Ieharu Sawada'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."

Even after yesterday's storm, dew still topped the grass so early in the morning. Damien sighed, taking slow steps towards the entrance of the warehouse.

"Finally," he said, crumpling up the hand drawn map that lead him to this location. He sighed again as he felt the damp ground beneath his feet slip into his shoes and soak his socks like a sponge in water. Wet socks were a feeling that anyone could hate. He placed his hands upon the warehouse's large doors, felt the cold surface of it, savoring it for a second, then gave them a slight push. They slid open gradually, like the final level in some video game's boss battle, creaking with an unpleasant sound. The only thing he could see was darkness ahead of him; however, he knew that he had to continue forward. Be ready for anything raced through his mind as he entered this suspicious warehouse. This was an all too unfamiliar location without any guide as to what would happen next. He treaded forward cautiously, prepared for anything.

SLAM!

The doors behind him slammed shut, leaving him trapped in this abandoned warehouse. He merely stood there unamused as total darkness enveloped the room. Everything was pitch black and all remained silent. The echoes of his own breath rang through the air. A voice soon broke the silence.

"Are you ready, Damien?" An all too familiar voice rang from a higher plane.

"You know it," Damien replied confidently.

A flickering light came to life, accompanied by a slight buzzing sound. A second light followed this same procedure. The buzzing noise rang in his ears as the two lights flipped on and off. These two lights produced a beam shining down on two dolls. Both looked like the Vongola Decimo, Tsunayoshi Sawada. Upon further examining the dolls, he saw a large label hung around both of their necks. The one of his left said "Ieharu" while the one of the right said "Ieyoshi". With both of these lights on, he was able to examined some of his surrounding. The floors were wooden, these dolls both sat an equal amount of distance from him, each sitting in chairs, and they both had something sticking out of them. What protruded from the dolls was a long thin strip of material. He eyes widened as he figured out what this was about.

"Bombs!" He yelled.

"You have thirty seconds to save both, son," shouted the voice.

Pssssstttt!

He glanced down at the ground before him and saw two red sparks that were just lit. They darted in opposite directions, one to the left and the other to the right towards both of the dolls. Instead of going directly for the wires, Damien darted forward to get a gauge of the size of the room. Thirty seconds was plenty of time to prevent both of the explosions if he could get a good angel to--

As he moved forward, his right foot sunk into the ground. In that moment, a compartment opened up from the floor next to his foot. Four dynamite bombs shot up to the height of his face with lit wires about to explode.

"Sh--!" he exclaimed.

Instead of panicking, Damien quickly grabbed his two knives twice the size of his arm and pulled them up. He's faced this type of danger before and have learned the mistakes of overreaction. The best course of action would be to do what he can to lessen the impact of this upcoming blow as much as possible. He brought both of his arms in and crossed them to form an X directly in front of his face.

BOOM!

The heat and force of the explosion surged through his body, hurling him backwards. He slid on the ground, causing him a brief flash of pain in his back. Before he even came to a stop, he jumped back to his feet and immediately caught his balance. He pressed forward, accustomed to pain like this, especially since this wasn't his first time getting through one of his father's crazy training regimens.

"You have about twenty seconds," rang the voice while the sparks continued to move swiftly towards the dolls.

Once again, Damien ran ahead to the center of the room without heading in either direction. A normal man would have run straight towards one of the dolls, but his father said save both of them. There could be a variety of traps between the both of them. The center trap was triggered meaning that it was less likely to have another and would be a safer route to take. His father even said before: "Lightning never strikes in the same place twi--"

With an awareness honed by constant training, he noticed it. Right as his foot slid slowly down again without completely touching the ground. He prepped himself for his next move. Another trap; however, this time the small sticks of dynamite were much larger than before.

A normal person would have panicked. May have placed up defense or yelled in disbelief.

A normal person would be dead.

BOOM!

But Damien was not a normal person, and this too was something he had prepared for. With practiced elegance and quick reflexes, he dropped to the floor as soon as his right foot his the ground. He rolled to the right and dodged the majority of the explosion, skirting most of the damage. Without pause, he regained his footing and his composure.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you're wasting time going that way. Prioritize saving them first! Not yourself! Fifteen seconds left!"

"Fine then," Damien said to himself as he let out a sigh. Roughly twelve seconds remained. The amount of time left combined with the distance between the dolls would be impossible to reach them by foot. While remaining calm, Damien reached into both of the side pouched held by his jeans. It's always better to bring more gear you may need instead of not having it at all. He pulled out two kunais, one in each hand. A nearly impossible shot to take, but he was the type of guy that made the impossible possible.

"Seven... six... five," the voice rang out ominously.

He looked at both bomb wires gradually getting closer to both Ieyoshi's and Ieharu's dolls. It's now or never, life or death, victory or failure for them. Damien continued forward toward until he stood even between both dolls. Once he reached that spot, with all of his leg strength, he leaped into the air. Pulling his agile body up while using his arm strength to spin, he spun in a clockwise direction. Using his precise aim honed through practice, he threw the first Kunai towards Ieyoshi's doll. The kunai zipped through the air in the direction of the wire. Immediately, he shifted his gaze towards Ieharu's doll. As soon as he hit the ground, he spun counter clockwise once, and let go of the Kunai.

Ding!

The first Kunai gave a sound as it hit the ground right before Ieyoshi's doll. Damien turned his gaze and looked back. The Kunai cut the wire, separating the spark from actually reaching the doll. Success! He turned back around to admire having cut Ieharu's wire as well--

BOOM!

The fluffy cotton remains of Ieharu's doll came raining down while the Kunai he threw was forced to the side by the explosion. He failed at saving Ieharu. He failed, and he was all too familiar with what would happen next.

"One alive, one dead," said the approaching voice. All of the lights in the warehouse flipped on and Damien shifted his head in the direction of the voice. He saw his father, Hayato Gokudera, approaching him with an annoyed expression on his face. "I would've respected you more if you would've thrown both kunai simultaneously instead letting one of them die."

Damien frowned a bit, knowing full well he wouldn't get any praise from saving one of the future Vongola heads. He body was still a bit sore from the exercise; however, the years of explosions, battle, and pain allowed him to regard otherwise crippling pain such as this to be nothing more than a minor annoyance.

"Look son! I need you to understand this! You have to protect the future heads of the Vongola! Just as I have!" He continued, yelling his point. "Your job is as twice as hard as mine! I need you to be even better than I was! You have two tenths to protect! Save both, not just one!" Gokudera flicked a switch closer to the wall. The warehouse doors flung open. Without saying a word, Gokudera walked off and left Damien lying on the floor. Gokudera briefly stopped, looking back at his son. "Don't be late for school; it starts in a couple of hours. Be ready for another training session tomorrow."

**

"I got to find a way to save both," Damien mumbled under his breath, preoccupied, as if he were in a trance. Suddenly, his eyes snapped to the side, his brow furrowing. Before he could see it, before he could smell it or touch it, he could hear it. Hear... something. Whatever it was, it was approaching at a rather hurried pace. Though it wasn't trying to hide its presence, it was moving very lightly across the ground, as if to avoid detection. As if it didn't want to be heard.

Though his thoughts seemed to span entire minutes, adrenaline still pumping the morning's training session, his moment of realization was just that. A moment. A normal person might not have even noticed the brief pause in Damien's step, or the way he quickly scanned his surroundings before resuming his brisk pace.

As he thought, something really was coming. He could hear it plainly now. Though he didn't look backwards at his pursuer, he stuffed his hands in his pockets, preparing himself for a fight.

And he wasn't one to lose.

Making a fist in his pocket, Damien turned to meet his target, but caught himself at the last moment. "Yoh?!" He said, somewhat startled.

Approaching Damien with an uncharacteristically sprightly jog was none other than Ieyoshi Sawada, one arm moving back and forth in rhythm to his footfalls, the other stuffed hand-deep into his pocket. When Ieyoshi heard the familiar voice call his name, he slid in to a halt. The unintentional elegance of the move caught the eye of a trio of girls who were passing by, though Ieyoshi paid them no mind.

"Sup, Troy," he said, his voice as gruff and low-energy as always. Damien was perhaps Ieyoshi's closest friend. Ieyoshi was also one of the few people allowed to address Damien by his middle name without consequences.

Damien offered the back of his fist—their form of a greeting. With practiced timing, Ieyoshi met it with the back of his own. It was something they've been doing since grade school. Still, something seemed off about him. Damien knew Ieyoshi, and he seemed more... intense than usual, as if he were in a determined rush.

Ieyoshi threw a curt look over his shoulder before returning his eyes to Damien, his expression impenetrable. "Hey, do you mind running the rest of the way to the school with me?" Without waiting for confirmation, Ieyoshi took off. He was moving faster than before, probably in an attempt to make up for lost time. Plus, he knew his friend could easily keep up if he chose to.

It didn't even take Damien a second to react to Ieyoshi's request. It had become almost an instinct instilled by his father to react to the needs of both the twins. The importance of ensuring order, protection, and their overall well-being was an ideal pushed by his father since he was in diapers. Damien immediately bolted ahead to catch up to Ieyoshi . It took him only a quick second to match his friend's pace. This sure was an unusual way to start the day.

"What's the rush, Yoh?" Damien asked.

"Just a precautionary measure," he responded, thinking back on the morning's conversation with his brother. Though it was unlikely that Ieharu would stand much of a chance of catching up to him, he was fairly confident that his threat would at least motivate his brother to get out of bed and come to school, which was the goal in Ieyoshi's strategy.

"Where's Haku? Rare to see you two apart." He glanced around. "Did he oversleep again?"

Ieyoshi snorted in disdain. "Something like that." As they sprinted past other bleary-eyed bag-toting students, they neared the entrance to their destination. It was a school, of course. The place was huge, easily spanning two or three blocks. Past the ashen gunmetal gates was a miniature city of buildings, some of them a dozen stories high. Some of them sporting the school's logo. The largest of the buildings, flanked on either side by structures nearly as tall, sported the word "Namimori" across the top in a glorious golden font, subscripted by the words "Scholastic International High School". The place was an upscale private school, and for the longest time had been exclusively for privileged kids. However, in order to secure its next round of major funding in the form of a check from a firm known as "CEDEF Holdings Incorporated," they had to start awarding scholarships to... well, everyone else.

Ieyoshi cracked a smile. For anyone else, it may have been a rare sight, but around Damien, the boy always seemed to loosen up. "Haku's playing sick again."

Damien smirked in reaction. "Typical Haku," he chuckled as he thought of Ieharu pretending to be sick. He recalled a time earlier in the school year when Ieharu had to give a presentation. The kid tried to give his best impression of a sick man claiming to have the flu with marker chicken pox dots over his face. He mixed up the symptoms with chicken pox. Both Ieyoshi and Damien dragged him out of the bed to school, gave him a good pep talk and were able to encourage him to perform well. And he did. A real orator, that one.

Once they made it to the front entrance, they duo came to a stop simultaneously. "Where to next?" Damien asked. "Should we just run in?" He mused, chuckling. Although he didn't understand Ieyoshi was so intent on sprinting to school, he just went with it. Precautionary or not, he trusted him enough

His ears perked up suddenly. His senses were razor sharp, but none more so than his hearing. It started as something behind him, something far away and faint. Just like before when he detected Ieyoshi, there some sort of anomaly approaching. Judging by the steady increase in octave, this thing was coming at a very rapid speed and making quite a bit of noise. Was it a person? No, it was moving as fast as a car. Maybe an animal? Nah. Motorcycle made more sense, but it didn't sound like one. Nothing really could fit the profile of what was heading. What could possibly be coming this way at such an inhuman pace?"Hey Yoh," he said, turning to his companion. "you hear that?"

With one foot in past the school's front gate, Ieyoshi turned. All he could hear were the sounds of chattering students intermingled with the normal hustle and bustle of an urban city; however, he knew better than to doubt Damien's senses. His friend could certainly be paranoid at times, his senses were never outright wrong. "What is it?" Ieyoshi was genuinely concerned, though going from his voice alone, he just sounded bored.

"Something strange coming, I think. It's making sounds that don't fit in with everything else around here." He kept looking around, waiting for the source to show itself. "And it's coming really fast." He pointed down the road they'd just sprinted up from. He squinted, trying to get extend his sight range by just as much as possible. By now, students further down the road were taking notice of the "thing," whatever it was. And then, suddenly, it revealed itself over the horizon. Damien's jaw dropped as he realized he recognized the something. "Is that... Haku?!"

"What?!" Using his hand as a makeshift visor, Ieyoshi studied the area Damien was pointing towards. For a moment, he saw nothing. Just some parked cars, a few trees, and odd looks on the faces of some students in the distance. And then he saw him. He saw his brother.

"No way," Ieyoshi muttered, his voice dripping with incredulity. "No way."

Could it be? Did his eyes deceive him? Maybe, for running along the tops of parked cars, naked save for a flimsy pair of boxers, his face contorted, his eyes squinched like those of a rabid animal, was none other than his twin brother, Ieharu Sawada. He was moving like a bullet train in his approach, hopping from car roof to car roof with ultimate speed. When there were no more cars to jump on, Ieharu hopped to the ground unceremoniously, rolling about for a moment before coming to a stop on the other side of the street. Like a mad dog, his eyes scanned the faces of the people around him before he locked eyes with his brother. With Ieyoshi.

For Ieyoshi's part, the incredulity that was evident in his voice had already made its way onto his face. For lack of a better term, he looked dumbfounded. "What the fuck?"

With a mighty roar, Ieharu dashed across the street and halfway tripped, half-way lunged at his twin. This apparently caught both Ieyoshi and Damien by complete surprise, because neither reacted fast enough as Ieharu smashed into his brother at full force, sending them both rolling into the school courtyard.

Damien stood there in shock, his hands gripping one another as he overlooked the struggling brothers like an overly concerned parent. "H-h-haku?! What are you-- You can get hurt!" He yelled as the twins rolled along. No amount of bombs, battle training, or trap doors could have prepared him for this. These two were family. They shouldn't be fighting like this! He rushed towards the courtyard, following the both of them as they tumbled about. "Stop guys!" he yelled again. His heart raced as he followed the twins, hoping for their safety.

"Dude—" Despite being thrown to the ground, Ieyoshi still managed to maintain his serene state. His voice maintained its relaxed, sedated quality. "Haku—" Again, they rolled, another few revolutions, but this time, Ieyoshi ended up on top. He used the chance to pin his brother's neck to the ground with his forearm. "Are you insane? What are you doing?!"

"SHUT UP!" Ieharu roared, seizing his brother's shoulders and tugging with all his might. Ieyoshi's eyes grew large for but a moment, utterly surprised that his brother had strength enough to completely overpower him. The tug sent them both spiraling in a roll once again, this time past a few puddles and smack dab into a gaggle of frightened students.

---

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❁█❁"Dai-kun, are you done with breakfast already?"

A puff of white hair peeked through the corridors as ruby red eyes latched on the form of a young man oozing with the desire of subtlety. Alas, it was not meant to be as his cover had been blown with that question. "...Yeah" The answer was spoken with disappointment and a tone resembling that of a scolded child. This puff of white hair emerged from the hallowed doors of the living room and presented its form of a girl with short snow white hair and vivid red eyes. She was wearing the typical high school uniform which does her justice as it shows her shapely physique. Her face decorated with a gentle smile. "Then let's go to school together, okay?" She carried her school bag with her and went towards the door where the said boy was but an inch away from opening it without being noticed.

"Nee-san, I want to go to school alone."

Daiichi was biting his lower lip in an obvious mirror of his inner turmoil, probably in hopes of not offending his sister. His words and emotion were in complement of his determination guided by status quo and puberty. "I'm not a little boy! I can't have you with me all the time..." He looked away as he could feel his sister's gaze locked on him. It was very wet like peaches. He knew she was waiting for him to expound on his reason. Somehow, he was caught in between of the decision to just run for it or continue this discussion. It's not like he was appalled of having her as a sister. He actually felt lucky to have her as family. In addition to that, she was popular at school especially among the boys in his class. Those guys always bug him about it. The true reason is.... "I'm fine on my own, okay!?" He wasn't able to say it in the end as he rushed out of the door in time with the phone ringing, but because no one answered it, the answering machine did in which the voice of a man echoed through the now silent house.

"Lala, I won't be coming home tonight. I'll be staying at the hospital. Handle Daiichi. Take care of yourselves."

