Satomi Honoka's Story

Satomi yawned and stretched slowly as she awoke in the library of Yamaku Academy, she'd come here to escape the crowds that would soon be filling every crevice of the halls. Of course she'd fallen asleep in the sun's gentle warmth, she lived in a silent world now. She had to keep reminding herself that her other senses remained still and that losing her hearing was not the end of the world. One slim fingered hand came up to tuck some of her red-brown tresses back behind her left ear. The red heart charm on her cartilage piercing glinting for a moment before she straightened her snowy white uniform shirt and stood up. Her matching indoor shoes squeaked a little and her olive hued skirt swished as she returned some books to the shelves. The librarian had to come and touch her shoulder to alert her that the opening ceremony would begin soon.

She signed her appreciation of the information being passed along and then she left. Arriving early had been her only option at the time, she wanted to know where the library and nice outdoor places were before anyone else discovered them. If there had been other people around she had avoided them out of practicality, being deaf of course she couldn't hear people even if they were right next to her. All the people outside the wrought iron gates had looked at her oddly every time she had used sign language to ask about even the simplest of things. Or there was that one lady who sat on the bus and screamed at her for an hour without Satomi even realising and by the time the woman got off she couldn't speak. It turned out that she had been trying to compliment Satomi on one of her numerous kimonos but instead had gotten so frustrated that she had gotten off the bus without even touching Satomi to let the young woman know that she was being talked to.

She went down the stairs, still thinking to herself before she noticed a splatter of what looked like red paint on the floor. She frowned as she saw smears of it leading down the hallway and then she realised with a sinking stomach that what she had just walked into was in fact the aftermath of a brutal and violent looking fight. She pulled a ribbon from her skirt pocket and tied her hair back before cautiously following the trail of horror. She licked her lips nervously and she peeked around the corner only to spot a body, probably male judging from the school uniform. She let out a surprised squawk before she turned right back around and made for the teacher's lounge. Her usually warm honey hued eyes were wide with worry and fear, her heart speeding off like a hare on caffeine as she raised a shaking hand to bang on the door urgently.

She knew she was making a racket because her hand hurt so much already and she'd already forgotten that all the doors in Japanese schools slid from side to side. So when, by a stroke of luck a slightly harassed but easy going teacher answered the door she tried signing with her hands shaking before unknowingly making a frustrated noise as her message became jumbled and unintelligible. She then grabbed the hand of the poor male teacher and dragged him to the body that she'd spotted and pointed at the seemingly unconscious lone young man. She then stared at the teacher's mouth as he spoke and she frowned a little.
"What happened? All this brood...so match." Her head tilted to the side as though she was a very confused puppy and then she realised that she had misinterpreted his mouth movements. She stared at the teacher for a moment longer and then took in a deep breath before signing as slowly as she could manage despite the haste of the situation.

SAW. BLOOD. ON. FLOOR. CAME. TO. LOOK. FOUND. BODY. NOT. STRONG. ENOUGH. TO. CARRY. HIM. TO. INFIRMARY. PLEASE. HELP. US. She signed and within moments the teacher had grabbed the young man and they were headed to the infirmary. 'Damn the ceremony, this is more important.' Satomi thought rebelliously before she got a peek at the boy's face and her heart almost collapsed in shock. He was lovely...why was he...oh. She had noticed the distinct lack of another hand, other than the the one that looked very gruesome indeed. Her heart went out to him even though she had never really seen him. On the same token, she had never really made an effort to be seen up until this point. She had wanted to meet people normally...not like this...whatever the hell 'this' was exactly. When they reached the infirmary it seemed people were already there, considering Satomi spotted a girl with pink hair that would have been very pretty if not for her battered appearance.

There were others there too, a boy and a girl with what the rust haired girl assumed was a service dog. She bit her full bottom lip nervously and then signed slowly for the teacher to put the injured boy on the bed next to the blind girl. She then hastily added a please to her request and then blushed a little, looking almost like what would be called here: a 'foreign doll'. She reached up and tugged the black ribbon out of her hair, the long strands falling to just below her hips in length...she was attempting to hide for some odd reason. But once again the little heart charm that hung from her cartilage caught the light and sent dazzling scarlet, orange and pink hues in a kaleidoscope across the room for a moment.

The fight was certainly something to watch, and caught the young man’s attention almost immediately. It was surprising, though, that none of the staff even considered interrupting until the end. Well, with Azalea, that was probably the smarter of the choices. What was even more interesting was that in the aftermath, the blindfolded boy and the other male followed shortly after, one looking rather unconscious in the arms of a teacher.

Were they headed toward the infirmary? Smirking lightly to himself, Aedan gave a light shake of the head. After a run-in with the Tunnel Snakes, it was probably the best of choices. Giving a long stretch, Aedan stood and began to make his way back toward the dorm. The ceremony wasn’t going to start for a while, not until the teachers had this under control at least.
Standing up on the chair itself, Aedan scanned the sea of people for a familiar face. Eventually, he found Maurice and passed him a simple sign. Doctor.

Pulling out his phone, he made a casual stroll to follow the excitement. If anything he could get a couple neat pictures to sell to the school newspaper, or possibly check up with the nurse to see if his meds had arrived. Thanks to the poison he had contracted as a child Aedan was now the slave of a few choice prescriptions. He had no idea what they were, but they helped keep the spots and the swirls away. Luckily they only had to be taken once a week as well. But still, they were important.

"Azalea," she said. Then, lifting her right breast, she said, "Danger. Angel," she said the latter whilst lifting her left breast. "You may address them accordingly. And you are?"

Well. This girl just kept getting more and more interesting didn’t she? Smirking quietly to himself, Aedan watched the show from the door. Not because he was trying to creep; oh no. He was simply waiting for the overly busy nurse.

Leaning on the door frame, he turned his attention down to his previous game, his ears perking to the conversations in the room. Nosey boy. But he had nothing better to do, so why not?

"I'm Alexander, it is a pleasure to meet you. I'm mute, so don't expect me to be able to speak. Me communicating with a blind girl is going to be quite hard, don't you agree?" the note read. Azalea held the piece of paper in her hand, putting it aside and looking at the boy who was Alex.

"I can speak for you," she told him. "It must be difficult writing when you're..." Azalea cocked her head to the side, as a bird might when watching a human. "In pain." What a strange concept, she thought.

"Azalea, wasn't it? I'm so sorry if I inconvenienced you in any way. Those boys didn't hurt you, did they? I'm sorry," Hana, she'd learned, said.

"Do I look 'hurt'?" she asked, wiggling her fingers who were attached to broken bones she'd reattached herself and gesturing to the dark, violet-tinted bruise that painted her jaw and the flowering colours that painted her nearly colourless eyes. "They shoved me into a wall, punched me a bit. Nothing I couldn't handle," she said with a shrug. "You should see the beating they took." Azalea gave Hana a dark, sardonic smile. "I only wish I'd gotten there sooner. The best weapon's your body," she said, staring dazedly out the infirmary window. The one between your legs.

The door swung open, Azalea spun around, clutching a pen she'd snatched from the table and preparing to throw. Her body loosened and she placed the pen back onto the desk, beaming at the girl and clapping her hands together. "Thank you for bringing Zeal!" she said cheerfully, ignoring the guilt that crawled into and nested within her gut. She'd left him. She'd been so caught up in making sure the boys had paid for their actions that she'd forgotten about him, Kora and Blind and Sexy. God, she was horrible. Why do I care? she thought harshly, giving herself an internal shove.

"Help us?" she asked Alex as she walked over to Zeal. She didn't look at Mr. Takahashi. Maybe if she pretended he didn't exist, he wouldn't - eventually.

When Zeal laid unconscious on the infirmary bed, she tucked the blanket around him and under his chin. "He'll know you saved him," she told girl who'd brought him in. She was beautiful. Her hair was deep burgundy and she had warm golden brown eyes. Beautiful people seemed to make up the student population.

Azalea turned her attention to Zeal, gently picking up his arm and analysing his left hand. Gently, Azalea, she reminded herself. She always had to remind herself, that other people felt. "He crushed his hand," she muttered, almost to herself. "Dislocated index finger... Mmm..." Azalea held his hand to the light, leaning forwards and squinting at the bones of his hand. The guilt wrapped around her neck and crushed her windpipe, she pushed it away. "Where's the nurse?" she asked no one in particular, annoyed.

"Sorry," she whispered to Zeal, for the second time that day. Azalea held his index finger and pulled, shoving it back in place. She hoped he wouldn't wake up from the pain, but he probably would. She'd read up on pain and the things it did to people, rendered them unconscious, shocked them awake. Due to her... Condition. It was helpful for her to know the basics of healing, so she didn't walk around with crushed bones and infected wounds. Things that had happened before.

