Ai Shaji's Story

"Listen here, young Ieharu."

At the mentioning of his name, Ieharu's ears perked up, but he didn't turn to look at the source. He was too busy playing his video game, torso hunched to the side, shoulders scrunched in concentration, the clicks and clacks of his controller nearly as deafening as the sound of gunfire emanating from the massive flat screen before him. This wasn't the first time he had to multitask while an adult was talking.

"I probably shouldn't be telling you this–in fact I shouldn't be, but I believe honorable men like myself should show some good charity toward the families of their targets."

Ieharu's eyes narrowed slightly, but his concentration on his game didn't falter for a second. Though he was only halfway paying attention, he did recognize the voice. Male. Upbeat. Sanguine, but with a hint of danger. It was Godot, though his twin brother Ieyoshi always called the man "their new nanny".

"You might not believe me–I get it, it's a little sudden–but I am an assassin sent by an anonymous payer of mine to knock off an heir of the Vongola family."

From where he stood in the room, Godot took a few steps closer. Ieharu didn't notice, nor did he respond. On the TV, a rival's body exploded in a plume of blood and body parts. Presumably the boy's doing, because he snickered softly.

"Namely, that would be you, Ieharu Sawada." Outside, thunder boomed, ravaging the skies. It was several moments before Ieharu reacted, but then it was as if he'd been physically slapped. The clicking and clacking from the controller ceased immediately as he slowly turned his head, looking over his shoulder at the man who had just threatened his life in no uncertain terms. He was standing pretty close, too. Eyes wide, Ieharu moved his lips as if to form words, but nothing came out.

"Indeed," Godot continued, shrugging as if it were none of his business, his attitude cavalier. "Your Daddy-o's quite an important guy, and there are certain people who are quite concerned as to who takes his nice leather-padded throne."

Ieharu dropped the controller. The sound of an explosion erupted from the TV soon after, the flat screen flashing wildly before going black. There were only two words on the screen now: Game Over.

It was then that Ieharu found his voice, high pitched and wracked with incredulity. "Wait... what?!"

"I don't think you'd be all too interested in the details, seeing as you're going to die anyway." Godot took another step closer. He was within arm's reach of the boy now. "But just think of this as my diagnosis for you."

While gaming, Ieharu had been seated on the edge of a particularly comfortable reclining chair. Having closed the distance between them, Godot leaned on the chair's back, causing it to shift and Ieharu to slide backwards. Slowly. They were practically face to face now.

"I've decided that it's going to happen tomorrow." He said, matter-of-factly. "I can't delay it any further, please understand that I really wish I could."

Ieharu simply stared in horror, the weight of Godot's words imprinting themselves onto his psyche. Could it be true? Is he serious? He sounded pretty serious. Looked dead serious, in fact. But his father would never put an assassin so close, right? ... but what if he didn't, or he made a mistake? What if it was all part of the plan? What if he was going to die?!

"I've grown to like you, young Ieharu, so this is about all I can do for you."

"But—!"

"You've got one day to live, or at least until the next time I see you. I'm giving you the opportunity to clear up whatever remaining regrets you might have. It really hurts my conscience to think about good men dying with regrets..."

As Godot spoke, Ieharu brought his hands to the sides of his face, a sound like that of a dying animal escaping his lips. One day?! It wasn't fair! He had a math test tomorrow that he'd already studied for. He had so many people to meet... so many friends to make... all of it for nothing. His hands traversed his head, moving from the sides of his face to his forehead. Tears came to his eyes at his next thought.

I'm still a virgin!

"Regardless, that doesn't stop me from doing what I'm paid to, I just like to get an extra minute of sleep later on. So, I suggest spending the night to give it some thought, just make sure you sleep good, alright?" Ieharu didn't respond, his hands still plastered to his forehead. "... Oh, and make sure you don't tell anybody like your brother or something. You don't want to get your family involved, else I'll be forced to... Well, I'm sure your a smart kid–in fact, I know you are." Again, Ieharu didn't even respond. Didn't move. Didn't dare to. Never in his life was he so intimidated by the presence of another.

After a momentary silence, Godot turned, releasing the chair and nearly causing Ieharu to fly off it as it snapped forward. "Guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow." Almost as an afterthought, he added: "Oh, and good luck on the quadratics test."

**

"Yoh, I'm not kidding. I'm serious." Ieharu threw his hands up, a gesture meant to implore. "Didn't you hear me?! He's going to murder us all!"

The boy was sitting atop his bed, covers wrapped around himself like a burrito. Only his face and hands were exposed. He looked like an Eskimo, wrapped in his layers. Standing across from him was literally his mirror image save for their hair color. It was his twin brother, the self-proclaimed "older brother" Ieyoshi, casually slipping on a T-shirt while laughing his head off. When it came to someone as eternally relaxed and laid back as Ieyoshi, "laughing your head off" meant a few soft, curt chuckles. If you weren't actively listening for it, you might even miss it.

"Pfft. Murder you, maybe." Ieyoshi's voice was gruff, his tone sober, his face stoic. It was as if someone had turned his "energy" dial way down and then broke it off. "He did say only one of us would be offed, right?" He turned from sizing himself up in the mirror to look at his brother, who hadn't yet responded. "Right, Haku?"

Ieharu sighed, his big brunette bushel of hair poking out from under the covers. "Right," he mumbled, dejected. He cast his eyes downward before speaking again, this time in a hushed whisper. "You'd save me, right?"

The response was immediate.

SLAP!

Almost instantly, Ieharu brought both hands to his left cheek, where Ieyoshi has unceremoniously slapped him, a look of surprise and anger fresh upon his face. "Yoh! What the fuck?!"

Ieyoshi took a stance, leaning to the side, hand gripping lightly the base of his skull, a somewhat exasperated expression overcoming his otherwise neutral countenance. Ieharu recognized it as his brother's lecturing pose. He'd seen it a million times before. "Look," his brother began, pointing at Ieharu's face. "He's obviously not going to kill you. Think about it." Ieyoshi brought his hands together, marking off his points by counting his fingers. "A, that no-good Tsuna might be stupid, but do you think he's stupid enough to bring a killer into the house? To sleep in our beds? Eat our food?"

