervously running a hand through my hair as I picked a chair and desk right next to the window.

 I'm pretty sure I got myself turned around, twice, before. Even while following a map, I still end up getting lost.

 At least, I didn't run into Mr. Prince-Creepy-Charming, again. There was just something about him that told me he was up to no good...and it's not just because of that smirk of his.

 Just act natural. I told myself as I fidgeted and straightened out my uniform. You're pretty much just a transfer student, but with a big secret.... Yeah, this isn't nerve-wracking, at all....

 I felt like a recluse. I had no idea what to say to strike up some kind of conversation with anybody. Not knowing any Japanese didn't help, either.

 Perhaps it was better, this way. If I became the quiet, mysterious type, people might not talk to me as much, and I wouldn't have to end up embarrassing myself. I could blend in like this, right? My benefactor hadn't exactly told me what sort of student I should be acting as during my time, here....

 And besides.... I thought. It's not like anybody, here, knows the real Junpei Thundewel...depending on how far he got before he....

 I stopped myself, finding myself unable to stomach that fact, for the time being.

 I let myself sink down, some, into my chair, my arms crossed, and feeling very awkward while unable to know what else to do until the teacher arrived.

 On top of all this, I was never a big fan of school.

 Growing up, Junpei and I kept to ourselves, most of the time. This, unfortunately, got us constantly bullied and pushed around, shoved into lockers, being tripped while carrying our lunches, the whole shebang.

 School was definitely not my favorite place to be in. It was only made worse when my brother passed away. Even before that, I was the bigger victim of the bullying. People didn't pick on Junpei quite as badly because he was smart enough to get them kicked out or in detention, and people were mostly afraid of him. Even though, he was just a normal kid, like me. He was never a jock, or a theater kid.

 At that moment, a young woman walked into the classroom. I figured that she was the teacher.

 "Ohayo!" she exclaimed, cheerfully, and the students replied with the same word.

 She then began speaking entirely in Japanese. I cringed at myself, and made a mental note to start learning the language as soon as I got back to my apartment. 

 Just then, a tall-looking boy, who dressed like he was in the 90's, and not wearing any part of the school uniform, at all, walked in. And he was...soaking wet? Proudly, he began writing his name on the board with chalk. He then turned around, and happily introduced himself with a cheerful smile. I thought it slightly odd that the teacher didn't appear to be against his choice of outfit. Wasn't one of the school's big rules that every student had to wear the uniform? Why did it seem like this guy was getting away with it?

 "Ohayo!" he said to me, cheerfully, as he quickly went past me while giving everyone little handshakes, before suddenly seeming to recognize one of the students, and they immediately jumped into conversation.

 I watched as he began to find his seat. I've never met anybody as energetic as him, before...other than a computer nerd I remember sharing a class with, back in preschool.

 I couldn't help but shake my head as he continued with his antics, until the teacher put a stop to it. I lifted an eyebrow when he then slammed a soaking wet and folded-up piece of paper onto a boy's desk, said boy having reddish-brown hair. Those two got into what sounded like a bit of an intense conversation.

 That's when the guy with reddish-brown hair stood up from his desk, grabbed his things, and left the room. But not before exchanging a few more words with the new guy and looking like he was over everything.

 Weird.... I thought. He just left when the teacher hasn't even begun class?

 The teacher, Miss Sarina Sonoda, as I had learned, spoke, again.

 "So, now...." she said in English, all of a sudden. "We also have another new student, this year! He is a transfer student from America!"

 The classroom filled with excited whispers.

 Miss Sonoda looked over at me, and smiled, warmly...I was trying to make myself invisible among the students. "Thundewel-san? Will you please stand, and introduce yourself?"

 "Eh?" I asked, the teacher's voice snapping me back to reality. "O-Oh...." I awkwardly stood up, and tried to keep my fidgeting hands still while smiling. "Uhm.... G-Good morning, everyone." I also tried to avoid sounding like a girl. "My name is Junpei Thundewel. I, uhm...." I trailed off, biting my lower-lip, nervously. "I...."

 Gosh, why am I having such a hard time with this? I thought in annoyance. I spent so many years at my old school that I'm not used to introducing myself as a new student!

 I couldn't help but run a hand through my hair, again. 

 Miss Sonoda must've noticed that I was very nervous.

 "Thundewel-san will be spending the rest of his high-school years in Japan, yes?" she announced to the class before giving me a nod of encouragement.

 "Oh! Y-yes!" I replied with a bashful grin. "I, uhm...my family and I believed that coming here would be a wonderful opportunity, so...I look forward to working with everyone. Th-Thank you for having me!"

 I bowed, politely, as everyone clapped.

 "Hai! Let us all take care of Thundewel-san, everyone!" Miss Sonoda said.

 "Eh, th-that's not necessary!" I told her, then smiled, bashfully. "Please, I've been a wallflower, my whole life. I'm no one special." I laughed, awkwardly. "And, please, call me 'Junpei'." Being referred to by my surname had always felt awkward to me.

 Miss Sonoda nodded. "Alright, Junpei-san." she replied with a kind smile. "You may take your seat. You did well!"

 Oh, thank goodness gravy! I thought with great relief as I sat back down. I rubbed my face, feeling humiliated. That has to be the worst introduction to myself that I have ever done.... 

 A student sitting nearby hummed, thoughtfully.

 "Do you not know our language?" she asked me, her eyes narrowed at me, suspiciously. "Most of us, here, do not know yours-"

 "That is enough." Miss Sonoda told her, looking slightly aggravated. "Do not be rude. Thundewel-san - eh, Junpei-san - is still learning our language. His move, here, had been much sooner than expected, so he still needs some time. He will get there." She gave me another kind smile. "If he needs any assistance, he may come to any of us faculty, or hopefully, some of you will offer to help."

 Well, that didn't make me feel any less embarrassed. Even so, I put on a bashful smile, and said, "Th-Thank you, Miss Sonoda." I wasn't sure on what else to say, after that.

 Then, the class finally began.

 I walked down the halls, feeling dreadful.

 My first day of high-school, and I was already failing to make good impressions. I felt so stupid and lame....

 I groaned, unhappily. Surely, this day couldn't get any worse...right?

 "Junpei-san!" a voice called out from behind me. "Junpei-san!" With a curious frown, I stopped, and looked back. The delinquent-looking boy from earlier was running up to me! He skidded to a stop as soon as he approached. "Ohayo! I am Gentaro Kisaragi! I am new to this school, too! You perhaps have not seen Utahoshi around, have you?"

 "Utahoshi?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

 "Hai! He left the classroom before the lesson started." he replied.

 My brows lifted.

 "Oh!" I said. "That guy!" Gentaro nodded. "Uhm...n-no, I haven't seen him, since then. Why?"

 "Damn....!" he said with a snap of his fingers. "Ah...he might still be in the nurse's office, then. I want to talk to him."

 I gave a slight thoughtful nod.

 "Well...if he's sick, then maybe we shouldn't bother him." I told him. "Nice to meet you! S-See you around!" I gave him a small wave before turning to leave.

 "Matte! Matte!" Gentaro exclaimed, grabbing my arm and pulling me back. "Why not help me search for him? Four eyes are better than two, after all, ne?" He gave me a toothy grin. I couldn't tell if that was an accidental eyeglasses joke or not. 

 "Uhm...but...." I replied, uncertainly. "Shouldn't we start heading to our next class?"

 "Ah, who cares?" he said, waving the idea off. "A few absences won't hurt anybody."

 "B-But...." I stammered, feeling confused, now. "We'll get into trouble for skipping, won't we? I-It's the first day-!"

 "Ah, don't worry about it!" he told me with a chuckle, and began pushing me down the opposite of where I was heading, before. "It will be fine! You will see!"

 After wandering around, we finally found the nurse's office. Gentaro opened the door.

 "Oi, Utahoshi," he said. "Where are you at?"

 I poked my head in as he threw back some curtains, only to reveal some empty cots.

 "Oh, well, not here!" I said. "Guess we should head over to our next class, now...."

 I was about to make a quick exit back down the hallway. But Gentaro protested in Japanese, and yanked me back in, my shoes squeaking against the floor as I stumbled backward. "Gentaro....! He's clearly not in here! Let's just go!"

 "What are you so worried about, eh?" he asked me while looking around the office with a thoughtful expression.

 "Oh, gee, I don't know," I replied, sarcastically, then counted off my fingers. "Getting sent to the principle's office, getting expelled, being forced to move back to America-"

 "Ah, none of that will happen." he told me, then chuckled. "You worry, too much, Junpei."

 He gave me an accidentally-harsh smack on my shoulder, making me flinch. 

 "Aren't you worried?" I asked him with a confused frown. "Didn't you say so, yourself, earlier, that you're also new, here? We can't be skipping classes!"

 "Making sure your friends are healthy is more important than classes." he told me, proudly. 

 I remembered the argument he had with this Utahoshi student, earlier.

 "I...don't think Utahoshi sees you two as 'friends'." I said with a tilt of my head. "He didn't seem particularly happy with you. Besides...I don't think that's how making friends works, if you've never met the guy, before."

 Gentaro swung an arm around my shoulders, and pulled me into an awkward hug.

 "Perhaps that is how it is in America, and, in your world." he said. "But, things are different, here. You will see! Now, come on! We have to find Utahoshi!" He released me, and jogged out of the nurse's office.

 I let out a deep, tired sigh. I suddenly had a bad feeling about this whole thing. This guy was certainly persistent, for a new student!

 By the lunch hour, we still hadn't been able to find Utahoshi. At this point, I was just following Gentaro around while hoping to the heavens that we weren't about to get into trouble for missing classes.

 Meanwhile, I was hungry!

 We managed to find, and entered, the cafeteria, which was nearly packed with students.

 Gentaro sighed in disappointment. "Not here, either." he muttered.

 I slipped away, and grabbed myself a tray of food. I then tried searching for an isolated spot.

 There wasn't any.

 I did notice that each table seemed to have a type of group sitting at them. There were jocks, nerds, party people, cheerleaders, you name it!

 I let out a disappointed sigh. 

 I guess I'm having lunch, outside. I thought. I feel like this place is more crowded than what I'm used to. 

 "Maybe he just went home." I suggested to Gentaro with a shrug as he joined up with me, his hands on his hips. "If he had to see the nurse, earlier, then he's probably too sick to be spending the rest of the day in classes."

 "On the first day?" the taller boy replied, and shook his head. "Nah."

 I threw my head back in annoyance. "It can happen...." I grumbled. "Why are you looking for him, anyway?"

 "Oh...I just want to talk to him." he replied. "Besides, he rudely threw a girl's letter to him in the river. It wasn't right."

 Soo...basically, this guy just wants to bother someone else over a love letter. I thought.

 "While I do agree that it was a little rude...I think he really just wants to be left alone, right now?" I said, and smiled, bashfully. I've seen my fair share of love notes at my previous schools, so I knew the kind of letter Gentaro was talking about.

 "Not until he understands that what he did was rude, and that he needs to apologize to that girl." he told me with a grin.

 "That's kind of nagging, though-" I tried to tell him.

 "Oh! C'mon, let's sit down!" he exclaimed, and grabbed my arm.

 "Whoa!" I yelped in surprise as he quickly pulled me along.

 "So tell me, why did you come to Japan?" he asked me. "You're a long way from home!"

 Ah, crap! I thought as I bit my lower lip, my brain racing to come up with a good enough excuse.

 "I...just...." I said. "Like I said in class, earlier, an amazing opportunity came up, and...since I didn't know if I'd ever get another chance to come to Japan, I took this one!"

 "That's it?" I could hear my brother tell me, unimpressed. "That's the best you can come up with?" 

 I nearly let out a groan of defeat.

 "That's amazing!" Gentaro told me as we approached a table, and he sat down while releasing my wrist.

 "Is it, though?" I muttered with a forced smile, but thankfully, he became too busy with being friendly with everyone he walked past them to hear me.

 I tried to ignore the stares that I received from everyone as I fought to free my arm...but Gentaro had a surprisingly strong grip! He didn't release me until after we sat down at a table that was in the center of the cafeteria.

 But as soon as we did, more than half of the students gasped and whispered to each other in shock as they stared at Gentaro and I.

 I raised an eyebrow, wondering why they were acting like we had just committed a crime.

 Gentaro noticed the reactions, too.

 "What?" he asked everyone in English. "Is there something wrong with my hair?"

 I gave him a look. "I highly doubt your hair is the problem."

 But I became worried, memories of my previous years of school flooding my mind. They were not good memories....

 I stood up, and tried to get him to his feet. "C'mon, let's just go!"

 "Nande yo?" he argued in Japanese, fighting against me, and we got into a sort of bickering banter, causing some students to chuckle.

 A student rushed up, asking something in Japanese while looking very amused at the same time. Irritated, Gentaro shoved him away. The kid laughed, to my surprise, as if hardly bothered by the taller boy's attitude. The kid said something in Japanese, making some other students laugh. Then, he took notice of me.

 "Ahh, the new American boy!" he exclaimed with a grin. "This should be very interesting."

 "And just like that, the need to leave has become greater." I muttered with a nod. Then, I tried getting Gentaro up, again. "C'mon!"

 "No, way!" the taller boy told me with a frown. "What is with you, eh?"

 "Gentaro!" I growled at him, warningly.

 "Gen-san!!" a girl with long hair exclaimed as she rushed over. I recognized her as the girl Gentaro was talking to, earlier. "Gen-san!! What are you doing? This is bad! Hurry, get up!"

 "Why?" he asked in confusion. "What is with you two? You are acting strange!"

 The girl noticed me, and bowed a quick hello to me with a quick smile before turning her attention back to her friend.

 "Look, the tables are divided into groups, ok?" she told him, and began trying to pull him up from the chair. "See? Over there. Those are the punks." She pointed to each table group as she spoke. "Those are the nerds...the party animals...the freaks...the jocks...."

 "Don't forget the cheerleaders." I mumbled, worriedly.

 The girl nodded. "Them, too!" she said.

 "Are you insane?" Gentaro asked his friend, irritably. "I've never heard of something so stupid."

 "That's just the way things are, around here." she told him.

 "Uhm...this wouldn't, by chance, happen to be the cheerleaders or popular girls table?" I asked Gentaro's friend with a nervous smile.

 "Hai! Yes!" the girl replied with a nod, then tried getting Gentaro up, again. "Which is why we need to move! Now!"

 "She's right." the guy from before, from the party animals table, said with an amused smirk. He had neck-length orange-brown hair with hair-clips and a headband in it, and even his uniform was all decked out with random crazy things. "And, it's a bad idea for geeks like you two to be sitting there."

 He did not just rope me in with the geeks table. I thought in slight annoyance. Then paused and actually remembered, Oh yeah...I am a geek...sort of.

 "Geek?" Gentaro asked, confused.

 "It's the same as 'freak'." the girl told him. "You know, like me." She began trying to pull him off the chair, again.

 "And me...." I added. "Well, now, that we've got all that cleared up...let's go!"

 I tried pulling Gentaro away, again.

 "Junpei...." the taller boy said with a roll of his eyes, and yanked his arm out of my grasp, accidentally bringing me down to the floor. "You are being silly."

 I laughed, sarcastically. "No! No, I'm not!" I told him with a nervous smile, and hopped right back up onto my feet. "I know these things! I've lived through them! Suffered, even! This is just middle-school, all over, again. So many bruises.... I don't know about you, but I am not planning on getting my ass beaten up on my first day of high-school, here. Let's go!"

 "She's right, Gen-san!" the long-haired girl said, and began helping the new kid in trying to pull Gentaro away. "Now, c'mon, let's just go! If you don't move, soon, it will be bad!"

 "Gentaro....!" I growled, pushing with all my might. "Move it!"

 "No, way!" the taller boy exclaimed.

 But just then, we heard doors opening, and I immediately stopped and looked over.

 "Too late...." I said, worriedly.

 Three girls in red, white, and black cheerleader outfits waltzed in, acting all high-and-mighty. One of the girls had a short pixie-cut hairstyle, while her posse had long hair in ponytails.

 I shook my head. "Not good." I muttered.

 "Whoa! What a babe!" Gentaro said, starstruck. I gave him a look of disbelief. "This school might not be so bad, after all!"

 "Kazashiro is the queen of the school!" his friend told him, looking very worried. She, once again, began trying to pull him away. "C'mon! Let's go!"

 I sighed in great disappointment, then pulled out a pen and notepad, and began writing something.

 "What are you doing?" the long-haired girl asked her.

 "Writing my eulogy." I replied with a smile, and continued writing.

 But before I could finish it, Gentaro smacked the notepad out of my hand. I pouted.

 The cheerleaders approached us, and their leader looked down at Gentaro with her arms crossed.

 The lead cheerleader asked something in Japanese with a judgmental look.

 "W-We're sorry!" Gentaro's friend replied in English with a bow.

 "Trash?" Gentaro, himself, asked the girls.

 The lead cheerleader took one look at me, then focused back onto Gentaro.

 "Yes. The trashiest of trash." she replied in English. I'm assuming she was the one named Kazashiro Miu. Somehow, I doubted her change in language was just for my benefit.

 Gentaro fixed his jacket and put a leg over a knee.

 "Is that something like...the manliest of man?" he asked her.

 I just stared at him. Has he never been through school, before? You don't mess with cheerleader or popular girls! That's just asking for trouble!

 The cheerleaders looked at each other, and snickered. I shut my eyes, wanting to just melt right there, into the floor.

 Suddenly, I felt a hand grip my shirt!

 Before I could react, Gentaro and I were thrown, and we landed onto some chairs! Well...Gentaro landed on some chairs. I had to land onto a table! I immediately felt a rib begin to bruise as I fell off and landed onto the floor.

 "Gen-san! Jun-san!" Gentaro's friend exclaimed, and rushed over to help us.

 I weakly got to my feet, using the table as an aid, and clutched at my bruised rib.

 "Well...." I said with a grunt. "That's not very nice."

 My face fell as soon as I saw who threw us: jocks! Letterman jackets and all! Great....

 "We're dead." I mumbled.

 That's when I noticed the party animal guy from a few minutes ago...he looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh.

 "What are you smirking at?" I asked him, and he raised a hand in defense. I then hobbled over to Gentaro and his friend with a wince.

 "Arigato, Shun!" Kazashiro said, hooking her hands around his arm, and gave us a look. "You made a bit of a mess, though."

 "Sorry about that, Miu." her boyfriend replied with a smirk. "I will be more careful, next time."

 "I don't know about you," I whispered to Gentaro. "But I am not being part of a 'next time'!" 

 "Don't worry." he whispered back with a wink. "I got this." He looked over at the jocks with an irritated look. "What the hell was that for, asshole?!"

 "Quit whining." the lead jock, Shun, told him with an amused smirk. "All I did was take out the garbage."

 "You do know you could've taken out the actual garbage, around here. Right?" I said. "It's called doing the school a great community service." I was trying to come off as cheeky...but, I think I failed...completely.

 Shun's smirk fell as he gave me a half-glare. "You think you are being a smart-ass, don't you, new boy?" 

 "I don't think it, actually." I replied, then froze...and bit my tongue. This guy might actually be smarter than he looks. Meanwhile, my brain was not helping by letting my mouth run. 

 "Garbage?" Gentaro said. "Screw that! I'm trash, fool!" I looked at him, wanting to facepalm, hard!

 "Dummy!" his friend told him. "That means 'garbage'! 'Trash' is 'garbage'!"

 I looked ahead. The lead cheerleader and her boyfriend were smirking in total amusement. At this point, I just wanted to get out of here. Forget lunch! These guys will turn me into that if I didn't get out of here!

 "You messing with me?" Gentaro asked them with a frown. "I'm not garbage! I'm Gentaro Kisaragi! And, Junpei-san isn't garbage, either! "

 "Just...call me 'Junpei'." I muttered to him in humiliation.

 "Shut up." Shun said with a sneer. "I don't care what kind of name trash has." He then snapped his fingers. "Get them." 

 "Hey," Gentaro said with a smirk. "I don't mind doing this the hard way."

 I patted Gentaro's shoulder.

 "Well, best of luck to you!" I told him. "Farewell!" I was about to turn tail and dash away....

 "Oh, no! You're fighting, too!" Gentaro told me with a smile.

 "Me?!" I yelped, trying to sound more like a guy than a girl. I was surrounded by people, after all.

 "Yes, you!" Gentaro replied. "We're in this together, now."

 "Maybe in your dreams!" I protested.

 I quickly dodged, just in time, as a fist came flying right at me! Part of me was itching to fight back, but I forced that down. Fighting was only going to give me away. While I dodged every punch thrown at me, Gentaro actually fought back. I was surprised when he managed to send a few jocks flying and landing into other tables and chairs, causing some girls to scream. 

 "Ok, Junpei!" Gentaro yelled at me with a grin. "Now, you can run!"

 I dodged a guy, and gave Gentaro a look.

 "Oh, really? Can I?" I asked, sarcastically. But I didn't have time to stand around and argue. I turned and made a dash out of the cafeteria, hearing someone immediately come after me. "I'm gonna kill you, Gentaro!!"

 I ran as fast as I could, hoping to lose whoever was chasing me.

 First day of school, and already, I was not making a great impression.

 I tried to catch my breath as I rested against a railing.

 I had made it to the roof after running for what felt like hours. It's been quite a while since I last ran, like that! 

 I winced as pain in my rib flared. Being thrown onto a table didn't break anything, thankfully. Partially why I was trying to avoid fighting, anyway, was because...I didn't have insurance.

 So, if I could completely avoid going to the hospitals, around here, that would be awesome.

 I did feel guilty, though....

 I left Gentaro to fight all those jocks, alone. The more I thought it over, the more I wondered if avoiding a fight was ever going to be possible for me. And I know that I barely knew Gentaro. Still...it didn't feel right, leaving him, like that.

 Would it really be so bad to be friends with him? I wondered. He's loud and full of himself, but...he seems to care about people, at least. He definitely seems to care about his friends. I rolled my eyes, and pouted in defeat. Alright, fine, I'll give the guy a chance.

 Who knows? Maybe making at least a couple of friends won't be so bad, around here. After all, I was supposed to be blending in.

Chapter Text

 A while later, I cautiously peeked around the corners of hallways.

 I wanted to find Gentaro before the jocks and cheerleaders found me, again, and finished me off.

 Most of the students didn't seem to notice me acting like a weirdo, though there were still some who would snicker.

 I didn't see Mr. Prince-Creepy-Charming, either...like, at all! I found it a little strange. One would think you would see someone like him at least a few times, a day, during school hours. But, I hadn't seen that guy, again, since the first time I met him, this morning.

 I theorized that he was probably introverted and liked to keep to himself in between classes, and also probably avoids the cafeteria, in general. It bothered me that I never got his name, and I didn't know why.

 "Junpei!" a voice whispered, loudly, startling me as I walked past a narrow hallway.

 I stopped, and saw Gentaro crouched down in front of a taped up door that clearly read 'Keep Out'. 

 I walked up to him, and whispered, "What are you doing, here? Shouldn't we be heading to our next class, finally?"

 "Nah, screw classes, right now." Gentaro told me with a grin. "Hey, you can pick locks, can't you?"

 I crouched down, and gave him a look. "What on Earth makes you assume that I'm able to pick locks?"

 "Because...you're smart?" he asked, trying with a smile.

 "My glasses give that away, doesn't it?" I asked, unamused. He nodded, and I just stared at him, for a second. "You're lucky."

 I pulled out a clip from my pocket...what?! You never know!

 Gentaro grinned, happily.

 I began picking the lock on the door. "Why do you want to get in here, anyway?" 

 "I saw Yuuki and that guy go in here." Gentaro replied. 

 "What guy?" I asked with a confused frown. "Not that Shun jock?"

 "No, the other jerk, Utahoshi." he said with a laugh.

 Oh...the anti-love-letter dude. I thought, and nodded.

 "Wait, do you think they're friends or something?" I asked.

 "Probably." he replied. "Yuuki's really nice, so I wouldn't be surprised if she's friends with him."

 "There." I said as I heard the lock click. I stood up, and slipped the clip back into my pocket. "Ok, Trouble Magnet. You're in."

 Gentaro gave me a knowing and cheerful smirk. "You're a sneaky one, aren't you?" he said.

 I couldn't help but smirk, proudly.

 "I may have picked up a thing or two, back at home." I told him with a nod, then pointed a warning finger at him. "And that's all you're getting out of me."

 "That's just fine." he laughed. "Your secret's safe with me, Junpei."

 I hummed with a we'll-see look as he entered the room. 

 "Are you not coming?" he asked, curiously.

 "Yuuki is your friend, Gen-san." I told him. "I've met her only once, so far."

 "Well, then!" he said with a cheerful grin. "We must change that! I'm sure you two will get along, great!"

 "You can't just force people into becoming friends." I told him with a slight chuckle. "Not everyone is as extroverted as you." I couldn't help but smile and roll my eyes when he started giving me the puppy eyes look. "No, Gen-san."

 He huffed and pouted. "Fine, then." he said. "I will surely convince you, somehow! No matter how long it takes!" Of course, he sounded serious about this.

 I smiled at him.

 "Good luck with that." I replied. "Now...." I pushed him back into the room with my pointer finger. "Go find your friend. Unlike you, I actually want to try and keep up with grades, this year, and not get kicked out. I'll see you, later."

 "Ugh! Fine." he sighed with a roll of his eyes. "And here, I thought you would be a little adventurous."

 "You don't know me, yet, Gen-san." I reminded him.

 He shut the door, but not before sticking his tongue out at me and disappearing.

 I shook my head with a smile, and left the hallway. That's when I noticed the time on the clock, and my expression fell.

 "Shit! I'm late for class!" I exclaimed, and started running. "Crap, crap, crap!!"

 Little did I know that I was being watched, the whole time.

 I sat in class, feeling rather tired as Miss Sonoda...our teacher...droned on.

 I noticed that a few of the seats behind me were empty. Gentaro sat there, earlier, with his friend, Yuuki, and that guy who left to see the nurse...if that was even true. I was starting to wonder if Utahoshi only used that as an excuse to get out of class, early. I wondered if Gentaro had found them, yet....

 "Thundewel-san! Please, focus." Miss Sonoda said, startling me, which caused a couple of students to snicker.

 "S-Sorry, Miss Sonoda!" I replied in embarrassment.  "I-I-I'm just...concerned about my friends." I motioned to the empty desks. "Sh-Should they not be in class, by now?" 

 Miss Sonoda looked at the empty desks, and sighed. "They're gone, again." I heard her grumble in annoyance.

 I frowned. So, this was normal? Just how often were Yuuki and Utahoshi away during school hours? And I'm not counting Gentaro, since he's just as new to this school as I am.

 "Pay no mind." Miss Sonoda told me with a fake smile. "They happen to do this, a lot."

 I returned the fake smile. But, I couldn't help but feel more curious. I had a strange feeling that Yuuki and Utahoshi were actually up to something...I mean, there has to be a real reason why they're skipping class, like this!

 I shook my head, and tried to focus back onto the lesson.

 It's none of my business, anyway. I thought. I just hope they're not up to anything troublesome....

 But, before Miss Sonoda could continue the lesson, a loud crash sounded, followed by students screaming in what I think was fear!

 Without even thinking, I rushed out of the classroom, ignoring Miss Sonoda telling me to stay in my seat.

 In the hallway, students ran past in fear, screaming at the top of their lungs! Another teacher walked up with a frown, trying to tell the students to not run in the hallways.

 That's when Miss Sonoda walked out.

 "What's wrong?" she asked him, completely ignoring me, now...though, my concern was much more on why the school was suddenly in Panic Mode. 

 I started running in the opposite direction of where everyone was going. My curiosity was getting the better of me....

 I froze when an evil laugh was heard, and I looked around.

 Just then, a tall and red...monster?!...stepped out of the shadows! The monster looked more human than an actual creature!

 My eyes widened in shock...there was no way I could fight something like this! Not that I should be fighting, anyway....

 The monster growled, and took notice of me.

 "You....!" he exclaimed.

 "Uh-oh...." I muttered, worriedly. Why was this monster targeting me??

 Before I knew it, the monster was towering over me! I tried to turn and run.

 "Come here, little smart-mouth brat!" he exclaimed, angrily, grabbing my wrist and dangling me off the floor!

 "H-Hey! Let go of me!" I told him, trying to sound brave. "Geez! You're scaring the school, man....!"

 My eyes widened, again, as I stared at him in both fear and disbelief. Just what was happening, right now?! Monsters didn't exist! Did I actually fall asleep during class, and I was having a weird dream? It couldn't be, though...I could feel the monster bruising my wrist!

 I tried kicking at him. "Let go! You're hurting me!"

 The monster chuckled, darkly. "Good." he snarled. "Perhaps now, you will think twice about mouthing off to others."

 His iron grip on my wrist tightened, and I cringed in pain. He laughed in amusement when I tried using my free hand to swing some punches at him, only to miss. I then felt a sharp pain in my stomach when the monster used his own free hand to punch me! My eyes teared up, and I let out a cry of pain, just before he tossed me away. I landed on my side and stomach, onto the school's hard flooring.

 I coughed, trying to get my breath back.

 "That...wasn't necessary...." I wheezed.

 That's when I heard another dark chuckle, and creaking above me. I quickly looked up and over my shoulder. The monster brought a locker down on top of me, giving me no chance to defend myself! More pain shot all throughout my body, and darkness didn't give me a chance to react.

 "Junpei!!" I heard someone's voice cry out in shock, just before I blacked out, completely.

 I must have been out for a while, because the next time I woke up, the sky looked like the sun was beginning to set.

 I groaned in pain...I'm pretty sure I had bruises, all over. Thankfully, nothing felt broken. And thankfully, too, my memories weren't lost. Aside from the pain, I had a locker sitting right on top of me. I remembered that red monster's iron grip, and looked at my wrist. Sure enough, there was a large bruise where his hand had been.

 I groaned, again, letting my forehead rest against the floor. What a start to the school year....

 I needed to get home, though. No doubt, school hours were over, long ago.

 Despite my body aching, I shifted onto my back, and tried pushing the locker off.

 "C'mon....!" I grunted. "Get off of me!"

 But the locker was barely budging. So instead, and with a heavy irritated sigh, I focused on pushing myself out from underneath it. It took more than a few shoves...the thing was heavy!

 By the time I finally got myself out, I was breathless, and I just let the locker drop to the floor.

 I warily looked around...there wasn't a single person to be seen or heard. Not even a teacher.

 I slowly stood up from the floor, and clutched my wrist, which throbbed with pain. I then made my way back to the classroom, and grabbed my things. I looked around, again...the place was a mess!

 What happened, here? I wondered with a confused frown. Did that monster do this? Why does it look like a huge fight took place?

 I trudged out of the classroom, listening for voices...or anything, really. But, there was nothing. With an exhausted sigh, I decided to just head home. 

 Everyone must have gone home, hours ago. I thought. I bet the teachers called the rest of the day off, since that monster attacked. No surprise, really. But then, why didn't anybody come back and get me? I rolled my eyes and shook my head at myself. C'mon, Jasmina, really? This is literally your first day at this school. Nobody knows you, and out of thousands of students, who would think to come make sure you were ok? That's just stupid. And besides, you've been thrown around, before. Maybe not quite like what that monster had done...but still! Surely, things will go back to normal, tomorrow. Right?

 The air was cool as I walked to my apartment. Luckily, my apartment wasn't very far from the school

 As I walked, I realized that I couldn't live on my benefactor's money, forever. I had to get a job...preferably, after school hours so that it wouldn't interfere with anything. I was gonna have to start job-hunting, this weekend. Might as well think about getting a summer job, too. Maybe.

 Once back at my apartment, I shut and locked the door behind me, then let out a deep sigh.

 So much has happened on my first day of school....! I didn't exactly make a good impression, either. I now already made enemies with jocks and cheerleaders at Amanogawa, I was caught not focusing on the Miss Sonoda's lesson because I was too concerned about Gentaro and his friend not being there...and then, that red monster attacked! Let's not forget to mention, I met a handsome guy who gave me the chills and up-to-no-good vibes.

 However, one good thing came out of today: meeting Gentaro. He wasn't as bad as I thought, and hanging out with him, a bit, turned out alright!

 My stomach snapped me back to reality as it grumbled, and I winced, realizing that I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

 Tiredly, I moved away from the door to put my things away, and figure out dinner.

 The next morning, everything seemed back to normal, just as I had suspected it would be. I guess the principle didn't think that a monster attack would be bad enough to cancel classes.

 Odd, but oh, well.

 "Junpei!!" someone called out to me from behind. I turned around to see Gentaro cantering up. "Are you alright?! I heard that the monster attacked you! Are you hurt?" He frowned with concern as he took notice of the ugly bruise around my wrist.

 I gave him a smile and shook my head, immediately trying to reassure him.

 "I'm fine, thank you." I replied. "It's just a few bruises. Nothing to worry about! Are you coming to class? Please, say yes...." 

 He chuckled. "As much as I believe how important education is," he said. "Finding out who that monster is is more important."

 "You're going to try and figure that out?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

 "Think about it!" he told me with a grin. "Monsters can't actually exist. It's gotta be someone pretending to be one! Eh?" He gave me a harsh pat on the arm...though, I think he meant for it to be a light one.

 "Uhmm...." I replied, rubbing my arm. "Maybe we should just leave it to the principle and the teachers? Shouldn't they be the ones to deal with this sort of thing while us students focused on our studies?"

 "Oi, Junpei...." he sighed. "Don't you wanna know, too? Don't you wanna know who buried you with a locker? Besides, this could be exciting! Not everything is about school and studying, you know." He let out a laugh as he gave my arm another pat. "C'mon, have some fun! When was the last time you had any?"

 "Graduating middle-school." I lied. "My parents threw me a celebration party."

 "Junpei!" he whined, and gave me a puppy eyes look, again.

 I rolled my eyes, and looked up at a clock. Class was about to start....

 I looked at him, trying to act unamused. "You're not gonna leave me alone unless I come with you, huh?" He pouted. "Ok, fine."

 "Yes!!" he exclaimed, jumping with excitement.

 "But! But!" I told him, holding up a finger. "I'm only going with you because I know that somehow, you'll get into trouble, again. Someone's gotta keep you from doing something dumb."

 "You're the best, Junpei!" he exclaimed, hooking an arm around my neck.

 "Yes, yes...." I muttered. "But if I go down for missing classes, I'm taking you with me."

 "Hai!" he replied with a salute. Then, he grabbed my non-bruised wrist and started pulling me with him as he ran. "C'mon! We need to ask around. I've already tried that cheerleader and jock jerk."

 "Oh, you're braver than me...." I said, somewhat sarcastically.

 We spent the morning asking around about the red monster from yesterday. I let Gentaro do the talking...my smart-ass mouth would only get me into trouble. Especially with the tough students.

 "Sup!" Gentaro said as we approached a group of hooligan students outside one of the school buildings.

 He was so friendly to them! Meanwhile, they looked like they could pummel us within seconds! In fact, one of them started picking a physical fight, already! 

 "Eh? Why are we fighting, again?" Gentaro asked in confusion as he dodged and fought back. "We're just looking for information!"

 "One word!" I exclaimed, and jumped out of the way. "You say just one word! I'm starting to wonder if you're a danger magnet, Gentaro-san!"

 I ducked and dodged a guy who was coming right at me.

 "Call me 'Gentaro'." Gentaro told me. "We're friends, aren't we? No need for honorifics."

 "You still barely know me!" I replied. "I'm not trying to be rude, but...how, exactly, are we friends?"

 "I am Gentaro Kisaragi." he said with a grin, throwing a guy away from him. "My goal is to be friends with everyone at this school!"

 "That...doesn't really answer my question!" I dodged and stumbled forward as a guy made a lunge for me. "Ha! Missed me!" That immediately earned me a punch to the face. I stumbled back, clutching my nose.

 A few minutes later, Gentaro and I were surrounded by fallen guys. "

 Oi." he said, and lightly whacked my arm. "You didn't lift a finger. You only dodged, the whole time." He looked slightly disappointed.

 "Not sure if you've noticed, but uhmm...." I replied, rubbing my sore nose. "I'm not a fighter."

 I mentally rolled my eyes. All this lying was getting rather tiring. 

 "Is wasting your energy the only thing you're good at?" a voice asked, sarcastically.

 Gentaro and I turned around to see the guy who left class, early, yesterday, Utahoshi.

 He was walking in our direction. He pulled out what looked like hamburger, and inserted something into it. "Search around the campus. You should still be able to find him." I had a feeling he was talking to the hamburger, which he set down onto the ground. My eyes widened in shock when it transformed into a little robot! I stepped out of it's way as it began rolling out of sight.

 Then, to Gentaro, the dude said, "I'll stop the Zodiarts. You can't handle it." 

 I'm sorry...what? 'Zodiarts'? Handle what, exactly? What was this dude talking about?

 I looked at Gentaro in confusion, hoping he might have an answer. 

 Utahoshi noticed me, and frowned, almost in confusion.

 "Who are you?" he asked, sounding suspicious. He even seemed to scan me, a little bit. "Are you that new transfer student...what was the name....?"

 Gentaro was about to respond, but I beat him to it, not exactly liking the suspicious looks Utahoshi was giving me. "My name is Junpei Thundewel." I told him. "And yes, I'm that new transfer student. Just call me 'Junpei'."

 Utahoshi narrowed his eyes, studying me.

 Then, he scoffed, and said, "So, if you are hanging around this fool, then you must know what's going on."

 I blinked, and my jaw fell slightly open. I then crossed my arms. I couldn't believe this guy's attitude! I found myself offended, and growing greatly irritated. I scoffed in disbelief.

 "Uh, number one," I told him. "Gentaro-san may be a bit...energetic...but, as far as I can see, he isn't the fool, here. And number two, contrary to your belief, the only thing I know that's going on is that a weirdo monster attacked the school, yesterday, and very nearly crushed me and probably everyone else, too. I don't know about anything else." I gave him a hard look. "It's rude to just assume things, you know. Unless, of course, you can shed some light on who is behind the monster attacks?"

 Utahoshi glared at me, irritably. I glared right back.

 Then, he scoffed. "I don't have to answer to you." he said, and shouldered me as he walked past.

 I could only stare after him, wanting to snap at him, but unable to find the words that wouldn't make me sound like an idiot.

 Gentaro rolled his eyes, and tsked. "I'll show him!" he declared as soon as Utahoshi walked away and out of earshot.

 "Who was that guy, anyway, Gen-san? And, what was he talking about?" I asked him.

 "I told you." he replied. "Call me 'Gentaro'. We're friends, so there's no need for honorifics." He gave me a friendly smile.

 "But-" I protested.

 "Ah, Junpei, relax!" he told me, cheerfully, and gently shaking me by the shoulders. "It's fine!" I let out a sigh of defeat. "Oh, and that guy is Utahoshi Kengo.... I have no idea what he's talking about." His eyes shifted, suspiciously, as he placed his hands onto his hips.

 I squinted my eyes at him...he was doing a poor job at keeping something secret.

 "Alright!" I told him with a knowing smile. "Ok! Keep your little secret, Gentaro. I'll find out what it is. Eventually."

 I gave him a kinder smile, letting him know that I honestly meant no ill-will...although, I did stand by what I just said.

 Gentaro grinned, understandingly, and gave me a 'light' pat on the back.

 "I accept your challenge! And I wish you luck with it, too." he said.

 I smirked and hummed in response.

 I let out a sigh. "Look, if we're gonna keep up with this search. Maybe we should try splitting up, and asking around, that way."

 The taller boy nodded.

 "Good idea!" he exclaimed. "I will meet up with you, later!" He gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Good luck!" Then, he ran off.

 I rubbed the back of my head, then headed off to class. I had to at least do some, today. And while I was at it, I could do my part in asking around about the monster.

 Later on, I was walking around, outside, in the parking-lot. Some sort of commotion was happening, over by the buses. But honestly, my mind was on more important things. Not only the monster attacks, but also, my own mission to figure out the truth behind my brother's death.

 "Oi! New loser!" a female voice called out to me. I turned around to see Miu Kazashiro, and practically the whole school, filing out and walking towards the buses. "If you don't want to get left behind for today's game, you should step on it."

 "Ok, first of all, Pom-Poms, the name is 'Thundewel' or 'Junpei'," I told her, almost sassily and feeling bold as she approached. "If you're gonna insult me, do it, properly. Second of all, what game? This is the first I'm hearing about it."

