Chapter 1:

A Thousand Cherry Blossoms


The spring air was warm despite a gentle breeze pulling a few stray cherry blossom petals away on its current, and Suzume Adachi stepped out of her car with a smile on her face, once more in front of Saotome Academy, this time in her uniform and ready to start her year at the prestigious school. She dusted off the yellow and black checker skirt, made sure her yellow socks were level just below the knee, and straightened out her white shirt, navy vest, striped blazer and the striped red bow that acted as a tie of sorts at her neck. She even fussed over her shoes, making sure the simple black pumps were solidly on her feet. Her blonde hair, washed that morning, sat just below her shoulders, a slight wave present in the strands, and Suzume brushed them over her shoulder as she began to walk up the stairs and once more through those large, looming doors.

Her first day here had finally arrived. What kind of people would she meet here? And what would she learn?

And why has my heart led me here…? She thought to herself in slight exasperation. Will I really find whatever it is I'm looking for here? I only have one year, and I'm not even sure what I should be looking for! I'll just have to hope that whatever it is finds me first…

She made sure her full fringe was even as she released a quick breath, annoyed with the fact she couldn't keep her hands still at this moment; she could usually control her nerves, giving off very little identifiers outwardly, however it seemed this first big step into something new and unknown was too much for even her well-practiced manners. She was soon surrounded by a sea of other students as they all made their way to the opening ceremony, and Suzume could only hope she could grab hold of her nerves sooner rather than later.


As it turned out, the opening ceremony had in fact helped Suzume calm her nerves, at least enough to stop fidgeting so much. Shining himself had descended upon the ceremony on wires, flying over his new students with all the extravagance of the cheesiest opera villain, wearing a large mask and cloak before speaking of love on stage and then flying off once more, his booming laugh the same as the one that had started her acceptance letter. It was strange, but the absurdity and unexpectedness of it all had made Suzume more relaxed; compared to Shining, everything else started to appear rather more mundane and ordinary, simpler to understand. This was still a school after all, and the rest of the students had looked as surprised as she did at Shining's entrance; that, at least, had made her feel more at ease.

Suzume chuckled to herself when she recalled the opening ceremony that had just transpired as she walked through the large marble hallways, slowly making her way towards S class.

This really is like a circus, she thought humorously, though her expression soon took on a more pondering look. Though, perhaps that's something I'll just have to get used to in the world of Idols… the over extravagance of it all.

She couldn't help but get excited, now that her nerves had retreated, and so she smiled again as she began to pull her hair up into a loose bun on the top of her head; doing so revealed the flash of turquoise dyed hair that usually lay hidden behind the blonde, a splash of colour she'd only recently decided to add. Suzu usually had her hair in some sort of updo, but this morning she hadn't had the time; she had been running late, as usual, and had been too nervous, excited and distracted to put it up until now.

They had been told their possessions would be taken to their shared rooms whilst they had an introduction to their class and teachers. Suzume wondered whether the girl she would be sharing a room with would be in the same class as her or not, and what kind of person she would be; would she be a composer like Suzume, or an idol?

She finished tying the messy bun just as she arrived at the open door to the S classroom; feeling more like herself she walked in without hesitation, but paused just inside to take a look around. There were already quite a few students, or rather, her new classmates, gathered in the classroom; some were sitting at desks already, staking their claim to the spot for the entire year, but there were also plenty of students standing in small groups and chatting to one another.

Deciding to search for a desk of her own, Suzume spotted one that seemed unclaimed in front of a boy with deep blue-black hair. The empty desk was a few seats away from the windows and one away from the front; the perfect spot. If she were too close to the windows, she'd be more prone to daydreaming, and maybe sitting closer to the front would help her keep focused and stay alert too; she definitely didn't have time to daydream this year.

Making her way towards the desk Suzume reached for the hair slides she kept on the spare hairband around her wrist, reaching up to try and tidy up her bun somewhat and smoothing out the bumps of hair she'd failed to control. This slowed her movement a little, but she hadn't seen anyone else searching for a desk to claim, so she was sure it wouldn't get swiped all of a sudden. Just as she was passing the desk behind her own (soon to be) desk, a hair slide slipped from her grasp as she had tried to manoeuvre it into the back of her bun, falling to the floor behind her. The small movement caught Tokiya's eye, and he looked up from his book and down at the slide that had fallen to the floor. Suzume was turning herself to pick it up, inwardly tutting slightly at her clumsiness, but before she could reach down to retrieve the slide, another hand picked it up. Her eyes followed the slide as the hand holding it brought it up to eye level, and Suzume saw a rather tall boy with long, strawberry blonde hair was the one holding her hair slide.

"You should be more careful, my lady. You wouldn't want to lose something on your first day, now would you?" The man winked at her and had a flirtatious tone to his voice, a charming smile on his lips, his posture relaxed and head ever so slightly tilted.

Suzume blinked a few times, her hand still slightly outstretched from where she had been reaching for the slide herself. "Oh, erm, thank you very much…" She slowly reached out to the offered slide, taking it back into her own hands as she continued to stare at the man, his smile never faltering once.

The whispers of a group of girls nearby reached her ears as one of the gasped:

"She's talking to Jinguji-san!"