"Hey!" Ieharu interrupted, his voice shrill. "Dad's not no-good!" He said, referring to their father, Tsunayoshi.

Ieyoshi shrugged, continuing, his voice as low and monotonous as a boring college professor's. "Whatever. B, the guy's been here for, like, two weeks already. If he wanted to kill you, why not get it over with quickly? Why play buddy buddy with us for nearly a month? C, we don't have time for this. Get up. We have that math test, remember?"

Though he nodded at a couple of his brother's well-articulated points, when Ieyoshi told him to get up, he responded by pulling the covers over his head and rolling back into bed. "I think I'm gonna be sick..." He mumbled, peeking out from under the sheets after a moment.

Ieyoshi sighed, grabbing his backpack by the strap and swinging it onto his shoulder in one smooth fluid motion. He then sauntered out of the room as if the universe owed him a favor. Sauntering seemed to be his natural form of locomotion. From his mannerisms and personality to the way he picked up his bag and walked out of a room, in Ieharu's eyes, his brother was the pinnacle of cool.

After hearing the customary slam of the downstairs door, there were several moments of blissful uninterrupted peace, with Ieharu nearly falling back asleep. Before he could drift fully into unconsciousness, however, he heard someone at the window. He could tell without looking that it was Ieyoshi. Reluctantly, Ieharu rolled out of bed, the frigid air biting into his exposed skin. Slowly but surely he made his way to the window. After a moment, he opened it.

"Ieharu." Ieyoshi was standing on the grass outside of their home, looking up at their shared bedroom window. Their bedroom was on the second floor.

"What? I said I'm not going."

"Yeah, I know. I just remembered something."

Ieharu raised an eyebrow. Ieyoshi had that look on his face again. The one he always got several dozen turns before he won at Monopoly.

Ieyoshi's lips morphed into a slight grin. In response, Ieharu gulped involuntarily. That grin was never a good sign.

"I know something you think I don't know. And it'll make you come to class, too."

Ieharu ducked down so that only his eyes shown over the windowsill, as if his brother were going to start hurling rocks. "Wh... what are you talking about?!"

There was a moment of silence before Ieyoshi responded, but when he did, his brother's eyes grew wide with fright. "I know who Ieharu likes."

Ieharu shot up, his upper body practically leaning out the window at this point. "W-What are you talking about?! I don't l-like anyone!"
"Yes you do."
"No I don't!"
"Then you should have nothing to worry about when I confess to them on your behalf... unless you can catch me, of course."

And with that, Ieyoshi turned and began walking away with that slow measured pace of his.

"Wait! Yoh! Don't! Stop!" Ieharu pleaded, but if his brother heard his protests, he didn't act like it. His fears of being assassinated evaporated instantaneously, replaced instead by the terror of complete social doom at the hands of his brother. Ieharu brought his hands to his face. Unlike his brother, he didn't think of himself as very cool, or smart, or anything. He didn't have many friends. No one respected him, but at least they left him alone. If Ieyoshi was serious about telling, and he's always serious...

Well, he'd never be able to show his face at that school again.

Like a hurricane, Ieharu threw on whatever clothes were lying around. He and his brother shared a room, and they were the same in size and height, so they shared apparel too. In roughly eight minutes time, Ieharu had gone from half naked to mostly ready for school. Brushing his teeth would have only slowed him down anyway. As he rushed towards the door, open book bag swinging off his shoulder, it began to dawn on him that, even if he were to run his very hardest, his brother had an insurmountable lead. Immediately, he began to regret not stopping his brother while he had the chance. Still, maybe there was hop—

Upon bursting through his front door, Ieharu tripped over his own feet and face-planted on the stairs outside. Slowly but surely, he raised himself up off the ground, propping himself up with one arm and holding his injured face with the other. He was trying his very hardest to resist the urge to cry, but it was yet another fight he just wasn't winning. That same bitter thought that always hobbled him reared its ugly head once more: the loser Ieharu has failed.

Little did he know, a shadow slowly crept up behind his unprotected back.

"Buongiorno, young Ieharu," his terrifying home tutor greeted him as casually as ever, his hands buried in the pockets of his jacket, "I didn't think you'd be so eager to go to school today, especially on such a terrible day like this." Godot looked up toward the sky, of which was blanketed in thick clouds. The air was moist from the remains of the previous night's downpour, and water glistened on the soaked grass and wet concrete. For his part, Ieharu yelped audibly at the sound of his name being called. Godot's pleasant demeanor would have eased the boy, had their last conversation not ended so terribly. Instead, his stomach did a backflip and his chest turned to ice. Gradually, he turned his head, once again looking over his shoulder. The feeling of deja vu was practically nauseating. The man always seemed to approach from his blind spot.

"M-mi-uh-G-g-g-godot... h-hi..." He managed to stutter his tutor's name, eyes wide with fear as he suddenly remembered: he was going to die today.

"Oh, by the way, about our little agreement last night... I got word from my client that there's been a change of plans." Again, there was that peaceful smile, as if all was right in the world. "It's sort of exciting, I suppose."

Iehari inhaled sharply. Deep in the recesses of his gut sparked the faintest glimmer of hope. "A change?" The pitch of his voice inflected as he spoke, making his question come out as more of a plea.

Godot nodded. "Yes," he replied, "a pretty big change. You see, I'm not going to kill you later." At that very statement, in one swift motion, Godot brought his hand out of his pocket, a black pistol in hand. All so suddenly, Ieharu found himself staring down the barrel of Godot's Beretta. That flicker of hope in his gut disappeared just as swiftly. Too scared to move, too scared to even think, Ieharu did what came natural.

He screwed his eyes shut.

There was a delay, however. Godot hesitated, although he smirked when he did so. "Seeing as you've accepted your fate already," he said, "I guess that must mean you don't have any more regrets. There's no special person in your life? No unfinished business with somebody close, not even your family? Nothing, eh?"

After several moments of silence devoid of a bullet to the face, Ieharu gathered that the question hadn't been rhetorical. Still, he didn't dare open his eyes. Maybe this way, he still had the chance to wake up from this nightmare.

From under his breath, the boy mumbled something.

"Speak up, boy," Godot demanded, "You're only getting one chance to say it, so spit it out!"

