Mikhail Sergeyevich's Story

"Listen here, young Ieharu."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"But—!"

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

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

I'm still a virgin!

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

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

**

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

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

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

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

The response was immediate.

SLAP!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He screwed his eyes shut.

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

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

From under his breath, the boy mumbled something.

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

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

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

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

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

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

His body was cold before it even hit the ground.

... with a dying will.

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

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

"REBORN!!!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Well that was anticlimactic," Lilith muttered after witnessing the Ieharu and Ieyoshi fiasco. The smoke bombs were a good escape mechanic, she's used them on several occasions, but having a chase was more breathtaking. She pulled out her new iPod she nabbed from bumping into a student. He stared at her 'nice personality' so she tapped him on the shoulder and said have a nice day. What he didn't know, is that his fancy device is already gone. "This playlist is pretty lame," she said as she scrolled through it.

A burst of wind flew briefly causing Lilith's hair to flutter with it. Her long orange hair calmly waved as if it were a maiden beckoning those around. She slowly moved her hand on her head to keep her hair intact, and said, "Blast it!" The newly open empty space on her head caused her to turn around. Her Namimori coffee shop hat was gliding with the wind. It drifted gently down onto a tall tree on top of a branch. "Really, cmon..." she blurted out. She sighed, and began rolling up her sleeves. This isn't really a hard task, but it's annoying to do. Showing off that she's actually very athletic isn't really ladylike. "Ah, my shoes aren't tightened," she said as she kneeled down on one knee to tie her shoes.

"I'll save it for you fair coffee lady!" an approaching voice blurts out.

She merely said, "Don't worry I got it kid," without looking up as she switched shoestrings. She finished, slowly got up all prepared to climb this tree. To her surprised, the boy was three fourths of the way already. He was short, had black wild hair with a few green highlights. He was literally almost there. He had both of his feet hanging on a large branch with the hat at the end. He moved closer... and closer... and...

"I got it!" he yelled out loud.

He flung the hat to Lilith. Surprisingly not bad aim. She caught the hat with ease, placed it back on her head and replied, "Thanks...now get down!"

"Sure! One second, I'll just—"

CRACK

The tree branch at that exact moment broke. As if she watched it in slow motion, she saw the boy seamlessly falling unable to react. She ran directly to him after he fell down on his back. Her heart started racing. Is he alive? Is he hurt? Her thoughts continued frantically as she approached him. She bent down next to the boy placed her hand on his chest to see if he was breathing.

"Hahaha... that was all... a part of my hero plan... the great... Izaya," he muttered out in spurts, then passed out.

Lilith let out a slight sigh. This would've been way easier if she had done it herself. Now there's an inconvenience before work. She picked up the boy. He was surprisingly light and easy to carry for such a little tough guy. She's performed heists with diamonds and gems weighing much more than this fickle, but sturdy kid. She began making her way to the nurse's office.



Lilith walked inside of the nurse's office carrying the boy. The nurse's name was Mikhail Sergeyevich, but she always called herself Mika. Everyone else lovingly refers to her as "nurse," even though she had enough degrees, certifications, and research background to perform neurosurgery as a full fledged doctor if she felt the urge.

Currently, Mika was in the process of bandaging a student's face. His nose to be exact. By her expert prognosis, and it was truly expert, the boy's nose had been fractured in at least two places. Nothing too serious, but it would hurt for a while. The poor thing had apparently gotten involved in some sort of schoolyard tussle this morning, and didn't come out of it the victor. He'd been brought in by a couple of good samaritans—two first years, Ryuu Morimoto and Aobane Kuroiobashi—some time ago.

When he heard the door slide open, Mika's patient, in the middle of having his face bandaged, looked over to see Lilith the "bread lady" walk in with the unconscious Izaya. Mika promptly grabbed the boy by the chin, forcing his head back into position. "Stop squirming or I'll have to start over, Sammy," she chided gently. "Then you'll be late for your next class." She offered him a warm smile. "We wouldn't want that, right?" He nodded slightly in response.

Without looking away from her patient, Mika addressed Lilith. "Don't tell me Izaya's back!" She said, laughing, her voice fluffy with a musical quality to it. Now, to most people, her uncanny ability to recognize people without even looking at them was somewhat uncanny. One student even swore he saw a pair of eyes in the back of her head.

