Zeal Yamaka's Story

The black gates of Yamaku stood parallel to the bright blue sky. They were not just the entrance to a school, they were the passage to a whole new life. A life of pain, joy, love, and loss. Once you passed through the wrought iron gates, you will never be society’s standard of normal again. As long as you wear that uniform, you’re forever branded as different. For some, this is their sanctuary. A place of respite from the opinions and influence of the outside world. For others, it’s a constant reminder of why they are there in the first place.

Zeal looked over his drawing and scoffed. The gate was skewed slightly to the left, the designs in the center weren’t symmetrical, and the walls surrounding it looked like tacky carpet. With a flick of his wrist, the paper bounced off the edge of the trashcan and plopped onto the floor. “Dammit.” The black haired youth mumbled as he got off his chair to pick up the stubborn drawing. Because he arrived a day early, Zeal wasn’t even sure there were other students here yet. The silence was both comforting and unnerving at the same time.

Instinctively, he reached down to pick up the paper with his right arm only to find he would never be able to reach it, let alone grasp it. The stump slid back to its place under the boy’s jacket as the paper was thrown in the trash. Instead of returning to his seat and beginning again, Zeal walked to the window. Puffy clouds dotted the crystal clear skies with an abundance of whimsy, being carried wherever they feel like going. Zeal envied the clouds, not for their freedom but for the fact that they were never alone.

He returned to his drawings with an almost reluctant pace. Once again, he tried to concentrate on the gates of Yamaku in his mind. The swirls of the metal. The texture of the stone surrounding it, every detail was placed perfectly in his mind. With new determination, the pencil struck the paper, ready to make a masterpiece.

*SNAP*

The tip of lead landed on the soft white paper, creating a startling contrast. With an audible sigh, Zeal scooped the drawing utensils into his bag and left the library. As expected, the hallways were deserted. The clack of shoes on tile floor echoed through the school, giving a more it a more ominous feel even though it was early morning. Walking outside, the sound of engines filled the parking lot. ‘Looks like the buses are here. That means the initiation assembly starts in...33 minutes.’ Zeal watched curiously as the first years stood at the gate. They were having the same thoughts he had two years ago. They had reached the ledge of no return and were deciding whether or not to jump off. It was actually a little depressing to watch.

Ducking into the dorms, Zeal coasted down the hallway to his room. With ease, the door opened and he stepped inside. The walls were covered in posters and drawings of Mechs. The giant robots each held a weapon, be it a gun or sword, and were always posed in a badass position. Along the western wall rested his prize video game collection. Games ranging from the original Mario for NES to the brand-new Bioshock: Ultimate Rapture Edition are sorted alphabetically and kept in pristine condition. “I wonder who my roommates going to be this year?” The thought of roommates brought a tear to his eye. His last roommate, Chojin, had passed away from stomach cancer over the summer. He was one of the only people who Zeal actually socialized with. You could even go as far as to call them best friends. Now he was alone again.

Throwing the art bag into his bed, Zeal journeyed back outside. The room list was posted in the office, which was clogged with students. He shuddered at the thought. So many eyes, so many people. He unconsciously pulled his jacket farther down his side, covering his stump, and made his way through the throng of disabled students.

"Oomph!"

"Sorry!" she cried at whoever she'd thrown into the bush this time, and laughed, because none of them would ever be as free as she was.

Azalea tore through the student body.

People stumbled backwards to avoid being pummelled to the ground; eyes followed her with equal parts admiration and annoyance. Azalea laughed as the wind unfurled her long, thick braid that skimmed the backs of her thighs, and her pink iris hair drifted behind her like a cape. Her iPod dug into her lacy maroon bra - where else was she meant to put it? - as her earphones blasted Ride to California by Paper Tongues into her ears.

Azalea picked up her feet and gripped the bottom of her skateboard simultaneously, jumping flawlessly onto the railings that led up to the inner school campus. She threw her body forwards, grinning when her board hit the ground before the school doors with a thump. She briefly considered walking through those doors like a boring stick in the mud - briefly - but decided otherwise. She turned her gaze to a girl clutching her books to her chest for dear life and Book Girl pushed the doors open for her, her jaw looking as if it might fall to the floor. Azalea had that effect on people, the Obey or Punch effect, she liked to call it.

Book Girl threatened to crumble to the floor when Azalea beamed at her, skating through the doors. The people stood as obstacle courses and she dodged them with relative ease, with the occasional 'Oompher.' She wasn't wearing her school uniform and they'd be damned if they ever managed to convince her to dress for prison because that was what school was, wasn't it? Cleaning up their looks with lies and books? She wore a black tank and shorts beneath an outside layer of red. Comfortable, practical... And of course, revealing.

"Azalea Fray!" a voice yelled. Zalea's concentration shattered and she skidded abruptly to a stop, crashing into a boy who had been unlucky enough to be there. The two fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs, their bodies smacking into the wall and floor.

"Well, this is strangely arousing," she said with a smirk, her pale blue eyes like broken glass burning into those of clear hazel. Azalea was on top of him, one of his legs between hers and the fingers of her right hand entwined with his black hair. She took his arm and her eyes widened briefly in shock for just a fraction of a second at the absence of it before she smiled, taking his other hand and helping him up in one fluid motion. She took a long moment to assess the boy, tilting her head to the side in appraisal. He was cute.

