In class..

Ichimatsu sighed as he slumped down into an empty desk at the back of the classroom. Quickly, he pulled a pen and piece of scratch paper out of his desk as he listened to the teacher beginning to explain a math problem.

"This is so much easier than geometry and algebra..." Ichimatsu thought, staring closely at the chalkboard. He was to only one of his brothers in this class, making every possible situation terrible. If someone happened to start picking on him, there would be nobody to defend him. Not that he needed help, of course.

At that moment, the classroom door swung open, revealing a very frightened girl. It was obviously Homura, and right beside her was the principal.

"That guy..." Ichimatsu thought bitterly. "I remember the day the school got news that he died. It was the best day of my life."

"This girl is new to this school! She just moved in last week! Please welcome your new classmate, Homura," the principal said, looking around at all of the kids in the class room. For several seconds, his eyes rested on Ichimatsu, and the boy could have sworn he saw a scowl appear on the principal's face.

A few unexpired claps could be heard around the large classroom. Ichimatsu knew that if he had been Homura, he would have turned around and left. She was a strong girl.

Ichimatsu quickly looked around the classroom, wondering where Homura could sit. All of the seats were full except for two in the very back.

"Great..." he thought worriedly. "What do I do now? She has no choice but to sit by me. I don't want to be rude..but interacting with other people just isn't my thing. Jyushimatsu always did that for me. Maybe that's why we stuck together so often. We seemed more like best friends than brothers..."

Ichimatsu felt like punching himself in the face. Just thinking of Jyushimatsu made him feel slightly sick. He had to get his younger brother to become best friends with Homura. If he wasn't there for her, who knows what she might do to herself?

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Homura asked quietly, yet she sounded very kind.

"No..." Ichimatsu mumbled, trying his hardest not to sound rude, but not approachable at the same time. "I don't mind..."

"Thanks!" Homura laughed a little, sitting down in the desk beside his. She opened it up, looking for a pen or pencil, then let out a quiet sigh.

"Do you need a pen?" Ichimatsu asked quietly, trying not to get caught by the teacher.

Homura nodded her head, and Ichimatsu quickly handed her an extra pen he had from inside his own desk.

"Thank you," Homura mouthed to him, quickly flipping to the page number in her math book that was written on the chalkboard.

"I just realized that was the first time I ever talked to her..." Ichimatsu thought, a knot twisting in his stomach. "I can see how she and Jyushimatsu got along so well. How can she be so upset though? What made her kill herself...she's such a kindhearted girl.."

"Ichimatsu Matsuno!" the teacher yelled, scraping a piece of chalk across the board, creating the most disturbing sound. "Please pay attention!"

"I don't see why I have to pay attention," Ichimatsu thought with a small laugh. "I know all of this stuff. I've done it all before..."

"Teacher! Teacher! Ichimatsu was just laughing at you!" a girl called out, standing up out of her seat.

"Why were you laughing, Matsuno?" the teacher snapped, walking swiftly towards the back of the class to where Ichimatsu was sitting. "Are you mocking me?"

"Gosh, I forgot how stupid everyone was here. Why did we have to live in this school zone..." Ichimatsu thought bitterly.

"Would you mind solving the problem in the front of the class?" the teacher asked sharply.

Ichimatsu nodded his head, standing up.

"He thinks I wasn't paying attention. And he also thinks the problem on the board is 'hard'. I'd love to humiliate him..." Ichimatsu thought, an evil smirk growing on his face.

"Solve this!" the teacher yelled, shoving a piece of chalk into Ichimatsu's hand.

Sighing, Ichimatsu began to work the problem:

132 x 434 = 57,288
132 = 6
434 = 11 = 2
5(7,2)88 = 21 = 3 (7+2 = 9 = 0)
6x2 = 12 = 3
3 = 3

Ichimatsu could nearly hear the anger pouring off of the teacher. Why he was angry, he had no idea. Perhaps Ichimatsu had just embarrassed him. He had solved the stupid math problem perfectly.

"How did you solve that perfectly, Ichimatsu?" the teacher snapped. "Last I recalled, you were terrible in math!"

"Really?" Ichimatsu sighed, sitting back down at his desk. "This class is easy."