These monsters here

( OOC: Nori(k)o's Social Links )

Mother's telling me that I am shortly to be deported to the prison. No reason given, but I can hazard a guess. I intend to give up without a fight.

After all, I always knew this would happen.

That bitch doomed me to it.

I guess this is the last cry I make to the open world before I'm swallowed up.

You know, it's always bothered me that there's that empty seat in 2-B. Why doesn't somebody use it? Nanakamado's got enough students as it is, you'd think they wouldn't waste space like that. I don't even remember why it's empty- did somebody transfer out or something?

And English class is terrible. It's like Ms. Soejima has no idea what she's talking about! I swear, her teaching has been going downhill since day one.

This whole school is.

I cannot believe that our school allowed such an unstable individual as Ms. Ishino to remain in our midst for so long...

Our very lives were in danger. Three people at Nanakamado died because of her, and who knows what she would have done were she not arrested when she was!

It's worrying that criminals can walk in our midst like that. Truly and deeply worrying.

This may seem odd, but I must ask you. What is going on with the Anti-Bulling Club? Over the past year, a very strange assortment of students, including known bullies and delinquents, have joined it. You seem to be incredibly active at odd times and places, and only involved in specific cases.

In fact... the focus you all have had seems to be upon members of the club. The only exception is Mikio Seiji. I had him pinned as a target of bullying, yes, but...

What is really happening? I only ask this of you because you seem trustworthy. Both in and out of class you've proved honest and steady, and I figured you were safer to ask than somebody like Ikeda-san.

Faithful readers of the Nanakamado Times may have noticed a few changes to the paper - the glossy print paper, the full-page photo montage for a cover, the list of associated merchandise on the back - and that's because this is a VERY SPECIAL EDITION! Yes, we at the Nanakamado times are covering all of your favourite idols, bringing you exclusive interviews, photos, sneak-peaks and behind-the-scenes scoops. Remember, this is a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity, so never mind that 500 yen markup, we're talking about collectables, here!

[ Flipping through the newspaper shows that all of its coverage is Idol-related, the bulk of it involving recaps of the first event, interviews and (occasionally terrible) glamour shots. Towards the end, the words THE SECOND EVENT run across the top.]

That's right, folks - the Nanakamado Idol Paper has this exclusive - you won't see it anywhere else!

The next event in the Nanakamado Idol contest will be the Date Your Idol event! In two week's time, a raffle will be held, and one lucky entrant will recieve a date with the idol of their choice (chosen at the time of entry), a gift certificate to any of the restaurants in Noodle Alley, and a KigaKiga ice cream voucher. This is the chance of a lifetime, folks!

So how do you enter? Well, if you've bought this paper, you've already got one raffle ticket! That's right, all you need to do is locate the proof of purchase, then head over to an Official Nanakamado Idol Vendor (located in front of the cafeteria and outside of the auditorium) and enter! How do you get more tickets? Why, you'll automatically get at least one ticket with the purchase of any official Nanakamado Idol merchandise!

Remember, readers - Kondo Kozue may have been dating down recently, but she is still way out of your league. So act now!


[ Idol Contestants are welcome to reply with stories about themselves that may appear in this paper. ]

Your beautiful editor-in-chief is here with an important bulletin!

Soon, in the lead-up to the Nanakamado Idol competition, your very own Nanakamado school newspaper committee will be bringing you "Nanakamado Views," your cutting-edge first look into the competitors! This companion guide is a must-have to all fans, viewers, and die-hard followers, with exclusive photos, interviews, and content to keep you up-to-date on everything that really matters.

Also featured will be the designs, writing, and special contributions of a few special secret guests! Who are they? Buy the guide to find out! The whole school will be watching, so you'd better not fall behind~!

Well, I was watching the news to keep my mind off of those poems, and I heard an odd story.

A young man in his twenties was discovered dead in his home, not too far from the school zone. Only twenty minutes away or so, if I'm not mistaken. Name of Shou Arai. Dead of an overdose, apparently. His parents had left him to look after his teenage brother, too, while they were abroad.

There's an Arai in our class, right?

Isn't that creepy?

Okay, own up. Who the hell left that poetry in my shoe locker? It's embarrassing! I know, I know, love letters are a time-tested cultural institution, but. This is just a blemish on the name of anything that calls itself poetry.

Looks at this crap!

And in the playground.
Did you ever go in there?
Guess not. My mistake.

Think you'd like it, though.
That's where all the angels live.
You would fit right in.

You should be healthy
You don't deserve to be sick
You've done nothing wrong.

Someone should be ill
Who is not you. Someone bad.
They'd deserve it more.

