Welp, I finally got the chapter out. Tadaaa?

Ahhh! I'm so sorry! It shouldn't have taken so long to get this chapter out, but school was killer and I'm still dealing with college classes. Like, five of em, so please give me some slack! TAT

Thankfully this is done and spring break is coming up. Maybe I can get another chapter in between essays...

Anyways, sorry this took so long. The school was pretty hectic along with balancing work, so this had to go on hold for a pretty long time. But I'm hoping to work on this more soon, so I thank you if you are still reading this.

Oh, and if you didn't notice, there will be a short change in the story structure. Or rather the characters that are involved. I've been debating whether to have this go the OCxSyo route or OCxTokiya route and have been unsure of how to make it work. However after long debate, I think I'm going to have both in, the two boys vying for the OC's attention until one comes out on top.

And perhaps another...If you read the chapter, you'll figure out who's the third "prince". ;3

So without further ado, please enjoy this very long awaited chapter of Awakening the Sleeping Princess Within You!

Disclaimer: I do not own Uta no Prince Sama nor Pokemon.

"H-How was that really a thing? Tomochika, you watched the same orientation right? I wasn't seeing things?" Samantha constantly questioned to her friend as the two walked side by side down the hallway.

Ever since the weird event known as Saotome Academy's orientation had ended, the blunette felt like a fish out of water after just getting out of her seat. Were all orientations like that? Everyone seemed particularly surprised at first, but later got over it and just cheered as the so-called principal had flown over the students and danced around while explaining his joy for the new school year.

Had she fallen into some weird anime where crazy occurrences were just normal? Or were the things she was used to in America done differently in Japan? She hadn't lived there too long, but she was pretty sure everything still worked normally like most other places.

Seeing the still fresh shock on Samantha's face, Tomochika chuckled and poked the girl's face as she turned a corner. "You must not have heard of Shining Saotome before. A lot of foreigners who meet him get really confused by his energy like you. Don't worry, everything you saw was real. He's just an insane guy in a sane world. It's sort of something to expect out of the super idol Shining Saotome."

"Super idol?" Samantha asked, unfamiliar with the extravagant title Tomochika used.

"You didn't know? Shining Saotome was like this crazy popular idol back in his youth. All the money he made from selling twenty million CDs of his famous song was made to make this academy." Tomochika casually explained with a knowing smirk.

"Eh?! T-Twenty-million?!" Samantha stuttered in shock, not sure she had heard the number right at first. "T-Twenty-million...And just for one song. How can I compete with something like that?"

"Hey, nobody said we were trying to match Shining. We just do our work the way we like it and do our best. Can't copy off others." Tomochika said, patting Samantha on the back.

"Y-Yeah. I guess you're right about that." Samantha said, looking at the many doors the two students passed before finally stopping at one. Looking above to see the plaque that signified the classroom, Samantha pointed it to Tomochika. "So this is it right? A-Class is ours right?"

Taking a look at a slip of paper in her pocket, Tomochika nodded her head. "That's what it says on our directions. Head to the classroom which we are assigned to. Class A is both of ours."

Not sure if she wanted to go in just yet, Samantha shifted her gaze to Tomochika. "You think everyone in there is nice?"

"Eh, probably. We're all here to learn music after all. If anybody has trouble with us, we can just ignore them. Now let's go in already." Tomochika replied, grabbing onto Samantha's wrist and dragging her along into the classroom.

Feeling herself being dragged into the classroom, Samantha followed after Tomochika if only to keep her balance, passing the doorway and stumbling a bit on her feet. Thankfully not falling over, Samantha felt her wrist being let go and slowly took in the surroundings of the classroom.

It did look a lot nicer than the schools she went to in America. Cleaner desks and floors made of polished wood, neatly decorated shelves and bookcases colored in forest greens and auburn red and browns, a large chalkboard at the front of the class for lessons, and a large beautiful onyx black piano neatly placed in the back of the room.

'The money Saotome had made really didn't go to waste on aesthetic, that's for sure.' Samantha thought, staring at the many expensive looking pieces in the room around her.

"Ah! It's you!"

While she had heard the sudden exclamation in the room, Samantha had never though the comment was directed towards her. But seeing as a mass in the corner of her eye was moving towards her, Samantha suddenly turned around to see who exactly yelled at her, unsure if the person was friendly or not.

However what shocked them more than an unfamiliar face was actually a familiar one. Short, yet spiky fiery red hair, matching red eyes, and a bright smile like the sun. It could only be one person...

"Ah! Mystery boy one!" Samantha herself yelled out, suddenly pointing to the boy in exclamation. However as soon as the words left her mouth, the teen easily noticed the many stares that were focused her way, including those of the surprised mystery boy one and confused Tomochika. Realizing her mistake, Samantha swiftly moved her hand down to her side and stared down at the floor. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to yell or point." She replied in a hushed whisper.

Noticing her embarrassment, the boy raised his hands up to try and calm down Samantha. "D-Don't worry about it. It was my fault for yelling at you first. I probably shouldn't have surprised you like that."

"Wait wait wait!" Tomochika called out, holding her hands out to signal the conversation to a halt, swiftly moving to Samantha's side. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Tomochika pulled Samantha off to the side and moved her close and quietly spoke. "What's going on here? You know that guy? And what's with the mystery boy one stuff?"

Feeling as if she were in an interrogation, Samantha laughed nervously and smiled. "Well...it's kind of a long story. You see he...uh, mystery boy one, he helped me out during my entrance exam. I almost didn't get in without him and another guy's help."

"What?! And you didn't tell me this story? How could you leave your best friend out like that Samantha?" Tomochika asked in surprise, shaking the girl by the shoulders at the revelation.

"I-I-I'm S-sorry Tomochika." Samantha sputtered out, removing herself out of the crazy grip of her friend to get her bearings. Slowly getting her sight back in focus, Samantha turned back to the mystery boy and gave a proper bow. "Thanks a lot for earlier. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten into the entrance exams."

Seeing her bow, the boy shook his head and felt his cheeks redden slightly. "I-It was nothing. Really it wasn't. I'm just happy to know you got in. And we're in the same class too!" The boy replied, giving a thumbs up.

Raising her head back up, Samantha noticed the and gave a small smile. "Yeah, I actually got worried. I hadn't gotten your name during the exam, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to thank you properly if you hadn't been here."

"You've already thanked me enough. There's no need to worry about it. I'm Ittoki Otoya by the way. It's nice to finally officially meet you umm.." Otoya replied, reaching his hand out to Samantha in a proper greeting.

Reaching her own smaller handout, Samantha gently grasped Otoya's and shook. "Samantha..uh, Kisaragi Samantha. I know, my name is a bit hard to pronounce, so you can just call me Kisaragi. I don't mind."