Somewhat startled at the command, Ieharu repeated himself, this time with a bit more volume. His kept his eyes closed. "W-why do you care about what I regret, M-mr. Godot?" Ieharu could almost swear he heard Godot chuckle.

"You'll understand if you die." With that cryptic statement, Godot rotated his wrist sideways and squeezed the pistol's trigger.

And that was it. A loud pop!. A flash of pain. Pressure around his forehead. And then nothing. Ieharu Sawada, son of Tsunayoshi Sawada and Kyoko Sawada, brother to Ieyoshi, friend to few, and most of all, still a virgin, died at that moment.

However, while dying, Ieharu regretted. He regretted parting with the world. He regretted what a waste his life had been. He regretted spending the time studying for a math test he'd never take. But there was one thing he regretted more than anything else. One thing that, even as the bullet pierced his skull and robbed him of life, he wished he had accomplished with all his heart.

I should have stopped Ieharu from confessing for me... from saying something stupid... I could have stopped him...

His body was cold before it even hit the ground.

... with a dying will.

On the other side of the street, several passersby screamed in horror. One was even so bold as to yell, finger pointing in violent accusation: "That thug just shot that kid!"

Ieharu's body slumped on the ground, blood pooling under his head. One second, he was certainly dead. But then in the next...

"REBORN!!!"

Ieharu literally exploded, most of his clothes burning away to ashes, his then-dead body springing to life like round two in any good video game's boss battle. Though he was still scrawny and mostly naked, he sported a look that'd never crossed his face before. His eyes were wide and full of determination, his pupils dilated, his irises practically glowing. He was grinding his teeth in seething rage. Most noticeable was the massive orange flame located smack dab in the middle of his forehead, the blaze shifting and pulsing to some unknown rhythm.

His sudden re-emergence from death and accompanying roar of rebirth startled everyone in the area, excluding Godot. One of them—an old woman—fainted where she stood.

"I'M GOING TO STOP IEYOSHI FROM SAYING SOMETHING STUPID!" He shouted at the air. "WITH MY DYING WILL!"

And with that, Ieharu sped off, his feet carrying him as fast as an Olympic athlete as he raced with all his might towards Ieyoshi and Namimori High.

Godot watched as the half-naked boy sped off like hell on wheels, and so did the rest of the neighborhood. People looked at Godot, flabbergasted at what they had just witnessed. Godot smiled at them affably.

"Things are going to be a lot more interesting around here from now on."

....out...into this world...this world...tiny little thing...before its time...in a godfor–...what?..girl?..yes...tiny little girl...into this...out into this...before her time...godforsaken hole called...called-

Ai shut her eyes and then opened them. Thought! What a sublime experience! No matter how quickly one was thrust into this world. One thought at a speed yet to be calculated by so-called 'modern' science. Thought was not a scientific thing, or maybe it was, but one could not deny that there was no conceivable way to track one's thoughts, tiny little things that they were, like one would track movement. All movements were tracked nowadays, not just by the quick lens of the camera, cameras of which, even before its time, were feared, but imagine! Tracked by living people, people with gifts in this godforsaken hole called the 'real world' and 'existence'. Ai closed her eyes.

...found herself in the dark...and if not exactly...insentient...insentient...for she could still hear the buzzing...so-called...in the ears...

The eyes opened. Something was on Ai's mind. Something occurred at an earlier point in time. So vague! If she could not remember what small point in time a particular event occurred, she would have found herself in the dark, at all times, nor what position she was in! Before her time! Ai's mind always wandered after all. That's how minds like hers were made. She was not some insentient computer, she had a human brain and body, but the brain always wandered and thus, was effective. Ai squinted her eyes.

...she did not know...what position she was in...imagine!..what position she was in!..whether standing...or sitting...but the brain–...

Her eyes fluttered open. Ai couldn't get the sight of two of her classmates off her mind. She did not know why they were fighting, but it first occurred to her at that time that one of them, Ieharu, was in a different state of mind. She then dismissed the notion as foolish, being disrobed in the chilly temperatures, but later she had a flash. A possibility presented itself to Ai that was perhaps not so foolish. There was a burning, a burning will. Ai didn't remember when the thought came to her but she knew, whether standing or sitting, it was far too late for her to have realized it. It was a burning, a burning will. Ai had witnessed the creation of a new destiny. Even if at any subsequent stage in time more destinies would be made, Ai knew that this was not so typical affair, but quite miraculous. Ai shut her eyes again, gently.

...first occurred to her...then dismissed...as foolish...was perhaps not so foolish...after all...

Open. The future was became the past again, or perhaps it was probabilities becoming certainties. Shut.

...at any subsequent stage ...so typical affair ...nothing of any note till coming up to sixty when–

Ai opened her eyes to look at the time, for she could still hear the buzzing of her headphones. The digital clock on the library's wall read 16:00 precisely. So it really was coming up to sixty... Ai looked around her to find that she still wasn't alone in the library. There were still a couple students studying or doing homework at the various tables. Ai herself was sitting in the corner, appearing as if the tiny little girl had dozed off. Ai did have her homework in front of her, all of it closed as she finished it a long time ago. Ai merely wanted to sit somewhere quietly so she could listen to her thoughts as well as her music.

It was necessary she gave herself the chance to let her mind wander every now and then. If she restricted it, Ai wouldn't be able to come up with any creativity, and creativity was necessary for survival, at least in the school setting. Creativity seemed like such a strange notion. Ai was told what creativity was actually like, although as understanding as Ai was, she couldn't make a lick of sense out of that man's ramblings. Still, as necessary as it was for one to think creatively, it wasn't something Ai was wholly comfortable with, letting her mind wander aimlessly like that. For example, what if she came across a particularly distressing thought? Would the possibility not exist then that Ai would lose some control over her own thoughts, even if it was temporary? After all, hysteria was human instinct and Ai sought to suppress that by any means.

Still, Ai was told to 'take a break every now and then' and allow her mind to enter a state of logic without aim, and Ai would never defy those that told her what to do. Perhaps she needed a change of pace. After all, she was told she was 'far too stiff' and needed to 'relax' sometimes. But as far as Ai could tell, she was always relaxed, at least as far as she understood the definition of the word. Yet, it appeared that these thinking sessions weren't helping her in the least to rid herself of her 'stiffness', whatever they meant by that.