 She let out a laugh, as if what I just said was totally ridiculous, and crossed her arms.

 "Don't you know anything, yet?" she replied. "If you haven't noticed, we have a football team. My boyfriend, Shun...you know, the jock who threw you trash out, yesterday...is the star player. Today just so happens to be a game. Everyone goes to every game, every year."

 "Everyone?" I asked, lifting a brow in disbelief.

 "Fine, a few losers stay behind." she snipped. "So unless you want to become one of them, you might want to get on the bus."

 "Why are you even bothering to tell me this, then?" I asked...though, I was genuinely curious. Most cheerleaders I've had to put up with, in the past, would give me issues rather than information. "I mean, after all, I'm so very clearly a 'loser' to you...what was your name, again? Mio?" 

 Yeah, I know, I'm signing my death, here.

 Kazashiro glared at me.

 "It's Miu." she corrected. "And unless you want me to call my boyfriend over, I highly suggest you stop being such a smart-mouth."

 I scoffed. "What is with cheerleaders using their jock boyfriends as human shields? Listen, 'Miu'...I can tell you're a tough girl, so why not deal with me, yourself, instead of relying on your boyfriend, all the time? Do you ever give him a break?"

 Wow, I just can't shut my mouth, can I?

 "Shun!!" she called out, angrily. 

 "Oh, no, don't bother." I told her. "Have no fear, this 'loser' isn't getting on the buses, anyway. I have no interest in sports."

 I turned on my heel, and walked away, then, leaving her staring after me in utter shock. I also hadn't realized that we had caused a scene. People were whispering to each other and staring at me as I walked past them. I just wanted to get out of there, now. I felt like I needed to get back to Gentaro, anyway. If I could find him.

 Once I was out of everyone's field of view and earshot, I let out an exasperated yell, "Uuugh!!! Cheerleaders and their jocks!! I don't get it!!"

 I shoved my hands into my pockets with a huff.

 I know, I know. I was supposed to be acting like my brother, and being a total fraidy-cat of the two types of people who gave us so much trouble, over the years. But, I couldn't help it. And, it was a still a habit of mine: standing up to bullies. I started doing that after I began learning self-defense. Just now had to be a one-time thing. I can't have anybody figuring out who I really was.

 The more I mulled things over, the more I began to partially blame Mom. While I did love her to bits and pieces, I did wish she wouldn't be the type of person I had to sneak around. I wished I had been able to just tell her that I was starting school in Japan, and as myself so that I wouldn't have to pretend to be someone I'm not.

 I kicked at a stone, and just shook my head.

 I hated school.... I hated it, so much. All it ever did was constantly bring my brother and I issues that could easily be avoided. But no....

 No, we both had to suffer from it.

 A short while later, I was simply meandering around outside of the school. It was only the afternoon, so there was no way that school was over, for the day, just because of a football game. 

 "Junpei!!" Gentaro's voice shouted out to me, and I turned around just in time to see him running up to me. A little ways behind him was his friend, Yuuki.

 "Oh, hey! I see you've found your friend!" I said, then coughed as his arm made impact with my stomach. He was still running! "Gen...taro....?"

 "We're going to the stadium!" he told me.

 "Gen-san!! Wait!!" Yuuki called out.

 "Yeah, what she said!" I told him. "Hold up!" I made him drop me, and I fell to the ground with a grunt. Gentaro didn't even stop. "Oi!!" I scrambled to my feet and chased after him. "Slow down, will you?!"

 "Can't! The monster is at the stadium!" he shouted back to me.

 I frowned.

 "Why would a monster care about a football game?!" I shouted in confusion, and picked up my pace. "Gen-tar-o!!"

 Several minutes later, I entered the stadium tunnels, and practically collapsed against the wall, out of breath. My legs were screaming with how fast and how much I just ran...and, I was sweating bullets!

 How?! I mentally cried out. How does someone like Gentaro have so much energy?!

 As I waited to catch my breath, I noticed a goth girl standing, nearby, looking shy and nervous.

 "The Brave One...." I heard her say. 

 "Eh?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion. The poor girl just seemed to clamp up. 

 Suddenly, Gentaro rushed in, letting out a sort of war cry as he approached the girl!

 "Are you the monster?!" he asked her. "Eh?!"

 "N-No-!" the girl whimpered.

 "Gen-san!!" Yuuki shouted as she ran in. "Calm down!" She started pulling him away from the girl. "Calm down, ok?" 

 "What on Earth is happening?" I asked as I jogged up, then looked at the goth with genuine concern. "Are you alright?"

 She nodded, but she looked so terrified!

 "Were you the one who called?" Yuuki asked her, her tone much gentler than Gentaro's.

 The goth nodded, again. "Th-That's right...." she replied.

 "Called? What?" I asked, feeling completely confused and left out.

 "Why?" Yuuki asked her.

 "I...I saw that you were looking for the monster." the goth said, and pointed a finger at Gentaro. "You're kind of funny...so, I thought I would root for you."

 "What do you mean 'funny'?" Gentaro asked, grabbing her uniform jacket. "Huh?!"

 "Now, now, now....!" Yuuki exclaimed as she and I both pulled him away from her, again. She turned back to the goth, and asked her, "How did you find the monster?"

 "Other than yesterday's fiasco, when he beat me into a pulp and knocked me out with a locker...." I added. The pain from that was still lingering...though, that was mostly in my wrist.

 "Th-That site about destroying the school...." the goth replied, her words spiraling me further into confusion. "I looked up the IP address of the domain...."

 Yuuki and Gentaro relaxed, a little bit.

 "Well," Gentaro said. "Say something, sooner, next time!"

 "I-I wasn't sure!" the goth told us. "So...I kept an eye on him...." 

 "So, who's the monster?" Gentaro asked her, though didn't move to grab for her jacket, again. 

 "Miura...." she replied. "He sticks close to the football team...I think he is - was - a fan of Captain Daimonji. He's here, in the stadium!" 

 I shared a worried look with Gentaro and Yuuki.

 "Well, I think it's time we went after him, then." I said.

 "Agreed!" they replied with a nod, before they started running down the hall.

 The goth girl and I hurried to catch up.

Chapter Text

 We found Shun, after a minute, talking with a student. The jock was already dressed up in the school's football uniform.

 The student looked pretty irritated, and was holding something in his hand...it looked like a mini grenade with a button on top of it.

 "It's all your fault...for treating me like garbage!" the student said, angrily. I'm only going to assume that this guy was Miura.

 "Stop it!" Gentaro exclaimed as we approached.

 "You...." Miura said, looking somewhat surprised to see us.

 "Put the Switch down, Miura." Gentaro told him. He sounded so serious, now...I had to look up at him in surprise. This was the first time I've seen him, like this!

 "Switch....?" I whispered in confusion.

 Miura smiled, sadly. "I just.... I just love football!" He glared at Shun. "But, he never lets me near the ball."

 "Then, show that dumbass up with football!" Gentaro told him. "Don't use some freaky power. Do it, yourself!"

 "Shut up!" Miura exclaimed. "I'll crush it all! Him, and his stupid school!"

 "And here, I thought you were also a student of Amanogawa." I said, sarcastically.

 "Then start with me!" Gentaro told him.

 Miura looked surprised.

 "What is your deal....?" he asked, calmly.

 "I'm Kisaragi Gentaro." my friend replied. "And I'm gonna become friends with everyone at Amanogawa High School!"

 Shun stepped forward with a sneer on his face.

 "What kind of joke is this?!" he asked, then gave Miura a harsh shove! "What can that stupid switch do?"

 I lifted my hands and stared at the jock in disbelief.

 "Oh, yeah, sure!" I said, sarcastically. "Give him another reason to hate you, why don'tcha?"

 "You stay out of this." he told me.

 I let my hands drop to my sides, and shook my head.

 Miura glared at Shun, angrily.

 Then, I heard a strange voice...coming from the switch? "Last One!" it called out.

 The switch then transformed into a darker version of it's previous form...spikes were added, and the top now looked more like a blood-shot eye! I couldn't help but stare in shock and confusion.

 "You two losers can be friends, if you want to." Shun told the student, and bent down to his eye-level with another sneer. "You're off the team, Miura."

 "Fantastic." I muttered, lightly slapping my thighs in aggravation. 

 Not much to my surprise, Miura shoved Shun away, and stood up. He let an angry cry, and pressed the button on the switch!

 "Miura!!" Gentaro exclaimed, and my mouth automatically fell open as the student was surrounded in darkness and orb-like lights, then transformed into the same monster that attacked, yesterday!

 Miura's body fell to the floor, unconscious, and covered in webs!

 "No way...." I whispered in shock. 

 Shun, who had been knocked down to the floor, sat up, then quickly scooted back in fear. I almost smirked. The big, tough jock was actually afraid of something.

 "Daimonji!" the monster said, angrily. "You're going to pay!" Shun let out a cry of fear.

 "Dumbass!" Gentaro exclaimed, and grabbed a trash can to throw at the monster - or, Miura. He then tried giving him a kick and a punch, only to be thrown against the wall!

 I felt like I couldn't just stand by and watch, in that moment. Gentaro was getting hurt!

 Without thinking, I spotted a small rock, and picked it up before chucking it at the monster. It bounced off of his head, grabbing his attention. He turned to look at me.

 I froze, and winced when I realized that I probably just made a huge mistake!

 "You!" Miura growled, angrily, and began storming toward me.

 I stumbled backwards, fearfully - I wasn't ready to take on a giant monster! What was I thinking?!

 Miura grabbed the front of my school jacket. "I'm going to teach you the meaning of pain, you loud-mouthed brat!"

 He picked me up off the ground, and despite my fear, I immediately tried fighting back, trying to pry his hands off of my uniform while kicking at him.

 "Jun-san!!" Yuuki exclaimed in terror.

 "Oh...take a chill-pill, you overgrown bucket of...." I trailed off, biting my lower-lip as my brain ran right out of insults. "D'I don't even know what!"

 "Junpei!" I heard Gentaro exclaim, worriedly. "No!"

 "Ha!" Miura scoffed. "This time...stay down!" He smashed his forehead against mine, and I saw stars and colors! I barely heard Yuuki scream, and I felt myself drop to the ground.

 I lay there, knocked out, ears ringing, and unable to move a muscle.

 "Junpei!" I barely heard Gentaro exclaim.

 Then, someone rushed in!

 "Here, Kisaragi." a familiar voice said. "Use it." Kengo??

 Whatever was said, next, I couldn't hear as the ringing in my ears drowned it all out. I did feel someone grab my jacket, and drag me away from the fight.

 After a minute, I groaned, my face twisting in pain as I felt a headache coming on.

 "Jun-san...." Yuuki whimpered, her hands gripping my arm.

 "What happened to him?" I heard Kengo ask.

 "The Orion Zodiart knocked him out...." Yuuki explained, sounding greatly worried. "I think he tried to fight him."

 "Tried...failed...." I groaned. I weakly sat up, a hand on my head. "Ow...."

 "Well, that was a pretty stupid move!" Kengo snapped at me.

 "Kengo-kun!" Yuukie exclaimed, sternly.

 "Ah, shut up!" I snapped back at him, not even caring how rude I sounded. "At least I did something. What I did kept Miura from hurting Gentaro, any more, didn't it?"

 I finally opened my eyes, and what I saw, next, had them widening.

 "Three! Two! One!" a robotic voice called out. 

 "Henshin!" Gentaro exclaimed, and pumped his fist as he became surrounded by light, and steam forming an X poured out from what looked like some sort of colorful device!

 Once the steam disappeared, Gentaro had transformed into a white suit with a black-and-orange mask! He looked similar to an astronaut, only with more colorful things to the suit!

 "Uchu...KITAAA!!" he cheered.

 "Stay out of my way!" Miura exclaimed, who was now carrying a serrated sword!

 "I don't think so!" Gentaro replied, then launched into a fight with him.

 "Then, you're my enemy, too!" Miura told him, and tossed him into the wall.

 "Alright, let's settle this one-on-one!" Gentaro said, proudly.

 I couldn't tear my eyes away, unable to truly believe what was happening right in front of my face.

 "I don't understand...." I mumbled. "Why....? What....? How....?"

 "I-I'm gonna act like I didn't see anything." Shun said. He looked down at us. "You guys can handle this." Much to my surprise, he gave us a smile and a salute, then dashed off.

 For a moment, my eyes shifted towards him.

 "Hey!!" I called after him, and tried to stop him by grabbing his leg...but it was too late, and I missed. 

 "Let him go, Jun-san." Yuuki told me. "Hopefully, he will forget about all of this with the game going on." I looked in the direction Shun ran in, then nodded in understanding.

 "Junpei." I said, then.

 "Hm?" Yuuki hummed as she and the goth girl looked at me.

 "Call me 'Junpei'. Please." I replied. 

 Yuuki gave me a friendly smile. "Yuuki Joujima." she said, introducing herself.

 "Nozama...Tomoko." the goth girl said, shyly.

 We peeked our heads out, again. The fight seemed to have moved on to someplace else. Outside, maybe?

 I stood up, shakily, and rushed over to Miura's body. I knelt down, unsure if I should touch the webs...but I wanted to make sure he was alright, despite everything.

 I couldn't really understand why he would choose to become a monster. All because Shun treated him, badly? I couldn't understand any of it...switches, Gentaro's new transformation, the monsters...was it all magic? And if so, since when did magic exist? Last I checked, magic was fictional! But was the world wrong about that? Were there actually magical things in this universe that we have yet to discover and explain?

 I suddenly remembered what my benefactor had said in that disk.... Very slowly, his words were beginning to make sense. I think....

 "He will be alright." Kengo told me as he seemed to type in some sort of little briefcase. "He isn't dead, if that's what you're worried about."

 "Then, shouldn't we take him to a doctor?" I asked.

 "Not until the Zodiart is destroyed." he replied. Then said into the briefcase, "Kisaragi, the Orion Zodiarts switch is on the left side of his chest. Take it, and turn the switch off."

 "Orion?" I muttered, thoughtfully. Wait...wasn't that a constellation?

 "But, you can't do it, here." Kengo added.

 "Why?" Gentaro's voice asked.

 "The Zodiart's built up a lot more energy than last time." Kengo explained, and I moved to kneel next to him. In the briefcase, I saw that it was more like a disguised computer with a camera than something you would carry school or work in! "If you finish it, here, it'll take the stadium with it." My eyes widened upon hearing that.

 "So, what do I do, then?" Gentaro asked.

 Kengo thought, for a minute. "Take to the sky." he then instructed, and pressed some buttons.

 "Vehicle Mode!" an automated voice called out as a model of a strange-looking vehicle, and a motorcycle, appeared on the screen.

 "Load the bike onto the Dizer." Kengo instructed.

 My jaw fell open in shock as I watched Gentaro and the vehicles on the camera...the Dizer transformed into some sort of launching platform! Gentaro mounted the motorcycle, and drove it onto the platform, which then locked the smaller vehicle in place.

 "Alright...." Kengo muttered.

 "Tower Mode!" the automated voice announced as a part of the Dizer began rising up. "Ready? Three! Two! One! Blast Off!"

 "A launch tower?!" I nearly shouted in surprise.

 "Hai!" Yuuki exclaimed, excitedly. 

 Oh, hang on, I gotta see this from out there! I thought, and dashed out of the stadium without a second thought.

 "Jun-san, wait!!" Yuuki called after me, worriedly.

 Outside of the stadium, I slowed down to a stop just in time to see Gentaro rushing high into the sky, taking the Orion Zodiart with him! I couldn't help but grin in amazement.

 "Cool." I said.

 After a couple of minutes....

 "Jun-san! Come on!" Yuuki called out to me with a smile on her face. "Gen-san did it! He won! Miura's waking up!" At this news, I ran into the stadium with her. 

 Sure enough, Miura was waking up, surrounded by Kengo, Nozoma, and Yuuki.

 "The switch was destroyed." Kengo was telling Miura. "You are back in your body."

 "Well, that clears that up." I said with a sigh as I approached. I didn't understand what he meant when he told me why we couldn't take Miura to a doctor, yet.

 Just then, Gentaro arrived, still decked out in that suit. "I'm gonna be your friend, too, alright?" he told Miura, cheerfully.

 Miura nodded, shyly, though seemed thankful to Gentaro from saving him.

 "Let's get him to a hospital." Kengo told us, and we nodded before moving to help the student up.

 "Ka-Kamen Rider!" Nozoma exclaimed, staring at Gentaro in shock. We all looked at her in confusion. "I...I learned about them on an urban legends website...." She showed us the screen of her tablet, something I've completely failed to notice she had until now. On the screen, she played a video of someone in a strange mask and suit, fighting what I can only assume were criminals. "Masked heroes, who protect people from the shadows," The video split into four, showing more heroes fighting bad guys. "They're called 'Kamen Riders'...."

 "Kamen Rider....?" Yuuki said. 

 Gentaro looked around, confused, as we all turned to stare at him.

 "Hm? Me?" he asked, pointing at himself.

 He then flipped off the switches for the the suit, and gave a confident smirk.

 Later, that day, after classes, I ran over to the narrow hallway where that forbidden room was. It still had 'Keep Out', all over it, and no doubt that it was still locked up.

 I knelt down, and pulled out the clip that I had used, last time. I realized that I never saw Gentaro, again...at least, for a few hours...that day, after leaving him inside this room. And after everything that I witnessed, today, I knew that something definitely had to be up.

 And you know, my curiosity was getting the better of me, again. 

 I managed to unlock the door, once again. This time, I went into the room, and shut the door behind me, even locking it back up.

 I put my hands on my hips as I took a look around.

 The room was very small, and dimly-lit. Other than a bunch of things that belonged to the school, I couldn't see why the room would have 'Keep Out' tape on it's door.

 "There's gotta be something, here...." I said to myself, thoughtfully. "That suit, those gadgets, and those vehicles just didn't come out of nowhere! Right?" 

 I let out a sigh, wishing that Junpei was here...he would probably have this all figured out, by now.

 I turned around...and ran smack into something cold and metal! I stumbled backwards, wincing and pressing my palm onto my right eyebrow. That's gonna leave a bruise.... I opened my eyes. 

 Oh, it's a locker. I thought, feeling dumb.

 Wait...what's a locker doing in this tiny room? Of anything else that could possibly go in here, the school was keeping a locker inside this small and dark room? Why? 

 Feeling my curiosity growing, I cautiously opened the locker door. I don't know what I was expecting to see, other than maybe the locker was being used for a lost-and-found thing. But instead, I was greeted by a large, bright light! I instinctively shielded my eyes. My eyesight was bad enough, already, without my glasses....

 "What the...." I whispered in confusion and awe. 

 Making sure I wasn't being followed, I stepped into the locker, gently letting the door shut behind me. The brightness eased up as I walked on. I was now in some sort of white hallway! How was this possible?! There's no way someone built something like this! Right?! 

 My footsteps seemed to echo as I walked onward, until I approached a door that looked oddly futuristic. There was a button, right next to it, and I pressed it. The door slid open, like in a space ship! I walked through, and found myself in a fairly large white room!

 "Whoa....!" I whispered in amazement.

 At the center of the room was a round table with benches, and in some parts of the room were things that totally gave me sci-fi vibes...and, there was even a couple of bunks! The place was also decorated like some sort of teenager's hangout! 

 I didn't dare touch anything, fearing I was going to screw something up with all the technology sitting around. 

 Is this where Gentaro ended up, that day? I wondered. Did he find this place and met up with Yuuki...and even Kengo, now that I think about it?

 I turned around, looked up, and did a double-take. There was a window that looked out into...space?!

 "No way!" I exclaimed, and quickly hopped up to hang onto the window's ledge. I could hardly believe it, but I was definitely looking out into space, right now! And there, not too far away, was Earth! Was this place on the moon?! How is any of this possible?! I had to be dreaming....! "Are you seeing this, Junpei?" I couldn't help but smile as I felt myself tear up. I went to pinch myself, just to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and made the mistake of letting go of the window ledge. "Whoa!" I landed on my back onto the floor, hard. "Ow...." I was dazed, for a few seconds, but then came out of it. I was still in the white room, and I was still staring right into space...literally, and, at Earth. This was no dream!

 I sniffed, and wiped away the tears that had formed. I was living the one big dream my brother and I shared! I grinned, happily.

 "This is so cool!" I exclaimed. "We're in space!! Yea-hay!!" But, my cheering was short-lived when I heard voices approaching from behind the door. "Uh-oh."

 I scrambled to my feet, and literally dove into a corner, near the door, just as it opened up, letting in Kengo, Gentaro, and Yuuki.

 Kengo let out a sigh, as if in defeat, and held out the belt-like gadget to Gentaro.

 "You can hold on to the Fourze Driver." he told him. He looked rather grumpy about it, however.

 "Got it!" Gentaro replied, happily, and took the gadget - uh, Driver.

 "Nice work!" Yuuki exclaimed, and exchanged a secret handshake with her friend.

 Gentaro looked back at Kengo.

 "I guess that makes us friends, now." he told him, and stuck out his hand for the other student to shake. 

 But Kengo didn't do that.

 "Don't get ahead of yourself." he replied, smacking Gentaro's hand away. 

 "You're one stubborn dude." the taller student said, though didn't seem deterred. 

 "One last thing...." Kengo told him, and pointed up at something near the ceiling. It was a banner, with the helmet of Gentaro's suit on it! Below it had 'KRC', and below that, 'Amanogawa High School'. "What is that supposed to be?"

 "Can't you tell?" Gentaro said, and grinned. "This is the Kamen Rider Club. A club that protects the school from monsters."

 "I'm member number one!" Yuuki announced, happily, as she hooked an arm around Kengo's.

 "You should join, too!" Gentaro told him.

 But Kengo looked more annoyed than before.

 "Kisaragi...." he said, and began chasing Gentaro around. "Give back the Fourze Driver!"

 "Nope!" the taller student replied.

 I grinned, letting out a quiet giggle as I munched on some chips I had found that looked (and tasted) recently bought.

 "Jun-san can join, too!" Yuuki said, and turned around to look at me.

 I froze, a chip in between my lips, as the boys stopped to notice me. Gentaro didn't look surprised, but Kengo seemed to be growing more irritated by the minute.

 "How did you know I was here....?" I asked, though not meaning to talk with my mouth full.

 Suddenly, I lost my balance, and I ended up falling forward, almost flat on my face!

 Yuuki giggled. "You're not very well-hidden. I spotted you, the second we walked in." 

 I pouted. 

 Alright, note to self: I thought. Next time, build a fort.

 "Are those my chips?" Kengo asked.

 Oops....

 I mentally cringed, sitting up, and hid the container the snacks came in behind my back.

 "No...." I replied as I chewed and swallowed. Meanwhile, Gentaro was doing his best to keep from laughing, out loud. 

 Kengo didn't look very pleased. He began stepping toward me.

 "You fight a Zodiart, all on your own, with no armor or weapons," he said, angrily. "You sneak in here, without my permission, you steal my food...." Yuuki whimpered and Gentaro protested as the brown-haired boy grabbed the front of my jacket, hauling me to my feet. "Give me more reasons not to like you."

 "Please, don't kill me." I told him, bravely. "I've already had one person nearly do that...twice. No...." I thought, for a moment, and remembered Shun. "Make that two people who have nearly killed me."

 Kengo narrowed his eyes, as if trying to figure me out. "You're an idiot." he said.

 I somewhat nodded in agreement.

 "Yes." I replied. "Although, I have been called things ten-times worse."

 Next thing I knew, my back was slammed against the top of the round table!

 I winced in pain. "Ouch! Easy! I'm not made of bricks, you know!"

 Seriously! What is this guy's deal with me? I thought in great annoyance. Geez!

 "Ah, Kengo-kun!" Yuuki exclaimed. "Kengo-kun!"

 "Calm down, man!" Gentaro added. Both he and Yuuki pulled Kengo off and away from me. "He's cool!"

 Kengo grunted, angrily, ripping himself out of their grasps. He glared daggers at me. "Not to me, he's not." he spat.

 I got off of the table, and straightened out my jacket.

 "Yeah, well...." I said. "You're not exactly listed as my new BFF in my contacts, pal."

 Gentaro and Yuuki motioned for me to just cut it out, both of them looking worried for my sake.

 I rolled my eyes at Kengo, and looked around. "So!" I said. "What is this place?"

 "We call it the 'Rabbit Hutch'." Yuuki replied. "And as you have probably already found out...yes, we're actually on the moon." I dramatically let myself stumble and fall onto a wall, worrying her. "Jun-san!"

 "I'm fine!" I said. "This is only like, my biggest dream ever! Being in space! And here, I thought, that wouldn't happen until I was thirty...."

 "Oh, we have so much to explain!" Yuuki exclaimed in realization as she helped me back onto my feet. 

 "Ya think?" I replied, sarcastically, making her giggle.

 "Junpei!" Gentaro said, and nearly knocked me off my feet as he put me into a headlock. "If we tell you everything, will you join our club?"

 "On the condition that you keep this whole thing secret?" Yuuki added.

 I tried to get out of Gentaro's headlock. "Uh, maybe? Yes? Let me breathe, please, and I'll think about it!"

 Yuuki held up her pinky finger. "Swear you won't tell." she told me, her attitude having turned serious.

 I stared at her, then sighed, and wrapped my pinky around hers, which made her happy. And I let out a sigh of relief when Gentaro released me. But then, they both gave me a gentle shove onto one of the benches.

 Meanwhile, Kengo rolled his eyes, and went into a smaller room as Yuuki and Gentaro began launching into a huge explanation about everything.

 "There were designs for fourty of Fourze's Astro Switches." Kengo explained to Gentaro and I, the next morning.

 We were sitting in one of the Rabbit Hutch's small rooms, in front of some computers that showed information on Fourze and it's switches. Next to the computers was a labeled collection of the switches...that collection being currently small. There was also cylinder-shaped container with a switch already in it and on a small pedestal, surrounded by green light.

 Gentaro was all dressed up in the Fourze suit, again...even though, there were currently no monsters around to be fought. 

 "Of those, we only have eight that can be used, for the moment." Kengo continued to explain. "Which means, we have to experiment and adjust the rest until they're functional."

 Just then, the switch in the container glowed, for a second, and Kengo gently took it off the pedestal. There was a number on there: nine.

 He showed it to Gentaro. "Number nine, the Hopping Switch." The colors on the switch were pink and black. "Let's see how useful it'll be in combat."

 "Right." Gentaro said, seriously, and carefully took the switch.

 "Will it be ok to test it, like this?" Yuuki asked, talking about the Fourze suit.

 "Don't chicken out, Yuuki." he replied, confidentially, and stepped out of the little room. "This is just one of the Kamen Rider Club's activities."

 "Oh, yeah!" his friend exclaimed with a grin. "For the Kamen Rider Club!"

 "There is no such club." Kengo said, nonchalantly.

 I rolled my eyes at him. This guy had an issue with everything and everyone, it seemed. His attitude was starting to really get on my nerves.

 Gentaro stepped into a green-lit room with a window, where we could see what was happening. "I'll do the parts you can't handle, Kengo." he said. 

 "Shut up." the other student told him.

 Gentaro changed out a switch with the new one. "Let's plug it in, and switch it on."  

 "Hopping On!" the Driver's automated voice announced, and Gentaro's left leg transformed into a...pogo stick?

 Immediately, Gentaro was hopping, uncontrollably, smacking into the walls and the window!

 Yuuki and I cringed.

 "This Hopping Switch is pointless." Kengo said in slight annoyance. "I doubt adjusting it will do any good." He then turned and went back to the computers.

 I gave him an irritated look, and shook my head.

 He barely gave it a chance! I thought.

 Soon after, we left the Hutch. Kengo stayed behind to do some work on Fourze.

 "Man, my head's still spinning...." Gentaro said as Yuuki and I followed him out of the locker.

 "Sheesh, are you ok?" Yuuki asked in concern.

 "I'm fine, I'm fine." he replied as the three of us then left the dark little room. "Vertigo is just another problem to conquer."

 Yuuki giggled, and I smiled while shaking my head.

 "That's good." she said. "If you're not making any sense, then I know you're fine, Gen-san."

 Outside, we walked by a crowd of screaming girls. I cringed, gently rubbing my ear. The girls were so loud! I never understood why most girls felt the need to be this loud...and crazy!

 "What's the fuss?" Gentaro asked.

 "Oh, it's the Queen Fest!" Yuuki replied.

 "Queen Fest?" he asked, curiously.

 "Yep! One of the school's traditions." she explained. "Once a year, all the students vote on who's going to be the head of Amanogawa High School's female student body."

 I rolled my eyes. 

 Oh, boy. I thought. I bet I know who's the current head....

 "First, there's a talent show." Yuuki continued. "Then, a speech...and people make their votes, based on those two things. Although, this year will probably be Kazashiro, again."

 "I see...." Gentaro said. "This school's always got something going on."

 "Sounds like fun." I groaned, sarcastically. I began walking away. "I'll catch you guys, later."

 "Jun-san!" Yuuki called after me. "Classes don't start for a bit, yet!"

 I just threw her and Gentaro a smile before continuing on my way and picking up my pace.

 I made my way to the cafeteria, and sat down at a table with a tired sigh, rubbing at my temples.

 "Bloody high-schools with their 'festivals' and 'talent shows' and.... Guh!" I rubbed my face, and just sat there with my thoughts.

 So far, the only thing about school that I actually considered nice was the fact that this year, so far, I've already made a couple of friends, and they were so different from anybody my brother and I had ever met at our previous schools. I considered it an improvement, honestly. Junpei and I had spent so many of our school years, just it being the two of us because nobody wanted to bother being around us.

 I let out a sigh as I leaned forward and rested my head onto my arms, staring up into the blue sky through the nearest window. 

 Are you watching, Junpei? I wonder what you could be saying, right now....

Chapter Text

 "Thundewel-san?" a distant voice said as I felt my body being shaken. "Thundewel-san.... American Dunderhead."

 I sat up, straight, with an irritated frown on my face. "Who are you calling a 'dunderhead'?" I asked, then noticed who had woken me up, and relaxed.

 He was just a shy-looking guy with glasses and dark hair that was mid-neck-length.

 Hold up, when did I even fall asleep? And how long have I been out?!

 "I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, looking and sounding genuinely apologetic, and...terrified? He also had an embarrassed blush on his face. "I didn't mean it! Someone paid me to call you that! Please, forgive me, Thundewel-san!"

 He politely bowed.

 I couldn't help but blush. I was not used to this sort of thing.

 "Eh...it's alright! I'm not mad!" I told him. "Not at you, anyway!"

 Though, who at this school would call me something like 'American Dunderhead'? I thought with a mental scowl.

 "And please, call me 'Junpei'." I added.

 The student looked up at me in confusion. "You're...not an upper-classman?" he asked. 

 "No, I only started, here, a few days ago." I replied. "Who told you I was an upper-classman?"

 "The same guy who paid me to call you that awful name...." he said. "I think he's a third-year...no, wait, maybe a second-year....?"

 "Uh-huh...." I said, crossing my arms, thoughtfully. "And, what did this dude look like?"

 "Uhm...I think he might be in some sort of club." he replied, thoughtfully. "He wasn't dressed in the school's uniform...he was wearing some kind of traditional formal outfit, and he was holding a fan."

 I gently took hold of my bottom lip, thoughtfully. That description wasn't ringing any bells for me. It must be someone I haven't met, yet...if ever.

 "I see...." I said. "I'll ask around. Someone at this school must know this guy."

 "Not a fan of name-calling, eh?" the student asked.

 "Meh, I'm used to it, honestly." I replied. "I was called a lot of things at my previous schools. Most of those names, not very friendly...at all. I'm just a little bothered that someone, whom I've never heard of or even met, would pay someone to name-call some random newbie like me."

 "Yeah, he was pretty persuasive...." he told me. "I'm Keisuke Yanami, by the way. I prefer making allies over enemies...."

 "Hey, so do I!" I told him. "Especially considering we're both new, here. I guess us first-years have to stick together, eh? I've already made a couple of accidental enemies, around here, no thanks to my smart-ass big mouth." 

 "Oh, dear...let me guess: cheerleaders?" he asked, worriedly. 

 "And a jock." I replied. "And another jerk who's name I must not spill, just in case he decides to murder me in my sleep if I did. I'm Junpei...and seriously, just call me that. I'm still trying to get used to honorifics, here."

 Keisuke smiled, bashfully, and nodded.

 Suddenly, I felt pain slap the back of my head! I clutched at the spot with both hands, my mouth falling open in shock.

 I gave whoever was responsible an angry glare.

 "Was that necessary?!" I shouted, jumping to my feet.

 Kengo stood there, glaring back and gripping the briefcase computer in one hand.

 "Didn't you hear me calling for you?" he asked, keeping a calm attitude. "Kisaragi is in trouble." He began walking away.

 "Yeah, well...I'll follow on my own time, thanks!" I shouted after him and shaking a fist. I quickly looked away to frown at a wall as he responded with a harsher glare.

 "Do you want to stay in this stupid club, or not?" he snapped, then continued on his way without hearing my answer.

 I pouted.

 "What does being in the club have to do with anything?" I mumbled.

 "I heard that!" Kengo called back, and I made a choke-hold motion with my hands in his direction. 

 "Nice guy...." Keisuke said, looking horrified at what just happened.

 "Yeah, he's a real pleasure to be around." I replied, sarcastically.

 Then, I let out a sigh to calm myself. "Well, I guess I better follow along, before he hits me, again. Fellow student abuse. So...I guess I'll see you around?"

 Keisuke nodded with a tiny smile, and I gave him a friendly one.

 "Thundewel, let's go!!" Kengo called back, impatiently, and I let out an animalistic growl in his direction.

 "Good luck." Keisuke told me, his smile having turned slightly amused, though still shy.

 "Thanks!" I replied, then dropped my smile and hung my head as I began trudging after Kengo. "I'll need it...."

 I had picked up my pace, a bit, as I walked down the oddly-empty halls with an angry scowl on my face...anger at Kengo, that is. I was also planning on solving my little name-calling-bribing-douche-canoe mystery after making sure Gentaro was alright.

 "Honestly, just what kind of danger could Gentaro possibly be in-" I grumbled, but didn't get a chance to finish that sentence as I was suddenly thrown, face-first, into a bunch of lockers by a familiar white suit!

 "Sorry, Junpei!!" Gentaro's voice exclaimed, before I heard him continue a fight. With whom, though, I did not see.

 A minute later, Kengo ran out of the closest classroom.

 "There you are!" he told me, irritated. "Learn to keep up, will you?"

 He then chased after Gentaro.

 My cringe of pain turned into another angry scowl, before I pushed myself off of the lockers. I panicked as I lost my balance, and toppled backwards, hitting my head onto the hard floor. I then heard a snicker, and I peeked an eye open to see the party animal kid from the other day.

 "Too bad you missed the party." he told me as he sauntered out of the classroom. "It was...interesting!" He laughed, and walked down the hall in the opposite direction.

 Once I was sure the coast was clear, I jumped to my feet like a pro. 

 Now, to find where Gentaro and Kengo went. I thought, then took off running.

 I found Gentaro, outside, behind one of the school buildings.

 He was fighting a cloaked monster, who looked a lot like a scorpion! Unlike the Orion Zodiart, this guy was black and gold, all over, and had a much calmer manner than Orion did. Was this thing another constellation Zodiart? Scorpio, by the looks of it?

 The scorpion monster shrugged off his cloak, and the orbs on his body began to glow blue and red! He was eerily calm, even as Gentaro rushed up to fight him, again. But I was surprised when he blocked all of Gentaro's attacks! Even going so far as to launch himself off the side of a nearby building in order to give my friend a good kick!

 I frowned in surprise. I don't think the Orion Zodiart was nearly as skilled as this scorpion monster was! This was almost straight up hand-to-hand combat!

 "Quit squirming around!" Gentaro said in great annoyance as the two fought. "Watch it with the kicks!"

 The scorpion monster stood up, straight, and tilted his head, then attacked Gentaro with a vine that launched from his wrist! Gentaro fell back onto the ground in pain.

 "Gentaro!" I exclaimed, and ran over to check if he was ok.

 "I'm fine!" he told me. "Get out of here, Junpei. This guy's a tough one!"

 "I am not leaving you." I told him. "I may not be able to fight, but I know how to dodge. I'll be fine!" I then helped him up.

 "Damn, this thing is strong!" he muttered.

 "He's definitely not like that Orion Zodiart." I said, and he nodded in agreement. 

 "You can't beat it with raw power!" Kengo shouted from behind us. He was standing by a tree, watching the whole thing. "Use the switches!"

 Gentaro and I looked at each other.

 Right...I forgot about the Fourze switches.

 "Oh, yeah!" Gentaro exclaimed, then turned to face the monster while pulling out the pink-and-black switch. He switched another switch out for it, and pressed the button. 

 "Hopping On!" an automated voice announced. Gentaro's left leg transformed into a pogo stick.

 Unfortunately, just like the last time he used it, the poor guy ended up bouncing, uncontrollably, before winding up hopping high into the sky!

 I cringed, even as he crashed back down to the ground.

 Kengo approached. "Everything alright?" he asked.

 Gentaro groaned in pain, but sat up as if nothing happened. "Yeah...I'm in one piece."

 "I don't care about you, I meant the Fourze Driver." Kengo told him.

 Why you uncaring piece of- I thought, angrily, mentally throwing him a dirty scowl.

 "Damn! You're one cold dude!" Gentaro said. "Sheesh!"  

 "Give me the Hopping Switch back." Kengo told him. "You just proved it useless."

 I was about to go on the defense, but I chomped down onto my tongue...I was supposed to be acting like my brother. Fights were my thing, and I couldn't be me, right now.

 Gentaro pulled his hand away, holding the Hopping Switch, just as Kengo reached for it.

 "No!" he argued. "It's bound to come in handy, somehow."

 "You're wasting time." the other student said.

 Gentaro seemed to give him a look, even with the Fourze mask on.

 "There's nothing in this world that's useless." he told him, then began walking away.

 "Oi, wait!" Kengo said, and was about to chase after him when suddenly, he froze, seeming woozy, and he collapsed onto the nearest building.

 I immediately moved to make sure he was ok. The guy got on my nerves, sure, but if he was sick.... 

 "I'm fine." he told me, shoving me away. "Just...make sure he stays out of trouble, and doesn't ruin the Fourze Driver." He shouldered past me and walked away.

 Frustrated, I lifted my hands, and just let them fall back down, then put them on my hips.

 "You're welcome!" I exclaimed, unhappily. I turned, and was about to follow Gentaro when I looked up, and spotted something on top of a nearby school building.

 I stopped in my tracks, a frown forming on my face.

 Staring down from the top of the building was a monster!

 This one was similar to the scorpion one...except this monster looked like a female human with swirly pink hair, and carried a pink and white staff. Just how many of these monsters were hanging around the school?!

 That's when I realized something: the scorpion monster was gone!

 I looked around, frantically...but the dude was nowhere to be seen! When did he disappear, and where did he go?!

 I looked back up at the humanlike monster.

 I don't know what I was expecting, other than an attack...but to my surprise, the monster did nothing, except nod her head in Gentaro's direction, almost as if telling me to catch up to him.

 Feeling very confused, I began making my way in that direction, only to end up crashing my shoulder into a tree.

 If the pink-haired monster rolled her eyes, I never saw it. But she did facepalm, and shake her head, a little bit.

 Embarrassed, I pulled my uniform jacket tighter, and continued on my way. 

 Well, that was weird! And really awkward.... I thought. Why didn't she attack, though?

 I shook my head, and hurried to find Gentaro.

 I practically ran all over the school. I must have missed my friend, somehow, because I couldn't find him.

 "Ah, c'mon, Gentaro." I muttered. "Where are you?"

 "Thundewel!" Kengo's voice called out to me, making me stop and turn on my heel in curiosity. He nodded his head in a direction. "C'mon, I know where Kisaragi and Yuuki are."

 He's being somewhat civil...for once. I thought, and jogged toward him.

 "Would you please, stop ordering me around?" I told him. 

 "Keep up with us and I won't have to." he replied as he began walking.

 "What is that supposed to mean?" I argued.

 Our voices carried throughout the hallways of the school causing some students to snicker and laugh at us.

 Yep! I'm pretty sure we sounded ridiculous, right now.

 Kengo lead me to a building that was a little ways from the school. A place called JAXA.

 It was like a museum, but for everything relating to space!