"Just who does she think she is?"

"You don't think they know each other, do you?!"

Suzume wasn't really listening to the rest though, because her eyes had widened; just where had she heard that name before? It seemed so familiar, and so she dug around in her memories as Jinguji spoke again in his smooth as honey voice:

"Oh, how rude of me, I did not introduce myself. I am Jinguji Ren, my sweet lady." He bowed slightly, a small smirk dancing on his lips as he looked at the dazed girl. "And who-"

"Your name is Jinguji Ren…?" Suzume interrupted him, saying the words with slight wonder. He nodded, straightening with a slightly surprised and confused expression flashing across his features. Suzu's eyes lit up suddenly and she grinned widely as she excitedly said, "It's me! Adachi Suzume!" She placed her hands lightly on her chest and took a small step towards Ren, leaning forward ever so slightly as she continued with a giggle, "Though, it's been so long I doubt you remember me. I can barely recognise you myself!"

Suzume smiled at him, and Ren brought his hand to his chin as he studied her, beginning to think himself but putting on a dramatic show for the few onlookers. "Hm… Adachi… Adachi…" A small spark of recognition suddenly played in his eyes and he lowered his hand. "Adachi Suzume… We met at that party when we were kids, didn't we?"

Suzume nodded, her reactions back to their usual tameness after her spout of initial excitement. "Mhm. I'm surprised you remembered me." She laughed again lightly, putting the slider into its intended position in her hair.

"Ah, I could never forget a beauty such as you, sweet lady. You have only grown all the more beautiful since that night all those years ago…" Suzu had turned to take her seat at her desk, and Ren had followed her to now stand next to it as he spoke.

Suzu, still putting the few remaining sliders into her hair sighed lightly, a slight grin on her face but a small furrow in her brow as she said, looking up at Ren, "And it seems you've grown all the more into a flirt over these past years, Ren." She laughed lightly.

Ren had the same flirtatious, relaxed grin her brother often sported; the one that would make his fans go wild. However, Ren's seemed more practiced than genuine in this current moment, unlike her brothers. At least when she had interrupted him earlier, Ren's facial expressions had been genuine; right now, they seemed rather put on. Suzume wondered why that was, perhaps just to make a good first impression? Or was he too so used to having to put up a polite front it became difficult to consciously drop it in front of strangers? She supposed she'd find out, should they spend more time together.

Ren's brow furrowed slightly in confusion for a moment at her rebuke, before he smirked once more and said grandiosely, "I simply cannot help myself when I see such a beauty before me." His tone then shifted slightly, but Suzu couldn't quite decide in what way. "It is good to see you again, Suzume. I hope we can continue this conversation over lunch? A lady shouldn't be left to eat alone after all."

Suzu didn't have time to ponder his tonal shift as she was caught off guard by his request; it had been so long since they had seen each other, and they had surely both changed so much compared to when they had been just little kids trying to escape a fancy party. She had just been happy he had even recognised her, but the fact he actually wanted to spend more time with someone he'd barely known as a child…

Suzume smiled, her hands resting on her desk now that she had finished pinning her hair, "I'd like that Ren. Thank you."

Ren's hand was suddenly holding her own; his slender fingers held her hand gently as he lifted it towards his lips, his back bent in a slight bow, but he stopped just before the skin of the back of her hand could meet his lips. Suzume could feel his hot breath on her skin as he spoke:

"Then I shall see you at lunch, little bird."

Suzume barely registered the new nickname as she sat frozen in shock, unable to move even as Ren released her hand and made his way back to his own desk in the row next to hers but one seat back; he winked at her after taking his seat before looking towards the front of the classroom, seemingly satisfied with himself.

All Suzume could manage was to blink her wide eyes heavily as her hand was stuck in mid-air, now abandoned; maybe Ren really was just asking her to lunch because he was a flirt… Had she imagined that odd shift in his voice earlier, then?

She blinked again as a new voice shook her from her frozen state; she turned and looked to see a blond boy wearing a hat was leaning towards her from his own desk at the front of the classroom. He was in the same row as Ren, but at the front and therefore one desk away from Suzume.

"Hey, you okay?" He said; his tone was ever so slightly confrontational, an odd mix of caring but trying not to seem like he was too much. It wasn't quite working. "You can just ignore that flirtatious bastard… He's always that full of himself." He scowled and glanced at Ren from the corner of his eyes, leaning one arm on the empty desk behind him.

Suzume couldn't help but smile at his concern towards a stranger, her hand finally returning to its place on top of the other on her desk. "Yes, I'm fine thank you. His flirting doesn't bother me too much. I know he doesn't mean it." Her voice was light with a small chuckle entering it towards the end.

The boy's eyes lit up slightly at that, his brow raising in surprise. He dropped any hint of the tsundere tone he'd held before as he said, "I'm Kurusu Syo by the way. Your Adachi Suzume, right? I heard you earlier." He cringed slightly at that, his shoulders rising as he grinned at her in embarrassment.

But Suzume just nodded, humming confirmation, "That's right. And it's nice to meet you Kurusu. Do you know Ren as well then?" She tilted her head slightly; he spoke as if he knew Ren before today, after all.