Hearing Samantha introduce herself, Otoya's eyes grew wide with curiosity. "It sounds foreign. Are you not from here? If I'm allowed to ask of course."

"Well, yeah. It's kind of obvious. I moved her a couple years back with my mom from America. I'm still getting used to everything. It's only pure luck I've learned to speak and read Japanese so far. You don't know how tough it was to read through that whole test." Samantha joked, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

"And I'm Shibuya Tomochika by the way. Don't forget I'm here you two." Tomochika joked, appearing next to Samantha and poking her head between the two with a smile.

"Don't worry Tomochika, we didn't forget you. We were just catching up." Samantha said, looking at her friend with a joking shake of her head.

"E-li-za-beth!"

Not familiar with the voice suddenly yelling in the classroom, Otoya momentarily moved his gaze from Samantha and Tomochika towards whoever seemed to be yelling.

However what he wasn't ready to see was a blonde boy wearing glasses, taller than him by quite a bit, running towards the group at a quick pace. Not sure what exactly was going on, his disbelief only went further when the boy suddenly jumped into the air, seemingly hoping to lands towards them.

'W-What do I do!?' Otoya thought in confusion, not sure how he should react to the situation.

However, it seemed another student was nearby and ready to intervene in the situation. Not being able to get a good look at the new boy, Otoya noticed a blue-haired boy grab onto Samantha's arm, pulling her quickly to the side and out of harm's way.

'Oh good. She's safe.' Otoya thought relaxed. Happy to know his new friend wasn't going to be hurt by the falling boy, Otoya felt a light surprised when he felt a small push from the blue-haired boy. 'Eh?'

Feeling himself close to falling, Otoya carefully caught himself and wobbled off into where Samantha had been originally standing. Feeling himself freeze up at the realization, Otoya quickly turned to look upwards and shut his eyes when he felt the arms and legs of the unknown boy suddenly wrap around him.

Not sure exactly what was happening, all Otoya could do was simply yell and trying to wiggle his arms and legs out of the boy's grasp. "Wahhh! Let go of me!" Feeling whoever it was had latched onto him let go and jump off, all the effort Otoya had done to push the boy off had ruined his balance, only making the fiery haired boy to fall to the ground with a thud.

Everything really was happening fast today. First her new day at school, her accidentally colliding into a boy at the front gate, the weird principal of the school, meeting Tomochika and Otoya again after the entrance exam, and now she was nearly glomped by some boy in her class.

Did she attract weird things? Was that why so much stuff was happening to her today?

'What just happened? I know I felt somebody tug on my arm.' Samantha thought. It was only a moment later she realized that she was being held onto by her savior. Turning her head to look to the person who saved her, Samantha suddenly felt her face grow warm realizing just how close she was with her "savior".

Merely inches close to one another, the boy was surely at least three or four inches taller than her. With clean cut short hair that had a light color blue than her own, the boy had nearly flawless light skin, aqua blue eyes, and a beauty mark just underneath his right eye.

'Oh my God! He's handsome!' Samantha shrieked in her thoughts, feeling as if the air in her lungs had just been taken away.

Seeing Samantha stare at him, the boy merely looked to the blunette with a serious yet poised expression. "That was a close one."

Trying to get her train of thought back up and running, Samantha swiftly pulled herself out of the boy's arms, twirling a bit as she did so, and straightened herself back up, leaning on a desk with her hand as support as she nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah! Thanks, dude!"

Hearing her thanks, the boy simply closed his eyes and nodded. "There's no need for thanks."

A bit unsure of his lack of emotion or interest in the situation, Samantha stared at the unknown boy until moving her gaze over to the interesting situation that was Otoya, Tomochika, and the blonde boy. Deciding it be best to check out what had caused all of this mess, Samantha walked over to stand next to Tomochika. "Uhh...so what's your reason for almost jumping me in the middle of class?"

"Yeah! What was all of that for? You need to watch where you're going." Tomochika lectured to the blonde boy, seeing him turn around and frown.

"Oh. I'm sorry. It's just she looks so much like Elizabeth, I lost control." The bespectacled boy said sadly, moving his hand up to motion to Samantha.

Unexpectedly hearing yet another foreign name, Tomochika's previous anger slowly died down and was replaced with confusion as she tried to repeat the foreign name. "E-Eli?"

Hearing his strange explanation, Samantha raised an eyebrow at the boy. "I look like some girl named Elizabeth? Is she your girlfriend or something?"

Laughing, the boy shook his head. "Oh, no. Elizabeth is my family's dog." The boy replied before suddenly gaining a sad look, hugging his body with his own arms. "Ah, my sweet and small Elizabeth. I had to leave her since I was accepted here, and we've been torn apart ever since!"

Hearing his answer, Samantha gave an uncertain look to the boy. Soon enough that look of uncertainty morphed into a frown, which later changed into a thin line as she analyzed the words, until lastly shifting into a frown along with a tiny glare heading into the boys' direction. "I do not look like a dog! I may not be the prettiest girl, but I'm not that bad looking!"

"Wow, wow. Relax Samantha. Don't bite his head off. He's a classmate." Tomochika spoke up, putting her hands on the petite girls' shoulders to help relax her, along with holding her down in case there was any trouble. "You better apologize before you get attacked by a tiny American new guy."

Worry appearing on his bespectacled face, the blonde boy nodded appropriately and bowed politely. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it in any bad way. It was a compliment, honest. Please let me introduce myself properly." Raising his head up, the boy showed off a kind and bright smile to the group of teens, reaching his hand out to the still fuming Samantha. "I'm Shinomiya Natsuki. I love small and cute things."

"Small and cute stuff huh?" Samantha said, staring down at the boy's hand. Eyes flickering back and forth from his hand and face to see if he was doing anything sneaky, Samantha slowly reached her own hand out before grasping it in her own and shook it, giving a nod to the boy. "Nice to meet you...I guess. I'm Samantha. Kisaragi Samantha."

"You're name is so cute and unique too. It had to be more than just a coincidence we met today." It was only after taking his hand from Samantha and finishing his latest comment that he noticed the adorable hairpin the blunette was wearing.

Eyes widening like dish plates and sparkling like stars, Natsuki pointed to the hairpin that neatly decorated Samantha's blue hair. "Ah! That's such a cute Pikachu hair pin! It looks really nice on you."

Feeling herself blush at the sudden compliment, Samantha moved her hand to lightly touch the pin. "T-Thank you. My mom gave it to me as a congratulatory gift. I didn't think anybody at a music school would really care about Pokemon still."