Maybe she just needed a new environment. The school library might have been too cramped to think clearly. It simply a lot of stuff, which could have become a distraction. Distractions to thought created biases. Ai needed somewhere emptier, where nobody would be likely to be around. Somewhere clear, perhaps with fresh air.

"...I should seek sky..."

---

"Who knew school would be so hard?"

Slumping against the high fence atop the school roof, Mako let out a loud sigh. Her first day of school had been eventful to say the least and to say that she'd rather be training with Squalo right now really showed how much of a toll the day took on her. First there was the strange nurse that directed her to the school's office. Were all the staff here that...... different? Second was the issue of her sword. Apparently one could not take real weapons to school and she was forced to leave her katana behind in the school office. What kind of school was this? What if she needed to defend herself? She would have to find some sort of weapon for herself that wasn't so obvious. True, she did stand out with her katana strapped to her back but she'd never experience a place where weapons weren't allowed.

Mako stared down at her empty hands, cupping them as if she were wrapping them around the image of her sword. How she felt empty without it. Mako felt so weak and helpless when she was unarmed but as uncomfortable as it made her, she would have to deal with it if she was going to attend this school.

"I'm already so close to Godot! I can't give up now! Its only the first day, damn it!"

Mako slapped both palms to her cheek to clear her mind. It was time to strategize. She had seen many strong students today and tomorrow she would begin to challange them one by one. First off, she would have to find a weapon that wouldn't be confiscated by the school staff. Surely if she defeated a few of the top strongest here, Godot would show up. But then what? Would he even take her as his student? By what she knew, this so called "Hitman Tutor" didn't just take on anybody to be his student. Though it was no use worrying about what he would say if she couldn't even find him. As much as Mako hated to admit it, she knew she couldn't do this alone. She needed someone who knew anything about the elusive man. Looking blind was not the way to approach this but who would Mako ask? She felt like her thoughts were running in circles in her head. She had come here unprepared and without a plan and already on the first day she was suffering the consequences of it.

As if her thoughts were wearing down on her body, Mako had to sit down. Staring up at the blue sky she sighed once more.

"Who knew school would be so hard?.."

Just then, Mako jumped at the sound of a door open. Who would be up here at this time? Shouldn't have most of the students be headed home? Mako got to her feet. Perhaps it was a teacher who noticed her and they were coming up here to tell her to head home. Though to her surprise, it was not a teacher who came through the door. Or if she was a teacher, she was extremely short for one. From what she had experienced with the nurse that morning, it would not surprise Mako if this small, pink haired girl was the custodian or something. There was something off about this girl. She didn't seem to notice Mako and it was if she was deep in thought, not really paying attention to her surroundings in general.

"Um..... I'll leave if that was what you came up here for..."

Still unsure if she was part of the staff or not, Mako decided to open with a polite comment just to be safe. A few moments of silence passed.....

"Oi...... Did you hear me?"

Silence....

"I'm talking to you pipsqueak!!" Mako was starting to loose her temper.

...tiny little girl...

"It's fine," the girl said suddenly. Mako stared confused at the girl's short, simple answer. It didn't seem like the girl was even looking at her and she approached the pink haired figure and brought her face right in front of her's.

"Hello?? What are you staring at? I'm right here."

"Nothing," the girl responded, appearing unphased. She paused. "I'm currently staring at you."

"Tch.... Whatever..." Mako spun around, satisfied with the answer she got. "So... What are you doing up here pipsqueak? Your not a teacher are you?"

Silence....

Mako turned to face the girl again, her temper again on the rise when she didn't get an answer to her question yet again. The girl was simply adjusting something in her ear, acting as if she didn't hear her. Mako noticed the earbuds that were plugged into the girl's ears. So that was why she wasn't answering.

"Hey, isn't that kind of rude to have those things in your ear when someones talking to you?" The girl stared at Mako for a bit, as if considering something, and then reached for her ear.

"I apologise," she said, before removing them and letting them hang over her shoulder. "I was listening to my thoughts."

"Your thoughts? What do you record yourself or something?"

"No..." the girl lowered her gaze slightly, before bringing them back up. "Would that help?"

"Huh? Recording yourself? How would I know? Maybe if you wanted to remember something or if you wanted to hear it later maybe it would help..... Or maybe like.... GAH I don't know!!! Maybe it would?!!"

Mako stumbled upon her own words as she tried to answer the girl's question.

"I want to remember something," the girl told Mako, "from the future. That isn't the right term. I'm looking for something. Someone... I understand that recording others is a common practice, but I had not realized that recording onself could be used to their own benefit." The girl blinked and glanced off to the side. Standing there, she didn't appear shy nor bold. "I'd like to record you," the girl declared listlessly, "What is your name?"

"Ehhh??? Wh-What? Re-Record me?"

The girl's words had Mako's mind spinning. The future? Looking for someone? Just who had she run into here atop the school roof?

"Fujiki Makoto. That's my name." Mako said as if she were confirming it to herself. She still hadn't gotten used to the fact that she was calling herself that from now on. "Who are you?"

"My name is Ai," Ai told her, "Shaji Ai." Ai scanned the girl. "To my recollection, you are new to this school. I am under the assumption that for that reason, you would be unable to assist me. Am I allowed to ask as to why you are up here as well? Are you thinking?"

Despite her complicated words and strange subjects, Mako smiled at the girl. Though she seemed a bit mysterious, Mako was enjoying this small talk.

"I guess you could say that. Hey, didn't you say you were looking for someone? Well that's what I'm thinking about. I'm trying to find someone as well. Mako put her hands behind her head and turned to face the school yard below. "Who are you looking for?"

"I'm not allowed to say," Ai responded curtly, "unless circumstances change." Ai paused. "But I'm not thinking about that. Looking for isn't the right term, I realize. I think it was 'looking out for', which has a different meaning, I believe. I am, however, looking for an answer to a pressing matter, which is why I am thinking." Ai paused again. "I had come here to think and so have you, meaning you must have an issue that requires thought. Am I correct?"