Syo's face twisted into one of disgust; "No, but all he's done since he got here is flirt, so it's not exactly hard to see his personality…"

Suzume blinked, however she couldn't stop the peel of laughter from escaping her lips soon after as she said, "Oh really? I must say I don't find that hard to believe from what I just saw."

She continued to laugh quietly, and seeing this Syo smirked, brightening at having someone agree with him on the topic. "Yeah, it's like he never stops!" He said excitedly.

As the two laughed together, neither noticed the souring of Ren's expression from his seat behind them both.

"Hey," Syo continued, "If you don't want to eat lunch alone with that guy, I don't mind joining you. Maybe we can hold off his flirtation long enough to eat our food if we try together…" He finished with a murmur, grimacing slightly at the mere notion.

Suzume found herself surprised once more, but replied with a bright smile, "I'd love that Kurusu! I'd appreciate the back up." She laughed once more at the small joke; whilst she could probably manage Ren's meaningless flirting for a while, it would be nice to have Syo there too as it might get a bit much for her if she were all by herself… she wasn't sure if Ren would catch the hint and stop anytime soon, and this way she'd at least have some reprieve.

"Then it's settled." Syo grinned at her confidently. Suzume nodded to him, but as they shared a smile the whispers of that group of girls reached Suzume's ears once more as one of them gasped loudly.

It's like they're not even trying to be quiet. Suzume thought with a bit of exasperation.

"I can't believe she'd ruin that perfect opportunity to eat lunch alone with Jinguji-san!"

"I can't believe she knows him!"

"Adachi… isn't that the family who owns all those theatres and opera houses?"

"Wait! If that's the case, you don't think her brother is Akira Adachi, do you?! As in the Adachi Akira?!"

The girls started to squeal over this revelation as Suzume winced slightly; she was glad that it appeared Kurusu hadn't heard the girl's conversation, as he had now turned back to the front of the classroom. She didn't want him to hear them essentially slagging him off because she'd agreed to him joining them for lunch, but she was also wincing at the mention of her brother. She knew in a place like this there was bound to be more people like her whose families were in the upper class of society and held a certain level of notoriety (Ren's presence was evidence enough of this), but she'd hoped to at least keep a low profile until she'd introduced herself to a few more people.

Though, she thought, I suppose I threw any hope of that out the window when I blurted my name out loud for all to hear earlier… She sighed. At least Kurusu didn't seem to recognise my family name, I can rely on him to not be someone in search of raising their status through my friendship…

Though thinking on it now, it was hard to tell if anyone here would try to gain her friendship for such purposes; they were all aiming for the Idol industry, something her family had nothing to do with. Maybe the worst she'd get here would be fans trying to get close to her brother… If anything at all.

Suzume could hope, at least, that things would be different here.

The groups fangirling didn't last long however, as a commanding presence brought all its occupiers to a sudden silence. The presence was overwhelming, despite the fact its source hadn't entered the room yet; it soon did however, as an older man (though appearing to still be in his mid-twenties) with ginger hair strode in, instructing with barely a glance round the room for everyone to take their seats as he made his way to the front of the class room. Everyone did without hesitation.

The man's presence was intimating, but Suzume couldn't help but also feel slightly awed by it; so this was the Idol Hyuga Ryuyu.

"My name is Ryuyu and I will be your homeroom teacher for the year." He said, his tone deadly serious.

As he began to explain to them details about the school, Suzu found her mind drifting away from her once more; Kurusu was sitting bolt upright and to attention with a huge grin on his face, watching their teacher like a hawk. Suzume couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm; he must be excited to be here, and from the way he was looking at Ryuyu, perhaps Kurusu wanted to be an Idol? Suzume thought it was highly likely Ren did too, given his charisma. If she was right, she could be composing for them one day. The thought made a gentle warmth spread through her chest.

As she thought about the two boys, she marvelled at how lucky she had been to have found some friendly faces so fast; they'd barely been at the school for more than a few hours after all, and Suzume had been sure it would take some time to find anyone to hang out with.

Seeing Ren after 11 years… it was incredible. Not in her farthest daydreams had Suzume thought this would happen; the fact they were in the same class too- it was so impossible, saying it was mere coincidence didn't seem to do the scenario justice. She was grateful for it none the less, whether it be fate, destiny, coincidence, whatever you wanted to call it, because it had provided her with amicable company right from the start.

She couldn't help but wonder why Kurusu had been concerned about her and initiated the conversation between them; perhaps it had just been because Ren had flirted with her, and seeing that she hadn't really reacted much, Kurusu had taken an interest in her? Seeing how most of the other girls in this class seemed to be fawning over Ren and near fainting at his flirting, maybe it made Kurusu curious? Either that, or Kurusu was simply a kind soul who was trying to look out for any poor victims of Ren's flirting. Suzume chuckled inwardly at that thought.

Realising she had already let her mind drift Suzu snapped herself back to reality, pursing her lips slightly in annoyance; she hadn't even lasted 10 minutes! She hoped she hadn't missed much… Ryuyu was explaining the school's facilities and staff to the class, currently.