With a beep, Lala looked at the phone with such a sad gaze while the grip of her hand on her school bag's handle tightened. She was not worried about her father's message. That had become a normal thing now in this household. What really got her down was how her little brother told her off. She was really excited and happy when Daiichi and her would be attending the same school, but the feeling wasn't mutual at all. "Am I a pest...?" She muttered under her breath in complete dejection. Somehow, her eyesight was getting blurry. Why was that? Her free hand reached towards her right eye and she felt a tinge of something liquid. Her face reflected disbelief, but slowly twisted into that of sorrow as she slowly crumbled to the floor and became a sobbing mess.

The tears kept coming as she did her best to wipe them away, in hope of stopping them. It was at that point she had taken a look of her wristwatch. Instantly, she stood from the floor and had a horrified look on her face. "Oh no! I'll be late!" The tears stopped from flowing as she wiped her eyes and took a look at the hallway mirror to remove any traces of her tears. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she quickly went out of the front door, but not without locking it first. She dashed across the streets while some of the neighbors that knew of her waved her morning greetings. She returned it with a bright and hurried pace towards the train station, not a mark of her earlier melancholic scene. "Ohayo!"

It seemed that Lady Luck was on her side as she soon reached the school gates. There were still a few minutes to spare as she tried to catch her breath. Some of the students who knew her personally, greeted her and even asked if she was fine. Lala, still recovering from her rather mad dash, smiled at them and answered their concern with an assurance that she's fine. She steadied her stance and took one final deep breath and nodded with confidence that she was now fine after a few moments. "Lucky, I'm not late!" She was proud of that achievement and even did a clap for herself. "Ah, right, I should say hello to Rosa-chan! She gets moody if I don't." She said as an afterthought and began walking towards the main building when she noticed some of the students looking at something behind her.

"Hmm?" That certainly took her interest as she wondered what they were looking at. Was there free food? She stopped from her walk. Her attention now taken and it was also at that point she heard a sound. It resembled that of a speeding vehicle, but it was getting nearer every second. What was causing that? Was someone running late too? She looked over her shoulder and found a figure fast approaching. It's a good thing she has good eyesight, one of the reasons she is one of the best archers around. That's why she could conclude that it was not... a vehicle. It was... a human... a boy? She narrowed her eyes to ensure that she was not seeing things, because there was something about it she cannot grasp on exactly. It was more like if anyone was brave enough going to school, looking like that.

"Is he... just in his underwear?" She asked that question to no one as her thoughts were simply voiced out. Her eyes blinking in skepticism of the weird scene, yes, it was definitely weird. "Is that... Haku-chan?" She said out-loud and soon her attention shifted as she watched Haku literally flying towards... Yoh? They were now rolling on the ground. Frankly, she was getting a bit dizzy on that... "Ano...? I guess everyone is having a very lively morning, huh?"

The police all stood on high alert around the museum. They were loaded with guns, having casual conversations, and prepping for the oncoming threat. The atmosphere was tense since it was growing close to the designated time. She said, “After midnight, the mask shall be mine!” She promised to steal the latest piece of priceless artifacts, the mask of Aphrodite. This mask was plated in real gold, bedazzled with rubies, sapphires, diamonds, and rare gems to give a seductress look about it. The museum of Namimori recently obtained this as a gift for being such a beautiful city. It was honored with one of the great treasures of the mythological god’s series, but of course that will attract those who desire it for themselves. The museum placed the mask amongst an enormous presentation where numerous lights shone on it. The display glass covering it was special and could only be removed by inputting a specific code. Namimori wouldn’t let a foolish thief even attempt to plunder this. Typically, the police would laugh at the thought of this; however, the one claiming to steal this item was notorious. It was rumored that she has struck in areas around Namimori and would have her eye on obtaining a second of the god’s series.

“The Phantom Thief, Jeneva Gray, won’t be getting her hands on this tonight,” Inspector Smith muttered, “I promise you that.” His grip tightened on his gun as he remembered his last encounter with the infamous thief. One could literally see the rage beaming from his face.

“Calm down Inspector, it’ll be fine,” the lady next to him said in a soothing voice.. “We’ll get her this time,” she said as she placed her hand down his back. Her touch alleviated the pressure building up inside of his body. His grasp on the gun started to become lighter and he slowly holstered his firearm.

“Sorry Rebecca, you always know what to say partner,” he said with a slight grin. She is always so reliable. “We’ll get her together,” he said like a protagonist in a story. Beautiful, smart, and kind ran through his mind as he gazed at her. She wore her favorite sunglasses, although it was dark at night, and had her detective trench coat. She has been his partner in the agency for years. “Sunglasses this late at night though?” he asked.

“A girl has to match her outfit and purse. You should change your style sometimes Inspector,” she mentioned as she snickered a bit after she finished her phrase.

He then eased himself against the large display on the wall right below the Mask of Aphrodite amongst his compatriots who surrounded the area. He reached into his pocket, pulled out both a lighter and cigarette and lit it. After a puff of smoke was let out, he looked at his partner next to him and said, “You care for a smoke Rebecca?”

She replied, “I’ll be fine for now Inspector. Thanks though.”

“That’s unusual, well more cigs for me then,” he replied as he took another hit. “You got to take some of the lung cancer to be a partner of mine,” he said sarcastically. He checked his watch on his wrist that counted exactly on 12:30 AM. “I doubt this was even Jeneva Gray anyway. Does she see how heavily guarded this place is?! We’ve been patrolling this place even since she dropped her calling card three days ago.”

“This could just be a prank,” Rebecca stated. “We’ve patrolled, walked the routes, and even help assist some of the installations for protecting the mask. It isn’t possible.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Inspector Smith said while taking another smoke break.

One minute passed. Two minutes passed. Five…..ten minutes passed. The Mask of Aphrodite remained in the glass and there were no break in, alarm, or a Phantom Thief to intrude.

“A ruse,” Inspector Smith sighed, “I knew it. It probably was some kid around the area leaving a note. A fan of Jeneva Gray I suppose.”

“Not surprising, she’s developed some sort of fan base over the internet,” Rebecca stated.

“Oh, so you’re a fan of thieves now Rebecca?” Inspector Smith pestered.

Rebecca chuckled snickered a bit as she continued walking around, “Merely looking up our enemies Inspector.” Rebecca stretched her arms a bit and then said, “My legs are going stiff. I’ll go patrol the area. You stay here and relax.” She walked off without receiving any of the inspector’s input.

The inspector shrugged and continued smoking. About ten minutes passed and Inspector Smith started to wonder where Rebecca went. “Now what could that lady have gotten int--”

AHHHHHHH! A loud scream came from a far off direction.

“What was that?!” “A scream!” “Hurry, head in that direction!” A flurry of cops began speaking simultaneously and ran in that direction.

“Rebecca!” Inspector Smith said out loud. His heart raced and he could literally feel his pulse as he dashed in that direction. A crowd of men stood over a body and one felt her pulse.

“She’s alive, no injuries. Just passed out,” the man examined further. “Diethyl ether was used. She’ll be unconscious for a bit.”

A sigh of relief came from Inspector Smith. “That’s great, but what’s more important is--”

The lights flew out in that instance. The rambling of the other confused officers filled the air while they managed to all grab their flashlights. They moved quickly back to the Mask of Aphrodite and once they all shined their light upwards they stood in awe of what was before them. It was her in the flesh, gleaming down on all of them. The glass was removed meaning the code was input. The mask of Aphrodite was on her face and her specialized trench coat was on her body.

“Hello there officers! I hope you don’t mind if I wear this out do you?!” Jeneva Gray herself stood there with the biggest smiles on her face. “I think I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Don’t let her get away with the mask, Fire!” The men put up their guns. As soon as they held them up, Jeneva Gray already begun her move down a zip line. Shots rang out however none were able to hit in time. She was already zip lining straight outside of an opening that she had already prepped. “After her!”

The officers all ran outside. A few stayed back to tend to Rebecca. Inspector Smith however, was smarter than that. He dashed in the opposition direction of the officers and Jeneva Gray.

“Amateurs,” he said out loud. “She’s no rookie. I know she found a way to dart past the officers.”

As he ran in that direction, and made it outside to the back of the museum. He found himself in an alleyway. He saw a ladder and figured that going to a higher level would increase his chances of witnessing Jeneva Gray. He was correct, as soon as he reached the top level; he saw ha building over running. His blood began to boil when he thought of her knocking out his partner Rebecca Stratum. He ran as fast as he could at Jeneva Gray while she merely turned her head around to look at the Inspector. She no longer wore the Mask of Aphrodite, but her standard mask that had rushing s design on it where her eyes were barely visible.

As he got closer in, she said, “Ah, good to see you again Inspector? Why don’t you continue your smoke break?” and laughed.

She began running as he approached. They hopped building edge to building edge. She completed these feats like a veteran parkour runner while Inspector Smith struggled to follow along. He started breathing hard chasing this thief and grew more and more tired. They soon both reached a building that couldn’t be jumped. Jeneva Gray merely stood there staring at Inspector Smith while he walked up breathing hard facing her. She had a small bag with her obviously carrying the Mask of Aphrodite.

“This is the end,” Inspector Smith started with gasping breaths, “...for you Jeneva Gray. Give me the mask and come peacefully.” He pulled out his gun and handcuffs, but she looked more amused than worried.

“You’re growing old Inspector. I don’t think you’re cut out for this line of work,” she replied.

Right as soon as she finished her sentence, she sprinted directly towards the Inspector.

BANG! BANG!

He shot his gun twice and the bullets flew forth. They both flew inches from her body and would have been fatal, but she skillfully dodged each shot as if she had some foresight on the trajectories. She’s had experience at this. She brought her foot up, kicked him in the chest and pushed him down with the stiletto parts of her feet. His gun fell to his side while she stood over him in a dominating post with her heel standing on his chest, while he breathed heavily still trying to catch his breath.

“Maybe another day Inspector,” she winked. “Try to get your stamina up though. You couldn’t even hit me at point blank range. This heist was easier than stealing the Ring of Athena.” She walked over to his gun, kicked it to the side and jumped off the building.

“Blast it!” Inspector Smith yelled knowing that he failed once again to catch this thief. He slowly got up, and began making his way back to the police force. By this time, the police force all stood around their cars in front of the museum. There was chatter about how she escaped, how did she obtain the codes, and how did she leave without a trace. Still a bit bummed, Inspector Smith looked up and saw Rebecca Stratum.

“Ah Rebecca,” he said happily, “You’re alright!”

SMACK!

The police force quieted down and witnessed the angry woman slapping him. Inspector Smith’s face turned red and the pain from her slap stung. She had a strong right hand. He stood there in shock when she finally said, “You idiot! I’ve been tied up for the past 5 hours and knocked out by Jeneva Gray! You’re telling me you didn’t notice!”

The pain from his face stopped as his eyes widened. “Five….hours…,” were the only words he could mutter. “But I was with you a few…” he stopped. Everything became clear and it all made sense. The Rebecca he met earlier was Jeneva Gray. Although the behaviors, mannerisms, prior knowledge, and walks were the same as the real Rebecca. He had been fooled easily. Even the men amongst the force didn’t notice.

“Fu--!” he yelled to the sky.

---

Lilith walked back into her small apartment room literally attached to the coffee shop. It was on the second floor of the place with stair access from the right side. She walked up the stairs carrying her small bag, unlocked her door and went inside. She gave a sigh of relief while her heart still raced from all of the excitement from the night. A disguise, police chase, and gunshots all while making an appearance and seizing the Mask of Aphrodite. An interesting feat to say the least. She walked up to her plain looking closet, opened it and went further to the back. She reached past a plain shirt that she would never wear, pushed it to the side and revealed a small red button in sight. She pressed it. The closet then began to slightly shift and lock behind her while the front opened like a secret passage. The descending flights of stairs lead further underground that lead to her little sanctuary. This area was built on the vast amount of fortune she’s acquired over the years from common thievery and major heists. What stood before her was money, artifacts, treasures, and even the Ring of Athena placed on a plaque.

“And now, welcome to your new home,” she said as she took the Mask of Aphrodite, placed it on her face and gave a goddesses laugh. She then placed it on a podium to join the collection. She then looked at an expensive clock she took on the walls of her underground hideaway. “Almost time to go to work, I better start getting ready.” She hung up her Jeneva Gray costume, went back upstairs, and started to prep for the day.

After showering, getting prepped for the day, and collecting her belongings, she was ready for another plain day. It wouldn’t be as eventful as the previous night, but something interesting always happens looking the way she does at an upscale high school. Selling coffee and pastries at the local high school is pretty entertaining though. She gets plenty of time to interact with the students just through casual conversation just like a standard coffee shop. She gets hit own pretty often which helps her sales and flirts here and there. High school students are pretty knowledgeable in a variety of things and she’s often learned about her recent targets from heists from students.

She finished prepping a cup of coffee to energize her from the day. She drank cautiously to prevent herself from getting stains on her All In Coffee Shop t-shirt. She had a hat and wore some jeans to advertise the shop. For a while, she had to constantly wear this as a standard uniform, but the high school and the owner stopped caring about what she wore as long as it was appropriate. They wanted to give her a normal girl feel for the school even though she wasn’t currently enrolled in any form of educational institution. She looks around the coffee shop with the nice calm atmosphere it gave. It just promotes conversations and overall was an exhilarating place. The tables, board games, cards, art work, and the many pastries accompanied by coffee flavors filled the room. The aroma of freshly made desserts flew through the air and revitalized all that stepped in. After finishing her cup of coffee, it was time to go about her day. She took her usual route through Namimori to walk towards the high student. She saw students walking, talking, and in their standard uniform. She recognized a few faces from the coffee shop and from making sales at the school; however, she only knew a small amount of people, and none really personally. Her habit of being a Phantom thief combined with her job keeps her pretty busy. Maybe she’ll make an effort to actually get to know some people well? Just maybe.

On her way to the high school, she always sees an assortment of student parked cars. One caught her interest though. It was an old school mustang, something she usually doesn’t see on this route. She looked at her reflection from the side view window and said, “I look pretty good,” as she gave her usual coffee shop girl smile.

THUNK!

Lilith instinctively jumped back.

“HAHHHHHHH!” shouted some random kid with his underwear standing. Lilith stood there, confused to say the least. The boy had a flame producing from his head and for once caught her off guard.

“What are you doing?!” she yelled, but as she spoke, the boy continued to jump car to car further down the alley.

She ran after him to see what and why he was doing this. An interesting turnabout of events to say the least. “Maybe today won’t be so plain after all. High school kids are a bit crazy.”

“Gotcha.” Chester whispered in satisfaction as his outstretched fingers lightly pinched the abdomen of the butterfly, holding it firmly as its small legs scrabbled desperately against his palm. It was a large one this time, wide wings that were eggshell white with orange spots dotting the very edges. It was beautiful, one of the few species he had not seen in back in Italy. Another one to add to his quickly growing collection. Chester leaned back on the bark of the tree he had been hiding on and held it at arm’s length, admiring it closely. It had been worth it sneaking out of his house in the early hours of the morning to find it, he had observed its behaviour for a while and this time painted himself into a tree, light patterns and all. Taking a deep breath, he breathed in the cool morning scent of dewdrops and leapt down gracefully, landing on his feet like a cat without relinquishing his hold on his spoils. If he hurried, there was enough time to put it in a jar first and mentally prepare himself for the math test. If his personal evaluation was right, he could get an average of 75-80 marks on his quadratics test. Not worse enough for the teachers to start paying attention, but not good either. Average, yes that would do. As long as he aims for that, he should be able to get the exact quota of questions right.

He lifted the window hatch silently, slipping in and depositing the struggling butterfly into the ‘relaxation jar’ under his bed before pulling the covers over himself and pretending to be asleep once more, just as he heard his mother’s footsteps coming up to his room. “Chester, it’s time to wake up. I have a meeting I need to attend to, can you go to school by yourself?” His mother opened the door, her hair neatly combed. She was already in a professional looking suit, though her anxious look contrasted sharply with the suave feeling her attire gives off. Before he could speak, she started again. “Now, don’t forget to brush your teeth, dress yourself properly and head to school by bike alright? Don’t get into trouble, if someone tries to fight you just run as fast as you can back home. Understand?”