Mako turned to face Ai once again and shook her head. "Boy, you sure say some strange things don't you? But I like you so I'll tell you. The person I'm looking for is very hard to find. You could say he won't show up unless he wants to. And as of now I have no clue on how to find him." As she explained her situation, Mako again realized how her plan was lacking. She locked her gaze with Ai's. This was probably the first time she had held a real conversation with someone since she left home. Maybe this girl could help her somehow. Should she ask? Gaining allies couldn't hurt even if she knew nothing about Godot or the mafia.

"Hey, Ai." Mako paused. "Oh wait, do you mind if I call you by your given name? I heard that's a thing here where it was impolite to call someone by their given name." Ai shook her head. "Ok good! Now, I mentioned before that I needed to find someone. And since your also looking for someone, or 'looking out for' or whatever why don't we help each other out? I mean it couldn't hurt right? You help me and I help you? Whadaya say?"

Oh boy.... Was that how to ask someone for help? Mako wasn't to sure. Besides, she had just met this girl. It was probably best if she didn't get her hopes up. Ai was silent again. Was she thinking? Ai seemed to have a tendency to make as few movements as possible whenever she was in a conversation, and she was as still as a statue whenever she was thinking. Still, the chances of her actually agreeing seemed slim at best. What could this girl possibly want out of Mako?

"Alright," Ai finally responded, "I, too, feel we could mutually benefit from each other for the foreseeable future. I have information on several notable students throughout the school of which you might want to take note of. I imagine you, as a new student, would find that very helpful. Likewise, I feel you can help me, but I do not think that I would be capable of explaining to you why at this point in time. There is one thing, however, that I am wondering about." Ai paused. Was she hesitating? Ai finished her statement. "I am looking for somebody to protect me. Are you capable of that?"

Mako blinked in disbelief. Had this girl just agree to help her? She could hardly believe it but it seemed like it was true. She had just gained her first ally. Mako could feel her excitement rising. Things were starting to look a little better and if things were to progress as they just had then she just might have a chance. And to think that this girl had information that Mako could use. Ai's last statement put a glint in her eye. If anyone needed protection from anything, Mako was probably the best fit for that job. As she was unable to hold in her excitement any longer, Mako suddenly slung her arm around Ai and laughed.

"Am I capable? You've asked the best person for that kind of job." To make her statement clear Mako reached to draw her sword.... Or she would have if it was there. "Tch..... First I need to get my hands on a weapon of course. But putting that aside I think we're gonna make a great duo you and I."

Sure it was only one small girl who Mako found to be a bit strange but it was a start. Maybe she could even find more allies with Ai's help. The thought of even forming her own "Family" crossed her mind but she quickly shook those thoughts away. It was WAY to early for that. She'd have to find Godot first before she could even begin to call herself a mafioso.

"You are useful then," Ai told her. Then she said nothing. Maybe she was lost in thought again, but Ai appeared very aloof to everything around her, not caring about whether she was standing or sitting or talking to somebody when she became lost in thought. She simply froze up and stared. It was unnerving and even awkward in a way.

"Its settled then!" Mako let go of Ai and for the third time approached the tall fence of the school roof. Mako's head was filling with ideas of how to put her plan into action. If Ai had the information she needed, she would be able to find that boy with the flames she saw this morning. Yes, he would be her first target. Surely Ai had caught wind of this mornings spectacle since the whole school was talking about it already. "Ai, did you see what happened this morning? The fight that happened right at the entrance?"

"If you are referring to the event in which the Sawada twins, Ieyoshi and Ieharu, engaged in reckless behaviour with one another," Ai answered, "then yes, I did witness it."

"Yes yes! That one!" Mako spun around and put her hands on Ai's shoulders. "So you were there! Sawada, huh? No wonder they looked so similar. Do you know which one of them had the flames coming out of his head?" Mako had no idea if Ai knew about the Dying Will Flames but at least she could tell her which one she needed to look for. "They were coming out of his forehead like this all bright and stuff!" Mako made wavy gestures with her hands right in front of her forehead to imitate how they would look.

"Ieharu," Ai answered suddenly, as if she were fully confident about her answer. She didn't elaborate, however.

"Ieharu..... He is the one I have to fight!" Mako began pacing the roof back and forth in front of Ai. "I wonder if he is still at school? Ahh... Its already getting late but maybe he might have some sort of club activity or something. There might be a chance! But.... should I do this today? Maybe I need time to prepare myself. I don't even have a weapon I can use on the school grounds."

"I would recommend against fighting him," Ai mentioned. This time, she did elaborate; "Contrary to what presumably you had witnessed this morning, violence between students isn't considered to be a behavior ideal. Still, even if I am mistaken in that regard, I am of the belief that you would not be able to win against Ieharu in combat."

Mako stopped pacing and shot an icy glare at Ai suddenly becoming very serious. Even though she knew Ai didn't know any better, the sudden comment of her abilities made Mako even more determined to prove herself. "That so?" Mako decided to ignore Ai's words for now. It was only a matter of time before she would make a name for herself here at this school but what Ai said was right. Mako could not forget that she was no longer dealing with the Mafia world alone. This was a normal school out in the world with real laws and even Mako knew that out of the place violence would only warrant unwanted conflict with the staff and even the authorities if she wasn't careful. The confiscation of her katana was already the first strike. Next time she might not be so lucky.

"Anyways, I believe it would be to early for me to start anything now. Preparation is key due to my circumstances but I'll be sure to make you take back what you just said."

"I did not intend to undermine you by my judgments," Ai explained carefully, "because although I am not entirely aware of what you are capable of, I believe regardless that your abilities would not be able to compare with his. Ieharu is an extremely powerful unit of potentially limitless capabilities. If one were to challenge him, one can only expect to have the strength of their attacks be returned against them two-fold." Ai blinked. Somehow, it seemed as if that was an uncommon occurrence for her. "It is indeed in our best interests to analyze him further and make great preparations if you are to challenge him. If you retain interest in him, perhaps he may be a lead toward the person you are looking for. I am of the understanding that human intuition is more effective than expected."