Lilith, on the other hand, seemed to shrug it off. "Yeah. He saved this fair coffee lady's hat from the tree villain." She had a somewhat agitated expression as she spoke. Pausing for a second, she glanced over to one of the unoccupied beds and slowly eased the unconscious Izaya onto it. She gave him a slight kiss on the cheek, "thanks little hero." Even though this inconvenienced her a bit, and possibly caused her to lose an hour of pay, she still appreciated the fact that he went through the trouble to get the had. "Anyways," she turned her head back to the nurse, "Nurse, I have to get to work. I'm sure you've got it from here," she said as she ran off. She was late.

"Thanks for bringing him in!" Mika called out, turning her head as Lilith left the room. "Hmm." She turned back to her current ward, meeting the boy's eyes. "Looks like this'll have to do. When you get home, tell your parents what happened, but don't let them remove the bandage." The boy, Sammy, nodded in affirmation. "You don't need to go to a hospital over something as insignificant as this, but if your folks have any questions, they can call the school, alright?"

Sammy nodded again, hopping off the bed. "Okay. Thanks nurse," he said, smiling.

"And no more fighting!"

"Tell that to the other guy," he muttered in jest, rubbing the side of his face as he left the room.

With that handled, Mika turned towards her next project. The indubitable young hero of Namimori, the superman without the super, the resident daredevil: Izaya Ryujin. As Mika made her way over towards where he rested, his posture peaceful, thumb near his mouth, she began taking stock of his most recent visits to her little clinic. Counting the time he fell out the second story window, the time he tried to "save" a first year student from that parked car, and the incident with the popcorn and the staircase, this would make visit number eight. First-year classes had just started not a month ago, and the boy had already required her attention eight times. Surely it was a record.

Suddenly, Izaya's upper body sprang up from his bed, fully revived and reborn. He proudly said, "I'm great lady! I'm going to be a great," his voice on the next word cracked, "hero." He had a slightly embarrassed look on his face because his voice squeaked. A second later, he then looked around at his surroundings and realized that he no longer stood in front of the coffee lady maiden, but instead, the nurse's office... again. "Awww, I didn't get to be a cool hero," he said realizing he somehow ended up here again. "Hey Nurse Mika, how'd I get up here? You brought me here?"

Mika chuckled, pulling a stethoscope from her pocket. "Lilith carried you here, fair hero," she began, her voice jovial. Jokingly, she made a flexing motion with one of her arms. "Do I look strong enough to carry a big boy like you?"

"Awwwww!" he muttered this time louder than before. "A hero can't be saved by the victim! That's embarrassing... oh well," he recovered so quickly. "And of course you'd be able to bring me up here Nurse Mika. You have healing super powers," he said with a large smile on his face.

Mika grinned at that. "Yeah," she began, putting the stethoscope earpieces to her ears. "I am pretty badass, eh?" Suddenly, her expression got a bit more serious, a tinge of worry entering her voice. "Now, I hear you fell out of a tree this time." She took the sound-detecting part of the stethoscope into her hand. "You know the drill."

"Alright," he said with a sigh. He took off his dirty shirt from falling on the ground and extended one arm up leaving his chest exposed.

Mika placed the cool metal to the front of his chest. After a moment, she moved it over his heart, and then transitioned to his upper back. After listening for a moment and hearing no irregularities, she sighed in relief. "Looks like you got lucky... again," she said, stuffing the stethoscope back into her pocket.

"Great! Nothing can ever keep me down!" He hopped off the bed and put threw his shirt back on. Another successful nurse visit, and another day to be a bit late for class.

"Just promise me that you'll be more careful in the future," she said in soft rebuke. This was the seventh time she's said those exact words. After a second, her tone returned to its typical affable buoyancy. "And have a nice day, hero!"

Fully clothed and prepared for another day, started to run out. "Of course Nurse Mika! I'll be careful!" He gave his own hero's salute as he exited the door. He turned around for a second and peeked his head inside of the doctor's office. "Oh yea, I'll see you tomorrow! I can't wait! The Bread Wars!" He ran off back to class.

Mika saw him off with a wave, knowing for sure that, like he promised, she'd be seeing him again fairly soon. In fact, his mere mention of the so-called Bread Wars—the weekly tradition of unsanctioned student combat over discounted foodstuff that'd started back up last week—meant her little clinic would be filled to the brim come tomorrow after lunchtime.

Speaking of lunch, it was about time for her break. Technically, it'd be called a breakfast break, but paperwork is paperwork.

Closing the door to her clinic, Mika began strolling up the hallway. Every now and then, a student would wave to her or shout out a greeting to "Nurse," and she'd wave back. The kids here were truly very fond of her. It brought a smile to her face as she rounded the corner, still unsure if she wanted to visit Lilith's coffee shop or take her chances at the food court upstairs. That's when Mika's eyes fell upon a completely unexpected sight.