“Um, yeah! Sure I’ll take care of myself!” Chester answered, faking a look of bleariness as if he had just woken up in the morning. His mother started back down the stairs, but she hesitated at the last second and turned back, ruffling Chester’s hair and planting a kiss on his forehead. “Ti amo, Chester. Have a nice day in school.” With that, she was gone, leaving nothing but the smell of her perfume. Chester immediately shot out of bed, pulling on his clothes in quick succession. The process was something that had been drilled into his head and he performed the actions mechanically, without thinking. All that was in his mind was to get to school and get back, just in time to preserve that wonderful butterfly and its delicate wings, properly get it into a glass casing and labeled. Running down the stairs while he tied his long hair up, Chester planned the fastest way to get to school so that he could get there before the crowd dispersed. It would be awfully embarrassing if he was one of the last stragglers there, people would take notice of him.

Breakfast was on the table, a lightly toasted croissant and hot milky coffee. This time, Chester wasn’t in such a hurry. It was as if a switch turned off a flurry of movements in the boy, and he sat down calmy to have his breakfast. Afterall, it was the most important meal of the day, and it was not to be missed or wasted by wolfing it down quickly. After his steady breakfast however, the switch was flipped back on and Chester jumped to his feet again, snagging the jacket off the hook and swinging his bag across his shoulders. He was all set for school now, all he had to do was to get to school. Lifting his bicycle, he

That was when it happened. In retrospect, Chester should have expected it, the atmosphere in the air had a certain sense of tension to it. However, nothing he had known would have prepared him for a half naked boy in his boxers shouting toward the sky. He only hesitated for a second, but it was enough for the strange boy to start off in a completely unnatural speed. Chester didn’t even manage to glimpse his face… Without much thought, he started pedalling like mad, a mixture of curiosity and concern driving his body forward to catch up. From the hair alone, it looked like Haku or Yoh, and that in itself was a matter he was interested in. The two were his classmates, and while his relationship with them is neutral on the most part Yoh gave him a completely different wavelength than what he had ever seen in others. It was enough for him to keep a wide berth, though there was urge to find out more. While Haku seemed ordinary and harmless on the most part, you can never be too sure when it comes to Yoh.

Chester followed the running boy to the school as closely as possible, cycling as fast as it would take him. They sped past several gawking bystanders, many of which Chester completely ignored despite having some regrets over his decision. It was the wrong choice, he had somehow managed to get attention attracted to himself again. That said, perhaps they would notice the half naked boy mainly and forget about him. Narrowly avoiding a few cars with profuse apologies mumbled under his breath, Chester managed to maneuver himself as safely as possible until he reached school.

By the time he reached, was already wheezing. It felt like a fire was burning in his lungs, and as Chester gulped for air for dear life he was able to take a closer look at the twins. The one who was half naked was Ieharu, much to his surprise. His eyes looked like the ones Ieyoshi had however, there was a flame burning in the center of his forehead, but otherwise there was no difference in physical appearance. Was the flame something to enhance speed and strength? Chester had never seen anything like this before in his entire life, but Japan was an interesting place after all. Apart from that… the wavelength he gave off was exactly similar. It was probably the flame, Chester concluded, but before he could continue his train of thought Ieyoshi was thrown into a crowd of students by Ieharu, the twins tumbling around for a second with an anxious looking student looking at them.

Japan was amazing. He had rarely seen anything like this happen back in his school at Italy. Sure, there might be fights, but someone coming to school only wearing underwear? There are so many customs in the world he had yet to get used to. “Are you alright?” He managed to approach the twin on the ground, holding out a hand to help him up. There were classmates, after all, it has got to count for something. Chester highly doubted that Ieyoshi would remember him anyway, not when he had his hood up to hide his vivid hair.

"Whee!"

The few people walking on the street turned at the sound to see a fifteen year old boy wearing an unzipped blue hoodie skating casually past on a sleek blue skateboard, a wide grin on his face. A girl in pigtails texting on her phone didn't notice that he was headed her way, but a twist to the left and Enn was past her in an instant, leaving nothing behind but a shocked look on the girl's face and a few locks of her hair blowing in the wind.

Enn grinned and skated a little faster, enjoying the wind against his face and ruffling his white hair. Shou would have asked him to bring a helmet (they both knew he didn't really need one but Shou worried anyway), but he wasn't here since he'd gone to school earlier so Shou wouldn't mind so long as Enn stashed it somewhere safe and not tell him about it! And there wasn't any need to tell him about it, at least until the time they had to go home which would be too late since Enn hadn't brought a helmet with him. Sure, Shou would sigh a bit over it and warn him to bring one with him, but Enn could deal with that!

He really could deal with it. He'd dealt with it before, but that wasn't what Enn was worried about.

How would Shou react if I fail a math test? Enn bite his lip and moved to the right, dodging a trashcan. He hadn't exactly studied (it was so boring - well, maybe not angles but it was still boring, how was he suppose to remember all this stuff?!) and he knew that his studies weren't good. He didn't really cared if he failed since he didn't really care for it, but then Shou did and Enn really wasn't sure if he could pass the math test the teacher would set for them to-

Something was coming.

Enn spun around warily, coming to a stop as he looked around for whoever - it had to be a person, it sounded like running feet - was making the noise. The few shoppers around him did the same, their faces curious at who could be running so furiously.

One of the shoppers, an elderly man squinting into the horizon Enn had passed by a few minutes ago, was the first to spot it. His face turned to shock and surprise as the sound came nearer, and so did the rest of them as they saw what was a nearly naked young teenager with an orange flame right in the middle of his forehead as he charged furiously towards them like an express bullet train at full speed. Then the looks of surprised incredulity changed to panic when they realised that the boy was charging towards them with absolutely no intention of stopping and the shoppers scattered, leaving the path clear for the crazy maniac to pass through.

All except Enn, who remained smack dab on the middle of the street as he stared at the boxer-clad maniac charging towards him. His hands hung loose, and his eyes widened in surprise at what he was seeing. "Haku?!"

The figure grew larger and larger, and Enn quickly dodged to the side as Haku charged past, the backlash blowing his white hair back. For a moment, Enn continued to stare blankly, then a grin large enough to split his face formed and he was off, using his skateboard to catch up with Haku.

"Hahaha!" Enn had no idea what was going on, but it had to be fun, right?! Or else he wouldn't be moving so quickly. Leaning low, Enn sped up until he was a blur, leaning forwards to catch up to Haku. Spotting Chester on a bike, he gave the guy a quick wave and grin before moving forwards, easily keeping up with his friend as he dodged and jumped over obstacles. "Hey Haku," He called wildly, the wind whipping his hair back from his head and snatching away his words, "Haku this is fun why're we going so fast I'm kind of having trouble keeping up though where're we heading?"

Haku didn't respond and leapt on top of a car. Boo! Enn pouted and narrowed his eyes, forcing his speed to increase in order to keep up. On his right index finger, a ring with a small yellow stone sparked with a small flame, and Enn continued to chatter with a bright smile as they kept a healthy distance apart and headed towards what Enn knew was the school.

"-and that's why I think you're rushing, did I get it right Haku did I - oh, guys!" Spying two figures up ahead, Enn waved at them cheerily. "Hey!" Forgetting about the one-sided conversation he was holding with Haku, who was more than a mile to his right jumping on cars, Enn slowed down as Haku forged ahead of him. Completely ignoring the dumbfounded looks on Yoh and Damien's faces, he grinned and chattered excitedly "Guys did you know Haku can move faster than a car now this is awesome - whoa?!"

Haku jumped towards Yoh, and Enn stared in surprised interest as they tumbled their way through the entrance. For all the time Enn knew them, Haku had never tried to attack Yoh before. But then Haku had never gone out in just boxers before or had a flaming forehead either, so maybe it was a game? It might be an experiment, but Haku wouldn't be out if it was. Pushing off on his skateboard, Enn followed Damien towards the courtyard to see the twins scuffle on the ground, placing his hands casually in his pockets. He was about to ask them whether he could join in when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Oh, Ryuu-chan!" Enn turned and smiled brightly at the shorter man, who gave him a brief glance before going back to staring incredulously at the Sawada brothers like he couldn't believe his eyes. "I've no clue, but it was awesome! Haku was jumping on car roofs like a supervillian and everything shouting Reborn or something! I was too far away so I couldn't hear, haha. And then they started fighting." Enn's grin turned bloodthirsty. "Think I could join in?"

The words came out almost on automatic. "Don't call me- wait, nows not the time for that!" The grip on his shoulder tightened, and Enn pouted as he allowed himself to be dragged towards Damien, stepping on the ground and kicking his skateboard up into his arms as Ryuu tapped Damien once on the arm for acknowledgement.

"What happened?!" Ryuu asked the Sawada's lackey urgently, keeping his voice low. He readjusted the dark green bag on his shoulders, preparing to dump it on the ground in case he had to help. A little way behind him, Enn was cheering the both of them on with a manic glint in his eyes and looking like he wanted popcorn. "Did Haku lose it?! Why're the two fighting and more importantly, should we stop them?!"

Crostoph was trying to sleep in his bed since about eight at night on Sunday. He figured if he got a head start, he'd be able get to sleep in an hour or so. When his alarm rang nine hours later, he realized his plan had failed. Not only that, but he was finally tired enough to go to sleep. He grumbled while rolling back and forth, but the hours on the clock didn't reset. The boy exhaled a sigh and got out of bed. If this had been any other day, he would have slept until nightfall, but it was a Monday. Also being the day that he decided to start showing up for class again, he figured it to be a big deal. Worry hit him as he thought about how the teacher would react to him showing up. Worst yet, the students themselves. "Man this bites. How am I supposed to do anything during school hours. Just getting trapped in room with people who already know each other," he hissed as he packed his bag. Looking at the time, there was still an hour before he had to start walking. He took note to set his alarm to delay by an hour. There was nothing worst than having nothing but time in between him and doing something. He thought about going early, but that would probably make him stand out more than anything and he wasn't up for that. So he stood there staring at the clock as it ran from five-thirty to six-fifteen.

While walking down he thought about his job which seemed more like a minor task than he wanted. The timing couldn't have been worst. He sighed at the long days ahead. The scenery picked his spirits up a little bit. How long had been since he had seen an actual sunrise, or even went out for a morning stroll? More importantly, how soon would it be until he began regretting it.

He shook his head at the thought. There was no use complaining anymore. He felt a little worried once the school came into vision. For as big as it was, he was sure the school handed out maps. Though when he signed up he didn't get one. Maybe they forgot? Maybe you're not smart if you don't automatically know where your class was? Last time he checked that wasn't a thing. When did that become a thing?

He snapped his fingers in awe. 'I could just walk into a random classroom and set up there, but that's just one more thing I'd have to keep track of. I'd rather not do too much. Especially at school.' It was a hassle on both fronts, but he decided to go with the one he could relax with. Relax. That was a funny word to him. Who pays someone to relax and also adds a bonus at the end of the job. A dead man if he was hoodwinked. He was about to change his line of thought to a piece of gum that he stepped on when he heard heavy footsteps running towards him. Along with a few other pedestrians, he moved to the side and looked on at the pair of kids, looking around his age ran off towards the school. People thought they were able to walk again, but he stayed still as another boy, seemingly naked, ran past almost trampling everyone. It was an awesome sight to behold. One that brought a cheerful smile to his face. He didn't get good look at them, but if everyone else in the school was that entertaining, he knew he wouldn't have a problem.

When he walked up to the school grounds he saw a crowd gathered around, which was great for him. With this ruckus he'd hope for school to be delayed, giving him time to find out where his class was. He shuffled his way around the crowd to the inside of the school buildings lobby. Just as he figured a map was in there. He figured since he was only two years from graduating and the school only had three numbers he was the middle one. The only questioning was. "2-1. . . 2-2. . . or 2-3? What's this supposed to mean?"

He only had one resort left. It was unavoidable in the end as he knew it would be, but he didn't think he'd have to do it so soon. He'd have to ask someone for help. He knelled down on his knew raising one arm to no one in particular before returning to his feet. It was obvious. This was not going be relaxing. It was going to be a hassle. Just like every other job.

Ring ring ring!!!!

The sound of the alarm filled the small bedroom, successfully waking up Luka from his peaceful slumber. He cracked open a single eye and immediately regretted when he was greeted by a ray of sunshine that was peeping in from between the cracks of the window curtains. He slammed in his hand down onto his alarm clock to shut off its loud ringing before turning over onto his side and pulling the covers up to shelter himself from the sunlight. His room fell back into silence, aside from the quiet ticking of the clock. Luka felt himself slipping back into unconsciousness until he felt something soft pressing against his face--more like stepping on it.

"Kumo..." he groaned out, trying to swat away at his furry roommate. A black and white cat meowed at him, almost as if telling him to wake up before patting his face again with his paws.

"Stop it," Luka muttered. But the assault didn't stop, which really wasn't too surprising. For some reason, his cat enjoyed accompanying him to school. The feline will stick around the area until school ended and walked with back home or to work, depending on the day. "Alright, alright. I'm up," he sighed in defeat. Satisfied with his answer, Kumo gave him another small meow before hopping off the bed. Luka sat up and stretched before running his hand through his messy bed hair. He took one look at the clock, squinted his eyes at it, then finally got up to head into the bathroom to begin the day.

He washed up quickly and fixed his hair up a bit before entering his room again so he can change into his school uniform. He never understood why such thing was necessary. He slipped on the dress-shirt and buttoned it up except the last two at the top. Luka completely disregarded the tie because it was too much of a hassle to put on. He grabbed the black blazer then his bag, dragging them lazily to the living room and tossing them onto the couch so they can sit there while he fixed himself a quick breakfast. He looked into the fridge and stared at the contents inside for a moment before pulling out a strawberry milk carton for himself and a regular milk carton for his cat. Pouring the white creamy liquid into the cat bowl, he scratched behind Kumo's ears with a small grin as the feline lapped it up happily.

Luka took a sip of his drink while popping a slice of bread into the toaster; he had decided he'll have a simple breakfast of toast with jam. He kept note of the time as he ate and eventually dragged himself towards the door. Why did school have to exist...?

Kumo waited patiently while Luka put on his shoes and was the first to head out when the door opened. Luka chuckled softly, finding it funny how the cat was more enthusiastic about going to school than he was. Then again, Kumo wasn't the one who sat in a classroom for hours, listening to the teacher go on and on about things he really didn't care about.

Yawning into one hand and stuffing the other into the pocket of his pants, Luka headed down the road towards school. It seemed like a fairly normal morning--or at least until he saw the way his cat stopped in his tracks, body tensing as his pointy ears perked. Luka raised his brows, "What's wrong buddy?"

And then he heard it. A loud yelling from the distance that seemed to be getting closer and closer by the second. It was then he saw someone coming around from the corner and zooming past him. "What the--" The guy was gone before his brain can fully process what had just happened but the back of the guy's head seemed strangely familiar. He blinked, trying to figure out if he had just hallucinated. However, the yelling that grew faint was still audible, which told him he was most likely not imagining this. It looked like the was heading towards school so the only way to find out what exactly was happening, he would have to head over and see.

By the time he got to school, there was already a crowd of people gathered around. Kumo was settled on his shoulder, round green eyes blinking curiously. Luka hadn't been there to see the whole thing play out but it was easy to guess what happened when he saw two guys rolling around on the ground together. He sighed, thinking it was some stupid school fight at first, since that tend to happen once in a while. But as he got closer he noticed that the two males were the Sawada twins. Luka stopped in his tracks and looked over, noticing the bright orange flames on Ieharu's head. What the hell was going on..?

"Morning exercises complete!"

With a satisfied huff, Fujiki Makoto sheathed her sword and wiped the sweat from her brow. It was routine for Makoto to begin every morning by going through the sword stances she was taught without fail. Though she had been training for years now, there was still always room for improvement as she had yet to develop her own style of fighting. This morning's practice grounds was a small park located just across the street of the hotel Mako was staying at for the time being. As she had only arrived in Japan a few days prior, she hadn't had the time to find a more permanent place of residency in the town of Namimori. Mako turned her gaze to the sky and shivered. The sun was just rising and her body reminded her that mornings here at this time were a bit cooler than in Italy. "I'd better get inside and get ready."