Shaking his head, Natsuki smiled and nodded energetically. "Who wouldn't?! I love Pokemon! I used to play the games all the time when I was little. I especially love to collect the cutest Pokemon plushes if I ever get the chance. Like Pichu, Jigglypuff, Sylveon, and Popplio! They may even rival the cuteness of Piyo-chan." It was just after speaking that Natsuki's face lit up and he raised a finger up to get the petite blunette's attention. "Ah! I got it! You may remind me of Elizabeth, but you're just as cute and spirited as any Rockruff!"

Raising an eyebrow at Natsuki's latest compliment, the scarlet-haired girl wracked her mind for the right image of the Pokemon Natsuki spoke of, frowning. "Isn't Rockruff a Pokemon that looks like a dog?"

"Well, yeah it is," Samantha spoke up, though she was keeping her face turned away from Natsuki. "I'm...okay with that compliment."

Shocked, both Otoya and Tomochika turned their heads to the smaller teen. "You're okay with that?!"

"S-Shut up! Rockruff is super cute! It's way better to be compared to than an actual dog!" The blunette retorted back, her face flushing a bit at the observation. Wanting to move her gaze away from Tomochika's joking, Samantha shifted her eyes to another part of the classroom only to spot the blue haired boy who had helped her moments ago.

'Oh, he's been listening to this entire conversation. He probably thinks I'm some crazy American.' Samantha thought, unsure of how to respond or talk to the staring boy.

Leaning on a desk and simply listening to the conversations going around the room, the boy looked over to see Samantha staring at him. Simply closing his eyes and lulling his head to the side, the boy spoke as he turned and walked off to his desk. "I'm Hijirikawa Masato."

Following Samantha's gaze to Masato, Otoya smiled and spoke up in a friendly tone. "Masato? Well, we can call you Masa than! And Natsuki Na-chan. Right?"

Raising his eyebrows at the new nickname, Natsuki thought over it before smiling back. "Na-chan! I like it. It's so cute. And Masa sounds perfect for Hijirikawa-san."

Not wanting to add much to the conversation, Masato shrugged his shoulders and let the nickname slide. "It's fine. Call me whatever you'd like."

"Masa it is then. Let's hope you don't get tired of that after the first few times." Tomochika joked, making her, Natsuki, and Otoya laugh.

Laughing along with the group at the newfound nicknames for each other, Samantha let her eyes wander around the room to inspect more of her new classroom setting. However, as she did so, the American noticed something a little odd.

People, or rather fellow students, were staring at them. Was it because they were being so loud? That may have been the case. After all, Samantha was sure nobody wanted to have their first day at a new school be ruined by having to deal with loud people.

'Oh no. I'm becoming those jerks I had to ignore in middle school. How the turns have tabled.' Samantha mused, frowning to herself at the realization settling in.

"Wait, that's not-" Realizing her mistake, Samantha was about ready to try and repeat the saying properly, until suddenly the curtains of the classroom began to shut on their own, making the classroom dim significantly to nearly unseeable levels. Her fear of the dark crawling back up her spine, Samantha hastily latched onto the nearest person to hug onto, that being Tomochika. "Ah! Who turned out the lights?!"

"S-Samantha, calm down!" Tomochika said, nearly falling over as the smaller girl clutched to her. "Who did turn out the lights?"

"Wait, is that music?" Otoya spoke up, his eyes darting back and forth as a low music tune of trumpets began to slowly burst through the room.

The volume getting a little louder and louder with each passing second, lights of various colors from hidden projectors appeared out of nowhere, covering the ceiling in red, blue, yellow, green, and purple hues in a flashy way. As the trumpet tune slowly came to its close, a voice called out from out of thin air, signaling the students to turn to the chalkboard.

"Good morning!" The voice called out. The colorful lights flying around the room a few more times, they hastily converged towards the front of the classroom, merging together into a fabulous spotlight for the figure standing at the chalkboard. Wearing a classy yet comfortable yellow sweater, a flower hairband neatly placed in long curly locks of bubblegum-colored hair, and light aqua blue eyes staring out to the crowds of teens, a female figure stood with a smile.

Clapping to get everyone's attention, the unknown woman motioned the students to get to their seats. "All right everyone. Please, take a seat."

"Ahh! Tsukimiya Ringo!"

"I can't believe someone A-list is here!"

"It's a dream come true!"

Following instructions and heading towards the closest front row seat, Samantha listened in on many of the other comments floating around the room. Was this person super important?

Winking at the gushing students, Ringo smiled and pointed to themselves. "I am the maidenly Tsukimiya Ringo. I'll be in charge of A-Class. Just call me Ring-sensei." Spinning on his heels, Ringo kissed his fingers and raised them to the side in a cute pose, winking at the students once more. "Nice to meet you!"

Taking in the new introduction, Samantha slowly moved her head over to Tomochika and whispered. "Are all of the teachers here...energetic like Shining?"

Not sure exactly how to answer, Tomochika shrugged. "Maybe not as crazy. I'm still trying to get over the fact that he's a guy."

"Yeah. That...eh?" Samantha stopped talking mid-sentence, Tomochika's words muddling her thoughts. She...had heard that right, right? Their teacher, who looked like a really pretty lady, was actually...

"What?! That's a guy?!" Samantha exclaimed, shock reaching every corner of her face at the news. It wasn't like cross-dressing was a very new thing or something she didn't know about. It was something sort of known about back in America, and Samantha herself had seen girls and boys cross-dressing every now and then whether it be in real life or in pictures.

But never anything this good!

Hastily covering her mouth somewhat and keeping close to Tomochika, Samantha turned her head to talk directly to her friend. "How does he look so good? Is he using black magic?"

"Are you serious?" Tomochika asked back, sweat dropping at the outlandish question.

"Eh?!" The sound of Tsukimiya Ringo chimed, their eyes glaring right in the direction of Samantha's desk. Heels clicking with every fast paced step, the pink-haired teacher stopped at the girls' desk and slammed his hand on top of it, getting the teens' attention. "I can't believe you've never heard of Tsukimiya Ringo."

"Uhhh..." Samantha answered back, a mix of shock and fear on her face at the sudden confrontation from her newfound teacher.

Moving his face in closer to the shellshocked girl, Ringo continued his rant. "The best way to make it on T.V. is to have an impact. Everyone knows that."

"O-Of course! I understand, sir! Uhh..I-I mean ma'am! Uhhh...S-Sensei!" Samantha constantly chirped back, correcting herself every moment she could to try and appease her new teacher.

"Good." Releasing a heated huff from his lips, Ringo turned his back to Samantha and casually walked back up to the front, leaving the confused blunette alone.