 Kengo rolled his eyes at me as I stared at some of the space stuff with sparkled eyes.

 "This is amazing!" I exclaimed, totally not geeking out.

 "I guess you and Yuuki have this in common." Kengo muttered. "Come on. I hear Gentaro and Yuuki, over there."

 "Don't tell me what to do." I snapped at him in annoyance. "You are not taking me away from all of this awesomeness!" I went back to falling for a bunch of moon rocks with a happy grin.

 "Ah!" I exclaimed as Kengo yanked me from it all, gripping the back of my jacket and just literally dragging me behind him. "Wait! C'mon, just one more minute, Kengo! How could you not appreciate any of this?!"

 So, feeling very disheartened and defeated, I reluctantly followed my fellow classmate as we found the others.

 "What does this have to do with a Rider?" Yuuki was asking Gentaro with a pout. "Besides, how did you know I was here?"

 "I told him." Kengo replied as he and I walked up. "You're usually at JAXA after school. Next time, take this one with you." He nodded his head in my direction.

 "Oh...that's true." Yuuki said, her pout deepening.

 "We're counting on you for the Queen's Fest, Yuuki." he told her.

 I looked at him in surprise, then cringed, big time.

 "Oh, no...." I groaned, and dramatically fell to the floor. "And here, I thought we were going to discuss the monsters attacking the school....!"

 Kengo ignored me.

 "Other than Hirota Reiko," he continued. "Two other possible contenders have been attacked in the last week. From what they've told their friends, they were attacked by the same invisible monster as Hirota."

 Well, that was news to me.

 "Invisible monster?" I asked in surprise. "Hang on, why would a monster be interested in a stupid cheerleaders festival?"

 "It looks like the invisible Zodiart is attacking Fest candidates." Kengo continued, still ignoring me. He took off his backpack, something I had completely failed to notice. He pulled out the little hamburger robot from the other day, and inserted something into it. The little robot chirped and transformed before opening up a hologram of the head cheerleader, and her two friends. "The only ones left are the reigning Queen, Kazashiro Miu, a senior...and her sidekicks, Sakuma Tamae and Shigeno Jun."

 "Sidekicks?" Gentaro asked as Kengo yanked me up from the floor.

 "They're like the queen's assistance." Yuuki told him.

 "More like, lackeys." I muttered.

 "And Joujima Yuuki, a junior." Kengo added, still listing the victims of this monster.

 "I already told you, I don't wanna!" Yuuki said, and crossed her arms while facing away from us.

 "If we can't narrow down suspects, we'll have to keep an eye out." Kengo told her. "We'll be keeping an eye on the contestants from outside the competition, and you from inside it. We can't let the Zodiart attack anybody else."

 Gentaro happily gripped Yuuki's shoulders. "Good luck!" he told her. "Remember, it's all part of your duties in the Kamen Rider Club!"

 Yuuki unhappily took his hands off her shoulders. "I don't wanna, I don't wanna!" she protested, and gave him a pleading pout.

 "Thundewel," Kengo told me. "You'll help, too. We could use as much of it as we can."

 Ooh, this boy.... I thought as my last rope of annoyance snapped.

 "Would it kill you to say 'please'?" I replied, crossing my arms. "I'm not someone you can just push around, you know. Who put you in charge, anyway? Gentaro's the one who started the Rider Club. Not you."

 "Would it kill you to just do as you're simply asked?" he argued. "I don't see you helping Kisaragi fight the Zodiarts, again, so you might as well do something while you're just hanging around us."

 "Are you saying I'm lazy?" I snapped, glaring daggers at him. "Because believe me, jackass, I'm anything but! Why do you insist on being so pushy?"

 "Why do you insist on acting like a brat?" he snapped back, glaring back.

 "Stop! Stop!" Yuuki exclaimed, coming in between us. "Both of you, time out! You are acting like toddlers over a toy!"

 "He started it!!" Kengo and I shouted in unison. 

 "That's it!" she yelled, and grabbed me by the arm - hard! "Both of you clearly need space away from each other." She then began dragging me away.

 "Ow! Ow! Ow!" I whimpered as I stumbled after her. "Wait...Yuuki! Hold up! I'm sorry!"

 The next day, students were gathering in the gym.

 There was a stage all set up for the competition, and there were festival decorations, all over the place.

 It made me sick.

 I tried convincing Gentaro to let me stay either at home or in the Rabbit Hutch, but he wasn't having it. He absolutely insisted that since I was a member of the Kamen Rider Club, I had my duties, too, and that I was going to help out, whether I liked it or not.

 He reminded me of my brother, this way. Whenever I was stubborn about something, Junpei would flip on the Twin Brother Mode switch...and I'd always lose.

 So, now, here I was, in the crowds in the gym, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed, and feeling very irritated. I was so annoyed, I was mentally throwing childish names at Gentaro and Kengo...Yuuki was alright. She was still adamant about not participating in the festival.

 Although, she did give me a pretty strong talking-to about the fight I had with Kengo.

 That totally didn't remind me of Mom....

 "What are you all grouchy about, Smart Mouth?" a voice asked from beside me.

 I shifted my eyes, and nearly went into total Panic-and-Fear Mode when I saw that it was Daimonji Shun standing next to me! His arms were also crossed as he stood with his group of jocks, waiting for the competition to start.

 Wow, I haven't seen this guy since before that football game. I thought.

 I tried to relax. Hopefully, Shun wasn't in the mood for picking fights and throwing people around, today. Might as well try to be civil with him...right? 

 I gave a casual shrug.

 "I just...." I replied, my brain racing to find a good believable excuse. "Don't understand why this festival is even a thing. That's all."

 "If you're so unhappy about it, then why are you even here?" he asked. Him actually being civil...ish...was starting to worry me. "Why not just stay home?"

 I bit my bottom lip, thoughtfully.

 "Home's...kinda boring, right now." I said. "It's not like I have a gaming station, there, or anything. And I'm not much of a TV person. Soo...I thought I might as well see just how boring this festival will be." 

 Why are we having this conversation?! I mentally exclaimed in confusion. 

 "You're weird, you know that?" Shun asked, avoiding eye contact...which was fine because I didn't want to seem like I was conversing with him, either. "Do you find everything boring?"

 "No." I answered, and shifted, uncomfortably. "Do you?"

 I mentally facepalmed. What kind of a response was that?!

 "Anything Miu does is never boring." the jock replied with a sigh, looking lovestruck. "You'd understand if you had a girlfriend."

 I rolled my eyes, big time.

 "Oh, no!" I said, sarcastically. "I'm so sad! Geeky ol' me has a slim chance of ever finding someone special. Oh, woe is me, woe is me."

 I pushed up my glasses as they had started to slip down the bridge of my nose.

 Shun scoffed. "Wow. Lighten up, Thundewel. I'm sure, somewhere at this school, there's a geeky little girlfriend, just for you."

 I couldn't help but blush, but I tried to ignore it.

 "Alright, why aren't you beating me up?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow. "Last time we spoke, you threw Gentaro and I across the cafeteria." 

 I still have bruises from that. I thought.

 "Duh! It's a festival." he replied. "Nobody picks fights at a festival, dummy."

 "Clearly, you've never been to any of my previous schools." I told him.

 I remember that at almost every pep-rally, someone would cause some sort of fight with someone else. It was crazy.

 "Hey, everybody! Sorry for the wait!" a guy in a yellow glittery jacket exclaimed as he ran up onto the stage, a microphone in his hand. "It's time for the Amanogawa High School Queen Festival's long-awaited talent show!"

 The crowd cheered at this.

 "Who's this guy?" I muttered, not recalling seeing him around the school, before.

 "Don't you know anything?" Shun chortled, having heard me. "That's Tsukasa Nishikawa. He usually is the one who hosts the school's events. He tends to keep himself isolated from crowds, otherwise. No one knows why."

 "Let's get started!" Nishikawa exclaimed. "Our first entry is a junior, Joujima Yuuki, with 'Good Luck, Hayabusa'!"

 "Oh, no...." I muttered, facepalming.

 How did the boys win her over? I could only hope that what she had in mind for the talent show wouldn't lead to disaster.

 But, my worry came true when Yuuki trotted into view, wearing a space costume.

 "Hi, everybody!" she exclaimed. "I'm Hayabusa!" I could feel my face drain of color. "And I'm going on a journey all over space! I'm gonna do it with some gravity-assisted maneuvers, and my ion thrusters! I am Hayabusa!"

 As she continued on with her act, I let my arms drop to my sides, and purposely hit my forehead against the wall in humiliation - hard!

 Of all the talent-related things in the world, Yuuki chose to dress up and act like a children's character. Just...why?

 I could feel Shun smirking at me, clearly pleased by my reaction.

 "Friend of yours?" he asked with a snicker.

 I let myself fall to my knees in despair, not daring to answer that when he already knew it.

 "Aww, don't be upset, Thundewel." the jock told me, pulling me up and into a headlock, making his friends laugh. I thought he was going to give me a noogie...but to my surprise, he didn't. "Who knows! Maybe she's the girlfriend you've been looking for!" He shared a loud laugh with his fellow teammates.

 Ok. Now, that was enough.

 I grabbed the front of his shirt, and yanked him down to my eye-level.

 "Listen, here, Superstar," I told him while giving him a fake, yet angry, grin. He stared at me in shock. "The only person allowed to make fun of my friends is me. Yes, Yuuki is my friend. And I don't exactly appreciated you jocks picking on her. I won't fight you. It is a festival, after all...just like you said, Shun. So, I'll let this slide, just this once. But remember this: the next time you make fun of my friends in front of me, there will be hell to pay. Got it?" Terrified, now, he quickly nodded. "Good! Now, move."

 I released his shirt, then, and he immediately stumbled out of the way as I walked past to make my way backstage.

 Ok, needless to say, I somehow managed to get myself lost. It was dumb and humiliating...but, thankfully, it didn't take me too long to finally reach my friends, who were all watching the show. I glared daggers at Yuuki, for a second, before shocked screams drew my attention.

 Miu and her gal pals were on stage, seeming like they just finished up their own act, which the crowd had been going wild for.

 But one of her friends was now sobbing in fear as she ran off!

 Gentaro rushed forward, and looked around.

 "What's going on?" I asked as I approached.

 "One of Kazeshiro's friends was attacked by the invisible monster!" Yuuki told me, worriedly. "Gen-san's trying to find him, now."

 "I missed all that in a short amount of time?" I asked, mostly to myself. "I didn't think I was gone for that long."

 "Did you get lost, again?" she asked, knowingly.

 "No!" I lied, embarrassed, and nervously crossed my arms. But, I knew that she knew that I was lying.

 Suddenly, Miu's other friend was knocked to the stage floor!

 Gentaro ran over to help her up and off the stage. Then, he grabbed a couple of chalk erasers before running back onto the stage. He clapped the erasers together, creating large clouds of dust...and because of that, a green lizard-like monster appeared!

 My eyes widened. "I don't remember reading about a lizard constellation!" I exclaimed.

 The room was filled with gasps of shock as the monster grabbed Miu! But Gentaro dropped the erasers, and raced over to kick the monster away. Miu stumbled over to us, in the meantime. Everyone watched as the monster bulldozed through the crowd, and disappeared out of the room!

 "Oi! Hold up!" Gentaro exclaimed, and chased after it.

 Once they were gone, everyone started whispering to each other, confused and surprised at what just happened.

 Yuuki was distracted, busy with making sure Miu and her friend were ok.

 I took this chance to sneak away and out of the room. I wanted to watch Gentaro fight the lizard...but also, I wanted to be with him, just in case he needed someone to distract the monster.

 Someone like me.

Chapter Text

 I ran out of the building, scanning the area for any sign of Gentaro. No doubt, he would be using the Fourze Driver, by now.

 I just hope I didn't get lost, again....

 I stopped running, for a moment, to catch my breath.

 After a minute, I suddenly felt a strong force against my back!

 I let out a cry of surprise as I ended up flying forwards, my glasses falling off, and I landed in a bush.

 "Ouuuch!" I exclaimed with a grimace. "Dude! Not cool!"

 I froze when a chuckle sounded. I turned over onto my stomach, just as I saw something green jumped down into view! My vision was blurry.... Where did my glasses land? I knew it had to be the monster, though.

 "Ah. So you're the one who attacked me." I commented.

 The monster only tilted his head.

 I got to my feet, my legs feeling like jelly from being thrown. I squinted my eyes, trying to see and make out my surroundings for any sign of anybody possibly watching.

 When I saw no one, other than the monster, I got into a fighting position.

 "Ok, Lizard Man." I said, and raised my fists. "You wanna fight? Then, bring it on."

 The monster let out an amused garbled laugh.

 "You will lose." he replied. "And, you are as blind as a bat." He chuckled, darkly.

 Then, in a blink of an eye, he turned invisible!

 I tensed up, immediately searching around for him, despite how bad my vision was.

 "By the way...you are a terrible actor." That time, the monster's voice was right in my ear, sending chills down my spine!

 I didn't have time to react as he gave me a harsh kick forward! I rolled, but then immediately knelt with one knee on the ground. The monster lifted his chin, as if me fighting back was actually peaking his interest.

 "Is that the best you can do?" I taunted with a smirk, trying to ignore the pain. "That attack was pretty weak."

 "You sure do like to run your mouth, don't you?" he replied. I realized that his voice, in a very strange way, sounded almost...feminine! Was this creature actually a girl? 

 The monster suddenly bolted forward, ready to attack! I stood up, and blocked with my arms shielding my face, just in time. We traded blows. This lizard was good...he - or, she - managed to block all of my attacks, while giving me plenty of bruises! I wasn't about to back down, though. I surprised the monster by pulling a defensive stunt, then tried punching it in the chest. All I received was pain! I pulled back with a yelp and a wince, shaking my now-bruising hand. 

 Geez, this dude's tough! I thought with a raised eyebrow. I wonder if Gentaro managed to leave a mark...if he's even caught up to this thing, yet.

 The lizard snickered, making me glare at it.

 "I told you: you will lose." they said.

 "Yeah, well...." I replied. "I don't see myself quitting, just because you're a tough bastard."

 As soon as I said that, my body whipped to face the opposite direction, and my cheek stung! I lifted my hand to it...the damn monster cut me! I lowered my hand, and saw that I was, indeed, bleeding.

 I tsked in annoyance. "Really, now...." I spun around, drawing back a fist. "That's just rude!"

 We launched into another brawl. This time, we threw in kicks at each other.

 "While I'm enjoying our fight," I totally didn't say with sarcasm. "I do want to know why you're attacking me. I'm no cheerleader, and I'm definitely not participating in the festival."

 "Do you ever use that head of yours?" the creature asked as I dodged a punch. "You are the one who talked back to the head cheerleader, the other day. Nobody talks back to her!"

 Why would this monster care about.... I thought. But then, it suddenly came to me, the pieces falling into place! I smirked. Ahh!

 I caught a punch in both my hands.

 "You should really think your words through before you say them." I said. "You just gave yourself away, right there."

 "Eh?" they asked.

 "You're one of Miu's lackeys, aren't you?" I told them, and sneered. "What's the matter? Didn't like that I stood up to her, before the football game? What about the other girls? What did they ever do to deserve being attacked? Surely, they're Miu's friends, too?"

 "You know nothing!" the lizard exclaimed, angrily.

 They ripped their fist out of my grasp, and gave me a good punch before I had a chance to react! I hit the ground, hard, and covered my right eyebrow. That's gonna hurt.... Then, the lizard grabbed the back of my jacket, and threw me away like I was a trash can! My back hit a building, and just as I was about to slide down in a daze, the creature's arm was against my throat, pinning me, there!

 "You gave yourself away, too, you know." she told me, tauntingly, as I struggled to breathe, and pretty much confirming that I was right. "Your voice isn't as deep as before. And you are lighter than any boy - or cheerleader - I've dealt with, this week! And that face! Why, that is a very pretty face, for a boy! I can't help but wonder: are you, in fact, actually a girl?" 

 My eyes widened, slightly. 

 Shit, shit, shit, shit! I thought, beginning to panic. What do I do?! What do I say?! This thing's hit the nail on the head! 

 The lizard chuckled, evilly.

 "Gee...I wonder how the school will react when they hear that one of the first-years is pretending to be a guy!" she said, and laughed, louder.

 "You...wouldn't dare!" I replied, trying to keep up my bravery, but also losing air. Her arm was crushing the life out of my windpipe! 

 "Already planning on it." she told me, then threw me to the ground! 

 I got on my hand and knees, and clamped my other hand over my throat, coughing and trying to get my breath back. My heart was pounding against my chest, but it felt like it was in my ears! This thing almost killed me, and that was terrifying!

 "Junpei!!" Gentaro's voice exclaimed. I looked up to see him, dressed up in the Fourze suit...as I had figured...coming towards me. He skidded to a stop on his knees as he gripped my shoulders. "Are you alright?! Did this lizard hurt you?"

 I coughed.

 "In a way...." I replied, and coughed, again. Speaking hurt, now.

 "Go home...ok?" he told me, gently. "Get some rest. And don't rush back to school, if you don't feel like coming."

 "Ugh! How touching!" the lizard monster exclaimed, sarcastically.

 But for once, I agreed with my friend. Not to call myself weak, but after nearly getting killed by a bloody lizard monster, I think I could use a bit of a break.

 I nodded, and Gentaro helped me to feet.

 "Take it easy, now, yeah?" he told me as he guided me halfway across the area. 

 I nodded, again, then took off at an awkward jog. I ran until I was off of school property, and that's when I rested against a nearby tree. I felt sore, all over, now. And, I'm pretty sure my brow and lip were bleeding.

 Greeeat.... 

 I practically let myself fall onto my sofa as soon as I got inside my apartment.

 I was exhausted, and in pain. My first real fight in months, and I had lost, big time! Then again, that lizard monster was pretty tough to take down. Not to mention, I had lost my glasses, so it wasn't exactly easy watching every single move the Zodiart made.

 I sighed, and opened up the locket that I wore around my neck. How I never seemed to lose my necklace, these days, was beyond me.

 "You're scolding me, right now, aren't you?" I asked, staring at the little photo of my brother and I. "You're saying how much of an idiot I am, aren't ya? Being you is not easy, ya know. I may look like you, now...but it's so easy to just be me." I let out an irritating cough, and rolled my eyes at it. "I bet you're also yelling at me for almost dying, huh? Welp...how was I supposed to know how strong Lizard Man would be?"

 I let out a deep exhausted sigh.

 Since that fight, I didn't feel like going back to school, for the rest of the day.

 Until then, I figured I might as well catch up on some homework, then catch up with everyone, the next day.

 As for my glasses...well, I didn't quite know what to do about them. If nobody had them by tomorrow, I might have to buy some contacts until I could afford a new pair. Which...sucked, if I was being honest.... If Mom knew that I had lost my glasses, she'd have a fit. We weren't exactly a rich family, and glasses were expensive!

 Until tomorrow, I could only pray that my eyesight didn't get any worse.

 The next morning, I sat in homeroom with Kengo, Yuuki, and Gentaro.

 Kengo and Yuuki were looking at a sheet of paper, while Gentaro and I sat at our desks.

 Miss Sonoda wasn't in, yet, so most of the students were either chatting or goofing off.

 I was feeling a bit peeved, though I tried not to let it show. I couldn't see, still. Not well, anyway.

 Unfortunately....

 "Man, this is a load of crap!" Gentaro suddenly complained, his voice jolting me back down to earth.

 "I wonder why they don't understand how awesome Hayabusa was?" Yuuki whined to Kengo.

 "You did well, Yuuki." he told her.

 Oh, right...that sheet of paper was probably the results for the talent show, yesterday.

 "I wonder who the other person who voted was?" she asked. "That was nice of them! Kengo, Gen-san, Jun-san, one more person, and I...."

 They were both quiet, for a moment. Then, I heard one of them moving the blinds, and Kengo saying, "It was her...."

 I tilted my head upon hearing this, my curiosity peaking. "Who?" I asked them. 

 "That goth girl who lead us to Miura, before." Yuuki replied. "She must've been the other person who voted for me in the talent show."

 I frowned, thoughtfully, trying to remember who they were talking about.

 "....Nozoma?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

 "Man, this is such crap!" Gentaro exclaimed in frustration, startling all of us as he slammed his hand against his desk. He quickly stood up, and left the classroom.

 Oh, man....! I thought, staring after him, tiredly. Class hasn't even started, yet!

 "At least, we know the monster is after Kazashiro Miu, for certain, now." Kengo said, and I heard him move to sit down at his desk.

 "So, it must be someone with a grudge against her?" Yuuki asked as she sat down, as well.

 "Her sidekicks are pretty suspicious, but...." he replied. 

 "Wait, weren't they both attacked by the Zodiart, though?" she said.

 Zodiart? I thought. Hold on...I thought only the constellation monsters were Zodiarts! 

 "Are you guys saying the lizard is a constellation?" I asked them. "I swear, I've never heard of one after a lizard...."

 Yuuki nodded.

 "There are eighty-eight constellations, out here." she explained. "There's the twelve zodiac ones, which are the most famous. And then, there's everything else. Like, the lizard, and Orion! For us, all the monsters attacking the school are Zodiarts."

 "The lizard must be Lacerta." Kengo added. "For now, that's all we can know, until we find out who's behind it."

 "I had no idea....!" I whispered.

 "And to answer Yuuki's question," Kengo continued. "Yes." 

 I looked out the classroom doorway, wondering where Gentaro had gone off to while the others talked. 

 That guy.... I thought with a sigh. If he keeps cutting class, like this, he's going to get into big trouble.

 Miss Sonoda arrived, then...a sign that class was finally about to start.

 "Thundewel-san?" she asked me, sounding confused. "Where are your glasses?"

 I glared daggers at the wall in front of me, greatly annoyed. "I lost them." 

 "Eh? Do you have a spare pair?" she asked.

 "Unfortunately, I do not." I replied. "Have no fear, I plan on buying some contacts during lunch, later."

 "Oh, dear...." the teacher sighed, and I could only assume she was giving me a sympathetic look. I wouldn't know, for sure, though...since I couldn't see!

 Lunch came around, but I didn't feel particularly hungry. I was planning on going out to buy some contacts.

 But first, I wanted to find out more about who the lizard Zodiart was. I just didn't know where to start....

 Gentaro was Lord only knows where, Yuuki stayed in class to catch up on homework, and Kengo had gone to the Rabbit Hutch. So, I was on my own, here. 

 "Why not just withdraw?" I heard a voice ask as I passed the girls changing room.

 I stopped walking, and backed up, a bit. Making sure no one was watching, I pressed my ear against the door.

 "I mean...if you were going to lose, anyway, I would have thought you'd withdraw."

 I frowned. Was this about the Queen's Festival? 

 "I never thought I'd hear that from you." a familiar voice responded...Miu!

 "I'm just worried about you-!" Miu's friend said.

 "Enough." Miu told her, followed by the sound of a locker door shutting. "I hate it when people act like they feel sorry for me."

 Then, I heard her footsteps approaching. I quickly jumped to the side, just as the door swung open, and she stormed out. Luckily, the door hid me from her view, and nearly slammed closed.

 I waited for her to disappear around a corner, then I listened in, again.

 "This is bad!" a girl whined...I can only assume it was one of Miu's friends. "I mean, this is good...but this is bad, Tamae!"

 "Really?" Miu's other friend, Tamae, asked. The tone in her voice had completely changed to something dark...and I didn't like it. "Miu is so over. You should think about who's side you're going to be on, now, Jun."

 I heard something drop to the floor, then footsteps heading toward me.

 Once again, I jumped to the side just as Tamae walked out, soon followed by Jun. Tamae quickly walked ahead, and turned a corner...but Jun stayed behind, looking hurt and confused while clutching a bag of chips. I actually started to feel a little sorry for her, honestly.

 I stepped out from behind the door.

 "Shigeno Jun, right?" I asked, innocently and with a smile, while trying to not make it seem like I was just spying on them. 

 The cheerleader turned to face me, taken slightly by surprise. Her expression changed to a typical mean-girl scrutinizing look.

 "Yes...what do you want?" she replied. "You are that new guy from America...."

 I gave her a knowing but kind smile, adding in an innocent tilt of my head. "C'mon, Jun, I can tell this isn't who you really are. You only act like a bully because that's how Miu and Tamae treat others. Right?"

 She seemed surprised, and blushed.

 "W-Well...I-I-I suppose...." she whispered. But then, shook her head. "Seriously, what do you want...what was your name, again?"

 "Oh, it's Junpei Thundewel." I replied, and gave her a charming smile. "I know, kind of a mouthful, isn't it? You can just call me 'Junpei'...or 'Jun-san', since that's what everyone else has been calling me. Anyway, I was just curious to know if everything was alright between you three? I mean...I kinda noticed that Miu isn't herself, and neither is Tamae. Are you guys...fighting? The three of you just seemed like best friends and all."

 Jun took a moment to think, that scrutinizing look dropping.

 "Well...things have been a little, uh, strange...." she said. "Ever since that lizard monster started attacking...you're right: Tamae hasn't been herself. And with yesterday's video at the talent show, Miu's kinda gotten...what is the word...stand-offish?"

 "Oh, yeah, I heard about that!" I replied. "I wonder who could do such a thing to the head cheerleader....?"

 Yuuki had brought me up to speed on everything that happened after I had left to fight the lizard Zodiart. Apparently, someone had filmed a video of Miu ruining and throwing away her fans' gifts, and making unkind comments! That video was shared for the whole school to see, and Miu was unable to finish the talent show as her fans quickly turned against her, and left.

 "I don't know...." Jun replied, and looked down. "Although...it is not like anything she said in that video was not true.... Miu is a bit of a...complicated person, I think.... And lately, I don't like how Tamae has been acting behind her back. We all used to be really close." Geez...she sounded so genuinely hurt and confused! I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling more sorry for her. "Uh...d-don't tell anybody I said anything to you about this! M-Miu would not be happy!"

 I put a hand over my heart.

 "Dear Jun! I wouldn't dare say a word!" I told her. It wasn't a lie. "The last thing I ever want to do is cause trouble! Scout's honor!" 

 "R-Really? You mean it?" she asked, her tone of voice turning shy, again.

 "Of course!" I replied. "In fact, I happen to be amazing at keeping secrets!" 

 "Except your own." a voice in my head scoffed, and I mentally glared.

 "Say...I'm actually trying to investigate this whole monster mystery thing," I told her. "And, I do have one question for Tamae. I don't suppose...you know where she is?"

 "Well, she never changed out of her uniform...." Jun answered, frowning in thought. "I think there was supposed to be a cheerleader meeting, today, so she might have gone to the stadium. Or, maybe, she went to find Miu.... I'm sorry...she didn't tell me where she was heading."

 "Oh, don't worry about it!" I told her. "You've been a big help, actually!" I gave her a charming smile. "You know...I grew up being bullied by cheerleaders at my previous schools. But you're actually pretty cool, Jun! Seriously, I can tell you've got a kind heart, and you're clearly worried about your friends. They should be lucky to have someone like you!"

 Jun's face flushed red. She grinned.

 "Oh, no! It's-It's nothing, really!" she said with a bashful laugh. "I-Uhm.... G-Good luck with solving the monster mystery, Junpei-san!"

 I smiled, back. "Thanks! See you around, then!"

 I gave her a wave, then hurried off, leaving her glowing and with a happy grin. Pretty sure she was star-struck, now, too. 

 I jogged outside to try and catch up with Tamae. I was gonna search the whole school grounds, if I had to! After hearing that conversation, earlier, I felt more sure, now, that Tamae was the lizard Zodiart. She had to be! Right? 

 Just then, as I was running, someone slammed right into me, knocking us both to the ground!

 Dazed, I heard that someone exclaim, "Junpei!", and Gentaro's face popped into my dizzy vision. 

 "Hello, Gentaro...." I muttered.

 Gentaro immediately pulled me to my feet. "Where are your glasses?" he asked.

 "Lost...unfortunately." I replied with a pout.

 "Oh...." he said. "Well, we can find them, later! Come on! I think I know where Miu is!"

 He grabbed my wrist, and began dragging me along with him.

 "Uh, b-but.... I...." I stammered, but then just stumbled after him.

 Who knows...maybe Tamae was wherever Miu was.

 Soon enough, we found the head cheerleader, all alone, in a bowling alley.

 I watched (ok, more like, squinted my eyes) as she got strike, after strike, after strike...until, she didn't.

 On this next round, she was able to knock all but one down.

 "How did I miss....?" she asked herself.

 I let out a sigh...she sounded confused, and hurt, and something told me it had nothing to do with bowling.

 "Sup!" Gentaro exclaimed as he began to approach.

 His voice startled her out of her skin, and she lost grip of her bowling ball, which sailed through the air before landing on Gentaro's foot!

 "Itai!" he exclaimed with a pained grimace, hopping on one foot before falling to the floor.

 I facepalmed, and shook my head.

 "Oops...." Miu said, actually looking and sounding sorry. "You...."

 "Don't sweat it! I'm fine!" he told her. "Pain is like nutrition for the soul!"

 "Huh?" I asked, confused. Where did this guy come up with these things?

 I was surprised when Miu rolled another bowling ball, but aimed at him, this time!

 Gentaro caught it, though. "What the hell?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

 Miu looked annoyed.

 "You should be glad I don't call security on you two." she replied with a sigh, and picked up another ball. She rolled it down the lane, in front of her, and got a strike.

 She then looked at us...well, Gentaro. "I can't believe you came here just to gloat about winning."

 I frowned in confusion, and looked down at Gentaro. Winning? Winning what? I really need to stick around, more.... 

 "Winning?" Gentaro asked, unhappily, and stood up with the ball in his hand. "It's not over, yet!"

 He rolled his ball down the lane, in front of him...and completely missed every pin.

 "....I am withdrawing." the head cheerleader said, after a minute. "I've given up on winning the Queen Fest."

 I looked over at her in shock. Normally, I'd probably be jumping for joy...mentally...but this was Miu Kazashiro that we're talking about! And, this girl never seemed like she's the type to just give up on anything!

 I pretended to clean out my ear.

 "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked with a light laugh. "My ears must be clogged up with leaves or something-"

 "You dumbass!!" Gentaro shouted, making me jump and stare at him. He had rolled another ball...this time, he got a strike! "Nobody wants to see you give up, this easily!" He began walking up to her. "If you're the Queen, then act like it!" Miu gave him a sort of aggravated glare.

 That's not...great advice to give to a cheerleader.... I thought, worriedly. You're just pushing them to be super bossy, then.

 "You were the one who wanted to be Queen, more than anyone else!" he told her.

 "But, how am I supposed to make a comeback from that?!" she asked, referring to the video that had played, yesterday.

 "You won't know unless you try!" he replied.

 "Why are you doing this?" she argued. "If I lose, you won't have to transfer out!" 

 "Pardon?" I asked in disbelief, putting my hands on my hips and giving my friend an 'oh, really' look. Raised eyebrows, more or less the 'Mom' look, the whole package. "Gentaro-" 

 Gentaro quickly thrust a ball into my hands.

 "Here." he told me. "Go bowl."

 I caught it, but stumbled with it's weight. I tsked, but turned and started practicing. It's been a long time since I last went bowling, anyway.

 "That's got nothing to do with it." he told Miu. "If you seriously want to be Queen, then I am going to seriously cheer for you!"

 "I won't!" I said, half-jokingly.

 "Don't be petty." he told me, like an older brother would. I pouted. To Miu, he told her, "You gotta give a speech, so awesome, that will make everyone forget about that sneaky crap from before!"

 Miu looked surprised at his words. "Are you serious....?" she asked.

 "All the time!" he replied. 

 "How can one tell?" I asked, jokingly.

 That got me a harsh flick on my ear from Gentaro, and I gave him an irritated look.

 "....Why?" Miu asked him.

 "Because we're friends." he answered with a grin.

 "Huh?!" I asked in surprise, accidentally dropping my ball. It landed on my foot! My face twisted in pain, and I must've looked pretty hilarious. "Shit...taki!!"

 I hopped away and on one foot, clutching my other one. I was gonna need an ice pack for that....

 Once I was a couple feet away, I stopped hopping, and tried to keep my balance as I rubbed my now-sore foot.

 "I guess I should be glad it's not broken...." I muttered, and gingerly lowered my foot back down to the floor, again. It certainly felt bruised...but thankfully, not broken.

 I was about to turn and walk back over to Gentaro and Miu, when I heard what sounded like something falling to the floor in front of me. I frowned, and turned. I almost didn't see a bowling ball flying right at me! However, I did not catch it in time, and I was knocked backward, past the other two, and sliding along the floor before the back of my head hit the wall!

 I coughed, and rolled onto my side while clutching the bowling ball. That impact felt like someone had punched me in the gut!

 "Junpei!" Gentaro exclaimed in shock.

 I let out a strained sound, and pointed behind him and Miu.

 "I think Mr. Lizard is here...." I told them.

 I mean, what other explanation was there? Objects don't magically fly around and knock people over...do they?! 

 The lizard Zodiart became visible, and went to attack the other two with long pink vines! Gentaro was quick to grab Miu, and shield her with his own body! 

 "Watch out, Kisaragi!" a voice shouted. Looking up, I saw that Kengo had arrived, holding the hamburger Foodroid! He then began approaching us.

 "Kengo...." Gentaro said, surprised to see him.

 "We know who you are." the red-haired boy told the Zodiart. "Stop using the switch, like this...Sakuma Tamae."

 "Called it...." I said, weakly, raising my hand. 

 "You can't fool us, anymore." Kengo told the Zodiart. "Now, hand over the switch."

 I weakly pulled myself to my feet, clutching my stomach, and took a few steps forward. That was going to be another bruise. What was this, Attack of the Bowling Balls Day?

 The lizard scoffed, and pulled out a Zodiarts switch before pressing the red button on the top. There was a black mist with glowing orbs, before all of that disappeared, and revealed our suspicions. 

 "I'm surprised you figured it out." Tamae said with a smirk. 

 "Tamae...it was you?!" Miu exclaimed in shock.

 "I figured the sidekicks were the most likely suspects." Kengo said. "So, I kept an eye on her, and Shigeno Jun."

 "But, Tamae was attacked, too!" Miu told him.

 "Well!" I exclaimed, sarcastically. "I think now, we all know that she's a little faking-"

 "You have no room to talk!" Tamae snapped, pointing a finger at me. My face paled, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "You call me a fake, Thundewel...but I am not the only one, here, who-"

 I panicked, and gave her a swinging kick to shut her up.

 "Oops....!" I exclaimed as she fell to the floor, unconscious.

 "Whoa, nice reflexes!" Gentaro told me, impressed.

 I looked up at the others. "I have no idea what just happened!" I lied.

 Kengo narrowed his eyes, suspiciously, at me, and tilted his head. I immediately tried to act like I really had no idea what just happened.

 Suddenly, Tamae jumped up, and gave me a harsh kick in my chest, sending me flying backwards and hitting the back of my head on the wall!

 I fell to the floor, and blacked out.

 "Junpei!!" Gentaro shouted, worriedly.

Chapter Text

 That night, I trudged along the hallways of Ootakanomori Hospital, clutching at my bruises and feeling pretty defeated and irritated.

 I had woken up in the hospital, a bit earlier, and the doctor had discharged me, seeing as I only had several bruises and nothing more serious. I heard that Miu was here, too...though, her injuries were more severe.

 It's kind of funny.... Before getting discharged, the doctor had mentioned my little secret. Much to my surprise, he didn't judge me, or announce my secret to the world. He told me that he sees patients like me, once in a while. He understood, completely, without needing an explanation. He was a bit of a funny guy. Kind, too, with dark hair and glasses. He looked more like a scientist to me, though...not that I said anything. That thought became buried once the doctor started cracking a few jokes to make me feel better.

 So, that was nice and interesting, I suppose.

 As I walked, I thought back to the discussion my friends had, before I woke up.

 "Sakuma Tamae will show up for the Queen's Fest election." I remembered hearing Kengo say.

 "We need to let the school know," Yuuki replied, worriedly. "So that they will cancel the Fest!"

 "No, we can't!" Gentaro told them.

 "Why not?!" Yuuki nearly demanded.

 I never heard his reason. I had completely blacked out, again, after that.

 When I reached the main entrance to the hospital, I noticed Gentaro leaning against the wall. When he saw me, he let out a sigh of relief.

 "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

 I nodded, and deepened my voice, as usual.

 "I'll live." I replied. "They're only bruises, thankfully. It sounds like Miu will be staying overnight, here, though.... What happened after Tamae knocked me out?"

 "She attacked Miu." he said as he and I headed out of the building. "Ah, but, before that...Kengo asked her where she got that Switch. She said that Scorpio gave it to her. Apparently, she wanted the power to become the Queen. She was jealous of Miu, and that she wanted to beat her, badly. I thought she was going to apologize to Miu, but she attacked, instead. I tried to stop her, but she took off and disappeared. I tried to catch up, but then...Scorpio arrived, and he disappeared with her."

 I cringed. "Not good. Scorpio.... That's definitely a horoscope Zodiart, right?"

 "They're all Zodiarts," he told me. "But...yes. According to Kengo, the horoscope Zodiarts are rare. So far, anyway. He and Yuuki have only ever seen Scorpio around the school. I have, too, of course. And you. If there are any other horoscopes around, we haven't seen them, yet. They are supposedly more powerful, too."

 "Great...." I sighed. "What is it about Amanogawa that's attracting all these monsters?"

 "I don't know." he replied with a small frown. "All we can do is keep a close eye on things before they get really bad, and the horoscopes become too powerful."

 I stopped walking. A gentle breeze blew by as I mulled over everything that's happened since I first came to Japan. I suddenly had an ugly gut-feeling about it all....

 Gentaro noticed that I had stopped walking, and paused.

 "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Kengo...." I said. "I wanna ask him how long he thinks Scorpio has been hanging around."

 "Ahh...." he replied. "I wouldn't worry, too much, about that, right now. We need to focus on stopping Tamae." He hooked an arm around my shoulders. "Come on, I will take you home. You need rest, again. A trip to the hospital is draining."

 "So is dealing with Zodiarts, apparently." I said with a small smile.

 He ruffled my hair, and I let him walk me home.

 The next day, I paced about in the crowds, a bit, in the gym with my arms crossed.

 Everyone was waiting to see who the Queen Fest winner was.

 I received a flick on my ear, and I turned to give Shun an annoyed glare. He pretended like he never did anything.

 Jerk. I thought with a roll of my eyes.

 "Right! Everybody, sorry for the wait!" Tsukasa Nishikawa exclaimed into a microphone as he ran up onto the stage. "Amanogawa High School's Queen Festival! We have now hit the final competition! First up is Kazashiro Miu!"

 I winced when the crowd made unhappy noises, giving each other looks and the like.

 Geez.... I thought. I can't help but wonder exactly what was said in that video....

 "Miu won't be coming." Tamae announced. "She's run away." I glared at her as people went silent. She walked up the microphone stand. "For a long time, I've looked up to her...Kazashiro Miu. She was the most amazing person in this school. And then, I found out that underneath it all, she talked so poorly about everyone else.... And to top it off, she ran off once everyone learned the truth. I can never forgive her!"

 Lies. I thought, angrily.

 I mean, sure, Miu was your typical school mean girl. But if she was honestly loved by everyone up until that video.... Other than that, even I could see that Miu was also a hard-working girl who didn't act like she grew up a rich girl with everything simply handed to her!

 So, then, just what Tamae's real issue?

 "The school's Queen should be someone strong enough to withstand any hardship!" Tamae continued. "And that is who I will be!" The crowd began to cheer for her.

 I couldn't help but let out a scoff of disbelief, turning some heads and causing Tamae to glare daggers at me. I froze when she suddenly smirked, as if struck with an idea. 

 "And speaking of revealing one's true colors...." she said. "I believe there is something everyone should know about Thundewel-san, there."

 My heart began to pound...I could practically hear it in my ears! I shook my head at her...though, I had no idea why I was even trying to beg her to keep my secret. I backed up, nervously, only for my back to meet Shun's chest. Looking up at him made me want to just melt into the floor. My damn height.... 

 I was doomed! Everyone was going to know my secret, now! What was the Kamen Rider Club going to think? Say?! I was done for....

 I literally sank to the floor, ready to be struck down with total defeat.

 "Who ran, again?" a voice rang out, and everyone turned to see Miu.