Today was Mako's first day of school. Literally.... Never in her life had she attended a second of school in her life and Mako was both extremely nervous and excited to see what it was like. Was it like the mafia school Squalo had attended? Mako wondered how many, if any, mafiosi attended the school. What did they teach there? Were the teachers going to be as mean as Squalo? The endless thoughts swirled around in Mako's head as she returned to her hotel room. Setting her sword against the near wall, she shook her head as if to shake away the numerous questions she did not know the answer to. All of this was only second to the real reason she was here. Her first and foremost worry was to find the elusive Hitman Tutor Godot. It had been already three days since she arrived and yet she had zero leads to where he could be. And even if somehow she found him, would he even agree to teach her? Mako had decided that in order to gain recognition by someone that strong then one must defeat them and made it up in her mind that she would challenge him to show him her resolve to become a mafioso. Surely then he would take her as his student. But to do that she would have to track him down first. Mako glanced at the digital clock on the microwave in the small kitchen. It was almost time to leave.

It took some time for Mako to prepare herself for the day. The school uniform was troublesome to put on and more than once she had tried sticking her head into a sleeve more than once. But after a few desperate attempts, Mako had successfully dressed herself. Almost..... There was one piece of clothing that made no sense to her. The long red ribbon that came with the uniform was a complete mystery to the girl. Was it to tie her hair? Was it a belt of some sort? Or maybe even a wrist accessory? Whatever it was Mako decided that it would be best if she just left it out. The girl stepped in front of the tall mirror on the wall nearby. Good enough for now. Mako shifted uncomfortably in the new clothes. She had never worn a skirt before. Her attire mostly consisted of loose clothing for free movement as she trained and never was it required of her to wear a skirt. Though she thought she didn't look to bad. The uniform consisted of a simple short sleeved white button up shirt, a black miniskirt, a dark navy blue sweater vest and the mysterious red ribbon. It seemed like Mako had everything right but something seemed.... off.....

"Ahh...." Mako quickly ran to the bed where her familiar black trench coat lay and slipped it on. "Much better."

Mako had found the coat tucked away in the corner of her closet at the Varia base and when she asked around to whose it was no one had a clue so Mako claimed it for herself and always wore it wherever she went. She believed that a proper mafioso should have their own signature look. Mako quickly glance at the clock once again. It was time to go. Grabbing her new school bag and her sword which she quickly slung over her shoulder in its cloth carrying cover, Mako grabbed the leftover burnt toast that she had left over from her breakfast that morning and flew out the door. Having very little knowledge of making her own meals, Mako had attempted to use what she knew to make breakfast which ended up in badly burnt bread and under cooked eggs. It wasn't bad for a start.

The hotel Mako was staying at was very close to the school grounds and by trial and error, she finally arrived at the gates after taking a few detours as a result of a few wrong turns. Though when she arrived she found that there was a very large crowd that had gathered in front of the school. There was quite a commotion and as Mako approached she wedged herself through the crowd to get a better look at what the fuss was about. To her surprise, two boys who looked similar enough to be twins, were on the ground rolling around obviously in a brawl over something. Instinctively, Mako's had reached up and gripped the hilt of her sword through the cloth cover. Now this was something she could get used to. If this was the norm at school she was going to have a good time. Though as she observed closer she quickly noticed the orange flames on one of the boy's head. 'Sky flames? Isn't that boy in Dying Will mode?' Mako's excitement grew ten fold. If there were powerful opponents like this at this school then she would be able to grow stronger in no time! Mako quickly glanced around at the other students around her. Maybe after the boys were finished with their fight she would challenge the winner. Yes, that was what she was going to do....

You know, life wasn't worth living untill you had a group of people kneeling before you and your boots. That was a firm belief of Rosa's. Rosa smirked as she posed with her hands on her hips to a crowd of spectators in the courtyard of Namimori High. Crowd was a misleading term, however, as it merely consisted of the several girls closest to Rosa. They bowed before her feet in complete reverence and admiration. These girls were the loyal subjects of the school's Queen after all, her "Dolls".

"So, tell me, girls," Rosa requested with much haughtiness in her tone, "What do you think of my new boots?" Rosa turned and shuffled her feet this way and that to give her friends a more complete indulgence of the sight of the healed, thigh-high boots. They leather, but they had a very light color, giving them a very warm look. The sole was completely black with flat, trackless soles and thick, inch-high heals. Along the front were the crossing pattern of long red laces, weaved in very fine fibers and tied into long, portruding knots at the very top, much like the silloeuttes of very large butterflies. They certainly didn't look like the kind one would slip on in a rush.

Instantly, the four girls stood up from their crouched positions and began throwing all sorts of compliments at once, their words stressed for emphasis giving an altogether melodious yet chaotic tune to it all. It was music to Rosa's ears. Rosa could never be tired of being admired, even if it rhymed. "Girls, girls, calm down," Rosa told them, waving her hands, "I'm glad you love them. I thought that since it was raining last night, I'd buy these so I didn't get my shoes all ruined. Oh, they hardly cost much, at least not with my money. It goes perfect with the uniform, is that not true?"

"Boots?" Lyn pondered for a second as she placed her hand in a thinking pose. "But like...aren't they for the snow? It's only October. " she asked while missing the point of fashion. Lyn never really understood the culture of the Dolls while being a well known member of them. How she actually joined the group was through Rosa. When Lyn transferred to Namimori high school about a year ago, she really didn't really make an effort to make friends. Her long black hair, green eyes, and silky hair often caught the attention of the men around the school. She also carried an open umbrella above her head, almost at all times. People at first often asked, "Why do you carry an umbrella?" She always replied in a polite manner, "I don't know, I just feel compelled to." A strange answer, but mysterious in itself. Some students made rumors saying she's a princess, she's cursed, and she's allergic to sunlight which brought her a lot of attention. Shortly after, Rosa simply came up to her and said, "Hey, you should quit interacting with losers and hang out with some real friends!". Since then, she's just been a part of their group. Though, Rosa has treated Lyn as little more than accessory to her group than a reliable friend. Lyn didn't think she was being treated like that at all though.

"They look pretty fancy," the short, long-haired girl, Tomoe noted, "but how're going to get them in the shoe locker?" She giggled at that statement, although none of the other girls followed suit. Tomoe Tachibana was always energetic and fun-loving, no matter the situation, although she wasn't the most clever. "You know, yesterday I got my socks and shoes all soaking wet on the way home! It was really gross and I thought my feet were going to stink, so I decided I'd run the rest of the way home barefoot." She snickered at that statement. "The rain would clean my feet anyway, right?" Tomoe was also known to be very daring, always trying out different things regardless of how daunting they appeared. Everybody in second year the time she climbed over the chainlink fence on the school's rooftop and took a selfie while hanging on the other side. She got into a lot of trouble, but Tomoe's name was well known because of it. She was also the earliest of the girls in the group to get a boyfriend.

"That's no good," the taller, short-haired girl, Erin, chided Tomoe in a sleepy voice, "You could'a gotten sick or somethin'. Colds really suck, y'know?" Erin Saito was probably one of the most striking looking of the group and probably wasn't the prettiest among the girls either. She was certainly the tallest among them, slightly taller than Lyn even, and she had very short brown hair. It was very easy to mistaken her for a boy if she didn't wear such striking, black lipstick and eyeliner. Among the girls, she was definitely the toughest and her tomboyish nature was without question. "Even today, y'see, you should wear a jacket over your uniform." Erin spun halfway left and right with her hands in the pockets of her black leather jacket to display it. It had a gleam to it, making her look like a delinquent. "If it starts rainin' again, yer clothes'll get all wet and you gunna get sick. Getting sick's not a good thing, that's for sure." Despite her intimidating appearance, though, Erin tended to be quite compassionate toward her friends.

"Like hell anybody's going to wear something like that to school," the blonde-haired girl, Akako, harshly remarked, "I'm feeling sick looking at it. Same with you're shoes, they're nothing like Rosa's, nothing like them at all!" Akako put her hands on her hips and put a foot out like Rosa was doing earlier, obviously trying to show off her own boots. They were small, tan and looked soft and had fully tops–clearly they were winter boots–and they looked nice. Rosa recognized them as the cheaper Supermart kind, however. Akako Hayashi was probably the closest girl to Rosa of them all, and that didn't just refer to her loyalty. Akako looked as if she were Rosa's slightly shorter, long-lost, Japanese sister. Her hair was dyed blonde, although it was shoulder length and in pigtails. She had very striking red lipstick on, even if Rosa didn't wear it. Still, where Akako didn't imitate Rosa in fashion, she imitated her in mannerism. She was often just as hostile, if not moreso, than Rosa and often imitated not just her interests and her attitude, but also some of Rosa's manerisms and even the way Rosa walked or stood. Indeed, she was the spitting image of what embodied Rosa, if not an exaggerated version of her, and she was Rosa's well known (and almost equally infamous) 'underboss'.

"Aw, stuff it, 'Ako," Erin grumbled, "At least I'm warm-ish." Erin looked Akako up and down. "Bet you would walk around naked in this cold if Rosa told you to." Akako gave her a death stare, but Erin couldn't help but grin as she held in a laugh. Akako simply huffed and turned her head, much like Rosa did when she was being slandered. "I would do that if I could," Tomoe added mischeviously, giggling between her fingers. Erin, Akako and even Lyndis all looked at her with an incredulous expression when she said that.

Lyn mentally chimed out of the conversation about describing the boots and missed most of the conversation. She literally stood right in next to the girls, physically there, but her mind wandered once again to different topics. Why did they all still have to where student uniforms? What will she eat for lunch? She was the type of girl to overthink topics which typically made her seem like an airhead. Focus was a skill she sometimes lacked if she's not engaged. Why are the girls talking about being naked? Her train of thoughts continued to roam. "Naked?!" Lyn blurted out loud with a shocked look upon her face. Her face reddened a bit at the mere thought of anyone beside herself being naked. "Girls, we shouldn't talk about those types of things in public!" she continued, "Why would we go around naked?"

Rosa, on the other hand, wasn't too happy by the fact that the attention of the conversation was turned away from her boots. That was the problem with stupid girls, they were as fickle as rodents. "How obscene," she muttered, "What are you, middle school boys?" Rosa looked at her circle of friends up and down. Airheaded Lyndis, mischevious Tomoe, boyish Erin and unlikeable Akako. They were all just ordinary high school girls, living about every day aimlessly and without ambition. They were never destined for greatness, not like Rosa. The only way they could become anything better was to be in the subordination of true leaders, true human beings, like Rosa. That was just the way Rosa liked them, imperfect dolls that were destined to have their will oppressed for the greater, or rather, more deserving good. By both blood and will did Rosa have the right to become truly great. These girls couldn't possibly ever hope to grasp this notion, nor did they care to. They were happy like this, after all. Nothing made Rosa feel more proud than ridding the burden of free will from those that recognized her authority.

Rosa was about to clear her throat and begin speaking when she was suddenly interrupted. Akako called, "Wah–What is that?!" Something suddenly caught the attention of the girls. "Holy crap," Erin remarked, "That's Yoh and his twin–in his underwear!" "We were just talking about being naked too!" Lyn chuckled. "What?" Rosa looked in the direction that the girls were looking in, and indeed, it was just as Erin had described. Two first-years were fighting each other on the wet ground of the entrance, and one of them was indeed in naught but his underpants. Rosa was flabbergasted.

"What?!"

Any other morning, he'd be in bed. Sadly, he had to work the previous night. So, after filling the tub with hot water, a soak was appropriate for when Joel got home. His body was hurting and he was sure the sore feeling would last until the end of the week. "Easy job. In and out. So much for that." He didn't even understand what the point of compromising with private military companies was. Then again, the last few meet and greets he attended seemed pointless. He wouldn't even call it pointless, but repetitive. Between being sent on jobs where he's told never to be the aggressor, his father was gone again. He didn't know how long it would be until he came back this time, but the guardians would find him eventually. He was kind of embarrassed that the man caused more trouble than he was worth, but couldn't deny he felt a type of love for the man.

Other than the morning bath that lasted a few hours before sunrise, the only task Joel had left was putting sports wrap around his ribs and leg and school. School wasn't really anything much to think about with either a sense worry or excitement. It was a place where he would spend four to eight hours depending on the day looking at a person talk while trying to write down what they say to the best of prowess. In other words, it was like a pointless game. Most people would call school a waste of time if they were in his shoes. Joel knows he doesn't have to be there. Why would he? He's part of the mafia. He can come across a couple thousand in about an hour if he sniffs hard enough. However, it wasn't as if Joel couldn't find a single reason to go to school. If the young man were to decide to stay home or go out and work for the family, sure he could contribute, but it wasn't as if they were doing much of anything anyway. At least at the school Joel could see the people whom he thought to be his more direct "family". With the younger generation, he was sure to make more of a difference for the family. It was a reason, but it didn't make school any less pointless for him.

He was mafia. He had no need for the pieces of paper that mold him for a normal life making crap money. Especially since anything that was below a half mil a year was crap money to him. Even if he wanted that type of life, the hours weren't worth it and the activities didn't suit his leisure. School was all the sitting writing and putting up with others he could handle. It was kind of annoying, but at the same time he could understand. How people could selfishly ask him "You want to be friends?" "You wanna go out sometime?" Meanwhile all he cares about is if they are part of the family or any family at all. It wasn't that he was the type to look down on people, it's just that he didn't want to hurt anyone. Kami forbid he bring someone down with him. He needed only strong people by his side. Either his family or someone with a family, but no one who isn't already part of this life.

It was a life indeed too. He smiled while thinking about it as he walked up the stares, arriving to school pretty early. He wore his shirt unbuttoned and never wore his tie so naturally like any other day his teacher talked to him about it. It was pointless trying to talk to him though as he glanced out the window and just nodded along, making the teacher sigh and curse the fact that Joel was actually a good student. Joel on the other hand was staring passionately at the window looking down at the group of kids gathered downstairs in the courtyard all fumbling and yelling. Surprise, surprise was all he think as he saw the two boys in the center.
"Looks like I'm going to have to quit my extra curricular activities and pick up a new one," he said, a smirk sliding across his face.

The fight didn't grab his attention, since the boys and crowd moved around too much, and he decided to walk the rest of the way to class.

While in class it seemed like the world would completely change. He didn't mind it. It just felt weird. Weird in the sense that he didn't feel like he was living in reality. These kids. They weren't even really kids anymore, thought they still walked like they had never been shot at, or cut, or blasted into mid air. They look like they hadn't even witnessed it. Times like these really had Joel wondering if the life he lived was the real one. Though he decided not to try to think to deep on the subject seeing as he'd have to take into account that there are gangs that don't have flames and families that aren't gangs. For now, he would just enjoy the peace. For this was peaceful.

---

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A tall man in his mid-thirties stood in the doorway of Aobane's room. It was a little disorganized, but not enough to be considered a mess. The mismatched curtains were parted slightly, the morning sun lighting up the equally mismatched bed that set again the wall. A couple boxes remained in the corner, never unpacked properly since Aobane came to Namimori three years before.

"Already gone, huh?" Genso, Aobane's uncle, said lazily. He leaned against the doorway and scratched the back of his head, clearly tired from his security shift the night before. Three years since his older sister had suddenly called him on the phone after not talking for ages and asked him to let her son that he'd only seen baby pictures of live with him for some time. He let out a sigh and left the room to make his way to the kitchen. He thought he'd be able to at least see Aobane off that morning, but it looked like the kid had left early. "Well, maybe tomorrow."

◾ ◾ ◾

"You're here early, Aobane-san!"

Aobane looked up from the screen of his cell, giving a cheerful smile to the female student who'd approached him. She belonged to the class across from his, but he'd spoken to her many times before, as he had with nearly everyone at Namimori High. "Hiya, Miyu-chan! I though I'd surprise everyone." He put his cell away and turned in his chair slightly, crossing one leg over the other. "They'll walk in and I'll be sitting like this all cool like, and then I can look at them and go," as he spoke he placed his elbow on the desk, pausing a moment as he rested his cheek against his fist and narrowed his eyes towards the class doors, "What took you so long? Heh, guess that goes to show how much faster I am."

Miyu let out a small laugh before crossing her arms over her chest and leaning her weight onto one leg. "That posture isn't cool at all, though."