It wasn't long before lunch was called, though it felt like an awful long time to Suzume; perhaps it was being in a new environment, but it had been a conscience struggle to stay focused through the rest of Ryuyu's explanation. Suzume had to slap herself mentally every time her mind wanted to drift away into the high ceilings of the classroom and beyond; it would probably look strange if she actually slapped herself, after all, so doing so mentally would have to do for now. It seemed to be working so far…

Suzu began to collect her stuff together to get ready to leave, though it wasn't long before Ren approached her desk once more, saying with a small but somehow still grand bow:

"Well, sweet lady, are you ready to go to lunch?"

Suzume smiled at him a little despairingly, her brows dipping at the sides, yet before she could answer him Syo came up to her desk also:

"Oi, Jinguji, can't you see your ridiculous flirting is making her uncomfortable? Jeez, take a hint."

It was only now that Suzume saw just how much shorter Syo was than Ren, in fact, Suzume reckoned she was probably taller than Syo too. Ren replied to Syo with a smirk, seemingly rising to the challenge:

"Oh? And why are you so interested in the Lady, Chibi-chan? She can speak for herself, no?"

Syo's teeth gritted in irritation, "I told you before, my names Kurusu Syo! And besides, I'm joining you for lunch. I can't just leave you alone with Adachi, ya creepy bastard…"

Ren gasped lightly and clutched his chest in mock offence, "Oh Chibi-chan, I'm hurt! I would never do something untoward to a dear lady, much less this little bird."

Suzume hadn't been paying much attention to the two's argument however; from her sideways position in her chair, she was able to see the slight irritation evident on the face of the boy who sat behind her, his open book he was reading before class clutched in his hands once more. He was staring at the arguing boys next to her, and Suzume's brow furrowed as her lips quirked in concern.

"Stop calling me that!" Syo cried, his voice rising for a moment in indignation before he sighed with resignation, "Let's just go get lunch already."

Suzume turned her face back to them as she spoke in for the first time in that conversation, "I think that would be best." She laughed lightly, the concern gone from her features.

Ren smiled at her, his tone still as charismatic as ever, "As long as the lady is alright with it, I don't mind. After you, Chibi-chan."

"I told you, that's not my name!" Syo cried again, staring down Ren with clenched fists. Ren simply smirked in his victory, waiting to see Suzume stand from her seat before he leisurely walked out the door, Syo hurrying to catch up with him in a huff, still ranting to Ren about his nickname as he went.

Suzume however, paused. She watched the boy who sat behind her as he in turn watched the two boys leave the classroom from the corner of his eye, his irritation still evident in those eyes; he didn't seem to notice Suzume standing in front his desk.

That's odd… She thought, studying the boy's face. He seems familiar somehow… have I seen him somewhere before?

She couldn't put her finger on it; it was just the faintest hint of recognition flaring in the back of her mind. She brushed it aside for now, shifting her weight as she said softly, "Pardon me." It seemed wrong to speak loudly to him, somehow; perhaps because he had appeared irritated by the noise the boys had been making? He looked up at Suzume, and so she continued. "I'd like to apologise for the ruckus we made; both just now and before class started. I'm sorry if we disturbed you." She did a small, apologetic bow.

After a short pause, he bowed his head slightly in return; he didn't seem to want to make eye contact with her. His voice was rather monotone as he spoke: "It is hard to concentrate with such a ruckus next to my desk," Suzume couldn't help but feel a little disheartened by his cold, calm response, but she tried not to show it on her face. She had thought he had finished speaking, but to her surprise he continued after a pause, "But you were not being particularly noisy yourself, so there's no point in you apologising to me."

Suzume smiled a little, releasing a short, quiet laugh and saying brightly, "I'll try to keep those two from causing such a ruckus from now on then. I'm Adachi Suzume by the way."

There was another pause as the boy finally looked up and studied her face, before he looked down once more, simply saying, "Ichinose Tokiya."

"It's nice to meet you, Ichinose. Do you have anyone to eat lunch with? You could join us if you wanted too?" She didn't think the chances of him accepting were very high, but she thought she would offer anyway; she hadn't seen him interact with anyone else in the class yet, and this conversation was actually the first time she'd heard him speak at all.

His brow raised slightly, but his tone remained unchanged. "No, thank you. I'll be alright on my own." He looked back down at his book at that, as though letting Suzume know this conversation had come to an end.

"Well, alright then," Suzume said, her voice still bright and a soft smile on her lips. "If you change your mind, the offer will still be standing. I'll see you later, Ichinose." She waved slightly as she left; she couldn't help but feel a little guilty to have disturbed him so much already, just because she had picked the desk in front of him.

Tokiya watched the girl go, confusion just barely showing on his features. He sighed, closing his book with a soft thud before getting up himself to go get some lunch.

Suzume jogged down the hallway, catching up to Ren and Syo who were walking at a leisurely pace, Syo still with an irritated expression on his face as he glared lightly down the hallway ahead of him, mumbling under his breath.

"Ah, there you are little bird," Ren said, turning to look at her as she came to walk beside him, "I was about to turn back to see what was taking you so long. I had thought you were just behind us."

"Sorry," Suzume said, shrugging a shoulder with a sheepish grin, "I just dropped one of my hair slides again, is all. It took a while for me to find it."