"Miss Fray!" said the voice who'd spoken earlier, now much closer. She turned, slowly, taking her time. The man could not have been older than 35; he wore no-nonsense spectacles, spectacles he now leered at her through. Azalea smiled half sheepishly and half curiously. The man was quite handsome and had potential, if you removed his personality and soul from his body. "Skating is not allowed on school premises," he said sternly.

"Of course, Mr...?" she began in her I'm-an-innocent-angel-with-pink-hair voice.

"Takahashi," he said.

"And your first name?" she asked.

"Unnecessary," he replied curtly.

"Okay, Unnecessary Takahashi," she said cheerily.

"Dyeing your hair is strictly prohibited," he said, ignoring her comment.

"Oh yeah, I just dyed my eyelashes along with my hair to match," she said sarcastically, batting her dark pink lashes, to which Unnecessary Takahashi simply grunted.

"You won't be pardoned so easily next time, Miss Fray, simply because you're new and because of your... Disability," he said slowly. Azalea raised a brow, cocking her hip to one side. Her disability had nothing at all to do with the things she chose to do. "Apologise to Zeal," he said, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose with his middle finger. Azalea couldn't figure out if it was a subtle taunt, but she found it hilarious.

"Of course," she said through giggles, turning to look at 'Zeal.' "I apologise for falling all over you and sending shivers up your spine," she said with a wink.

"Miss Fray! That is inappropriate," Mr. Takahashi gasped.

"Then this must be, too," she said, blowing a kiss at who was presumably a teacher. Mr. Takahashi blushed. Azalea bent down - in a way that lengthened her slim legs and gave Mr. Takahashi a perfect view of what adventures lay beneath her shirt - to pick up her skateboard.

"I'm afraid I'll have to confiscate that," Mr. Takahashi said through clenched teeth. Azalea shrugged, moving away and baring her glove-clad palms in false surrender. If they thought taking away her skateboard would stop her, they were very, very wrong.

"Let's go, flower boy," she purred, snatching Zeal and walking away from Unnecessary Stick in the mud. "You're prettier than half the girls in the school," she told him.

The bus ride had held many smells and sounds, including the jabbering of gossip, the trading of food and vacation experiences, and the anticipation of the new school year. As he felt the bus slow down to a stop. He stood up and picked his cane off of the bus floor. Hopefully it would be a good year and he would be able to go through it with some new friends, or it could be a repeat of last year, filled with reading, meditating, and day-to-day work, all alone. After most of the students had disembarked, he made his way off of the bus, being careful to tap in front of him with his cane so that he could know where and where not to step. After his feet were successfully on the sturdy path to the school. He followed the sounds of the teenage crowd to wherever he was going, probably to wherever they were holding an assembly. Nonetheless he walked along, stalking the clacking of feet along the pavement. It was louder than stepping across carpet, but while not softer, it was quieter than the thuds of walking across wooden boards. He adjusted his headband anxiously, making sure it was straight across his eyes.

As the warmth of the academy tickled his face, Jolnas knew that he was inside the academy. He slowly walked into the lobby When he suddenly heard a clattering and the doors fly open. Soon followed by a crash and an argument, to which obviously the girl had been accused wrongfully. It was the first day after all, but what was that about a condition? Something to go along with skateboarding he supposed. For some reason she had crashed onto a boy named Zeal, interesting name. Could have sworn he had heard it before in the previous year. They were still on the ground, so he had some time to actually make friends for the first time in his long stay at this school. Jolnas stuck his hand up, signalling for a staff member to help him navigate the school better. He listened as the sounds of slippers scuffling across the floor made his way to him.
"Do you need help with anything" A rather jittered male voice asked.
"Yes," He turned towards the voice "My name is Jolnas Ritter, and I'd like to know what dorm room I am staying in this year, as well as my homeroom."
the scuttling of the aides shoes revealed the position of the board.
"You are in room 3-3, and you are staying in dorm.." his mind trailed off as he absorbed the sounds and smells of the room around him. People smell in general, but also fresh plastic, most likely from prosthetics, laughter, hands rubbing together, breathing, from this he could sense were most of the people were, and for the smells, was that a dog?
"Nobody is registered as a hallmate for you however, hope you can manage on your lonesome."
He grimaced, and quickly forced a smile. Wunderbar. He had spent the summer learning even more Japanese, just so he could make more friends, and fate slaps him in the face as if he was a spoilt child finally taught a good lesson. The anger in him welled up as he fought back against everything he had learnt to fight depression. Then, he stopped. He took a few breaths, and calmed down. He really needed to meditate tomorrow.
He turned towards where the argument had taken place, walking over to it until he hit a body with his cane. Squishy, but with some bone structure. must have been the boy that crazy skater Mädchen had landed on. Keep it simple Jolnas, making friends shouldn't be that hard.
"Need a hand up?" He out stretched his hand, completely aware that he could be reaching to an empty space, embarrassing himself greatly. Oh please let it not be that, that's the last thing I want to do.

The office was so crammed, Zeal couldn’t even force his way through the mass of scrambling bodies. Several of the students, mostly ones with crutches or other supporting devices, were smart enough to wait until the mob of 1st years had dribbled to a minimum. Zeal didn’t blame them. Even the famous 24-hour nursing staff couldn’t save a student who had been trampled to death by his or her own peers. Unfortunately, the wave showed no sign of diminishing until after the entrance ceremony. With still thirty minutes to spare, the black haired youth decided to go for a walk until everyone calmed down.

