[center][h1][b][color=firebrick]Yuuhei Seiho[/color][/b][/h1][/center]
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[b][color=firebrick]“Yeah, yeah, I’m already pretty much done unpacking.”[/color][/b] Yuuhei reassured his old man on the other end of the line. [b][color=firebrick]“Seriously, don’t sweat it. I know how hard it is for you to get time off.”[/color][/b] There wasn’t even any bitterness in his tone as Yuuhei waved aside his dad’s profuse apologies for bailing on him. After all, it had been the same song and dance between the two for the past seventeen years, so he had plenty of time to get used to it.

The rest of the conversation played out like normal. They promised to see each other soon, Yuuhei refused to commit in clear terms that he would stay out of trouble, the works. The call ended and the blond took the moment to relax into a much needed stretch, basking in the fruits of his labors.

His newly furnished dorm room was already balanced precariously between organized chaos and regular old chaos. The bed was already unmade with its sheets balled into a corner, despite it not having been used yet. In one corner was a staggering collection of cameras (both digital and analog), while in another was a dartboard that was conspicuously missing its darts. Strewn haphazardly across the surface of his desk were a wide range of similar odds and ends, only a third of which he would have any real chance of arguing would be of any help with his studies. And instead of posters adorning his walls stood a number of small newspaper clippings, whose only common thread was that Yuuhei had found something interesting about them.

There were still a few boxes of other treasures to add to this tapestry, but Yuuhei found himself already grinning at his handiwork. Sure, the room’s current state would probably make the people that had maintained it shed tears of blood to see it like this, but at least now it didn’t look nearly as boring and sterile. At least now it actually looked lived in.

A quick glance at his watch showed that it was still far too early, a consequence of trying so hard to work around his dad’s insane schedule. The clubroom wouldn’t be available until tomorrow and here Yuuhei was, likely among the first students to finish moving in, with an entire day to kill. No, maybe that was the wrong way to think about it. 

After all, he already had a very specific idea on how to spend it.

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[b][color=firebrick]“Guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, huh?”[/color][/b] the club president muttered to himself, all the while sprawled obnoxiously across a bench with his pocket notebook draped over his face. There was a temptation to nod off right then and there, but he really wasn’t too keen on risking a repeat of his weird dream the night before. So instead he shifted his focus to the contents of the notebook currently blocking out the too bright sun.

Even though he couldn’t read the pages covering his eyes, he already knew their scant content by heart. [b][color=yellow]Yellow Plague[/color][/b] causes those that contract it to become catatonic with no hope of recovery. Sinners are the only people that can get it. Kenkōichi Research Hospital is responsible for the disease making its way into town. And perhaps most importantly, there were students at the academy that had friends or family affected by it.

Baseless rumors, every last bit of it, but there was something about this insane story that gripped Yuuhei from the moment he heard the first whispers of it over break. But no matter how he sleuthed, cajoled, or begged, those scant few lines in his notes was all that he was able to dig up on it. No names, not even a single confirmed case, had turned up to give credibility to this glorified urban legend. So if it was really out there, then the fastest way to confirm any part of the rumors would be to interview his fellow students, yeah?

Well that had certainly made plenty of sense in his head when he set out from his dorm, but here he was hours later with nothing to show for it. There was so little to work with here that if he had tried to run it, then the newspaper club would truly be reduced to nothing more than a gossip rag. With a languid hand Yuuhei plucked the notebook off his face and snapped it closed, but the smile that had been hiding underneath it was filled to the brim with energy. 

Rome wasn’t built in a day and likewise his fellow students were just getting settled in. The rumor mill would soon pick up its pace, so all Yuuhei had to do was be a bit patient and sort out the chaff from the real deal once it all filtered down to him. With his plan set, he made a rather fine show of jumping off the bench and all but skipped back towards the boys’ dormitory. 

[b][color=firebrick]“Looks like I won’t have to try too hard to make this an interesting year,”[/color][/b] he mused excitedly, lightly tapping his notebook against his chin as he plotted how to spend the rest of the day.
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