His knuckles were ruined, and she had idea how to fix it. "It's all my fault," she whispered quietly, before biting her lip and replacing her misery with anger. Anger she could cope with. Anger she could fix. Azalea stood abruptly, walking out of the room.

---

Bones peeked from her knuckles.

Azalea shut the infirmary door behind her, glancing at the nurse who was now in the room.

"You reattached his finger quite well, young lady," the elderly woman said. She was plump, and motherly-looking, Azalea didn't trust her. "Will you help me bandage his hand?" she asked, standing from Zeal's bed and rummaging through the cabinets. "I'm Mrs. Osaka, by the way," she said with a gentle smile, looking at all the students in the room. "Lots of injuries on the first day, huh?" she chuckled.

Azalea said nothing, taking the gauze bandage where Mrs. Osaka had left them. She noticed the bones in Zeal's hand were no longer visible, rather they were bloody and dark, as if stained in shadows. Mrs. Rupert had rubbed a yellowish ointment over his hand. She wrapped the gauze around and around his hand, pinning it in place, and grinned.

"Casualties are all part of the fun," she said cheerfully, hopping away from Zeal's bed. "At least we'll get to miss that bloody assembly," she said with a roll of her eyes. "The damned thing inspires suicide."

"You think so, Miss...?"

"Azalea Fray, at your service," she said with a curtsy. "Zeal the Brave, Sweetest Hana, Alex the Valiant, Beautiful Burgundy Angel," she said with a smile, introducing them in turn.

"Well, it's lovely to meet you all," she said with a smile that emphasised the happy wrinkles by her eyes. "You're new, I can tell. How are you enjoying Yamaku Academy?" she asked Azalea.

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education," Azalea said sweetly.

"Stop lurking," she said suddenly, turning to the door and raising an eyebrow at a... She tilted a corner of her lip upwards. He had hair as dark as obsidian and blue-grey eyes that reminded her strangely of her own, but they were mysterious and deep, whilst hers were infinitely light like broken glass. "Life is not too bad if you have a good physique and not too much imagination," she purred, referring to him, leaning against a desk and urging the beautiful creature to come to her with her eyes.

She would have him.

Azalea raised a sculpted brow when Lurker stepped towards her, close enough for her to strangle or kiss. His blue-grey eyes burned into her own blue-grey eyes, one deep and never ending - she would drown in his eyes, if she didn't watch herself - and the other pale as light but revealing nothing.

"Well, this is strangely arousing," she found herself whispering for the second time that day. Who was she kidding? Everything turned her on. She was like Estrogen and teenage hormones on Ecstasy and crack.

She smirked when he pressed a note into her hand, 'accidentally' brushing his hand over her skin as he stepped back. No one had ever dared step so close to her before; she wasn't exactly the least intimidating person in the world. She was the sort who'd sleep on the teacher's desk - naked - just because it was a little more comfortable than dressing and sitting like she had an iron pole down her spine. Those ballet lessons she'd been made to take were wretched enough. She was the sort who broke noses and made people blush.

No one came so close to her by their own free will without trying to kill her. It was weird.

Azalea looked down at the piece of paper, feigning nonchalance. "A good physique may get you far, but it’s the imagination that allows you to transcend your mortal restraints and force Life to bend to your will alone," it read. She lifted her head, bringing her eyes up to meet his. She cocked her head to the side in the assessing, bird-like way she always did. What? He was a poet now? Charming, she thought half sarcastically, half... With an emotion she hadn't even known existed, whatever it was.

Oh it was on.

She ran her fingers through her thick waterfall of pale pink hair, the daisies she normally braided into her hair had fallen out, apparently, thanks to her little hustle and tussle with the four boys. Azalea dropped her head so her hair cascaded over her shoulders and became a curtain over her face. She pretended to look at the note, her fingers skimming the edges. She lifted her head - slightly - and smiled.

"Azalea," she said softly in her sultry, honey in zero gravity voice. She stepped towards him, gazing at him through large eyes like shattered glass. "Danger," she purred, taking his hand and running it down her right side - skimming her right breast - so it rested on her hips. "Angel." She did the same to her left with his right hand. Then she hooked her wrists behind his neck, leaning back so her arm straightened and she was pressing herself against his hands. "But you already know that because you've been stalking," Azalea whispered against his ear. She stepped back, turned, and chuckled to herself.

I'll have him begging by the end of the week, she told herself. He would be a challenge, this one. He had I-have-my-own-fanclub written all over him, the bastard. God, he was hot. But I'm hotter.

"All these guys are prettier than half the girls in the school, huh?" she said with a smile at the girls in the room. Azalea sighed, sashaying to Hana's infirmary bed. She sat, swung one slim leg over the other, sighed, and threw her body backwards so she was lying half on the bed, half on Hana. "Oh my god, why is my life so complicated?" she groaned, flipping her body around and burying her head into the tops of Hana's skirts. "You know what?" she said abruptly after a long moment of silence in Hana's skirts. She popped her head up and stared at Hana. Then abruptly dropped her head back onto her lap. "I just forgot."

"Here you go, Aedan," Mrs. Osaka said, handing 'Aedan' his medication, Azalea supposed. What a fitting name, she thought grimly.

"Oh my gooood," she groaned, her words muffled by the cloth.

"Are you quite alright, Azalea? Azalea, may I call you Azalea? Does your head hurt?"

Crimson tongues lick the walls, screeching their songs of death.

"Yes. It hurts. I sold my mind on eBay and then I got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory," she said through clenched teeth. "And yes, you may call me anything you wish. Except Raisin. Just, just, ew. Why would you? It's like a wrinkly grape, but not like old-people-wrinkly. Because old people are cute."

"I'm glad you think so, Azalea," Mrs. Osaka the supposedly cute, old lady. "Do you have a student ID card, Azalea?"

"No, it grew little plastic legs and ran away." Azalea dug into the pockets of her very short shorts, tossing a card in the general direction of the nurse's voice. Surprisingly, Mrs. Osaka caught it. Azalea still had her head buried in Hana's skirts.

"Mama!" I cry, clutching the white bunny to my chest. A garland of daisies sits on Mr. Snuffle's head.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Osaka took a long look at her card, then at the bones that peeked from beneath her skin. She took in the cuts, burns, bruises, the oddly set wrist, and pursed her lips. "Azalea?"

"Grajkdjsgfl," the pink haired girl groaned back.

"Would you like your medication?"

"No, it doesn't work," she mumbled.

"Would you like me to patch you up?"

"Hnngh."

"I'm sorry?"

Azalea slid to the floor, reluctantly, and picked herself up. She was bored. BORED. She stood, holding out her hands for Mrs. Osaka to see. The nurse took a long look, before looking up at Azalea. She had a question in her eyes. Azalea gave her a shrug, I don't care, it said. Mrs. Osaka gave her a soft smile, took a bottle from the cabinets and handed it to Azalea with a cone of water.

There is a place without joy. It is the end of everything.

"For the pain," the nurse said pointedly. Azalea narrowed her eyes, taking the water and pills and swallowing them. The nurse took her hands, and pulled, shoving her bones back in place. Azalea pursed her lips at Mrs. Osaka's insistent dabbing of her wounds. Azalea flinched at the nurse's slow, soft dabbing. Just, just, just, why. Azalea took the bottle of alcohol, poured it in a swab and scraped at her wounds.

"Yay, all done. I'm dying of old age. Argh," she said quickly, grabbing her ID card and turning to Zeal. He's like the prince from Little Mermaid, she thought. Guilt snaked its way around her waist, threatening to rip her in half, she looked away. "Well, nice to meet you all and all that. I'm sure my irresistible, charismatic personality has charmed you all," she said sarcastically. "I play for both teams," she purred at the beauty with red-brown hair, tossing her a wink.

Suffocating, suffocating, suffocating.

Azalea bent over Zeal's unconscious body, her hair falling past her shoulder and tickling his face. Azalea tucked her hair behind her ear. "Wake up, Pretty Boy. Who's going to model for M.A.C. if you're here?"

Alex grabbed his notebook once again and began writing a response to what Hana asked him, but he was going to ask Azalea to relay his message for him this time. "I don't know, since my body is weak I might not be able to come to school tomorrow. It's fine though, since I'm used to being hurt and having to be hospitalized. This is better than you dying of an asthma attack, but I'm not sure if you can die from an asthma attack. I guess I just overreacted when carrying you here." He started writing a question to Azalea, since it would clear up some things. "Can you read sign language? If so, can you translate what I sign instead of me having to write down everything constantly?" He handed both pages to Azalea, hoping Azalea would respond to his question about signing with a yes.
Alex was standing in front of the girl who brought in Zeal. He poked her shoulder as to get her attention, when he had her attention he began signing a question. "What happened to him?" He hoped that all these injuries weren't a sign of things to come at this school, since he could be easily injured and he wasn't too good at fighting.