Mako's eyes widened at Ai's words.Was this kid really that strong? If so, then beating him would definitely lead her to Godot. Mako could feel the adrenaline coursing through her at the thought of such a strong opponent. She wanted to fight and she wanted to do it NOW. "AARRRGGHHHH Just talking about this makes my blood boil!!!" With that statement Mako suddenly leaped atop the towering fence with little effort at all and looked down at the school yard below her. Thankfully since most of the students were occupied with club activities or went home, no one noticed the absurd sight of the short girl standing atop the roof fence. Forget training and preparation. This was her ticket to accomplishing her goal. She had to find him now and even if she would not be able to fight at this very moment, the least she could do was to challenge him. Mako made a graceful leap back down off the fence and landed directly in front of Ai.

"I need to find this Sawada kid right now! Do you know where he is?" Ai shook her head.

"Tch.... We've got no choice but to go looking for him. Hes still got to be around here somewhere but where do we start? Maybe a place with more students around. Then we could ask them if they've seen him!" Mako began pacing once more. A place with a lot of students. A popular place. "Ahh.... Ai do we have some sort of place where everyone goes to eat? I heard schools have those!"

"At this time," Ai responded, "Namimori Café is the closest of such places."

"Oi Oi!!! Then what the hell are we standing around here for? Lets get going!!" And with that, Mako sprinted towards the door that led back down into the school building. Ai, however, was standing still.

Ai turned to face Mako and asked, "Was I intended to follow you there?"

Mako stopped in front of the door and turned back to face Ai and grinned mischievously. "Didn't you say you needed me to protect you, Pipsqueak? Well, if you want my protection then your gonna have to go where I go. That's how it works!"

"My name is Ai," was all she said, before she began to trail behind Mako. Maybe Mako was just what Ai needed, somebody ordinary to look toward in desperate situations. After all, one never knew what to expect in this school, where without warning, one's life could crash when one made just one wrong turn. At least Ai would have an ally, a friend, to assist her.

But then Ai remembered how foolish that notion truly was. It was inconceivable to think that Mako could truly protect Ai. Not against them.

---

Collaborative post between Lloyd999 & Mat_z6

Wrong. It was just wrong. Okay, maybe it wasn't wrong, per say, but it wasn't entirely right either. It was fine, but it wasn't perfect. That was why it was unacceptable.

Rosa adjusted the bouquet, plucking the artificial roses from the plastic vase and placing it in a slightly different position, shifting leaves around and so forth. Rosa would then stand and stare, take a look at it from a different angle, and then pluck the rose again, repeating the process. Rosa was putting way more effort into this miniature bouquet than she needed to, but Rosa believed that she needed to convey her message perfectly; that the Sawada twins were dead.

"They really did die!" That's what Akako had apparently said yesterday, half-hysterical in her explanation. Akako's retelling of events was jumbled up, un-chronological, and mixed with delusions, but from what Rosa gathered was that after that suspicious-looking person made her stop recording, he proceeded to shoot seven different people with an AK-47, including the twins, but then they came back to life and proceeded to beat the school's elite fighter, Ishiki, close to death. Everything was on fire at that point, and then the world's military forces used kids in super-suits to fight off aliens. At least, that was what Rosa gathered from Tomoe after Akako told her. She might have been talking about an anime that watched one time midway through the explanation though.

What was true was that some time after the first supposed casualty, Akako had texted that the situation was getting out of hand. Naturally, Rosa told her just to get more backup, although apparently even that didn't work out. Somehow, these two boys that were tumbling on the wet ground in the morning managed to defeat Rosa's elite henchmen. Well, they were more like her grunts, her underling secret police and a big source of intimidation in the school. Still, it was quite a shock, but not something Rosa didn't act pragmatically about. The first step was to cut ties with Ishiki, which Akako handled quite succinctly. Of course, in order to make sure Ishiki wouldn't have become Rosa's problem again, she had to call somebody else to, well, console with him. A fellow senior, that is. Needless to say, Ishiki didn't come to school that day in order to reflect on his actions. Well, if reflection was done at the comforts of a hospital bed with a medical report which includes massive battering, confining Ishiki at an indefinite period. Then, it is perfect. Of course, Rosa needed to come up with a way to reaffirm her ties with the Martial Arts Appreciation club before they began to develop rancour toward her due to her rejection of the head. That would have to come later, however. For now, Rosa had a job to do.

That said, as much as Rosa was treating this as a serious chore, all the girls who had come with her to the room appeared to be treating it like a field trip. Besides the group, the only other person in the room was a pink-haired girl who seemed heedless to their presence, although the girls made sure she wouldn't rat on them. Akako was sitting on top of a desk to read her texts on her BluScreen while Erin was leaning by the doorway drinking an orange soda, despite the fact that it wasn't even nine in the morning yet. Tomoe, on the other hand, was going around sitting at desks as if she were a freshman again. Lala in her own part was reading a manga she brought with her, and she was enjoying herself, but took time to look at what was Rosa doing. "Rosa-chan, wouldn't it be more beautiful, if it was a real rose?"

"Because a natural rose," Rosa responded, not turning to face the girls, "isn't perfect. Almost nothing is perfect in its natural form." Rosa plucked the flower again, holding it high up and examining it. "Here's a rose that will never wilt, an everlasting image. Is it any less capable of beauty than a flower born from dirt and mud?" Rose twirled the flower in her fingers. "We can't control the fickle nature of ephemeral things not made by our own two hands... Are we not capable of making things more beautiful then they could ever be on their own?" Rosa placed the flower back in the vase and put her hand on her chin again.

That was a lot of complicated thought in Lala's understanding. She does understand Rosa's point of view, but to her things that are not within one's control, are at its most beauty incomparable to other things that stays for eternity. They have a life, a warmth, a light, which cannot be touched, cannot be copied even how much people try to comprehend. There are just things that were never meant to be understood and that was fine with her. It was at that period when her thoughts were only disturbed by the ever loud voice of Tomoe.

"Hey, Rosa!" Tomoe appeared to have no sense of indoor voice. She was taking a photo of the desks with her BluScreen. "Our seats were all together in the middle of the class, huh?" Tomoe tapped several different desks while calling off names. Rosa's desk certainly was in the nucleus of the room, with Tomoe's behind her and Akako next to her. Erin's seat was further toward the back corner of the room. "We all met in this room," Tomoe recalled, "all a bunch of friends in our first year! How nostalgic... Although, I guess Lala and Lyn weren't in our homeroom, huh?"

