He was in the city and standing on top of a building, accompanied by a cat with small bird wings on its back. Millions of lights blinked in the sky. He thought they were stars, but they were moving around. On instinct he called forth his power and a pair of wings sprouted from his back. The night was young and there was a life to live out there. He took a deep breath before spreading those wings. With one final mental push, he leapt off the building and…


"KYO-CHAN WAKE UP!"

"What!?"

The young boy blinked his tired eyes and then yawned. The surrounding changed into a bedroom with a desk near the window and a bookcase. A doll rested on the bedside table together with his alarm clock. A pair of roller blades was located near the foot of the bed. His landing might have been painful considering that his floor was hardwood. The landing was cushioned by some of the dirty clothes he had on the floor. An idle thought hit him, reminding him that he should probably pick them up sometime, preferably before some kind if fungus sprouted.

The young boy yawned again and turned to the girl who had woken him up.

"Emi-chan!?" he asked, tired.

"Kyo-chan, we're going to be late!" she said.

"Late?" His half-asleep mind seemed to have trouble processing the concept which was behind the word. He looked at his alarm clock and the meaning of the word came crashing back into his head as he read what the clock said. It was already 8 o'clock. "Woah!" he jumped off of bed and exclaimed, "Emi-chan! Why didn't you wake me?

The girl giggled and held up a video camera, "I wanted to but you were too cute when you were sleeping and I didn't want to disturb you."

He rolled his eyes, "Figures." He then ran as quickly as he could out of the room and to the bathroom. He tried opening the door but found it locked. He could hear someone humming on the other side. Easily recognizing the voice, he started slamming on the door while shouting.

"SUKI! GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM!"

" NO WAY! I WAS HERE FIRST KYO!"

"WHY YOU!"

The girl shook her head and sighed before walking out the room and walking down the stairs.


The boy finally got out of the bathroom, fully dressed. He appeared to be 14. He had long black unruly hair that came down to his waist. He also had a pair of red bangs that stuck out of his hairline and striking green eyes. He was dressed in red Chinese shirt, black jacket and pants. His name was Kyousuke Hasuma … and he was half-asleep and running as fast as he could.


Kyousuke Narration: Hi! I'm Kyousuke. Just your average junior high school student in Japan. As you can see, I'm late for school.


Kyousuke suddenly turned as if he was twisted around and backtracked to his room.


Kyousuke Narration: And I also forgot my backpack.


Kyousuke then ran out of his room, complete with backpack. He yelled, "Don't eat without me!"

He reached the dining room to see everyone there. There was a man with unruly black hair, a moustache, brown eyes and wearing a karate gi. The woman sitting next to him was dressed in a blue kimono decorated with flowers. She had beautiful green eyes and her brown hair was tied up in a bun. There were also three girls there, all dressed in black sailor uniforms and white pleated miniskirts. One girl had long red hair, another had blue hair tied up in a ponytail with a bow above her head and another one with long black hair and wearing a pink hair band in her hair


Kyousuke Narration: Meet my family. The big guy's my dad. His name is Kokoru. He teaches martial arts. You see, my house is actually a martial arts Dojo known as "The Hasuma School of Fighting Arts". My sisters wanted to call it the "How to Kick Butt Academy". Speaking about my sisters, the one with the red hair is Suki. That's right, the one I was fighting over the bathroom. She's a tomboy. Like me she was trained by my dad. Don't let her fool you. She can be quite mean when she wants to. The girl with the bow in her hair is Hotori. Out of the three of us she's the most polite and sensible, a total opposite of my other sister. We all go to the same grade. Well, we are all triplets so that makes sense. Fortunately, we aren't in the same class. Oh, I almost forgot, the girl with the camera is my best friend Emiko Narukawa. I've known her since kindergarten. She's the daughter of this big President of a toy company. She's pretty and rich but not snobbish and she can be a little weird.


"Smile for the camera, Kyo-chan!" she laughed Kyousuke sighed and tried to muster a half-smile, but was failing thanks to his groggieness.


Kyousuke Narration: See what I mean? And the woman sitting next to my dad is my mom. Her name is Nadoka. I know what you're thinking; I look a lot like her, right. Well, we do take after her a little.