As he adventured down the still pleasantly clear hallways, the familiar face of Mr. Takahashi appeared from around a corner. He smiled and walked up to the boy, the overpowering smell of his cologne almost made Zeal gag. What was that? Ode du sweaty skunk?

“Ahh, Mr. Yamaka. How was your summer?” the teacher asked politely.

“It was alright,” he responded. It wasn’t like he did anything over the summer then play video games, get pissed off at his own incompetence in drawing and mourn a friend.

“Good, good. I’m seeing you in my literature class this year right?” Zeal nodded his head. It was one of the classes he actually enjoyed, even if the teacher did have the personality of a rock. As the teacher continued to drone on about his summer with his wife when an unfamiliar sound began to rang through the boy’s head.

‘Wheels?’ The sound was getting louder. Fast. Before he even had time to react, a girl on a skateboard came rocketing down the hallway straight into his diaphragm, knocking them both into the wall. Zeal groaned in both pain and annoyance. ‘Great. Five minutes into the new school year and I’m already getting picked on.’ His topaz eyes opened to reveal an extremely beautiful girl laying on top of him, her icy blue eyes seeming to stare into his soul. The girl’s hand was buried in his sorry excuse for a hairstyle and he could swear she was rubbing her crotch on his knee on purpose.

"Well, this is strangely arousing,” she whispered, her breath tickling the young boy’s ear. In a single instant, Zeal’s face went from a soft white to a deep crimson. “W-What?” Amber eyes flicked between the quickly approaching teacher and the incredibly hot woman who was coming on to him and literally only an inch from his face. She was close enough that, with a little lift of his back, he could kiss her easily. Shaking his head slightly, Zeal cleared his mind. A hard task to do when a girl was close enough to kiss you and her perfume smells divine.

As quickly as it had happened, the girl was already pulling herself up off the ground. When the girl reached for his arm however, Zeal pulled his coat down over top to cover the stump. She seemed to get the hint and her hand quickly closed over his, lifting him off the floor with surprising strength. Crystal blue eyes scanned his body, looking for any hint of weakness or fragility. Her analysis was interrupted by a Mr. Takahashi running over.

While Zeal tuned out most of their conversation, he did pick up the girl’s name. Azalea Fray. It was a nice name that rolled off the tongue. If he’d had only known her name and not seen her in person, Zeal would have thought she was an incredibly innocent girl with social issues. This is clearly not the case. His ears pricked up at the mention of her disability and spent the next few moments trying to pinpoint what was wrong with her. It couldn’t be anything physical; she had the nicest body he had ever seen. It had to be something internal but with the way she was riding that skateboard, that was unlikely as well. He ran a hand through his thick black hair, trying unsuccessfully to get it out of its everlasting bedhead.

At the teacher’s mention of his name, he came back to reality. Again, the girl was uncomfortably close to him. "I apologise for falling all over you and sending shivers up your spine,” Azalea said flirtatiously. Zeal blushed again and began to twiddle his fingers like he always did when nervous. “It’s, um, no problem". What was with this girl? What did she see in him that was so interesting? Once again, he was lost in thought. When Azalea bent over however, Zeal snapped straight to attention. Her pink braid flowed down her back like a silken snake, ending right over her perfect heart shaped pillow of an ass. It was almost heartbreaking when she righted herself.

After giving her skateboard to the teacher, Azalea grabbed the boy’s arm and began to pull him down the hallway. "Let's go, flower boy,” she purred. “Flower boy?” He asked quizzically. She had gotten close again, close enough he could smell the peaches in her shampoo. "You're prettier than half the girls in the school,” Zeal didn’t know if this was a complement or an insult but he blushed nonetheless. “Umm, thank you?” Another person had joined the hallway. A boy with a headband around his eyes. Zeal couldn’t help but notice how cool he looked, like he had just jumped out of an anime.

He unknowingly smacked the already dazed boy in the ankle, knocking him out of his Azalea induced trance. He opened his mouth to say something when the boy struck out his hand…towards the space next to them. “Need a hand up?” Azalea pursed her lips and whispered, "Sorry," before shove-nudging Zeal to the floor - again. "Ahaha, I'm so clumsy," she said loudly, glaring at Zeal and at the hand the boy had held out for him, nudging her head for Zeal to take it.

Finally catching on to the pink haired girl’s plan, he smiled and placed his hand in the boy’s. “Thanks. I’m Zeal. Thanks for the help.” He shot a playful glare at his comrade but she just feigned ignorance. An announcement blared over the intercom. “All students report to the main hall for the opening ceremonies.” Zeal tried one last time to fix his hair before giving up entirely. With his two new companions in tow, he lead the way to the main hall, keeping a firm grasp on the blind boy’s hand so he didn’t go astray. ‘Maybe this year, I’ll actually make friends.’

“All students report to the main hall for the opening ceremonies.”

"That oddly makes me want to not report to the main hall," she said, her gaze drifting to her left in thought before returning to staring quite plainly at the handsome boy - manlier than most - with the cloth shielding his eyes from the world. It made her curious to see what rested underneath, but also slight irritated. Azalea was not comfortable around the blind. Why? Well, because they couldn't see her. Because who was she kidding? She certainly hadn't won her admirers and pretty much everything with her startlingly superior personality.