 She was using crutches and all bandaged up, but she was wearing a pretty dress with matching heels! She had a look of determination on her face as the crowd split into two, forming a pathway with Gentaro grinning and standing at the end. I couldn't help but feel relieved. Not just because the head cheerleader was walking around, bravely, despite being in crutches...but perhaps, her arrival could just get Tamae to forget all about spilling my secret!

 "Miu...." Tamae said, shocked. "What are you doing, here....?"

 Behind her, Yuuki and Jun shared smiles of relief.

 Miu began limping forward. "I came to give my speech, obviously." she replied. 

 Tamae scoffed.

 "That's pretty bold of you!" she said. "But, I am not sure if anybody, here, will listen to you. Isn't that right, everyone?" The crowd replied with nods and 'yeah's, and even telling Miu to go home.

 Aggravated, Miu slammed the leg of her crutch down onto the floor.

 The crowd fell silent, again.

 "It's true that there are people I don't like." she said, and started hobbling forward. "They don't consider what the other person would like for a present. They make a hand-written note with terrible handwriting. I don't consider that kind of thing supporting me. It's just being self-satisfied. They're just happy with themselves for supporting someone else. These were the kind of people I was making fun of." I quickly scrambled to my feet, and followed her. "And I did it because that kind of thing is sad. People should work, hard, to shine for their own sake. And the one who shines the brightest...that's the Queen. That's what I think...and I will work as hard as possible to do that. I will push myself to the limits and take the throne, fair and square." 

 I was surprised...I was not expecting all of that to come out of someone like Miu!

 Awkwardly, I crossed my arms, wondering if maybe I should give this girl an actual chance before judging her, completely. I watched as she and Gentaro shared a handshake, and I rubbed the side of my neck. 

 Damn it....! I thought, feeling guilty. I let the past get the better of my judgement, didn't I? 

 I then watched as Miu limped up to the stage, and approach Tamae. "I don't care if I get hurt, or people make fun of me. I won't hand over the position of Queen to just anyone. Now, move. I'm going to give my speech!"

 Gentaro grinned, and clapped, happily. Soon enough, the whole crowd began clapping and cheering! I sighed, and gave Miu a smile.

 I had to admit, standing up to Tamae, like that, was pretty damn cool! 

 "I guess there really is one Queen, after all!" I heard Mr. Ohsugi, one of the school's teachers, exclaim as he stood and clapped next to Miss Sonoda.

 Tamae glared at Miu, then stormed off the stage, disappearing out of site. 

 Wait a minute....

 Realizing what she was up to, I quickly ran off to try and stop Tamae from transforming into the lizard Zodiart, again. There's no way she was not going to after Miu showed her up, like that! 

 "Allow me to introduce our first speaker, Miss Kazashiro Miu!" Tsukasa Nishikawa announced in the background.

 I found Tamae in the nearest hallway, which was conveniently empty, and skidded to a stop.

 "Tamae, don't!" I exclaimed, and stepped forward. "You're really going to attack, again? You can't let that dark magic get into your head, man! I know you're a better person than that!"

 "You don't know me, at all, Thundewel!" Tamae snapped at me, angrily, the Zodiarts switch already in her hand. "You have only been here for...what...a week, now? Don't act like you know everyone, as if you've known them for years!"

 I lifted my hands in defense. "Ok, fine! You're right. Being a know-it-all is a total fault of mine. But, Tamae...is this seriously what you want? Do you honestly think that turning into a lizard monster is going to make everything ok? You've known Miu for...oh...probably years! So you know that she isn't going to just give up everything, just because you're mad at her. You know, you can just talk things out with her. Work it out! Don't use some weird magic button!"

 Tamae laughed, mockingly.

 "Oh, you are just full of gold, aren't you?" she said with a sneer. "You think you are going to become peacemaker in all of this? Well, forget it! I do what I want, Thundewel! And there is nothing you can do to stop me!" 

 "Last One!" the Zodiart switch's voice announced, and the switch transformed into a spikier version with the top looking like a blood-shot eye.

 Suddenly, a hand grabbed Tamae's wrist!

 "Don't!" Kengo warned her. "You might not be able to change back."

 I sighed with relief. I don't know when he arrived, but I was glad that he was here.

 Unfortunately, Tamae was not in the mood to listen. She tore Kengo's hand off of her, and shoved him away! 

 "Kengo!" I exclaimed, and ran over to him. Once there, I made sure he was ok, then looked up at Tamae just as she pressed the button with an evil smirk. The usual black mist appeared with the orbs...and Tamae's body collapsed to the floor, covered in webs! I cringed. "Not good....!"

 I let out a cry of surprise when a pink vine suddenly wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my sides! I struggled to get out or make the lizard let go, but the vine only tightened. 

 "Goodbye, Thundewel-san." Tamae told me, before throwing me far away from Kengo! "You interfering little brat!" 

 I let out a loud cry of panic and surprise as I was thrown back into the gym! The vine released me, and I hit the stage, hard! Everyone was shocked at my sudden appearance. Even Miu was looking down at me with worry!

 "M-Miu...." I told her with a grunt of pain. "Run....!" 

 Just then, Miu was caught in the same pink vine, and hauled up into the air and out of sight, her crutch left behind! Gentaro raced after them. 

 "Jun-san!" Yuuki exclaimed, worriedly, as she knelt down beside me.

 "I think I need a vacation...." I groaned. 

 I don't think I like being thrown around. I thought, casually. It's not fun.

 Yuuki let out a sigh just as Jun knelt down beside her.

 "Are we gonna have to start referring to you as a danger magnet?" she asked me.

 I pouted. "No!" I protested like a child, and winced as the girls shared a giggle.

 I couldn't help but blush, and hide my face in my arm.

 I met up with the boys and Miu as they re-entered the building, a while later.

 "I missed the big finale, didn't I?" I asked, jokingly. I noticed that Miu had more bruises than before.

 "Yep!" Gentaro replied, and wrapped an arm around me as we made our way to where Tamae's body was. "You keep getting injured! If you quit doing that, you can watch me pull off the Limit Break."

 "It's not like I ask to be beaten and bruised by monsters!" I protested with a pout. "Cut me some slack!"

 Once we reached Tamae's body, I saw that Yuuki was already there. As if on cue of our approach, Tamae woke up. She looked dazed, and confused. I let out a sigh of relief...she was fine and unharmed. 

 Gentaro sighed, and crouched down. "I think we'll be able to be friends, too." he told her.

 "Move." Miu told him, lightly pushing him out of the way. I couldn't help but snicker. I supposed...Miu was Miu. She crouched down, and smiled at Tamae. "Chameleons are stupid." Her smile dropped, then. "If you want to beat me, then put in some work, next time."

 Tamae nodded, looking ashamed of herself. Then, she and Miu shared a hug.

 "Glad that's over!" I said, startling everyone. "Can this festival be over, now?"

 Miu sighed, and stood up.

 "You need to have some respect for tradition." she told me, and lightly bonked my forehead. 

 "I just don't understand what the big deal is!" I replied, rubbing where she hit.

 "You will learn." she reassured me. "Didn't you say you were new to Japan?"

 "I never told you that!" I exclaimed.

 "Jun-san, it was one of the biggest gossips on the first day of school." Yuuki told me with a giggle. "New student from North America, staying until graduation."

 "You say that like it's some sort of newspaper article." I grumbled, and crossed my arms. 

 "That's why I said it like that!" she replied with a grin.

 Then, she and the boys began leaving the building.

 I was about to follow, when I was suddenly pulled back by the back of my shirt, and I stumbled.

 It was Miu.

 "Listen...." she said, looking guilty. "I'm not exactly used to saying this, but...I am really, really sorry for the way I treated you. I guess I just wasn't used to people standing up to Shun and I. I...heard a rumor that you were bullied by people like us at your previous schools.... I'll get Shun to apologize, too."

 I shook my head.

 "Don't worry about Shun." I said. "We had a weird conversation while waiting for the talent show, yesterday. I can handle him. We'll see how things go from there. Although...if you could politely ask him to not throw me onto hard furniture, again, that would be awesome." I smiled when she giggled, and turned to catch up with the others. 

 "Th-Thundewel-san...." Tamae said, once Miu was out of earshot. She, too, looked guilty. "Uhm...about...earlier...and yesterday...." I tilted my head, waiting for her to say her piece. "I am really sorry, too. You were right...about almost everything. But...I practically threw you around like a ragdoll, and even almost killed you! I...I was out of my mind. So...I'm sorry!"

 She politely bowed, low. 

 I was filled with awkwardness, again...I didn't know what to do with my hands, I didn't know what to think or to say....

 "Uh...n-n-no, don't worry about it!" I told her, bashfully. "Really! It's ok! I forgive you! I mean...h-hey, those Zodiart switches...they'll mess with anybody's mind. Probably not a good idea to touch them. Like, ever. Bad stuff." 

 She laughed. Genuinely laughed.

 "You're funny, Thundewel-san!" she said. "And, by the way...don't worry, I'm not planning on spilling your secret. That was just really dumb of me...like everything else I did."

 I blushed, hard. My hands fidgeted before I finally just clutched at my uniform jacket.

 "Uh...c-cool!" I replied. "I mean, great! I mean, that's...uhm...."

 "You're not used to this kind of thing, are you?" she asked, knowingly.

 "Nah." I replied with a shake of my head.

 She laughed, again. "It's ok, I get it." she told me, then began walking to catch up with the others. "Also...your height totally gives you away. I've never heard of a guy who was as short as you."

 She giggled, and jogged away.

 Great! I thought, sarcastically, as I grinned into space. Perfect! One more thing to worry about! Fantastic!

 The next morning, in the Rabbit Hutch, Kengo, Yuuki, and I were gathered around, just hanging out before homeroom. 

 "And, in the end," Yuuki said as she and Kengo looked at a poster. "Kazashiro wins the Queen Fest, for the third time in a row. I never even got to give my speech...."

 "Doesn't this make her a senior?" I asked, my mouth full of egg sandwich.

 Yuuki nodded. 

 Just then, the Hutch's door slid open, and Gentaro stepped in.

 "Sup!" he exclaimed.

 Kengo rolled his eyes while Yuuki smiled. 

 I swallowed a bite of my sandwich as soon as I saw that Gentaro had been followed.

 "Eeexcuse me!" I said, partially in confusion and partially in surprise. "I thought this place was supposed to be se-cret!" 

 From behind Gentaro stepped Miu, who was looking around the place, impressed. "So, this is the Kamen Rider Club...." she said. 

 "Oi, Kisaragi...." Kengo said as he and Yuuki looked on in surprise. "Why is she here?"

 "A Queen has to know all of the school's activities." Miu explained, proudly. "No one gets to keep secrets."

 I looked away, avoiding eye-contact with everyone.

 Right...no secrets....

 "It's my fault!" Gentaro told Kengo and Yuuki, clapping his hands together. "I lost the bet, but she said she'd let me off if I told her about the Rider Club. And so, we've got a new club member!"

 "Ok, so, uhm, Gentaro?" I said, setting my sandwich down and standing up from my spot. "You know how a secret works...right?" I gave him a sarcastic smile.

 "I'm not stupid." he replied, giving me a bonk on the head.

 "'Member'?" Miu asked him, surprised. She smirked. "Excuse me, but don't you mean...'president'?"

 "Oh, hell n-!"

 Gentaro quickly shoved my sandwich into my mouth before I could explode, and I glared.

 "No, no, no, hang on...." Yuuki said with a nervous laugh. "Kazashiro, that's going a little too far." 

 "So...the geek is going to tell the Queen her place?" Miu asked, challengingly.

 "You know, in this club," Yuuki told her. "I am your senior."

 "Mmhm." the cheerleader nodded, unfazed. "So you're going to disobey me? Interesting."

 Slightly amused, Kengo began heading out of the Rabbit Hutch.

 I quickly grabbed my things to follow...there was no way I was letting myself get roped into a catfight....

 "Kisaragi, you fix this." Kengo told the other boy. With a smirk, he exited the main room, with me close behind.

 "I don't think this is a good idea." I said with a sigh as we exited the locker. "What's next? Gentaro gets the head jock in here?"

 "Relax." he told me. "Whoever Kisaragi brings in, he's in charge of."

 "But....!" I protested, and grabbed his shoulder to stop him. "I thought this whole Fourze and Rabbit Hutch thing was supposed to be a secret. And, aren't you in charge of it all, anyway?" 

 "Kisaragi is the only one who can control the Fourze Driver, and win against the Zodiarts." he replied. "I'm only in charge of everything my father left me. This whole club thing was Kisaragi's idea. So, whatever he breaks, he fixes. We can only hope that whoever he does bring in knows how to keep their mouths shut."

 He gave me a warning look, then turned and walked away.

 I let out a deep sigh, putting my hands on my hips. That guy still acted like he totally hated my guts. I wished I knew why.

 Forgetting him, I figured I might as well get to class, so I began jogging down the hall.

 "Thundewel-san!" a deep-ish voice called out. I skidded to a stop, nearly losing my balance, and turned around. A man with thick left side-bangs and wearing a burgundy jacket stood a foot away. He gave me a warm smile, and nodded into what I could only assume to be an office. "Why don't we talk, for a moment? I promise, you won't be late for your class."

 Wait, who is this guy? I wondered while giving him a fake pleasant smile. I don't remember meeting him on my first day of school...or ever!

 "I-I'll be right there!" I replied with a smile and a slight wave.

 But, I couldn't shake an uneasy feeling that I was getting about him. It was almost the same feeling I got when I first met Mr. Prince-Creepy-Charming...only worse.

 I didn't like this...but, reluctantly, I hurried to follow him.

Chapter Text

 "I'm sorry...." I said, with a polite smile, to the man I was following. "But, I don't recall us ever meeting...."

 We entered an office, as I had suspected.

 "Ah. I had meant to meet you on your first day, here." the man told me, sounding a bit too polite and cheery for my liking. "But, I'm afraid I was pulled away from the school at the last minute." He gave me a smile, and motioned to a chair in front of his desk. "Please, take a seat, Thundewel-san." He then went to sit down behind the desk.

 I shivered, and my stomach flipped, big time. I didn't know why, but this guy was giving me the most intense, and dangerous, vibes that I had ever gotten! Hell, I didn't even know that I could actually sense vibes! Not to mention, despite all this man's politeness, I could sense this dark aura that he was emitting! This was definitely worse than when I had met Mr. Prince-Creepy-Charming!

 I started to get a headache...but I put on a fake friendly smile as I tried to ignore it.

 "I can't help but feel like I'm in trouble." I said, albeit jokingly. 

 "Oh, don't worry." he told me, keeping that warm smile on his face. "I just wanted to know how you're fitting into the school, that's all! I am Principal Hayami. It's my job to make sure the students, here, are doing alright. Well, it's part of my job, anyway." 

 Riiight.... I thought, unsure of whether I should believe him or not. All I could do was smile and laugh along.

 "Uh, well...." I replied, keeping my voice as close to my brother's as possible. "Other than the weird monsters randomly attacking, I think...I think I'm doing ok! Yeah!"

 Why? Why am I here, and why are we having this conversation? I thought. The longer I stayed in the same space as this guy...this Principal Hayami, if that's who he really is...the more panicked I was going to get! Ok, calm down! He hasn't even done anything, so just sit still!

 "Ah, yes...." Principal Hayami said, not seeming at all fazed by the recent attacks. "The creatures. You know, the funny thing is, I've yet to actually see one, myself!" I almost gave him a suspicious look...his tone of voice raised, a bit, as so did his eyebrows. Now...I'm no professional human lie detector, but...I'm pretty sure he's lying. He gave me a 'kind' grin. "It must be somebody pulling pranks, around here."  

 What a pretty hilarious prank! I thought, sarcastically. But, I'm not laughing. 

 "Well! It was nice meeting you, Principal Hayami!" I told him, smiling innocently, and stood up from the chair. "I'd love to stay and chat, more, but I really think I should be heading to class, now."

 "You know, I'm so busy, these days, that I rarely get a chance to check up on students." he told me, keeping that cheery tone in his voice. "And since I never got to properly meet you until now, Thundewel-san...I think you can spare a few minutes." 

 That last sentence felt like a zap straight throughout my body. Cheerful as it was, his voice dripped with warning, just then!

 Nervously, I sat back down, but tried to keep up the innocent act. Now, I felt like I was being interrogated...and I hated it.

 I stumbled out into the hallway just as the lunch bell rang.

 I felt sick.... Sick and dizzy.

 I collapsed onto my hands and knees, and just stared at the floor, my body trembling like a leaf. That had to be the most terrifying Meet-the-Principal that I have ever experienced!

 "J-Junpei-san!" a voice exclaimed, worriedly, and I heard someone kneel beside me with their hands on my shoulders. "Junpei...are you alright?"

 "Huh?" I muttered, feeling numb, and looked up. "Oh...hey, Keisuke....!"

 Keisuke...the new student I had met, a few days ago...pulled me to my feet.

 "Come on, let's get you some food." he told me. "It's the lunch hour, anyway." I just let him take me to wherever.

 We ended up eating lunch, outside, as the cafeteria was packed and Keisuke thought that it was better I wasn't surrounded by so much noise, at the moment...which, honestly, was thoughtful of him.

 "So...nothing bad actually happened?" he said, after I had told him about my meeting with the principal. "You just get really bad vibes from him."

 I took a bite out of a hot-dog that he had grabbed for me.

 "I can't explain it...." I replied, thoughtfully. "But, yes, pretty much. Although, maybe I'm just not used to meeting a school principal. I never had to go to the office at any of my previous schools. Not to call myself a total angel, but, I kept to myself, too often, to wind up, there, from trouble."

 "Strange...." Keisuke said with a small frown. "Maybe you actually have a sixth sense you were never aware of until now!"

 I couldn't help but laugh.

 "I doubt that, very much." I told him. He smiled, glad to have lifted the mood, a bit. "No. Every once in a while, I think people just...get certain vibes that they can't explain. I like to call it a 'gut feeling'."

 Although.... I thought as I ate more of my lunch. At this point, maybe having a sixth sense is possible. It already seems like magic exists. Zodiac monsters, the Fourze Driver, Gentaro's ability to transform.... I suppose anything is possible.

 "So...what, exactly, is your gut telling you about Principal Hayami?" Keisuke asked, curiously.

 "Maybe he's a secret spy, working for some group or government who want to take over the world." I replied, jokingly.

 He and I shared a laugh.

 "Perhaps we should keep our guard up, from now on, whenever he's around." he suggested.

 "You know, I was already planning on doing that, the second I stepped out of his office." I said, and grinned.

 We shared some more laughs, and chatted until the bell rang, ending the lunch hour.

 That evening, I was watching videos of my brother and I from before the accident.

 I guess you could say...I was more or less 'studying' Junpei. I really needed to start getting better at acting like a guy, and sounding like one. It was bad enough that I couldn't control my height.... What I really needed to get down was Junpei's voice. I had a feeling that this was my real problem. I knew I could never get mine to sound exactly like his, but I still thought I sounded far too much like a girl to be going around, dressed in the boys uniform.

 Anyway, I spent the next hour or two practicing vocals. I also tried practicing his personality, a bit. I felt like our only real differences had been our interests and hobbies. Oh, and of course, Junpei had never been a fighter like I was. I really needed to dial that back; I could get caught fighting a Zodiart or anybody, anywhere, and not just at the school!

 The next morning, just before homeroom, I was leaning far back over the back of my chair, lazily, and only half-listening to Gentaro, Yuuki, and Kengo with my eyes closed. I also had one leg resting on top of my desk.

 Was I like this in any of my previous schools? ....No.... What are you insinuating, over there?

 I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, though. I had a feeling it was Kengo. He has been giving me odd and suspicious looks ever since the Queen Festival. I tried my hardest to keep up my act around him...but I've realized that Kengo was no fool. I had a feeling that sooner or later, one way or another, he was going to find me out.

 I didn't need that happening. Not yet.

 "So sleepy...." I groaned, tiredly. "Wanna go back to bed...."

 Yuuki giggled, and playfully tapped the eraser end of her pencil onto the tip of my nose. "You stayed up, late, didn't you, Jun-san?" she asked.

 "Nah," I replied. "I'm just having one of those mornings."

 "Boss!" a boy's voice suddenly called out, happily, and I lifted my head to see a blurred figure with wild hair run into the classroom. I raised an eyebrow when he tried hugging Gentaro, who tried keeping him off of him. "Ohayo!"

 "Oi," Gentaro said to him. "What brings you by, so early?"

 "Don't be like that, Boss!" the wild-haired boy exclaimed, cheerfully, and tried hugging him, again. Gentaro was quick to move away, and lean against Yuuki's desk. It took me too many seconds to recognize the other boy as JK, the party kid. JK then noticed me. "Junpei! Lookin' cool without your specs!"

 He clicked his tongue, trying to act cool while pointing his fingers at me.

 I just stared at him, feeling weirded out. There was always something about this kid that I didn't like. I just couldn't quite put my finger on it.

 "Thanks." I told him, sarcastically. "I can't see without them."

 He cackled. "You're so funny, Junpei!" he exclaimed.

 I rolled my eyes at him. His laugh sounded forced, and so did his compliment.

 Ok, I admit it: I didn't trust the guy.

 "Didn't you say you were going to avoid being around us, from now on?" Kengo asked him.

 "Not at all!" the party kid replied. "Gentaro and I are real tight, after all!"

 "'Tight'?!" Yuuki demanded with a frown, sounding like she didn't believe him.

 "Yes! We worked, together, to fix that mess with the Queen Fest, right?" He looked up at Gentaro with a hopeful grin.

 Yuuki crossed her arms, and huffed. "That sounds very suspicious." she said.

 "How can you say that?!" JK asked her, then got really excited. "After all, I am here, today, to show my appreciation to the Boss...by inviting him to a party!"

 "Urusai...." I grumbled in annoyance. It was a word I often heard around school, so naturally, I picked up on it. 

 JK feigned a hurt gasp, placing a hand over his heart.

 "You are so mean, Junpei-san!" he exclaimed. He dropped down into a crouch, and looked up at me with hopeful eyes. "I am inviting you to the party, too, you know!"

 "Nah, that's alright." Gentaro said, crossing his arms and beginning to sound a smidge peeved.

 "No, thank you." I told the party kid, staring at the wall in front of me with my own arms crossed. "I'm not a party person." JK pasted on a fake pout. "They are too noisy, too crowded, not enough food.... I feel much better staying at home, and doing schoolwork." I mentally gagged at that last part, knowing myself.

 Gentaro grabbed JK's shirt, and hauled him away from me before crossing his arms, again.

 "But, I thought you were the man who wanted to be friends with everyone in this school, Kisaragi Gentaro!" JK exclaimed, pointing at the taller boy. 

 "Nah, I think I can skip you." Gentaro told him, openly.

 "Hah!" I exclaimed, amused.

 "You are going to leave me hanging?!" JK asked him, sounding hurt.

 "You are not a bat." the taller boy told him.

 "That's not what I meant by 'hanging'!" the party kid protested. "I mean, you are going to leave me out?"

 "Sure!" I told him, and gave him a devilish smirk. "Why not?"

 He slightly stamped his foot, giving me a disappointed scowl.

 "What's wrong?" Yuuki asked Gentaro and I, concerned. "You two are acting different."

 "I dunno...." Gentaro replied with a sigh.

 "I'm just not into parties." I said with a shrug. "Besides, I promised my parents I would call them, tonight. And, I have chores that I need to get done." Those last two sentences were lies. But, it was all I could come up with to avoid getting pulled into a party with JK.

 "Anyway, I'll make friends with you, last, ok?" Gentaro told the party kid.

 "Why?!" JK whined, making me give him a dirty look. "Let's be friends, now! Right now!"

 "Dude." I said with a frown, grabbing his attention. "He said 'no' like, three times."

 "I can handle this, Junpei." Gentaro told me, ruffling my hair.

 At that moment, Mr. Ohsugi walked into the classroom, looking rather irritated.

 "Oi, get in your seats!" he called out, and everyone moved to sit down.

 JK bolted out, and I quietly sighed with relief.

 Mr. Ohsugi smacked my leg off of my desk as he walked past me, making me flinch and raise an eyebrow at him.

 He approached Gentaro, who was just about to take his seat. "Damn it, Kisaragi, why are you still wearing that?" He had a disapproving look on his face as he took notice of Gentaro's usual outfit. "You should have made sure you had the school uniform before you transferred."

 Gentaro gave him an innocent look. "But, I like this look."

 "I don't care what you do or don't like!" the teacher told him as the taller boy sat down. "Learn to follow school regulations!"

 Gentaro fixed his jacket.

 "This getup is a part of me!" he protested. "It has blood, sweat, and tears soaked into it!"

 I was just barely listening, at that point, letting my head hang and my eyes shut. I hadn't meant to fall asleep...I just did!

 It wasn't until Mr. Ohsugi started shouting my name that I woke up, again.

 "I'm alive!" I exclaimed, startled.

 Some students snickered, and I rubbed my face, embarrassed.

 "Oi...." Mr. Ohsugi said to me, looking very irritated. He handed me a rectangular box. "Apparently, you lost these, Thundewel-san."

 Blinking, I took the box, and opened it.

 "Oh, thank heavens!" I exclaimed with great relief.

 My glasses! Unbroken, and neatly folded onto some cloth within the box. I could see that they were slightly scratched...but that could've just been from when they fell off of my face, the other day, when Tamae snuck up on me and attacked.

 I gently put them on my face, and cheered, "I can see, again!"

 Behind me, Gentaro and Yuuki laughed, and Gentaro messed up my hair, again.

 Mr. Ohsugi rolled his eyes at me. "Hai, hai...." he said. "Just keep a better eye on your things, Thundewel-san. Especially those glasses. Now, stay awake, and pay attention."

 He walked back to the front of the classroom, then. I took it that he was going to be teaching for Miss Sonoda, this morning, for some reason.

 Yuuki and I slapped palms when he wasn't looking, then we turned our focus entirely onto the lesson.

 That afternoon, I was just passing one of the school buildings, when all of a sudden, I felt a force shove right past me, knocking me into the building, face-first!

 "Oh, hey, hey! Thundewel-san!" a teen boy's voice exclaimed, cheerfully. I then felt myself get pulled into a headlock. "What are you doing out here?"

 "Clearly, being knocked around during a random stroll...." I muttered.

 JK....

 The teen boy laughed, out loud. I narrowed my eyes...that laugh sounded awfully forced....

 "You're so funny, Thundewel-san!" he exclaimed. "I'm surprised you're not hanging out with Kisaragi and his friends in the cafeteria!"

 "Needed some time to myself...." I replied, and tried to get myself out of his headlock. "I still need that time."

 "Don't be silly!" he said. "Why don't we hang out, huh? Just this once?"

 I tore myself free from his headlock, making him pout. I gave him a look.

 "Listen...don't take this the wrong way," I told him. "But, you and I? We are not friends. We hardly know each other, we don't share any classes, together, I rarely see you at lunch, and I only saw you at the Queen Fest, once." Then, I realized something. "Wait.... Wait a minute, why were you running, anyway?"

 "Oh...that...." he replied with a nervous laugh.

 "I'm wondering the exact same thing, JK." a voice said, drawing both of our attention to a student who just walked out of the building, looking rather peeved. He had dark hair that was brushed over to the side, and dark eyes. Although, his uniform wasn't all decked out like JK's was.

 To my surprise, JK freaked out, and hid behind me while still gripping my shoulders. I frowned and raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief.

 "You're joking...right?" I asked him, unamused.

 He only smiled up at me, innocently.

 I looked back at the other student.

 "Who are you?" I asked him.

 "C-Come on, Nitta, give me a break!" JK told the guy. 

 "Ah, so you do know him." I said, sarcastically.

 "It's all your fault." the other student, Nitta, told JK. "You only have yourself to blame."

 He then held up a Zodiarts switch! He pressed down onto the button, and transformed into an armored white unicorn!

 My jaw fell open.

 "Ah, c'mon!" I exclaimed in annoyance. "What, we can't just have one day without something attacking the school...or, someone?"

 Meanwhile, JK yelped in terror and scrambled back, before running away at full speed!

 I frowned after him, almost offended that he just abandoned me with a Zodiart.

 "Oi!!" I yelled, and took off after him. "Hold up! JK!!" 

 "Matte!!" the Zodiart exclaimed, angrily, in Japanese, then began chasing after us!

 I managed to catch up to JK.

 "Dude!" I told him, smacking his shoulder. "What the hell did you do to that guy?"

 "I-I don't know what you're talking about!" JK tried to lie.

 "Nuh-uh, you are not pulling that with me." I told him, looking him straight in the eyes. "The only reason why this guy's after you is if you did something to anger him. Now, what was it?"

 "Why do you even care?" he argued, shoving my hands off of his shoulders. "You said so, yourself. We're not friends."

 "Let's just say, I don't particularly enjoy being chased without knowing the reason for it." I replied, and mentally cringed. That wasn't a great response....

 "JK...." the unicorn zodiart said as he approached us at a walk. 

 Without even thinking, I moved to shield the party kid. "Hey, man, listen...whatever JK did or said to you, I'm sure we can work something out without fists flyin'."

 "What are you doing?" JK whispered to me.

 I cringed, and muttered in response, "Improvising...."

 The zodiart chuckled in amusement. "

 I know you." he told me. "You're that new kid from North America. If you want to survive the next three years, here...I suggest you get out of my way."

 I shook my head. "No way." I told him. 

 I need to distract this guy.... I thought. Just long enough until Gentaro arrives. Something tells me he's on his way over here. 

 "If you want to get to JK, you'll have to go through me."

 "You're nuts!" JK, as well as my brother's voice, told me.

 I nodded in agreement.

 "You?" the Zodiart asked in disbelief, and laughed. "You don't look much of a challenge. You are so tiny!"

 I shut my eyes, wanting to seep into the ground, right at that very second. How dare this guy bring up my height, this way.

 I then snuck an irritated glare over my shoulder at JK when the party kid let out a snicker. He stopped as soon as I looked.

 "However, if you insist." the unicorn said.

 Way to go, Jasmina. I told myself, very unamused.

 I gave the Zodiart a bashful smile, and kept an eye on that horn of his. It certainly looked sharp enough to actually stab someone.... 

 Think fast, Jaz! I thought to myself as I glanced around the dude, searching for an opening that wouldn't exactly involve a full-on attack. 

 At that second, the Zodiart began sauntering towards us.

 I immediately pointed behind him, pretending to see something. "What in the world could that be?"

 The Zodiart stopped walking.

 "Hmm?" He then looked behind him.

 That gave me a split second to dash forward, and shove into him, using my left shoulder, taking him by surprise! He stumbled backwards, grunting as he clutched his stomach.

 I bent backwards, and shot JK the peace sign and a smirk.

 "That's the closest to a fight you're going to see out of me!" I told him.

 He looked shocked at what I had just done! But then, he grinned, and nodded in approval.

 I straightened up and brushed at my shoulder. "Not bad for a ga-uy with the height of-"

 I didn't get to finish that sentence because the next thing I knew, a fist swung clean against my jaw! I stumbled backwards in shock, and rubbed my now-bruising jaw.

 I held a finger up. "Hey, now...that's not very nice." I said.

 The Zodiart surprised me by grabbing my wrist, squeezed it, and giving me a double-hit in the face, nearly giving my neck whip-lash before I felt an armored shoulder knock me back in my abdomen! 

 "Junpei-san!" JK exclaimed, legitimately sounding worried as I clutched at my stomach. 

 I looked up at the Zodiart, feeling blood trickle down from my lip. He threw a fast punch, but I was faster at moving out of the way. And that's just what I kept doing. 

 At one point, though, I noticed that pink-haired woman from a few days ago...watching from afar, like last time.

 "You, again?" I asked, though not meaning to ask it out loud.

 I was surprised when another figure walked into view to stand next to the woman. This figure almost looked like some sort of beetle, carrying a long chain staff. Were these guys Zodiarts, too? Like Scorpio? And if so, which zodiacs did they represent? Like the woman, the figure began watching the fight.

 "Oh, perfect. Now, we have an audience-" I muttered, just before getting slammed with another punch to my face.

 "Focus, Four Eyes!" the unicorn Zodiart snapped at me, angrily. "You wanted a fight, so fight me!" 

 I shook away the dizziness. "Oh, no...you don't want to fight me. Not really." I told him, and clutched at my jaw.

 "Because you're weak?" he asked, tauntingly, with a scoff. 

 "No...." I replied, and paused when I spotted someone approaching behind him.

 "Then, why?" the Zodiart asked.

 I took a moment to catch my breath. "Because of him." I replied, pointing over his shoulder.

 "3...2...1!!" the Fourze Driver announced, the voice immediately grabbing the Zodiart's attention.

 I couldn't help but smirk. 

 "Henshin!!" Gentaro exclaimed, and transformed into the Fourze suit. Behind him was Yuuki. 

 "Uchu KiTAAA!!" the three of us shouted in unison, though mine ended with an 'ouch' and a pained wince.

 "Junpei, hurry and find JK." Gentaro told me. "Make sure he's alright. Thanks for distracting this guy. I've got it from here."

 "Got it!" I replied with a nod, then took off at a dash. I ducked just as the Zodiart made a grab for me, but that only prompted me to run faster, and disappear from view.

 I actually hadn't even realized JK had left until Gentaro said something.

 As I ran, I suddenly tripped, and fell forward, skinning the palms of my hands! "Damn it!" But, I got back up to my feet, and ran on, ignoring the pain.

 "JK!!" I called out, looking around for the party kid. But after running nearly all over the place, he was nowhere to be found! "Odd...."

 I finally decided to make it a quick stop in the bathroom to check my reflection. There was only one other person in there...though, he looked like he was just trying to get some peace and quiet. He wore headphones, and was reading a book.

 "Aw, man...." I muttered as I took in my reflection. My jaw was battered and bruised on both sides, and there was a cut on my bottom lip. I even checked my stomach. Sure enough, there was a bruise, there, as well. "Why do I feel like this is going to become a normal thing for me? Distracting Zodiarts and being their human punching bag until Gentaro arrives.... I look like I've been in a bar fight."

 I let out a deep sigh, and leaned back against the sink. "And I'm back in my previous schools, picked on by just about every bully imaginable. Perfect."

 "Sshh!" the random student hissed at me, not even bothering to look up from his book, which hid his face from view.

 I shot him an irritated look.

 "You're wearing headphones, Sir." I told him, boldly. "And this isn't a library, so calm down." I pushed away from the sink, stuck my tongue out at him like a toddler, and left the bathroom. "Rude...."

 "There you are!" Kengo said as he approached me, toying with an Astroswitch in one hand and carrying his briefcase in the other. "Where have you been, all afternoon?" He stopped walking, and lifted an eyebrow as he took in my battered self. "What the hell happened to you?"

 "Oh, you know...." I replied, sarcastically, with a casual shrug. "Getting smashed into a wall by JK, and becoming a human punching bag for the Zodiarts.... Ya know, the usual normal stuff."

 He narrowed his eyes, suspiciously.

 "I hardly call the whole Zodiarts thing 'normal'." he told me. "You look like you just got thrown out of a bar...literally."

 I chuckled, lightly.

 "Kengo, I've been taking beatings like these ever since I started coming to this school." I told him, and he shook his head. "I mean, seriously...at this point, does me showing up around this place, covered in bruises shock anybody, anymore? Unless, people think the jocks have gotten to me, again. Also, what's with all the looks? You've been staring at me, like that, ever since the Queen Fest."

 He scoffed, and replied, "That isn't important. C'mon, I'm heading over to the Rabbit Hutch. I need to work on these new switches for the Driver."

 He turned and began walking away.

 I grabbed his shoulder, and spun him back around, ignoring the glare he gave me.

 "It matters to me!" I told him, irritated. "What's your damage, Utahoshi? I've done nothing to you! But ever since I came to Amanogawa, you've been a real jerk towards me. I'm not gonna lie, I'm rather sick and tired of it!"

 "Oh, we're being honest, now?" he snapped, angrily, dropping his briefcase and grabbing the collar of my jacket before slamming me into a locker. He got up in my face. "That's funny, because I haven't heard one truthful word out of your mouth since the day you started, here, Thundewel. Not a single word! Everything about you is screaming one big lie. Why did you really come to Amanogawa? Eh?"

 I tried to pry his hand off.

 "Paranoid, much?" I replied, angrily. "Maybe if you hadn't gone to the nurse's office, that first day, you would've heard my reason for coming here." I tried to read his face. "Unless...you were lying about that." I scoffed. "Now that I think about it, you probably were. You were actually just cutting class to go into the Rabbit Hutch, weren't you?"

 "Damare!" he snapped, gripping my jacket, tighter. "Don't pretend like you know everything! And you certainly don't know me, Thundewel! You know, if it were up to me, I would ban you from ever entering the Rabbit Hutch, again, or being part of Kisaragi's club."

 We glared daggers at each other.

 I tilted my head, slightly, watching his face, waiting to see what else he had to say.

 "But...." he said. "Kisaragi and Yuuki like you. For some reason that I will never understand, they like you. And, you are Kisaragi's responsibility, anyway, so I will let him deal with you. But don't think, for one second, that I won't persuade him to kick you out and leave you. Am I clear?" I didn't answer, at first. "Oi!"

 I rolled my eyes.

 "Crystal." I told him, bitterly.

 We glared at each other, for a few seconds longer.

 Then, angrily, he released me, and stormed off.

 I just watched him leave, straightening and fixing my uniform. I then angrily swung a fist into the locker behind me, only to step back and grunt in pain. I shook my hand, and checked to make sure my knuckles weren't bleeding. They weren't...thankfully.

 "Damn you, Utahoshi!" I spat, and took several deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. Somehow, that guy managed to get a rise out of me. Well...it was his own fault. He was being a total jerk, and that was that.

 I froze, just then, and stared.

 Standing at the end of the hallway was the principal. He gave a curious look, his hands behind his back. 

 Oh, gosh.... I thought, feeling rather embarrassed, now. Please, tell me he did not just witness that entire ordeal going down....!

 Rubbing the back of my neck, awkwardly, I walked away. I could feel Principal Hayami's eyes on me, though. I had a bad feeling that he had seen, and overheard, everything. I just hoped he didn't figure out exactly what Kengo and I were arguing about.

 It was enough that I felt sure Kengo was onto me, now. Somewhat, anyway....

Chapter Text

 After my dealings with Kengo, I decided to swing by the school's library. I figured I might as well study the constellations, a little bit...both popular and the lesser known constellations. 

 I spent the rest of the lunch hour sitting at a table by a window, reading.

 I hadn't seen JK, again. Something about that boy really bothered me. That Nitta guy was after him for some reason, and only him. Why? Just what had JK done to anger him to the point where he had to grab a Switch and transform into a Zodiart?

 While looking through books, I found a constellation that reminded me of the unicorn Zodiart.

 "Monoceros...." I whispered, thoughtfully.

 "Ah! There you are!" a voice exclaimed, startling me and making me yelp. Miu approached, and I let out a sigh of relief. "Kengo-kun is looking for you. We have a job for you." She sat down next to me. "It's for tonight, JK's party."

 Oh.... I thought, feeling a little unhappy.

 "Kengo, eh?" I asked in disbelief, closing the book that I was reading, and just resting my arms on top of it while avoiding eye-contact. "Why is he looking for me?" I couldn't help but feel a small hatred growing for the guy.

 Miu hummed, thoughtfully.

 "Did you two get into a fight?" she asked.

 I scoffed.

 "Something like that." I replied. I sighed, and began gathering up the books. "Honestly, Miu...I think I'm the last person he wants helping out against the Zodiarts." I stood up to begin putting the books away. "That guy hates me. He's made that very clear."

 "Has he?" the older teenager asked, sounding slightly surprised. "It is not very clear to me. I don't believe it is clear to Yuuki and Gentaro, either." I heard her stand up. Next thing I see is her leaning against the bookshelf that I stood in front of, her arms crossed. "Has he said he hated you?"

 I hesitated before answering. "....No. He's just...implied it." 

 The bruises he left on me might as well be an indication. I thought, and slid a book into its rightful spot.

 I looked at Miu.

 "It's better I just stay away, from now on." I told her. "I don't need Utahoshi giving Gentaro a hard time because of me. Besides...I have another mission that I need to focus on and accomplish." I turned to walk away.

 "Another mission?" she asked, her tone having become greatly intrigued.

 I froze, my eyes growing wide with realization and horror.

