Cycling and flowing, the times change,
I can't recall what happened anymore…
But if I try closing my eyes, there's someone's laughter;
Somehow, that's my most precious treasure now…

(( Otonashi's P.O.V. ))

A light breeze rustled a redheaded boy's hair as he walked down the sidewalk. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and the soft delicate petals sailed on the wind, coming to a gentle landing at the boy's feet. He inhaled deeply, the soft, sweet perfume filling his nostrils, causing him to smile slightly. It was the boy's favourite time of year, when the cherry blossom trees let go of their flowers, covering Tokyo in a thick carpet of the perfect little blooms. Something about that time brought a sense of romance to those who stood under the branches, and entranced them with their lovely spell.

Ah, yes. It really was a nice time for Otonashi Yuzuru. He would be starting his first day at his new school tomorrow, and his stomach knotted up just thinking about it. Otonashi was a smart kid, and had been accepted into an exclusive private high school in downtown Tokyo. Even though he had brains, he wasn't such a genius when it came to his social life. But he would remain optimistic; after all it was a chance to start over, to reinvent himself.

And so as the sun sank below the horizon, the redhead continued walking, enjoying the scenery. He needed to make his way to his new dorm room at the school and unpack, so he would be ready for class the next morning. Keep calm, Yuzuru, He thought to himself. You can do this. Hatsune would want this for you. He kept the thought of his dearly departed little sister in his head as he caught sight of the fancy-looking school up ahead.

Once he had reached the gate, Otonashi took a deep breath and pressed the buzzer. "Yes?" He heard a woman's voice say. He cleared his throat and pushed down the button that allowed him to speak into the microphone.

"M-my name's Otonashi. I'm a new student here…?"

"Ah, yes. We've been expecting you, Otonashi. Just head into the main building up ahead." As he heard this, the ornate iron gates slowly opened, and with a gulp he walked inside.

"Yuzuru Otonashi," A woman behind a desk said with the same voice as the one he had just heard. "Welcome to Shimei Academy."

Otonashi gave her a bow and, after setting his bags down and going over some paperwork, smiled as the woman handed him two keys. "Your room number is 108," She said. "The student building is just through this door, then just follow the walkway." She indicated a door that led out the right side of the building.

"Alright, thanks," Otonashi said, reaching down to grab his things. He headed out the door the woman had indicated and immediately saw a handsome building with at least five floors to it, and large lettering on the side that spelled out "Student Building".

"Well that was easy," He said aloud to himself as he pushed open the double glass doors and walked inside to find a small lobby that merged into a long hallway. He looked around; rooms 1 through 40 were on this floor. He located a stairwell and, after much physical labour, emerged onto the third floor with his things, where his room was most likely located. He dragged his two bags down the hallway and finally found what he was looking for: Room 108.

"Finally," The redhead groaned as he unlocked the door and struggled through the small door frame with his luggage in tow.

The room was simple yet elegant; two twin beds sat side-by-side on the far wall, and a small mahogany bedside table was placed in between them. The walls were a creamy white colour that complemented the coffee-coloured shag carpet. He could see a small hallway that most likely led to the bathroom and maybe some storage space. To his left was a small kitchenette with an open wall that looked out into the main room.

"Sweet!" Otonashi said aloud. "A huge dorm all to myself."

"Think again, man."

Yuzuru almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice behind him. He whirled around to see a boy of about the same age as him, with blue hair and greyish-blue eyes. His eyebrow was raised, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm assuming you're my new roommate," He said. "Sorry, but if you want a room all to yourself you'll have to take it up with administration."

Otonashi felt his shoulders slump forward slightly as he received this news. "Shit…" He muttered.

The other male squeezed past his door-block of luggage and plopped down on the bed on the right. "Take that one," He said, pointing at the other.

A groan emanated from the redhead as he dragged his luggage over to the bed and plopped down on the mattress. It wasn't as comfortable as his bed had been back home, but it would do.

His roommate watched as Otonashi knelt down and unzipped his suitcase. "Want some help with that?"

Yuzuru looked at him over his shoulder and gave him a grateful smile. "That would be nice," He said as the boy came over and began taking clothes out of the bag.

After a moment of silent unpacking, Otonashi heard the male speak once more. "I'm Hinata," He said. "Hinata Hideki."

"Otonashi Yuzuru," The redhead replied with a smile as Hinata held his hand out. Otonashi took it and shook.

"So, you new to the area or something?" Hinata asked curiously as they continued unpacking Otonashi's things.

Otonashi shook his head, his unruly red hair coming down to hang in his eyes. "Nah, I've lived in Tokyo for awhile now. I'm just transferring from a public school, is all."