"Nice to meet you and all that," she said absently with a wave of her hand at the two boys, one of which she'd knocked over twice. "You may refer to me as 'Your Grace,' 'My Queen' or if you want to be boring, Azalea, Zalea, Lea or Bitch-who-thinks-I-care." She gazed up at the tall man who couldn't see her, deciding she would bed him to prove she was charming enough that her lovers didn't need sight. Azalea took his hand, placing it right over... Her right breast. "This is Danger," she said, pressing his other hand against her left. "This is Angel. You may address them accordingly," she said with a smirk.

"You lucky bastard!" a student yelled at Blind and Smexy; Azalea laughed. Funny, these people were. She'd have half of them worshipping the ground she walked on by the end of the year and the other half plotting her death.

Yamaku Academy was one of the many boarding schools she'd attended since the death of her parents when she was four, but it was the first school she'd attended for those who were biologically different-ish. That was the way she liked to address them, her, she supposed, biologically different. They could still do what everyone else did, just differently, and in her case, well, she could do more than what everyone else did.

"How long have you two been here?" she asked the boys. She tossed her long braid over her shoulder, whipping an unsuspecting student behind her across the face. She laughed, speaking an apology in between her chuckles. She'd never get tired of using her hair as a whip, it was the only reason she'd kept it that long. That and because her mother used to comb her hair and tell Azalea how beautiful her pink waves were, and that she should let her hair grow. Azalea unraveled her braids - which took a surprising amount of time - and massaged her scalp, shaking out her long, soft waves. The scent of her peach shampoo seemed to fill the campus.

Azalea checked her body, clucking her tongue at the bruises and scratches that covered her and the blood that trickled from an ugly burn from her right palm to her elbow where she'd skidded crashing into Zeal. Speaking of, "You okay?" she asked Zeal with a raise of her sculpted brow.

“All students report to the main hall for the opening ceremonies,” repeated the announcer.

"What if you're deaf?" she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. "Let's go," she said, looping her messenger bag over her head and tucking it across her body. She lifted her hair from beneath the strap, hooked her arms around each boy's elbow and headed for the main hall. Maybe she'd actually listen this time.

Yeah, right, when the Sun rises in the West and sets in the East.

"Play the damsel in distress and get a guy to carry that for you," she said not long after to a girl with hair the colour of sunsets and persimmons. She was beautiful, even if she did look a little disheveled. "That's what I do," Azalea told her with a smirk. "My mother always said a woman's real weapon was the one between our legs," she said. Well, that was a lie. Her mother never said that, but that's what Azalea thought she might had she lived. Well, that was a lie, too. The redhead was also in a wheelchair, but Azalea doubted she liked being first noticed as someone who couldn't walk.

"That's good for rolling over people you don't like," she said, gesturing towards the girl's wheelchair. Azalea cocked her hip to one side, smiling and running her fingers through her pink iris hair. Sunset - that's what she would call her - seemed like she would be difficult to charm, but that was all part of the fun. "Leave your bags, you're beautiful enough, whoever finds it and brings it to your room will crumble to the floor at a 'Thank you.'"

“All students report to the main hall for the opening ceremonies.”

Azalea gave no reaction save a slight narrowing of her eyes and a curt, "They seem to think repetition inspires obedience. More like it inspires suicide."

As Maurice continued to talk, most of the words coming out of his mouth chastising the younger man for not taking the time to learn Signing, Aedan turned his attention to the students around him. There was some crazed Skater girl who was possibly gonna kill some one if she wasn't careful, awesome. The spoiled brat could have recognized her anywhere, not that they actually knew each other; but he had seen her around during the previous years.

As the pair reached Aedan's dorm, the over head quickly came alive with a small crackle.

“All students report to the main hall for the opening ceremonies.”

“Looks like you better get goin' kid.” Maurice smiled, taking Aedans bag and setting it on the bed that became a holding place of his belongings. He would have to tend to them when he got back. Nodding obediently, Aedan took a moment to adjust the red clips in his bangs. There was nothing in the school's student hand guide about hair clips, and he wasn't going to tolerate any of the stickler teachers trying to take them from him.

Giving himself a nod of approval, he turned on his heel to leave.

The halls were crowded, as expected on the first day. It wasn't the people that bothered Aedan, but rather the noises they made. Shoes squeaked against the tile floor, suitcases scraped on the carpet and the voices grew louder as children tried to talk over each other. Once again his eyes picked out that familiar peach colored hair. But this time it was accompanied by a man with a blindfold, and another young man. It wasn't an odd sight at all.

Finding nothing too interesting going on, Aedan made his way to the main hall. It was almost as much of a zoo as the hallways; children finding ways to sit next to their friends, and translation getting lost between those who couldn't understand Sign or what have you. Finding a few spaces open in the back, Aedan moved to take a seat.

Quickly, he was joined by a few of his 'groupies', a delighted mixture of a few boys and girls, some from the years before and some new faces mingled in. Through his years of attending the boarding school, Aedan had grown quite known for his music and his looks. He wasn't as brawny or built as the other boys at the school, but what he lacked in size he made up for in beauty and attitude. His girlish figure and nearly flawless (due to the piercings he gained on his lips) skin made him look like one of those Japanese BJD's all of the girls where carrying around.

Crossing one leg over the other, Aedan pulled his iPod out of his pocket once more and began searching through his apps. Settling on some Memory game, he began to play; gray-blue eyes glued to the screen. Though his attention was on the game, his sharp ears continued to scan the room for any conversation of interest or the screech of the mic that signaled the starting of the Opening Ceremonies.