Shaking a little in her chair from the encounter, Samantha released a long-awaited sigh, letting her body go boneless in an attempt to release the stress in her body. Slowly sinking into her chair, Samantha groaned to Tomochika. "I-I think our teacher hates me already."

Shaking a bit herself, Tomochika patted Samantha's head. "I'm so sorry. Hang in there."

"Now where was I?" Ringo called out, placing an innocent finger to his chin in thought. Snapping his fingers as his train of thought came back into its station, Ringo smiled and looked back at the students. "Ah, of course! Without further ado, welcome all to Saotome Academy!"

"Y-Yay." Samantha quietly cheered from her seat as she sat back up properly. Hoping to better manage herself and at least look like she belonged, Samantha set herself up in her chair and stared back at the board in anticipation.

Noticing the fearful girl, Ringo shook his head with a playful smile at the sight of Samantha and continued. "As you all know, Saotome Academy is a training school for idols and the composers who write their music. The facilities and environment here are the best in the world, so you couldn't have picked a better place to be. Active idols are assigned to every class, and the other teachers are all famous lyricists and composers."

A sneaky grin showing up on his face, Ringo leaned down a little to give a face to face comment to the class. "If you do well, you might even make your professional debut. So let's give it everything you've all got!" He energetically finished, pulling himself back up and winking at the teens.

"A professional debut?" Samantha repeated quietly, the words echoing in her head.

'This is it. I'm really in a place that could get me in the music business. This isn't some crazy dream I'm having in my bed. This is the real deal.' Samantha concluded, her hands closing into tiny fists underneath her desk.

Her nerves were already in overdrive.

"I can't believe how much trouble you get yourself into!" Tomochika loudly commented next to Samantha, the two heading into the large cafeteria for their lunch.

Her confidence deflating at each word, Samantha dragged her feet across the floor to the food lines. "You don't have to say it that badly. It's not like I asked for this."

Seeing her friend fall into a slump, Tomochika patted Samantha on the shoulder for comfort. "S-Sorry. It's just all of this stuff you told me about is kind of piling up. First, you nearly got kicked out of the entrance exam. Then, you accidentally jumped right into that guy this morning, and now you've sort of pissed off our homeroom teacher." Tomochika listed off before laughing loudly, pretending to wipe a tear from her eyes. "It's really funny when you think about it all."

"Funny for who? I'm not laughing!" Samantha complained, waving her arms around frantically to prove her point. Tired, she let her arms fall to her sides and sighed. "Maybe this is a sign. Like the God, Gods, Goddesses or whatever of music don't want me here."

"Wow, don't think that. You're just having a rough day is all. It'll get better, trust me." Tomochika spoke up cheerfully, bumping her shoulder with Samantha in an attempt to get her to smile.

Feeling her friend tap her shoulder, Samantha felt her depression slowly slink away, yet it still lingered on her face. "I don't see how."

"Well, how about food? Good food can fix any problem." Tomochika suggested, her eyes gazing up at the fancy calligraphy of the menus.

Various colorful pictures lined up against one another, each showcasing a type of food and a line that was made for each dish. The food ranged from all over, from pasta, to rice, to ramen, and even curry. The combinations and amounts seemed endless, but just the right amount of types of food for everyone to get a good selection.

"Ooh, they've got hamburgers! Would that help? Or maybe some curry?" Tomochika playfully suggested, leaning over to the tiny composer and grinning. "C'mon, you look like a girl who enjoys the food. Which one do you want?"

Saying nothing at first to hold out against her friend, Samantha's brown irises slowly drifted up to the plentiful menus of color, wandering to each picture. Feeling her face blush a bit, Samantha looked away from Tomochika as she spoke. "I want ramen."

"Ne, you got to speak up Sam-chan." Tomochika playfully spoke back, leaning to Samantha to hear her better.

Blushing even more at the added honorific, Samantha moved her eyes upwards to look over at her friend and showed a tiny smile. "I want beef ramen. It sounds really good right now."

"There's that smile. And it's a good thing you chose ramen too. I think it's going to run out first." Tomochika pointed out, moving her finger to show the long line for the Japanese noodles. "You better hurry before they run out."

"What? There's no way I'm missing out on beef ramen! Where's that dumb food card I got!?" Samantha exclaimed, frantically searching through her pockets for the tiny pink plastic card. Digging her hand into her right-hand pocket in her blazer, Samantha felt her hand collide with a familiar flat surface and hastily pulled the food card out of her jacket. "Yes, success! Now to get that ramen!"

Running off towards the line Tomochika had pointed out, Samantha carefully maneuvered around the taller students scrambling for the own food and payments. Muttering a couple of "excuses me's", "sorry", and "you're crushing me", Samantha had nearly made it to the line she'd been after...

That was until she felt her leg get tangled with another student.

Unable to pull her leg from out of the mess of students behind her as she ran, the American felt her heart leap out of her chest as her body felt like it was being pulled down by gravity. Unable to slow down her descent, she'd resigned herself to yet again falling flat on her face for the third time at this school, but just as she knew she was going to taste tile floor, she...stopped?

"Oi, you okay flower girl?"

"Huh, flower?" Hearing someone call out to her, Samantha looked up to see yet another familiar face, or rather a face she'd seen at least. Standing the same height as her with short blonde hair and light aqua blue eyes, the boy she'd fell onto earlier that day looked down at her, along with his arms wrapped around her.

"Oh, it's you again!" Samantha answered in shock. "I didn't think I'd see you again so soon. Or at least not in another circumstance of falling."

Shaking his head at her answer, the boy helped Samantha back onto her feet and handed her dropped lunch card. "You said it. I hope you aren't trying to be an idol. You're dancing is going to be a problem." The boy joked with a smile.

Taking the lunch card from him, Samantha smiled back. "Don't worry, I'm not. Thanks for the assist anyway. And if you need to call out to me, the name is Samantha. Kisaragi Samantha."

A curious look on his face after her introduction, the boy nodded while his eyes closed in thought. "Sa...Su...I'm not good with foreign names. I'll just call you Kisaragi." His eyes opening wide and giving an energetic smile, the boy pointed a thumb in his direction. "The name is-"

"Shorty. That's the boy's name." A deep voice spoke from the crowd.

Anger swelling through his being, the short blonde gripped his hand into a fist, along with his teeth grinding against one another. "My name isn't shorty, Ren! It's Syo! Kurusu Syo!"

"Huh? Ren?" Samantha repeated the name, unsure of who Syo was referring to. Seeing the anger radiate off him and watch him turn in the direction of whoever had spoken, Samantha's eyes gazed through the crowd until finally spotting who the blonde was looking at.