"Again?" Ren's eyebrow raised, "My, are you really as clumsy as you were when we were little, Suzume?" He teased her with a lopsided grin.

"Hm?" Suzume hummed in confusion and shock. She looked at the mirth dancing in Ren's eyes and after a while her own lit up in recognition. "Hey! I only fell out of that tree because you surprised me! I'm not a clumsy person!" She placed her hand on her chest as Ren only continued to smile at her; he had been referring to the night they had first met as kids at that party, at the lake with Suzume in the tree nearby.

"Your hair slides beg to differ, Suzume." He tapped one of the ones placed in her hair with his nail.

Suzume only sighed in response; there was no need to tell them the real reason she had been lagging behind, and so she just had to deal with the consequences of her white lie. Her father had taught her to always be polite to acquaintances and strangers, without fail; despite the fact it was mostly for social gatherings or business, old habits were hard to break and Suzume tended to slip into over politeness when speaking to anyone she didn't know very well, using it to avoid any conflict and appear aggregable. Plus, she didn't think telling the boys she was late because she had been apologising on their behalf simply because they had made a bit of noise was the best way to make friends.

Syo seemed to finally shake his irritation as they entered the food hall through its large double doors, his mouth hanging open in amazement as he looked around, saying, "Woah… its already so packed in here! Where are we even supposed to go to get our food?!"

Suzume couldn't help but mirror Syo's amazement as she looked around at the grand architecture of the large hall, "Woah… It looks like there's a queue over there, so maybe we should head in that direction?" She pointed to the area she had located.

"Hm, yes, that appears to be place." Ren said.

Just as they had begun to make their way over, the two heard Ren's laugh from a little ways behind them; they turned to see he was surrounded by another group of girls, all of them hanging off his every word. They must have approached him just as he had begun walking. Suzume felt her face twist with slight disparagement and could sense Syo's irritation without having to look at his face.

"Come on, lets go over and get our lunch," Suzume said placatingly, "Ren can catch up to us once he's… done?" She wasn't entirely sure how to finish that sentence.

Syo nodded, shoulders relaxing slightly as they once more made their way towards to queue for food.

They walked together in silence for a while, but Suzume broke it, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Say, Kurusu?" He hummed and looked up at her from beneath the brim of his hat, "Why did you really offer to sit with us? It's clear to see that Ren irritates you, and it can't have just been for my sake. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I'm glad you're sitting with us, but, I don't mind dealing with Ren's flirting all that much, after all."

Syo looked a little surprised by this, but he sighed and looked ahead, "As much as he annoys me, I probably would've ended up sitting with him anyway…" Suzume continued to look at him with curiosity, and so he continued, "He did actually speak to me a little while before you came into class, until he got distracted by some girls gawking at him… He's the only other person I've spoken too, so this probably would've happened." He shrugged. "Plus, you seem like a nice person, and you're the only girl I've met so far that doesn't completely fawn over the guy," He chuckled to himself, "Heh, I thought with you here, you'd make it a bit more bearable to eat with him, and so far I've been right! Though, you're way too nice to the guy, Adachi." He placed his hands in his pockets as he looked over at her.

Suzume was relieved; Syo seemed like an honest guy, and he didn't appear to be doing this because of her family. Even if he knew who her family was, he wasn't mentioning it, and that in itself put Suzume's paranoia at ease.

Her brows drooped a little as replied, "Maybe, but I do have a feeling dealing with his fangirls all the time could get a little… tiresome."

"Ha, you can say that again!" Syo exclaimed, before gaining his own look of curiosity. "But, why did you want to know?"

"Oh, I was just curious is all. I assume you want to be an idol, Kurusu?" She quickly changed the subject, and thankfully Kurusu didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he didn't show any signs of minding.

He grinned proudly, "Yep! How could you tell?"

Suzume chuckled, "You looked at Ryuyu-sensei with such admiration, it was hard not to see the connection."

His grin only seemed to widen, "Yeah, I want to be just like Ryuyu-sensei. What about you? Do you want to be an idol?"

"Oh no, I want to be a composer actually-" She had been gesturing slightly with her hands as she spoke, but looked ahead of her just in time to see a girl trip in front of her. Suzume quickly reached out and grabbed the girl's shoulders, pushing against them and preventing her from falling any further, forgetting whatever it had been she was about to say. She heard Syo next to her say, "Got it! Safe." Suzume smiled at the girl, helping her right herself as she said:

"Careful! Are you alright?"

"Oh! Yes, I'm fine, thank you!" The short girl squeaked, appearing rather flustered.

The girl seemingly steady and back on her feet, Suzume let her hands drop from her shoulders, smiling reassuringly at her. Syo straightened from his bowed position, clutching a card between his fingers; it appeared to be one of the lunch cards.

"Here." Syo said with a smile, handing the card back to the girl who had tripped, who took it with a grateful thank you.

"Good catch." Suzume said in wonder, her eyes widening.

Syo grinned back at her, but before he could speak a growingly familiar voice lilted through the air towards them.

"Careful there, Chibi-chan. I had my eye on this Lady first." Ren said, seemingly having shaken off the group of fangirls at last. Syo obviously reacted with indignation once more at Ren's nickname for him.

