Plot: This is your first day at Kitagawa First with Kunimi and Kindaichi.

As a ten-year-old, you had a tiny problem pronouncing certain vowels and consonants. Last year you were able to overcome stuttering, but some words- names especially- were quite difficult to pronounce.

"Kumini."

"No," the boy's face scrunched and he pouted. "It's Kunimi."

"Kumini."

"Kunimi."

"That's what I'm saying!" you huffed.

The boy with droopy eyes glared. "If you can't say my name just call me Akira. That's my first name anyway."

"But she's Akira," you pointed to the brunette sitting at the table to your left. "You're Kumini."

"I am not! I'm Kunimi."

You turned to the boy sitting on your left. "Yutaro," you poked him.

He looked up from his colouring sheet, dark eyes shining. "Yeah?"

"How do you say his name?"

"Kunimi."

"Kumini."

"So you can say Yutaro just fine but not my name?"

"I'm trying!"

"Whatever," he huffed and turned his body away from yours.

You felt your eyes begin to sting. Your bottom lip trembled. It was always hard to make friends because the other kids in your class would pretend to be your friend only to tease and bully you for the way you spoke.

You thought this year would be different. After all, you spent all of the summer break before your first year at Kitagawa practicing how to say difficult words with your older brother. You wanted it to be better this year.

You wanted friends.

Using the back of your hands, you rubbed your eyes and choked down the sob clawing its way up your throat.

"Um, Kunimi," Kindaichi muttered. "I think you should apologize."

"Why?" he glanced up from his colouring page and froze.

"No, it's fine," you protested. "I'm a big girl."

The boys seemed to be communicating through glances towards each other and then at you. You tried your best to ignore them, instead focusing on the word puzzle worksheet your Sensei had given out.

The ability to rely on someone or something. C-o-n-f-i-d-e-n-c-e you spelled out into the small squares. This was a word your brother had taught you. He said that the older you get, the less people you can truly trust. Apparently, most people are selfish and mean.

So, he told you that you should always have confidence in yourself. If you do that, you'll attract good people. And those good people might become your friends.

You were confident that you could learn to pronounce any name or word. It would just take some time.

"Hey," you felt a poke on your side. Kunimi peered at you from behind his dark bangs. "I'll let you call me Kumini if I can call you Chibi."

"I'm not a Chibi!" you protested out loud. Kindaichi stiffled a laugh from beside you. "I'm just little for now. I will get bigger."

"But until you get bigger you're a Chibi. And until you can say Kunimi, I'm Kumini."

Kindaichi shifted himself closer to you two and nodded eagerly. "That's a good deal. Take it."

You tilted your head. Both boys were staring at you with wide eyes, their expressions somehow different from all your other classmates from the years before.

"Okay, then," you finally nodded, "deal."

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