Satomi was still in shock a little from the pink haired female picking up a pen almost as if she would use it before apparently deciding that the deaf girl wasn't a threat. Her waves and curls of red-brown caught the sunlight and emphasised just how contradictory the hue was. It certainly wasn't average but on the same token it wasn't as out there as Miss Pinky. But as someone new came in she frowned for a brief moment before realising the very short...boy...had been eavesdropping. There was then what she assumed was a flurry of verbal exchange from person to person and Satomi backed away just a little as she stopped trying to read their lips. Notes exchanged between Pinky and the new male and Satomi began to feel slightly left out.

Everyone could hear what the other was saying...this was a situation that made her feel a little bummed out. Her expressive eyes looking a little sad before she felt someone tap her shoulder. She jumped a little and blinked before looking up at a boy with obsidian eyes and hair. Her gentle eyes going down to his hands as he signed a question to her. She frowned a little before nibbling on her full bottom lip and then proceeding to sign back.
"I don't know, I found him after everyone else had gone. I had to follow the blood trail and then I harassed the last teacher in the staff room into helping me get him here. Thanks for tapping me on the shoulder instead of yelling...can't hear you even if you yell. My name is Honoka Satomi, what is yours?" She ended the signing with a question and tilted her head up to give him a sweet smile and then extended her hand out to him for a handshake.

Would these people be her first new friends? She certainly hoped so, after the less than warm memories of her previous school she wanted a completely clean slate. It was strange because moments ago she had been slightly saddened and now she was almost too happy. She unknowingly made an overjoyed squeaking sound and tucked some of her wayward hair behind her left ear. She looked down at her dark metallic red and pearly white painted nails for a moment before wrinkling her nose in a slightly cute expression as she decided she would change the colours when she returned to her room. It was a slight pity that she had missed the opening ceremony, but the more she thought about it the more she realised it would be pointless as she wouldn't have been able to see the sign language version of the principal's address or any such messages. She let out a soft tinkling laugh as she knew that it would have been a time of endless futility which would have befallen her if she had attended the ceremony.

She blinked and for just one single moment she hoped she looked as pretty as the pink haired girl. Her logic was that beautiful people were attracted to others that were also physically attractive. After years of being told she was below average in the looks department and having to hide her outgoing side up until now. Satomi truly wondered if now was the time to be bright and cheery with so many people injured. But she had to try and bring some sort of brightness that the pink haired female couldn't offer. Satomi's light wasn't entirely overshadowed by things that would blind her to the plight of others. She had sensed the fact that the poor boy she'd helped wasn't supposed to have been left behind...surely someone had to feel some semblance of guilt because of that.

However when she looked to the side and spotted the pink girl wink at her she tilted her head like a confused puppy. She then decided that it was best to be direct. She cleared her throat and although she couldn't hear it she stared right at Pinky and said in a softly lilting voice: "I'm afraid that I must tell you this now. I cannot hear a word that you are saying, maybe someone can sign for you?" She blushed and was about to turn back to the young man that had been signing too her, looking down at her feet nervously for a moment before signing with slightly shaky hands. "My voice...did it sound alright? I've forgotten what it sounds like...a year and a half without hearing-..." Her fingers stuttering to a complete stop and she peeked up at him from beneath her fringe, hoping that she hadn't embarrassed herself severely.

"Alex said 'I don't know, since my body is weak I might not be able to come to school tomorrow. It's fine though, since I'm used to being hurt and having to be hospitalized. This is better than you dying of an asthma attack, but I'm not sure if you can die from an asthma attack. I guess I just overreacted when carrying you here,'" Azalea read from the paper he'd handed her, her strange mix of a British and Greek with a faint Italian accent more evident than it normally was.

"Can you read sign language? If so, can you translate what I sign instead of me having to write down everything constantly?" Alex's note said. She pursed her lips, furrowing her brows in annoyance at herself.

"I apologise," she said to him. "I can't sign, but I will learn."

She smirked when Aedan winked at her. They were going to have a lot of fun together. She slipped her fingerless gloves over her hands, clenching and unclenching her fists to make sure they still worked. They did. The bruise on her jaw would most likely turn uglier, and she was annoyed that Aedan looked so frustratingly perfect when she looked like she'd fought four mountain trolls. Which, she supposed, she sort of had.

Azalea soon realised the burgundy haired girl was deaf. She pulled her phone from her pocket. It was a cheap, plastic thing that was about a million years old. Most others might've been embarrassed but humiliation was not something Azalea felt very often, if at all. She typed into her phone, "Come, sit. You must be tired from dragging Zeal here. What's your name?" She held the phone out to the girl and patted the seat beside her, where she was now sitting on Zeal's infirmary bed. She'd made sure she wasn't sitting on him and that her movements didn't jostle his injuries.

"Would you like a book on sign languages, Azalea?" Mrs. Osaka asked her.

"That would be wonderful. Yes," she replied. The school nurse handed her a thick book and Azalea exhaled, taking it in her lap and opening to the first page. This is going to take a while, she thought. Azalea began to read.

Mario hopped from platform to platform, using his mystical Italian powers to control the flow of gravity. Though he couldn’t reverse it completely, the manipulation of weight was an easy concept on one as large as him. With a sickening crunch, another mushroom creature crumpled under the plumber’s increased weight. The small boy controlling him laughed. “Stupid Goomba’s, you cannot escape me!” The flag had come into view, a dark black figure against the blue pixel sky. Suddenly, Mario yelped in pain as he was struck by a green blur, falling into the ground.

GAME OVER.

“Awww c’mon! I was almost at the end!” Zeal frowned, he had been stuck on the same level for an hour now and the frustration was beginning to get to him. His six year old brain couldn’t comprehend the hidden block needed to reach the flag and end the level. Quite bored of the game, Zeal made his way to the balcony of the apartment. The breeze was soft, just light enough to ruffle his already dishevelled hair. They lived on the third floor of a six floor apartment building or, more specifically, apartment 306. His dad worked a lot to make sure they could stay here but Zeal didn’t mind, his imaginary friends kept him company.

Larry the purple dragon who shot candy instead of fire, Gorotaki, the happy-go-lucky gorilla who always carried around a large barrel, a gift from his brother Donkey, and Sir Peasley, prince of the bean-bean kingdom. These were the only friends Zeal needed. When the other kids ran away or called him names, the three of them were always there to console him. They would play games like Simon Says or Mind Reader but Zeal always suspected they would let him win. Even now, Larry was telling him to run inside. The balcony was a dangerous place for kids so little. With his innocent smile, the small boy followed his friends advice and went back inside.

Then, the earthquake came.

At first, it was barely noticeable, just a slight feeling of dizziness and a loss of balance. Over the course of three seconds, that all changed. The ground shook in a violent spasm, knocking over the weaker buildings easily. Zeal, scared and confused, hid in the bathroom. The building began to tip as the shakes grew worse, knocking huge chunks of ceiling on a journey through the floors, only stopping if they break in half or splatter a family’s brains across the floor. Covering his head with his hands, Zeal began to cry. With a screeching hiss, the piping burst from the roof of the bathroom and swung down directly into the face of a young, black haired boy. Darkness clouded his vision. He was going to die.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

White, that was all Zeal saw. The world around him was empty, devoid of existence unless he counted himself, which he didn’t. Barely audible whispers filled the space around him, mentioning fights, angels and danger. ‘I must really be dead.’ Suddenly, a voice broke through the silence, a voice he recognized all too well.

"Wake up, Pretty Boy.” Azalea’s voice echoed. Small lines began to spread throughout the world like thin ice crackling under weight. From the lines sprouted bright pink flowers, each giving off their own pleasant aroma. Plucking one of the flowers from its crack, Zeal pressed the plant to his nose and took a deep whiff. ‘These are…. Azalea’s…’ The universe shattered around him, shards of memories once thought forgotten. Flashes of his life appeared in the reflective glass. The hospital, the therapist, coming to Yamaku, it was all there. When the last of the memories faded away, Zeal fell.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..............................
With a groan of pain, Zeal’s eyes fluttered open. The room was foreign to the young teenager. Where was he? How did he get here? Images of Azalea, pinned against the wall, popped into his mind. “Is Azalea alright?” he asked shakily, still taking in his surroundings. Sure enough, there she was, looking a little worse for wear, sitting next to a beautiful burgundy haired girl at the foot of his bed. Another girl lie in the bed beside him, accompanied by a large dog. The blind boy was nowhere to be seen and was replaced by a black haired boy with a notepad. He looked nice, though Zeal thought everybody without tattoo’s and piercings looked nice. A blonde boy stood by the doorway, a sly smile on his face. Only one word could be used to describe this boy. Handsome, and he didn't even like boys!

“How did I get here?” He asked quietly, the failure of his rescue sinking in to his skull. Small tears began to form beside amber eyes. ‘How can I protect people if I can’t even take one hoodlum? I’m a useless friend.’ The worried expressions on everyone’s faces unsettled him. It was a face he’d only seen a few times in his life. It meant people cared about a pathetic waste of space like himself. The very thought made Zeal sadder than before, there concern could be put to much better uses.