Suzume felt her face drop in exasperation, thinking to herself:

He really does go from flirting with one group of girls straight to the next, doesn't he? This poor girl was already flustered enough from tripping and dropping her card, and now she has to deal with Ren's flirting… She sighed. Hopefully he won't go completely overboard…

"Um, thank you for helping me the day of the entrance exam!" The timid girl spoke up, bowing to Ren.

Oh? So they already know each other… maybe it'll be alright then-

Ren smiled, "Meeting you again must be fate."

Suzume's train of thought was stopped in that instant; all she could do was blink, stunned. "It's so cheesy…" She mumbled, mouth agape and finishing the sentence in her head. It's like something out of a kid's fairy-tale…

"You can say that again." Syo grumbled, having apparently heard her.

"And he says it with such a straight face…" Suzume continued, still stunned by the levels this man was going too to flirt with every girl he saw.

"A flirt, as always." A new voice joined the conversation from behind them.

"And as always, you're a stiff." Ren said, moving toward the newcomer. The two stood some distance apart, staring each other down. Ren's change in tone was enough to shake Suzume from her stunned state, and she looked at the blue haired boy questioningly; where had she seen that colour before?

Another girl had come over to the one who had tripped; it looked like the two were friends as the girl with the braid began to whisper hurriedly at her friend about the fact she knew Ren.

The girl with the braid looked towards the boy with blue hair, saying, "And Hijirikawa Masato is a scion of the Hijirikawa Financial Group!"

At the mention of the boys name, Suzume's eyes lit up once more in recognition and she smiled widely, though it once more quickly fell from her face as confusion overcame her; the two boys seemed very hostile towards one another, and the girls tone made it sound as though she were speaking of some great rivalry or family feud. Sure, it had been 11 years since she had seen them both, but still… Was their family's business's really what had turned the twos friendship on its head? Suzume couldn't help but feel both anger and sadness at this notion; the three of them had first met sneaking out of that party when they were kids, and had met a further two or three times when their parents had had meetings at each other's homes. It wasn't exactly any of Suzume's business, the boys had met with each other more times than she had met with them but…

She looked down, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she looked up, a flawless smile was plastered on her face, and she walked into the tension that stood between the two boys, speaking just as brightly:

"Masato! It's so good to see you again!" The two were momentarily distracted from their staring contest as they looked at Suzume. "It's been so long, but it's Adachi Suzume." She pointed to herself.

Masato's expression turned to one of confusion, "I'm sorry, have we met before?"

Ren scoffed, "Of course you wouldn't remember dear Suzume. It only took me a minute to remember our dear friend here, Masato." He smirked, and Masato's brow crinkled in annoyance in response, the tension rising once more.

Suzume's forehead crinkled, breaking through her bright exterior slightly, "Well, we have only met a few times Ren… I don't think that's enough to warrant us all being dear friends." She laughed lightly. Ren's brow raised slightly; he couldn't help but notice the thinly veiled sadness that had entered her voice when she had said that. Suzume continued, "And it was more than 10 years ago we all played together."

A flash of recognition played in Masato's eyes, "…Adachi Suzume. I think I do remember you…" Suzume looked over at him, and he bowed his head, "Forgive me for not remembering you sooner."

Suzume smiled, "Don't worry about it. I'm just surprised to see you both here! I had no idea you both loved music so much!"

"Yes," Ren said, and by his tone Suzume could tell he was setting up another dig at Masato, "But whilst we're both in S class, I'm surprised the eldest Hijirikawa son is only in A class."

"Now, there's not that much difference in talent between our classes I'm sure-" Suzume tried to placate, but it was too late.

"Soon enough, I'll use my ability to turn things around." Masato replied, rising to Ren's challenge.

"I'm looking forward to it." Ren smirked.

With that, they both turned away from one another and walked away, leaving Suzume standing still and looking between the two's receding backs. Despite the hostility, Suzume couldn't help but feel awed by the level of drive Masato had conveyed; he was so determined and sure that he would rise up to S class, despite the fact he was already in A class, still a high ranking amongst the other students here. She couldn't help but wonder what drove him; was it the desire to be better than Ren?

Suzume felt a hand fall heavily on her shoulder; she jumped a little, blinking and seeing Syo standing next to her, his brow raised slightly:

"Hey, you okay Adachi?"

She smiled at him, laughing lightly, "Oh, yes I'm fine, thank you Kurusu. I just have a habit of daydreaming and zoning out a bit, is all."

He hummed and looked a little surprised, but he simply smiled as he said, "Come on, Ren's already gone to get some food, we should get ours too. Hopefully there won't be any more distractions now…"

Suzume nodded as he sighed, "Right." She noticed that those two other girls had disappeared too, along with Masato and the small crowd who had been watching the two scion's altercation.

As the two finally joined the queue to get some lunch, Syo asked her a question:

"So, you know that Hijirikawa guy too, Adachi? It sounded like all three of you have met before."

"Well, I wouldn't say I know know Ren and Masato, but we did play together a few times as kids..." Suzume replied, a little embarrassed.