"You've been together since the beginning?" Lala looked at Tomoe with such child-like curiosity. [color=#6633ff][b]"That's so wonderful? How did you guys meet?" Her eyes of red like sparkling rubies as she put down her manga on her lap and waited for a response, in her head, she was already imagining such cliche imagies shown in those friendship movies.

[b]"I, uh..." Tomoe looked at the desk as if the answer were written there, "I guess we just all sat together and talked a lot. Oh, but Rosa always helped me with my work whenever I had troubles,"—Akako and Erin were snickering as if it were an understatement—"but Rosa was always so nice and smart and cool and smart and nice." Tomoe looked toward Akako. "Us three were BFFs until we met you, and then were were four BFFs. I, uh, kinda forget when we became friends with Erin, and I guess Rosa's good friends with Lyn as well, so... That's us now, right?" Tomoe pranced over toward Rosa and asked, "Is the flower done yet?"

Lala had a thoughtful expression on her face. [color=#CD5C5C]"I see..." Then, she looked back at Rosa who was still busy about the rose arrangement. She still has a bad feeling about all of this, but it does provide an outlet for Rosa. As her father would say, it was better out than in.

Rosa was bent over with her elbows on the desk and her hands on the sides of her face. She seemed to be getting frustrated. Rosa just couldn't feel that her message was getting across with this flower. It just wasn't matching her mental image, although she had only a vague idea of what that was. She made a low rumbling noise from the back of her throat. "How do I do this, how do I do this...?" Then it came to her, like a flash of enlightenment. She stood up and called, "Erin!" Erin was covering her mouth to try and cover up a repressed belch. She responded with a "Mmh-hm?" Rosa asked her, "Could you possibly help me out with this?" Erin nodded and quickly made her way across the room and stood right next to Rosa to look over the vase. She pressed her tongue to the side of her mouth where a small piercing was located. Then, with a subtle motion, Erin pushed the vase itself an inch to the right. Both girls then simultaneously brought their fists to their lips in a posture of consideration.

It was at this moment that Lala had the opportunity to ask what she had been meaning to, but never had the chance to. "Uhm, Tomoe-chan? Rosa-chan and Erin-chan are really in sync, aren't they?" She looked back at Tomoe and with a gentle smile. "Did all of you met just during freshmen year?" She really never had friends that hang out with like now. It is true that she was amiable to most, but connections with her are transient in nature, they never stick.

"Pretty much," Tomoe replied, "Although Rosa and Erin weren't always so agreeable. Would you believe it? Rosa and Erin used to fight all the time in the freshman year. Every time Erin opened her mouth, Rosa would be lecturing her or something. Oh, but then sometimes Erin would lecture, although normally she's kinda shy. I guess Erin's still a little shy, huh? I don't really have a clue as to why they didn't like each other so much, but apparently they knew each other from middle school, so maybe they had a misunderstanding or something? Either way, now that Rosa has tons of friends, Erin's become her friend as well. Erin doesn't talk much, but when she and Rosa are together—usually while all of us aren't around—they can go on for hours about the things they find cute or pretty. Erin might be a little scary, but she's an adorable little maiden on the inside, just like the rest of us!"

"Oohh..." Lala nodded her head in understanding as she listened to Tomoe's recount or more like opinion about Rosa and Erin. She looked at the said pair and even quirked her head to the side as she observed the two. The two looked really compatible with each other. Yes, as far as she was concerned, the group of them are friends, and she would like to consider them as good ones. This of course did not apply to Rosa and Erin in her honest gut-feeling. They were best of friends if both won't admit it or not. They know each other more than they would assume or admit to. It was endearing in her opinion. She was rather envious of that relationship and of course, she was also admiring it. "That's nice..."

Just as Tomoe was talking about it, Rosa and Erin were both in deep conversation, debating over whether the position of the vase or the orientation of the rose needed to be fixed. Both appeared to be putting in as much intellectual effort into their debate as possible, especially Erin, which was unusual for her, who rarely ever spoke much beyond a passing comment. Their debate was getting more heated, however, and Rosa was beginning to raise her voice and gesture wildly, while Erin was pounding her fist against the desk. Rosa stepped back and brought her hands out in the air. "Fine, you show me how its done." Erin shrugged as she shifted the vase to the center of the desk and adjusted it with the gentlest of motions. Then she stood back. Rosa stood and looked at it. "It's... It's good, it's very good. Thank you, Erin." Erin simply nodded her head and grabbed her soda from an adjacent desk to drink it, before placing it back down.

"A perfect message," Rosa announced, "to our dearest friends the Sawadas, who belong not in this life, but are better off to have passed on. Let us pray." Rosa brought her hands together, although as soon as she did, she brought her palms apart to consider something. "It's not finished, however..." Rosa approached the desk, and then with one swipe, knocked the plastic vase over. Erin was about to exclaim but she caught herself. "There," Rosa continued, "There's my message to the Sawadas. Screw them. They're presence, even in death, disgraces the very nature of our school morals and our disciplined, peaceful lives. They seek to cause nothing but chaos and anarchy in our school's perfect order. They are nothing but delinquents, rats among gerbils. If we do not exterminate them now, we will be swarmed by their impure kind. With this beautiful rose, I declare a war on imperfection!"

Erin was about to reach for her soda again when Rosa snatched it. Erin exclaimed, "Hey!" Rosa shook the can around, feeling how much of the fizzy, sticky drink was still in the can. It was a little over a quarter full. Rosa then proceeded to tip the can over and pour the contents of the drink on the desk and seat of Ieharu. Erin cried out, "I was drinking that!" After shaking the can out, Rosa then presented it back to Erin.

"Trash," Rosa told her. Erin stared at her. Rosa reiterated, "or rather, recycle." Erin appeared angry at first, but then her expression seemed to cool, turning into complete reservation. She didn't even grit her teeth or give an indignant sigh. Erin simply took the can and obediently walked to the corner of the room to throw it out.

Lala could not help but smile warmly at that before releasing a rather deep and thoughtful sigh. "Rosa-chan. Erin-chan, you two really get along well. It's refreshing to see." She was honestly giving her observation and a favorable one at her point of view. Then, she looked at what Rosa did to the desk and had a concerned expression. "But Rosa-chan, I still think this is a bad idea. It could have been just a misunderstanding." There was still the nagging feeling telling her that this whole skirmish might not do anyone good. She did already hear some rumors about how Ishiki was in the hospital and all. "Won't it be better, if we just talk to them. I know they would understand what wrong they did." She suggested then looked at Erin, it seems that they take each other's opinions into great consideration. "Don't you think so, Erin-chan? I just have this bad feeling."

