Sector 5

The mindless chattering of the birds marked the arrival of yet another ordinary morning. This was the conclusion drawn by the owner of the green eyes that had flickered open to dance with the morning sunlight. Even for the inordinate there were ordinary moments in life. It didn't matter who you were, or what you did - if you did it enough, you were sure to get sick of it. Of course, the weary green eyes met a familiar sight: a golden lamp resting atop a white nightstand. If the eyes had belonged to any normal person, they would surely be staring up at the ceiling. However, even looking at the eyes themselves could tell you that they had an uncanny host. The serpentine eyes blinked suddenly at the sound of the alarm clock beneath the lamp. With a grumble, their host reached a dainty hand over to the electronic device, and gave it a good smack.

The delicately placed, white sheets upon the bed began to stir before a pair of legs suddenly dropped over the side. They were bare, a pair of navy blue, cotton pajama shorts just barely covering the thighs of the girl. Her arms raised into the air suddenly, before one became crooked in the direction of the other to stretch, a soft yawn escaping the lips of the black haired asian girl, while showing an impressive pair of fangs. She stood up and wandered over to the full body mirror at the foot of her bed. She stretched again, lifting her pajama top to show her navel in the process. Something danced in the background, the extension of her body that made sleeping on her back impossible. The reptilian tail flew back and forth, cringing at the stretch before following it's owner into the bathroom.

About half an hour later, the girl emerged from the front door of her dormitory room, dressed neatly in her school uniform. She wouldn't dare attend class without her navy blue skirt and jacket, else she'd be in deep trouble. It was a Japanese style uniform, which suited her just fine. Her braided twin-tails danced back and forth as the click-clack of her dress shoes sounded against the marble hallway floor. As she passed by her peers, they barely gave her a glance, not that she minded. There were a lot of powers in the city, but very few instigated permanent physical changes such as... say, a large tail protruding out from beneath one's skirt. She'd gotten used to the neglect, though.

Her green eyes met with her reflection in the door. She could see the blue of the water fountain mounted in the courtyard outside, which meant she'd be free of any complications soon. As her hand reached for the door, she felt the presence of another hand on her shoulder. "Hey there, Fuuka. Time for class already? But you haven't paid the fee for being in my presence!" Fuuka's eyes shot to the left as she craned her head in the same direction. If there was anything the lizard girl hated, it was girls that had their egos so far up their butt that they felt the need to crap it out onto everybody else's lap.

The girl behind her was one Samantha Wiles, both her senior in age and overall rank. Ranking in the top 20, she saw it fit to demand money from the other girls in the dormitory just for living under the same roof as her. The sad part was that they weren't provided any choice in the matter, since she would thoroughly thrash anyone who didn't bother. The thrashing was never done in public though, so the authorities never had any proof despite the city being monitored nonstop. "..." Fuuka considered her potential response to this witch. She had no intention of speaking against the woman, not if she wanted the peace she had obtained to remain. Yet, one day this girl was really going to get it. "...I'll give it to you later." She walked away, not even giving Samantha a glance as she wandered out the door.

She'd get over it.

Light streamed in from the white-curtained window across the room from Marie's bed and as the rays hit her eyelids, she stirred and began to rustle beneath the sheets. It didn't take long for the rising sun to bring Marie out of her bed; dragging the duvet with her for warmth as she searched for her school uniform. "Bloody hell, I need some coffee..." She muttered sleepily in an English accent continuing the search. Finding the uniform neatly pressed and folded over a pile of chaotically stacked computer parts she dragged herself to the bathroom her eyes barely open.

Quickly hopping into the large shower she turned the water to as warm as would go, steam coating the mirrors and window within the bathroom as Marie took her time waking up. Not to soon after she'd gotten into the shower, she was stepping out again, hot water beading off her fair skin. Her long jet black hair sticking to her, reaching down to a little past her shoulders. She dried quickly, allowing her hair to air dry as she dressed and readied herself for her day. She wasn't exactly running late, but time wasn't on her side. Placing her glasses on her face she decided she was ready for the day.


Arriving at the fifth Sectors Academy Marie frowned. She had barely made it in time. Looking the pristine academy up and down the place could be much much worse but she still didn't like it. She had always hated school, it required too much work. But she still couldn't break her vow of neutrality she had made when she had come to Advent City. It was this place that had made her life that much better and it was the promise of all those things being taken away from her if she didn't rank well enough that made her work that much harder. On the bright side at least she had a sponsor meeting with Win-tech that would get her out of class later.