"Wow… you played with kids from two huge financial groups? That sounds crazy… and like a hassle." Syo's face soured slightly, clearly thinking about how annoying he found Ren's personality.

"You mean you don't know, Chibi-chan?" Ren said, sliding into the conversation as smoothly as ever, his own lunch tray in hand and smirk on his lips. "Suzume's family is one of the top leaders in the theatre and opera scenes in Japan. Their business began to grow about 13 years ago or so and hasn't stopped rising since. Our families had regular business meetings back in the day."

Syo looked astonished, and Suzume's embarrassment only increased. "Seriously?!" Syo said, head whipping round to stare at Suzume, who was beginning to wish the floor would open up beneath her for fear Syo's attitude towards her would change.

"Yes…" Suzume said, afraid to look at Syo.

"Woah…" There was a pause, then, "So, I guess music and the arts is in your blood huh?" This was enough to make Suzume look up at him in surprise as he continued, "That's awesome! I bet your gonna be a great composer, Adachi!" His smile and his tone were as honest as ever; his opinion of her hadn't changed at all.

Suzume smiled at Syo, mumbling the first part of her sentence, "Well, I'm not so sure about that, but thank you, Kurusu."

Lunches in hand, the three made their way towards an empty table in the centre of the hall.

By this time, Tokiya had already received his lunch and was sat down by himself, eating his food peacefully; as he gazed around the hall, he noticed the blonde girl from earlier sitting down with those two noisy boys just a few tables away from him. He noticed the orange haired boy wave at a nearby group of girls who were fawning over him, his smile and wave seemingly making them only more excited; at this, the blonde boy had clear irritation written on his face, and the girl – Adachi Suzume, was it? – her smile became a little more strained. The orange haired flirt then turned his attentions to Adachi, taking her hand in his and saying something Tokiya didn't care to hear; Adachi however, smoothly removed her hand from his, holding it open in the air in front of her and laughing, the blonde boy seemingly backing her up, grinning as the flirt held is hands up in surrender, a smile still upon his face.

As Adachi's light laughter drifted across the noisy hall, Tokiya wondered whether or not she had recognised him earlier; it didn't seem likely, as if she had she probably would've been much more persistent in her invitation to him to join them for lunch. He looked away from the group with a sigh. It appeared his secret was still safe, for now.

As Suzume laughed at Ren's antics, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle with the sensation that someone was watching her. She turned her head to look around, but couldn't see anything strange in the students sat around them.

I must have imagined it… She thought.

Before she could turn her head back however, she spotted that deep shade of purple a few tables away; Tokiya was sat on his own, looking down at that same book he had before as he ate his lunch. He was alone, a position Suzume herself would've been in if it weren't for Ren and Syo. Yet, it seemed as though Ichinose enjoyed being alone, so perhaps he would be alright.

Its so strange… Suzume thought, Ichinose Tokiya… I'm sure I've never heard that name before, but I can't shake the feeling that I've seen him somewhere before… I just can't remember where…

Mentally sighing to herself she pushed the subject back for now; there was no point dwelling on it now, if she had seen him somewhere before, she was sure the memory would come back to her eventually.


Lunch came to an end, and Suzume waved at Syo and Ren as they headed in different directions. She would be seeing them tomorrow when class started, but the students had been given the rest of the day to unpack their belongings and get settled into their rooms. Suzume walked through the student filled corridors, taking her time to get a bearing of her surroundings as she searched for the door that would lead to her room.

Double-checking the note she held before entering, Suzume couldn't help but be a little awed by just how well the rooms had been tailored to what they had requested; her half of the room was painted a pale yellow, the floorboards and furnishings all made of a light, rustic wood. In the centre of the even split sat three large boxes, and the left side of the room was painted a light, bubble-gum pink colour, the furnishings pitch black, the floor carpeted in a shaggy black rug. Another girl was already in the room, unpacking various, old fashioned sweet jars from a box; she looked up as Suzume walked in, taking a lollipop out of her mouth as she spoke in an uninterested tone.

"I was wondering when you'd arrive. You must be Adachi Suzume, right?"

"Yes," Suzume said, a little surprised, "that's me, but how did you...?"

The girl shrugged, "It says so on your boxes." She pointed to the ones remaining in the centre. "I'm Hirano Ayame, it's nice to meet you Adachi."

Suzume nodded and smiled; Ayame had short, closely cropped black hair, the top of which was thick and full with curls, her eyes were a hazel colour, brought to attention by the thick wings of eyeliner around them, and a multitude of piercings covered her ears and face. She was fairly short, shorter than Suzume, and her clothes were predominately black.

"It's nice to meet you too, Hirano." Suzume said politely. "May I ask what course you're on?"

"Sure," Ayame shrugged, "I'm on the Idol course. I'm in Class A. What about you? Do you want to be an idol?" Something akin to interest or a challenge entered her tone as she asked these questions.

"Oh, no." Suzume said, closing her eyes briefly as she waved her hands in front of her, "I'm on the Composer course. I'm in S class."

Ayame's brow rose and a small smirk danced at the corner of her lips, "S class, huh?" She sounded a little impressed, but there was something else there Suzume couldn't quite place fast enough. "Well, I look forward to sharing a room with you, Adachi." She smiled and turned back, resuming her unpacking; it seemed she had finished one box already.