"Screw 'em," Rosa and Erin said simultaneously. The girls shot glares at each other from across the room, although Erin's seemed to turn into a smirk, but then she averted Rosa's gaze. Tomoe giggled. "Well," Erin said, shrugging, "I guess Rosa should choose to do whatever she wants. She knows best, after all." The two girls appeared to have an unheard conversation as they stared at each other, consisting of side glances, lip pursing and eyebrow raising and furrowing. Rosa appeared to end it with a smirk.

"Well, clearly, our peaceful order is not upheld by violence," Rosa began to explain, the hypocrisy and blatant lies hanging over her like a swarm of yellowjacket wasps, "yet our enemies are still opaque to us. We do not know if they are capable of diplomacy, which is not worth the risk. After all, I don't know what I'd do if any of my girls..."–she narrowly avoided the word 'friends'–"...were hurt at all, like poor Ishiki. That said, Lala has a point. These boys just may be capable of intelligent thought, and the...direct approach in dealing with them may not be the most ideal one. More people are going to be hurt after all. We have a better method for dealing with their type."

And here it was, the Rosa-brand perfect solution for dealing with 'threats'. Step Number One was Stigmatisizing, or marking a target, which Rosa has accomplished with her lovely little flower. This message that she sent was less meant for the boys themselves and more for everybody else; that this person had become an enemy of Rosa. Even the most introverted student knew that being Rosa's enemy meant you became a public enemy. After all, who in their right mind would think they are more just than Rosa and not expect to be riddiculed by their friends. Likewise, those that didn't ridicule their friends for subverssive thoughts were bound to be riddiculed as well.

Step Number Two: Alienation; "First off, we should keep others informed, warn them of how dangerous these boys are. Perhaps we can minimalize the amount of incidents involving these boys by making sure nobody gets too close to them. Make sure to let your friends know that these boys are too dangerous. If they ever make any attempt to associate with them, be it talking, inclusion in activities or even just seemingly polite gestures, make sure to remind them of how troublesome the boys are, and also of the possible conesquences for such associations. After all, they might be in trouble with their own friends if they're also friends with such dangerous people."

Step Number Three: Humiliation; "Still, it's going to be so depressing to have these sorts of people around. I'm sure we're all feeling rather anxious with these big elephants in the school, but I'm sure that can be dealt with. After all, maybe Lala is right, and maybe we are capable of laughing with these boys. I'm sure with them being new to the school, they aren't aware of our... what should we call it? Prank culture?" Tomoe, Akako and Erin simultaneously giggled. "Yeah, our Namimori-styled jokes. We'll be sure to have all kinds of fun with these boys, and no doubt, everybody else will too. No prank is too far if it's all in good fun after all. Soon, we won't even have to be scared of the Sawadas anymore, we'll just laugh."

Step Number Four: Vilification; "Of course, we can't forget about how little we know of the true nature of these boys. That's why it's up to us to find out everything we can about them. We must track their every move and every previous step they've ever taken. If they have any dark hidden secrets, we must bring them to the light of day so that they may become common knowledge. In order to keep our shining crystal diamond clear, even the most disgusting of imperfections must be found."...in order to be cut out.

Rosa's multi-part method worked without failure. It was adaptable and worked on forces much more powerful than one person could muster alone, the power of socialogy. Sow the seeds of hate and beautiful flowers of perfection will bloom, like the one which lay on the desks of Ieyoshi and Ieharu. Rosa could see it now; Ieharu's desk covered in prayers, "Loser," "Delinquent," "Pervert," "Disgusting," "Go away, underwear pervert," "Go home," "Don't even come to school," "Nobody likes you," "Die," Die. That image hung in Rosa's head. She knew exactly how it looked on a desk with black marker. Rosa had seen it many times before. The image of being absolutely abhorred, Rosa loved and hated seeing it.

When it came to what must be done, Lala knew that Rosa had everything planned to her desires. Lala hadn't actually seen any decisions that Rosa had made turn into folly since they became friends. That was why Lala had no doubt when it cane to what Rosa wanted. Yet, there was this gnawing alarm inside of her that told her to warn Rosa or at the most just prevent this all from happening. There was something about this situation that was different from the previous ones. As if, something more than the everyday normal life can handle, like this reality of theirs would shatter and they won't be pleased about it. At the moment, Lala didn't want that. She was happy with everyone around her. It was true that their was some negativity coming from the other students when it came to Rosa's way of doing things. But, she knew there were far more positive outcomes for it. Still, she couldn't shake this feeling.

"In any case," Rosa continued, noticing she was being stared at during her pause, "Our current business in this here is finished. Come girls, let us depart from this..." Rosa looked toward the desk, where the flower lay, "...depressing environment. We have other important things after all, like our little plan for today's lunch." Instantly, all the other girls' expressions lit up in excitement. Rosa looked around at each of them, spread around the room, including the unfamiliar pink-haired one. She was quietly sitting at a desk, like she had been when she entered the room, with red earbuds on while she was dazing off, only now she was staring directly at Rosa. Was she listening the entire time? It was hard to tell seeing as she had earbuds on, but nonetheless, her eyes were trained on Rosa with an expression that seemed otherwise disinterested. Could she possibly have been a friend of the twins? "You," Rosa commanded, directed at the spectator who may or may not have been listening to her, "You better not repeat anything you may have heard here, got it?" If the girl was stupid and didn't know the consequences of disobeying her, well, Rosa wouldn't have to worry anyway. The pink-hair girl simply made a curt nod, before going back to her own devices.

"Rosa-chan, let's just be careful, okay?" Lala noted with a kind and gentle smile toward Rosa, before she looked toward the pink-haired girl and waved at her. "Thank you!" She then followed the rest while taking one final look at the flower on the desk then took a deep breath as she hoped everything would be fine... Yes, hopefully.

Upon the exit of the junior girls, the pink-haired girl stood up and began to search for paper towels.