To assure them of his wellbeing, Zeal tried to sit up. Waves of pain crashed into his body and sent him straight back to lying down. With a heavy heart, Zeal turned to look at his new acquisition. His hand was mangled. Knuckle bones stuck out through pasty white skin and his fingers were coated in dried blood. Any small movement induced a little gasp of pain from his lips, something he wish no one was around to hear. The tears had begun to flow freely now, small streams of emotions that soiled his cheeks.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Zeal mumbled.

Zeal's first words when he awoke weren't "Where am I," "Ow" or "Fuck, that hurts."

“Is Azalea alright?” he asked. She froze, her spine seeming turn into curved steel and her skin feeling like 0.001mm thick glass. A mix of emotions crashed over her, seeming to shove her backwards with a ferocity. There was the snake of guilt that wrapped tighter around her neck, the sweet aftertaste of the bitter fruit on her tongue and defiant lack of care that shoved a thick layer of ice over it all. She was Azalea the Unfeeling, not Azalea the Crying Wuss.

“It is the tenderness that breaks our hearts. The loveliness that leaves us stranded on the shore, watching the boats sail away. It is the sweetness that makes us want to reach out and touch the soft skin of another person. And it is the grace that comes to us, undeserving though we may be.”

"I'm alright," she whispered softly, kneeling beside Zeal's bed and gently stroking his hair. She'd closed the book Sign Language for Dummies and placed it on a table nearby. "Something I can't quite say for you."

“How did I get here?” Zeal asked.

"She saved you," Azalea replied, nudging her head towards the burgundy haired girl. She stood, stepping away from the bed and gesturing for the lovely beauty to come forward. "Mr. Takahashi helped carry you here," she said with a sardonic smile. "He's stronger than he looks."

Azalea turned to the infirmary window, lifting the planes with her fingers to look out into the school courtyard. The sunlight streamed in, seeping into her pale irises and emphasising the silver cracks that rippled from a ring of silver around her pupils. The light reflected against the large waves of her long pink hair, revealing strands of gold and crimson. The courtyard was a deep green and it stretched endlessly, as far as her eyes could see. Not that that was saying much, since she was short sighted. Still, it was eerie in its enchantment, like a forest for fairies. Her pink hair fell over her shoulder - as it always did - concealing one side of her vision. Pink, unnatural, mesmerising. Beautiful in a way that makes beauty hideous, she thought grimly.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Zeal moaned through the pain.

"Is there something you can give him?" Azalea asked Mrs. Osaka, turning away from the window. The light shrunk as the planes fell back in place.

"I already have, I'm afraid," the nurse said.

Azalea furrowed her brows, finding herself, as always, wondering what pain was like. She knew it made beads of cold sweat run down Zeal's skin, she knew it made people scream, made them obey and betray. She knew it could control people, it could stop people from doing things like break their bones and burn themselves. She knew it made people cry, sometimes, and she knew it stopped babies from biting their tongues off - she'd bitten a quarter of her tongue off when she was teething as baby. She knew it controlled people, and most people didn't like it very much. She knew it let people know something was wrong. She knew, but knowing was not being. She didn't understand it, and she never would.

She didn't understand why Zeal's face seemed to contort and the sounds he made sounded... Like crying, but desperate crying, like he couldn't cry but he wanted and needed to. She didn't understand the way Hana grasped her suffocating lungs, and she tried, then. Azalea held her breath, held it, and waited, waited for a burning in her lungs, but nothing came. She didn't understand why people fussed over cuts and bruises and protruding bones. She didn't understand, but she did, she'd been taught to. If wounds went untreated, they would kill and destroy, but it wasn't something she'd ever understand first hand. She noticed she'd been staring at each person in the room, but Zeal in particular. She couldn't. It was like someone who saw in only black and white having to imagine colour. It wasn't possible, because she'd never seen colour.

"Oh, none of it's your fault," she told Zeal. "Sometimes I do things I don't need to do," she said, by way of apology. "You were defending me, and I am grateful? Grateful." What strange words she was using today; Azalea was not the thanking, apologising type. She could stand this infirmary with all its seriousface.jpg-ness. She wasn't a fan of pessimism - she was soooo not pessimistic - she lived by the popular phrase, 'No matter how bad things get, you got to go on living, even if it kills you.'

She stared awkwardly at Zeal, shuffling from foot to foot. What did you do for people in pain? Pat them on the shoulder and say something flirtatious? Oh, that seemed good enough. "Once you're all better, we can have mad animal sex, so get all better," she said with a grin, initiating a half gasp, half disapproving cluck of a tongue from the school nurse. "This school is PG31, right?"

A Chevy Corvette C7 glided through the gates, its perfectly polished surface gleaming in the sunlight like vicious red eyes shattering the peaceful green of Yamaku Academy. It executed perfect turns, cruising along at a speed that was both fast and slow until it slid into a horizontal parking space. The engine grumbled, stilled, and died.

The door swung open.

A Calvin Klein trouser clad leg stepped out from the car - Yamaku Academy seemed to still as heads turned to stare - then a full body. The man was tall, wearing an ironed white button-up shirt, his eyes shielded by dark sunglasses. The sun played along the locks of his dark pink hair, revealing strands of crimson and gold. Beautiful in a way that makes beauty hideous, he thought with a sardonic smile.

He took off his shades.

Ripples of shock seemed to ripple through the student body as they took hold - if they ever could grasp something that inhuman - of startling eyes. A gold ring surrounded his pupils, rippling into gold lines like broken glass, shattering the bright hazel hue of his eyes. He was breathless, breathless and impossible and familiar to anyone who'd been pushed aside by a wildly beautiful girl nicknamed Skater Girl.

Sage smiled and the world seemed to shatter.

He wove through the student body, the the push of his shoulders and quick steps of his legs filled with purpose. They knew where to go and people parted for him, like they'd parted for his sister not long before. He did not speak and he looked at no one but ahead, yet eyes followed him, drew him in and hoped to devour the entirety of his existence. Of course, they would never succeed.

It was almost supernatural, how he always knew where his other half was. Always, and that was where he was headed.

He had one purpose and only one: to destroy Azalea.



The door swung open.

Azalea spun around abruptly and before she could move or speak or, God, she didn't know, she froze. Every bone, particle and limb of her body, from the wavy strands of her hair to the singular lashes of her eyes to the joints in her feet stopped. Her breath stopped with her heart and she did nothing but stare. The ever-moving, ever-powerful and ever-Azalea was reduced to an almost shivering figure of fear, despair and shock. No, she wasn't surprised? Was she? Did she ever think she would be able to avoid him forever? Did she think her somewhat not-misery would last? Had she?

There were so many questions and no answers to any.

He was beautiful, as ever. Beautiful in a way that makes beauty hideous, she thought with a sardonic smile, forcing her body to loosen and her lungs to expand. He was heartbreakingly handsome, every strand of his hair perfect, as if they feared their master and wished to please him by being perfect. His gold eyes bore into hers of silver and she wanted nothing more than to claw them out or stare at them forever or both. It was a cruel joke of nature that they'd made him so horrifyingly enchanting. She felt naked in front of him, young, and he was reaching through her ribcage, squeezing her heart, pumping, and forcing her to live.

"Azalea."

The name rolled off his tongue - his perfect tongue she hated and loved with all her might - and she hated her name then. Hated it and wished it was something common, simple, other, with all her might. Like Kate or Elizabeth or Amelia. Anything but Azalea. His voice - deep as the oceans and as all-encompassing as the four walls of a prison cell - speaking her name was familiar and as foreign as if another limb had attached itself to her. She hated loved his velvet soft voice.

Mother nature had a sense of humour in creating perfect men with the souls of nightmares.

"Sage," she said, and she applauded herself because she sounded sickly sweet and sarcastic. She wanted to hug herself then, because while her mind was trembling in fear, her eyebrow raised and she cocked her hip and head to the side. She wanted to peel her skin from her bones. Sage. Sage. Sage. His name was as beautiful as the rest of him. She hated to love it.

"How can I miss you if you won't go away?" she asked in her honey-sweet voice in zero gravity.

"Ouch, little sister. You're breaking my heart," he said, clutching his chest and feigning hurt.

"If only," she replied.

"How much you must've missed me, my little flower," Sage purred in his velvet prison deep in the ocean voice. "How long has it been?"

"Not long enough."

"A year? Two?" he continued, ignoring her comment. "How you've grown." Sage raked his eyes over her body.

"I see you're as freakishly tall as ever," she said curtly, resisting the urge to clutch her body and shield herself; resisted the urge to through herself out the window.