I mean, this is less than the cultural minimum! This is the writing equivalent of grimy gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe!

Last night, I dreamt I was a noble knight. I saved all of my classmates, the villagers, from an evil witch.

I woke up feeling closer to everyone in 2B.

How odd!

Does anyone else find it a bit unusual, that that shopkeeper would find Furukawa-senpai's phone in his store, months after he died? That's a long time to lose track of something like that. And what was it doing there? He died in a car crash, right? For that matter, why would he have ever gone to that weirdo store!? Normal people don't shop in places like that!

Ugh, this is so weird. Maybe it's time for some investigative journalism.

....this is most likely me overthinking the issue.

Also, I caught a summer cold. Fat lot of good this "good health" charm is doing. I bet it's from that creepy shop, too!

You IDIOT. Why the hell did you come and do that? And why did you bring your idiotic gang members, too? I'm ashamed to know you.

That was incredibly immature.

Don't even think about trying to go anywhere public with me now.

Yeesh, Retsu-senpai is a stalker? I always had him pegged as a total deviant creep, but WOW. The guys at this school really are a bunch of perverts. Satou gropes people on trains, Oubai thinks he can get with Kondo-san via arranged marriage, Ito's... well, Ito doesn't seem too bad... there's obviously something wrong with Ishinomori; there always is with otaku... ugh, it's all a huge mess!

HEY

I JUST FIGURED OUT THESE LIFE-JOURNALS THINGS. YEAH.

YOU PEOPLE ARE ALL STUDENTS AT NANAKAMADO, RIGHT?

MY SON'S APPARENTLY GOING THERE, BUT I CAN'T SEEM TO FIND HIM! THAT'S ALL MY EX-WIFE WOULD TELL ME, AND THE SCHOOL IS JUST AS BAD! THEY EVEN GOT HIS NAME WRONG ON THE LETTER! I SWEAR, I MIGHT HAVE TO HAVE HIM PULLED FROM THIS CRAPSACK SCHOOL!

SO, YOU GUYS TELL ME. WHERE'S NORIO? I THINK HE'D BE SIXTEEN BY NOW, AND A TOTAL BADASS LIKE ME, SINCE HE GOT ALL OF MY GOOD GENES.

Damn, I left the caps on. I don't want to write that over again!

I apologize for my absence the past few days; I had to spend some time in the hospital. The heat of this time of year doesn't agree with me, to say the least.

But I have returned, with a mission! I've had my fun with informational pieces in the paper, but now I want to have a real adventure. I'm thinking that there must be something that we can do with all of this gossip wafting around Nanakamado... especially that concerning some of the more irritating students here. Satou, Retsu... Anyone care to help? It'll probably be separate from the paper, and it probably won't even be school-sponsored. But I can't help but want to do it! It'd be in good fun, right?

Hmm, does anyone know what's going on with Kiriko Ikeda? She is, after all, the 1-B class rep and a well-known school personality. First that garishly large party, then the breakdown in school, then her bizarre behavior in the gym....

And now she appears to be abstaining from time at school. It all seems suspicious.

So, here's the latest topics-

-I've been recruited as the manager of the wrestling team, due to the fact that I can't participate in gym. Um... expect more coverage of sports in the paper now. *sigh*
- Planning an exposé on the student council. They're very powerful, and I think it's the right of every student at Nanakamado to know exactly what they're up to! I think I may have an excellent source for interviews and info lined up... Also, anybody have dirt on Gendou-sempai?
- Other scandals: gambling in gym class... (that one I can do a piece on), Kondo's latest boytoy.... (that's not going in the paper), the ongoing mystery of Mr. Aomori's death... (still no leads)... *sigh*
- I swear, someone's been nicking my stuff. I leave spare pencils in my shoe locker, and some of them have been stolen... not to mention pages getting torn out of my notebook in the library. Actually, when I'm in the library is when most of the things go missing. It hasn't been anything major yet, but it's still creeping me out a bit.

So busy lately! This school trip means rushing around everywhere, gathering information, writing, writing, writing... I'm doing a detailed piece on the town, after all. I almost have no time for poor Shu now... poor thing.

Er... what else? Well... mother's busy composing the score for another game. She keeps making me test out bits of melodies. It's... distracting, I guess you could say. Not that good when I want to write, though.

Oh, and Shinkawa-kun got taken off the newspaper committee. Turns out he was using the club's camera to take upskirt photos of girls... I can't believe him! Ugh, it gives me chills to even think I used to sit next to him at our meetings! At least there weren't any photos of me saved on there... ugh...

Oh, right. The upshot of all that was that we're in desperate need of a new photographer for the school paper. Any takers?