Oh? Surely she was mistaken, for this couldn't be... "Fujiki? Makoto Fujiki?" Though Mika's expression was completely amiable, her eyes had narrowed slightly. She hadn't meant to say the girl's name out loud. "Ah. Never mind. Er, are you a new student here, girl?" She said, softening her tone. It was just as well, too, for the campus's obnoxious bell system exploded to life, the ear-splitting chime sounding for a good five seconds, signaling the commencement of the day's activities. "You seem lost."

"OOOIIIII!!! Where is this damn office!???" Mako huffed as she ferociously strode down the third hallway.

The students around her stared uncomfortably at the small girl and began to whisper. "Who's that?" "Is she new?" "Geez... Scary." "Whats with the trench coat? A delinquent?" It was obvious that they were a bit hesitant to approach her even when she had loudly exclaimed that she was lost. No one really wanted anything to do with the strange new student who had a sword case slung over her shoulder. Mako, who had an extremely bad sense of direction felt like she had been going in circles for the past 10 minutes and she could feel that class was going to start soon which further fueled her frustration. Reaching the end of the hallway with no success Mako stopped to think. "Calm down, Mako. You just have to retrace your steps. Maybe you missed it back at the entrance." A few students stood nearby and they two stared at Mako with the same reaction as everyone else. One of the female students in this particular group mustered up the courage to help the girl with the encouragement of some of her friends and slowly approached Mako.

"Umm.... A-are you lost? If your looking for the school office its-"

"Ehhhh? You got a problem??!!!" Mako, who had been in deep thought turned towards the girl and gave her a death glare for breaking her concentration. The girl leaped back with fear and quickly bowed her head.

"EEP! I-I'm sorry!!! It's nothing!"

She turned tail and fled for the comfort of her friends who also shared her feelings of fear of Mako. "Let's just go..."

"Tch... What's their problem?" Mako ignored the obvious fact that she had scared the living daylights out of a innocent student and began retracing her steps. "It's got to be around here somewhere..."

But as Mako began to head back to the entrance of the school she heard her name being called out to her. ""Fujiki? Makoto Fujiki?"

Having her name spoken out loud startled the young girl. This was actually the first time someone had called her by her real name instead of the one Xanxus gave her and it took her by surprise. "Ah. Never mind. Er, are you a new student here, girl?"

Mako turned around to see who could possibly know her name. A tall lady with long, pure white hair stood behind her. She didn't look like a student was she one of the staff? If she was, then she probably had seen Mako's student registration forms and that could explain why she knew her name. "You seem lost."

Mako's frustration had died down somewhat and she decided that maybe it was time that she asked for help. But the fact that this woman knew her name still intrigued her. "That's my name. Who are you and how do you know it?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"But—"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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





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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The loud chatter of the cafeteria filled the room. The cafe was spacious and contained more than enough space for every student in the school as if they planned for another incoming class. Although it seemed like a normal day, there was a bit of 'tension' floating around in the air. It was Thursday, but not your average one. More specifically it was Godbread Thursday, the day where boys become men.

"Only a few more minutes to go," Lilith said watching the oven. She was still waiting to produce the gift from heaven and bring it to life on earth. The Godbread. Perfectly seasoned, buttered, and prepared with love. The ultimate bread that for today, was only one eighth of the regular price. Typically, only fully grown adults with a well-paying job could afford such a delicacy or a few students that came from rich families, but this special was made with the students in mind; however, there was a large catch with this. Only five were being made. In the spirit of competition, each Godbread will be placed separated and equal distance from the opposite side of the coffee shop. Whoever brings it to Lilith's cashier stand in the small coffee shop section located in the cafe, gets the sale. Once the Godbread container was handed to Lilith, then it is considered safe and no longer eligible for anyone to take. This was the honor rule in placed for all those who battle for it. This was a monthly affair and allows students to release any stress they have built up through school along with the chance to be blessed by the Godbread.

Today marked the second Godbread Thursday of the school year which tends to be the more popular one. By now, the nicknames of those who have participated have been given and more people would have garnered strategies in preparation for war. The first war was interesting to say the least. There five winners were the Hokage, the angry Mad Hatter, the Ghost, the Doll Queen, and the Still Reaper. This time, the fight will be more rigorous since more students have prepared their own strategies in preparation. You could see among the students that some have matching shirts to represent their factions, others have sat in certain positions closer to the Godbread locations where they would be placed. "This'll be a good show," Lilith said to herself. This was one of the few things that gave Lilith a slight rush other than stealing valuables. "I guess I'll check what's on TV then," she said as she motioned towards the remote. There was a slightly large television used to create ambiance with background music while the store ran. *Click* She flipped to the first channel, hah the news.