A tall figure among many and surrounded by smiling and fawning girls, a boy with a fabulous figure stood out in the crowd of students. Long strawberry blonde hair, deep blue eyes that pierced through every girl's heart, and an aura radiating cool.

'Wait a second. Isn't that...' Trying to piece together where she thought she'd seen this boy before, something deep inside her head clicked, making the blunette jump in surprise.

"Ah! It's you! Mystery boy #2!" Samantha exclaimed, pointing a frantic finger towards the familiar face of mystery boy #2.

"Eh? Mystery boy?" Syo asked, not sure what she was referring to.

Seeing the girl point right at him, the boy now known as Ren, laughed heartily and walked slowly over to the two shorter teens. Giving one of his trademark smiles to Samantha, Ren gave a nonchalant wink. "It's good to see you again, my lady. I'm glad to see you got in."

Tensing up a bit at the gaze of the taller boy, Samantha rubbed the back of her neck. "Thanks. I tried really hard that day to pass. But I never got to thank you properly. So, thanks a lot. I owe you big time. Ren, right?"

"Jinguji Ren is his name." A voice spoke out in the crowd.

Hearing yet another voice chimed into the conversation, Samantha turned her head back to see who had spoken and looked in surprise at the sight of Hijirikawa Masato, the boy who had helped her in class. "Ah, Masato. What's up?"

Smirking at the appearance of the quieter boy, Ren placed his hands in his pockets and walked away from Syo and Samantha, heading in Masato's direction. "You're as stiff as ever."

"And you're just as flippant in your comments." Masato retorted back, keeping to where he stood and eyed the playboy.

The two continuing their short stare off, Samantha frowned a little at the tense air going on between the two boys. The way they stared at each other, the joking and contrasting cold gaze between them didn't look to be anything friendly.

"What?! Your mystery boy #2 was Jinguji Ren!?" Tomochika exclaimed, suddenly appearing next to Samantha without warning,

Jumping in surprise, the blunette turned her head from the two glaring boys to Tomochika. "W-When did you get here?"

"That's not important. This event we're seeing right now is. And you still didn't answer my question, Samantha." Tomochika exclaimed, her eyes staring intently at the scene going on in front of the two girls.

Letting whatever Tomochika did to get next to her slide, Samantha went back to remember what her friend had said. "Jinguji Ren? What's the big deal? He's helped me back at the entrance exam with Otoya."

"It is a big deal, though," Tomochika answered, nodding her head energetically. "Jinguji Ren is really famous. He's the heir to the Jinguji conglomerate." She explained, pointing a finger to Ren's form.

"Oh?" Samantha answered, unsure of how she should take the news.

"And Hijirikawa Masato is the heir to the Hijirikawa conglomerate. The two are rival companies." Tomochika added, pointing her finger now to Masato.

"Oh. I guess that's kind of a big deal. Though I don't really see why." Samantha answered honestly, trying to figure out all the details in her head.

"I expected you to be a little more freaked out. You aren't even the least bit surprised by this?" Tomochika asked, her face showing shock at the lack of surprise on her friend's face.

"Well, you hear a lot about this crazy stuff with companies and family stuff in America. I suppose it's just more of a big deal here since that type of stuff is more secluded in media." Samantha answered, shrugging her shoulders. Keeping her eyes on the pair of heir's, Samantha frowned at the sight of the two talking to one another. "They...aren't going to fight right?"

"And create bad publicity for their companies? No way." Tomochika replied, shaking her head. "But I'm sure those two are going to battle it out with their music. It'll be especially big since one of them is in S-class."

'S-class huh? What could it be like?' Samantha wondered.

Deciding it be best to take care of her own business, Samantha shrugged her shoulders and motioned for Tomochika to follow her. "C'mon. It's rude to stare and butt into other's private stuff. We need to grab our food anyways."

"Ah, good idea. We wouldn't want to miss out on the good food." Tomochika agreed, following after Samantha towards the necessary lines.

"How's your ramen, Samantha? Any good?" Tomochika asked, placing a french fry in her mouth and licking her lips at the delicious taste.

Sitting comfortably in her chair at a table across from Tomochika, Samantha grabbed at her chopsticks and stared intently at the pieces of noodle in her bowl evading her grasp. "I'd tell you if I could get any in my mouth. Curse the person who thought using two sticks to eat your food was a good idea. I knew I should have grabbed a fork instead."

Laughing at her friend's misery, Tomochika got out of her seat and walked behind Samantha. Placing her larger hands to wrap around Samantha's own, Tomochika carefully navigated Samantha's fingers into the proper position to hold the chopsticks. "Hold them like this. You'll be able to grab the noodles much more easily."

Feeling the brush of Tomochika's fingers on her own, Samantha blushed a bit and nodded. She didn't know why, but the contact made her heart jump a little bit. "T-Thanks."

"Heh, no prob," Tomochika responded, walking back to her seat and casually dropping back down to rest. "I still can't believe we've made it this far. Saotome Academy really is something else."

"I know what you mean," Samantha replied, grabbing the noodles like Tomochika had shown her and stuffing some into her mouth. "It felt impossible to just get a chance to take the exam, but now I'm sitting in a super fancy cafeteria at the school. It feels like everything rushed by so fast." Swallowing down her food, the blunette sighed in content. "And everyone here is so different from what I expected."

Snorting a bit at the observation, Tomochika shrugged her shoulders. "What were you expecting for a school of composers and idols? Like it would be a normal high school?"

"Well, kind of," Samantha answered back, stirring the noodles in her bowl. "I thought everyone would get along and chat casually like in middle school. But everyone here sort of has this...air to them. I'm not sure if I can explain it right. Not to mention I've had the worst luck since I've stepped foot on campus."

Tossing a french fry into her mouth, Tomochika smiled to her confused friend. "You call it bad luck, but I call it pure luck. Nobody ever gets to be near this many cute guys so fast Sam. You've even talked to Jinguji Ren and Hijirikawa Masato. Those two are big names! Plus all of these guys we've seen so far are pretty cute." Sighing and crossing her arms over her chest confidently, Tomochika leaned back in her seat. "Yep, the girls here probably don't know what to do with all of these princes around."

Taking another bite of her delicious noodles, Samantha slurped a bit into her mouth and looked at her friend. "Primphs?" She asked, her mouth still a bit full with noodles.

"Uh huh." Nodding in agreement, Tomochika suddenly gained an unsure look, looking up at the ceiling to go through her thoughts. "Though since we're in a music school, they should probably be called princes of song. Or something like that." Tomochika guessed, shrugging her shoulders and smiling to her friend.

Slurping down her food and wiping her face, Samantha slowly let what Tomochika spoke sink into her thoughts. "Princes huh? So, does that make us princesses of song?" She asked curiously to her friend, smiling and shrugging herself.