Kora was trying to work out what to do..something that the frequent announcements were not really helping with. It was hard enough to concentrate without that...when she was addressed. She looked around to see a young woman with rather startlingly pink hair, who seemed intent on persuading her into getting manipulative and getting someone to do the carrying for her.

"Not completely broken down just yet." she remarked to the girl, giving an non-comittal shrug.

Even if she hadn't been able to manage, it was highly unlikely that she would ever have attempted that. Kora wasn't really someone who flirted, or indeed attempted to charm guys on the strength of simply being a girl. Perhaps it was because she'd never gotten any attention from her mother while she was younger, or perhaps it was because she'd never really needed to. The idea of getting others to do things for her made her feel uncomfortable anyway, increasingly so since she had lost the use of her legs.
"I got it anyway. One advantage of the chair, always got a bit of storage space." she added.
She took the bag and slung the straps across the back of the chair. Fortunately she had travelled pretty light and the weight was minimal. Toppling backwards would have been a pretty embarrassing start.

"And yeah, I've already been fully testing out the wheelchair's offensive capabilities. Trouble is if you're chasing people they can always run upstairs." she stated, grinning.

"Hi everybody. The name's Kora." she stated, addressing the girl and the two other boys with her, deciding it was a good idea to introduce herself. She decided not to try and pick out what their issues were. It seemed a little disrespectful on reflection. She'd never been keen on people defining her by what she was lacking.
"Any of you know much about this place? I gotta admit I'm none the wiser. It wasn't exactly my decision to go here."

It was more announced to her that she'd been attending it, as it turned out. It hadn't really bothered her thankfully, but she was a little unsure of the whole place.

"And yeah, I've already been fully testing out the wheelchair's offensive capabilities. Trouble is if you're chasing people they can always run upstairs." Funny, she was funny. Azalea liked her already. "Hi everybody. The name's Kora."

"Azalea, Zeal... No clue," she replied, waving at Blind and Sexy.

"Any of you know much about this place? I gotta admit I'm none the wiser. It wasn't exactly my decision to go here," Kora said, and Azalea felt for the girl. She hadn't exactly chosen to come here, either. She kind of missed the people who would beat her up to make the unfeeling girl feel now that she was so far away from it. It was fun pummelling people who were double her size and triple her in numbers.

"Nope," Azalea replied, rolling onto the heels of her feet and onto the balls of them, back and forth. She wasn't one for standing still. "Joined this year." Azalea watched Blind and Sexy closely, tucking a lazy arm around his waist and casually manoeuvring him so he faced Kora.

"Hey guys, do you hear that barking? I think somebodies collapsed. Guys, we need to help whoever is close to dying. "Hey, who's dog is that? is everything okay?" Azalea looked over her shoulder to find two girls 'talking' to four guys. Well, one was yelling and the other seemed to be... No. No. They let the boys walk away?

"You want to help whoever's dying?" she asked the tall boy, although she was still burning holes into the sleazy men's spines. She hoped they would snap. "Too bad, because someone's going to die," she said through clenched teeth, storming towards the four men. Azalea swivelled her body, smacking her shin against the backs of their knees, knocking two down and elbowing the others in the temple.

"What the hell?!" one growled, holding his throbbing head.

"If you think that's going to hurt, this is going to hurt even more," she said quietly, stomping on the boy's manhood between his legs. Well, there wasn't much there. Still, it had the desired effect of making him scream like a little baby and writh- She fell backwards. Azalea narrowed her eyes at the sight of one carrot headed boy's - who was simultaneously sniffing on an inhaler - fistful of her pink hair. As Azalea fell, she threw her body to the right as well as her right leg, knocking the boy over the head - it wasn't a clean kick - and sending them both crashing to the ground.

What they didn't know yet was she had an advantage.

While Carrot head was catching his breath on solid ground, Azalea jumped up, dodging a fist that came flying over her head. She grabbed the dark skinned, infinitely muscular boy around the waist as he came at her, swept her leg over his and threw him over her shoulder, just to held he descent to the cold hard ground below.

The one who'd been screaming on the ground from having his non-existent balls kicked in threw a punch at her, and she shoved her arm forward, knocking back his chin with her palm and thrusting her fist into his gut. She inwardly cursed, half admiring the boy's abs and half feeling annoyed by them. Something about beating up a guy made them less attra- She was tackled to the ground. Azalea cursed aloud as her body slammed into the ground, she tried to stand, but couldn't. Sometimes this happened, when her body reacted as any other would, but she couldn't feel in.

Abs held her arms over her head, crushing her wrists with a hand - he was strong, she'd give him that, but he was also heavy, and heavy men fell harder - and pinning her legs and torso with the weight of her body. He was close. Too close. His breath smelled like brimstone.

"Pinning a helpless girl?" she asked sweetly. Abs shook his head.

"He's deaf," the third guy with the buzz cut said.

"Figures," Azalea said. "He probably uses deafness as an excuse to rape women because he convinces himself they said yes." A punch whipped Azalea's head aside.

"He can also lip read," Carrot Head said with a grin, picking himself up from the floor with too much wobble to be convincing.

Abs reached one hand down to his pants and began unbuckling his belt. Azalea raised a brow.