"You don't think so!? But I spent hours studying super villains from spy movies just to get it right!" Aobane said in a tone of disbelief, though he smiled again as Miyu chuckled at him. He unfolded his legs and straightened his back against his seat. To be honest, he really only decided to come to school early because he'd woken up an hour before his alarm would go off. His online friends were busy or sleeping when he woke up, and with nothing else to do he thought he'd have an early start. Unfortunately the school was pretty much empty when he showed up, but he was able to spend some time with the teachers and even ran a few errands for them before he made his way to the classroom. Thankfully students were finally arriving now and he wouldn't be sitting alone scrolling through anime blogs. Not that that wasn't also enjoyable, but after barely talking to anyone for almost two hours he was starting to get really bored.

"Something's happening outside!" A male student said loudly, stopping in the doorway only long enough to make his vague announcement before rushing to the next classroom. Aobane tilted his head for a second before looking at Miyu whose expression showed nothing but confusion. He turned himself in his seat to look out the window his desk sat by. Having a full view of the courtyard from the second floor, it didn't take long for him to see that something had stirred the students outside. He wasn't very concerned at first, but once he caught sight of two familiar bodies tumbling across the ground he shot up from his seat, nearly knocking the chair over, and leaned his forehead against the window, placing his hands on the glass as he did so.

"H-Haku!?" There was his middle school friend, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers in the the chilly month of October, tangled with his twin in some sort of brawl. Had Yoh pranked his brother somehow that resulted in Haku being almost nude? That didn't seem plausible, but there weren't any other reasons that Aobane could think of that would explain how someone like Haku could suddenly be fighting with his twin at school, and in his underwear no less.

"U-Underwear!?" Miyu questioned as she also watched the sight from the window. Aobane stepped away and gave the girl a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head nervously as he spoke. "Hah, it looks like somebody doesn't know where to draw the line with dares, huh? I'll go look so you should stay here."

Before the girl could reply he turned away and ran out of the classroom, hurrying past a few other students as he made his way to the stairs that lead to the first floor. Once he made it outside, not bothering to switch out his indoor shoes with the one's he'd walked to school in, he stopped a few feet in front of the school building entrance just in time to watch his boxer shorts friend and his brother crash into a small group of female students. Unfortunately, these weren't just any female students..

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"I trust both of your judgments, you both are my children and his as well."

Rousing from the realm of unconsciousness, those moon blossoms known as eyes were revealed as the curtains rose. They held a flicker of emptiness before regaining the semblance of a soul. "Princess." The voice brought her to affirm the environment around her as it landed on the figure of an elderly gentleman maneuvering the black sedan she was currently in. "We are still a long way. May I suggest to continue your rest if you are tired. I shall wake you once we have arrived." His tone was fatherly towards her as it also held the unrelenting respect. Her line of sight changed its direction towards the rear-view mirror where she met the look filled with concern for her well-being. "You need not worry about me, Hiroshi-san. I have rested well enough." She answered with a small smile decorating her lips, alighting her eyes with the sliver of assurance.

That is right even within the Himemiya Household, her long absences had been accounted towards a fragile health. It was not far from the truth and held the string of truth, but it was still a lie. She does not feel any comfort in knowing that it was done for the good. She would have wanted the truth be divulged, but this was the word of her mother and so, it shall be. "Still, thank you for your concern. I truly appreciate it. If possible, please do stop calling me Princess. I am still embarassed being called that." Hiroshi gave a smile showing his joyful acceptance of her gratitude and also the admiration for her humility after so, focused on driving her to the intended location she must be. It had been a long time since she had returned to Namimori High. She had heard that changes are afoot, but she does not fear or condemn it. That is but a normal cycle that all life must experience, though, she has one specific concern.

"Hiroshi-san, have you heard anything about Ani?" She asked her question with the air of care and the hint of hesitation as she looked at her hands now resting upon her lap. Hiroshi knew as to who was the young lady was referring to. It was none other than the one known as the prodigal son of the Himemiya and her older twin brother... "Mamoru-sama, I believe is fine. Though, I have heard he had gain quite the notorious reputation, but he seemed to be doing his classwork." The latter had made her raise her eyes to look at Hiroshi. She had known her twin to surpass the word stubborn and would not attend classes. It is a good thing to see him participate, but what caused it? "I am glad to hear that, but I do wonder for his change of heart." He completely understood what the young lady meant. "I believe that the answer shall be waiting for you once we arrive at Namimori High, Pr---" He was unable to continue as he was urged by the strong yet gentle reprimand brought by her gaze. "Yume-sama."

The added honorific was not needed, but it will do as she smiled at this with a soft elegance, showing her approval and also gratitude for the answer.

"Never forget everything, keep it all within your dreams."

Her arrival at Namimori High was quite early, as it was to be since the residence she was staying out was rather far. That is why when Hiroshi opened the door for her to step out. There were but a few students about, yet they could not help but stare at her. Others have faint blushes upon their cheeks. She was clad pristinely in the school's winter uniform, showing a slender yet elegant frame. Her hair of coal black like a starless sky was left unbound trailing behind her like silk strands. Her porcelain white skin was spotless with those silver eyes like the enchanting moon. She was a vision and the incarnate of a Yamato Nadeshiko without doubt.

Yume stood there for a moment. It was quiet with a weather befitting of after a rain. Her eyes looked at the sky and noticed the the clouds loomed over them with such a sad disposition. "Is there something wrong, Yume-sama?" She looked at Hiroshi and gave a small smile. "It is nothing. I will be fine here on my own. I shall see you later Hiroshi-san." The elderly gentleman who wore an attire specific of a butler bowed his head in understanding. "Of course, have a wonderful day, Yume-sama." When that was done, she made her way through the grounds as the newer students who have not seen her before were curious. Others who do greeted her in familiar respect, she returned it with finesse and warmth.

There are no notable changes as far as she could observe, but then again it is still a bit early. In any case, she had been informed beforehand to stop at the Principal's Office to arrange some last minute paperwork in regards to the long leave of absence she took from school. Once there, she was assisted promptly and even had a small discussion with the Principal if she was fine now and also a bit about her twin. She of course apologized for the problems caused by her brother's personality and assured that she was also fine now. The short meeting soon ended as she left the Principal's Office, but it was still early as she stopped briefly to look through the windows by the hallway overlooking the school entrance. It was only just now that the students are pooling in.

New faces are about the crowd, but she could not see the one face she wanted to see the most. "Onii-sama..." She muttered under her breath, before proceeding in her walk. She should return to her classroom and must not dally anymore. She had been absent for too long now. But, she was frozen in place as she sensed something. Her eyes returned to the school entrance and saw a figure blazing in flames. That is how she sees it through her eyes and had assessed it to be Ieharu who soon collided with Ieyoshi, the Sawada Twins. She could hear the murmurs and interest of the school body around her at what was happening, especially when Ieharu was only seen in his underwear.

"Was it going to begin now?" The question echoed within her head as she stood there observing the various spectrum she could see. If that was so, Yume knew what she must do as she removed herself from the windows and continued down the hall. The school bell will probably ring soon, so she must go to her classroom now, but deep in her thoughts... "Please keep them safe..." Spoken with such sincere concern through a whisper that the wind took and blew to nothingness.

In a flock of pandemonium, the school’s temporary aviary fled the grounds and rose into the sky – their escape witnessed by nearly none of the students, for they were all too focused on the most popular pastime which so happened to be sloppy, unadulterated violence. A cord was struck within her, something she ignored gracefully like many other things, and tearing her eyes away from the common birds (they had previously been her morning entertainment, but not any longer) she looked to the commotion including the famous (infamous?) Sawada twins.

Instinctively she placed her clenched fists over her skirt, keeping the material stuck to her thighs, and even if it may be unnecessary it had become habit after boarded the crowded trains of Tokyo far too many times. “This reminds me of something…” Mayu muttered, clutching her schoolbag of fake leather even tighter, her lips (lightly glossed) pressed together in her pause of recollection. “A manga?” Her voice rose, believing she had found the answer, and she nodded with a grin – proud of herself because this was definitely like Gintama or One Piece! …However, something was left to be desired, yet she couldn’t name the missing piece…maybe the twins needed to be taller? More muscular?

The images popped in her head in succession, welcomed with a grimace (the seven foot tall Sawada twins loomed over her within her imagination, their oversized biceps glistening with a day’s worth of sweat).

…May that day never come.

Shaking away the nightmare, Mayu forced herself back into reality, and was immediately throttled with a million words commenting on the fight including the various bets taking place in the background – and for once it seemed that Haku had some devout believers. “Good for him.” She spoke again to herself, forgetting that it wasn’t particularly normal to do when in public, and looked to the closet voice that she could recognize, belonging to Lala-lalala, who was as beautiful as she was confusing (to clarify, it was immensely, as confirmed by the general student population. seriously, who didn’t fancy Lala Wakahisa? Or Yume Hibari, or Lyndis Kyori, or Rosa Kuromaku, or … hey, doesn’t this school just have a lot of cute girls, plain and simple?).

“It certainly is, Lala-lalala-chan.” Mayu replied, chipper and lively, as if a small canary had been jammed down her throat and was influencing the tone of her voice – meanwhile, her words took on a life of their own, but she could stress about that later. “I got here early – I had morning practice! – and watched it all happen. A lot of people are saying that Haku has finally snapped, being the ‘runt’ or ‘fetus-twin’ and all, and is finally going to get revenge by mental-breakdown-killing Yoh.” Explaining in nearly a single breath, she inhaled deeply, puffing out her chest for a moment, before letting all the oxygen out in an exaggerated sigh. “…So they’ll probably be fine, right?” Ending with a question, she smiled at The Duchess, abandoning her train of thought completely, and proceeding with doing absolutely nothing to stop the mindless violence.

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❁█❁No matter what the conundrum was blooming within that head of hers, Lala was smitten undeniably by the melodic attachment calling of her name. Those vivid eyes of red landed without pause upon the image of what she had known as... "Mayu-chan!" Her eyes curved into that of delight as the rumble and tumble of the twins had been whisked away from her immediate reality. Yes, like that of the weather, she was fickle as a fly, and she was bit dizzy due to her watching the roll... roll... roll... That's why the appearance of Mayu was well-appreciated."Ohayo!" Her lips matched that brightness of her eyes with that cordial smile.

The pink-haired girl before her was a frequent tickle to her senses, which she had never gathered as anything logical, but a transient feeling, a haunting which makes her tremble within. There was like static running its course through her body. Usually, this would imply that she must make herself scarce. There was also the inkling that there was something treacherous behind that canary-like cheer being presented. Her instincts directed her to such signs, yet she does not listen. The only thing which makes her resistant, to what her inner voices say, is the fact that she likes Mayu and that alone is simply enough for her to let everything be swept under the rug.

In any case, the Megaman slide, or rather the lively event had been described to her in a very interesting manner. There was Haku being described as a runt and a fetus within one sentence. An image flashed inside her thoughts, combining those two traits. Somehow, the vision turned out to be a miniature Godzilla with an awesome top of hair of course with Haku's face plastered via scotch tape. There was also Yoh wearing Joker's suit with the head of the Colonel, while yelling, that he wants apple milk. Somehow, she could not help but allow her thoughts wander, just a bit more. Those red eyes lit as she mentally traveled into the landscape of her making as it was leading her to the sprinkle-topped mountain of paper flowers. Yes, she was getting further and further until, she was snapped into the firm grip of reality, by the sound of a gusting wind courtesy by Mayu.

Like a butterfly's wings, her eyes fluttered regaining the consciousness of her current environment. There she was again off to her personal, La-La Land. Thinking back on what was said, she started to comprehend it at a proper pace and showed light concern for the younger girl. "Are you all right, Mayu-chan? There's no need to rush! I'm not going anywhere." She stretched her arms forward and then placed both of her hands on Mayu's shoulders. "But, thank you for telling me!" She patted the younger girl's shoulders in a friendly manner, before turning her head to the direction where Haku and Yoh should be. There was quite a crowd around them, that it was somehow impossible to get a clear view unless she squeezes herself along the thin gaps, and really, she wasn't keen on getting her uniform crumpled in the struggle to assert her curiosity. She could just take a look later online since, she could hear snaps of cameras and some of the students waving their phones around. This was turning quite into a circus. It made her wonder where the teachers are at this moment or the school staff.

"Hmm, I think they'll be fine." She said in assurance as her gaze returned to pink-haired girl, accompanied by a cheerful smile. These were the Sawada twins after all and she had heard that they were strong in their own right. Then, she remembered the image of Haku in only his underwear. Well, they might not be strong on that aspect "Physically perhaps, not sure about mentally though." Her voice was wrapped with the hint of hesitation, but just a bit. That earned her concern as her face that was a perpetuity of carefree fun, altered into that of worry. Letting her emotions swirl around, she removed her hands on Mayu's shoulder and instead made a cross with the arms over her chest. She was in a moment of thought of what she must be done. "I think I should check on them in any case." Somehow, she has a bad feeling. What could it might be?

She took a couple of deep breaths as she readied herself to plunge into the throng of people. It was rather adorable as her arms were now positioned as a makeshift pump for air, a representation of her imagination of course. Once, she was able to make certain that she was prepared for the hurdle she was about to enter, she stood properly and even straightened her back as a reflection of her determination. "I'll see you later, Mayu-chan!" She stated with a smile and began to move away from Mayu.

Her lithe walk changed into that of a light jog while waving at Mayu with her evanescent brightness and once she was satisfied. Her attention returned to what was before her as she lowered her hand and made an assessment of how to enter the crowd. This also reminded her of something.... That's right! She has yet to see Rosa and the others. Somehow, she could not help but laugh inwardly with a tone awkwardness. She has this feeling that Rosa might not be in the best of moods. She stopped for a moment and looked at the sky above and then to the ground where there were still some puddles, a proof of the dreary rain yesterday. Rosa was not fond of such weather. Hopefully, there would be little things that would raise her irritation. Now, that makes her wonder what she should do first... Check the twins or go look for Rosa and the others, and while she does so...

There was this foreboding feeling as she managed to catch a sliver of what it could probably pertain to as her eyes zoned in. "O.. Oh.."

When Ieharu came to his senses, several thoughts occurred to him nearly simultaneously. For one, he was virtually surrounded by a gaggle of students from his school. Some looked on with shock, others were shouting and screaming like fans at a sporting event, and others still were laughing uncontrollably. That tied directly into some other thoughts: he was at school. He was naked, save for his boxers—surely a gift of mercy from a higher power. He was also on top of Ieyoshi, his own traitorous fist raised into the air, though he didn't quite remember how it got there—

Suddenly, it all came flooding back to him. Godot! He'd shot him! Tried to kill him! And then he... he...

Elsewhere in the crowd, Enn stopped cheering. A disappointed look crossed his face, and he turned dejectedly towards Ryuu and Damien. "Aww, Haku's flame's gone out... that sucks!" The flame on Ieharu's head was disappearing now, and while it was going Ieharu looked less and less like he was going to murder his brother, which was boring. Though maybe Ieyoshi would kill Ieharu instead, and the fight would continue! Enn brightened up at the thought, his head turning back towards the fight. "Think Yoh'd kill Haku now?"

Damien was still awestruck by the events transpiring before his eyes. For the past couple of minutes his hands were locked tightly together while he remained standing, frozen in time, only able to watch. He didn't quite hear Enn's question. Ryuu, on the other hand, turned his head so fast it could have caused whiplash. "WHAT?!"

Ieharu's eyes widened as the last five minutes of his life replayed in his head in the span of a few seconds. Slowly, his gaze drooped until his eyes met his brother's, or at least would have met his brother's had Ieyoshi had his eyes open. Instead, the twin had his eyes closed, his upper lip twitching a bit, as if he were fighting to hold something back. Ieharu recognized that look all too well, gulping loudly. He didn't have much time to make this right.

"Uh, Y-Yoh... haha," his nervous chuckle only exaggerated his forced, toothy smile. When his brother didn't react, Ieharu continued, stuttering uncontrollably, abject terror having entered his expression. "Uh, n-now I know this is go-go..." He licked his lips, sweat beating atop his head. "... going to be hard to believe, but Godo—"

Ieyoshi exhaled loudly. To Ieharu, a dragon may as well have exhaled smoke from its nostrils, preparing itself for the coming barbeque. Just then, Ieyoshi opened his eyes. Very slowly. Very purposefully. His glowing amber-orange irises bored relentlessly into his brother's. Ieharu flinched involuntarily, his fist for some reason still in the air where he'd left it. Both boys eyes shifted to it at the same time. For his part, Ieyoshi still emanated a boring type of serenity. His expression was cold, even colder than usual. A typical person might mistake that for a calm mind. Ieharu knew much better, and he didn't have much longer to fix this before things got really bad. Perhaps he could continue to talk his way out of this?