Suzume couldn't help but feel a little unsure, but smiled none the less, "Likewise, Hirano."

Suzume moved over to her boxes that were placed next to the shared table and chairs in the centre of the room; carefully opening up one of the boxes, she sighed in relief. The box contained all of the plants she had brought with her, and all had remained intact during transportation. Pulling out the hanging baskets first, she spotted the hooks she had requested in the ceiling, and so moved a chair over to the corner by the window where they were located. She hung the three baskets so it looked like they were cascading down in a plant made waterfall, and spent her time organising the small plants and succulents on various shelves and her desk, finally placing the large-leafed, tall potted plant in another corner, closer to the door.

She continued to unpack till late evening, humming gently as she went, placing various books on architecture, music theory and novels on the shelves, along with a couple of sketchbooks, notebooks and music sheet books. She stuck a few of her own sketches of architecture in the empty spaces on the walls, drawn in places she felt were inspiring; some of which were old theatres her parents had bought whilst building their business. She took her acoustic guitar out of its case, placing it in its stand on the wall near the hanging baskets.

Finally, she took out a photo frame, consisting of a collage of photographs; her high school graduation, her parents standing either side of her with proud smiles on their faces, a picture of her brother Akira grinning madly, an arm slung around her shoulder and head pressed up next to hers as she laughed at him. It was the most relaxed photograph she had of her and her family, and so it held a very dear place in her heart. The next photo was much more formal, Suzume and her sister standing next one another in full, formal dress, small, gentle smiles on their faces, taken after one of Lerina's performances. The final picture didn't feature Suzume, but instead she had taken this one herself. It featured Meloni, her dear friend, grinning in the sunshine of an open field, a large, floppy sunhat on her head and a peace sign thrown up in a pose for the camera.

Suzume smiled fondly at the photos, placing the frame on her desk. Evening had now fallen, and so she went to stand out on the balcony, breathing in the slight chill of the spring air, relishing in the feeling. A few stray cherry blossoms floated past, and Suzume looked around, trying to spot their source. Despite the fading light, she thought she saw the gentle pink of the blossoms peaking through some of the trees in the distance.

I'll look for that grove some other time, I've got an early start tomorrow and today was already pretty exhausting. Suzume thought. I wonder how Syo and Ren are doing… I hope they get along with their roommates.

But despite her tired muscles, Suzume couldn't fall asleep. She tossed and turned in the clean sheets of the unfamiliar bed; the silence of the night was deafening, and as much as she hated to admit it, she had gotten used to the sounds of the city at night. In the silence and the pitch darkness, she found her mind plagued with thoughts, one of which was the instance she recognised Ichinose's face that she had pushed back earlier that day.

She sighed, sitting up in bed and softly placing the pads of her feet onto the wooden floorboards below; fortunately, they didn't seem to squeak. Suzume slipped on her jeans, a large jumper and some shoes, deciding to go out for a walk to try and clear her head; she'd prefer to play her guitar in situations like these, but she didn't want to disturb anyone so late at night, or in fact disturb the silence of the night itself. She instead grabbed one of her sketchbooks and a pencil, tip toeing out of the room and gently closing the door behind her, thankful for the fact Hirano appeared to be a deep sleeper; sketching provided her with a good method of sorting through her thoughts, and she was able to keep a pretty good track of the time depending on how fast her sketch was progressing.

She exited the dormitory building, heading in the vague direction of the cherry blossom trees she had spotted earlier, the crunching of the gravel path beneath her providing her with at least some tether to this deathly silent night.

Ichinose… Ichinose… Suzume pondered, wracking her brain. She didn't recognise the name from anywhere, and she was very good at recalling names; with at least a little thought, she could recall the names of all the workers and actors she had met on business trips with her parents, all the guests names who had attended parties, even if she herself had only met them briefly. Suzume's only memory of his name was from today… and yet she had seen him somewhere before, she just knew it.

She arrived in the grove of cherry blossoms, smiling in wonder at their silent beauty, even in the depths of night and settled down to draw them; there were small lanterns along the path, providing her with a little visibility with which to draw from. As she drew, she thought further on the matter.

If I have seen him before, I suppose I just never knew his name then… maybe I've just bumped into him on the street or saw him at the entrance exam… He didn't recognise me at all after all. But I know I'm not imaging things… I've definitely seen his face somewhere before. Or, at least, there's something about him that I recognise… A feeling…? But where have I felt that before? She sighed, pausing in her sketching and frustrated; it seemed she was no closer to an answer, nor any closer to calming her thoughts enough to get some sleep. Ichinose Tokiya… Who are you?


A/N: This chapter's title is from one of the Your Lie in April openings, the full lyric being 'a thousand cherry blossom petals twirling to a silent song up there'. I'll probably be posting chapters very sporadically, as this is more of a self-indulgent fic in a dead fandom, but hey if you're here, thank you! I hope you like Suzume and her interactions with everyone so far, and I'd love it if you do read this if you could leave a lil review, just to let me know I'm not the only fan left out here haha! Anyway, whether you liked what you read or not...

Please Review!

-Limegreenarcher