"Hey, hey, if you're going to make it easier for me to crush your balls, you should moisturise them, too," she said before her head was whipped aside again. She heard the crunch of something, and she hoped it wasn't her nose. She quite liked her nose. Suddenly, she was picked off the ground and slammed against the wall, Abs pressed her face against the surface with his arm and she felt blood trickle into her lips. She tensed at his body pressed against her back.

The fourth boy who'd stayed clear of all the fighting gripped her wrists now, bending them backwards in what was supposedly meant to hurt. One of his legs was a stump, which meant his upper body strength was unsurprisingly superior to hers. "I can see why you're so popular with the women," she told them as she felt an octopus arm dip under her shirt to release the clasp of her bra. "God, thank you!" she gushed. "That bra was really starting to hurt. Now my breasts are free. Oh heaven almighty, bless m-"

"Shut up!" Fourth Coward yelled in her ear - too close, too close - and shoved her wrists into the wall.

"Oh wow, this is a pretty awkward position to have sex in, don't you think?" she asked sarcastically. Just then, she turned around and heard the snap of the bones on her wrist and hammered Fourth Coward over his temple. He crumbled to the ground, unconscious. She turned to Abs who thrust a fist towards her stomach; she grabbed his wrist in its attack and hammered him over the head. He fell to the ground. She cursed, looking at her wrists and the bones that stuck out from her skin. No wonder they felt so weak. She grabbed her left hand with her right and shoved the bone back in place, she repeated the process with her other hand. Blood trickled from the wound and her hands would soon burn a dark, hideous colour, but it'd work for for now.

She dipped to the floor just as a fist came flying over her - always with the fists, they needed to work on their creativity - and stood behind the boy. She grabbed his hair and slammed his head into the wall, over and over until he crumbled to the ground. She grinned, licking the blood from the corner of her lips as she stared at Carrot Head.

"Last man standing," she said with a grin. "Well, and woman."

Within moments she had him pinned to the ground, the weight of his body crushing his arms. "For every girl you've ever hurt," she said as she slammed her fist into his face. "For the girls you were talking to before." Fist, face, crush. "For me." She slammed his face into the floor.

Azalea stood, cursing at the blood, bruises, cuts and broken bones she now wore. Way to make a first impression, Azalea.

---

"Miss Fray! What is the meaning of this!?" Mr. Takahashi yelled. I'm not deaf, you know. I can hear you just fine.

"What do you mean, Mr. Takahashi?" she said sweetly, widening her already large pale grey-blue eyes. Her irises were an almost unnaturally light colour.

"Fighting is not allowed on school premises!" Mr. Takahashi said through puckered lips.

"Oh, it was self-defense, sir," she said. "They tried to rape me." Azalea gestured with her head towards the four boys whose bodies she dragged along the tiles.

"W-w-w-" Mr. Takahashi blushed, looking anywhere but at Azalea. Man, if you blush over that... When was the last time you got some? she wanted to ask.

"Do you know where the girl is?"

"Who?" Mr. Takahashi lifted his spectacles with his middle finger.

"Dark brown hair, light brown eyes. About yay big. Blind, I think."

"Hana? Hana's in the infirmary."

"Thanks. Have a great day, Mr. Takahashi," she said, turning and dragging the boys away.

---

"Apologise," Azalea said, nudging the four boys forward.

Their bruised, broken and bloody faces stared up at the girl they'd teased minutes before. Now they kneeled on the ground and did as they were told, apologised like they'd never done before, like they'd killed the president's entire family.

"Now go," she told them, wiping the blood from her mouth and narrowing her eyes at the bone that protruded from her right wrist. She must've broken it again. Azalea lifted her left fist and slammed the bone back in place. It'd probably grow all wrong if she left it that way, but she was in the infirmary. She'd just break it again and have it reattached. She looked from the girl - Hana - to the boy who'd supposedly brought her here, and smirked. He was cute. She looked over at Hana, nodding in approval. It was the first day of school and already Hana had seduced a man.

Respect.

"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?"

Now that he wasn’t plastered to the floor, Zeal finally got a good look at their new companion. He was tall, much taller than himself. If you placed then back to back, the highest tip of his dishevelled hair would only reach the blind boy’s shoulder blades. The next thing he noticed was that the boy was muscular and could probably kick his ass from the basement to the top of the school. Even if he seemed nice enough, Zeal made a mental note to stay off his bad side. The final point of his analysis took Zeal to the boy’s headband or rather, eyeband. It was marked with the school crest, and covered his eyes perfectly…or did it? Zeal scrunched his nose in thought. With the way the blindfold was placed, the bottom of his eyes should be showing instead of soft, pale skin. It was an interesting thought.
Azalea stopped and rested her back against the wall, clearly finding opening ceremonies to be a huge waste of time. Even if she was a bit reckless, Zeal admired her freedom and willpower. "Nice to meet you and all that,” she said with a wave. "You may refer to me as 'Your Grace,' 'My Queen' or if you want to be boring, Azalea, Zalea, Lea or Bitch-who-thinks-I-care.” Zeal couldn’t help but give a little laugh. “I’ll just call you Lea.” He responded shyly. He liked Azalea. She had everything he didn’t. Courage, freedom, motivation, and, most importantly, friends. When the she gently placed the blind boy’s hands on her breasts, a small flare of jealousy welled up inside the youth as a blush covered his cheeks which, from an observer’s point of view, were even deeper than the boy who was touching them.
"How long have you two been here?” She asked, almost reluctantly removing the boy’s hands from her chest. Zeal smiled and began to twiddle his fingers again. “I’ve been here since first year,” the boy put blandly, pulling his coat closer to his body. His smile faltered when the girl was struck with Azalea’s braid but only for a second. When she unraveled her braid, Zeal’s mouth almost dropped. She looked like a goddess. Pink silk fell down around her, making a hazy barrier between her and the outside world.