Raising an eyebrow at the question, Tomochika grinned wider and nodded. "I guess it does. But, I don't think princesses stuff their mouths full of noodles. Like somebody, I may know." Tomochika commented in a sing-song tone, playfully raising her eyebrows up and down while looking to the blunette who just so happened to be stuffing said food down her throat.

Taking another bite of her food and letting some noodles hang a little on her chin at her poor attempt to put everything into her mouth, Samantha caught Tomochika's obvious jab at her and shifted her brown eyes up to her friend. Eyes widening for a moment, the blue-haired teen chewed on her food and swallowed it down, her face heating up from more than just the hot food.

"I-I can't be a princess of song on an empty stomach. I'm not gonna starve myself." Samantha spoke up in a matter of fact tone, though her voice cracked a little near the end, making her sink into her chair further, and once again began to slurp down her noodles.

All she could hear after that for the rest of her lunch was Tomochika's laughter, along with a few awkward stares from fellow students wondering why they were being so loud.

"This is so great! I still can't believe the luck we got to be roommates." Tomochika exclaimed, smiling as she stood in their small dorm room and scanning around the walls and space they had.

Lunch had long since passed for the two girls, with the two casually looking around the school long after they finished eating, and Samantha apologizing profusely as she walked out for the loud behavior. Thankfully able to maneuver her way around the school much better than she had that morning, Samantha, with the help of Tomochika, was able to locate some important places she knew she'd need to find in order to better her skills in music.

The library that was stacked to the brim with books on music, its history in various cultures, and the genres and composition notes of famous singers and writers.

Spare music rooms that held chalkboards, pianos, even other various instruments to practice with for music lessons and composing.

The recording room that would allow them chances to record actual songs they wrote and sang on their own.

There were more, but Samantha did not want to list all of them in her head. There was a much more pressing matter she and Tomochika had to get through anyways.

Well, that was unless Tomochika would actually do it.

"It is pretty crazy," Samantha spoke, heading towards a pile of boxes that contained some of her things and opened it. "Now all we have to do is start unpacking. We'll want to do it all tonight so we don't fall behind on classes tomorrow." She said, her voice slowly building with excitement with each word she spoke.

Groaning, Tomochika lazily headed to her designated bed and flopped tiredly onto it face first. Not caring if her hair became a mess, the redhead rubbed her face into the soft sheets and groaned further, lifting her head up to look at the meticulous unpacking machine that was her roommate. "How can you have the energy to unpack now of all times? Aren't you tired of everything we did today?"

Laughing a little at how tired Tomochika sounded, Samantha took out some extra notebooks and placed them on their shared desk, adding more writing utensils as she spoke. "A little, but to be honest I'm more excited than ever now. While the opening ceremony was a little crazy and I crashed into that guy by accident and got scolded a little by our teacher today, it has been a pretty good day overall."

Finishing the first box of school supplies, Samantha tossed it to the other end of the room and went to the next box, opening it up. "I just want to get started on learning about music and see what kind I can create."

"You sound really passionate about it. Do you have some kind of dream you're striving for?" Tomochika asked, rolling onto her stomach and staring at her friend.

Samantha's hands stopped their movements in the latest box, flinching for a moment at Tomochikas' question.

A dream? She did have one...right?

She wanted to go into the world of music, delve herself right into it and create things only she knew she could. She would bring out sounds and songs so beautiful, inspiring, energetic, even romantic, that people all across the world would listen to and love.

She'd be bringing music to the world as. . . . . .

'A composer.' Samantha thought, a frown gracing her hidden features from her roommate. 'That's what I am now. I write the music now. I won't be singing.'

How could she? She loved music. Loved with all her heart and soul. She couldn't live without it. The energy, the sweet sounds music made, the feelings it conveyed to others. All of it wrapped together and springing to life with the help of a singer made music worth living for.

She had the voice of an angel, like her mom and many others told her when she was young. She knew she did for the longest time, but...she couldn't do it on her own. She couldn't go out to the crowds and bare her voice out for all to hear on a large stage by herself. She'd tried that so many times when she was younger. The stage always won in the end, and she was left shaking in her shoes and unable to utter a single sound.

It had never been like that for long. At least, not until she had come along. With her, by Samantha's side, she'd been able to sing, unafraid of the eyes staring at her from afar and judging her voice. No longer would the stage swallow her being, take away her courage, drown her in insecurities. She thought she had a best friend who'd be with her in the thick of things.

That was until she left.

"I don't need you anymore. You're only going to drag me down if I stay with you. If you want to keep singing so badly, go do it by yourself. I'm not helping you anymore."

Her body shivered, a cold chill running up her spine at the memory of those words spoken years ago. She tried. She tried so hard to do just that, but it all fell apart.

Samantha thought she was strong enough to do just that. Sing on her own, but she was wrong. She had been so wrong, and even in the end when she was given the opportunity to take her destiny with her own two hands and try again to sing...

She ran from it, taking the easy way out to save herself the pain of dealing with her insecurities.

So, what was her dream now? She'd gotten so far without facing what she needed to that she'd forgotten what was the most important thing.

A drive. What was driving her now that she was a composer? She'd barely written music before. Lyrics for sure, but never actual music notes and composition. What would she be striving to do now that she'd be behind the stage, letting others sing the songs she wanted to sing?

Rummaging again through the box to try and let her thoughts come up with its own answer, Samantha felt her fingers tap a rolled up paper tube. Not sure what it was, Samantha pulled the tube out, removing the elastic band as she did so to unravel the paper. And what she found made her smile. Smile enough that the gross feeling she was having inside her disappeared if only a little.

"Samantha?" Tomochika called, a bit confused at the silence treatment she was getting.

'If I need to find something to strive for, maybe this is it? Maybe I could make this dream happen.' She thought to herself, smiling at the image her eyes stared at.

Smiling a bit wider, Samantha turned her head slightly over her shoulder to eye her friend, moving on her heel and turning back with the tube in hand. Eyes sparkling a bit with wonder, Samantha shook the tube lightly in her hand towards Tomochika. "This is what I'm striving for."

Being careful to not rip any of the corners or sides of the poster, Samantha slowly unraveled the tube and pulled it bit by bit, until finally the tube of paper was pulled out fully to reveal a poster image of clashing dark colors.

Black, dark navy blue, gold borders around the edges, and sparkles like stars etched the paper in a mysterious and mystifying image. At the center sat a man, his hair dark blue like Samantha's that swept along his face and framed his masculine yet soft features. His clothes matched those of an idol, clean and proper, but held a style specific to the artist himself. Lastly, at the side, the name "HAYATO" spelled in English spread downwards the left side of the poster in between the gold border, showing the artist in his full glory.