"Uh—"

"Wow," called the jittery girl, Tomoe Tachibana, interrupting Ieharu in this most pivotal moment. "It's a fight!" The short second-year girl skipped toward the two, an unmistakable pink-colored BluScreen band in hand. "Mind looking over here, boys?" Slowly, Ieharu's gaze drifted over his shoulder and off a meter or so to the side. There always seemed to be some bad news to be had when he found himself looking over his shoulder. Not far behind him was something that he recognized as far more terrifying than just any ordinary highschool girl with a phone. It was them, that infamous group of second-years that everybody had come to know. Many thought of them with mixed feelings, but as far as Ieharu was concerned, they were the group to be feared most in life, bar none. Some knew them as the "Dolls," but many knew them as Queen Rosa and her most loyal subjects.

"Why, this looks like a disruption to the peace of the school," the lieutenant, Akako Hayashi, spoke aloud, "Isn't it, Rosa?" She had the look of a hyena, with a sneer that shook one in their shoes. The Queen, Rosa, appeared to hesitate for a second, frowning. Many eyes were on her, including Ieharu's, and her Dolls waited to see what she would say. Rosa swallowed, and then smirked. She chuckled, but this chuckle broke into a wretched laugh, one that seemed to drain any who heard it of all hope.

Rosa caught herself, putting her hand over her mouth and clearing her throat. Rosa took another step forward so she was in full attention, avoiding a puddle on the ground. "Oi, Rosa," an intimidating punk girl, Erin Saito, asked in a low voice "What are you gonna do?" Rosa merely opened up her handbag and took a long, flat device out. Then, she declared her intentions with one word:

"Paparazzi!"

All at once, several members of the crowd, loyal to Rosa or not, took out whatever mobile device they had and began taking pictures of the boys, mainly the half-nude Ieharu, from just about every angle. Rosa's girl, Tomoe, called out, "Say cheese!"

At first, Ieharu was confused. What, exactly, were they taking pictures of? That's when he looked down at himself. Right. He was naked, save his boxers. Okay.

It took a moment to click.

They were taking pictures of him!

The word "okay" just kept repeating in his head as he sit there, frozen, his fist still in the air, unable to decide what to do next. The thought of having his picture taken while he was in nothing but his boxers was too terrible a thought to contend with. He could almost feel the infinite flashes of the various cameras against his bare skin. After only a few seconds, he screwed his eyes shut. It was his default defensive maneuver, after all, when he was unsure how to move forward in a situation.

"Ieharu." When Ieyoshi spoke, his voice was much more grave than usual, emphasis on grave. Ieharu flinched again, forcing him to open one eye. For a moment, he'd almost forgotten about his brother, whom he was practically sitting on top of. The two shared an relatively comfortable silence then. "Comfortable" compared to the camera snaps and the laughing that surrounded them, anyhow. Though this entire situation confused him, the one thing he could count on to be familiar and predictable was his twin brother. Unfortunately, Ieharu had a feeling that what would come next would be anything but comfortable for him.

When Ieyoshi spoke, his next words came out very suddenly. It was undoubtedly a command, and it was absolute. "Get off of me."

Before he even finished his sentence, Ieyoshi brought his leg out from under Ieharu's lower body, cocked it at the knee, and smashed his heel into the boy's chest. From an outside perspective, it was a very clean maneuver. Succinct, orderly, with a professional delivery honed by several years of experience with back alley scrapping.

For Ieharu, of course, it was little more than pain incarnate, his momentary comfort shattered into a million pieces. Unable to control his trajectory, he practically flew backward, his skinny body colliding full force with the person standing not a meter away. With Rosa. The Rosa. The collision took the girl's legs out from under her, forcing her to fall backwards. She yelped in surprise. Unfortunately for them both, there was a shallow yet particularly large puddle of water waiting to catch her earthly plunge.

The result wasn't pretty. Rosa—Queen Rosa—flailed for a moment before falling straight into the puddle.

Ieharu avoided any water damage, landing on solid ground barely a few inches before the pool of dirty rainwater. Honestly? He saw stars. Fuzzy spherical blobs of light dotted his vision as the poor boy struggled to his feet, haggard coughs bursting violently from his throat, his small diaphragm struggling to catch a breath.

Yes, this is about what he expected. Ieyoshi never went anything but hard when it came to scuffles.

From where he lay, Ieyoshi blinked a couple of times, his instant of anger evaporating. As he did so, he also noticed that the sound of camera flashes, that incessant click click click, had ceased as well. A particularly annoying thought struck him at that moment, but he pushed it aside, to be dealt with later. For now, someone had their hand in his face, and he was too busy trying to calm himself to really pay attention to what they'd said, but after a moment it came back to him.

"Are you alright?"

Ieyoshi had never heard this voice before. Looking over, he realized he didn't recognize the face either. The person standing above him couldn't have been older than him. He looked petite, short, with tufts of uncharacteristically vivid blue hair poking out under a particularly large hood. It was obvious he was trying to hide his hair beneath the fabric, a choice Ieyoshi didn't particularly understand. Now, Ieyoshi had a good memory. At least, that's what he told himself. He may not remember people's names, but he could certainly recognize any face he'd seen before. This person didn't look like one of the second or third years, and he was fairly sure he'd at least seen all the first years once at the very least. So who was this kid?

Ieyoshi shook his head, dismissing the train of thought. Whatever. It didn't matter now anyway. He accepted the boy's outstretched hand, offering his thanks in the form of a nod. He could have gotten to his feet of his own accord, but this manner of kindness would not be forgotten.

At around the same time, the other twin, Ieharu, got to his feet, both hands holding his chest, where he'd been kicked. His soft amber-orange eyes darted up to meet Ieyoshi's for but a moment before darting to either side, eyeing the crowd of people. Ieyoshi knew better than anyone that his brother didn't do well in crowds. Without wasting another moment, Ieyoshi cleared the distance between them. After a second, the twins stood side-by-side. Unfortunately for them, the others had begun to snap pictures again. Some were even capturing video, holding their phones above their heads and laughing.

"I'm sorry, Yoh," Ieharu muttered, his eyes downcast. "I'm so sorry."

Ieyoshi didn't respond. Instead, he simply started unbuttoning his jacket. In an instant, the article of clothing found its way on top of Ieharu's head. "Put that on," Ieyoshi commanded, his hands moving now to his own belt buckle.

"Yoh, wait, what are you doing?!" Ieharu protested, but again Ieyoshi didn't respond. In a second, he'd slipped out of his shoes and pants, the latter of which also ended up on Ieharu's head.

"You take the shoes, I keep the socks," he began, "you take the pants, I keep the underwear. You take the jacket, I keep the shirt. Sound fair?"

Ieharu stared for a moment, completely nonplussed, as his brother somehow made standing in your underwear in front of a crowd of people look like a fashion shoot. How did he look so damn confident, even now? Even in this situation? The moment of shock didn't last long, however. Graciously accepting the gifts of clothing, Ieharu slipped on the articles and mashed his somewhat dirty feet into his brother's shoes.

Now it was Ieyoshi who was partially naked. His boxers were black with yellow letters that read "I'M BATMAN, BITCH" across the back. One of the so-called "paparazzi" of students saw this and decided to snap a picture with his phone. Unfortunately, he didn't realize he was well within arm's reach of Ieyoshi when he did.

Ah, that's right. The annoying thought from earlier. It was time to deal with it.

When Ieharu saw that grin part his brother's face, the one he called the "supervillain smirk," he looked over at the other boy, the one with the camera, a silent prayer running through his mind.

The boy seemed to notice it too, because he gave Ieyoshi a somewhat innocent look, his eyes growing wide, the Sawada twin seemingly towering over him. Suddenly, Ieyoshi sprung into action, grabbing the boy by the collar with one hand, pulling him close. As if executing a dance, Ieyoshi's other hand, fingers balled into a fist, were waiting right there to meet the boy's face. Again and again Ieyoshi punched him. His fist came back with blood after the first hit. After the third, it was clear that Ieyoshi had broken the boy's nose, his every fist fall met with a small misty plume of crimson. With the fifth, there were cries from the crowd for him to stop. And so he did. Not because they told him to, of course, but he'd planned to strike the boy five times. Not four. Not six. Five would do. Five would send a message.

The boy had gone limp in his hands, so Ieyoshi dropped him, his body crumpling to the ground. He then bent down and picked up the boy's phone. The beaten kid had dropped it after the second punch.

Ieyoshi eyed it for a moment. It was a fairly new model of the BluScreen. A very nice phone. Very expensive, especially on a high schooler's budget. Excellent. This would make for a perfect example.

Seeing the look on Ieyoshi's face, Ryuu's eyes widened. He dashed forwards, weaving through the crowd towards the Sawada twin and, more importantly, the student he'd just had in his death grip. "Oh Shit—"

A grin came on Damien's face after witnessing Ieyoshi's usual and heavily choreographed flare for the dramatic. It was truly tempting to wreak havoc on these students for laughing at the twins and taking pictures; however, if he started fighting, then he wouldn't be able to manage as much restraint as Ieyoshi just had. Breaking the bones of his entire class probably wouldn't look good on his student record, either.

A small gust of wind touched Damien's face, his hair swaying ominously in the breeze. He slowly shifted his gaze, realizing that the individual next to him, Ryuu, had started heading towards where Ieyoshi stood. Nope. That wasn't allowed. "You see, Yoh is pretty busy here," he said as he bent over in a track athlete's running stance. He visualized a track, a referee pointing a gun in the air counting down. "He doesn't need any interruptions." Three, two, one. Like an olympic sprinter, he surged forward and within a fraction of a second he expertly maneuvered through a space between Ryuu and another student that had just opened up. He shifted his weight to rotate his entire body, extending his right hand forward with his palm facing Ryuu. He felt the weight of the opposing boy's chest as Ryuu's momentum came to a grinding halt. He followed up by digging his feet into the ground, forcing Ryuu backwards. "Back off," he commanded.

"Fuck you, no," Ryuu snarled, eyes narrowing in a glare at the teen blocking him. His glare shifted towards Ieyoshi an instant later, and he attempted to shove Damien to the side, but it was too late. Ieyoshi chucked the phone across the school's perimeter fence with all of his might, said fence being located a dozen or so meters behind the crowd. He hurled it with such force that it smashed into the window of a parked car on the other side of the street. The small device exploded into pieces of metal, electronics, and graphene. In response, the car's alarm started blaring in the relative distance. It was like background music to Ieyoshi. Its chaotic qualities paralleled his mood quite well.

Ryuu cursed. One did not simply smash a phone like that, dammit! His glare shifted to Damien, angry at the teen for blocking him.

Ieyoshi turned his head to the left, the small bones in his neck shifting with it, emitting several soft crack!s in quick succession as the crowd looked on, some clearly in abject terror. Ieyoshi couldn't see a single phone pointed in his or Ieharu's direction any longer.

Good. He widened his grin into a sneer, none of its warmth or depth doing anything to defrost the chill emanating from his eyes and he stared at individual members of the crowd. When one of them dared to meet his eyes, he snapped, just as he'd rehearsed in the mirror. Ah yes, it was finally time for the coup de grace.

He shook his entire upper body with the force of his next word, spittle flying from his mouth, his expression ravenous. "FUCK—" It had the intended effect. The people closest to him literally jumped backwards, as if he were a ghoul. He didn't miss a beat, continuing his thought. "—you lookin' at?"

That's when people stopped looking at him. Good. Only a short blonde haired student continued to glare, eyes shifting from Damien to Ieyoshi and back, but the Sawada twin paid him little attention.

He looked down at the kid he'd accosted, his voice icy. "I better not see any fucking pictures, or I'll fucking break you." His words were simple. They weren't outlining a threat. They were explaining an inescapable reality. Without further ado, Ieyoshi turned on his heel, the move as elegant as a leaf twirling in the breeze, and began walking towards the main school building. Honestly, he didn't care if they kept taking pictures. He didn't care if they talked. He didn't care that he was in his favorite batman undies. These were all meaningless trivialities to him. But Ieharu cared. And if they were to make his brother feel inadequate or ashamed or embarrassed, they might as well be assaulting him, too. That's how it worked with twins, after all. They were bound by something thicker than friendship, or family, or even blood. Ieyoshi thought of his brother as an extension of himself, and a part of his core being. Attacks on the Sawada twins would simply not be tolerated. Not without swift and, if he had anything to do with it, very violent retaliation.

As he strolled, as leisurely as one would through a park, Ieyoshi lost interest in whatever schoolyard foolishness was transacting behind his back. People had gotten the message, certainly.

They'd think twice before acting foolish around his family.

With the tail ends of his black batman boxers picking up with the wind, he made his way to up the steps towards the large double doors that constituted the school's main entryway.

For his part, Damien took Ieyoshi walking away as his cue to leave as well. Ryuu's attempt to push past him was admirable, but it just wasn't gonna happen so long as Damien drew breath. He merely leaned into Ryuu's strength, overriding it with his own and forcing the other boy backwards, inch by inch. Damien couldn't help the smirk that creased his lower countenance. In this contest of toughness, it was clear who the victor was. "Step back." He ordered once again, his tone unyielding. He gave Ryuu a light shove. It was light by Damien's standards, but the other boy ended up shuffling backwards a few steps and colliding with another one of the students in the crowd. He hadn't meant to be so rough, but oh well. Losing interest, Damien turned ran up to join his friend, turning to face the opposite direction as he did, his eyes trained at the crowd. He was walking backwards up the stairs at this point, his balance excellent.

Ryuu growled under his breath and started to run towards them, but it was to no avail.

"That's all folks," Damien announced, reaching in a pouch alongside his jeans. He grabbed two circular gray balls the size of marbles from it, brought his arm up, and slammed the balls to the ground. A plume of smoke immediately sprung up and spread over the area, the coughs of the students ringing out through the air like the end of a rap album. Ryuu screeched to a halt, not wanting to enter the smokescreen.

Ieharu watched the two make their gaudy exit, half-way relieved, half-way horrified, and infinitely thankful to his brother for the gift of clothing. Without thinking, the now-clothed boy rushed over to the student that had the misfortune of crossing his brother's wrathful gaze. He better than anyone knew how bad things could get when his brother decided to play rough.

To be frank, there was blood everywhere, and Ieharu wasn't quite sure how to proceed. He began to panic, gnawing on his lower lip, wondering if the poor guy would die.

"Haku!" Aobane called, waving to his friend as he pushed through the crowd. Ieharu looked up at the sound of a familiar voice calling his name. When he saw who it was, he couldn't help but smile. With such a familiar face to help, things would be okay now. Aobane slowed his pace as he approached his friend, whom was now mostly clothed in his brother's uniform. Though Aobane couldn't see much from where he had stood behind the crowd that had accumulated around the scene, once he managed to place himself beside Ieharu, he narrowed his eyes slightly in the direction of the crowd that parted quickly to allow the other Sawada through. Clearly none of the other students wanted to be near him, and by the looks of Yoh's bloodied fist and the poor sap who lay on the ground with crimson liquid still flowing from his nose, they had good reason to.

Aobane continued to watch him with a frown for a few moments, but then turned his attention back to Ieharu and placed his hands on each of the boy's shoulders. "Are you okay? What was that all about? Or... well... I think more importantly right now..." Aobane began, his brows furrowed, with the concern in his voice rather clear. "We should get Chitose to the nurse. I mean, like right now."

He let out a small, nervous laugh as he removed one hand from Haku's shoulder and pointed in the direction of the so-called Queen whom Ieharu had crashed into only a short while ago. Ieharu got the message, nodding once in agreement. Aobane turned then, leaning down beside the injured Namimori student and lifting him into a sitting position, pulling one of the boy's arms over his shoulder. "Better get him to the nurse! Let's go, Haku!" he said with a small smile, though there was a slight but unmistakable tone of urgency in his voice as he looked up at his friend.

Ieharu followed Aobane's example, taking the injured boy's other arm over his shoulder and attempting to lift, but when he did so, pain exploded from his chest, nearly causing him to stumble and drop the already-injured student.