 Shit! I thought. Jasmina, you idiot!

 I thought, fast, and whirled around to face her, again, with a smile.

 "Yeah! Uh...my studies!" I exclaimed. "I want to be able to graduate from here with full marks and...all of that!"

 Miu hummed, again, her eyes narrowed as she studied me with a suspicious look.

 "You would rather focus on schoolwork, than help the save the world from monsters?" she asked in disbelief, stepping forward.

 "Yep!" I replied with a nod. "Speaking of which, would you look at the time? It's time for my next class!" I spun back around to run.

 Miu exclaimed something in Japanese as she quickly grabbed hold of my arm, hauling me back towards her.

 "Baka!" She gave my forehead somewhat of a harsh smack. She then put her hand on her hip. "Junpei-san...you have three years to focus on schoolwork. Honestly.... Do you really believe that is more important than protecting the world from monsters? We need you!"

 I tried tugging my arm out of her grasp...but she was strong!

 "I.... I'm not a fighter, Miu!" I tried to tell her. "And, you don't need me! Gentaro's the fighter, here! Yuuki gathers info...." I trailed off, realizing that I didn't know what Miu's role was in the club, yet. "I'm just...me! A regular string-bean guy who, yes, would rather study! I'm no Kamen Rider-"

 "Neither am I." the elder teen interrupted. "Neither is Yuuki, or Kengo-kun." I tsked at the sound of that guy's name. "We can't fight, either. However, we do stand by Gentaro, and support him. Last time I checked, you did, too. And, you still do." I stared at her, my expression softening. I knew she was right. Of course, she was. 

 She sighed, tilting her head and giving me a deadly-serious look.

 "I don't know what is going on between you and Kengo-kun." she told me. "But, I do know that whatever it is, you two will figure it out, somehow. In the meantime, we need all the help we can get in taking care of these monsters." She gave me a warm smile, and placed something into my hand. "Whether you, or Kengo-kun, like it or not...you are a member of the Kamen Rider Club. I won't force you to stay and help us. But, at least seriously consider it." With a final smile, she walked past me to leave the library.

 I looked down at what she gave me.

 It was an Astroswitch...but it was one that I didn't recognize. It was sort of golden-brown, with the number, thirteen, on it...and a silhouette of a spiked ball and chain. 

 Kengo must have made this, recently.... I thought, and rubbed my thumb over the top of the switch, which even looked like a mini spiked ball.

 I mulled over everything that Miu said, and tossed my head back with a deep sigh.

 "Gosh damn it." I muttered. Then, I turned around. "Oi....!"

 Miu, who hadn't quite left the library just yet, stopped walking.

 I hesitated, then asked, "What's the job?"

 The elder teenager turned to look at me, a knowing smile on her face.

 I didn't know what this place was, other than it was where JK was hosting his party.

 As soon as I stepped inside, I had to cover my ears and cringe.

 It was so loud! How were people not deaf from all the noise?! Every room I peeked in was filled with people singing, dancing, blasting music, and eating. I couldn't stand it.... Personally, this was exactly why my brother and I were introverted. I felt overstimulated from all the noise.

 Why was it my job to come here, again? All Miu had told me was that I had to keep an eye out for Gentaro and JK. And that Astroswitch that Miu had given to me, earlier? I was supposed to hand that over to Gentaro as soon as I saw him.

 Yuuki had another new Astroswitch to give to him...I think the switches were a pair? I couldn't remember, what with all the noise going on.

 I had to admit, I immediately wanted to leave. But, I pressed onward.

 I searched around for any sign of Gentaro, or JK. But so far, I hadn't been able to find them in this crowded place.

 Before coming here, I did rush home to throw on a 'party' outfit...which, Junpei did not have many. At all.

 Ok, not to call myself a pro on fashion, but even I had to admit that what I was sporting, it didn't exactly scream 'let's party!'. I was wearing simple skinny jeans, a pair of sneakers, a loose white button-down shirt, and a crimson-red zip-up hoodie over it.

 Oh, yeah. I'm the life of the party, alright.

 "C'mon, Gentaro...JK...." I grumbled as I squeezed and weaved my way through the crowds, my hands still covering my ears. "Where are you?" I couldn't help but cringe, again. "Urusai...."

 Just then, I crashed into someone, and was about to fall to the floor, when a hand grabbed the front of my shirt!

 "Oi...I remember you." a familiar voice said, though I could barely hear him over all the noise. "Thundewel-san, right?"

 I froze when I looked up at them.

 Fuck! I mentally swore.

 "N-Nitta!" I said, staring up at the student who could transform into Monoceros. He did not look happy. "H-Heeey....!" I racked my brain for a good distraction. "I was just...talking about you! You know, I think I heard that someone, here, is hosting a party, just for you! I think it's in one of those rooms...back there." I motioned to behind him, and mentally winced. What I was trying to sell him, he looked like he was not buying. "It looks great! There's cake...there's unicorns, everywhere...you'd love it!"

 Nitta rolled his eyes, looking very unamused. "Do you ever shut up?" he asked, though his tone told me that he wasn't really expecting an answer.

 "U-Unfortunately, it's not among my skills to shut up." I told him with a nervous laugh. "I blame my brain, really. It just has to let whatever spill out of my mouth before giving me a chance to think about it."

 I know what you're thinking: why am I acting like a fraidy-cat in front of Nitta, now, when I braved him, earlier? Simple! I'm really trying to blend in as my brother, here. I've let myself slip, big time, lately...I'm trying to avoid doing that, again.

 The taller student shook his head, giving me a look of slight confusion.

 "You are an idiot." he told me, then rolled his eyes, keeping a firm grip on my hoodie. "I don't suppose you've seen my good friend, JK, around here. Have you?"

 "You know, uhm...." I replied, trying to think of a good lie. "I-I don't believe he's here. Nah, he's like...sick...with a really, really bad stomach bug. You don't wanna be around him and catch that."

 "You are lying!" he said with an angry glare. "His name is on every single poster in this place. He must be here! Now, where?!"

 "I-I don't know, man!" I told him, my mind racing. I gave him an innocent grin. "Have you tried the lobby?"

 I mentally rolled my eyes.

 "Really? You're gonna quote 'Blade: Trinity'?" I could just hear my brother say to me with the most unamused look I could ever see on his face. Almost as if...he was right in my head....

 I did not have time to mull that over.

 Nitta let out a growl, and threw me onto the floor, back-first!

 "Thank you!" he said, sarcastically, with a fake smile. But that smile quickly dropped, and he threw a punch at my face! I managed to block it, just in time!

 Mistake!

 My eyes widened.

 Damn it! I thought.

 Nitta gave me a strange look of confusion, before throwing me out of the nearest window! I tried to grab onto something - anything! I managed to grab onto a stair railing...nearby was a fire exit.

 I panted, my heart pounding in my ears! This dude really just threw me out a window without a second thought!

 "Dang, these students have some anger issues!" I said to myself.

 I looked down over my shoulder. Ok...it wasn't too far down. Maybe....

 I shut my eyes, and let go of the railing. I let out a cry as I let myself fall. I hit the ground, hard...though, surprisingly, I didn't feel anything break! I opened my eyes. I was dizzy, but only for a moment. The terrified cries of JK and many other people brought me back to Earth.

 "I'm ok!" I cried out with a grin.

 Odd timing, Jaz. I thought, and my smile dropped. Well, now, I just felt awkward. 

 I scrambled to my feet, but I nearly lost my balance, the second I stood up. I probably shouldn't have gotten up, so quickly. That wasn't a good idea.... Once I knew I was all cool, again, I immediately made my way back to where I had bumped into Nitta. The guy was going to pay for nearly killing me.

 "Nitta!" I exclaimed, once I found him, again.

 Although, this time, Gentaro was also there, blocking off the student's other exit and dressed in the Fourze suit...meanwhile, Nitta had transformed into Monoceros, again!

 "Junpei!" Gentaro exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing, here? And...is that really your party outfit?"

 I looked down at my clothes, and gave him an offended look.

 "I tried, ok?" I replied with a pout. Then, I realized. "JK!"

 Where was he? Was he alright? Did Nitta get to him before I arrived? 

 I turned to run and look for him.

 "Oh, no, you don't!" Monoceros said, and yanked me back by my hood! "You are my enemy, too!"

 "What did I ever do to you, huh?!" I protested.

 "Junpei! The roof!" Gentaro told me. "Hurry!"

 "Uhh, sure!" I replied, confused, but curious to know what my friend had in mind. I tore myself free from the Zodiart's grasp, and raced past him and Gentaro.

 I made it all the way up to the roof of the place, and skidded to a halt. I turned, feeling worried for Gentaro and JK.

 Soon enough, both Gentaro and Monoceros arrived, already engaged in a heated fight! I jumped out of their way, not wanting to risk being knocked over and falling to my doom, again.

 "Chainsaw On!!" the Fourze Driver announced, and a part of Gentaro's leg transformed into a blue chainsaw! He used it to attack Monoceros...so far, it seemed pretty effective!

 "Try and stay away, this time, Junpei!" Gentaro told me.

 I gave him a 'ya-think' look. "I was already planning on doing that!" I replied. "But, what about JK?"

 I clamped my mouth shut...it was not a good idea to distract him, right now. By the looks of things, Monoceros seemed tougher to battle than Orion and Lacerta!

 Just then, Yuuki showed up, clutching something in her hand and still wearing her headphones from earlier!

 "These are the new switches!" she shouted to Gentaro, and held up a new Fourze switch. "Beat and Chain Array!" She tossed it over to him, and he caught it with ease. "Jun-san! Give him Chain Array!"

 I stuffed my hand into my pocket, and pulled out the switch that Miu had given me. I then tossed it over to Gentaro, and he caught it just as easily.

 "Thanks, Yuuki, Junpei!" he told us. "Let's put these to the test!"

 "I hope they work...." I said to Yuuki, worriedly, as I jogged up to her.

 "They should! Kengo-kun worked, really hard, on them!" she replied.

 Gentaro replaced two of the Driver's original switches with the new ones.

 "Beat Chain Array!!" the Driver announced. Gentaro brushed a finger against the Beat switch. "Beat On!!" His right leg transformed into what looked to be a red beatbox! Suddenly, I felt strong vibrations and strange soundwaves surrounding us!

 Oh, gosh! Bass!

 I clapped my hands over my ears just as Yuuki threw her headphones back on. Meanwhile, the Beat Switch was causing Monoceros to cover his own ears and stagger slowly to the ground! Yuuki was saying something, but I couldn't hear her over the sound of the bass. I ended up falling backwards onto the ground, receiving a headache as the bass continued.

 But finally, the sound died down, and I barely heard Gentaro and Yuuki cheer that the Beat Switch worked.

 "Jun-san!" the teen girl exclaimed with worry when she saw me, and quickly knelt down beside me.

 "Is it over, yet....?" I asked, weakly, as she gently lowered my hands. 

 "Hai, hai...." she reassured me. "Gen-san's about to test out the Chain Switch."

 She then helped me to my feet, and I continued to watch the fight with her. How I was still able to hear anything was beyond me! Let alone, how the hell was Gentaro able to handle it?!

 "Chain Array On!!" the Driver announced as Gentaro flipped the new switch. His right arm transformed into a brown gauntlet that had an extendable spiked ball and chain attached to it!

 "Talk about goin' medieval." I commented, jokingly.

 Monoceros rushed forward, angrily, and Gentaro attacked, swinging the spiked ball around and managing to hit him!

 "Mind your head!" I yelled to Yuuki, and quickly dropped to the ground, onto my stomach, shielding my head. That thing came close....!

 I looked up to see Gentaro backing Monoceros into a fence. Then, Monoceros dodged out of the way, and stood up straight.

 Suddenly, his horn glowed yellow, and extended! Not only that, but the horse face turned into a handle!

 Gentaro was so surprised, he accidentally let the spiked ball hit him where the sun didn't shine!

 I felt my face pale at what just happened. "Well...that's a problem...." I muttered.

 "He had an extra face underneath the horse?!" Gentaro exclaimed in shock.

 To my horror, the tables in the fight had turned. Now, Monoceros had the upper-hand as he fought my friend, and was able to push him back with sword-fighting attacks, as well as make Gentaro use the Chain Array on himself!

 "He's in the fencing club....!" Yuuki said with realization.

 "Fencing?!" I yelped. "Ok, now, this is a big problem!" 

 I watched as Gentaro flipped on the Radar switch...that's what he usually used if he needed to talk to Kengo. But while he was distracted, Monoceros was about to attack, again!

 Oh, no! I thought, and quickly looked around for anything that I could use.

 There...a thin, but sturdy-looking pipe!

 I scrambled to my feet, then.

 "Yuuki?" I said to the long-haired girl, taking off my glasses. "Could you hold on to these, please?"

 "Ehh?? Jun-san, what are you doing?!" Yuuki replied, confused and surprised. "You can't see without your glasses!" She took them, though, gently.

 "You're right, I can't." I told her, fearfully.

 I squinted...Monoceros was now a huge white blob.

 I took a deep breath, and nodded to myself before charging forward. I then blocked Monoceros' attack with the pipe, taking him by surprise!

 I can't fight, one-hundred-percent, as Junpei.... I thought. But, I also can't let this guy just finish Gentaro off while he's trying to figure this whole new thing out! I just need to defend, dodge, and distract...that's all!

 Monoceros hummed, as if interested in his new opponent. He then quickly parried, catching me by surprise - I almost didn't block him in time! Luckily, the pipe didn't break upon contact with the sword. I guess I chose a good random weapon.... 

 "I thought you said you couldn't fight!" Gentaro yelled out to me.

 "I can't!" I replied, sloppily blocking an attack. "Nevermind me! Focus on what you need to do, next!"

 "Jun-san...." I barely heard Yuuki say in shock. 

 Monoceros chuckled, darkly.

 Then, he launched into a series of attacks, and I managed to dodge and block every single one of them. I never took my eyes off of him, and got into a defensive stance. This Zodiart was definitely strong! And here I was, thinking about Orion's strength had been. I never fenced, growing up; at the time, I only ever cared about self-defense hand-to-hand combat so that I could protect Junpei. But, I still picked up a thing or two about sword-fighting. Mainly, from movies...such as "Pirates of the Caribbean". 

 Monoceros pulled a knock-away stunt on my pipe, then gave my two quick smacks to my face, nearly right on the same spots where he had hit, earlier! I ducked and rolled out of the way of his next attack, surprising him. He let out a determined growl. He swung his sword, and I blocked, both of us forming an 'X', the sound ringing out.

 "You're in my way, again, Thundewel." he told me.

 "Yeah? W-Well...you're bothering my friends." I replied, nervously. "I'm not a huge fan of that."

 The Zodiart hmphed in amusement. "You believe JK is your friend?" he asked. "You hardly know him."

 "You know what else I'm not a huge fan of?" I said, and cringed when he pushed back against my pipe, and I tried to hold strong against him. "Random monsters hurting people, in general! What did JK ever do to you, anyway, eh?"

 "You really want to know?" he told me, and grabbed the front of my hoodie. "Why don't you ask him, yourself?"

 Our 'X' broke apart as he threw me over to the side. I blocked an attack, the second I managed to get up on one knee.

 "Wh-Where did it go?!" I heard Gentaro suddenly exclaim in horror.

 "Gen-san, what's wrong?" Yuuki asked him, worriedly. 

 Their cries were enough to distract me for just one second, but it gave Monoceros enough time to knock the pipe out of my hand, and hold me captive against him with his sword at my throat!

 Oh, I'm dead!! I thought in a panic, my heart pounding in my chest.

 "What do you think they have lost, hmm?" Monoceros muttered into my ear. "Something important?" 

 I wracked my brain, wondering what on Earth could my friends be freaking out over, at this moment.

 Then, as if stung by electricity, the image of the Electric Switch flashed into my brain!

 I frowned in confusion...how could Gentaro lose a Fourze switch? It wasn't like him, at all! In fact, he kept the switches and the Fourze Driver on him, at all times, since first forming the Kamen Rider club!

 My eyes quickly scanned the area for any sign of that switch. Where was it?!

 "You know, it must really suck...." the Zodiart said in my ear while moving the tip of his sword to my right cheek. "When you try to protect the people you thought were your friends...only for them to turn on you, the second you're distracted." I winced, but didn't dare cry out, as the Zodiart left a cut on my cheek. "I wonder, who do you think could possibly do such a horrible thing? I'm asking you, Thundewel, since you are desperate to know everything."

 I didn't want to think about it.... There's no way JK would think to do such a thing to anybody. Right? Yeah, yeah, I know, I barely know him. Nitta - Monoceros - was right about that. But JK...he just doesn't seem the type! Or, was I really that bad a judge of character? 

 Monoceros threw me against the nearby fence, knocking the wind out of me.

 "Jun-san!" Yuuki called out to me, fearfully. 

 I weakly got to my knees. I barely heard the Zodiart approaching me. The second he moved to stab me right through, I moved and jumped out of the way, practically throwing myself to the side.

 That's when I dashed over to Gentaro. I gripped his shoulders.

 "Where is it? Where's the Electric Switch?" I asked him.

 "I don't- I could've sworn I had it on me!" he replied, then froze when he looked at me. "You're bleeding...."

 "Gah, nevermind me!" I told him.

 "What are you doing?!" Monoceros demanded, angrily, and attacked.

 Gentaro shoved me out of the way, and let himself get hit with the sword! But Gentaro, now frustrated, got back up and engaged into another fight against the Zodiart. 

 I just watched on in confusion, thoughts flooding through my mind.

 Where was the Electric Switch? There was no way Gentaro could have dropped it! Gentaro may seem like an idiot to Kengo, but he was more careful with handling the Driver and its switches than Kengo gave him credit for!

 I then mulled over what Monoceros said.... Could JK really have something to do with it? Did that kid somehow get ahold of the switch, and had run off with it? And if so, how? Unless, it happened during the party when everyone was distracted with the karaoke and music.... But then, why would JK be interested in the switches? Has he been spying on Fourze, this entire time?! Was he actually smarter than anybody thought? What would he gain from nabbing one of the switches off of Gentaro?

 "Launcher On!!" the Driver suddenly announced, yanking me out of my thoughts.

 Gentaro tried attacking the Zodiart with the rocket-launcher switch...only to fail. 

 "One more shot...." Gentaro said, and was about to try, again.

 But then, to our surprise, the Zodiart hit the button of his own switch.

 "I am only after JK." he said, and transformed back into the student, Nitta. "But, stop getting in my way. Next time, I won't hold back."

 He gave me a warning glare, then walked off. 

 I let out a deep sigh as I glared back after him, then stood up just as Yuuki ran up to Gentaro. 

 "Yeah, I'll let you off easy, this time!" he yelled after Nitta.

 "You lost!" Yuuki reminded him.

 "Shut up! No, I didn't!" he told her.

 He then switched off the Driver and the Fourze suit. He was looking rather irritated.

 "Hey, why didn't you use the Electric Switch?" she asked him. "You didn't answer Kengo's calls, earlier, either...he was really mad!"

 Gentaro began making excuses, and I drowned them out as I watched Nitta walk until he was out of view. The more I thought on everything he said about JK, the more suspicious I felt about the kid. 

 I decided, right then and there, to search for him and maybe get some answers. No matter how long it took....

Chapter Text

 The next morning, I sat at my desk in homeroom, feeling rather bored…and exhausted.

 I had spent all of last night, trying to look for JK so that I could get some answers out of him. It was a crazy thing to do, I know…but, after the disappearance of the new Electric Switch, and after everything Monoceros said, I was desperate.

 Now, I was paying for it. I didn’t need to look in a mirror to see that I had bags under my eyes.

 “Jun-san.” Yuuki’s voice said to me, and I tiredly turned to look behind me. She gave me a kind smile, and handed me my glasses. “You forgot these, after the fight, last night.”

 “Oh!” I said, and gently took them. “Thanks! Sorry…I had a lot on my mind.”

 I rubbed my eyes, then unfolded my glasses, and slipped them onto my face.

 “I think we all do.” she told me with a sympathetic look. “Gen-san’s been looking for the Electric Switch. He feels really bad about losing it. Kengo-kun…isn’t particularly happy with either of you….”

 I scoffed. “Shocker.” I muttered, sarcastically. 

 “I know he isn’t the easiest guy to get along with,” she told me, looking at me, pleadingly. “But, please, try to cut him some slack. He…has not had the easiest life….” 

 I looked at her. She looked terribly upset as she trailed off.

 I crossed my arms, unsure of what else to say.

 At that moment, Kengo rushed in. He was about to sit down at his desk when he noticed me. His face fell.

 “Oh. You are still here.” he told me, coldly.

 “Good morning to you, too, Becky with the good hair. And yeah, I am.” I replied, sarcastically, with a glare. “You’re stuck with me for the next three years. Boo!”

 I rolled my eyes at him. I felt too tired to be putting up with his attitude, today.

 “Are you five?” he scoffed in disbelief.

 “Mentally, yes. Although, I am dealing with a toddler.” I told him. “Tends to rub off on ya.”

 “You are an idiot.”

 “And you’re a stone-faced jerk.”

 He tsked, giving me a scowl, then finally sat down at his desk. I could hear him grumbling something in Japanese, and I stuck my tongue out at him before facing the front of the classroom.

 Behind me, Yuuki nervously chuckled.

 “Uhm…good morning.” she said to Kengo with a small nod.

 “Ah….” he muttered, and nodded in response. He leaned forward onto his desk. “I went over to that Nitta’s house, but he never came home. He most likely will not come to school, today.”

 “I see….” Yuuki replied, thoughtfully. “Did something happen between him and JK?”

 I turned in my seat to look at her, completely ignoring Kengo. “I bet he did or said something to piss Nitta off.” I said. “Something similar happened between Miu and Tamae, and that Shun and Miura.”

 “That is true….” the long-haired girl said.

 Kengo reached down, and brought out the burgermeal foodroid. “Since JK’s the target, we will have to keep an eye on him.” 

 I watched as the foodroid came to life, and rolled out of the classroom. How nobody else noticed it was beyond me.

 At that moment, Miss Sonoda arrived, a cheerful smile on her face.

 “Good morning!” she exclaimed. “Come, now! Get to your desks!” Everyone took their seats. “Eh? Where is Kisaragi?”

 I looked over at his empty desk.

 He’s usually here before the teacher comes in…. I thought with a raised eyebrow.

 “Maybe he’s out, doing what I should’ve done,” I said. “Grabbing coffee, and pretending that life is one terribly long dream.”

 I smirked in amusement when a few students laughed.

 “I am here, I am here!” Gentaro exclaimed, breathlessly, as he rushed into the classroom.

 “Or not.” I muttered with a slight shrug. 

 “You were almost late.” Miss Sonoda told him. “Watch yourself.”

 “Sorry, Miss S!” the taller boy replied as he immediately sat down.

 “Good morning, Gen-san!” Yuuki exclaimed.

 “‘Sup.” he said, somewhat rudely, his eyes trained on his books as he pulled them out of his bag.

 Yuuki’s face fell, slightly, but then shrugged off his behavior.

 “Oi, Kisaragi.” Kengo whispered to him. To my surprise, Gentaro completely ignored him. “Kisaragi!”

 But the taller boy paid him no mind.

 “Alright!” Gentaro exclaimed. “Let’s get our learn on!”

 I shared a look with Yuuki, and lifted an eyebrow. She shook her head, slightly. This boy wasn’t acting like his usual self….

 And it didn’t end, there.

 All day, Gentaro read one of his books, out loud, completely ignoring everyone unless it was a teacher. Even at lunch, he ignored us, despite sitting with us at the same table! Then, as soon as the bell rang to end the school day, he was the first person to hurry out of the classroom!

 I watched him leave with a confused frown as I stood between Yuuki’s and Kengo’s desks.

 “What an oddball.” Kengo muttered with a sigh.

 “Does he not see us?” I asked, casually leaning against his desk. “I mean, we are still here, right?” I looked down at Yuuki. “Do you see us?” I pointed at Kengo and myself. She nodded. I looked back up to the open doorway, and fixed my uniform. “Something’s up…. I’m gonna go find out.”

 “Be careful, Jun-san….!” Yuuki told me.

 “Yup!” I exclaimed, and grabbed my things. I looked over at Kengo, who was giving me his usual suspicious glare. “Don’t worry, Gia Mahan, I’ll keep an eye on him.” I sneered at him, then jogged on the way out of the classroom. “No monster will sneak up on us!”

 Somehow, almost as soon as I had left the classroom, I had lost Gentaro, completely!

 I ran about the school, even checking in every room, including the cafeteria and the infirmary. But he was nowhere to be found!

 Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen JK around, either….

 “Odd….” I muttered, thoughtfully, with a frown. “Where could either of them have disappeared off to?”

 I started checking around town, staying somewhat close to the school, in case anybody from the club called and needed me back. But still, I couldn’t find either JK or Gentaro.

 “Those boys have some explaining to do.” I said to myself in annoyance, putting my hands onto my hips as I looked around.

 The last place I checked was Amanogawa’s sports field. It was empty, except for a few students…probably staying at school for some practice. But still, there was no sign of either Gentaro, or JK.

 “Not here, either….” I sighed in disappointment. “Ah, maybe I should just give Gentaro a call.”

 But before I could even pull out my phone, a large hand clamped over my mouth as another hand grabbed my wrist! My martial arts instincts kicked in, and I tried to fight off whoever had snuck up on me…but, they were too strong! I was then dragged away, out of anybody’s sight.

 The next thing I knew, something struck me in the back of my head, and I blacked out.

 I don’t know how long I was asleep…but when I came to, I was surrounded by total darkness. The air also felt stiff. My wrists were tied above my head, and I was on my knees, kneeling on something hard.

 My memories came flooding back to me. I was afraid that the impact from getting the back of my head smashed had made me completely blind, and that’s why I couldn’t see anything; I didn’t feel anything covering my eyes, so what other explanation was there? I was honestly a little more concerned about being blind than the fact that my hands were tied and that I was locked up, somewhere.

 Where am I? I wondered, worriedly. How long have I been out? Who kidnapped me? And is anybody even looking for me?

 I shook my head.

 “Calm down….” I told myself with a frown. “The last thing you need to do is panic.” 

 I then started shifting, trying to get at least one leg from underneath me. Once I did, I kicked out in front of me, and sighed with relief when my foot hit what sounded like a door!

 So, I was in some sort of room. I think…. 

 I kicked, again, then just repeatedly did it.

 “Heyy!!” I called out at the top of my lungs. “In here!! Anybody?? Hello??”

 There was silence, at first. But then, I heard footsteps…someone was approaching! 

 Oh, thank Valhalla! I thought with great relief. 

 The steps stopped, just outside the door, and I just barely heard someone lean against it.

 “What was that you had told me, earlier, Thundewel?” a familiar boy’s voice asked me, teasingly. “‘Don’t worry’? ‘No Zodiart will sneak up on me’?”

 My jaw fell open in shock and disappointment. Then I cringed, and somewhat kicked out, childishly. 

 Oh, no!! I thought, mentally sobbing. Not Utahoshi!!

 I knew that cold-hearted boy’s voice, anywhere. 

 I then glared up into the darkness, and grumbled under my breath, “Really universe? You send him? Of all people, him?”

 “This must be pretty embarrassing for you.” Kengo told me, sounding smug. “I actually wish I could see the look on your face, right now.” 

 I couldn’t help but blush, hard.

 “H-Hey! Nobody snuck up on me!” I protested. “I-I…. I just wasn’t quick enough to beat them!” But I cringed, and hung my head. There was no way on Earth that he was going to buy that.

 I could only imagine him smirking. “You really are an idiot.” he scoffed.

 I could feel my face burning with humiliation. But, I had to ask him, “How did you even know where I was, or what happened to me?”

 “I had you and JK under surveillance.” he answered. “I didn’t trust either of you, and I was right. Well, about JK, anyway…so far. He stole the Electric Switch from Kisaragi, now that fool is trying to save him. As for you….” He paused, and scoffed. “Well, you getting blind-sided by Monoceros was pretty amusing to see.”

 I balled my fists, feeling my face grow ten-times hotter.

 “I didn’t get blind-sided!” I exclaimed, angrily. I repeatedly kicked the door. “I told you, I just wasn’t quick enough! Now, let me out!”

 “With that attitude, I’m tempted to just leave you in there.” he sighed.

 I heard something get worked into the door’s lock, then. I had to squeeze my eyes shut as light suddenly surrounded me. I then peeked them back open to see Kengo standing there, a hand in his pocket; at least, it was nice to know that I wasn’t blind, after all. By his feet was his briefcase. He gave me a look with a slight tilt of his head when he noticed that my wrists were bound above me.

 “Guess he really wanted you out of the way. Can’t say I blame him.” With a roll of his eyes, he stepped forward, and began untying me.

 “Ya know, if you hate me, so damn much, why are you even here?” I asked him with a glare.

 He glared back. Then, without finishing untying my wrists, he turned and began walking away.

 I immediately realized what I had done, and my face softened.

 “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait, wait, wait! Ok!” I called after him. 

 He stopped, then came back with a sneer on his face, and began untying me, again. My glare returned, but this time, I didn’t say anything. I just pouted, and avoided eye-contact.

 Jerk. I thought, then let out a cry of surprise when I suddenly felt myself drop to the floor, my wrists finally free! I frowned at the floor. I hate him….

 Kengo grabbed the front of my jacket, and pulled me to my feet before slamming me into the wall.

 “I am here to do the one thing you told me you would do, and failed at: keeping an eye on Kisaragi, and the Fourze Driver.” he told me, getting up in my face, just as he had, the previous day. “And now, it seems I also need to keep an eye on you . You are quickly becoming a liability, and that is the last thing we need, right now. Got it?”

 I tried prying his hand off. “Would you just chill, for once?” I snapped. “I made one mistake. Big deal! Seriously, Utahoshi, you’re so paranoid!” And this guy had one strong grip, because I could not get his hand off of my jacket! He simply rolled his eyes at my attempts. “Let go of me!”

 He sneered, slightly amused.

 “No.” he replied.

 I stared at him in disbelief, mouth dropping open at the audacity. “The fuck do you mean-”

 I was interrupted by the sounds of fighting, nearby, and we both looked out the door.

 “Gentaro!” I exclaimed.

 “Kisaragi!” Kengo shouted at the same time.

 Without releasing me, he ran out of the room, dragging me with him while snatching his briefcase up in his free hand.

 While running and following the sounds of the fight, I noticed that Monoceros must have taken me to what looked like an old and abandoned factory. And if Monoceros really had been the one who kidnapped me, then JK had to be here, somewhere, too.

 “I need to find JK!” I told Kengo, trying, again, to make him let go of me.

 “You need to stay out of trouble!” he told me, keeping his grip firm, as if keeping me near him was his life goal.

 “I need to help him!”

 “Help him?! After everything he’s done?!”

 “Sure!” I said. “And aside from being a thief, you haven’t exactly clarified to me what he’s done to deserve being hunted by Monoceros, or why he stole from the Kamen Rider Club!”

 “Why should I tell you everything?”

 “Why do you insist on being such a-”

 “Go ahead, finish that sentence, Thundewel! See what happens!”

 He took me with him up a flight of stairs, just before we came upon Gentaro, who was dressed in the Fourze suit, and had just been knocked down by Monoceros.

 I looked at the Zodiart. “You!” I exclaimed.

 “Oh.” he replied, flatly. “You escaped.”

 “You kidnapped me!” I told him, offended.

 “Yes, but I see, now, that was pointless.” he sighed, disappointed. “You were not very challenging to snatch, to begin with. Perhaps, this time, I will simply kill you!”

 He waved his sword to attack me!

 Without thinking, I moved in front of Kengo, and gave the Zodiart a good kick in the stomach, sending him stumbling away!

 “Nice one, Junpei!” Gentaro told me, approvingly.

 Kengo narrowed his eyes, suspiciously, at me.

 “That looked oddly professional….” he said. “For a kid who claims he can’t fight.”

 “Uhh, reflexes!” I told him. “Always coming in in the knick of time!” I laughed, nervously. “I’m no professional!”

 ….What? Well, I’m not!

 He rolled his eyes. “Like I said, you are an idiot.” he told me. “Get back here.” He shoved me back behind him, finally releasing my jacket.

 To Gentaro, he said, “Kisaragi, use the rocket!”

 “Right!” the Fourze user exclaimed.

 “Stay out of my way!” Monoceros shouted, charging towards Kengo and I.

 But before he could reach us, Gentaro had flipped on the rocket switch, and knocked the Zodiart away from us.

 “Kengo!” the taller student said, sounding relieved.

 “I have a duty to direct Fourze!” Kengo told him.

 “And a duty to annoy everyone!” I added, jokingly, with a toothy grin. That earned me a harsh glare from the reddish-brown-haired boy. I flinched, and gave him an innocent smile and shrug. “Kidding!”

 I watched the fight for a moment longer. But I was getting restless.

 “I gotta go help!” I exclaimed, and was about to run into the battle.

 “Oh, no, you don’t!” Kengo exclaimed, grabbing my arm and pulling me back. “You are staying right here, where I can see you.”

 I promptly tried getting his hand off of me, again.

 “You aren’t the boss of me!” I snapped, angrily.

 “Uh, yes, I am, danger-magnet!” he argued back.

 In seconds, he and I were snapping at each other, and trying to grab at each other’s wrists.

 “Oh, would you two shut up?!” Monoceros shouted, angrily.

 Something bright, green, and horseshoe-shaped came shooting right at us! Multiple somethings! I barely caught sight of them before quickly shoving Kengo away, and trying to shield myself with my arms. The horseshoes hit me, exploding all around me, and sending me flying back and down towards the ground! I landed with a grunt of pain, and ended up rolling out of the factory; who knew we were so close to an exit?

 “Junpei!!” I heard Gentaro cry out, worriedly.

 I lay there, the wind knocked out of me, and sunlight hitting my face. My ears were ringing from the blasts…I could barely hear the worried voices of Yuuki and Miu over it. My brows twitched as I groaned in pain.

 “Junpei-san! Junpei-san!” JK’s voice exclaimed, then I felt someone scrape the ground as they came down to kneel at my side. I felt hands grip my shoulders. “Junpei-san!” I couldn’t help but groan, again…that was probably the hardest hit that I’ve taken from a Zodiart, so far. “Are you ok? Oh, man…. You are burned and cut!”

 “Greeeat….” I said, sarcastically. “Just how I wanted to end the day!”

 “JK! Junpei!” Gentaro exclaimed, worriedly, as I heard him approach. “Are you hurt?”

 “He is, but, I’m ok.” JK replied.

 “Oh, please.” I told them both. “Teeny-tiny flesh wound. I’ll live.”

 Gentaro chuckled. “Sarcastic as ever.” he said to JK, I’m assuming. “Yeah, he’s fine. Well…except for all the scrapes.... Eh, Junpei, are you sure you are ok?”

 “Peachy.” I replied, dryly, with a pained wince. “Now, let me go.”

 Both boys chuckled, and JK sat back, releasing my shoulders.

 “Is he always this rude after getting hurt?” the party kid asked.

 “He is hanging out with us, more.” Gentaro replied, proudly. “His true colors are finally showing!”

 Shit! I thought, my eyes shooting wide open. No! I’m letting my real self slip up, again!

 “Ah! Oh! Ow!” I cried out, feigning pain as I covered a couple of my injuries. “Oh! Geez! It burns! He’s killed me! He’s killed me!”

 “Oi, Junpei!” Gentaro said, seeing through my act as JK snickered, and giving my shoulder his usual ‘gentle’ pat. “You’re fine.”

 “No, I’m not!” I told him, dramatically. He only shook his head.

 “Oh…Gentaro, here!” the party kid said, and fished something out of his pocket. I stopped my dramatics to watch as he handed Gentaro the Electric Switch. “I took it back, awhile ago. I don’t give up on valuable items, that easily.”

 “That sounds like you.” the taller boy said, and shared his usual handshake with him.

 “Mm-hm.” I hummed, lifting an eyebrow at JK. He gave me a bashful smile.

 “Ow!” he exclaimed with a pout as I gave his shoulder a punch.

 “That’s for stealing.” I told him. I gave him another one, making him flinch and rub his shoulder. “And that is for causing so much trouble…with Gentaro, with me, and-”

 “JK…Thundewel….” Monoceros said as he stepped out of the old factory.

 “Oh, c’mon!” I exclaimed in annoyance. “Can’t I get in one full sentence, today?!”

 “I am going to kill you, both!” the Zodiart growled, angrily.

 Both Gentaro and JK helped me to my feet, then Gentaro stepped in front of us. He put in the Electric Switch.

 “You are going to use it?” Kengo asked, surprised.

 “Yes, and I think I may have figured out the trick.” the taller boy replied.

 “You can do it!” Miu and Yuuki exclaimed in unison.

 “Yaay!” I cheered, somewhat sarcastically…although, to be honest, I just felt too tired to be particularly loud, right now. “Kick him to the stars and back, Gen-” I stopped, suddenly feeling very woozy, and immense pain from the blast washing over me, again. “Uh-oh.” 

 That’s when I fell back onto the ground, and passed out.

 I didn’t wake up, again, until I heard voices.

 I opened my eyes, and looked around. Monoceros was nowhere to be seen, and someone had moved me to a safer spot, possibly out of harm’s way of the fight.

 I did see Gentaro and the others, though, with Gentaro talking to Nitta, who still had bits of webbing on him.

 “Nitta….!” I growled, remembering what he did to me as Monoceros. I shakily got to my feet, ignoring that everyone had turned to look at me as I stumbled forward. Nitta looked at me, exhaustedly. “You…. I swear, I’m going to-”

 “You’re not bad, Thundewel-san.” he told me.

 I froze, unsure if I heard him, right. “Eh?” I muttered.

 “I don’t know where you learned to swordfight, like that, the other night.” he told me, stepping forward. “But, perhaps, with more practice, you could be just as good as me.” He gave a half-smile, and gripped my shoulder. “Keep your friends out of trouble, ok?” His expression turned apologetic. “I’m sorry about everything…. Try not to let yourself get hit, that hard, again. Landing in a hospital isn’t fun.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze, and a pat. Then, he walked past me. “See you around school, kid.”

 I just watched him leave, feeling very confused. For once, no words came out of my mouth.

 Behind me, my friends laughed.

 “Would you look at that?” Gentaro said. “He actually shut Junpei up!”

 “He made him speechless!” Miu giggled.

 Speechless? I just figured if I kept quiet, I might hear more nice things said about me.

 “Yeah!” I called after Nitta, awkwardly. “That’s…f-fine, I guess! Cool, even! Sounds like a rematch! I’m down with that! S-See you around!” Nitta gave a wave as he walked onward without looking back. I looked down at the ground with a confused frown. “What just happened?”

 I was suddenly pulled into a tight hug, and I winced as the pain from all my new injuries flared up.

 “Our little Junpei is making friends, himself!” Gentaro exclaimed, dramatically, with a sniff.

 “Who’re you calling ‘little’?” I told him, my voice muffled by his hug. “Gentaro…you’re hurting me…. Slightly injured, here, remember?”

 “‘Slightly’, he says.” Miu said, teasingly, and sighed. “I will need to buy more medical supplies….”

 “Eh??” I asked, shoving myself out of Gentaro’s grip to look at her. “My injuries aren’t that bad!”

 “You did kinda take that blast, pretty hard….” JK told me with a smile. “And, I think you need a new uniform.”

 “Yes! We can get all of that taken care of before school, tomorrow!” Yuuki said with a grin and a nod. “Right, Kengo-kun?” She looked over at her friend, and her face fell into fear and worry. “K-Kengo-kun?”

 I blinked, then flinched when I looked to find myself face-to-face with a very angry red-brown-haired boy!

 I gulped, nervously, and smiled. “Hey…Kengo….! So, uhm, speaking of the other night….” His eyes flashed with the intent to kill. It was enough to make me run away. “Don’t hurt me, please!”

 “Thundewel, get back here!” he shouted after me, and I even heard him chase me down.

 “Have mercy!” I yelped. “I only did it to distract Monoceros!” He growled, and I whimpered. He was actually scary when he was this angry! “Please! I’ve been injured enough, for one day! Waaait!!”

Chapter Text

 The next day was Friday, and a half-day for classes as a ceremony for the school’s football team was being held. Nothing I was interested in, of course. And for that matter, neither was anybody else in the Kamen Rider Club. We had more important things to do.