While she was doing this however, Zeal noticed how badly her arm was hurt. A long burn wound its way from her palm to her elbow, creating a thin bloody line. How she didn’t even register the pain, Zeal had no idea. "You okay?” she asked politely, not giving any notice to the small puddle of blood forming beneath her. Apart from a sore chest and head, he was otherwise uninjured. “I’m fine but what about you? Your arm is cut up kind of bad.” She dismissed his comment and locked elbows with them. As gently as he possibly could, Zeal used his coat sleeve to wipe away the excess blood from the wound but, again, Azalea gave no notice.

With a spring in her step, the trio made their way to a very cute paralyzed girl or, at least, Zeal thought she was cute. The way her red hair flowed across her scalp combined with her alluring grey eyes would make any boy’s heart melt. At the mention of between a woman’s legs a slight blush crawled up the young boy’s nose, the image of Azalea on top of him popping in and out of focus. Looking to help the girl, Zeal reached out to take her bag when it was snatched before he got there. The sudden movement caught him off guard, causing him to flinch. She introduced herself as Kora and asked if someone could guide her around. Shyly, Zeal raised his hand. “I-I could show you around… if you’d like,” he stammered. He wasn’t used to talking to girls, or anyone for that matter, so all of this sudden popularity was a bit overwhelming.

It was like he actually had friends.
Azalea’s sudden movement surprised him, knocking him into the blind boy. His amber eyes followed her over to a group of hoodlums from last year. Zeal shuddered in fear. These guys were the Tunnel Snakes, the worst people in school. There were rumors that they raped women in the toolshed by the track but they had never been caught. From the looks of them, he wouldn’t be surprised. These four guys were the main reason Zeal isolated himself so much last year, constantly picking on him, trying to provoke him to fight back so they could kick the shit out of him and not get in trouble.

And Azalea just walked up and kicked one in the nuts.

For the first few moments, Azalea was the most amazing thing he had ever seen, trading blow for blow against four of the toughest guys in the school. Then, they started to overpower her. The largest boy had pinned her up to a wall and was struggling to undo his belt. Zeal watched in horror as they smashed the still-smiling girl into the wall. Blood welled in her mouth as they continued to rape her, their hands dipping under her shirt. Summoning courage he never knew he had, Zeal rushed at the nearest boy. “GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF HER!” His target turned, a boy had previously been on the ground but had recovered for the proceedings, and lowered his shoulder his charging opponent, flipping Zeal onto his back. A shriek of pain ripped from his lips as a large foot came down upon his only hand. Audible cracks and pops accompanied the insane rush of pain, rendering him useless.

Time seemed to skip from the pain. One moment, Azalea’s being held by a huge goliath of a man against the wall, about to be brutally raped. The next she’s standing above the four of them, bones sticking painfully from her skin and covered in blood. Mr. Takahashi running in and….and….’Oh shit.’ The world around him began to fade to black, little swirls disappearing into the darkness at a time. Before losing consciousness, Zeal took one look at his hand. Bones stuck out from two of his knuckles and his index finger was bent at a very unhealthy angle. As the pain waves intensified, the world went dark.

Kora was a little surprised to be offered help. She'd never really received much around the house...not that she was likely to have accepted it even if she had. Still it came as a surprise.
"I can manage, honestly." she replied, smiling as she tried to keep note of people's names. The two guys seemed friendly enough as well. One, she could guess had a sight issue, due to the defect, and the other she wasn't immediately certain of. He seemed to be rather shy.

The girl who had spoken to her initially was anything but shy however. She was a bit...strange? Yeah, kinda strange...though it did at least make for an interesting encounter. Peculiar tended to be better than boring.
"I'd appreciate it if you could show me where stuff is. I kinda have to plan my routes a bit more because me and stairs don't get along...don't want to spend all my time running late." she explained.

Kora, admittedly, was not particularly concerned with academic success. Up until recently, she'd never had much need to, as her future had been set out for her. Distantly she had the concern that now she would have to work harder on her grades, but she was trying to avoid thinking on that too much. Doing so would involve dwelling on the family situation for too long, and then she'd just get upset, it wasn't really a good way to start things.

The redhead pulled herself out of her reverie, and looked round as she heard a large commotion nearby.

By the time she'd decided to investigate the whole thing and wheeled over, it was pretty much over, one of the staff breaking up what appeared to have been quite a considerable fight, apparently between the pink haired girl and a group of very big, thuggish looking individuals.

She had to admit it was quite impressive, though she wouldn't like to admit that out loud. Kora wasn't really one to praise others very often.

Kora was about to leave and head back to toward the main hall when she realized someone else was still there. She caught sight of the guy she'd spoken to a few minutes ago sprawled on the floor.
"Oh man, you got kinda screwed up, huh?" the redhead remarked, wheeling over and taking a look at his hand, which was in a real state.
"Hey, I think this guy needs to see a doctor or something!" she called. The bleeding wasn't too bad, and he didn't look like he had any other injuries, but it did look to be something that would hurt like hell and would probably need setting.