"Charming," he said, giving her a sickly sweet smile, she painted one on her own lips. Fine, that was the way they were going to be. "Oh, are these your friends?" he asked curiously, sweeping his gold gaze over each person in the room as if he'd just noticed them and was now recording down every minor detail he saw, from the number of hairs on their heads and the exact shade of their shirts. Teal? Aqua? Turquoise? Maroon? Azalea pink?

"No," she said. Mistake. She'd said it too quickly. Azalea clenched her teeth as Sage raised a sculpted brow - so familiar it was an expression, it felt like she was looking at a mirror image of herself. She wanted to run a knife through her throat because of it. "I met them today," she found herself explaining. No, stop. Stop explaining. He'll only think you're making excuses. But it was true, wasn't it? They weren't her friends.

"Interesting," Sage said with a perfect, God-like smile. She wanted to carve his face into the Joker, or maybe she wanted to do that to herself.

"Would you like to join me for a walk, brother?" she said, forcing her legs to walk towards him and for her hand to snatch his, forcing her to drag him away from these unsuspecting strangers. Forcing herself to leave the relative safety of the nurse's office. No, she would never be safe from him. Not anywhere, not with anyone, not ever.

"There, there," Sage whispered against her head and suddenly she was shoved against a wall, his body pressed up against hers. He was close, too close, and the hallway too empty. He trapped her between his arms, his gold eyes bleeding into her own, his warm breath - like Heaven and brimstone combined - brushing her skin. His lips were inches from hers, and then they were on her own. He kissed her, his soft, perfect lips pressing into her own, their cupid's bows mirroring each other's as they struggled to devour one another's life force. She clutched his shirt, rumpling his perfect clothes. He tasted of honey, he tasted of death, and their warm tongues fought with each other, and she lost all thought and forgot how to think, forgot that she was meant to push away, forgot that she was anything but Sage's plaything. That was all she would ever be, that was all she was good for.

"Shh, shh," he breathes into my neck, his hands where they shouldn't be. His breath reeks of brimstone and I think he might be Satan. Yes, this is Hell, and I am being punished for being evil.

His fingers knotted themselves through her hair and she knotted hers through his until she forgot where they ended and the other began. No, Sage was the only one who existed, she was but a manifestation of what he wanted. His leg pressed against her flesh between her legs and she pressed herself closer, closer, closer. Never close enough. That was the only way she would ever be, by being his. She was nothing without Sage. She was nothing.

Razor blades tear into my abdomen, or maybe it's my head. My screams are muffled against his chest, until I no longer bother to scream. Is this pain?

"Please, please." The voice was honey in zero gravity. Tears ripped at her cheeks, tumbled through her closed lids and shattered on her collar bones. Sage mumbled nonsense against her lips and she lost herself, lost herself because she never was and there was never anything for her to lose.

The knob turns and the door creeps open, the scent of him drowns the room. I stare into the splashes of darkness behind my eyelids and stay still – he has the eyes of Medusa, he is always watching, he has the eyes of Medusa, he is always – "Good girl," he coos.

She was trembling and she was dust, and he was the jar that kept her together, kept her imprisoned, kept her for himself. His arms were the only things that kept her from shattering on the ground and God, she wanted to shatter. She wanted to shatter into a million pieces and become nothing. She was nothing, she was nothing. She would leave it all, she would leave the skin and and head she was trapped by and disappear. She would, she needed to, she couldn't.

She opened her eyes and she was somewhere else.



He hated her. He hated her. He hated her.

She tasted of honey and vanilla and Angels and Heaven and sugar and she was everything he would never be. He dug his nails into her back, shoving her fragile body against the wall and pressing his soft lips against hers. His gold eyes were open, always open, and he raked his nails down her spine when water fell from beneath her eyelids. She would not feel it, his nails tearing her apart. He would do it over and over and over, until nothing was left of her but shreds.

He loved her. He loved her. He loved her.

Azalea shivered against him and she was beautiful, perfect, and she was everything he would ever need. Her long hair felt like silk against his fingers, painting shivers down his spine. Her scent of intoxicating and he imagined this might be what Heaven smelled like and she was the closest to Heaven that he'd ever be.

I tuck my nails beneath her skin, painting roses in the knobs of her spine and knotting the crimson thread binding her wrists.

"Please, please." The voice was velvet in a prison cell in the bottom of the ocean. His brows drew together as his tongue searched deeper, searched and he would never find what he was looking for, he had. Azalea mumbled nonsense against his lips and he found himself, because he would only ever be if she was his and she was his, she would only be his and he would destroy anyone who tried to take her away.

My fingers dance across her ripples of purple-blue-green-and-black, my breath, along his lips.

"You make beautiful bruises," she whispers.

He was everything and he was too much, it was all too much and he had to drown it all in her. He was a million pieces and Azalea would pull him in, put him back together again but he was never whole and he never would be. He was lost in a world a billion light years away and he couldn't feel his skin or the bones beneath them, if he had any. Her lips pulled him in and he held onto her because she was where he wanted to be. He was everything, everything, and he wanted to be nothing.

He closed his eyes, and he was here.

Satomi had closed her eyes for barely a moment it seemed when the pink haired girl pushed a phone towards her and she shook her head a little. Gathering up her courage again, despite only being able to manage a squeak she smiled a little at the other girl and spoke softly.
"I got the teacher to carry him...my name is Honoka Satomi." She sat on the bed carefully with an apologetic look directed in the dark haired and eyed boy. She typed the following into the phone before handing it back. "I like your eyes, they're like the lake that was near my old house...used to freeze over in winter and looked brilliant! ^-^ " Then the school nurse gave Pinkie a book on sign language and Satomi smiled warmly before making a sad noise as she looked down at the other female's bloodied hands and wrists. She then looked up at the girl for a moment...such a pretty girl, what on earth could have caused her to be enrolled here?

She jumped a little when she felt the bed shift and she peered around the other girl to see what was happening. She then found herself looking into a pair of pain filled hazel eyes. She tried to smile at him comfortingly but she blinked and looked at his lips and read them. Azalea...was that the other girl's name? It was so pretty. It was some sort of flower..she knew that much. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice that anything had changed until Pin- Azalea had put down the book and stood up. She studied the pink haired female's body language and she noted the stiffening of the shoulders. Fear...possibly.

Satomi turned her head to look at a young man that had a similar look to Azalea. Her sibling possibly? But the dynamics between them were odd...even she could see it without knowing what they even sounded like. However as they left she realised that there was no sign of the boy Azalea had been flirting with minutes earlier and that she was sitting at the bedside of a boy that she didn't know. A very handsome boy...that she assumed was Zeal. She tilted her head and then as she saw the cold sweat on his face. She bit her lip worriedly before sliding up the bed a little and carefully pressing her hand to his forehead. She then checked by pressing her hand to her own forehead and smiled reassuringly. She then swallowed heavily and bowed her head to him, her cheeks flushing a pale pink as she opened her mouth and only a soft squeak came out. She looked mortified and clapped her hands over her mouth.

She wasn't very good at talking, not even when she still had her hearing. She'd gone to an all girl's school in England so, it was a little startling to be in a school that had both genders co-existing within it.
"H-hello my name is...Honoka...Satomi...please reply back slowly...I have to lip read with you." She said, briefly looking up at him with her honey hued eyes. "Sorry...for not coming across you...earlier." She added as an after thought with a motion to his injured hand before she looked over at the girl in the bed with the service animal to make sure she was alright also. She then turned her head back to Zeal and pushed her long red-brown hair back from her ears.

After a few seconds of agonizing pain, the feeling diminished down to an irritating ache. It seems the drugs were starting to kick in. He sighed with a mixture of pain and relief and once again let his gaze drift around the room. Everybody was staring at him, their expressions even more worried than before. A pang of guilt struck Zeal’s heart. He was a burden to their emotions, an unwelcome feeling that couldn’t be ignored. Azalea was alright, that was all that mattered…but, why did it matter? Why did he go to the trouble of getting his hand smashed just t save her? An even better question popped into his mind.

Where did he get that courage?

All his life, Zeal had never stood up for anything, always going with the flow to avoid conflict. Why now, against the four toughest guys in school, did he choose to act? His thoughts were interrupted by the tickle of hair on his cheek. He turned to find Azalea, once again, only inches from his face. Her voice passed through his ear canal’s like hot liquid, nestling in the base of his skull. "Once you're all better, we can have mad animal sex, so get all better,” Zeal blushed profusely, his eyes widening at the subject. ‘D-Did she just say that? No, no. I must’ve misheard her.’ He thought, desperately trying to pull his mind away from the fantasies. A simple nod was all he could manage in his speechless state, his body working overtime to repair his hand as fast as possible.

As soon as the boy walked in, Zeal instantly disliked him. He looked like Azalea, walked like Azalea and even sounded like Azalea but the black haired boy could tell he was nothing like her. The way she stood jolted his arm, forcing a small grunt of agony from his lips. When things came back into focus, he saw something he thought he’d never see.
Azalea was scared of the boy.