"I want to compose music that will touch people's hearts. Make them think about their feelings, understand themselves and others, make them smile. Music like his." Samantha exclaimed with energy, feeling like her body got lighter at her proclamation.

Thankful that her friend had finally given her an answer, Tomochika rested her chin on her pillow and inspected the poster. "Oh! That's Hayato. But, isn't he...you know, more of a comedic idol? He had a debut, but it didn't go anywhere."

Understanding her friend's advice, Samantha's smile softened as she turned the poster image to herself and looked longingly at it. "I know what people say about him, but as silly as it may sound, I admire him.

I've watched his comedy skits ever since I saw them on T.V. when I moved here. I didn't have a lot of friends and I wasn't sure what to do with my time, and I ended up finding his work one morning." Samantha explained, grabbing a few thumb tacks and heading to the wall above her bed.

"I really liked the way he made people smile, gave them energy in the morning. That's how I found out about idols that didn't just sing. He made me smile, and I ended up becoming a fan. So much that I researched more about him. And that's when I found out about his debut and his voice.

It was...breathtaking."

-A Few Years Ago-

"Hayato...Hayato...let's see what I can find out about him." Samantha muttered, laying down on her bed. Her headphones placed in her ears to better listen to music, she'd been recently swept away by the fun and comedic style of an idol called HAYATO.

He was energetic, bright, funny, and he made her laugh. It was hard enough trying to fit into Japan still for her, so finding something she could relate to and enjoy made her happy, especially since she hadn't found her calling yet. She couldn't think of anything, and it pained her to think that she'd get the last laugh out of all of this.

She didn't want to be a failure. Lost to her own fears and shame. She wouldn't make her mother worry. She wouldn't ruin herself like this.

And this was where her research was coming in. She wanted to know more about the comedic idol. Not from what she saw on television or in any of those gossip magazines that floated around in stores. She wanted to know more about the career and person that was Hayato. His work made her smile, help her get through days she thought she never could. Surely he had to be more than just laughs right?

"A lot of this is about his show. Hm?" Her eyes looking over yet another website showing off his comedy skits, something had caught her attention. "Hayato debut song? He sings?"

Moving the mouse to click on the mp3 track, Samantha adjusted her headphones to make sure they were working before pressing the play button, unsure of what she'd hear at first. "Nanairo Compass? I think that means seven colors or something like that."

And soon, a soft piano melody began to take over her ears.

"Ah… reaching out to only you,
The sound of this wind… Feeling heart…"

Samantha felt her heart jump a little, the once energetic voice of the comedian she was used to hearing singing in a soft whisper, almost like he was right next to her speaking in her ear.

"Don't cry anymore, you're fine as you are!
Look at the sky! Ah… My sweetest love!"

A gasp escaped, warmth enveloping her chest as the lyrics poured out with such sweetness the young girl hadn't expected. 'He's...really good.'

"Blue… The sparkling blue drops trailing down a cheek
Rise… Did you know? About the light to tomorrow

Truth… You probably still don't know yourself well, huh?
Those tears will surely become your guiding rainbow!

If your long trail goes cold,
Ah… I'll warm it with a song!"

And as the chorus began to pick up in speed with the help of the piano keys, Hayato suddenly burst out a voice filled with so much passion and emotion, Samantha felt like he was in the room, performing right in front of her.

"All of your prayers may not become stars,"

Too engrossed in the music she was listening to, Samantha never noticed a tear roll down her cheek as she quietly listened.

"But if you believe in your dreams,"

And another. And again they came, yet she never noticed.

"They will be thousands of "jewels that shine brightest in the night sky."

The song sample slowing down to its end, the mp3 finally stopped, turning itself off and leaving Samantha to sit in her room in silence.

Letting the world slowly make its way back to her mind, Samantha's thoughts and sense suddenly sparked alive, the young girl stiffing up straight as she felt a wetness on her cheeks, her eyes also burning a bit.

Moving a hand to slowly reach up to the source, Samantha wiped away the tears that stained her face, wiping each tear she felt was on her cheeks before removing it to stare down at the liquid coating her small digits.

"I'm...crying?" She questioned, unsure if she was seeing this right. However as much as she kept looking, the wetness didn't disappear, and her eyes still burned from her earlier show of emotions.

"Why?"

-Present-

"I fell in love with him...his music, his voice." Samantha nervously spoke, a bit embarrassed at the words she was speaking, thankful her back was turned from Tomochika's eyes. Pressing the last tack onto the corner of her poster, Samantha took a careful step back on her bed and marveled at her work, the poster now pristinely above her bed and crisp in detail for her to see. "I didn't have anything back then. Nothing to call my own, or work towards. I was in a slump and I felt like I was going nowhere. But, Hayato's music brought me out of something I thought I would never escape. And so, I decided after that I wanted to go into music. And maybe, just maybe I'd one day get really good. Good enough that I could meet him. Even make music for him. Or learn from him."

Sighing, Samantha turned back around, careful not to get herself caught in the bed sheets and jumped down to stand next to the taller Tomochika who had walked over to her bed. "I'm...not the best at music. I've never composed anything in my life and I've only just started studying. I know how hard it will be for me at this stage in my life to become the professional Hayato would want to work with, so I want to do my best. I really really want to learn and make music. I guess...that's what I'm striving for in the end. To make this one chance count."

Sighing at the long winded explanation she did, Samantha looked down to the floor. "It probably all sounds really dumb in hindsight. This chance I have is really slim and-"

"Don't say that," Tomochika spoke quickly, cutting Samantha off.

"Eh?" A bit surprised by the sudden words that were spoken by Tomochika, Samantha looked up to her friend and found her brown eyes staring into Tomochika's pink/purple. Redness crept up her face, her cheeks warming up at the very close proximity they were in. "W-What?"

"Don't give up so easily like that," Tomochika spoke, taking a hold of Samantha's shaking hands. Her eyes burning with determination like a flame that didn't want to go out, Tomochika continued, the grip on her hands getting tighter with each word spoken. "Your dream sounds fantastic. You have something that drives you so much. You should be proud of that. Nobody can say so confidently what they want to do with their life like you just did. Be proud of it."

"Tomo..." Samantha muttered, her confusion subsiding and being replaced with a feeling of awe at her friend's advice.

Seeing Samantha lose the confusion in her features, Tomochika smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around the small frame of Samantha. "Time to hug all this bad stuff away!"

"Waaaaaah! T-Tomochika! T-Too tight!" Samantha exclaimed, her heart leaping out of her chest as she was suddenly pulled into a strong hug.