"Ah, nice," The male replied. "So do you have your classes yet?"

Once again Yuzuru gave a shake of his head. "Not yet, I still need to go over to the main building and get my schedule."

Suddenly Hinata stood and dropped everything he had been holding. "I'll go with you!" He said with a grin. "While we're at it, and I can give you a tour of the school."

Yuzuru set a few pairs of jeans down and stood, slower than Hinata had. "Really? Y-you'd do that?"

The blue-haired male nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. "Yeah! I have nothing better to do anyways."

Otonashi smiled at Hinata's kindness and followed him out the door, leaving his halfway-unpacked baggage behind. Once in the hallway, Otonashi pulled the door shut and walked next to his roommate as they proceeded down the stairs and back out the door.

As they walked, Hinata stuck his hands in his pockets and looked sideways at Otonashi. "So, how did you get accepted into a place like this anyway?"

"Scholarship," The redhead answered simply. "I worked hard and got perfect grades, so they gave me a scholarship here."

"Nice!" Hinata said, obviously impressed. "I'm not smart enough to get a scholarship, my family's just wealthy."

Otonashi nodded, letting his mind wander to what it was like to have such luxuries; a big house, a paid internship at a private school…and loving parents. But Otonashi had let go of such luxuries long ago to care for his sister. It wasn't like he really needed them anyways. All he needed were the necessities and he would be just fine.

"And here we are." The blue-haired male said, pulling Otonashi out of his thoughts. He looked up to see the building he had first received directions in. The two boys walked inside and back up to the front desk, where the woman still sat.

"Ah, Otonashi," She said upon seeing them. "I see you've met your roommate?"

"Yes, ma'am," Yuzuru said politely. "Actually, I came back to get my classes..?"

Her eyes lit up in understanding. "Ah, yes. I've got it right here, just let me print it out for you."

After a few whirrs and clicks from the printer, a crisp sheet of paper came out with black text on it. She handed it to him and he scanned it a few times.

"Not bad," Hinata said from where he had been looking at it over Otonashi's shoulder. "Looks like we have Classic Literature and World History together…" He stopped as he continued to read down the piece of paper. "And we have the same homeroom class!"

Yuzuru felt himself smile a little when he heard this; at least he wouldn't be totally alone. Carefully, he folded up the piece of paper and stuck it in the pocket of his jacket.

"Alright, let's get going," Hinata said. "There's a lot to see and not very much time until lights-out."

"Sure." Otonashi replied simply and began to walk after Hinata. His footsteps slowed, however, when he noticed two other students enter through a door on the far wall of the building. One of them, a male who Otonashi assumed was younger than he was by his short stature, had messy black hair that covered his ears and sharp hazel eyes. The other, for some reason, made Otonashi's heart nearly stop as he looked on.

She was small and petite, with pale ivory skin and long, silvery-white hair that glowed in the fading sunlight. Her eyes were like melted gold as they looked straight ahead of her. The other black-haired kid was talking to her, but it didn't really seem like she was listening to anything he said. She had an almost dreamy look on her face, like her mind was floating somewhere far away. Otonashi felt his breath catch in his throat when suddenly, her beautiful golden gaze turned toward him.

The split-seconds after that passed in slow-motion.

He felt dazed as the shock delivered from her piercing gaze restarted his heart, and he blinked as the two continued walking past, as if he wasn't even there.

"Yo, Otonashi?" He vaguely heard Hinata say to him. "Earth to Otonashi!"

Yuzuru shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked over to see Hinata snapping his fingers in his face. "You okay?" He asked, his light eyes filled with mild concern.

The redhead nodded and blinked a few more times. "Huh? Oh yeah…yeah, I'm fine."

Hinata breathed a small sigh of relief. "Now, come on!" He said, beckoning for him to follow. Otonashi trailed after him without question, his hands in his pockets. Although he heard what Hinata was saying to him as they walked around, none of it really registered; his head was full of that beautiful yellow gaze. For some reason, he had felt an instant connection with that girl. He didn't know how, after all she was only some random girl. But the way she had looked at him seemed so tantalizingly familiar…

He shook his head once again and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to get his thoughts together. He suddenly felt very confused and jumbled. Get it together, Yuzuru! He scolded himself. So what if a girl had looked at him funny. It was just a glance, right? It wasn't anything special.

Otonashi forced the girl out of his mind and caught up to Hinata, who had gotten farther ahead of him. As the sun sank behind the trees, so did the concern over something so small.

And as that night wore on, it was like it hadn't even happened.