Avoiding eye contact with all the other students she walked briskly to her desk, keeping her vision in a straight line as she sat down with a straight back. She wasn't much for conversation and just preferred to get the show on the road. It may have seemed cold but it also kept the other students from harassing her, she couldn't afford dropping any ranks right now. Making herself seem like a predator and not prey kept most from picking fights with her for ranking and it also meant that no one realized how physically helpless she truly was. Zoning out as she waited for class to start she hooked into the schools surveillance system and began to look around. It was amazing what things people sometimes did when they thought no one was watching. It was also amazing some of the things Marie knew because of this.

The walk to school from the dorm was not a particularly long one. It was more or less a hop, skip, and a jump across a cobblestone pathway from Fuuka's home to actually get there, not that she would partake in such foolish actions. The school in Sector 5 was rather luxurious in comparison to what the lower sectors likely had. In fact, it had multiple buildings littered across it's campus, though most were only for sponsored Advents that received special training. In contrast, the tailed girl made her educational home in the main building - the biggest square one made out of both red and white bricks. This was where the regular students came to learn everything from English to math to the ability to actually control your powers appropriately. For a time, several months ago, she had been subjected to extensive time in the latter course, honing control. Even now she wasn't perfect, but she was much better than she had been.

"Hey! Taily! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" The familiar voice from earlier called behind her in the foyer of the school - complete with a fountain in the center, lines with lockers for all the students. Cocking her head around a bit just in time to feel a hand pull violently on her tail, which in turn made her yelp, the girl's lizard eyes set upon Samantha once again, who looked more than a little pissed off. Maybe she didn't get over it after all? "I asked for my money! You don't have the authority to just put it off!"

"Don't have any." Fuuka replied coldly, still looking back with a blank stare. In truth though, her heart was beating faster. She loathed it when other people touched her tail, particularly when it was with ill-intent. It was kind of like someone pulling on your hair, but way worse. "Can I go to class n-OW!" She was given her answer as the larger girl - not round large, but she was much taller and had a much more generous bust - pulled on her tail and began dragging her out of the foyer back to the outside. Naturally, the black haired teen struggled, but due to the length of her tail she could not reach in order to free herself. She was at the mercy of the woman dragging her along, and the other students just laughed as they watched the sight of the deformed girl trying to break free. Nobody helped. Obviously not. Nobody ever cared.

Eventually, they stopped outside, in a small alcove between two of the buildings on campus. It was dark, and Fuuka was backed against the wall. "I'll ask you again, nicely. Can I please have the money, Fuuka?" Samantha let go of her tail, allowing her to spin around and look at her eye to eye. A minute passed, no response. Another minute. No response. As if out of nowhere, something flew from Samantha suddenly and pierced her right arm, pinning her to the wall. "Very well, I'll just be taking it." Fuuka's heart raced, looking over at her right arm. From what she could see, there was nothing there! Her heart was racing more now, and with one burst of strength she freed her arm, a lone strand of red hair falling to the ground as she did so. "Fuuka, you don't know of my power, do you? I can use my hair as a weapon." She flipped her red locks, a few strands coming loose and suddenly straightening, shooting at the lizard girl again. She could barely see them in the darkness, and was this time struck in the leg. "So... just give me the money!"

The girl stood there in thought for a moment, before pulling her leg free of the hairs. They stung. A lot. Her breathing became heavier as she felt something welling up inside her. Luckily she had an advantage here, since Samantha wasn't aware of her power either. As she breathed, she felt the hallucinogen escape her lips, and it was only a matter of seconds before Samantha looked confused. "Wait!? Where'd you go!?" Fuuka looked for her line of a escape. If she was quiet, she could sneak to her attackers left and make a run for it! She began creeping that way, Samantha apparently shooting stray hairs at the girl's previous location in an attempt to hit her. She got to the woman's side, but suddenly she keeled over as her mind was overtaken by a headache of an intensity she had never fathomed before. Her attacker followed suite, falling over, clenching her head much like Fuuka, both girls screaming as tears streamed from their eyes due to the pain. Eventually, Fuuka blacked out.

Similar incidents had occurred all over the city at the exact same time, with the patients being transferred to a super high-tech hospital in Sector 6. When Fuuka's eyes finally reopened, she found herself looking up at a white ceiling. She was dressed in a simple hospital gown, with bloodied bandages wrapped around her head. Struggling to move her head, she found she was in a room with others dressed up the same way. Just what the hell had happened?