All of them ate breakfast and conversed happily amongst themselves. Suki was being mischievous that morning and made the comment about Kyousuke and Emiko being a couple. The words brought blushes to both their faces and a sputtered denial from the boy. Emiko just tapped her fingertips together and looked at the ground shyly. When both teens were done sputtering, Kyousuke's mother reminded them of the time, and they were off to school.

"See ya later, mom, dad!" Kyousuke said as he got his blades on. As he managed to get the final strap tied on, his mother walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, gaining his attention.

"Are you forgetting something?" Kyousuke's mother asked, holding an elastic band in her hand.

"But mom…" Kyousuke moaned. That was going to take forever and he was already running late as it was.

"No buts young man," she said sternly, "You know we have to braid your hair before you go to school. You know that."

Kyousuke sighed and smiled at his mother. When it came to dealing with the woman, it was best to just relent. It was a trick he had picked up from his father, "Okay."


Kyousuke Narration: You see, ever since I was a little kid, I've had this really long hair. I mean as in it goes down to my waist. It makes me look like a girl. Unfortunately, cutting it is no good since it always grows back, fast! That why my mom braids it so that it doesn't get too much in the way. I'm not really normal, you see…


Suki dashed back into the door before calling out, "I forgot my text book!"

Nadoka sighed as she finished washing off her dishes, "I'll get it for you,"

"Don't have to!" the book in question suddenly floated in the air from its initial spot on the kitchen table and went into Suki's hand, "Got it!"

Kokoru scolded, "What have I told you about using your powers young lady?"

"Um…Not in public?" she shrugged, nervously as she smiled sweetly.


Kyousuke Narration: Well, you know what I meant about not being normal. Except my dad, everyone in my family is an Esper, people who can use ESP. Psychics. That includes me. We're trying to keep it secret from other people. I know I don't use my powers that much, but Suki, she's a bit stubborn.


Kyousuke shook his head. "One of these days Suki, you're gonna get caught," he told her.

"Never!" she said proudly. "Bye! Hey Hotori! Wait for me!"

Kyousuke got up and skated out of the door, but not before turning around and waving to his mom. "By mom! See you later!"

Emiko was waiting for him and then bowed at his mother. They then walked/skated to school. They were lucky that they were already so close to the school. Any further away and they would have ended up being late for class. Kyousuke would have been okay, but Hotori was proud of her perfect attendance record and Suki hated bucket duty.

It wasn't long before the 4 teens arrived in front of a huge building with the symbol that looked like an owl with glasses. The rest of the building looked like a rather regular school building. However, there was a theme of green and gold running around the gates and some of the windows. Never let it be said that this school was lacing in school spirit.


Kyousuke Narration: Welcome to Fukurou Junior High. I know, sucky name, but what to do? Anyway, this is where all 4 of us (me, my sisters and Emiko) go to school. We're all in the 8th grade. It's a good thing that my sisters don't share a class with me or I'm really screwed. Let's just say that Suki isn't exactly a model student. Neither am I, but I don't get into fights as much as she does. Now I'm getting off topic.


"See ya Bro!" Suki waved at her brother. She quickly dashed off to a corner of the schoolyard where some of her friends were waiting for her.

Kyousuke waved weakly, "Yeah…see ya."

Hotori bowed, "We will see you after school ends. brother dear."


Kyousuke Narration: See, the polite one.


As Hotori walked away, there was only Kyousuke and Emiko left as they seemed a little indecisive of what to do next. Emiko decided to take some initiative as she took up Kyousuke's arm and began tugging him towards the school.

"We better get to class, huh, Kyo-chan?" she asked with a bright smile.

Kyousuke shrugged, "Guess so, just one thing." He pointed his thumb behind him, "How long are they gonna be here?"

Behind the two were four attractive woman dressed up in black suits, skirts and sunglasses. They were all wearing grim looks on their faces. Two of them were actively looking around the schoolyard for threats. The other two were keeping their eyes trained on Emiko. Well, Kyousuke was sure that they were since he couldn't see their eyes behind their sunglasses.