To anyone else, he would appear harmless or strikingly attractive, even Zeal couldn’t deny that, but his gaze told him everything he needed to know. The way he looked at his pink haired friend was not one of awe like she usually got, nor one of fear. It was one of power. To him, she was nothing but a slab of meat, waiting to be devoured by his perfectly chiselled jaw.

The very thought made Zeal’s blood boil as the courage returned. Once again, he moved to get up only to be forced downwards by the pain. Sage's eyes glinted evilly, more so than he had ever seen in the Tunnel Snakes eyes. "Oh, are these your friends?” He asked, his voice the picture of innocence. "No, I just met them today.” Zeal’s heart sank. He wasn’t her friend? But…they had gotten along so well. Hazel eyes narrowed at Sage, shooting daggers of anger. It was him who caused this. Zeal opened his mouth to object but his throat was held shut by Sage’s gaze. A petrifying, paralysing gaze that promised hurt and regret.

Together, they left the room, leaving Zeal with a new batch of tears to blink away and thoughts to process. ‘Her brother huh? He’s scary. How can Azalea even stand him? He appears all nice on the outside but his eyes hold a much darker being. She was actually scared….what did he do to her?’ A sudden pressure on his forehead made Zeal flinch, sending a, now dulled, wave of pain through his body. He gritted his teeth and looked to see what had caused it.

A girl leaned over top of him, checking his temperature. She had long burgundy hair that flowed down her body like a stream of cinnamon and large bright eyes only slightly lighter than his. Just by looking at her, Zeal felt more at ease and pushed the issue with Azalea to the back of his mind, what could he possibly do in the middle of school?

“Are you the one that saved me?” The girl nodded and bowed, something not very many students his age did. When she gave out the little squeak, Zeal couldn’t help but giggle. She was very cute and, unlike when he was around Azalea, he didn’t feel nervous while talking to her. "H-hello my name is...Honoka...Satomi...please reply back slowly...I have to lip read with you.” Zeal nodded and followed her instructions. “I’m Zeal Yamaka. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for saving me. I’d hate to see what state I’d be in if you didn’t.”

The girl looked down guiltily at his hand. A sudden realization struck Zeal like a punch to the gut. He wasn’t able to draw anymore. Even if they did fix his hand, it would never be as coordinated as it was before, never be as strong. He blinked away more tears. He’d had so many things he’d wanted to draw, so many things to divulge from the depths of his mind. "Sorry...for not coming across you...earlier.” Zeal shook his head and smiled at Satomi. He hated it when people were sad, it caused him more pain then his hand ever could. “If you hadn’t have come when you did, you might’ve missed the teacher. Then where would I be?” The girl smiled and pushed the hair out of her face, making Zeal’s cheeks fill with red.

He craned his neck to see the other two in the room. A girl lay in the bed beside him accompanied by a large dog. Zeal had always liked dogs and they seemed to like Zeal, even the ones that were usually violent. The other inhabitant was a boy peeling oranges. He sat beside the girl as Satomi sat by him. Maybe they were boyfriend and girlfriend? They certainly made a cute couple. All at once, his shyness returned. “I, um, I’m sorry for making you worry.” He glanced at the clock, the assembly was starting in five minutes. “You should, um, get going. The assembly is starting soon…” His voice trailed off at the end, leaving it an open point for discussion.

‘Azalea won’t be going.’ He thought, making a silent resolve to help his pink-haired friend in whatever way he could.

"Nice to meet you Zeal. I-I didn't really save you...I didn't carry you here. But..your hand...will it be alright?" She responded before she smiled a little at his giggle as she considered it to be very cute indeed. However when she spotted him blinking fiercely as if to chase away tears, Satomi knew...she just knew that he enjoyed doing something physical or artsy, it was either art or music she guessed. She had once expressed herself in a musical way, but now she had stopped because she wasn't sure if her voice still sounded as sweet as it once had.

When he smiled at her her eyes went wide and her cheeks went pink again. She nodded slowly as she read his lips again and shrugged one shoulder shyly.
"The teacher looked very harassed when he came to the door so I probably made him run late. W-Well you might still be...lying there.." She trailed off softly before looking a little worried as his cheeks went red and then he craned his neck.
"Are you alright? Your cheeks went red Zeal." She asked before looking over at what had distracted him. She giggled softly as she watched the dog, the girl and the boy that had handed the girl a portion of an orange.

"That's such a pretty scene..." She murmured before turning back just in time to see his lips move, Satomi then frowned a little in confusion. Had he said hurry or worry? When he glanced at the clock she looked at his dark hair and she wondered if it felt as soft as it looked. She then took in a deep breath and a shiver ran down her spine, his smell was very different from hers...she knew she smelt like a mix of caramel and cinnamon because of the body wash that she used. She would have to look for a new scent soon though as she was running out of this one, her mother hadn't told her where she bought it from before she became sick.

When he mentioned the assembly she shook her head.
"No point in going...I won't be able to see the sign language translator from the back of the hall. And I can't hear the loudspeakers." She said with a soft laugh before noticing that his thoughts had strayed a little. Satomi let her mind wander back to Azalea and that frightening young man. She hoped that he wasn't in her class, it'd be horrible if he was sitting in the same room as her with those freaky evil eyes. Even thinking about it gave her the willies. She bit her lip and then patted the bed lightly to bring the hazel eyed boy back to the present.
"Do you think Azalea will be alright?" She asked, her pink lips in a slightly worried line and she turned her head to look at the clock, the little red heart on her ear piercing sparkling a little in the morning sun. "I hope she is...that boy was frightening. I hope he isn't in any of our classes." She added almost inaudibly before smoothing out her skirt nervously.

He wasn't surprised that he girl wouldn't be able to translate his signing into words, but he wouldn't let his disappointment show. He felt a bit bad for making the deaf girl jump, but she didn't seem too bothered by it. Alex signed fast and occasionally he signed too fast for people who weren't experienced in signing to figure out what he was trying to get across. He decided to reply to the girl's question as quickly as he could. [It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Alexander Tores. In all honesty I would've yelled, if I could even speak at all. ] He would not mind getting his ability to speak back, but he didn't know if he would even be able to talk normally if he ever did get his speech back and he didn't want to leave the school that quickly. He took her hand and lightly shook it, since he couldn't have shaken it harder without risking damaging his hands any further. He winced a bit when their skin made contact, but he didn't make any audible indicators of pain.

He wondered why the girl would care what people thought of her voice, but he wouldn't ask for fear of embarrassing her further than what she already appeared to be. [I don't see why it would sound weird.] He signed this with a steady and slow flow of letters, since he had quite a bit on his mind and whenever he was deep in thought he signed slower than usual. He was always careful of what he told people, so it would not really make a difference if he could speak. Isolation from the rest of the world made Alex not know much about trends or the way people acted, but he did get to play with other rich families' children. His parents knew that having friends in the business world would get them more money, so they used Alex as a way to build fake relationships with other families. Alex's family turned their back on the families they had mediocre friendships with whenever the other families stopped being useful, so Alex usually didn't have very many friends as a child. He did however remember a song taught to him by his brother, but he never played the song due to it being a conduit for his emotions and him not being able to accept the fact that his brother was dead. The song described Alex's situation perfectly.

He was looking forward to tomorrow, even if he might not be able to participate in classes due to his body being hurt. He was set on playing piano, so he wouldn't forget how to play the song taught to him by his brother. He thought about something that was nagging at his mind for a while. How was he accepting this school so easily? Perhaps it was the fact that he was able to make new friends, but he would never know. He remembered all those fake friends he had when he was a child. Back then he could put on a fake smile and pretend that everything was fine with him, but back then his brother was alive and he could use his voice. He was a great dancer due to his parents constantly making him practice. He enjoyed dancing, but he rarely got chances to dance and he rarely had anyone to dance with.

He felt saddened when the boy came in and Azalea left with him, since he could tell that Azalea did not enjoy seeing the boy at all. He smiled at the boy when he came in though, but at the same time he was calculating how he could possibly help Azalea. He couldn't think of any way to help her, that didn't include him being in a worse condition than he was now. He then noticed that he was completely ignoring the kid who just woke up, so he felt like apologizing to him and hoping the boy didn't think of Alex as rude. He quickly signed an apology to the boy. [I'm sorry I ignored you, but I was kind of busy.] He hoped the boy wouldn't be bothered by his lack of voice, since he couldn't really write anything down on paper due to his vision being a bit blurred. He then remembered that he may have missed the assembly, so he decided to ask the boy if he knew anything about the school. [Excuse me, but do you know if I missed anything important in the assembly? I did miss the assembly, right?] He hoped he hadn't missed too much , since it would be awkward if he didn't have any idea where to go or what to do at school.