"Ow," Ieharu hissed, wincing. Aobane gave his friend a wide-eyed, worried expression. Had he gotten hurt when him and his brother were fighting? He hadn't been standing in the right spot to get a full view of brawl, but it wouldn't come as a shock to Aobane if Ieyoshi had gone a little too hard on his brother. "Sorry." Ieharu couldn't help but grin goofily, feeling somewhat dumb. "I think I might not be so okay."

Ryuu coughed away the last of the smoke, a dark scowl on his face. The rational part of his brain was wondering where the hell Damien got smoke bombs from, but the larger more angry part of his brain was threatening to take over to run after the disappearing duo in order to beat the shit out of them. The theatrics reminded him of memories from long ago, and when Sawada's lackey blocked Ryuu the feeling of helplessness and rage felt terribly similar to back then. He gritted his teeth at the feeling, angry with himself for not stopping it, although how could he, when it happened so fast? He hadn't felt that way for a long time.

Not that it mattered now. Ryuu closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, forcing rage and other disturbing thoughts away and locking them in the back of his mind, allowing rational thought to resume its reign. Running after them wouldn't help a damn thing, and he wasn't going to be able to win in a two on one battle, either. He also had no idea where they were anyway, and, like it or not, Ryuu knew that Ieyoshi had the right to retaliate. Breaking a phone and a car was going a bit far, though. Still, there were too many things to consider, like the fact that he'd been protecting his twin brother.

Ryuu forced his attention elsewhere, thinking about the injured student. Right now, he should just do whatever he could, like bring the student to the nurse's office and check if the kid's phone was salvageable.

Tension fading from his body, Ryuu let out what sounded like a sigh and moved towards the two students—Aobane and the younger Sawada twin, the who was pretty much the cause of the whole fucking mess—pausing on the way to collect his bag and hitch it over his shoulder. He was trying his very hardest to ignore the sour taste the whole ordeal left in his mouth as he approached.

Bring the student to the nurse's office, then check up on the phone before class starts. Right. He could do that.

"I can help," he offered gruffly, coming to a stop beside the three boys.

"Ryuu!" Aobane exclaimed a little louder than necessary, relieved to have his classmate come to the rescue. Ryuu gently took the injured boy's arm—Chitose, wasn't that his name?—from Ieharu and pulled it over his shoulders instead.

Ieharu was thankful for this, though the other student, Aobane called him "Ryuu," seemed to radiate an aura of anger that was a bit scary. All the while, he forgot about the person he'd accidentally rammed into. He'd forgot all about Queen Rosa...

---

---

Roni slipped on a pair of spandex shorts and rolled up her skirt. Sure it was below the standard length but she had on shorts underneath. If no one could see her panties what was the problem? Really. It was as if people were just looking for a problem to complain about. Twisting her hair tightly, she maneuvered it into a bun and went to work on taming her bangs in front of the bathroom vanity. "Hun?" Her godmother's voice rang out through the small home. Roni hummed in response as she was busy holding her barrettes between her lips. "Ah, there you are." Tsubaki popped into the doorway of the bathroom and gave her goddaughter a hasty kiss on the cheek. "I'm heading out. Don't be late to school, and make sure Jett doesn't skip. Have a great day!" She told her before making a mad dash out of the door.

Finishing up her hair, Roni had just enough time to call out, "'Kay. Love you!" before the front door slammed shut. Sashaying into the kitchen she slid some waffles into the toaster and bacon onto the stove. "Jett! Syrup or powdered sugar?" She yelled as loudly as she could.

Jett was jolted from his sleep by the piercing sound and sat up groggily, his blanket sliding down his bare torso to his waist. He grumbled unintelligibly as he glanced at the time on his phone. They did not have to be at school for another hour and even then they would be early. So why the fuck was she screaming like a banshee to wake him up? It took him all of six minutes to get ready in the mornings anyways.

He had only been awake for two minutes and already found a reason to frown. With his brow furrowed, Jett stood up and threw his covers back onto the bed haphazardly. Making his way into the bathroom silently, another yell resounded from the kitchen. "Syrup or sugar?"

"Sugar." He answered curtly before shutting the door behind him. Running some cold water, he washed his face as a chill made him tense. Running his fingers through his hair he noncommittally tried to fix his bed head. Whatever, he gave up with a shrug. Heading back to his bedroom, he sloppily pulled on his school uniform. Still in the process of buttoning his shirt when he entered the kitchen and sat down at the table.

Spinning on the ball of her foot, Roni placed their small breakfast down as well as herself. "Good thing you're up. We need to head to school earlier today. I need to get help on this work before the test." Jett merely shrugged in acquiescence as he applied even more powdered sugar to his waffles.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The walk to school was uneventful. At least until the end. As they approached the campus the rambunctious crowd of people before it was disconcerting. For Jett. Roni, on the other hand was extremely excited at the undoubted prospect that something awesome was happening. Trying to integrate herself into the crowd to see what was the heck happening she felt a tight grip on her elbow. "No Jett! Let me see!" She pleaded, her eyes wandered as all of the students whipped out their their BluScreens. Flashes going off here and there.

Though his little sister could not decipher what was going on just yet, Jett was a good deal taller than most of the crowd and could just make out the gist of what was taking place. The second he saw Rosa loose her footing, and her figure disappear below the mob, he knew nothing good was going to happen any time soon.

"Focus. You got shit to do." He reminded her shortly, dragging her out and away from the crowd. Shoving through students with a ferocity. Neither he nor his sister was going to be around to fall victim to any of Rosa's misplaced wrath.

"Fine." She mumbled under her breath as she stumbled to keep up with his long strides. Catching sight of one of her friends, she jabbed them with her hand and mouthed silently for them to text her whatever happens. Receiving an affirmative, Roni grinned. she absolutely hated it when she was out of the loop.

Finally in the school's indoor hallways, Jett released Roni's arm, pushing her forward. "Go. To. Class." He demanded. She glared at him and rubbed her arm in an exaggerated manner, but she could never out-glare her brother. With a huff she stormed down the hall into a nearby classroom and Jett left the opposite way to his own. Maybe he could fit in a nap.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Roni muttered in annoyance about the overbearing sibling she had. Walking into the nearly empty room, she chose her usual seat near the front and dropped her belongings carelessly. Digging out her work as her BluScreen vibrated, indicating a text. Unlocking it without a second thought, she almost choked on the gum she was chewing as she skimmed through them. 'Oh my god.'

How could she have missed all of that? The batman boxers. The half-assed fight. Rosa taking a dip. Oh god. Her light laughter broke the silence of the room. Collecting herself after a minute or two, she finally took note of her surroundings.

The teacher was not even in there. She sighed in exasperation. Looking around, she noticed the kid sitting in the back of the classroom. A hood was tugged low and she tilted her head to get a better look at their face. Cotton candy blue hair jogged her memory and it took her a second more to recall their name. She had a class with him, but she had never actually interacted with him. Now was as good a time as any she figured.

“Chester?” Roni made her way to his desk. “Do you happen to know where the teacher is?”

It all happened so fast. The fight between the two boys had ended as fast as it had started but while the fighting may have ended, the crowd showed no sign of dying down as the students were scrambling to get a picture of the two boys especially the one half naked in his boxers. Unfortunately for Makoto, she quickly found herself swallowed up by the surging bodies of the students. 'Why were there so many of them?!' Mako found herself being pushed out of the crowd and she struggled in vain to stay within a reasonable distance of the boys. Though it seemed quite impossible with all the students, Mako wanted to challenge at least one of them to a fight. The one with the flame sparked her interest the most. If there were more students with Dying Will Flames like that then Mako had definitely come to the right place. But as the small girl struggled to wriggle herself closer a loud explosion rang out and a cloud of smoke quickly came over the crowd. 'A smoke bomb?' Mako covered her eyes and darted out of the crowd. Finally breaking free she found herself close to the school gate. Frowning with disappointment Mako shifted the strap of her katana case which was surprisingly still slung over her shoulder. It seemed as though the boys had escaped from the crowd as the students began to scatter to get away from the smoke.

"Tch.... Lost em." Mako shrugged. "Ahh well. I'll find them eventually. We DO go to the same school after all!"

As Mako entered the school building, she began walking down the first hallway that led from the entrance. Her destination was the school office room but to her dismay she realized she had no clue where it was. Sure there were many students nearby that probably knew exactly where the office was but..... 'What would I say to them?' Upon arriving in Japan, she really hadn't had a conversation with anyone new in this country yet at all. How does one ask a stranger for directions? What if she said something wrong? Would they laugh at her? Mako shook her head violently. 'Who needs them anyway?! I'll find the damn office myself!' And so Mako set off in the direction she was previously walking with certainty that the school office was just ahead when in reality she was walking in the complete opposite direction of where it was really located...

"Yoh, I'm sorry, okay?!"

If Ieyoshi heard his brother, he didn't act like it. He sauntered along instead, like a conquering hero, infinitely proud and bigger than life, his every footfall one of authority and import, his face the epitome of equipoise, his fluffy brown hair gently bouncing back and forth as if being blown by winds from the lips of Zephyr himself.

From the waist up he was a total badass. Too bad that image was utterly shattered by his lack of pants and shoes. It's hard to look tough while walking down a hallway in cotton-white socks and your favorite batman undies.

There were some muffled giggles coming from a group of girls that were approaching from the opposite direction down the hall. They were making eyes at Ieyoshi, glancing in his direction—perhaps at his pantsless region—and then looking back at each other with such frequency that you could set your watch to it. Again, if Ieyoshi was privy to this, he didn't show it. His eyes remained forward, his pace never faltering.

Ieharu sighed. Even fully clothed and wholly unlike his brother, he hobbled about, clutching the straps of his backpack, his artificially-blackened hair swaying erratically, somehow managing to exude self-consciousness and a general lack of confidence. He sighed.

"Yoh, come on." Ieharu struggled to increase his pace, moving from a staggered gait in his brother's shadow to treading along beside him, his shoulder brushing up against the lockers that lined the wall. "I said I'm sorry." His voice had upped an octave higher, making him sound like he was about to cry. It was his big gun. It made him sound innocent and believable to adults, made his mother melt like butter on the stove, and it was the thing that always got Ieyoshi to pay attention to him. "I don't know what happened back there, I swear. It was like, one minute I was running down the stairs at home, and then I tripped, and it hurt, and then the front door, and then Godot shot me in the face—"

Ieyoshi pivoted on his heel rather suddenly, swivelling to face Ieharu, and smashed his palm into the locker several inches from the boy's face. The resulting bang! reverberated up the hall.

Of course, Ieharu was startled. "HEEEE!" Ieyoshi had him virtually pinned between his angled body on the left and his arm on the right, resting palm-flat against the locker.

"And on top of everything," Ieyoshi began, his expression as steely and unyielding as his voice. "Everything. You're gonna lie to me, too?"

Ieharu pressed his back into the locker door, though it refused to give him any more room to maneuver. At this point, their faces were close enough that he could feel his brother literally breathing down his neck. This was quite the unexpected development. "Lie?"

"Do you think I'm dumb, Haku? Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe you got shot in the face? With no wounds or nothing? Oh yeah? You'd be dead. Dead, Haku."

"But—"

"But you're not." Ieyoshi was staring Ieharu dead in the eyes. "So shut the fuck up trying to talk to me, okay?"

The words weren't underpinned with a tone of malice or anger, though Ieharu knew better than to judge his brother by appearances and expressions alone. More than anyone, he was in tune with his twin. He knew what he was thinking, how he was feeling. Even now, as they stared each other down—faces mere inches apart, Ieyoshi composed but adversarial, Ieharu with his hands up in surrender like a wolf pup before an alpha—Ieharu knew that all the extra attention of the day was beginning to irk his twin. He could feel it. Even though it hadn't even been an hour since the events of the morning, all the stares and gossiping and laughs and picture sharing was getting under his skin.

Ieharu relented first, turning his head slightly, averting his eyes. Ieyoshi acknowledged this as a win, sighing, exhaling from his nose and closing his eyes for a brief moment, internally reigning himself back in.

"If you want your pants back, you can have them," Ieharu muttered, blurting it out suddenly. His eyes were still focused off to the side. Immediately, his hands went to his belt. Proof that he was serious.

With that, Ieyoshi relented, taking a step back. Though they were the same height, he always seemed to tower over his twin in situations like these. It was at times baffling. Maybe it was because Ieharu always buckled at the knees. "Obviously, I don't care," he muttered in return, scratching at the back of his neck sheepishly. Now it was his turn to look away, perhaps realizing he'd been read like a book by the other other person on Earth capable of such a feat. Well, besides their mother, of course. "Godot dropped off a new uniform anyway or whatever, so whatever." He looked at Ieharu once again. "Keep them."

Ieharu looked forward as well, once again meeting his brother's eyes, but this time he had a huge goofy grin on his face.

"What?" Ieyoshi asked, puzzled by his brother's toothy smile. Did he perhaps have something on his face? "What?"

"Th-..." A streak of peachy pinkish red invaded the younger twin's face, starting from his left cheek, right under the eye, crossing the bridge of his nose, and ending at the other cheek. It was very faint, but noticeable at close range. "Thanks, Yoh. Really. For everything, I mean."

A particularly rare expression dashed across Ieyoshi's face. With the way he reacted, he may has well have been stabbed. But not a moment later the expression vanished, replaced with rolled eyes and pursed lips. "Yeah yeah. Whatever." He turned, smoothing his hair with his hand in a single curt motion. "Nobody messes with us, bro. Now let's just pick up this crap from the office and move before the next bell."

And so they did just that, side by side. Still the ever inseparable Sawada twins.





Quite a ways further up the first floor hall, back towards where the doctor's clinic was located—and in the complete opposite direction of the administrative offices, which were at this point in an entirely different building—a particularly tall woman in a white lab coat with matching sweater and slacks was conversing with a somewhat petite young girl with long black hair. Most distressing to the surrounding students, who were quickly filing out of the area in one way or another, was what looked like a sheathed blade slung across her back.

"That's my name. Who are you and how do you know it?"

Nurse frowned, her grimace deep, reaching across her face all the way to her brows, which furrowed immensely, eyes narrowed, her face catching shade as it contorted with what looked like the onset of a wrathful retort.

"Who...?" She began, her voice low and menacing. She almost sounded offended. "Who am I?!"

Suddenly, Nurse lept forward! ... only a single step, barely moving more than an inch, and literally tore her outfit apart with her bare hands in one fell swoop, as if her garments were breakaway stage clothes and she had planned for this all along. Underneath her outfit was a bedazzling silver and white bikini. Swimwear! In October.

"Why, I am the indubitable Nurse!" She announced, or, rather, declared, her voice firm but bubbly, like a sovereign throwing bread to her starving people. One would not be faulted if the claimed to hear epic music start playing in the background.

As would a model of the highest caliber strutting her stuff at the most regal of fashion shows, Nurse, now sporting a sparse two-piece bikini, her white gloves, and matching white lab coat, struck a pose. It was like something you'd see on the cover of one of those raunchy magazines. It certainly rested on the upper border of PG-13, that's for sure.

Several very-male students who happened to be around despite Makoto's intimidating presence immediately fell backwards onto the floor, their noses bleeding profusely after catching sight of Nurse in her getup. Some of the female onlookers cheered, shouting out "Go Nurse!" and "Yeah, Nurse!"

After doing a short 70's disco dance, which consisted of moving her arms in a circular fashion like a cat while percolating her shoulders, she ended by pointing—with her foot, no less—over Makoto's shoulder and in the opposing direction.

"Girl, you seem very lost. Classes are already beginning, yet you've reached the end of the hall. You must not be registered." Nurse switched legs, putting her first one down and resumed pointing with the other. Honestly, her dexterity and balance were quite phenomenal, though that wasn't what caught most people's attention. "If you're looking for the administrative offices, they're that-a-way. Far faaaaar that-a-way." She emphasized this by flexing her pointing leg, making a jabbing motion with her heeled foot. "Follow the hall into the next building and I assure you you'll find where you're trying to go!"

And with that, she ended with a penultimate pose along a nearby wall that accentuated the exposed skin along her legs. Out from under her perfectly manicured eyebrows, she eyed the girl—Makoto. "You should get going before you cause a scene, though—OOOOHH!"

What? Did someone just shoot her or something? Because that's how she reacted, her body reverberating from the imaginary blow, her arms and torso flowing backwards with all the drama and poise of a Broadway ballerina.