A glance at him also showed that he only had one arm. She hadn't realized initially.
"Ouch, unlucky. You're gonna have an interesting few weeks, huh?"

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 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.

Aedans eyes drifted to those whom she mentioned and he made a mental note. They were all either young or new, or else he hadn't taken the time to notice them last year. Then again, who could really notice anyone with a crowd of four or five fans badgering you for an autograph or something every ten minutes.

"Stop lurking,"

Drat, he had been found out. Aedan smirked at his own little comment. This young lady before him was beautiful indeed, independent as well. But he knew her type. Dolls almost. A painted on face hid the worries and scars from within. Putting his phone back in his pocket, he eased himself from the post.

Aedan’s movements were very much like a cat, his stride elegant and forceful all at the same time. It was only expected. He had an image to uphold, did he not? His eyes took a moment to take in the wounds the girl herself had sustained from the fight; a soft glimmer of white had caught his eye. Bone, and she was still walking around and smiling.

"Life is not too bad if you have a good physique and not too much imagination,"

The smirked lightened. Quick too. How lovely.

Pulling a notepad from his pocket, which apparently were like some kind of bag-of-holding or something, and laid it on the nurse’s desk.

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.

When the note was finished, he simply stepped toward the girl, getting comfortably close as he slipped the note into her hand. His eyes never left hers, as a gentleman never turns his back on an enemy. His hand departed hers with a light stroke against her skin, a teasing smile playing his lips. Turning abruptly on his heel, he turned his attention to the motherly nurse.

With his years of having been here before, there was no doubt she knew what to get him. But, as protocol commanded, he produced an I.D. from his breast pocket and placed it delicately on the desk along with a simple wave of greeting.

Today was turning out to be rather eventful. Looking back to Azalea, he grinned, crossing his arms over his chest as he awaited her response and his medicine.

Azalea asked him to help, so he complied. He had no idea what to help with though, besides knowing how to release strain inside of someones body by pressing pressure points. If he was ever forced to fight and he couldn't escape, then he would simply go for a person's solar plexus and easily manage to escape without causing too much harm to the person who would force him to fight.
He wondered who Zeal was, but he wasn't going to ask due to the subject not being interesting enough. He waved at Mr. Takahashi, he could never pronounce his name even if he could speak and this saved him from an embarrassing moment. He looked at the kid named Zeal and wondered what he did to get hurt that badly, but Alex thought that perhaps the kid was as easy to be damaged physically as he was. When Azalea asked where the nurse was, he quickly signed a response. He forgot that the girl might not know sign language, but he didn't bother with writing his response down due to him being tired. Alex winced slightly when Azalea pushed Zeal's finger in, since it looked quite painful and agonizing. He noticed the nurse coming in and smiled politely at her. He would introduce himself by talking, but he simply can't talk at all and it occasionally got him in trouble at formal gatherings his family setup. He hoped the nurse would know sign language or he would be wasting his energy signing to no one. "Hello madam, my name is Alexander of the Tores family, it is a pleasure to meet you." He forgot that you weren't supposed to be so formal when in school, but his parents made it a habit for him to act like this. He noticed the kid in the doorway and he decided to sign to him as well. "Hello, my name is Alexander, but you can just call me Alex. I'm guessing you're mute as well? Anyways, nice to meet you…." He hoped the kid who introduce himself, so he wouldn't have to use pronouns in place of the kid's name. He thought that maybe this kid would know more about this school than Alex himself knew, since the kid seemed to be older than Alex. "Do you know how the translators here work? Sorry for bombarding you with questions, but I haven't really had a chance to go to the assembly or ask anyone questions."

Alex had an orange with him that he bought at the store the day before, but it was quite a challenge for him to find any bills other than hundred dollars bills. Buying things was quite difficult, since most stores didn't have the change necessary for him to be able to buy things. He would constantly have to go to ATM machines and exchange his money for lower values, but even then he wouldn't be able to hold all his money in one wallet. He didn't have to worry about money in the future, since he already had many things patented and he was making a lot of money for his family's company. He would however have to worry about managing to survive and reach the age of an adult, since he could die from a hard enough hit. Very little people knew that the technology that a lot of the teens these days use was created by Alex himself, but those who did know couldn't believe that such a young child could create such complex machinery. He didn't blush when the girl called him Alex the Valiant, since he wasn't interested in the girl romantically or lustfully. He might be interested in her later, but there would be many choices for him to make later on that could influence who he loves. If anyone was unlucky enough to love him, then they would be the first to see the sad child that hides under the facade of happy kid. Besides his dorm mate of course, since his dorm mate would see what Alex is like on the fifteenth of September. No one besides the person he will love and his closest friends would know his history.

He heard about student councils online and he thought that he would be of the most use there, since he would be able to easily go through piles of paperwork in under a couple of minutes. He began peeling the orange and managed to peel it in under a minute, but he remembered that there were other people in the room. He checked his other pocket and he saw that he had an extra orange, so he decided that he would spare the other orange and only eat a bit of the extra orange. He handed a half of the orange to Azalea and the other half to the blind girl, since it would be rude to not give them any. He began peeling the other orange and once again managed to peel it quickly. His parents forced him to constantly be sanitary, so people wouldn't have to worry about stuff like that. He gave a half to the kid who was lurking earlier and he gave the other half to the girl who helped bring the other hurt kid in. So far he gave away two oranges, but it would be easy for him to go to the store and buy oranges there later.

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?"

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?"