"This is AMAZING," the reporter obnoxiously yelled. "Tempest! From Blast of Tempest is rumored to be coming to Namimori to perform, SOON!" Her excitement was very apparent accompanied by the fans standing behind her trying to get their five seconds of fame. "I love you Tempest!" one of the teenagers shouted from behind the reporter. "Oh yeah! We love you Tempest," another fan shouted. "But that's not all folks!" the reporter could barely contain her excitement, "But Kunyo! Kunyo the model! He'll be accompanying her! Both of these idols together!"

"Her music is alright, but Kunyo is pretty attractive. Not my type though," Lilith muttered while changing to the next channel. Another news jingle came on again, "Oh great, more news."

A male reporter with a larger build stood there with a serious demeanor. "This is scary news folks. Last week, we went from covering the mysterious gamer N1E5—pronounced Nies— and his many achievements, but this week we have a notorious hacker attack...in NAMIMORI." "This man sounds like the conspiracy theorist that are on television....oh wait," she stopped midway realizing this in fact is the news. "But alas, we have hope! We have another hacker on our side!”

"Conspiracy, conspiracy, next," she clicked the remote again.

"Here we are live with the famous Wushu Master, Alois!" The reporter shifted the mic while the camera focused on Alois. "Hello Alois, I've heard you're coming to Namimori soon, why is that?" She continued to ask him probing questions on and on.

"Eh, that's cool I guess." *DING DING DING* The oven continuously beeped. It's time. Lilith pressed the power button on the remote to shut off the annoying news reporters. As she walked towards the oven, she could notice the shift in atmosphere in the cafeteria. The voices slowly began to fade as she went to open the oven. She grabbed her Namimori cafe specialized mittens with Bertha's image holding a coffee mug, then opened the oven. The irresistible aroma overwhelmed the cafe and overtook Lilith for a moment. The smell started to spread even further into the cafeteria causing an eerie silence to fill the area. "The God bread," one student muttered quietly, "Praise the gods. "The Pastry Goddess has finished the ritual," another student said while beginning to kneeling down in respect. Lilith somehow earned the title of Pastry Goddess as the legends of God Bread Thursdays began. The nicknames and different factions of students were always interesting to say the least.

Lilith pulled out the long strip of Godbread out of the oven and already prepped five durable sturdy containers out on a table. She carefully divided them up, spread butter, a bit more seasons, and finally completed the legendary God Bread by placing them in the containers. "It's time," she said while holding each container stacked on top of each other like a professional waitress. She walked slowly towards the first pedestal on the opposite side of the cafeteria. The pedestal was white and in the form of ancient Greek god. The five gods that had a pedestal design were Zeus, Hera, Athena, Ares, and Apollo and it is said that whichever bread you receive will cause you to earn a different blessing from the respective god. Each pedestal god held their hand out as if they were holding something up which conveniently could be filled with a God Bread. All five god pedestals that lie equal distance from each other while they all stand on the opposite side of the cafe. As Lilith placed the final God Bread, she began walking back like a model in all her beauty. She lived up to her title as the Pastry Goddess because as she slowly walked, her hair flew which helped show her natural allure. By this point, the entire cafeteria population was silent and watching Lilith head back to the cafe. The war doesn't start until she says those magic words. Students sat there with their fist clenched and ready.

The sound of running footsteps began near the Zeus Godbread statue. Someone tried to get a false start ahead of everything. "Sorry love," Lilith said as she quickly turned around. She reached for a small yen coin from her pocket, held it with two fingers with her left hand, and prepared her right hand to flick it. She closed one eye, then released the flick. The yen flew at a terrifying speed directly toward the student. BAM! It hit the child bulls eye on the back of the head. He fell down temporarily knocked out from the impact. Some students shook their heads, knowing that you should never try to get an early start. The Pastry Goddess is beautiful but merciless. Without saying any further words, Lilith turned around and continued walking towards the cafe. She finally reached the cashier with her back facing the wall opposite of the students and the Godbread. The tension in the air was more evident since it was about to be that time. She quickly turned around with the 'coffee lady girl' persona and smile and said, "Welcome to Namimori Cafe! We are Now Open!"

"To the Godbread!" "Ahhhh!" I'll get it!" A multitude of students had begun yelling while chasing their respective god pedestal. This was the beginning of the second bread wars.