 Once classes were over, we spent the rest of the afternoon testing out a couple of new astroswitches, Spike and Smoke, in a very secluded and hidden spot behind the main building.

 Unfortunately, both of them seemed to need some adjusting as they very nearly wiped us out when Gentaro tried testing them out!

 “This one is wild, too….” Gentaro commented, just before switching off the Fourze Driver.

 “Well….” Miu said with a sigh. “It should be good enough as a distraction.”

 “Help….” I said.

 My eyes were watering, so much, from all the smoke that it looked like I was crying! That, and the lenses of my glasses were completely covered in it, so I couldn’t see anything.

 Miu and Yuuki giggled.

 “Aw, Jun-san!” the long-haired teenager exclaimed. “He got the worst of it!”

 From nearby me, JK snickered. “He looks like a bandit!” he said. “Or, a raccoon!”

 “Who’re you calling a raccoon?” I told him with a pout, then lifted my hands to try and rub the smoke from my eyes.

 “Ah, ah! Let me!” Miu told me, before I heard her crouch down in front of me. She then carefully removed my glasses, and I squinted as she handed them to Yuuki.

 My face flushed when she gripped my face and dabbed my eyes with a handkerchief.

 “Miu….!” I protested, and tried to pull away. “I can do this, myself, ya know. I’m not a toddler….”

 I heard Kengo scoff in disbelief. “You sure act like one.” he grumbled.

 I glared, wanting to hit him.

 “Don’t be silly.” Miu told me, keeping an iron grip on my face. “There.” She finally stopped dabbing the handkerchief. “You will need to wash the rest of it off, but I managed to get most of it.” She then stood up, and gently took the smoke switch from Gentaro. “Alright, we will pick it up, again, on Sunday.”

 “Club activities on a weekend?” JK asked. “That is pretty hardcore….”

 “Not to mention, lame.” I chimed in, blinking; it still felt like I had smoke in my eyes. “Who does anything on a Sunday…other than chores or work?”

 “Club activities are the catwalk of youth!” Gentaro exclaimed, cheerfully. “But, uhm…I kind of can’t make it….”

 “Me, either….” Yuuki added.

 “Eh?” Miu asked, slightly surprised.

 “I still haven’t accepted that this is a club,” Kengo said, though his comment not being much of a shock to…well, anybody. “But, I can’t attend, either.”

 “Wow, all three of you, ditching?” Miu asked them, raising her eyebrows.

 “Nah, we are only getting dragged into school.” Gentaro explained to her. “Something about…eh, ‘special weekend lessons’.”

 JK turned horrified. “Special weekend lessons?!” he exclaimed. “Only the worst of the worst get that kind of treatment! It’s also known as, ‘extra lesson torture’!”

 “What?” Gentaro whimpered, fearfully. “Extra lesson torture?!”

 “Oops!” Miu exclaimed, worriedly, accidentally dropping the smoke switch.

 I smiled, and shook my head at them. Surely, these so-called extra lessons weren’t that bad!

 “For what purpose?” I asked, curiously, as I finally stood up from the ground, grabbing my bookbag as I did so. Yuuki handed me back my glasses, which were now clean, and I slipped them back onto my face.

 “Eh, something about not always coming to classes or turning in homework.” Yuuki replied, thoughtfully. “Mr. Ohsugi didn’t really explain….”

 I blinked, innocently, and fished out a few completed sheets of paper.

 “I did my homework!” I said, half-jokingly as to try and lighten the mood.

 It worked, somewhat, because Yuuki smiled.

 “Oh, ooh!” Kengo exclaimed, mockingly, his tone high and girly, and complete with a slight wave and sneer. I glared at him. “Good for you!” His face fell, then. “Some of us have more important things to focus on.”

 Rolling his eyes, he turned to walk away.

 My right eye twitched with great annoyance, and I lifted my homework to hit him over the head with.

 “Junpei!” Miu told me, warningly, sounding like a mother scolding her child.

 I stopped, mid-strike, then crossed my arms, pouting.

 Somehow, I could just sense the bastard throwing me a smirk, just to piss me off.

 Sunday arrived, and I walked down the halls of the school with Gentaro, Yuuki, and Kengo, sporting casual clothes. I didn’t have any extra lessons, myself, but I really didn’t have anything else to do, that day.

 “I’m sure you guys will be fine.” I was telling them as we walked. “Besides! What’s the worst that can happen?” I casually rested an arm against Kengo’s shoulder. “Right?” 

 The cold-hearted boy stopped in his tracks, looking irritated. I looked up at him, part of me wondering why he stopped. He slightly turned his head, giving me a side-eyed look. He just stared at me, and a sense of doom came upon me, as well as a smidge of awkwardness. My heart jumped into my throat when he suddenly chased me, and I quickly hid in front of Gentaro, who had continued walking with Yuuki.

 I peeked around the taller boy. Kengo was sneering at me, like he enjoyed scaring me, like that.

 “He’s mean….” I muttered to Gentaro.

 “Oh, Junpei….” the Fourze user said with a soft smile, and gently shoved me out of his and Yuuki’s way. “He’s only playing.”

 I lifted an eyebrow in total disbelief.

 This boy? Utahoshi? I thought, my eyes darting between the two boys. Playing? Nuh-uh. Impossible.

 “Torture, my ass!” Gentaro exclaimed with a sigh. “It’s just extra lessons. Piece of cake!”

 I hurried to catch up with him and the others, keeping a safe distance from Kengo…just in case.

 Just as we approached the classroom where the extra lessons were being held, we stopped in the doorway when we caught sight of the goth girl, Nozama, singing something dark to herself in Japanese. I noticed that she was wearing earbuds, and her tablet was on her desk, so she must be listening to music.

 “Her, too?” Kengo whispered, looking surprised to see her, here. “Maybe the rumors of this only being for the worst students are true.”

 “Oh, please.” I said with a roll of my eyes, and I shimmied past him and Yuuki to get into the room.

 I approached Nozoma’s desk, unafraid. “Ohayo, Nozama!” 

 The goth girl looked up at me in surprise.

 I gave her a warm smile. “You have extra lessons, this weekend, too, eh?” I asked her, loud enough for her to hear.

 She nodded, bashfully.

 “Ah….” Gentaro muttered as he and the others entered the classroom, eyeing Nozama, nervously. “Oi…. What are you in for?” But Nozama just sat there, having not heard him. "Oi!” He tapped her shoulder, startling the daylights out of her!

 Her movement accidentally unplugged her earbuds from her tablet, and loud music blasted. I calmly covered my ears while the others freaked out.

 Just then, a finger touched the tablet screen, and the music stopped!

 I lowered my hands.

 Daimonji Shun sneered at my friends.

 Gentaro let out a cry of surprise, and pointed at him.

 “What are you doing, here, boy scout?!” he exclaimed.

 I snorted, amused.

 “Boy scout?” I asked, and looked at Gentaro. “More like, firetruck. Ya know, ‘cause…the jock jacket…it’s red….”

 Shun rolled his eyes at me.

 “Perhaps you should consider picking up a manual, Thundewel.” he said, and smirked. “‘How to Offend Others Without Sounding Like a Fool in Ten Syllables or Less’.”

 I clicked my tongue at him, irritably. “Listen here, Super Star, I already have one ice-hearted jackass on my back. I don’t need you on there, as well.”

 “Such foul language, coming from a four-eyed fool.” Shun replied, seeming more amused at my attitude than anything. “I see you are still hanging around these bunch of geeks.” He eyed my friends.

 “Oh, I’m the fool?” I bickered. “Says the football loo-saher who lost his queen!” I pulled a dramatic whining face.

 “Jun-san….” Yuuki sighed with a tilt of her head, disappointed.

 But instead of getting angry or shouting, Shun scoffed, as if unbothered by my mockery that he lost Miu after the Queen Festival.

 Then, he gave me a harsh push!

 “Oops!” he exclaimed. 

 I fell onto the floor on my ass, and frowned up at him. I also tried to ignore the amused smirk that Kengo was giving me.

 “Mature.” I told the jock, sarcastically. “The maturest. Did you not grow up from kindergarten?”

 “Oi, Junpei.” Gentaro muttered to me as he easily picked me up, only to put me back down next to - ugh! - Kengo. “That is enough out of you.” He ruffled my hair before turning back to Shun. “I will ask, again: what are you doing, here?”

 “Did you get extra classes, too?” Yuuki added.

 I opened my mouth to respond and cheekily state the obvious answer, but Yuuki was quick to put her hand over my mouth. I looked at her, offended.

 Shun looked less than pleased at the notion, then tried to act like it wasn’t a big deal.

 “I see!” Gentaro exclaimed, cheerfully. “So, you are one of us!”

 “Don’t count on it.” I said, my voice muffled by Yuuki’s hand.

 But Gentaro ignored me, and said while pointing, “It looks like you and I are going to be friends, soon, Shun!”

 The tall jock rolled his eyes.

 “I am nothing like you.” he said, and smacked Gentaro’s hand away. “Don’t say things like that in front of my honey.”

 I chortled, but tried to hold it back, especially when he shot me a nasty look.

 “I don’t see a girlfriend on your arms, Thundewel.” he told me, and I just gave him an unbothered look. “Shut your mouth.”

 I rolled my eyes.

 Just then, a girl with long wavy brown hair trotted in with a smile.

 “Shun!” she exclaimed, and hooked an arm around his before giving us all a sneer.

 Everyone but me was surprised to see her.

 “Hirota Reiko??” Gentaro asked.

 “Ehh?? A new girlfriend??” Yuuki added. I made a dramatic disgusting sound as I licked the palm of her hand. “Ew!!” I smirked at her, victoriously. That made her remove her hand from my mouth. “Jun-san!” I flinched when she hit my arm.

 “Ow.” I said, dryly.

 Yuuki turned back to Shun and his new gal pal. “What about Miu?” she asked him.

 “Miu isn’t fit for me, anymore.” he replied with a smirk. “It is time for a new star couple to take the stage.”

 I smiled and slow-clapped.

 “Bravo, Super Star.” I told the jock, making his new girlfriend give me a disgusted look as she looked me up-and-down. “Bravo. You have officially made it onto the wall of Worst Possible Teenage Boyfriends in this school. I’m sure your parents must be very proud.”

 I caught a quiet giggle, and my eyes shifted to Nozama, who was looking like she was trying to hide a smile.

 Did I just make her laugh? I thought. Huh…. Interesting.

 I then took a quick glance around the classroom.

 “Welp! Something tells me your classes are about to start, soon, sooo….” I clapped my hands, once. “See ya!”

 But before I could get far, the back of my jacket was suddenly grabbed!

 “I have a better idea.” Kengo told me, and I looked over my shoulder to see a smug look on his face.

 Next thing I knew, I was pushed down onto a chair, just outside of the classroom! In front of me was a desk.

 With a hand gripping my shoulder, Kengo bent down to my eye-level. “How about, you stay right here….” He tapped the desk with his free pointer-finger. “Where I can keep a very close eye on you, and you don’t get into any life-threatening danger while we are in class?” He smiled. “I like that idea, a lot.”

 Why this little- I thought, staring up at him in shock and entirely offended. The audacity!

 “Jokes on you, Utahoshi!” I told him. “The teacher would never allow me to stay. I don’t have extra lessons, so therefore, there is no reason for me to. Nice try, though!”

 I gave him a smile in return.

 But he tsked, three times, wagging his finger, and my smile faded.

 “You don’t seem to comprehend my abilities, Thundewel.” he replied.

 “What abilities?!” I whispered with a frown. “I’ve had zits that were more visible than your ‘abilities’!” I tried to get up, but he forced me back down onto the chair. “You can’t keep me, here, Utahoshi. Believe it or not, you’re not the boss of me, and you can’t keep telling me what to do!”

 I nearly gulped when his brows creased and dipped.

 “Is that so?” he asked. “You truly believe that?” His eyes flashed with anger and distrust. “Very well, then. Let’s see, shall we?”

 He straightened up, glaring down at me before returning to the others.

 Gentaro and Yuuki gave me sympathetic looks.

 Shun, on the other hand, looked rather pleased to see me be talked down on.

 "I wouldn’t test him.” a voice, sounding a lot like my brother’s, said within me.

 I tsked in annoyance, my fists balling.

 Damn it! I thought.

 Somehow, Kengo’s words kept me from actually testing the guy.

 Reiko smirked at me before looking up at her new boyfriend. “Hurry up and finish your extra lessons!” she told him.

 “I’m afraid it will not be over, anytime soon, Miss Hirota.” a voice replied.

 I craned my neck to try and see who it was, though I’m pretty certain it was the teacher for these extra lessons.

 Just then, the lights in the classroom came on, and Reiko quickly left.

 “I see you are all here.” the teacher, a man wearing glasses, said. “Although, I don’t recall Thundewel-san being on the list, considering his scores are nearly exceptional, and has never not turned in homework.” 

 I crossed my arms, feeling victorious, and flicked my eyebrows at Kengo.

 Ha! I thought.

 Kengo tilted his head back, slightly, giving me a warning glare.

 “I am Satake-sensei,” the teacher continued. “And I will be in charge of your special weekend lessons.” He smiled, and stepped further into the classroom. “When there are students who seem unwilling to behave, appropriately, that is when I step in. I provide you with a thorough set of lessons that will help you correct your attitudes.”

 Suddenly, I was struck with something…off!

 I frowned, and looked away, recalling how upset Mr. Ohsugi has been with Gentaro, lately…especially about him not coming to school in Amanogawa’s uniform.

 Was this actually Mr. Ohsugi’s doing? Did he somehow put Mr. Satake up to this, just to teach Gentaro a lesson? I knew that schools in Japan could be really strict about their rules being followed…but Mr. Ohsugi seemed to be the only teacher at Amanogawa who had an issue with Gentaro’s outfits, while Miss Sonoda or any other teacher hasn't really said anything against them!

 I shook my head.

 No…. I thought. That can’t be the case. Or else, why is Nozama, Shun, Kengo, and Yuuki a part of these extra classes?

 “Junior in Class B,” Mr. Satake said, his voice bringing me back down to earth. “Kisaragi Gentaro…so, it is you! The student who has earned the reputation as being a troublemaker, all over the campus, lately. You are what one might call…a ‘bad boy’, are you not?” He chuckled, and stepped toward my friend. “I will have you know, I hate delinquents. Delinquents are like oozing black stains on the purity of my campus…so, don’t expect to get out of here until you have cleaned up your act.”

 I stared at him, my jaw hanging open and a look of utter disbelief on my face. So, Mr. Ohsugi does have something to do with this!

 Then, I realized something, and smirked, devilishly. Kengo’s back was turned, his focus entirely on the teacher!

 As quietly and as carefully as I could, I stood up from the desk I was seated at, and began lightly stepping around the chair, not daring to turn around and run, just yet. 

 Nozama was the only one who seemed to notice. Thankfully, she didn’t seem interested in ratting me out. In fact, she had a slightly encouraging look on her face!

 I managed to make it a few steps back….

 “Oi, Thundewel!” Shun called out, having spotted me. I froze. “Where do you think you are sneaking off to?”

 I saw Kengo pick his head up with interest, and I sat back down at my desk as fast as possible, and sat quite casually, before he had the chance to catch me.

 “What are you talking about, Shun?” I asked the jock, innocently. His face morphed into surprise and disappointment. I shrugged. “I’m not going anywhere! Did you see me get up?” He opened his mouth to respond, but I immediately cut him off. “No.” He glared. “Do I have any other plans, today? No.”

 I smiled, and gave the tall jock a wink. I wanted to be smug when his fists balled, but I held myself back.

 But unfortunately, for me, my last sentence was a mistake as Kengo suddenly seemed to get an idea.

 “Ah, Satake-sensei,” Kengo said, innocently. “Is it possible for Thundewel to do some work, too? He just….” He looked over at me with a small devilish smirk. “Loves school! And, he can’t stand feeling left out!”

 My face darkened, and I glowered at him, angrily.

 How dare he?!

 “Oh?” Mr. Satake asked, his interest greatly peeked. He looked over at me, and I quickly pasted on the biggest, most innocent, fakest smile that I have probably ever given anyone. “Thundewel-san is determined to get high scores by graduation?”

 “It’s his dream.” Kengo told him with a nod.

 Mr. Satake looked like he was about to cry tears of joy. He sniffed.

 “Very well, then! I will go and get more supplies for him.” he exclaimed, and hurried out of the classroom.

 Once he was gone, I gave Kengo the hardest look that I could give him.

 I hate you. I told him, mentally. He flicked his eyebrows at me, smugly.

 It felt like hours since this extra lesson started.

 Mr. Satake had tasked us with writing certain words over a thousand times. I felt like I was back in preschool, which was the last time I ever did anything like this. 

 Meanwhile, poor Gentaro was getting the worst of it….

 Unlike the rest of us, he had to write his words on large and on every single sheet of paper that the teacher had given him, and with a paintbrush instead of a pen or a pencil!

 I felt for him…. Two of Amanogawa’s teachers really had it out for him, and seemingly, only him. It felt too familiar…brought back memories from when my brother and I went through school, and all of our teachers were against us for no reason.

 On a slightly different note, I really shouldn’t be sitting here, dragged in by Kengo. I still needed to try and figure out the big story that my brother was working on. I’ve been so focused on Zodiarts, lately, that I haven’t been able to get going on it. It didn’t help that I still didn’t have an inkling of what Junpei was working on that lead him to Japan.

 I needed to get out of here….!

 There was a stunt I had learned from a tv show, growing up. It involved a packet of ketchup, and fortunately, I just so happened to have one in my bookbag…for just in case.

 Now, the question is: will it work?

 I don’t know about Mr. Satake…but I do know that Kengo is one of the smartest students in school, and if anybody can pick out a stunt from a mile away, it was probably him. I needed to be quick, smart, and careful.

 I peeked into the classroom. Everyone was focusing on their work…and, Mr. Satake was looking over some papers on the teachers desk. Keeping an eye on everyone, I snuck the packet of ketchup out of my bookbag. I wracked my brain to come up with a good enough distraction. Out the windows seemed right….

 I leaned far back against my chair, out of sight, and quickly squeezed the ketchup onto my nose. I then stuffed the empty packet into my pocket while making my face look like I was suffering from a bloody nose and mouth.

 “Hey, whoa, look!” I exclaimed, pointing out the windows. “Is that a double rainbow?!”

 Everyone immediately turned and looked out, including Mr. Satake, and Kengo! Heart pounding, I quickly acted like the bloody nose and mouth just happened, getting the ketchup all over my hands.

 “Eh? I don’t see anything, Jun-san….” Yuuki said, still distracted.

 I yelped, as if in pain, covering my mouth and nose.

 “Ah! Oh, gosh! Mr. Satake!” I exclaimed in a panicked tone. “I….”

 “Whoa!” Shun exclaimed as soon as he saw me.

 Yuuki let out a short scream of horror, and everyone else looked on in shock.

 Ketchup dripped onto my desk, and I fake-sobbed. Mr. Satake quickly came over, though he was the only one who wasn’t freaking out.

 “There, there, Thundewel-san.” he told me, and seemed to examine the mess on my face. “Go to the nurse’s office. She’s in, today. I am certain it is only dry air causing this.”

 I stood up from the desk, and nodded my thanks before hurrying away. I made sure to stumble around, a bit, just to try and sell the act.

 Of course, instead of going to the nurse’s office, I cleaned myself up in the boys’ bathroom, and walked out of the building.

 Once I knew that I was alone, I grinned like an idiot, and laughed.

 “I can’t believe that worked!” I cried out. I laughed, again, feeling wicked, and damn smart. Then, I couldn’t stop laughing. “Amazing! I really do have a knack for acting! That was freakin’ awesome!” I looked up at the sky. “See that, bro?? Who’s the smart one, now!!”

 Yes, yes, ok…we all know he would already be over my shenanigans, by now, and tell me to shut up and move on before a certain somebody ended up catching me celebrating. 

 But, I couldn’t help myself. I just had to rub it in Kengo’s face, even though he was in class.

 “Hey! Ho!” I cheered, pumping my fists. “Hey, ho! Whatcha gonna do? Hey, ho! Whatcha gonna do? Ye-he-he-hes!!” Without thinking, I even started doing a celebration dance. “I win! You lose, Kengo! Whoo!!” I stopped dancing, and acted out the ice-hearted boy…badly. “‘You don’t seem to have…comprehended my abilities, Thundewel. You are going to stay right here, where I can keep a very close eye on you. I like this idea.’” I snorted. “Well, once again, joke’s on you, Utahoshi! Who’s the smart one, now, eh?? Who’s the smart one, now?? Boom!! Can ya feel that buddy? Huh? Huh? Huh? Loser!! Loo-saher!” I stuck my tongue between my teeth, and laughed. Then, I started singing, and dancing, again…and gyrating, albeit probably looking horrendously cringey, right about now. But, in that moment, I did not care. “I did it! I did it! He’s done! I won! I didn’t stay! Now, he’s my slave! And I get to do whatever I want! He can’t do anything ‘bout it ‘cause he’s stuck in class! Ah-ha!”

 I let out an evil laugh, and turned around to start walking away…only to freeze.

 Miu and JK stood there in total shock, and looking like they wanted to laugh. Well, JK looked like he wanted to laugh. Miu only had a very amused smile on her face as she stood there with her arms crossed.

 My face became a hot mess of embarrassment. I bit my bottom lip, and bashfully rubbed my neck, avoiding eye-contact.

 “Are you finished?” the elder teenager asked me. 

 It took me a minute to gather enough dignity and strength to respond. “....Yeah….” I cleared my throat. “Please, don’t tell Kengo….”

 JK snorted, and cracked up.

 “Oh my gosh!” he cried out at the top of his lungs and holding his stomach. “That! Was! Hilarious!! Oh-ho-ho! Oh, I wish I had that on camera! Oh, I wish the others could’ve seen that! Junpei…I can’t! You….” He couldn’t finish his sentence. He fell over, holding his stomach and laughing.

 Miu lifted an eyebrow at me.

 I fidgeted, anxiously, feeling awkward, and humiliated at myself, and still avoiding eye-contact.

 She had a whole mixture of emotions on her face. Mainly, the shock, slight disappointment, but also great amusement. Honestly, I was getting older sister vibes from her, at this moment.

 “Are you sure you are finished?” she asked me, calmly, with a tiny smile. I nodded, shyly. “Good!”

 I gulped.

 “So, uhm…. What, uh, what are you guys doing, out here?” I asked, my voice coming out cracking and sounding like I hadn’t hit puberty. I cleared my throat to fix it.

 “Well, now that you asked,” Miu replied, ignoring JK, who was still cracking up on the ground. “There is a Zodiart attacking town, nearby.”

 And there goes my victory and my plans, shattering like glass as if someone took a sledgehammer to them.

 My head slightly twisted and tilted as I tried my very best to remain calm.

 “....Oh?” I asked, my voice barely coming out.

 “We are heading over there, now, to investigate,” Miu told me as JK finally stood up. “And maybe even put a stop to it, if possible. Now that you are here, let’s go.”

 With a knowing smile, she quickly walked past me. JK followed close behind her, trying not to burst out laughing, again, as he took one glance at me.

 I found myself slightly nodding, repeatedly, a volcano of pure rage quickly building.

 Then, it just…erupted. And like Disney’s Hades absolutely losing it, I lost it.

 “Ssson of a FUUUCK!!! GAAAHHH!!!”

Chapter Text

 I stormed my way into the district, following the sounds of screaming crowds and shattering glass.

 Miu and JK had already run ahead of me to investigate the Zodiart. I was too angry to really care what or who they were. 

 This Zodiart technically kinda ruined my plans to figure out even a smidge of what my brother was working on!

 I know I probably shouldn’t be this angry, and I know that saving the world is more important than any journalistic story, and that I should just calm down. But after dealing with Kengo, today, I was just so not in the mood to be dealing with a Zodiart.

 I spotted the monster, almost right away.

 Dark, with fur all over, and in the form of a dog with spikes and chains…I almost didn’t recognize or even guess that this Zodiart was a hound constellation. What I didn’t get was the spikes and chains…what were those about?

 I stopped walking, and just stood there, unimpressed, and with my head dipped to the side. 

 The Zodiart took notice of me.

 “Hmm?” he hummed, tilting his head. “Kimi wa….?”

 “Does it matter?” I asked him. I pointed at him, irritably. “You picked the absolute wrong day to be attacking, pal.”

 “On the contrary,” he replied, and readied a chain, swinging it as he began stepping towards me. “It’s the absolute perfect day for hunting.”

 “I won’t let you use that switch, again.” I told him. I let out a deep sigh. “I was going to spend the rest of the day working on my mission….” I got into a defensive martial arts stance. “But now, you’ve gone and ruined it.”

 The Zodiart seemed surprised at my stance. Then, he chuckled in amusement.

 I stared him down, unafraid. I was so over today, I just wanted to take it out on him, for a bit.

 “Junpei-san!” JK’s voice called out.

 “Junpei!” Miu’s voice shouted.

 My eyes widened.

 Shit! I thought, and spun around to see that they had arrived. Come to think of it, I never did see them around here when I arrived….

 Something cold and solid suddenly wrapped around my wrist, then! I looked down, then up at the Zodiart. He had caught me with his chain!

 Dread dawned on me as I realized what was about to happen.

 “Why?” I asked, fearfully.

 Hound laughed.

 “Not so brave, now, are you?” he asked, and launched me over him!

 I cried out in fear and panic, just before landing with a pained grunt onto a small round table, taking it down with me.

 I weakly picked myself up. “Ouch….” I winced. “That’s gonna leave a mark….”

 I didn’t even realize Hound was approaching until he picked me up, only to throw me! I landed and rolled, a bit, wincing as new bruises formed, everywhere. I opened my eyes to see Hound sauntering toward me.

 “Do you give up, yet?” I weakly asked him. I flinched when he brought out his claws. I gulped, fearfully. “I guess not…. H-Hey…you know, about what I said, before? I was totally kidding! Heh! You didn’t ruin anything! Plans just changed on me, last minute, and I was a little mad, that’s all! Don’t hurt me….! Something tells me a certain someone is already planning on doing that, as we speak….!”

 “You talk way too much.” Hound told me, and drew back his claws to attack.

 “Yeah….” I replied. “That’s kinda one of my downfalls.” I shielded myself with my arms.

 A war cry sounded, just then, and I peeked in time to see Hound get kicked away by…JK?!

 “Junpei!” the party kid whimpered, grabbing my jacket by the shoulders as he struggled to haul me to my feet. “Come on!”

 He grabbed my wrist, and pulled me along with him just as Hound tried to slash us with one of his chains!

 Miu came running up, terrified, and grabbed my other wrist.

 After a moment, she pushed us forward.

 “Go!” she told us. “Behind that wall! I’ll draw him away!”

 The freak she say?! I thought, my eyes widening in horror.

 “Miu, no!” I cried out, reaching out for her as she ran in a different direction, leading Hound away from us. 

 But JK yanked me back towards him.

 “C’mon! Do as she says!” he told me.

 “I’m the distraction of the club, here!” I exclaimed. “I’m the one who should be getting hurt!” JK had to wrap his arms around my waist, this time, to pull me back.

 “Not today, you’re not!” he told me. “You’re still recovering from your other injuries, now, come on!”

 He hauled me over behind the nearest wall, and did his best to keep me there with him.

 Miu yelped, and tripped as Hound used his chain like a long whip, missing her by inches! Then, the Zodiart dashed toward her, readying his claws!

 “Miu!” I cried out, again, as JK shut his eyes, keeping a firm grip on me.

 “Power Dizer!!” a voice announced as a large, robotic, and yellow being suddenly came into view, punching the Zodiart away!

 Relieved, Miu grinned.

 “Kengo-kun!” she exclaimed.

 My eyes widened in great surprise, a part of me going cold and rigid with fear.

 I gasped, looking up at the robot. “K-Kengo?!” 

 Hound shook his head, clearing it, and got to his feet.

 “Eh? Someone else butting in?” he asked, annoyed. He blocked another punch, this time, as the Power Dizer forced him back.

 JK and I approached Miu, making sure she was alright before watching the fight.

 All of a sudden, I felt sick to my stomach as I sensed that Kengo was in big trouble!

 “Kengo….!” I exclaimed, worriedly.

 The guy was a big jerk, and hated my guts, but I remembered how ill he became, that one time…just after Gentarou had tried using the Hopping Switch on Tamae. There’s no way he can be able to control or use the Power Dizer for very long…. 

 Hound’s dark chuckle told me that I was right. “You may be big,” he said. “But, you run out of steam, fast!”

 Then, he kicked himself away from the Power Dizer, sending the powerful machine to the ground! He landed on a nearby roof, and shot a ton of large spikes at the vehicle! My eyes widened when I heard Kengo’s cry!

 I got to my feet. “Kengo!!” I shouted, and was about to run to his aid when both JK and Miu yanked me back.

 “Matte!” JK exclaimed. “He’ll kill you for earlier!”

 “I don’t care!” I told him. “He’s hurt!”

 “I will take care of him.” Miu told me, her hands on my shoulders. “Please, Junpei. Go to the Rabbit Hutch, rest. If he sees you, now, he will only get angry, and strain himself, more.”

 I looked over at the Power Dizer, which was a smoking mess, now. My fists balled, and I bit my bottom lip, which trembled. I knew that Miu was right…. Besides, the last thing I wanted to do was make Kengo end up in the hospital, particularly because of me and our little feud.

 I gritted my teeth in frustration, and let out an angry cry before running off.

 Once I was out of sight, I leaned against a pillar.

 It felt so wrong, leaving Kengo, like that. Not that I didn’t trust Miu, but I couldn’t help feeling responsible for Hound attacking him.

 I punched the pillar, only to yelp and yank my hand back. My knuckles bled, now.

 I felt something roll down my cheek, then. Surprised, I wiped it with a finger…I was crying?

 Why am I….? I wondered, breathing heavily.

 The last time I cried was my first night in my apartment!

 At that moment, among a crowd of people walking around, I saw a teenage boy, dressed in leather, and swinging what looked like a silver chain. The boy was just walking, minding his own business, and whistling. But that chain…. Hound had been swinging his chains the same way!

 Could this guy be….?

 Seeing him, and realizing that he could very well be Hound, I grew angry.

 Later on, I made my way back to my desk. I needed a long time to calm down and get my thoughts back together.

 In case you’re wondering, no, I didn’t go after Hound. My brother’s voice told me not to, so…I didn’t. Instead, I just walked around the district until I felt calmed down enough to return to school.

 I peeked into the classroom…Kengo was there with the others, looking beat and ill…but normal, for the most part. He didn’t appear to be bleeding or seriously injured, anywhere.

 I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

 That attack, earlier, wouldn’t stop replaying in my head, and I’ve been worried about Kengo, ever since. Now, I had to act like everything was completely fine and normal, like I was never in the district, running for my life with Miu and JK.

 I glanced down at my knuckles. They were only scraped, thankfully, and those scrapes were barely noticeable, now.

 Good…the less questions asked, the better.

 “Oi….” 

 I looked up to see Kengo approaching, sweating bullets from earlier's fight, and looking unhappy…as I probably should’ve expected him to be.

 He placed his hands onto my desk, and looked me in the eyes. “You weren’t in the nurse’s office, Thundewel.”

 “Of course, I was.” I told him, casually, while twirling my pencil in between my fingers, and staring right back at him. 

 “No, you weren’t.” he said, calmly. “I checked. I had to visit there, as well. You…weren’t…there.”

 “Yes…I…was.” I replied, leaning forward.

 “Really?” he queried.

 “Yes.”

 “Where?”

 “Obviously, on one of the cots, behind the curtain.” I told him. “I thought you were smart, Kengo-kun.”

 I tilted my head, watching his expression. 

 His face tightened, and his eyes flashed with anger. One of his fists balled until the knuckles cracked.

 My heart pounded, and I tried not to blink, ignoring the twitching in my eyelids. I was walking on really thin ice, here, and into the danger zone….

 Finally, he just scoffed. Quietly.

 He leaned forward to whisper in my right ear, “I’m onto you, Junpei Thundewel. You’re lying to my face, but I am onto you. Know this.”

 I shuddered.

 Geez, this guy! I thought. He sure knows how to send shivers….

 “As usual,” I told him with a sigh as he leaned back. “You are being way too paranoid, Utahoshi.” I smirked, and blew in his face, making him flinch and shut his eyes.

 He narrowed his eyes at me, then left to go back into the classroom.

 I waved my fingers after him, innocently, and rolled my eyes.

 After a while, he and Shun got into a sort of argument.

 While they were distracted, my phone vibrated. I slipped it out of my pocket to discreetly check it. It was a text.

 “Come outside and join me! I think I just found out who our Zodiart is!” -JK

 I smiled, and shook my head. Eyeing everyone, who were all distracted, I carefully and silently snuck away from my desk, then spun around and dashed out of the building.

 “JK!” I exclaimed as I bounded up towards him, outside.

 “Junpei-san!” the party kid exclaimed. With him was one of Amanogawa’s delinquents. “Come on! We know where this guy likes to hang out!”

 The delinquent nodded.

 “And you’re dragging me with you because….” I half-joked.

 “Because it’s either this, or you’re stuck putting up with Kengo-kun, again.” JK replied. “And your decision is….”

 “Ugh! Ok, you win.” I told him. “Let’s just get out of here, preferably before You-Know-Who realized that I’ve disappeared and fooled him, again.”

 “Yay!” he cheered.

 We approached a small building that looked like it might as well belong in Greece…or, Rome.

 “This is it.” the delinquent informed JK and I. “I wouldn’t screw around with that guy, though….”

 “Oh?” I asked, curiously.

 He nodded. “He is pretty messed up.” he told us. JK and I shared a knowing look. The delinquent gave us a salute before leaving us to it.

 “Messed up, eh?” I said to JK, looking up at the building in front of us. “Sounds like all of our Zodiarts, so far.”

 The party kid nodded in agreement.

 A minute later, we were peering into the building, and JK had brought along the burgermeal foodroid.

 “Prez?” he said, speaking to the droid. I keep forgetting that it also served as a communication device of sorts. “I think we’re gonna be able to find something out about that guy….”

 “What guy?” a voice asked, and JK and I froze. “Me?” We looked at each other, fearfully. “I heard someone was asking around about me.” We turned to see the teenage boy I had spotted, earlier…and he already had the Zodiarts switch pulled out! The boy gave us a toothy smirk. “Alright! Time to hunt!”

 My eyes widened as his thumb moved to press the button.

 “Time to not!” I exclaimed, and lunged forward, grabbing the switch.

 “Oi!!” the teenager exclaimed, angrily, and fought me for it. He and I wrestled; he was much stronger than I was, but I wasn’t one to give up, so easily. 

 “Let go!” he snapped, and I accidentally flipped him onto his back. 

 Oh, shit! I thought, staring down at him with wide eyes. Why do I keep doing that?

 “You….” he growled, getting to his feet.

 I winced, and backed up, fearfully.

 “Ahh….!” I cried out as I turned and ran away. “JK, call Miu or Gentaro!!”

 “Come back here and give me that, you little freak!” the delinquent in leather snarled, chasing after me.

 “No, thank you!” I told him with a whimper. I didn’t want to look behind me…I didn’t want to see how fast he was or how close he had gotten to me. “Ok! Note to self: don’t flip a switch user over while wrestling over said switch.” I pushed myself to run faster. “I’m gonna risk a look….” I checked over my shoulder. The delinquent boy growled, and he was way too close! “Oh, that’s a bad look! Ay!!” I pushed myself to run even faster. I didn’t know where I was going, and quite frankly, I didn’t care.

 “Stop running!” he called after me. “I promise I will only break your hand, and your legs!”

 “No, thank you!” I called back. “By the way, you need serious help, dude!”

 I yelped when I was suddenly tackled to the ground! The delinquent and I rolled, a bit, bruising ourselves but not particularly caring. He tried wrestling the switch out of my hand, again, but I fought back.

 “Give it back!” he snapped.

 “Fat….” I told him, drawing in a leg. “Chance!” I gave him a good kick off of me, then jumped up and took off, again.

 Unfortunately, the ground didn’t want me getting away, this time.

 I tripped, and tumbled downhill! At the bottom, I groaned in pain. “That’s gonna hurt in the morning….”

 I heard a tongue clicking, and I looked up. At the top of the hill stood the delinquent. My shoulders slumped. He had the switch…. “A lot more than that will be hurting in the morning, kid.” he said, admiring the device. He looked down at me, and smirked, as if impressed that I had almost gotten away with my little stunt. He pressed the button, and transformed into Hound.

 I gave him a pleading look.

 “Ah, c’mon, man….” I said as I began scooting away from him. “Can’t we talk this out? Maybe over lunch? I’m hungry. Hey, are you hungry? I’ll pay!”

 Hound cackled as he sauntered down towards me. “As if you have that sort of money.” he said.

 “Do places, here, take card?” I asked him, then scrambled to my feet. “Ok, fine! Want me, ya big furball?” I crooked a finger. “Come and get me!”

 “Hunt? Yes!” the Zodiart said.

 “Hunt, no. Follow, yes.” I beckoned him after me as I dashed away, again. This time, I was heading back to the district from before.

 “Not again!” Hound growled. “Come back here!”

 I heard him give chase, then, and I smirked.

 I led him back into the district, narrowly evading his chains.

 I gasped, and skidded to a halt. I looked around…I was now right by a small tree, but there was no place else to run!

 “Junpei-san!” JK’s voice whined, and I turned around to see him running towards me, with Hound leisurely walking behind him. I lifted an eyebrow as the party kid tried to climb the small tree for safety.

 “Heart of a lion, you are.” I said, sarcastically.

 “Give me a break! I’ve never been as brave as you and Gen-san!” he protested.

 I gave him a raised-eyebrow look of disbelief.

 “Me? Brave?” I told him. “I’m sorry, did you not see me skedaddling away from this guy, earlier? With tear-stained eyes, might I add?”

 “You’re exaggerating!” he told me. “There weren’t any tears!”

 “No, but there probably should’ve been.” I muttered.

 “Are you two done acting like a couple of blubbering babies?” Hound asked as he stepped forward. He chuckled, darkly, his eyes seemingly on me. “Looks like you’re out of ideas, kid.”

 “This is the part where you try to kill me, now, right?” I asked him.

 “Uh, yeah.” he replied, simply, and I can only imagine him smirking.

 “What kind of a question is that?!” JK yelled at me, and I almost rolled my eyes.

 I nodded, knowingly, to Hound’s response.

 “Bring it on.” I mumbled.

 He drew back his claws, and tried to attack. Upon instinct, I grabbed his wrist to block it, and pulled a breakdance move, taking his legs out from under him. He quickly got back up, and snarled, angrily.

 “Uh-oh.” I muttered, and lifted my arms to defend myself.

 Hound attacked, repeatedly. I did my best to block him, but it wasn’t exactly easy when he used his claws, and left a scratch or two on my arms.

 He chuckled. “You are making this way too easy for me.”

 He smacked my arms away, and wrapped a hand around my throat. He didn’t squeeze…oddly enough…but, he did throw me down onto the ground on my back. He drew back his free clawed hand. “Say goodnight!”

 But suddenly, the sound of a motorcycle sounded, and a wheel knocked the Zodiart away from me!

 “‘Sup!” Gentaro exclaimed, and dismounted from his bike. “JK! Junpei!”

 “You took too long!” JK whined.

 “It’s about damn time!” I exclaimed at the same time.

 “My bad!” the Kamen Rider told us, cheerfully, and helped me to my feet. “You ok?”

 “Well, a little bruised, a little broken, but hey! I’m living and breathing.” I replied.

 “That’s a relief.” he chuckled. “Ah, by the way, Kengo…he’s angry…with you….”

 He let out a nervous chuckle.

 I rolled my eyes.

 “Shocker.” I grumbled. “That boy is always angry with me.” No doubt, he has caught up to my fake nosebleed shenanigans, by now.

 “Yes, but…he’s really mad at you….” he told me. “As in, I think he might literally kill you, the next time he sees you.”

 I nodded, thoughtfully.

 “Well, that’s a real comforting thought, Gentaro.” I said, sarcastically, and he rubbed his neck. “With that information, I think I’ll just go home, pack, maybe move to Egypt...see ya!”

 I turned and tried to run.

 “Nah, nah, nah!” he exclaimed with a chuckle as he quickly grabbed me and easily picked me up. “I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but as the saying goes, Junpei: you made your bed, now, you have to sleep in it. You have to face Kengo, Junpei.”