Emiko laughed, "Well, they're my bodyguards! What else can I do?"

One of the bodyguards spoke, "Will you be needing us anymore young miss?"

Emiko shook her head, "Not anymore, you may go now," she smiled at them.

All the bodyguards bowed and then walked to a big black car parked in front of the school. Kyousuke sweatdropped at watching them leave. He was never going to get used to that sort of thing. If he had bodyguards, he knew that he was going to go nuts. Besides, why would he need them?


Kyousuke Narration: Emi-chan's bodyguards. Not people you can have much of a conversation with, but they'll do anything for Emi-chan. They work for Emi-chan's mom and well that sorta sets up the vibe of over protectiveness, don't ya think? They remind of the Men in Black for some reason. They also creep me out a little bit.


"Let's just get to class, kay?" Kyousuke said.

Emiko nodded. Both students then walked towards the school. Thankfully, they still had plenty of time left to get to class.

The classroom itself was wide with enough spaces for about 30 desks and chairs. There were two steel cupboards in the back and a blackboard in the front. In all, it was a lot like all the other classrooms situated in the school. Walking in, Kyousuke and Emiko were ambushed by 3 girls.

"SURPRISE!" All 3 girls exclaimed.


Kyousuke narration: My classmates, at least the ones I'm closest to, besides Emi-Chan. I've known these girls since 3rd Grade. These are Mayumi, Reika and Naoko. For some reason, some of the guys say I'm lucky to be close to so many girls. I admit that I'm lucky to have friends like them, but I wish I knew why those guys kept giving me winks and the like whenever they mentioned it.


The three girls were all dressed in matching sailor uniforms. One girl had chin length brown hair with a hair band and glasses (Naoko). One girl had black hair that curled around and framed her face (Reika). She was fairly pretty. The third girl was cute and had blonde hair with twin pigtails hanging off both sides of her head (Mayumi).

"WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL, KYO!"

Kyousuke Narration: They are in the cheerleading club so that explains why they're a 'little' hyper. But still, they are my friends. I kept wondering why my closest friends are girls. Maybe because I'm the only boy amongst my folks' kids. Who knows? All I know is I'm not a sissy.

Kyousuke smiled at his friends. "Hi guys!" We all hugged each other.


Kyousuke Narration: It was also the first day back to school. It was great to see all my friends again. I couldn't see them much due to the fact I had training with my dad. (And mom. She's teaching me and my sisters how to use our powers). But it was still great.


A boy suddenly popped up in front of Kyousuke. He had short black hair and his eyes were closed. He had a sneaky grin on his face and his eyes seemed almost a little shifty. The four girls almost recoiled when they saw him. Kyousuke made a barely contained sigh. All five of them knew this guy and they all apparently didn't like him all that much.

"You know, they serve food at the canteen for free on the first day of school," he said.

"REALLY!" Kyousuke's eyes lit up. "FREE FOOD!" He ran out of the class like a road runner.

Mayumi whacked the boy on the head, "Nice going, Eiji-kun!" she scolded, "Now you got Kyousuke-kun off on a wild goose chase, again"

Eiji shrugged, "Can't help it that he's so gullible all the time."

Mayumi pulled him by the ear and dragged him away.

"How long will it take for him to realize Eiji-kun tricked him?" Reika asked.

Naoko eyes blinked, "Not long. But then again, this is Kyousuke we're talking about."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO FREE FOOD! EIJI SAID-EIJI I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

"First we have to keep Kyo-chan from killing Eiji before the bell rings," Emiko sighed. Mayumi and Reika nodded. If there was one thing they learned while being friends with Kyousuke, it was that no one messed with him and food.


Kyousuke Narration: There was assembly then the principal spoke then the vice principal, then the introduction of new teachers and blah, blah, blah. What? These things are boring, so sue me!


Emiko stared at Kyousuke who was eating a burger. "Kyo-chan, where did you get that?" she asked. The principal was still in the middle of his speech and here was Kyousuke still eating. He was lucky none of the teachers were paying attention or else he would have gotten in trouble.

Kyousuke shrugged, "Eiji tricked me, so I had to pay for it. It's not so bad."