She'd punctuated her finale with that genuine cry of passion, lifting one leg into the air and freezing, becoming statuesque. The surrounding students, most of them males now, began clapping in earnest. Eventually, a few roses even found their way onto the floor at Nurse's feet. How some of the students acquired roses shall remain a mystery for the ages. Nurse certainly didn't mind, frozen in her pose, like a female rendition of Michelangelo's David but several thousand times more beautiful and breathtaking to behold.

One would not be faulted if they claimed to see literal sparkles and dazzling glints of light emanating from Nurse's body, as if the surrounding light had caught her at the perfect moment and held her there for an eternity.

Seems students in this school were used to Nurse's random clothing explosions and regression into swimsuit laden interpretive dance...

A fully clothed Ieyoshi sighed. It seemed to have become his default go-to reaction to events that weren't interesting enough to capture his attention. And precious few things were ever truly interesting to him nowadays. Perhaps this is what puberty feels like? Ieyoshi sighed again. How boring.

Currently, the elder-by-eight-seconds Sawada twin was making his way across the school's courtyard and towards the massive metalwork fence that marked its perimeter. He was accompanied by Damien, of course. Over the course of this, the first month of school, it'd become a sort of habit of the twins to meet up with Damien and Aobane at the outer gate after school and walk most of the way to their homes as a group. This day, Ieyoshi met up with Damien somewhat earlier, at the steps outside the main hall. Interestingly enough, Ieyoshi was not accompanied by his other half, which struck Damien as odd. The two were typically inseparable. If the morning taught him anything, it was that them being separated was an omen, if anything.

"Haku's not with you again? Don't tell me he's taking another run ahead of you," he asked while putting emphasis on another run. "He already got kids calling me the Hokage because of the smoke bombs."

Ieyoshi sighed again, this time in response to Damien's question. As they were walking, they'd passed by the area that several hours earlier had been the scene of their morning commotion. People had started calling him "batman" because of it, not that he cared—or, at least, that's what he told himself. "Yeah. And apparently I'm Batman." He felt like there was more he could say, but meh. The next order of business for him was making it home and questioning Godot about this nonsense Ieharu was spouting with guns and bullets and assassinations and all that. Knowing his younger twin, he was probably talking to a teacher about a book or a poem or something. Why he cared what they thought was beyond Ieyoshi's ability to fathom. "But if he comes running at me this time, I'll put him down."

Of course, he was joking. Maybe.

Damien did a fangirl pose jokingly. "Oh, my hero! Not the hero Namimori deserves, but the one we need!" He pretended to faint flinging his body towards the ground. Right before landing on his back, he caught himself with one hand with ease.

Despite himself, Ieyoshi laughed. His version of laughing was a curt smile followed by exhaling loudly. "Isn't your village missing you, bitch?" Ieyoshi's voice lightened considerably with his words. Joking around with Damien was always a welcome break in the grinding monotony that he called his daily existence.

Damien quickly popped up back to his feet. "Haha, you mean village full of bitches? Of course they are." He stood as if he were a Hokage with his hand on his invisible large hat. His other hand stood at his side. "Ladies," he paused for a brief moment, "I have returned." Ieyoshi made a face, rolling his eyes in dramatic dismissal. He always gave a slight performance with Ieyoshi and Ieharu for fun. They were close. "Anyways, I wonder what they're calling Haku?"

By now, they'd reached the ashen gunmetal gates that marked the entrance to and exit from the courtyard proper. Instead of going through the gates, Ieyoshi stopped, electing instead to turn and lean against the steel beam that made up part of the left gate's hinge, arms folded. His brother—typically accompanied by that Kuroiobashi kid—should have caught up to them by now, but he had yet to appear. "Pfft. Maybe they'll call him perv. Or idiot. Or crouching idiot, hidden perv fool."

"Haha, if only they knew how he really was. Poor Haku," Damien laughed.

"How about poor us," Ieyoshi responded, chuckling.

When five minutes turned to twenty, all the chattering first and second -years began evacuating the courtyard at a leisurely pace and heading home—long after the too-cool-to-hang third-years had swaggered their way through the front gates, of course. Still, there was no sign of Ieharu. Ieyoshi had long since closed his eyes, as if snoozing, though he was doing anything but. He was merely listening, taking in the sounds of the environment. Though his senses weren't nearly as sharp as Damien's, he could quite easily pick out some familiar voices amongst all the chitchat. Especially Ieharu's voice, which was like a lighter fluffier version of his own.

After several moments of hearing everything but his brother's voice, he sighed, opening his eyes.

He did hear someone interesting. Scanning over the various disparate cliques and courtyard gaggles that so poetically described high school life, his eyes landed upon a-a... a girl? Hmm. Ieyoshi frowned slightly, squinting. For some reason, the girl looked familiar. Like, really familiar. And though he forgot names fairly easily, he'd never forget a face he'd seen before. The girl was tall but sported a small figure, complete with intense blue eyes. Her smooth thin black hair somehow reminded him of one of his father's guardians. Lambo. That was his name. So, where had he seen her before?

He looked down at his folded arms, chewing through his own memories. Things like this really irked him. He'd seen her somewhere before, but where, damn it? After a few moments of pondering, Ieyoshi gave up, filing the question away somewhere in the back of his mind.

He looked up again, his eyes scanning the crowd for something else—anything else!—that would pique his interests and stave off the twin specters of boredom and annoyance.

He spotted Jett. Jett Hideaki. He was milling about along with his sister, though Ieyoshi didn't quite remember her name. He knew Jett, however. Though he personally abhorred watching sports, everyone knew the school's premier basketball champion and most valuable player, even the first-years. Ieyoshi wasn't quite sure how he felt about the Hideaki siblings. Jett especially. He was an imposing person, perhaps intimidating to some, but...

Ieyoshi began to chew on his lower lip.

Whenever he and Jett came within close proximity of each other, something inside of him... it was like he felt a sort of kinship with the guy. Like the two of them shared a relation on some sort of base fundamental level. It was strange, it was unexplainable, it was whatever.

He also spotted Izaya, who was running around the courtyard for reasons only Izaya was aware of. Like Jett, everyone in the school knew Izaya's name, but for less glorious reasons. Ieyoshi shook his head shortly after catching sight of the green-haired kid. Oh well. In any good action movie, the stupid ones always died first.

While following Izaya with his eyes, Ieyoshi crossed eyes with—

Again, Ieyoshi squinted. There were many unfamiliar faces in the crowd, but this one was quite... let's say odd. Red eyes, for a start. Blood red. Glasses. Hair slicked back, as if by hand. Average height. He looked like the type of person that turned out to be the crazy serial killer at the end of a horror flick, but for some reason Ieyoshi felt nothing when he looked him. Absolutely nothing. Not impressed. Not intimidated. Not scared. Not happy. Not even bored. He just felt nothing, a sense of no presence, as if he were staring at a whitewashed brick wall instead of a human being.

Certainly, the guy wasn't in his class. Ieyoshi would have remembered such a face. He didn't seem tall enough or cool enough to be a third-year, though, so he was probably part of the junior class. Interesting. Odd, but interesting.

He stared for a while longer before feigning a loss of interest, lest someone notice him glaring.

Full of unsated curiosity, Ieyoshi pondered asking Damien who the red-eyed guy was, or at least if he had an opinion about him. That's when something slipped by his left peripheral. Now typically, Ieyoshi would have paid it no mind, for such things always pass by one's peripheral vision without incident. This time, however, his body tensed up, the joints in his arms locking for a brief moment. It was a small panic reaction, a flinch, as if someone had tried to jump-scare him. This was a result of Ieyoshi's extremely acute intuition, which lent itself to a very hyper sense of awareness. It was a wholly passive perception and quasi- sixth sense, and one of the precious few areas that he had his friend Damien beat hands down—and that guy goes through Varia-style training regularly.

With a reaction spanning milliseconds, he snapped his head to the left, and saw what triggered his sense of danger.

Uncharacteristically vivid blue hair, like out of a cartoon, tufts of which stuck out from under his hood. A now-familiar face. A boy... at least, Ieyoshi was fairly sure he was a boy. The same one from this morning.

Ieyoshi followed the boy with his eyes as he passed through the gate and out the other side, walking between several others as he went. As far as he could tell, the blue-haired kid hadn't taken notice of him. On the other hand, no one else seemed to take notice of the kid, not even Damien. It was as if he were a ghost, or a rock, and people just seemed to move around him, passively acknowledging his existence. It was fascinating to observe, but eventually the kid moved out of view, and Ieyoshi didn't want to give off the impression that he was interested.

Ieyoshi sighed softly. There was something about that kid. Something about the red-eyed guy. Something about many of these so-called students. Something he couldn't quite put a finger on. One thing was for sure, though: he needed to hone his intuition. He got feelings all the time about places and people, but rarely did he know enough about what his instincts were telling him that he could act on them in an effective and efficient manner.

He did have one feeling he recognized: his intuition told him he'd be dealing with the blue-haired kid—dealing with all of these strange people—a lot more directly over the coming months. It was just his luck, after all. If he wasn't being tackled by crazy familial relations in the morning, it was gonna be something else.





Ieharu placed his hands under the one of the bathroom sinks' faucets. A stream of perfectly-warmed water met his hands instantaneously. His father always talked about how, "back in the day," water faucets always had "hot" and "cold" handles on them and you have to mix and match them manually to get it just right. Nowadays, they have faucets that have infrared thermometers attached to them. They set the water to the perfect temperature automatically, based on skin temperature. Honestly, Ieharu couldn't fathom having to twist little knobs to make water come out. It was dumb. If he wanted cold, he'd just say "colder" and the faucet would obey him. If he wanted warmer water, he'd just say "warmer". Why did it take people so long to think up such a basic idea?

The boy giggled at the thought. Living in the past must've really sucked.

The faucet automatically added the correct amount of soap to the water, so he didn't have to do anything but move his hands around a little before they were sufficiently clean.

Tucked under his arm was a book titled A Wrinkle in Time, by a long-dead American author named Madeleine L'Engle. Currently, it was Ieharu's favorite book, though the designation of "favorite" was doled out on a weekly basis to the works of prose that found their way into his hands, if that. He was truly a voracious reader.

The book itself, of course, wasn't any normal paper book. It was technically a paperback, sure. It wasn't one of those old-fashioned e-readers or anything—it was better. The book's "paper" pages were each a type of foldable hardware, and the pages themselves could switch text and content at the will of the reader. One moment, he could be reading A Wrinkle in Time, the next he could be perusing a newspaper or pretending to read his class's Social Studies book.

Gokudera—Damien's dad—always complained when Ieharu took it out. "You kids are spoiled rotten," he'd always say. "You don't need these all these newfangled toys! Isn't a smart phone and infinity internet enough for you brats?"

Haha, old people are funny.

Ieharu let his hands rest under the luxurious warmth of the running water for a while longer before removing them from the stream and moving towards the door. He waved his wet hands over a small silver plate on the wall, which unleashed a burst of air as his they passed, shearing the excess moisture from his skin like an air blade. The bathroom door opened for him shortly after, though Ieharu paid the automated marvel no mind. Such things were rudimentary at this point.

The school day had come to an end a while back, yet he'd gotten distracted talking to his teacher. They continued the class discussion about the nature of main characters in prose, with Ieharu relating what they'd discussed to A Wrinkle in Time.

Oh well, Ieyoshi would forgive him if he were just a little late.

Next order of business: go meet with Aobane and head down to meet Ieyoshi and Damien. He'd asked Aobane to wait by the elevators while he went to the bathroom, so he was probably still there. Hopefully. Ieharu's cheeks burned red with the thought of him having taken too long in the bathroom. Agh!

Turning on his heel, the boy began walking down the hall. The elevators where in a small niche on the right side at the end of the hall.

He made it about two-thirds of the way there before he was stopped.





"What is this guy doing?" Ieyoshi lamented, not bothering to hide his exasperation at his brother's absence. The courtyard was virtually empty at this point. Even some of the staff were beginning to head home. Creepy teacher Zenith-sensei had even passed him by, offering a creepy wave and generally being a creep. Ieyoshi wasn't quite sure why he didn't much care for the man, or why he seemed like such a creep, but...

Whatever. He'd give it five more minutes, max, and then Ieharu would be walking home without him. On second thought, maybe he should leave now. It'd do his brother some good to be independent for once. The elder twin looked over to Damien. "Wanna just go?"

Damien looked in the direction that Ieharu would walk in. Alone. He started to get a bit worried. "Eh, but shouldn't we wait a bit longer. I mean especially after today when he—"

"DAMIEEEEEENNNNN!" Enn charged forwards and leapt towards him with his arms outstretched, smiling widely. He completely ignored Ieyoshi. Behind him somewhere in the distance, a brown-haired third year with a jagged scar across his face watched in surprise, barely hiding anxiety as he walked towards the gate, green sweater slung over his shoulder. "Damien there you are I couldn't—"

Damien instinctively ducked on his knees and dodged Enn's charge. He knew in that instance, what this meant. Enn flew over him and rolled to a crouch a few feet away, continuing without pause. "—find you—" got up instantly and leant in low, sprinting towards Damien's back and lashing out with a punch. "—anywhere!" A grin fell on Damien's face as the punch flew in his direction. It was Enn's turn to be the attacker while he was the defender. He placed his right palm out and blocked the punch instantly.

"Mmm, close but not there yet," Damien replied. At this point his body was faced towards Enn and his eyes were fixed on his every move.

"Don't worry," Enn grinned happily, a wild look in his eyes. Ah, fighting Damien was fun! So much fun that Enn didn't want to think about even trying to kill him. He hadn't had this much fun ever after he left Italy and couldn't take part in hits as much as he liked anymore, since Shou didn't like it. Shou was right, high school was great! He grabbed hold of the wrist of the hand holding his own hand and pulled as he whirled and bent, hurling Damien over his shoulder. "I'm just getting started!" The game of attack and defense went on. Enn attacked furiously, sending flying kicks, punches, a flurry of blows were all thrown at Damien. To each, he merely blocked, ducked, and jumped back, and it was clear to those who knew them well that they were just playing around, albeit semi-seriously.

Ieyoshi merely looked on at the two, mouth slightly agape, a disturbed look fresh upon his face, as if someone had told him one plus one equaled fish with a zealous fervor. He wasn't really familiar with this kid who so cavalierly attacked Damien, though he knew his face, and knew his reputation. He was a fellow first-year, and one of the more annoying ones, too.

Great.

After a few moments of observation, he sighed and looked away, bored once more. Maybe he'd just go home anyway.

"Enn, why'd you run that fast—" the brown-haired third year came to a halt as he stared at the scene, panting a little. A group of emotions rapidly cycled over Shou's face before settling on a strange sort of resignation (and relief that his brother wasn't seriously trying to kill someone) and a mixture of worry and anxiety. "Oh no stop..." he straightened and turned to Ieyoshi, eyebrows creased in worry over the situation. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry I'm so so sorry," he apologised frantically, bowing a little in apology. "Enn was waiting for me to finish with club and then he ran off before I could stop him I'm sorry!"

Ieyoshi eyed the guy before him. Shou, was it? He wasn't in Ieyoshi's class, but he'd seen seen the guy around—primarily around Enn. Most likely a third-year, though he didn't have the air of one. If memory served, Shou and Enn were brothers.

Great.

Shou didn't seem as bombastic and frenetic as his brother, so that was a plus. "It's whatever," he said, shrugging in acknowledgement of Shou's apology. "Hey, you haven't happened to have seen my brother around, have you? He looks just like me, except his hair is dyed black for some reason." He shot a glance over at Damien and Enn. "And I'm about to leave him to walk home alone, too," he added, grumbling under his breath.

"O-Oh," Shou said, straightening up from his bow into a sort of relaxed posture, hooking a thumb around his bag-straps. He thought back throughout the day, trying to think about whether he saw—um, Iehaku? That was his name—going about his day, Eventually, he shook his head. "I don't think I saw him," he said regretfully, shaking his head. "Sorry."

Ieyoshi was about to sigh for the thousandth time this day, when his intuition pricked him. Looking away from Shou, a figure in the distance was approaching them, moving most expeditiously in their direction. Ieyoshi raised his eyebrows in expectation, frowning slightly at the realization that it certainly wasn't his twin brother.