 “How about I do that in a next life?” I said. “Here, in the present, I choose to live!” I struggled to run away, again, but to no avail. I kicked out like a struggling toddler. “I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna!”

 “Junpei….!” he told me, sounding amused, but also stern, at the same time.

 “Oh, c’mon!” I whined, then frowned up at him. “Can’t he just send me a memo? Text? Email? Howler?!”

 “Junpei,” he said, sounding and acting like an older brother, now, than a friend. “Getting along with others is one of the duties of the Kamen Rider Club. Now, do I need to call Miu?”

 I pouted.

 “No….” I grumbled. “Ok, fine, I’ll go. But if I die, Gentaro Kisaragi, I am haunting you - and only you - for the rest of your days!”

 “That’s the spirit!” he exclaimed, happily. “Now, go face Kengo!”

 He set me down, and gave me a ‘gentle’ push forward.

 I turned to glower at him, but he just pointed in the direction of the school. I burst into phony tears, and headed that way, mentally writing up my eulogy.

 I trudged down the hall towards the classroom. But when I spotted my desk, I stopped walking. I knew what awaited me inside that classroom…. I knew who awaited me, too…and it wasn’t just the teacher.

 I shrugged, crossing my arms.

 “Maybe I don’t wanna get along with him.” I muttered to myself. “Maybe I don’t wanna sleep in the bed that I made. After all, not everyone in the world is meant to get along, right? There’s that balance, ya know? He’s probably not even in there, anyway…right?”

 I looked over at the classroom, nervously. Quietly, I stepped over there, gluing myself to the wall, and just trying not to make a sound. Slowly, and cautiously, I peeked around the open door…only to yank myself back and press against the wall with a silent yelp of fear.

 He’s in there. I thought with a cringe. You know what…I think I’ll just face him in the Rabbit Hutch. Plenty of room to kill me, there.

 With a nod, I quickly snuck away from the classroom.

Chapter Text

 Well, needless to say, I avoided Kengo, for the rest of the day.

 A lot did happen, though, according to Yuuki.

 First and most importantly, the Hound Zodiarts was dealt with; turns out the delinquent kid who turned into him was Teruhiko Satake, the son of Mr. Satake! Long story short, Teruhiko was the reason Mr. Satake didn’t particularly like delinquents, and saw Gentaro as one…even though, Gentaro was the total opposite of one. It was strange, but I think father and son had a good talk-through, in the end. Thanks to this, everyone taking the extra lessons got good scores, and even I got let off the hook (much to Kengo’s dismay)!

 And secondly, apparently, Shun - yes, the tall jock! - is now a member of the Kamen Rider Club! I’m not sure how it happened…but, I can only assume that Gentaro had something to do with it, as he usually does. Not only that, but the club has discovered that Shun, of all people, was best fit to control the Power Dizer! Miu had tried, but it landed her in the nurse’s office, for a while. Shun even went up against Scorpio, who keeps coming back, and managed to scare him off!

 So, it’s looking like the Kamen Rider Club is growing!

 Gentaro’s excited about it, of course…and of course, Kengo refuses to believe that the club is even a thing. That stopped being a surprise to everyone, though.

 I gotta say…by Sunday night, I was wiped out. I may not have been there for the final showdown between Gentaro, Teruhiko, Shun, and Scorpio…but, I still had my fair share of getting beaten and bruised. Not to mention, all the running that I did. Thinking about it, though, I’m sure I would’ve felt more exhausted if I had been fighting. Hell, I might’ve ended up passed out in Rabbit Hutch!

 Even so, being a Kamen Rider Club member was a lot of work, both physically and mentally.

 I laid in bed, that night, thinking about everything that has happened since I came to Japan.

 I still couldn’t believe that I actually had friends! There was a certain weight of guilt that I felt, though…everyone believes that I’m my twin brother. Nobody knows the real me, Jasmina. I mean, of course, that was the plan for when I got here. But still…I wondered how things would be if the KRC knew that I was actually a girl. Would they treat me any differently? The same? Would they even like me, still?

 I thought about Mom, a lot, too.

 It killed me, not knowing if whether or not she was looking for me, or if she had gotten a search started with the cops. Was she even trying? Was she angry at me for disappearing the way I did? I thought about contacting her, a few times, since moving here…but, in the end, I couldn’t do it. Contacting her would most likely mean she would come and drag me back to America before I could figure out what really happened to Junpei. It would also mean risking putting her in danger. With all of these Horoscope and Constellation Zodiarts running around…if any of them found out who I really was, and they got to Mom…I couldn’t do that. Especially not to her.

 Junpei snuck into my thoughts, as well.

 But it was so strange….! It was more like, I was seeing him, sometimes. I thought I would catch a glimpse of him, sitting on my sofa...or, at school, I thought I would see him standing by my locker or sitting at one of the outdoor tables. He would be gone in a blink of an eye, however. And then, there have been times when I could swear I heard his voice, mostly whenever I did or said something stupid or silly.

 I must be going nuts…. I would think. Either that, or, I’m lacking sleep.

 The next morning, the alarm on my phone startled me awake, and I ended up falling out of bed, and crashing onto my living-room floor!

 “Ouuuch….” I groaned. 

 I then scrambled up back into bed to grab my phone, and silence the alarm. I let out an exhausted groan, then took notice of the time, and fell out of bed, again, and in horror, this time.

 I was about to be an hour late!

 Not long later, I was racing out of my little apartment while throwing on my uniform jacket and backpack, swearing my mouth off all the way to school.

 How could I have forgotten to switch back my alarm time, last night?! I thought as I sped down the streets. That is so not like me!

 When I arrived at the school, I was just in time to see Gentaro, Yuuki, and Kengo go inside. I ran toward them.

 “Matte!!” I shouted in Japanese, grabbing their attention.

 “Oh! Junpei!” Gentaro exclaimed, cheerfully, with a wave.

 Yuuki excitedly jumped in place. “Come on!!” she cheered. “You can make it!”

 Next to her, Kengo rolled his eyes at me.

 I skidded to a full stop when lightning flashed, followed by thunder rumbling.

 “What?!” I exclaimed in surprise and disbelief, looking up at the sky. It was just sunny, out! Now, dark clouds had rolled in! Then, the rain started, pouring hard and fast. “Are you kidding me?!”

 That’s when I realized that I was quickly getting soaked! 

 I looked down at my fast-soaking uniform in a panic, and dashed into the building.

 “Hey! Sorry, I’m late- Whoa!” The bottom of my shoe slipped along the floor, no thanks to the rain sneak-attacking me, and I slid! My arms flailed as I tried to stop myself, but it was too late. “Look out-!”

 There was a crash, and I found myself…right on top of Kengo!

 The ice-hearted jerk and I shook our heads, clearing them of dizziness.

 “Get off!” Kengo snapped in great annoyance, shoving me off of him. “You’re soaked!” He cringed, checking over his uniform as he got to his feet.

 I glared up at him. “Oh, I’m so sorry for accidentally bumping into you, Mister Sensitive!” I snapped back, sarcastically.

 He gave me a murderous glare.

 “Now, now….!” Yuuki said with a nervous smile. “Let’s all calm down….”

 “Oh, Junpei….” Gentaro said, and easily helped me to my feet by pulling me up by my jacket. “You’re so clumsy.”

 I cringed as I took in my wet uniform.

 “Oh, man….!” I grumbled.

 I stormed up to the doors I just rushed through, and frowned up at the sky. “Seriously?! Where did you come from?! You were sunny and bright, two seconds ago!”

 “So strange….!” Yuuki said. “Tomoko said the skies would be irritated as soon as Jun-san arrived!”

 Tomoko? I thought with a small frown, trying to remember who they were talking about. Oh! The goth girl we’ve been seeing around!

 I looked over at my friends.

 “What? Tomoko?” I asked them, then scoffed and chuckled in disbelief. “Yeah, right. There’s no way anybody could have predicted this weird weather.” I looked up at the sky, again, watching the rain.

 “Perhaps Thundewel is the ‘curse’ Ritsuko was talking about.” Kengo said, teasingly.

 “What?” I said, slightly hurt, and whipping my head around to look at him.

 He gave me a smirk before turning to walk away.

 Yuuki hummed, thoughtfully.

 “Jun-san…a curse?” she asked, then shook her head. “No, way.”

 “Yeah! The rain coming with his arrival must just be a coincidence!” Gentaro added with a nod.

 “You guys should really stop listening to that guy.” I told them, jokingly, jabbing a thumb in Kengo’s direction. “You wanna talk about ‘curses’, just look at him.”

 I snickered, the tip of my tongue between my teeth…but, I was immediately silenced by Kengo’s bookbag being thrown at me and hitting me square in the face. The impact knocked me back down onto the floor.

 This time, I just laid there.

 “Ugh…. I was just kidding, you ice-hearted piece of moon rock….” I grumbled.

 Not long later, I had been dragged over to the boys’ locker room, with Yuuki and Gentaro having iron grips on my arms.

 I was fighting them…even though, I know I probably shouldn’t be. Before that, we had stopped by the nurse’s office so that I could get the bridge of my nose bandaged; the zipper of Kengo’s bookbag had left a bit of a bloodied mark on it.

 “Jun-san, just take a quick shower!” Yuuki told me as she and Gentaro fought to shove me into the one place in the entire school I never wanted to be in. “We’ll have a new, dry uniform waiting for you!”

 Nearby, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, stood Kengo, watching on in amusement.

 I planted my feet, firmly, onto the floor.

 “No, way!” I replied, my face reddening with embarrassment. “I can shower when I get home! I’ll just deal with the cold and wet, until then!”

 I tore my arms out of their grasps and spun around to try and run away…but, Gentaro was fast, and stopped me by wrapping his arms around my waist while Yuuki grabbed my upper-arm.

 “Oi, Junpei!” Gentaro exclaimed as he fought to keep me back. “How are you this strong?!”

 “He’s stubborn, more like!” Yuuki told him, struggling as well.

 “I’m not goin’!” I told them. “You can’t make me!”

 Kengo rolled his eyes.

 “At this rate, we’ll never get into the Rabbit Hutch before classes end for the day.” he said with a sigh.

 “Ya know…technically,” I said through gritted teeth. “The rain attack already gave me a shower, so I think I’m good! C’mon, guys! Let me go!”

 “Eh? What’s going on, here?” Miu asked as she and Shun walked up.

 “Jun-san got caught in the rain, and now, he’s refusing to shower!” Yuuki informed her.

 Shun smirked.

 “Perfect timing!” he exclaimed. “I just got done with football practice, so I need to shower, too. I’ll help you guys.”

 I looked up at him with wide eyes.

 “What?! No! No! Shun!” I exclaimed. I looked over at Kengo. “Kengo! Kengo, help me out, here! Please!”

 He just gave me a look.

 “I would rather run you over with the Power Dizer.” He sneered.

 “Man, that’s cold!!” I exclaimed, irritably, somewhat hurt by his words.

 “Ten-hut!”

 I looked over just in time to see Shun charging towards me!

 “Wait, no!! Shun!! Don’t-”

 But it was too late. He tackled me right into the boys’ locker room! I yelped, both in pain and in panic, and I stopped myself by grabbing the wall. I could already feel a bruise beginning to form. I tried to escape, but Shun was quick to wrap his arms around me and easily pick me up.

 I couldn’t help but whimper as my entire face and neck heated up while I reached for the world outside of the locker room.

 “We’ll see you, soon, in the Rabbit Hutch, Jun-san!” Yuuki told me, cheerfully, as she waved at me with both hands.

 Miu also gave me a wave, and a smile.

 “No! No!” I protested, struggling and kicking to get out of Shun’s arms. I reached forward and whimpered, again, as the door closed.

 Just before it did, I caught sight of Kengo giving me the brattiest smirk I’ve ever seen on him as he waved his fingers at me.

 My fists balled, and I glared. 

 “Kengo!!” I cried out, angrily.

 Later, that day, I burst into the Rabbit Hutch, a crazy grin on my face, which was the shade of a tomato…and, now dressed in a new and dry uniform.

 “Somebody’s about to die, tonight!” I growled, eyeing everyone.

 JK was the only one who looked terrified, especially when my eyes landed on him, making him my target.

 He yelped, fearfully, and cried out as I began chasing him around the room. Everyone else just watched.

 Shun arrived, then.

 “I’ve never seen any guy as terrified of being in the boys’ locker room as Junpei.” he commented with an amused smirk.

 “Eh? That bad?” Miu asked him.

 “He absolutely refused to shower unless the locker room was completely empty.” the tall jock snickered.

 Alright. Truthfully, that wasn’t the case. Not really....

 I didn’t want to shower in the locker room because there’s this thing where I’m a girl! Surrounded by guys! My cover as my twin brother would’ve been blown out of this world, for sure! Not to mention, I don’t think I would ever be able to live down the utter humiliation that a girl was showering in the same room as a bunch of guys…whom, by the way, I’m sure would’ve felt the exact same amount of humiliation as I would’ve!

 Needless to say, Shun was right about me refusing to shower unless the room was empty. I pretty much had my eyes glued to a corner until everyone was finished.

 I was chasing JK until an arm whacked me across the chest, stopping me to the point where I ended up on my back on the floor of the Rabbit Hutch!

 I shook my head, clearing it of dizziness.

 Kengo stood above me, looking as nonchalant as he usually does as he lowered his arm, letting it fall to his side.

 “Sounds suspicious.” he said, narrowing his eyes down at me.

 “Suspicious?” Miu asked with a chuckle. “I think he’s just a little shy!” She went back to doing what she was doing, before, which was her makeup.

 “Eh…Junpei-san?” JK asked me from his hiding spot behind the round table. “Are you, perhaps-”

 “No, way!” I told him, making him whimper and dive back underneath the table to hide. I knew where he was going with that question.

 “He’s so scary when he’s mad!” the party kid whimpered.

 “Now that JK mentions it,” Miu said, thoughtfully. “I’ve never seen you crush on a girl, Junpei. Nor have I heard you mention one.”

 “He doesn’t have to!” Yuuki giggled. “He turns into a blushing and stuttering mess, instead! He was like that around Tamae during the Queen Festival!”

 “Oh?” the elder teen girl asked, interested.

 Once again, my entire face heated up.

 “That wasn’t it, at all!” I protested. “Hey, don’t we have more important things to talk about that isn’t my non-existent love life??” 

 My face was pressed against the wall of the Hutch while the girls giggled and teased me.

 “I think I should’ve skipped school, today….” I grumbled.

 Soon enough, Kengo and Gentaro started testing out some new switches. I sat with Miu at the round table.

 “So, what’s this I’m hearing about Tomoko and curses?” I asked, curiously.

 “We ran into her, earlier, when we arrived at school.” Yuuki explained. “Apparently, she wants to join Ritsuko Usaka, and her friends, into becoming witches. Ritsuko was the one who brought up curses, first. It really freaked Gen-san out.”

 I couldn’t help but scoff in disbelief.

 “Witches? Seriously?” I chuckled, shaking my head.

 “Ah? You don’t believe such people could exist?” Miu asked me as she applied blush onto her cheeks.

 “I believe in what I can actually see.” I replied, stretching my arms and fingers out, similar to what a cat would do. I then crossed my arms and relaxed. “For example: I believe these Zodiarts, the transformations and Gentaro’s transformation into Fourze, and what our switches can do exist, because I can actually see them. That’s the closest to ‘real magic’ that we’re ever going to get. But witches, dark magic, and curses? Those are just stories or something fun to do, especially around Halloween.”

 Yuuki hummed, thoughtfully.

 “I suppose….” she said. “But, what if witches do exist? What if they’re not just stories?”

 I gave her a smile. “If witches actually exist, I’ll eat my glasses.” I told her, jokingly.

 She returned the smile, and I stood up to walk over to my backpack, planning on getting a bit of homework done before anything Zodiart-related actually happened.

 But, before I could open the thing, there was a panicked cry!

 Next thing I knew, I was smooshed up against the wall as a force knocked into me!

 I glared at the nearest corner of the Hutch, irritably.

 “Ah, thanks for that, JK.” Gentaro’s voice said, sounding relieved. “Junpei! Sorry!” I felt him pull me off of the wall, and just let me lean back into him.

 “Gentaro….” I mumbled. “What is happening?”

 “Oh….” he replied, and chuckled, bashfully. “I only tripped and fell out of the testing room.”

 “Next time, try aiming for JK.” I jokingly told him.

 “Hey!” the party kid protested, and pouted. “Junpei-san, you’re mean….!”

 “Good.” I replied, shooting him a teasing smirk. “Someone in this club has to be!” JK childishly pouted, more, and Yuuki giggled. “Well, aside from you-know-who.”

 “What are you two doing?” Kengo asked, stepping out of his usual little room.

 “Speaking of you-know-who….” I muttered with a roll of my eyes, and nudged Gentaro before mumbling to him, “Talk about a mood crasher.”

 The Fourze user snorted, trying to hold back a laugh.

 “If you can’t concentrate, then we shouldn’t be testing any switches.” the brunette boy told Gentaro as the taller student stood up from the floor, helping me up with him.

 I stepped up to the brunette boy, fixing and smoothing down my jacket.

 “Would it kill you to chill for like, five seconds?” I asked him with a sigh. “I swear, you’re so bossy.”

 He stared at me, unamused, and gripped my face. I failed to pry his hand off before he roughly pushed me down onto the round table.

 I rolled my eyes at him, and looked away, crossing my arms.

 “Rude.” I grumbled.

 JK chuckled, and changed the subject.

 “Nozama Tomoko, eh?” he said. He cheerfully walked over to the round table, a guitar in hand. “She’s just your typical goth girl.”

 Shun stood up from where he had been sitting. “To be honest,” he sighed. “I find dark girls, like that, to be intimidating.”

 “And, she’s into all of that occult stuff, right?” Miu added, combing her hair. “It’s like she’s checking off boxes on some sort of ‘How To Be a Weirdo’ list.” 

 I tsked, disapprovingly.

 Sometimes, Miu could still be your typical ‘mean girl’, ever since the Queen Festival. I felt like I was probably the only one in this club who actually believed that Tomoko wasn’t that bad of a goth. If anything, the poor girl had to just be seriously misunderstood…right?

 “But, it seems like fun!” Yuuki said, cheerfully. “I got invited to be part of their witch’s coven!”

 “Don’t do it.” I joked, standing up from the table and lazily pacing about.

 “Don’t waste your time with those maniacs.” Kengo told her. “I looked into that book about the Lunar Witch Tomoko had…but, it’s total nonsense.”

 He leaned back against the table, crossing his arms.

 “S-Still….!” JK told him. “This is Ritsuko Usaka, Kuramochi Yuri, and Okamura Masami we’re talking about, right?” Kengo turned his head to look at him. “There’s actually some rumors going on about them…. There were a few delinquents talking about them, the other day. One of them was drinking some juice. Ritsuka threatened them…and the next thing, his juice just exploded, everywhere!”

 “Ehh??” Gentaro, now out of the Fourze suit, whimpered. “His juice exploded??”

 “That’s ridiculous.” Shun chuckled, nervously. 

 “Oh, please.” I said, and everyone looked over. “Unless you were actually there, JK, it’s only a rumor. Kids spread things like that, all the time. It is ridiculous.”

 Yuuki let out a long sigh.

 “Jun-san’s so brave….!” she commented.

 “H-Hardly!” I told her. “For once…dare I say it…I’m actually with Kengo on this one.” I pretended to innocently admire the wall when the ice-hearted boy looked over at me.

 “Yuuki, take me to that witch’s coven thing.” Gentaro told the long-haired girl.

 Everyone looked at him in surprise.

 “Gen-san…boys can’t be witches!” Yuuki told him.

 “Ya know, wizards and warlocks exist in fantasy universes.” I commented, casually checking one of my nails.

 “No, that’s not what I meant.” Gentaro replied with a slight chuckle. He straightened up. “That girl…. There’s something about the look Tomoko had. It’s bothering me, for some reason.”

 “Hmm….” Miu hummed, thoughtfully. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to check things out.” She stood up. “Well…I don’t know about the rest of you, but I do need to attend at least a few classes, today.” She looked over at Kengo. “You will keep me informed, yes?”

 Kengo rolled his eyes, but he nodded.

 “I suppose that goes for me, too.” Shun said in slight disappointment. “But, I will be available if needed, of course.” He gave a salute before grabbing his things and leaving.

 I clapped my hands, together. “Well, I see the rest of you have this whole weirdo ‘witch’ thing under control, sooo…I’ll be going until further notice. See ya!”

 I turned to grab my own belongings and rush out.

 But before I could take more than a few steps, I was grabbed and pulled back by Miu and Gentaro as they and Yuuki protested.

 I pouted when they sat me back down.

 “Aw, c’mon, you guys! You don’t need me, right now!” I protested. “Besides! I’ve got boatloads of…homework to catch up on!” I tried to leave, again, but Miu simply pushed me back down.

 “But we could need you.” she told me with a smile. “You are to stay with Kengo-kun and the others, and help make sure this whole ‘witch coven’ thing isn’t some sort of cover for an upcoming monster attack.”

 “Ooh! Great idea!” Gentaro exclaimed.

 My jaw fell open as I gave the taller teen girl a defeated look.

 “Oh, I don’t want to deal with any fake witches!” I whined. “They’re just a small group of goths! Can’t we just leave them alone?”

 “If Gentaro says he has a feeling about one of them, then no.” Miu told me.

 I gave her a pleading look, and glanced over at Kengo.

 “Do I have to?” I asked her. “Do I really, really have to?”

 A sweet smile from her in response had me leaning back and crossing my arms with a scowl on my face.

 Victorious, Miu grabbed her things, and skipped out of the Rabbit Hutch.

 JK gave me an apologetic smile and a shrug, then followed her.

 Gentaro chuckled.

 “Don’t worry, Junpei!” he told me. “I’ll make sure no witches get to you!”

 He pulled me into an awkward one-armed hug.

 “Yay me….” I said, dryly.

 I was really hoping to get away from Kengo, for a while…but, for some reason, I couldn’t fight against that sweet smile of Miu’s.

 “This should be quite interesting!” Yuuki exclaimed, cheerfully, then lead the way as the rest of us left the Hutch.

 After a couple of minutes of us walking down the hallway, I stopped, realizing that I had left my backpack behind.

 “Gosh…dammit….” I muttered with a cringe. I waved at the others. “I’ll catch up with you guys! I just need to go back for my bag.”

 Yuuki nodded while Gentaro saluted.

 I turned on my heel, and went back into the Rabbit Hutch.

 Once in there, I spotted my backpack, and quickly went over to grab it.

 Upon doing so, a flash of red caught my eye. Looking into Kengo’s small room, I noticed a red Astroswitch, sitting on his desk. I didn’t recognize it, but figured he must’ve accidentally left it behind.

 “That guy….” I sighed, then entered the room. “Might as well grab it for him, just in case.” So, I did.

 But then, something else caught my eye: a strange and small, almost unnoticeable, folder icon on Kengo’s computer, where he usually looked at the blueprints for the switches and the Fourze suit.

 “‘JZA’?” I muttered, reading the folder’s label.

 Ok…now, I was curious.

 I slowly sat down in Kengo’s chair, and started checking out the mysterious file. I checked out into the main room, once, to make sure no one was coming back in, then refocused on the task at hand. There was a single email from an anonymous person to…my brother?! 

 My jaw fell open, slightly, in confusion and surprise, and I clicked open the email.

 “If you really want to know the truth, then come to Amanogawa High.” the email said. “Your mother must not know of this. Neither must your sister. Not yet, at least. Be discreet, and be careful.”

 I didn’t get a chance to let that email sink in because at that moment, I heard the Hutch door open.

 In a blind panic, I closed down everything, and turned the computer off. I then grabbed my backpack, and the red Astroswitch, before quickly leaving the room.

 When I stepped out, I immediately pretended like everything was fine and normal, even pretending to zip up my bag. I looked up, and jumped, startled.

 “Oh! Kengo!” I exclaimed, not having expected it to be him, of all members of the club, to have come back.

Chapter Text

 “What are you doing?” the brunette boy asked me, crossing his arms. His eyes flicked over to his room, then back to me. “What are you up to?”

 “What are you talking about?” I replied with an innocent shrug. “I told you that I forgot my backpack, so I came back to get it!” I held up my bag, and smiled. “See? Got it!” My brows dipped as I realized something. “Hold up…what are you doing back here? Oh, hang on…I did see this.” I held up the red Astroswitch, and watched his expression. “Which switch is this?”

 He became irritated, and tried to snatch the switch out of my hand.

 I held onto it, and the two of us ended up wrestling over it, somewhat, until he elbowed me, hard…in the chest. My mouth fell open in shock and pain. I let out a groan as he was able to take the switch away from me.

 For a guy who’s dealing with an illness, he sure is strong! I thought, bringing my fists to my chest.

 I could already feel a bruise forming, there. 

 Kengo held up the switch, giving it a slight shake.

 He sneered, “It isn’t a toy switch, Thundewel.”

 “No shit, Sherlock….” I wheezed.

 I sucked in a deep breath, and tried to ignore the pain.

 I then lazily walked around him. “Ya know, with everything you’ve been doing….” His head turned as he watched me circle him, his face expressionless. “Mainly, keeping me in your sights at all times, picking fights with me, and that little thing not too long ago where you got the teacher to make me do extra classes with everyone…and now, this with the switches…I’m starting to think that you don’t trust me.”

 Kengo lifted his brows, slightly.

 “Naahh!” he said, sarcastically. 

 I stopped walking, and narrowed my eyes at him. “Rude.” I muttered.

 “Are you seriously that dense?” he asked. “I haven’t trusted you from the moment I first met you. I told you, before: everything about you is screaming one…big…lie.” He gave my shoulder a poke with each final word of that sentence. He scoffed. “And it’s getting more obvious by the day.”

 I stared up at him, trying to keep my own expressions calm, as well as my emotions.

 Shit! Am I still not being careful enough? How?! I knew Kengo was smart, but I didn’t think he’d catch onto me, just yet!

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I grumbled, and tried walking past him to leave the Hutch.

 “The hell you don’t.” he hissed, angrily, grabbing my upper-arm to stop me. 

 I glared back at him. “You don’t know anything about me, Utahoshi. You can’t just assume things, then treat me like crap for days on end.” I tried ripping myself free, but his grip was like iron!

 “You’re right. I don’t.” he told me. “Then again, you’ve never exactly told any of us anything about yourself, which makes you even more suspicious. I’m honestly shocked no one else in this club has noticed.”

 “Funny you say that, considering you don’t even think of us all as a club, as you’ve been flat-out claiming ever since Gentaro started it up!”

 “At least, I don’t act like the boys locker room is the worst place on the planet, or cringe at the thought of attending classes or doing schoolwork!”

 “You’re getting at me about school?! Says the guy who skips classes, every single day, just to go to the nurse’s office! Which, you never actually do!”

 “That’s not true!” He released my arm to grab the collar of my jacket, and got up in my face.

 I tried to pry his hands off. “Really? Well, pardon me, I don’t believe you!”

 “Liar!”

 “Jerk!”

 We glared at each other, breathing heavily with our faces inches apart, our eyes shifting slightly as they locked onto each other. No doubt, he was trying to read me, now, like I was trying to do to him.

 Then, he scowled, slightly shaking his head.

 “Get out.” he growled, angrily. “Now.”

 My blood hammered in my ears, and my grip on his hands loosened before falling, clenched, at my hips. I was so angry, now, I was trembling like a leaf.

 I swallowed.

 “Fine.” I told him.

 I tore myself free from his grasp, and stormed out of the Hutch. I could feel him glaring daggers after me, but I didn’t care. For once, I did not care.

 I hate him…. I thought. I hate him!

 When I got outside, I was still livid. I let out a scream, and slammed my knuckles into the nearest tree. The impact sent pain right up my hand and wrist, and I yelped, stumbling back. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm myself down and wait out the pain. I looked at my hand; my knuckles bled…more than they did, the day the Hound Zodiart attacked. 

 I felt something wet roll down my cheek, and I took off my glasses, and used a finger to wipe it away. My hand shook when I saw a tear. I was crying, again? Over a fight? What was this? The last time I was this emotional was Junpei’s funeral!

 I sniffed, suddenly aware that someone might be noticing, and I quickly wiped my eyes dry before putting my glasses back on.

 Gentaro and Yuuki are waiting. I told myself. Might as well help them check out this so-called ‘witch coven’....

 I forced all thoughts of Kengo to the back of my mind, and continued on my way to meet the other two.

 I sat next to Gentaro in a dark room at the school, dimly lit only by candles.

 Behind me, Yuuki had joined Tomoko and her supposed witch friends in a circle, and were now chanting something that I didn’t understand. I just tuned it out, completely.

 I felt numb…for some reason, the fight between Kengo and I kept creeping up to remind me of it. I just sat with my arms crossed, staring at the wall. His words kept echoing in my mind, too.

 It’s not like he was wrong…. I knew that he was right about…well, about pretty much everything. I was beginning to wonder just how much longer could I keep up my secret around him. I still didn’t feel ready to tell him.

 There was no escaping it, now. Sooner or later, I’d need to.

 He and I didn’t speak to each other, at all, before or even during the witches’ chanting. In fact, he ignored me, completely…which, honestly, was just fine by me. If he’s focused on these witches, then I can breathe. At least, for a bit. He never glanced at me, again, and I didn’t bother looking at him. It was enough having to hear his voice whenever he needed to speak to Gentaro, who wasn’t exactly the bravest, at the moment.

 A small part of me still felt pretty livid. Not to be dramatic, but I felt like I was sitting in flames of anger. I just let myself get lost in my own head, silently, continuing to stare at the wall.

 My hand wasn’t broken, by the way. Or sprained, thankfully, from having punched that tree, earlier. If anything, my knuckles were only bruised and scraped up. I did try to keep it hidden with the sleeve of my jacket, but I figured the others would notice, sooner or later. I’d need to come up with a good enough lie about how I injured my hand.

 Although, at this point, my constant lying wasn’t getting me anywhere.

 Just then, a surprised cry from Gentaro snapped me out of my thoughts, and I flinched when he suddenly backed into the wall!

 I gave him an odd look, then noticed Tomoko was all up in his space!

 She began muttering, digging into his pockets and dropping Astroswitches.

 Kengo quickly picked them up after her.

 What is happening? I thought, feeling weirded out. Though for Gentaro, I can imagine he was feeling far more awkward than I was. Poor guy….

 Then, Tomoko found the newest switch.

 “This is it….” she muttered, staring at the red object now in her hands. “This power will defy us.”

 “She picked out number twenty?” I heard Kengo mumble in surprise. It took all my strength to not look at him.

 “Oi, give that back!” Gentaro told Tomoko, trying to grab the newest switch back. He succeeded, but now, he looked very creeped out.

 Honestly…. I thought with a tilt of my head. How does he expect to become friends with her if this is how he’s gonna react around her?

 With a tired sigh, I got to my feet, stuffing my hands into my pockets.

 Suddenly, Tomoko gasped, and grabbed my injured hand!

 I tensed up, surprised. I thought she was going to point out the bruise and scrapes to everyone…but instead, she just held it in her hands.

 “You….” she said, seeming to study the injury. “You have a powerful connection…to people you have met, here.”

 I blinked, trying to figure out what she could possibly mean.

 “My friends?” I asked her. “Of course, I have connections at this school.”

 A tiny smile formed on her face, but she shook her head.

 My brows knitted together, and I stared at the floor in confusion. What else could she mean, then? 

 “O-Oi…leave him alone!” Gentaro told her, making her flinch and release my hand.

 “It’s ok!” I reassured him. “I’m fine.”

 I looked back at Tomoko, wanting to ask her what she meant, then.

 But her friend, Ritsuko, had enough.

 “You three are in the way.” she told the boys and I, and started shoving us out of the room! “Get out!”

 She slammed the door shut as soon as our backs hit some lockers, and the three of us fell to the floor.

 I frowned, flabbergasted. “Well!” I gasped. “That was just rude!”

 Gentaro fixed his jacket, and nodded in agreement.

 The three of us stood up, but Kengo went over to what looked like some sort of window, near the floor.

 “Eh, Kengo?” Gentaro asked him. “What’s up? I thought we were going back to the Rabbit Hutch….?”

 Kengo crouched down upon approaching the window.

 “Number twenty, Fire, is a switch with special properties, like Electric.” he explained to him.

 I felt like I needed some air, and light. I lightly tapped Gentaro on the shoulder. “I’ll wait, outside, for you guys. I need some air.” 

 He nodded, understanding, and I quickly left. 

 I could feel Kengo staring after me, but I ignored him.

 Outside, in bright sunlight, I stood, somewhat hugging myself as my head rang with voices. Kengo’s being one of them, and his shouting at me. Another one was Tomoko’s. I was spaced out, my brows slightly furrowed.

 It’s not that what she said to me creeped me out. She didn’t creep me out, at all! It’s just that her words confused me.

 “‘You have a powerful connection to people you have met, here’....” I mumbled.

 If she wasn’t talking about the friends that I’ve made at this school, then what could she have possibly meant? I mean…friends were basically still connections, weren’t they?

 “You need to talk to her.” a voice, sounding somewhat echoey and distorted, told me…my brother’s voice.

 “Ugh! I know, I know!” I replied, lightly banging the palm of my hand against my forehead.

 Wait…. I realized, and I gasped, frantically looking around.

 But my brother wasn’t here…. There was no sign of him, anywhere, nearby!

 I scanned the area, but the only people I saw were students who walked, together, most likely heading to their final classes of the day.

 I tried to remain calm, sweat dripping down my face. Today just wasn’t one of my better days, and now, I thought I heard my twin brother’s voice. Was it really just me talking to myself? 

 I threw my head back, and let out a shaky sigh.

 “I’m going nuts….” I whispered. “I have to be.” Perhaps I needed a break from portraying Junpei, for a couple of days…. 

 I shook my head. That wouldn’t do…. As long as I continued spending my high-school days in Japan, I couldn’t let my true self slip. It was enough that somehow, that was still happening, and it was letting Kengo catch on.

 “You need to breathe.” Junpei’s distorted voice said to me.

 “Just…shoosh! Alright? Just….” I replied, beginning to pace about. “I’m trying!” My hands shook, and my anxiety felt like it was rising. I knew I needed to remain calm. Funnily enough, it wasn’t Tomoko’s words that was throwing me off, like this. It was my own brother.

 Was there a part of me that hasn’t fully realized that he was gone? Was my own mind playing tricks on me, now? I felt so confused.

 For a moment…just a moment…I was having a very hard time telling what was real, and what wasn’t. I was talking to myself, which has never happened, before…at least, not like this. I couldn’t think, clearly, my mouth felt dry, and I felt fairly certain that I was crying, again.

 “You’re not insane.” Junpei’s voice told me.

 “You….!” I replied, feeling my anxiety skyrocket, and I shook my pointer-finger in great annoyance. “Just…stop! Please? You’re not helping!” 

 “Breathe.” he said…if it was actually his voice that I was hearing.

 “Don’t!” I growled, my hands gripping the back of my neck as I bent forward, my breathing becoming more rapid, and I stopped pacing. 

 “Breathe.” 

 I took several deep breaths.

 Breathe. I told myself. Breathe…. 

 Slowly, I could feel myself finally calming down, and my heart stopped racing.

 “Junpei?”

 I gasped, and looked up. Gentaro and Kengo stood there, looking surprised and confused.

 “Whoa, are you alright?” the Fourze user asked, worriedly.

 He slowly reached out a hand to touch my shoulder. He hesitated, a couple of times, before he finally did. I let him, and it made it easier to calm down.

 “I….” I replied, unsure if I should tell him the truth or not. In the end, I decided I shouldn’t worry him any more. “I, uh…yeah! Yeah! I’m fine!” I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to act like I really was fine. “I’m just tired, that’s all.” A part of me cringed when I saw that the boys didn’t look convinced. “So, uh, what’s up?”

 Gentaro and Kengo shared a concerned look. 

 “Eh, Yuuki went with Tomoko and those other girls to the indoor pool.” Gentaro told me. “We’re gonna follow them.” He seemed to scan me, that concerned look still on his face. “Do you…need to go home and lay down or something? Get some food in you? You’re pale….!”

 He lifted a hand to press it against my forehead, but I gently smacked it away with a reassuring smile.

 “Really, I’m fine, Gentaro!” I told him with a soft chuckle. “Don’t worry about me!” 

 Kengo stared at me, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, but there was still some concern written on his face.

 I needed them to focus on the witches. 

 “You said the girls were heading for the pool?” I asked, and motioned them in that direction. “Then, let’s go! Race you guys!”

 I turned and started running.

 “Oi, wait!” Gentaro called, running after me. “Junpei, slow down!”

 I hid behind the wall in the pool building with the boys, watching Yuuki and the witches face a couple of swimmers from a swim team.

 Everyone was speaking Japanese, which was unfortunate for me because I couldn’t understand the conversation. It was annoying, really.

 Meanwhile, Gentaro kept a rather close eye on me, this time, while also focusing on the girls. He was still pretty worried about me.

 The boy really could be the world’s best friend, if it let him.

 While I didn’t understand ninety-percent of the conversation that we were eavesdropping on, I still picked up on a part of it.

 Ok…I didn’t.

 But! I did become highly suspicious when one of the witches, Yuri, took to the front, and Ritsuko walked off out of sight.

 With a frown, I stepped out from our hiding spot. I could feel the boys try to make a grab for me, their fingers just barely brushing my jacket, and missing.

 “Maes bruja beldacieris de la luna….” Yuri was chanting as I quietly walked up.

 Yuuki and Tomoko took notice of me, and the usually-cheerful girl was about to say my name, but I immediately motioned for her to stay quiet. She nodded, understanding.

 I focused back onto Yuri, who was still chanting. My eyes flicked over to her targets, a couple of times. I wanted to roll my eyes when they snickered and turned their backs on her.

 That’s when I heard rattling.

 I quickly looked around until my eyes landed on a couple of cleaning supplies, which sat in a large storage bucket. Those supplies rattled, then shot off towards Yuri’s targets!

 “Look out!!” I shouted, instinct coming in and I dashed forward to try and protect the swimmers.

 One of the supplies hit me, hard, and I stumbled back into one of the swimmers! The three of us went down, and fell into the pool! Cold water hit my skin, and I shivered. Good thing I wasn’t that bad of a swimmer, myself….

 I quickly resurfaced, and shook my head, gasping for air. I did not have enough time to hold my breath before falling in, there. 

 “Jun-san!” Yuuki exclaimed, worriedly.

 I coughed, once.

 “I’m fine!” I exclaimed.

 That’s when I noticed how blurry my vision was....

 My glasses! 

 They must’ve fallen off when I hit the water! I thought.

 “Oh, schnitzel!” I muttered, immediately trying to see into the pool for any sign of my glasses. “Where did-”

 “Now, you will pay!” Yuri exclaimed, angrily.

 I looked up just in time to see what looked like thin cyclones of water forming! All around me, people were screaming, panicking, and running away.

 My shoulders just slumped as the cyclones came closer. 

 “This is just so not my day, today, isn’t it?” I asked nobody in particular. 

 I gave the pool wall a so-over-it look just as the cyclone of water slammed into me. My brain shut off as I soon found myself yelling while being hauled up and out of the pool before being thrown into the wall of the building, along with many other swimmers! Meanwhile, I could hear Yuri laughing, evilly…like she was enjoying tormenting others…which, honestly, she probably was.

 I lay on the floor, waiting for the room to stop spinning and for my stomach to stop acting like a pancake being flopped around. I think I even blacked out.

 I’m not entirely sure.

 “Dammit, Kisaragi!” an angry, yet familiar, voice shouted. “You going to fess up or what, huh?” 

 Oh, boy.... Mr. Ohsugi.

 “You’ve got it all wrong!” I could hear Gentaro tell him, sounding frantic. “That mess in the pool wasn’t my fault! The witches did it!”

 “He’s right!” Yuuki exclaimed. “It was a witch!”

 “So….” Mr. Ohsugi said with a scoff of disbelief. “After running out of excuses, now, it’s ‘witches’? If you could blame stuff on witches, then nobody would get in trouble!”

 “Now, now, now!” Miss Sonoda’s voice said. “Calm down, Mr. Ohsugi!”