"Do you think Azalea will be alright?" Azalea…what was her deal? One minute she’s offering to take his virginity, the next she’s denying his very existence? Zeal shook his head, as if the motion will clear his thoughts of their negative implications. She cast him away, just like the others. At this point, he shouldn’t be surprised, everything left him eventually. Friends, family, dreams, they all abandoned him. Azalea was just another statistic.

And yet, she didn’t want to.

Zeal smiled softly at Satomi, breathing in the scent of caramel and cinnamon. It was a pleasant smell that excited the nostrils. “I’ve never seen anyone as strong, or as forward, as Azalea. She’ll be fine. If that creep tries anything Azalea will put him in his place with a well-placed kick to the groin.” Even as he said it, Zeal knew he was wrong. The way her eyes met his, it was the look someone got when they saw something so horrifying, they couldn’t look away. For his companions wellbeing, he didn’t voice his concerns.

"I hope he isn't in any of our classes.” Satomi asked, a little fear in her voice. Again, Zeal shook his head. “I saw the class list. If my eyesight hasn’t failed me too, we’re in the same class.” He wished he could comfort her with something she could actually experience. Sometimes, a simple smile wasn’t enough. The other boy asked if he’d missed the assembly. “It should be just starting. If you run, you should be able to make it.”

Suddenly, the dog jumped from the bed beside him and ran into the hallway. The flinching didn`t hurt this time, the drugs had finally kicked in. The girl hopped out of bed and ran after her dog, bumping into the elderly nurse. It was now Zeal noticed she was blind. The nurse smiled and helped the girl regain her balance. "Now honey, it`s not like she`s going to run off without you. C`mon, let`s get you back in bed. She`ll come back soon, don`t worry," the nurse said softly, helping Hana back into the bed.

If Azalea was hot and Satomi was cute, this girl was beautiful. Her long brown hair cascaded off her head in brilliant waves, giving her a younger appearance then she was. She looked fragile, like a slight knock on the head and she`d break into a thousand pieces. 'Maybe…this year won`t be that bad after all.'
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
The main hall was packed with students. The sounds of socializing bounced off the walls, making it seem like there were more people then there actually were. The shy students noticed this all too much, sinking into their seats. With a tap on his microphone, principal Littner quieted the populace.

"Welcome students of Yamaku Academy! We teachers are here for one reason and one reason only. To give you the best education you can receive. Whether you are a new face to the campus, or an enrolled student already at this time, we would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to Yamaku Academy. We encourage you, the students, to not only try your hardest but believe in your own strength. Every single one of you have the power to overcome any problem, whether it be a lost limb, a missing sense or something internal. It`s hard to get through these times alone, that`s why we`re here for you!"

The principal, like he did every year, was getting far too into his speech. His prosthetic arms flailing every which way as he leaned precariously over the podium. Some of the students shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Ms. Haruno softly tapped his shoulder, bringing him back on track.

”Thank you for choosing to enroll in Yamaku Academy. We welcome our newcomers and returning students alike to relax and enjoy "Welcome Week", during which there will be no classes, and you may familiarize yourself with our humble campus. Please, though...be safe, look for clubs you may be interested in joining, and most importantly: Make friends."

Many of the students had been paying attention, but just as many had only half been doing so, and some simply and blatantly not doing so at all. It was only one day away from the first day of school, and that fact made a lot of the students upset they were required to attend the opening speech. However, as the program which had been handed out had stated, students were in fact allowed to leave to their homes after the speech was over. Out of both obligatory courtesy, as well as relief that they would soon be going to their dorms or homes, the students began offering their applause. One girl even clapped the palm of her hand against the smooth stump of her wrist, showing she did not care about her disability or any potential awkwardness.

The very large crowd of students began dispersing almost immediately, students going to their dorms and apartments and houses. The school year had officially started.

The note read: "The both of you are invited to Band Practice. Room M003 near the assembly hall. See you two hotnesses later.
~ A. C."

"Sure, bro. Give us a place, don't give us a time. I'm a woman, hence, I'm psychic," she said sarcastically, reading around the handsome brunette and tucking the note in his back pocket. She would admit her hand lingered on his backside for a little too long. He had a great ass.

"C'mon, doggy, let's get you back to my cute little Hana," she said, having already claimed Hana for herself. "To the nurse," she said for Brunette's sake as she ushered the dog forward to his mistress. "What's your name, besides Tall, Dark and Handsome?" she asked with a light smirk.

---

"HANA~" Azalea squealed, dashing into the nurse's office at an incredible speed, she slapped her hand on a chair, double flipping into the air and tackling Hana onto the bed. "Woooooo!" she yelped, sitting on the young girl, her legs tucked around Hana's torso. Azalea bent down and pressed a kiss right over Hana's lips. "Hana Banana, goooood morning," she cooed, taking Hana's face in her hands and wrapping her in a suffocating hug.

"Your dog is a saint and you are a Goddess," she announced, squishing her red cheek against Hana's soft, round ones. "We are naming your dog Saint Dog and I'm building a tent and calling it St. Dog's Chapel," she proclaimed.

"Oh my god, my feels," she gushed, jumping off of Hana and getting ready to pounce on Zeal.

"Azalea," the nurse said in a warning tone. "Most people can actually feel." Mrs. Osaka pursed her lips then, realising what had just slipped through her lips. Mrs. Osaka hadn't wanted them to know, Azalea having a very, very long record of being beaten or tortured by other students. 'Make the unfeeling girl feel' seemed to be a ritual initiation that all new students had to go through. She hadn't wanted that to happen to Azalea.

"You killed my funk," Azalea whined with a pout as she crossed her arms over her chest. She jumped off the beds and bounced on her feet. "Oh wow, I'm so sleepy!" she said with wide eyes as she jumped up and down. "CAFFEINE!" Her gaze snapped over to the jar of lollipops Mrs. Osaka kept in her office then.

"Azalea!" Mrs. Osaka yelled as the pink haired girl snatched a lollipop from the jar. "You shouldn't!"

"I'd like to see you stop me," Azalea snarled, snapping her teeth as she slipped behind a desk, dodging and avoiding the grasp of the ancient school nurse. Then, suddenly, she dropped to the floor and bounced back up, slipping around a surprised Mrs. Osaka. Cackling loudly, Azalea ran out of the room - but not without slapping a kiss on Satomi, too.

"I'm going for the lesbian look this year," she said hastily. "Can you tell?"

Azalea popped the lollipop into her mouth, sucking and licking at it suggestively. "Oh, this is oh so small," she said with emphasis on 'small.' "I could use something big."

"Azalea!" Mrs. Osaka gushed with a furious blush. Oh, Azalea did so love making people feel awkward.

"Ooo, this is strawberry and cream flavoured," she said. "Like my strawberry hair you could totally run your fingers through during s-"

"Azalea Kristin Fray!" the nurse exclaimed.

"Retreat, retreat," Azalea gasped, pretending to speak into an imaginary walky-talky. "Mayday, mayday. Angry nurse alert." She laughed, stepping backwards and slipping out the door. Azalea's sneakers slapped against the polished floor as she ran down the hallway. There was a loud boom as she slapped the double doors open. Soon she found herself at the assembly hall. She caught the last snippets of announcement.

"Make friends."

No, she was not going to 'make friends.' She had the misfortune of having Sage as a brother and as she lost all motor control around him and he happened to be very, very good at ruining lives, she wasn't going to bother. In fact, she hoped nobody even liked her. Azalea turned to the female washrooms then, slipping in and standing in front of the mirror at one of the sinks. She pulled out a large bag from her already large messenger bag. She washed her face, scrubbing madly at her skin and lips to get Sage's scent and touch out of her. Azalea pulled her tank top over her head, everything, she took everything off, even her shoes.

After she'd towel dried her body - she was practically naked but what the hell, gracing people with her nudity was as good as community work - she pulled pulled on her best hooker-lingerie. She'd had the school's green skirt altered so it was incredibly short, covering enough to be decent and no more. She was grateful for the school uniform's long white sleeves, they covered the finger marks all along her arms and the burn she'd received from scraping her arm along the floor when she tackled Zeal to the ground. Azalea combed out her pale pink hair, its waves fell perfectly around her now, each strand falling like gold and silk. Without a strand out of place, she began on the makeup. Azalea covered the bruises and cuts with the precision and speed of someone who did it everyday.

By the end of it, she was perfect.

Not a single injury could be seen on her and one would think she were a pampered rich girl or a model from the looks of her. Azalea tied the black ribbon under her collar, it sat perfectly between her collar bones. Her wavy hair brushed past her skirt and skimmed her black thigh-high socks that had been stretched out over her long legs. Her shoes shone almost as brightly as her hair. Azalea briefly considered letting all her injuries show, but decided otherwise. She didn't want to have to deal with Sage. He liked to see his sister perfect.