Emiko reminded, "When you came back from the canteen you were fighting with Mayumi over who'd beat Eiji up first."


FLASHBACK…

"LET ME AT HIM!" Kyousuke shouted

"NO LET ME!" Mayumi shouted.

"Guys, there is plenty of me to go around," Eiji said, smiling. Amazing how he could still smile even though he was being tugged by his arms in opposite directions.

"OH SHUT UP!"

END FLASHBACK…


"I forgave him."

"Of course."


Kyousuke Narration: About Eiji, or should I say 'Eiji the Liar', he always makes up these wild stories when I'm around, and I always fall for them (sigh). Anyway, this year I am not going to fall for his tricks anymore. No way! He's not going to trick me ever again. Then again, I did make that promise for 5 years straight and I'm still getting tricked. But this time I won't be tricked!


Later in class…

"I wonder who our homeroom teacher is gonna be?" asked Kyousuke

Emiko shook her head before whipping out her camera, "I don't know but I want to catch it on film."


Kyousuke Narration: My best friend Emiko always has that video camera with her. I always thought she would become a director or a reporter or something. That was until she said she wanted to be a fashion designer. Seriously! Ever since we met she could sew really well. On my first Halloween with her, she was the one who made the costumes. One time we were dressed up as Peter Pan and Wendy or Robin and Maid Marion or Han Solo and Princess Leia and…Okay I'm getting off topic. My point is that she's really GOOD!


Emiko giggled, "Smile for the camera, Kyo-chan!"

Kyousuke found himself in the camera lens again. He was long since used to it though. Since he was, he smiled easily before giving a peace sign. Emiko just giggled as she hit the record button for her camera.

Kyousuke Narration: And a little weird. But don't tell her I said that. She gets scary when you upset her.

Naoko came running into class yelling. She was terribly excited about something. Kyousuke just figured it was something since girls always seem to get excited about something in his opinion, "He's coming! He's coming!"

"He?" Kyousuke looked at Emiko. "He who?"

Emiko laughed, "Just take a look."

Coming into class was a man in his mid 20s and wearing a blue suit and tie. He had spiked up brown hair with two strands sticking out. A pair of glasses was on his face which made him look intellectual. There were some files under his arm. He was built fairly well, in other words, a hunk!

All the girls suddenly had hearts in their eyes and sighing. The boys were having a completely opposite reaction. They were groaning as they leaned on their desks. For some, it was because their teacher wasn't a babe like they were hoping. For others, it was because the girls would be too busy pining after their new teacher to pay any attention to them.

Kyousuke Narration: Talk about making a first impression. He just made a whole bunch of friends and enemies just by stepping into the room.

The male teacher stood in front of the class and introduced himself, "I'm your homeroom teacher, Mr. Takada. I hope that we can get along nicely together.

All the girls spoke in dreamy and lovesick tone, "Yes, sensei…"

"That was a bit creepy," Kyousuke shuddered. He then turned to Emiko. Emiko just smiled and didn't look gaga like the rest of the girls. Kyousuke just shook his head before staring at the teacher. He honestly would never understand women. No matter how many of them hung out with him or lived under the same roof.

Mr. Takada took out a register. "Okay, roll call, kids. Hasegawa?"

"Here!"

"Narukawa?"

"Here!"

"Hasuma?"

"Here!"

"Kinomoto?"

"Here!"

"Hidaka?"

"Here!"

"Sasaki?" he then looked at the name again, "Sasaki?" he looked up to see Reika raise her hand.

"Here," she said shyly, "Hello, sensei." Oddly enough, she seemed to be the most lovesick out of the all of them. Again, odd.

Mr. Takada cleared his throat and continued the roll call.


Kyousuke Narration: Classes went by as normal ever since I enrolled in this school. I was never really good at math, but Emi-chan always helped me out. P.E, believe or not, is my favorite subject and guess who the gym teacher was.


Needless to say, the girls were practically cheering when they found their new gym teacher. Lots of them almost suffered nosebleeds when they saw him in the usual gym uniform that all the males had to wear. The boys just groaned louder at their newfound misfortune with the girls of their class.