 I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. I kept blacking in and out, like my body couldn’t decide on whether to wake up or not. I know I felt a headache coming on, and from the sounds of it, everyone was close by. The sound of chatter became very distorted, and I couldn’t tell, anymore, who was talking.

 After a minute, I felt a hand grab the back of my jacket, and drag me away. Meanwhile, my brain gave up on trying to keep me awake, and I ended up passing out, again.

 I woke with a start, shooting straight up. 

 “What happened?” I asked. “Where are they? I’ve got a bone to pick with those jerks! Who do those witches think they are?” I blinked, numerous times, and looked around. “Wait a minute….” I was laying on one of the bunks in the Rabbit Hutch! I also noticed that my uniform was dry. “This isn’t my apartment.”

 “I see nearly drowning and ending up in a coma hasn’t affected your weird behavior.” a voice commented, dryly.

 “Who’re you calling ‘weird’?” I asked with a pout, my eyes landing on Kengo, who sat at the round table, looking like he had been doing his homework…and looking like a huge blob of blue and flesh. 

 I squinted, remembering that I had lost my glasses in the pool.

 “You, obviously.” he replied. He then stood up from the table, and walked over. “Here, Mr. I-Do-Believe-I-Can-Be-A-Hero….” I tensed up when he slipped something onto my face.

 Next thing I knew, my vision was clear as crystal!

 My glasses!

 “I can see, again!” I cheered. A hand suddenly smacked my forehead, making me fall backwards. “Nope…I was wrong.” Blinking, I looked up at Kengo, innocently.

 Didn't see that one coming....

 He gave a quiet scoff, rolling his eyes at me with his hands in his pockets. “You really are an idiot, Thundewel.” For once, he sounded…civil?

 I shrugged, and joked, “Must be because of all the brain damage inflicted upon me by the Zodiarts, and those witches.”

 For a second, I could’ve sworn he wanted to laugh. But, it was gone in a blink of an eye.

 “No, you’re just careless.” he told me, and flicked my forehead, making me wince. He stepped back, and went back over to the table. “You should get to some classes before the teachers become too suspicious.”

 I nodded, and swung my legs over the side of the bunk. I looked at him.

 “You’re not coming?” I asked, curiously.

 “Eh….” he replied. “I still have to research those witches. You go on, though.”

 I squinted my eyes, giving him a suspicious look. I wondered why he was being so civil, all of a sudden.

 "Why are you being nice to me?” I asked.

 “‘Nice’?” he scoffed, and turned to look at me. “‘Polite’ is more like it.” He stepped towards me, his expression falling into his usual deadpan look. “I still don’t trust you, Thundewel. I don’t care how often you play ‘hero’ and help Kisaragi save others. There’s something about you that I don’t like.” He wet his lips. “You and I…we may need each other to fight the Zodiarts. But we’re not friends, or partners, or anything more.” He gave me a look of disdain. “And we never will be.”

 I just stared up at him, wordlessly. His words were cold and bit, but at this point, for the most part, I was used to his hatred towards me.

 He nodded at the Hutch door.

 “Go on.” he told me, his tone not as harsh as it usually was. “Before I change my mind about being the least bit civil towards you.” He turned, and walked back to the table. “Yuuki already has your backpack, so don’t worry about that.”

 I sat there, for a moment, just staring at his back. Then, I rolled my eyes, and left the Rabbit Hutch.

 Geez…. I thought, annoyed. What’s it gonna take with this guy? 

 I tsked, shaking my head as I turned onto the hallway that lead away from the base.

 Honestly….

 It must’ve been the afternoon since it was all sunny and bright, outside. I had forgotten to ask Kengo how long I had been out since Yuri’s magic attack threw me against the wall.

 Students walked about, either on a break or heading to their next classes. 

 Suddenly, I smelled something odd!

 I stopped walking, taking a moment. I sniffed….

 Smoke?

 With a concerned frown, I decided to follow the smell at a run.

Chapter Text

 As I ran, I stopped by a large window, and looked out.

 My eyes widened in horror when I saw that the football team’s storage room was on fire! I had a feeling I knew exactly who was responsible.

 I turned and rushed out of the building.

 Outside, students had gathered around and were looking on in shock as the fire spread. 

 Looking around, I caught sight of the witches, standing on the roof of the closest building. Tomoko was the only one of them who looked far more concerned and horrified at the scene than her friends.

 I frowned, balling my fists in anger, before dashing up to them without being noticed.

 Once up, I casually crossed my arms and leaned against the exterior of the building.

 “Well, well, well,” I said, causing the witches to turn around and face me. “Look who’s decided to cause trouble, again. Honestly…is this your idea of ‘revenge’? Nearly drowning or setting fire to those who wronged you?”

 Ritsuko laughed, amused. “You’re not very bright, are you, American boy?”

 Masami stepped up, her eyes narrowed, angrily, at me.

 “Ritsuko,” she said to her friend. “May I deal with this worthless man?”

 “Damn.” I muttered, not all that fazed by the name-calling. “Worthless? And here, I was beginning to think my good looks would cure you all of this ridiculous ‘witch’ charade.”

 Masami snorted. “Please, we’ve met fools more handsome than you.”

 She placed her hands on her hips, and gave me a dirty look.

 I looked up at the sky, pretending to nonchalantly see an arrow soaring towards me, and acted like that arrow shot me right through the heart.

 “Oh! More handsome than…me?!” I exclaimed, feigning hurt and injury. “That’s…impossible!”

 Was I being a little dramatic? Sure. I mean…why not?

 Yuri scoffed, giving me a dirty look. “Someone’s cocky, and delusional!”

 I stared at her. “Oh, I’m delusional? Me? Uhm….” I pointed at them. “I’m pretty sure I’m not the ones setting fires or creating pool tornados because someone was kicked off the swim team,” I pointed at Yuri. “And someone was…what, dumped by a boyfriend or something?”

 The witches, except Tomoko, glared at me.

 “He really doesn’t get it!” Masami scoffed, angrily. She then looked at Ritsuko. “Can I deal with him, please?”

 Yuri hummed in agreement, her fierce eyes narrowed at me. “We need to shut him up.”

 “Oh!” I exclaimed, and looked away. “I guess I hit some kind of nerve!”

 Ritsuko told Masami ‘no’ in Japanese, and took a step towards me.

 She smirked, devilishly, and lifted her hand as if she was about to cast a spell.

 “Girls! Stop it!” Gentaro’s voice exclaimed, grabbing the girls’ attention.

 I craned my neck to see him, Miu, Yuuki, and JK arriving.

 “Ahh! The conquering heroes have come to spoil your rotten deeds!” I exclaimed, dramatically, to the witches with a toothy smirk.

 I then quickly rushed forward, and grabbed Masami by her arm, pulling her back away from the other girls, who looked astonished.

 “I think we should swing by the principal's office, shall we?” I asked her. “You can explain to him exactly why he now has to shell out Lord only knows how much money to repair the building you girls set fire to. I like this idea, a lot!” I gave a toothy grin.

 Mentally, I cringed at myself and rolled my eyes. 

 Ugh! I’m turning into Kengo….! Why me? I thought.

 Ritsuko’s jaw tightened, and she scowled at me.

 “Maes bruja beldacieris de la luna!” she shouted, and the crescent moon pendant that she and the other girls wore glowed.

 I chortled. “You think that little parlor trick is going to-” 

 But before I could finish my sentence, I was sent flying backwards and away from Masami, ice quickly forming on my body! I landed on something…I didn’t see what, exactly, but the next thing I did see was the blue sky. 

 I shivered, the ice seeping through my uniform and into my skin.

 I blinked, shocked.

 What?! I mentally shouted in disbelief.

 Up from where they stood, the witches laughed. Tomoko was the only one who didn’t, and instead, she stared down at me with worry..

 “Serves him right!” Masami exclaimed, grinning.

 “Oook….” I wheezed; that attack had just about knocked the wind right out of me. “Alright….” 

 I looked at my trembling hands. A bit of ice had formed on them, but it was now melting and falling off.

 Who are they? The Witches of the Elements? I thought, remembering that previously, these girls had used water, then fire, for their attacks.

 I stood up, shivering, and brushed the ice off of my uniform.

 I then cracked my knuckles. “That’s enough.” I smirked up at the witches. “I think it’s finally time to give you ladies a taste of your own medicine.”

 “Yeah? How?” my brother’s voice asked me. 

 I rolled my eyes, and shook my head, as if trying to shut him out.

 Truthfully, I didn’t know how. But surely, there was something I could do.

 But suddenly, something rope-like quickly wrapped around my wrists!

 With a confused frown, I looked to my right to see a familiar Horoscope Zodiart, cloaked and staring at me. 

 “Scorpio?!” I exclaimed, surprised. What was he doing, here?!

 Scorpio chuckled, darkly, then yanked me high over him, making me cry out in surprise before I landed on a bush! 

 I was so dazed, I never felt the rope releasing my wrists.

 “Ow….” I said, weakly.

 I let out a short cry of surprise before snatching an incoming scorpion tail in one hand, the stinger aimed right at my face!

 That tail yanked itself out of my grasp, and Scorpio aimed to stab me, again! I rolled right out of the way, this time, making him miss. I looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes.

 Oh, no! I thought. Scorpio is here, and I don’t know where Gentaro could be!

 I quickly shoved myself to the side just as Scorpio attacked me, again, and dashed around him, using miscellaneous crates and whatnot to get back up onto the roof.

 I couldn’t fight Scorpio on my own! Sure, I had some fighting skills, but even I knew I wasn’t strong enough to take on an elite Horoscope Zodiart!

 But before I could make it to the roof, Scorpio was in front of me! He chuckled, and I barely had time to react before he gave me a round-about kick in the ribs, sending me right back down to the ground!

 I coughed, my hand flying to my ribs, and I weakly got onto my knees and free hand. “That didn’t feel good….”

 Something told me that Scorpio wasn’t going to let me off, so easily.

 I looked up at him, just as he shrugged off his cloak, letting it fall to the ground. I let out a shaky breath. I realized that I was gonna have to fight him, after all.

 I ran a hand through my hair, nervously. 

 “Ok….!” I told the Zodiart, and got to my feet. “But just remember, buddy: you asked for this!”

 My hand trembled as I took off my glasses, and folded them before putting them inside a pocket in my jacket.

 “This is a bad idea….” I mumbled, knowingly. “I think I just might die, today - Whoa!”

 Scorpio rushed up and attacked with a punch, so quickly, I barely had time to react and block him! We brawled, trading blows with each other. But he was fast! I could barely keep up with him! I noticed that he preferred kicking over throwing punches, along with using his tail. I dodged as best as I could, but I couldn’t avoid every hit. The Zodiart managed to get me in the face, a couple of times, before sending me flying backwards with a harsh kick. My back hit something solid, and I fell to the ground. I opened an eye to glare at him while clutching my ribs. I was starting to see how Gentaro felt when he first went up against this Zodiart. 

 Scorpio was tough!

 “Dammit….!” I grumbled, bitterly. “No chances to recover, eh?”

 I hissed in pain; I could feel a bruise forming on my ribs, already…as usual. Weakly, I got back onto my feet, feeling really annoyed, now. 

 I narrowed my eyes, angrily, at the blurry scorpion, and mumbled, “Come on, you overgrown arachnid.” 

 In an instant, Scorpio was inches from me, reaching out as if to grab me!

 He’s crazy fast! I thought, terrified.

 I side-stepped, bringing a fist across his face, and managing to knock him away from me! I gasped when his tail immediately wrapped around my waist, and threw me at a wall! I grunted in pain as I then smacked down onto the ground. I quickly stood up, and let out an angry and determined cry as I threw a punch, just as he was right in front of me, again. He snatched my wrist, giving it a squeeze before using his free hand to give me a harsh punch. Glaring, I pulled a quick breakdancing move, and he was down, on the ground, and on his back. He kicked me, hard, where my new bruise was, making me cry out in pain. The next thing I knew, I was the one on my back, with him gripping my jaw and his stinger aimed to attack.

 Just then, he paused! He looked around, keeping a firm grip on my face. He froze, as if listening. Then, he made a sound of disappointment, and stood up, releasing my face in the process. 

 I was breathless, staring up at him and feeling confused on why he suddenly stopped.

 He looked down at me, and stepped on my foot, twisting my ankle! I cried out in pain, my entire body tensing up and tears brimming my eyes. I was about to try and pull my foot free, but he got off of it. He ‘hmphed’, sounding amused, then quickly left, grabbing and taking his cloak with him.

 I sat up, and clutched my ankle with a hiss. That really hurt….!

 “Thundewel!” a voice called out, and my shoulders slumped, slightly, in annoyance and disappointment. 

 Kengo….

 The ice-hearted boy suddenly ran up to me, looking breathless and somewhat excited, and his briefcase in his hand. 

 “I personally don’t believe you deserve to know this, but, I’ve finally figured it out!” he told me. “Those girls…they’re not witches!” He stopped when he took notice of my battered and bruised form. “What happened to you?”

 Crap! I can’t tell him I was up against Scorpio! I thought, staring up at him. He’d kill me!

 “Ah…uhm…. Ritsuko attacked me with her ‘magic’ and weird chanting.” I somewhat lied. “Yeah! Next thing I know, I’m…well…frozen, beaten, and now, I think my ankle is twisted, too!” 

 Well, it wasn't a total lie.

 It’s just that Ritsuko did part of the work, while Scorpio decided to come on by and do the rest.

 Kengo studied me, seeming to scan every single one of my injuries with his usual suspicious look.

 It made me a little uncomfortable, for once, and I nervously ran a hand through my hair. 

 He rolled his eyes.

 Then, to my surprise, with his free hand, he threw my arm around his shoulders, and helped me up!

 “Fool….” he mumbled under his breath.

 “In my defense,” I told him, innocently. “I only came out here because I saw a building on fire, and I just wanted to make sure people were safe and that those witches weren’t involved.” I hung my head. “Unfortunately, I was wrong, and they actually were the cause of the fire….”

 He was quiet, which had me both nervous and suspicious. I could feel it in his grip as he aided me along that he was angry. 

 Suddenly, I no longer felt sure if talking to him was the greatest idea, anymore….

 He didn’t really speak to me, after that, even when we found Gentaro, who was in a…red??...Fourze suit, and carrying what looked like some sort of gun.

 “Oi!” I called out to the Fourze user. “You ok, Gentaro? You’re looking a little…red in the face!” I snorted, failing to hold back a laugh at my own joke. “Get it?? ‘Red’? ‘Cause that’s the color of your suit-”

 Gentaro lowered his weapon, and replied, sarcastically, “Ha, ha, ha, Junpei. Yes, you’re very funny.”

 I snickered.

 “Don’t make me injure your other foot.” Kengo muttered, unhappily.

 I immediately stopped laughing, a blush creeping onto my face. “Sorry.”

 “What happened to you, Junpei?” Gentaro asked me, concerned.

 “Nevermind him.” Kengo told him, releasing me and letting me fall to the ground with a grunt. “Those girls are not witches!”

 “You are as vicious as you are cruel, you know that?” I told him, my face pressed into the ground. 

 “That doesn’t make any sense.” he replied, gruffly. I could only imagine him rolling his eyes at me, again. 

 Suddenly, he shouted at Gentaro, “Behind you!”

 I lifted my head just in time to see Gentaro turn around and block a fireball! My eyes widened in disbelief.

 A feminine chuckle sounded, and a red-and-black Zodiart floated down, carrying a matching staff!

 My face twisted into a mixture of annoyance and disgust.

 “Aw, man….!” I rested my forehead on my arms. “One day? We can’t just have one day without a Zodiart attacking or being responsible for something?”

 As if dealing with Scorpio wasn’t enough….

 I heard Kengo scoff, as if almost in amusement.

 “I would’ve thought you would be used to this, by now, Thundewel.” he told me.

 “This school is a magnet for monsters….” I grumbled. “You’d think they’d realize they’re not welcome around here!”

 I lifted my head, and glared at the new Zodiart in aggravation. 

 The monster started towards us at a saunter, though her posture was that of an elderly person, hunched over with a hand behind their back. The Zodiart was even using the staff as if it was a cane!

 “I went over the footage you took at the pool, and spotted her, yesterday.” Kengo explained to Gentaro. “A Zodiart based on Altar. Both the ultra high temperatures, and the telekinesis were because of her.”

 Altar chuckled. “How perspective!” she commented.

 I frowned, slightly…that voice sounded awfully familiar….

 “That voice….” I heard Tomoko say, and I looked up at her. The goth girl looked surprised and horrified. “Ritsuko-san?”

 I looked back at Altar, and held my head up in my hand with an irritated glare. “Great.”

 “As I thought, the Switcher is Usaka Ritsuko.” the brunette boy said. “The others had no special powers. She hid while using the power of the Altar Zodiart, to make it seem like they did have them.”

 “I don’t wanna say I told y’all so, but,” I said, cheekily, and fake-coughed. “I told you so.”

 I noticed Kengo giving me a look, and smiled up at him, innocently. 

 He just stared down at me, his eyes full of anger, and he stepped on my hand!

 Immediately, I started flailing in pain, and trying to shove his foot off.

 “Kengo!” I yelped. “Yowch! Kengo - my hand! Please, get off!”

 I whimpered, failing to free myself.

 The ice-hearted boy kept staring down at me with that angry glare.

 “So, this means….” I heard Tomoko say, disheartened, and I looked up to see a disappointed look on her face. “That there are no witches?” She looked so disappointed that I felt sorry for her.

 Altar cackled, and used her staff to throw another fireball at Gentaro, who blocked it, easily, before going in for an attack! He shoved her backwards, until she took off into the air, flying high! She laughed, again, and threw fireball after fireball at the Fourze user.

 Kengo dragged me along with him by the back of my jacket, his eyes on the fight.

 I stumbled along, wincing as my ankle flared up. I, too, watched as Fourze defended himself against the Zodiart’s attacks.

 I tsked at Altar in annoyance. “Sure wish I had some magical, elemental power to throw at her. Payback for earlier….”

 After a minute, I nervously turned my head to the side, completely avoiding eye-contact with Kengo. That boy was angry at me…. I just knew it. 

 And for once, I had no idea why he was.

 As if she heard me, Altar looked over, and chuckled. My shoulders slumped, dreading what was about to come my way.

 “Not again!” I quietly yelped.

 The Zodiart expertly spun her staff, readying to throw a spell at me!

 “No! Leave him alone!” Gentaro exclaimed, and quickly moved to stop her.

 I shook my head, knowingly. “Too late….”

 In seconds, I was stuck to the nearest building, covered in ice!

 I shivered. I just couldn’t win, lately. I guess it was Attack-Jasmina-As-Much-As-Possible Day for the Zodiarts, today. Brilliant!

 “M-Me and my…b-b-big mouth….” I spluttered, glowering at Altar, angrily. I then moved to try and break myself free. How did she even hear me over that fight, anyway?

 Then, I noticed an unpleasant sight: Scorpio approaching Tomoko, and handing her a Switch!

 My eyes widened in both fear and worry for the goth girl.

 “No!!” I exclaimed, and I struggled to break free, harder. “Get away from her, you arachni-pest!”

 Scorpio looked over at me, almost smugly, and took off out of sight.

 I shivered, again, my teeth chattering as the ice seeped into my uniform. I tried kicking out and breaking free, again, but to no avail. I was stuck….

 No, more like, I was frozen…and there was no getting out, this time.

 I hung my head, breathless, and my body aching.

 The sound of Gentaro’s gun firing brought my attention back to the fight between him and Altar.

 Gentaro blasted fireballs back at Altar, making her stumble back in surprise. 

 “How do you like that?” he told her. “With this State, you got nothing on me! Especially, since you’re not a real witch!”

 “Really?” Altar chuckled. “Did I mention how I used Tomoko and the others as a medium to start that fire from before?”

 Suddenly, her hair became fiery!

 My eyes widened in surprise. 

 No, way….! I thought.

 “My own fire is much hotter!” the Zodiart said, and used her fiery hair like a whip against him! 

 She knocked him away, easily, and he landed in front of Kengo!

 “Kisaragi!” the brunette exclaimed, sounding worried.

 Altar chuckled, and flew before shooting fireballs at the boys, which Kengo was lucky enough to dodge and roll out of the way in time!

 The Zodiart then landed right next to Tomoko, and transformed back into Ritsuko, who gave us a smirk.

 “Do you understand how weak you are, now?” she asked Gentaro with a sneer. “Then, you better stay out of our way.”

 “Ritsuko!!” I shouted, angrily.

 She barely turned her head to look at me.

 I glared, angrily, at her, trying to ignore my chattering teeth, or the fact that the ice was now sinking into my skin, making me shiver, more.

 “That…is…enough!” I growled.

 She scoffed. “Says the American boy, stuck to a wall.” 

 She laughed, then turned on her heel, and left.

 Tomoko looked at us with sympathy, but started following after Ritsuko, clutching the Switch that Scorpio had handed to her.

 “Don’t do it, Nozama!” Kengo shouted after her. “You won’t be human, anymore!”

 Gentaro stood up.

 “Tomoko!” he added. “Is this really what you want?! To get some crappy revenge like the others?!”

 Tomoko looked torn.

 “You could never understand….” she replied, sadly, and turned to catch up with Ritsuko.

 I stared after her, worriedly.

 The funny thing is…I think I did understand. Somehow, I just had a feeling I knew what she could be feeling, and why.

 I tsked, my bottom lip trembling, and I hung my head. 

 Tomoko….

 “O-Oh! Junpei!” Gentaro exclaimed before he quickly approached me. “Here, I’ll get you out.” 

 He then used his strength to rip off enough ice to set me free.

 “There we go! Is that better?” But at the moment, I was so lost in my own thoughts and memories that his voice sounded far away. “Oi, Junpei….” I flinched when he tried brushing a tear away, and I quickly pulled my head away, surprising him.

 My breathing had quickened as my thoughts raced. 

 “S-Sorry….” I told him. “But, I have to go.”

 “But…your ankle!” he exclaimed as I took a step forward, limping.

 “I don’t give a damn about my ankle!” I snapped.

 “Easy….” my brother’s voice told me, and I realized I was letting myself slip, again.

 “Sorry!” I told the boys. “I just…I really need to talk to Tomoko. Now.”

 With that, I hurried away, ignoring the obvious limp that I had.

 Before it’s too late….

Chapter Text

 I spent the rest of the school day avoiding the club. Not only was I trying to look for Tomoko, but I also needed some time to get myself back together, again…as Junpei, of course.

 I attended whatever classes I could that I had, and in homeroom, I pretty much pulled a Gentaro, and ignored everyone. 

 That didn’t make Kengo particularly happy. Then again, that boy was never happy…especially, with me. He tried getting my attention, a couple of times, when Miss Sonoda wasn’t looking, but I had too much on my mind to even look at him.

 Throughout the rest of the day, while I did pay enough attention to my lessons, that feeling I had about Tomoko grew. I found myself constantly spacing out, and trying to shut out my brother’s voice whenever I heard him in my ear…or, in my head…however it was that hearing him was possible.

 Yeah, shutting him out wasn’t working, very well. I ended up feeling stressed with, and about, everything, which made me either run a hand through my hair or lightly hit the side of my head.

 I think Miss Sonoda noticed…eventually. I expected her to say something and maybe have me go see the nurse.

 But instead, she said nothing, and only occasionally looked over in concern. I could be wrong, but this might be her way of keeping an eye on me. 

 Hopefully, she only thought I was stressed out over schoolwork.

 I know Kengo definitely noticed. Of course, he did. I could feel his eyes, and rage, burning into my back like lasers. But like our usual homeroom teacher, he never said anything, other than to try and get my attention about the current Zodiart.

 I just ignored him. Rude, I know, and definitely not protecting me from his wrath in the slightest…but I was too worried about Tomoko to be caring about his hatred towards me.

 Speaking of Tomoko, I never did see her, again, at school.

 I searched for her, in between classes, all over school. But, she was nowhere to be found. I took it that she might’ve just gone home, for the rest of the day.

 I couldn’t blame her…. After learning the truth about the witches and with all the attacks that have happened, I’d want to go home, too.

 In my case, I’ve been treated like a punching bag in the last almost twenty-four hours, including Scorpio nearly breaking my ankle - which was not feeling any better, by the way - and me nearly catching hypothermia from all that ice, earlier. If I could call it quits, for the day, and go home to my apartment, that would be great!

 Unfortunately, I’m sure a certain stone-hearted jerk wouldn’t let that slide. After all, I may be avoiding him, now…but even I knew that I couldn’t avoid him forever.

 Gotta tell ya, it has not been easy, trying to avoid his eye while I tried searching for Tomoko! I barely evaded him with every turn, every tree, every…wall….

 I don’t know how that boy could focus on his own schoolwork, or Zodiarts research, when he’s got his eyes on me like a hawk!

 I just hoped he gave me a break, soon….

 Later on, as the sun began to set, I was limping around town, keeping my eyes and ears out for Tomoko, just in case. I really needed to talk to her….

 But soon, pain flared up in my ankle, and it became too much. I had to sit down, for a bit.

 In a small curved tunnel, I sat down against the wall, and clutched my ankle, hissing in pain. “Ouch….!”

 Perhaps I should’ve gone to visit the nurse at school, after all. My ankle felt swollen, and it definitely felt worse than it had been, all day!

 I rolled my eyes, and chuckled, nervously. 

 Just my luck….

 Just then, I heard shouting and running, all sounding like they were heading in my direction! Before I could move to stand, Tomoko came rushing past, followed by Gentaro!

 “Wait, Tomoko!” the Fourze user was shouting. “Quit running! How much longer are you going to run?!” He seemed so focused on her, I don’t think he noticed me sitting here…until he accidentally tripped over my ankle, and stumbled.

 My fists clenched and my eyes squeezed shut as I gritted my teeth. Trying to ignore the pain was quickly becoming harder.

 Gentaro finally noticed me.

 “Oh! Junpei!” he exclaimed, and immediately helped me up.

 “Running….?” Tomoko whispered.

 After quickly making sure that I was alright, he approached the goth girl with a tired sigh.

 It was then that I realized: she wasn’t wearing her usual uniform and get-up!

 “Just let me talk to you, alright?” Gentaro tried saying to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

 But she wanted none of it. She turned and shoved him away, nearly knocking him to the ground! She then hurried over to the side, and gathered up some mud, using some to smudge onto her face, which surprised him.

 She looked at him, hurt, and stood up. 

 “Where am I supposed to run to?” she asked him, her voice shaking. “Don’t make me laugh….! Can you understand what it’s like when there’s no place for you in this world?!”

 “I do!” he told her. “I will understand!”

 I just stood there, listening to them, memories of mine and Junpei’s childhood flashing through my head.

 I knew it…. I thought, sadly, as a tear rolled down my cheek. I knew that this is what this whole thing was about….

 Tomoko didn’t have to explain the sort of life she had been going through before she met Ritsuko and the other witches.

 “Hypocrite!!” Tomoko shouted with a sniff, and threw whatever mud she had left in her hand at him.

 He sputtered, shocked, and stumbled until his back met the wall. He shook his head, as if wanting to shake off the mud.

 “Look….” he told her, calmly. “Just hand over the Zodiarts Switch.”

 “I don’t have it….” she replied. “At the ritual, that switch will let me turn into the Lunar Witch.”

 “Running off to the moon isn’t going to change anything.” Gentaro explained to her.

 “There’s nowhere else!” she exclaimed, tearfully. She turned away from him. “There’s no other place I can find sanctuary!”

 A memory of Junpei’s smiling face flashed through my head.

 “There’s no sanctuary on the moon!” Gentaro and I said in unison, before Gentaro looked over at me in surprise.

 Then, to my own surprise, he pulled out the Fourze Driver!

 “You just don’t get it….” he sighed, and used the Driver to transform.

 Tomoko and I stared at him in shock and confusion.

 “Gentaro, hold on!” I told him. Something told me I knew what he had in mind, now.

 But instead of listening to me, he switched on the Rocket Astroswitch, and hooked an arm around Tomoko’s waist!

 “Let’s go up to space!!” he exclaimed, and rocketed up into the air, taking the frightened goth girl with him and disappearing into the clouds!

 “Gentaro!” I called after him. “You can’t just-” I took a step forward to start running after him, but pain shot all through my ankle, shocking me!

 I yelped, collapsing to the ground and bruising my hands and knees.

 “Jun-san!” Yuuki exclaimed, worriedly, as she quickly rushed up to me, and crouched down. When she arrived, I failed to notice.

 I shifted to a sit, my face twisted in pain.

 “I-I’m ok!” I reached down to clutch my ankle, but my fingers barely touched it when the pain flared up, again, and I hissed. “I think….” 

 I took a deep breath, and bravely stood up, acting like absolutely nothing was wrong. “Just a little muscle ache, Yuuki!” I stretched. “I’ll be fine in a bit! You’ll see!”

 The long-haired girl stood up, and put her hands on her hips, giving me a knowing and irritated look that Mom sometimes gave me.

 “Hey! I think Gentaro took Tomoko back to the Rabbit Hutch!” I exclaimed, quickly. “Let’s go after him! Maybe he’s figured out how to get through to Tomoko!” 

 Before she could respond, I hurried away at a run…yeah, I know, not my brightest idea, considering my obvious injury.

 “Jun-san!” Yuuki exclaimed after me, sounding irritated. “You stop running, right now!”

 “Can’t hear you, Yuuki!” I called back, pushing myself to run faster. “You’re gonna have to catch up with me if you wanna talk!”

 “Jun-san!!”

 “Oh, boy….” I forced myself to run at my fastest pace, taking ‘shortcuts’ along the way. I didn’t feel ready to face everyone, yet.

 Particularly, You-Know-Who.

 Not very long later, I was taken by surprise when a pair of strong arms picked me up and tossed me over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes!

 “Huh?” I muttered, confused, and looked down.

 Shun gave me a wink and a salute.

 “Yuuki called,” he informed me with a smile. “She said something about an injured you running around town and avoiding everyone. Miu sent me out to bring you back to the Hutch!”

 “Of course, she did!” I exclaimed with a dramatic sob. 

 I then started pounding his back as he walked in the direction of the club’s base. “Shun, put me down! Please?? I don’t wanna see Kengo! He’s gonna kill me!”

 “Oh? Should’ve thought of that before going off and getting yourself injured…again.” he snickered. “Oh, and ignoring him, all day.”

 “It’s not my fault he hates my guts, so much!” I protested, and tried to grab onto a branch that we walked under…only to fail and end up with little cuts on my hands. “Shun!!”

 But, in the end, I gave up. “Ugh….! Ya know, if I die by the hands of a Kengo, I’m haunting you all!”

 He snorted. “Right. Good luck with that, tonight.”

 “Tonight?” I pushed myself up on his shoulder. “What’s happening, tonight?”

 “Other than Kengo killing you, I don’t know.” he replied.

 “Don’t say that!!” I whined, pounding his back, again.

 At the Rabbit Hutch, my billionth failed escape attempt had Shun and I toppling into the base, rather clumsily.

 “Junpei….” the jock groaned in pain.

 “Ow.” I muttered, dryly.

 A pair of heeled shoes stepped up. “Junpei?”

 I let out a startled, somewhat girlish, cry…before realizing that it was only Miu, and I began to calm down.

 The elder teenage girl had her hands on her hips with a disapproving hum, looking rather displeased with me.

 “Yuuki informs us you’ve been pushing yourself, today.” she said, an eyebrow lifting.

 “Whaaat?” I squeaked with a nervous grin. “Pushing myself? Tch! That’s…nonsensical! I feel absolutely fine!”

 JK snickered as he approached. “Says the boy with leftover ice on his uniform.” He brushed away some melting ice that was on my shoulder.

 “‘Nonsensical’?” Miu asked in disbelief, bending down some. “Are we using big words, now, Mister Danger-Magnet?”

 “Old habit! I grew up reading books, a lot.” I told her with an innocent shrug.

 “Mm-hmm….” she hummed. “Now, let me see that ankle.”

 I quickly scrambled back and away.

 “I’m tellin’ you guys! I feel completely fine!” I stood up, albeit a bit wobbly. “See? No injuries, whatsoever!” I then remembered the little cuts on my hands. “Except for these, which I got from climbing a tree.”

 “By ‘climbing’, you actually mean trying to escape me by.” Shun said with a smirk as he sat down at the round table.

 JK snickered, again. “You’re such a terrible liar, Junpei.”

 “Am not!”

 Just then, Gentaro came in from the Hutch’s door that lead out onto the moon! He was closely followed by Yuuki and Tomoko.

 “Oi, Junpei!” the Fourze user exclaimed, happily, yanking me into an awkward headlock. “You finally made it, slow-poke!”

 “He took the long way.” JK laughed, and looked at Shun. “Right?”

 “He did before I caught him and brought him here.” the jock replied.

 I tried to escape from Gentaro’s headlock. “Very funny, guys! It’s called the ‘scenic route’, which I just so happen to prefer.” 

 I yelped when the taller student suddenly flipped me over his shoulder, and had me on my back on the round table!

 I groaned in pain. 

 “Unnecessary….!” I wheezed.

 “Serves you right.” Miu told me with a smile as Tomoko nervously sat down at the table.

 “Nonsense!” I protested, wincing. “I did nothin’ wrong!”

 Yuuki laughed, then held up Tomoko’s moon necklace. 

 “You don’t need this, anymore, right?” she asked the goth.

 Tomoko gently took it.

 “I’m fine…the way I am….” she said with a slight nod. “No one has ever said that to me, before….!”

 I looked up at Gentaro. “So, I take it this means you were able to get through to her, after all!”

 “What’s supposed to be wrong with you, eh?” Gentaro asked her with a grin, gripping her shoulders. He then started pacing about. “Hell, we’ve already got a bunch of oddballs, around here! This club’s got weirdos that make you look mainstream….”

 “I don’t want to hear that from you.” Shun told him. “Although, I suppose…I don’t really have room to talk, either. Considering, I’m a self-conscious control freak.”

 “And I’m an over-confident, stuck up girl.” Miu added with a smile.

 I nearly snorted. “That’s putting it lightly.” I mumbled. My face deadpanned when a stuffed animal was thrown at my head.

 “As you can see,” JK told Tomoko with his usual cheerful grin. “I’m a free-wheeling funster who likes to hang out with weirdos.”

 “Thief!” I ‘sneezed’, remembering how he stole the Electric Switch, once. That earned me a harsh flick on the cheek from him, making me flinch.

 “And I’m a nerd with a very tenuous grasp on reality!” Yuuki told the goth with a grin. “Next!”

 Kengo, who had been lazily standing off to the side, this entire time, actually looked embarrassed. I really wanted to laugh; this was the first time I’ve seen this boy show any emotion that wasn’t anger or annoyance! I held myself back, though, knowing full-well that if I made even a chortle, he would definitely kill me.

 A blush crept up on the brunette boy’s face, and he turned his back on us to try and hide it. “I…skip more classes than anyone else, and…I practically live in the nurse’s office.”

 I stuck my tongue out at him and rolled my eyes, knowing that wasn’t entirely true.

 The rest of the club snickered and laughed, making him face us all, again.

 “What’s that supposed to mean?!” Gentaro exclaimed.

 “Oi!” Kengo yelled, completely embarrassed, now.

 “Jun-san is-” Yuuki exclaimed.

 “No.” I said, cutting her off, and knowing exactly who they were about to turn to next. But Miu gave me a look, and my shoulders slumped. “Fine….” I finally sat up, ignoring the fact that I was still on the round table. “And I am-”

 “A school-obsessed four-eyed nerd?” Gentaro asked, teasingly.

 “No!” I replied, feeling somewhat hurt.

 “A gutless crybaby chicken?” JK teased.

 “Pretty sure that’s you, and no! Geez!”

 “I got one.” Kengo said, his voice sending chills down my spine…maybe up it, too. I nervously looked over at him as he crossed his arms. “He’s a punching-bag ragdoll with a magnet for trouble, and danger.” He sneered at me.

 “Ouch, but…yeah, pretty much….” I muttered, embarrassed, and annoyed.

 Everyone around me cracked up laughing, making me blush, harder. Even Tomoko was chuckling, a little bit.

 “It’s true! He’s been one ever since he joined the club!” Gentaro laughed, tears in his eyes.

 “His mouth also gets him into trouble!” Yuuki added.

 Man, I wanted to hide, right then and there….

 “Well, anyway….” Gentaro chuckled, calming down. “We all have our strong spots, too. That’s what makes us the Kamen Rider Club!” He gave Tomoko a kind smile. 

 I sassily rolled my eyes, and smirked, sharing it with Miu and Shun.

 Gentaro then seemed to think, for a moment.

 “A gloomy, weird psychic girl….” he said to the goth, and sat down next to her. “But, she’s got great instincts, and never lets her guard down. That’s what’s great about you, Tomoko.”

 I tilted my head, and gently took her moon necklace, dangling it up. “So, no more of this nonsense, eh?” I gave her a kind smile, noticing a happy tear trailing down her cheek.

 Her lip trembled, and she nodded.

 I shot JK a glare when he started laughing at me, again, muttering about what Kengo said about me. His laugh turned into hysterical giggling. He tried to hide it with his hand, but it was too late.

 “It’s not funny, JK.” I told him.

 This had him burst out into full-on laughter.

 “Hey, shut up!” I snapped, and growled when he kept it up. 

 I tackled him down, making him whimper and yelp as I got payback by bruising him. I had half a mind to bite him, too, just to show him.

 “Oi, oi!” Miu exclaimed, loudly, and Shun finally had to come over with Gentaro and pull us apart. “Geez! I don’t know how the two of you manage to get under each other’s skins, like that! Look at you two…no wonder you’re such easy targets for those Zodiarts!”

 “Man, I hate Zodiarts!” JK whined.

 “Yeah.” I agreed. “They’re pushy.”

 “And evil!”

 “And stupid.”

 “And man, are they-”

 He and I pressed our backs against each other’s and finished in unison, and with grins, “Uuugly!” We cackled like hyenas, as if making fun of the Zodiarts was the most hilarious thing we’ve ever done.

 Kengo lifted an eyebrow at us, a disturbed grimace on his face. He shook his head, slightly, and rolled his eyes.

 “I’m surrounded by idiots.” he grumbled.

 “Funny, that.” Shun told Miu. “Those two were just bruising each other, two seconds ago, and now, they’re laughing, together.”

 “We certainly have some strange club members!” Miu sighed with a small shake of her head.

 I sideled up to Kengo, and gently nudged him with my elbow.

 “C’mon, Kengo! You gotta agree with us, there! It’s funny, and true! C’mon, what’dya say, eh?” I asked him.

 His deadpanned face just side-eyed me as I laughed.

 My laughter soon turned into nervous chuckling when his expression didn’t change, nor did he say a word.

 Oh, boy…he was still angry with me. He just hasn’t really shown it in front of everyone else.

 Gentaro grabbed my upper-arms, and pulled me safely away from Kengo’s silent wrath. “And, we’re coming back to the table and giving our good friend, Kengo, some space….!” 

 “Speaking of Zodiarts….” Tomoko said, grabbing all of our attention. “Ritsuko…. She’s planning something awful. She told us….”

 “Eh?? She’s going to burn the whole school down?!” Miu asked as we all hurried out of the Rabbit Hutch to find Ritsuko and the other witches. “Is she crazy?!”

 “You need to ask?” I said, sarcastically, trying to keep up while trying to hide my obvious limp.

 “Ritsuko-san’s serious.” Tomoko explained. “She’s going to use the power she’s stored in that staff, and unleash it onto the school. It should be enough to burn it all to ashes….”

 “The whole school?!” Yuuki asked, worriedly, and Tomoko nodded.

 “So, that’s the ritual she was talking about….” Gentaro said.

 Then, we all took off running. Eh, well…I limped, of course, though I did try to continue acting like nothing was wrong. 

 Unfortunately, the injury slowed me down….

 Kengo stopped when he noticed how far behind I was. He tilted his head, and reached over to grab the collar of my jacket, yanking me towards him. 

 “Come on….” he grumbled. “You should be staying in the Rabbit Hutch to rest. But….” He gave me a devilish sneer. “I don’t have anything to chain you up and make you stay put.”

 “Oh, I’m glad to hear you care so much about me.” I replied, sarcastically.

 “Don’t start with me.” he growled, angrily. “I will deal with you, later, Thundewel.” He started dragging me along with him after the others. He scoffed. “What kind of a surname is that, anyway?”

 “Ugh….!” I said, rolling my eyes at him.