Laughing at the reaction she was getting, Tomochika let her voice slowly die down and stared down at her shorter companion and smiled warmly. "You're going to do great here. I can just feel it. Maybe we'll even get to do make a song together."

Smiling a little at the suggestion, Samantha looked up at her taller friend and felt a wave of relief and calmness wash over her. For as bad as she felt like the situation she was in was, she couldn't help but smile back at her friend who was trying to cheer her up. It's been so long since she'd had a close friend.

Not since...

'Leon.' Samantha's voice echoed in the back of her mind, reminding her of the girl she once called a friend.

Samantha ignored the thought, a small yet shining smile like a newborn star appearing on her face.

"I'd like that a lot."

The long talk and heart to heart now long over, the two girls had decided to get back to working on their unpacking. While Samantha focused her efforts on getting all of her school supplies out for the next day, Tomochika had decided to tackle the problem of clothes and drawers first.

And had she complained about how bad that choice had been just a minute after.

"Say, you thirsty after that long talk?" Tomochika asked, now dressed in her pajama's and watching Samantha finish sit at their desk, writing a few composing notes down. "I can head down and get some juice or something."

"I don't really want to be up all night from the sugar...but what the hell, why not?" Samantha replied, smiling a bit as she finished writing another sentence. "Could you see if they have any soda right now? I'm craving a Coke right now."

"Roger that. I'll bring back something else tasty if they don't have it. I'll be back quick." A friendly thumbs up in her roommate's direction, Tomochika headed out, grabbing the doorknob behind her and shutting the door closed.

"Be careful," Samantha spoke quietly, watching Tomochika disappear from the room. "I hope we can get all of this unpacking done by tonight." The composer mused to herself, turning back to her small notebook and scanning over the notes she'd written.

"Meow."

The strange sound filling caught in her eardrums, Samantha looked up from her notes and roamed her eyes around the room for any sign of the noise. "Huh? Was that a meow?"

"Meow."

"There it is again," Samantha noted, continuing her search with her eyes. Having them scan over the balcony of their room, her brown irises went to a halt at the sight of a small form outside.

It...was a cat?

Its fur black like the night, tail casually swishing behind it, and eyes so green that it felt like nature poured out of its irises.

"Uwahh! Kitty cat!" Samantha exclaimed, trying to keep herself still in her seat. Reaching her arms out slowly, the young teen moved her fingers back and forth, trying to get the feline's attention. "C'mere kitty kitty kitty. I not scary. Promise."

Tilting its head just a bit to watch the human girl try to get it to come over, the black cat slowly walked inside, taking a moment to feel the floor below its paws before making its way to Samantha's bed. Jumping in one jump to the top of the mattress, the cat walked over to a pile of handkerchiefs and clothes, taking a small hand towel decorated with Pokemon.

"P-Put that down kitty. That's limited edition." Samantha whined, feeling like her blood ran cold at the sight of her precious Pikachu handkerchief being taken.

Unfortunately, her words fell on deaf ears, for as soon as she got out of her seat, the cat sprang to life and headed out the window, jumping down from the balcony to the ground below.

"No! Come back, please!" Samantha exclaimed, rushing out to the balcony to see where the cat hand ran off too. Seeing as the campus was already darkened as it was, she groaned tiredly and rushed to get her shoes on, heading out her dorm room to the campus below. "It's not been the end of the day and I'm still being tortured!"

Rushing down the nearest pathway she was sure the cat had gone down, Samantha kept taking in deep breaths to keep herself moving, a burning sensation taking over her chest. Maybe this was proof she needed to stop eating so much chocolate and drinking soda...

"Oh, where did you go kitty? I just wanted to pet you and you steal from me instead." Samantha commented, stopping and resting her hands on her knees. Bending down to take in more deep breaths, she finally raised her head up to see where she was but frowned a little at seeing the amount of bushes, grass, and trees in her vicinity.

How...far had she ran?

"Okay. I think I went farther than I planned to go." Scratching her head in confusion, she began to turn on her heels to scan over the trees and the forest-like area she was in. Far off in the distance to the left was a lake that spanned far as her eyes could see, the water sparkling thanks to the light of the moon hanging above her.

Just a bit away too was a small structure, white and carved in marble. A gazebo, a place to shelter away from harsh sunlight or rain. While it wasn't the most beautiful or largest of architecture Samantha had seen on campus, it had its own charm to it.

"Maybe I took a wrong turn at random campus route number four?" Trying to find some form of the cat she was chasing or her lost item, Samantha's gaze fell down to the pathway a few inches away and smiled at the sight of the small character handkerchief. "There it is!"

Rushing over to the fallen cloth, Samantha picked up her lost article and smiled, rubbing the handkerchief to her cheek. "Thank goodness I got you back."

The rustling of nearby bushes made Samantha halt her mini victory, clutching her handkerchief tightly to her chest to help feel some sort of safety.

'What was that?' She thought to herself, a small seed of fear appearing in her chest. Uncertain to what made the noise, Samantha slowly moved her gaze upward from her handkerchief and looked ahead of her to some bushes.

Rustling came back once again, but not before subsiding and a large form walked out. Their features obscured due to the moonlight missing one section of the small enclosure, the form headed towards a small cliff of the lake and bent down, wanting to take a closer look at the water.

Clouds in the sky departing from the moonbeams blasting through, moonlight escaped the cloudy dark prison and shined down towards the lake and the area around it. The unknown form encapsulated by the moonlight, their features were finally revealed out in the open.

And that form...was a boy. A boy dressed in normal street clothes?

He looked to be Samanthas' age, maybe a year older. He was very tall, perhaps far so much more than she due to his long legs bent towards the lake waters. His skin was a light olive oil tone, slightly lighter than her own, and had short dark blue hair like hers and matching dark eyes like sapphires. His face was angular and cut sharply, his features shaped nicely like a models' and had a distinctive look that made the boy look intimidating, yet also suave and cool.

But as much as he appeared confused her, the looks he had, and the hardened gaze he had at something in the water (perhaps his reflection), there was one thing that dawned on the teens' mind at seeing the newly revealed figure.

She'd seen that face before.

So many times she'd seen that face. The face of a comedic idol, the face of a genius, the face of a true vocal artist.

And most importantly, the face of the person who saved her from a life of negativity, sorrow, and regret.

"H-Hayato." A ghost of a whisper came from her lips, the name feeling foreign to her despite knowing and saying it so many times of the past few years.

How? How was his possible? How was Hayato, a comedic idol genius here of at Saotome Academy of all places? Was this a dream? Was she still asleep in her dorm room? Back at home?

In all the thinking she was doing in those split seconds, Samantha never knew what she was going to get into.