Takada-sensei blew a whistle, "Alright, class, today we will be doing the balance beam."

Kyousuke smiled, he had excellent balance. His mother always spoke against showing off, but his father always said to be proud of his talents. Of course he followed his father's advice, much to his mother's chagrin.

Takada-sensei called each of the students one at a time to walk on the balance beam. Soon it was Kyousuke's turn.

"Good luck, Kyo-chan," Emiko patted him on the back.

"Thanks, Emi-chan," he smiled at her. He turned his head, just in time to not notice the faint blush on his best friend's face.

The young black haired boy grinned and jumped onto the balance beam. Even though he had been advised to not show off, he could not help it. He flipped over and was balancing with his hands instead of his feet. He even balanced on one hand before jumping up with his hand and with acrobatic skill, flipped back to his feet before jumping off.

Takada-sensei commented, "Very good, Hasuma-kun," he smiled, "You seem to have excellent balance."

"Thank you sensei!" I puffed up my chest with pride.

He then chided, "Just don't try to show off, okay?"

Kyousuke slumped. Somehow, his mother had scored yet another point.


After school…

Kyousuke yawned as he collected his books and slung the bag onto his back. It was a long day and he was looking forward to going home. School wasn't exactly a bad place in his opinion, but he still preferred to be home.

"Ready to go?" Emiko said, smiling at him.

"Sure, Emi-chan," he smiled at her and took her hand in is, not noticing the blush that grazed her fair cheeks.


Kyousuke Narration: Normally, a guy wouldn't hold a girl's hand if they weren't dating, right? But Emi-chan and I have something special. We've been best friends for like, forever! I guess that's why I feel comfortable holding hands with Emi-chan. She's just…nice to be with…


Suki and Hotori both had cheerleading practice, so that left Kyousuke and Emiko to walk home together. Actually, Emiko was going to have dinner at Kyousuke's place before her bodyguards came to pick her up. It was often that way since it was easier for the bodyguards and it allowed Emiko to hang out with one of her friends. Of course, Emiko had her personal reasons for this arrangement.

The two arrived in front of the Hasuma's house.

"Mom? Dad? Anybody home?" Kyousuke asked, looking around, calling for his parents. He picked up a note and read it. He shrugged. "Guess no one's home." He smiled at Emiko, "You can come in, Emi-chan."

"Okay," she said, almost nervously. He tilted his head and looked at her.

"Is…something wrong?" he asked.

Emiko shook her head, "No…no…it's just that…well…I want to thank you for having me here," she bowed.

"There's no need to bow, Emi-chan," he told her. "You're always welcomed here. You're almost like family. How's about this? I'll fix us some tea, okay?" he offered.

"I'll…I'll wait in the living room."

He smiled at her before leaving for the kitchen to fix the tea. Emiko walked into the small living room and sat down on the cushion. She sighed, thinking, 'Why can't I tell him? Why can't I tell him how I feel? I love him so much…but…but our friendship…I don't want to ruin it.'

"Tea's ready!" Kyousuke called out, walking into the living room, carrying a tray with a teapot and a couple of cups. Emiko's train of thought was halted and she smiled at him.

They sipped the tea slowly as they talked. Not much, just stuff that happened before school started. Kyousuke told Emiko about his training.

"Blind training?" she questioned.

"Blindfolds and with moving targets/obstacles. It wasn't easy. I always got hit in the back of the head by those sandbags and when I kicked one away, it always crashed back into me. Dad said I had to rely on all my other senses. I still need practice though," he told her, rubbing the back of his head.

"And aerial combat?"

"Just a little something my dad cooked up for us to train our agility and jumping capabilities. Just balance ourselves on bamboo polls while trying to strike at each other and not fall off in the process. Thankfully, I have great balance," he explained, sipping the tea.

"I see…" she sighed, "Kyo-chan…we've been friends for a very long time, right?"

"Yup! I guess. It's been so long…" he said, smiling.

"Well…you see…what I'm trying to say is…" she gulped nervously.

"We're home!" both Suki and Hotori chimed as they skipped into the living room. Emiko blushed crimson and looked away from Kyousuke.

To Be Continued...