She stepped out of the girl's bathroom and when a boy turned to stare at her, startled, she saw herself through his eyes.

She saw her large, intense, light silver eyes; her crimson lips; her pink hair streaked with gold and crimson and her hourglass figure sculpted as if from an artist's vision of an ideal woman. She was flawless. She was Azalea.

The girls tears hurt Zeal far more then he was expecting. The down-trodden fall of her head, tears on her cheeks and hugging of her knees, Zeal knew these motions all too well. She thought of herself as a husk of flesh, useless without someone to guide her. She didn’t know how wrong she was. With surprising effort, she pulled herself together and asked if there was a music club. “Yeah, I believe so.” He responded, it wasn't a matter he had looked into much. There weren't many instruments you could play with one arm.

A loud bark came from the door as the large dog came barreling in, Azalea skipping happily behind it. Together they converged on Hana, both of them giving kisses and hugs alike. A small tinge of red crossed Zeal’s nose at the girl-on-girl action, it was something he had never even expected to see in his life. Azalea pulled away and looked at Zeal seductively. He knew what was coming next and could do nothing to stop her. “Azalea, most people can actually feel.” The black-haired boy’s curiosity sparked. ‘Could actually feel? What does she mean?’

Azalea groaned and, after stealing a lollipop, making her usual sexual references, and kissing Satomi, which elicited another blush from the boy, left the room. Zeal felt strangely left out. He wanted his first kiss taken by her too. Of course, he wouldn't ever say that out loud. He was much too shy for that. His gaze drifted back to Hana. She knew what it was like to be lonely, she had felt it.

Zeal wanted to make sure she didn’t feel it again.

With the drugs numbing the pain, Zeal pulled himself forwards and sat up, against the nurse’s concerns, he hopped out and made his way over. Careful not to startle her, Zeal sat down beside the previously crying blind girl. He wanted to hold her and tell her everything’s going to be fine, to stroke her hair like his dad had done so many times to him. His arm hung uselessly at his side, the drugs had completely knocked it out and blocked his control. Still, Zeal smiled even though she couldn’t see it. “You know…whenever I thought I was alone in the world, my dad would always tell me this. He’d say, Zeal, don’t believe in yourself, believe in me. Believe in the dad that believes in you. I guess…what I’m trying to say is…ummm”

Zeal sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, I forgot what I was going to say.” He delivered himself a mental punch and tried again. “What I was trying to say was…I believe in you.” Nana barked happily, as if agreeing with him, and crawled into his lap, licking the dried blood off his hand. “You know, I always liked dogs. They’re always there for you, no matter what happens. Even when your separated, the connection between you never really goes away.” Zeal smiled even wider when he found he was unable to get up from Nana’s extra weight.

Satomi smiled a little in relief as Zeal reassured her that Azalea's brother wouldn't be in her class.
“I saw the class list. If my eyesight hasn’t failed me too, we’re in the same class.” She then bit her lip as she realised that one of the people she'd met here would have to be in the same class as the pink haired beast man. Or at least..that's what she thought he was. She began wondering how much of a threat he was to Azalea and assumed that he was a threatening as a lethal injection to a prisoner.
"Is it bad that I'm glad he is not in our class?" She asked out aloud before she closed her eyes for....goodness knows how long. When she opened them, the dog and the black haired, black eyed boy had vanished and she turned her head to see that Zeal was comforting the brown haired girl.

Not wanting to intrude, she had been about to excuse herself from the infirmary when Azalea came back in with the force of a cyclone, service dog in tow. Satomi watched the goings on in amazement as Azalea kissed and hugged the blind young woman and then proceeded to borrow a lollipop from the nurse's jar of them. She let out a startled squeak as Azalea kissed her and she blushed darkly, looking down as Azalea escaped with the lollipop and Satomi's first kiss. She stood up, her eyes shadowed by her bangs for a moment before she bowed again and cleared her throat.
"I think...I should leave. I want to find a nice spot outside to sit for lunchtime." She said just before the blind young woman; trying to avoid a newcomer, bumped into him and fell over.

"Oh dear...is she alright?" She asked before her pocket started vibrating and she took out her pager. She fished it out and looked down at it before her lips pressed into a thin line and her eyes darkened a little in sadness.
"Nice to meet you all...I shall see those whom are in class 2-2 for English." She said before bowing again and trying to help the blind girl up before hurrying out the door.

~~~~

She skirted out around the masses of people coming out of the opening ceremony. Coming out into a small courtyard just underneath a small window which was a part of what she thought was the music rooms. There was a small stone bench underneath the window and she settled down on it, glad for an 'anchorage' point of some sort. She watched the sun stream through the trees and wished that she could hear the cicadas making their world famous whirring, feeling as though she was floating in a pool of water with her head back as the life sustaining liquid slid into her ears. She gripped the hard black plastic case of the pager and glanced down at it, breaking the sensation of floating.

"Mary's birthday today!! Okaa-san's birthday today!! Happy birthday Mary, happy birthday~" The words sent a slow sadness sliding through her before she swallowed thickly. Satomi gave a slightly wobbly smile to the pager before she turned it off and put it back in her pocket. She leaned her head back against the wall behind her and felt the vibrations of an amplified instrument against the back of her skull. It lasted for barely a minute and she realised that she wanted to sing now...for the first time in a year and a half she was willing to sing even without being able to hear herself.

She made a beat from what she remembered of her favourite song and smiled before opening her mouth. She let out a hauntingly bittersweet voice as she though back to her mother, her voice drowned out even the cicadas as she tried to remember her mother's face as she hit her long, perfectly pitched note. Her voice was hard to describe as it was both powerful and clear, many singers could have power but would have horrid pronunciation. She was warm in some places, icy in others and it created a good blend of emotion and skill. But the fact still remained that she both loved and hated her mother; loved her for the time that they'd had with each other and hated her for leaving before she even had her first good news to tell her now absent mother. The dappled sun turned her hair to burgundy fire as she belted out the song to her heart's content. Though there was no sound that she heard...she still had perfect pitch from the days before her hearing loss and it became her advantage now.

She had no super powers, but her voice remembered everything, the high notes to the low and her memory for music scores was impeccable. Her eyes sparkled for a moment before she let out the last word and then sat there quietly as her breathing came in short gasps.
"I think I might survive here...despite this strange first day." She said to herself, the essential irony rooted in the fact that she had talked to herself...though she could not hear a word. Unaware that the music room was still in use.

Zeal smiled at Hana’s embarrassment as she assaulted him with questions. She was cute, like, really cute. Even just her giggles caused the young boy to break out in a fit of blushing. Her hair moved when he talked, a curtain of ebony in the wind. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I never even told you my name, I'm Fugio Hana.” The girl said cheerfully. Zeal made a mental note of it in his brain so he never forgot. “Well, I’m Zeal Yamaka. It’s a pleasure to meet you Hana.” He quipped, giving her a little nod before he remembered she couldn't see it.

“What do you think about this place?” Zeal pondered this question for at least a minute before answering, pressing his shoulder to hers so she didn’t think he had left. Yamaku wasn’t a bad place. Take away the Tunnel Snakes, which Azalea promptly got rid of, and your left with a beautiful campus with friendly teachers, a huge library and crappy food. “It’s…peaceful,” he finally said. “Like your own zen garden, waiting to be molded. It’s only when the snakes start to get in that the purity of the sand is ruined.” He grimaced as the picture of Sage popped into his mind, forcing it from his conscious.

“Is this your first year too?" Zeal shook his head before, once again, remembering Hana couldn’t see. He cleared his throat nervously. He wasn’t used to people actually taking interest in him. “Uhh, no. No, I’ve been here for three years if you count this one.” A sudden idea popped into his head. It was crazy, moronic and even pushing his own boundaries, not to mention hers. “Hey…would you like a tour…of the school? I could show you where the music room is, the library and maybe even help you get unpacked.”

He delivered a swift mental kick to his stomach. ‘Help her get unpacked? What the hell were you thinking? She’s going to think you’re some kind of rapist and never talk to you again. Shit, this was not a good idea. Not at all.’ If Zeal could move his arm, he would have slapped himself out cold, that way he wouldn’t have to listen to Hana’s rejection. His eyes cast upwards, pleading to Satomi for some help recovering the situation but she was nowhere to be seen.

While Zeal fought with himself, Nana, being the ingenious dog that she is, decided it was the perfect time to attack the black haired boy with a barrage of licks. He yelped in surprise as the large yellow beast toppled him over beside Hana, covering every inch of his face with sticky slobber. “H-Hey! Cut it out!” Zeal laughed, completely forgetting his mental feud with his own stupidity, and rubbed the dog lovingly with his cheek. He had always wanted a dog but he didn’t have the money to feed one on campus. The licks softened from something that could be considered softcore porn to comforting kisses. It was like Nana knew Zeal’s worries.

“I, uh, I guess Nana agrees.” He said happily.