The New Boy

So, I've decided to revamp this story after reading some of the reviews! I'm a little fresh to writing these types of stories, and I hope this can be a more enjoyable experience to you, my readers! Please enjoy and review!

Chapter 1

"Hey Yukari, what are you drawing?" Kurumu asked noisily, leaning over the young witch's shoulder. The small-framed brunette rolled her eyes and adjusted her angle so Kurumu could get a good look, "It's just a cat Kurumu… Just a plain simple cat! Happy?"

Kurumu laughed, "Geez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the kiddy bed this morning! What, Moka didn't tuck you in last night?" Yukari sighed, "Just another Monday…" she thought to herself. She had grown used to having this teasing relationship with Kurumu, but today, everything seemed to be a bit stale.

"Hey, lay off Kurumu!" Moka mentioned from her desk, "You're being very mean to Yukari this morning…" Yukari smiled very delicately to herself, "Oh Moka… Always coming to my aid, but not out of the love I feel for you, but because I'm just a kid being bullied… Oh well." Truth be told, Yukari didn't sleep good the previous night, or the night before that. The witch had been restless for a while, and she had no idea why.

"Oh she's fine!" Kurumu commented, taking a seat at her own desk, "I'm just helping her build tough skin is all! She'll be thanking her best friend, Kurumu, years from now!" Yukari couldn't help but roll her eyes again, "Whatever you say Kurumu…" she replied dully.

Moka leaned across the aisle and poked Yukari's shoulder, "Hey, are you okay Yukari? You've seemed really out of it lately." Yukari gave her a small smile of reassurance, "Yeah Moka I feel great. Thanks for asking though…" She heard the clack, clack, clack of Ms. Nekonome slapping her ruler against her desk. This was Yukari's cue to put her drawing paper away and pay attention.

"Attention class!" Ms. Nekonome began in her usual purring voice, "Today we have a new student!" She gestured to a smaller boy to her left. The boy had spiky brown hair, and brown sad eyes. He didn't look very pleased to be there. Another interesting thing about him was how young he looked, "His name is Jaden Arinaki, and he's a new transfer to Yokai Academy! So everyone make sure to make him feel really welcome!"

She finished her introduction, and gestured to an open desk in the middle of the room. Without saying a word, the boy trudged down a row, and took his seat. Yukari observed him taking out a simple notebook and a pencil, and began to jot down the bits of information Ms. Nekonome was throwing out.

Yukari felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around to receive a note from the girl behind her. From Kurumu! It was written in neat, girly handwriting belonging only to the annoying demon two seats behind Yukari. Sighing, the witch un-wrapped the note, and felt herself resisting the urge to give Kurumu a concussion with one of her washtubs!

Hey! New boy is cute! Leave poor Tsukune to me, and you have the youngling over there! ;) ;) ;) 3

Yukari clenched the note in her hand, feeling wide awake now, "I'll never give my Tsukune up so easily you big-bosomed toad!" She cast a glance over at the new kid, and saw how his eyes never averted to anything besides his notebook and the teacher. "He's probably a huge studier," Yukari thought to herself, wondering why anyone would bother to put so much effort into note-taking. It wasn't as though anybody could beat her in a school academic examination. She stifled a giggle with her palm, "Ah well! New boy will learn that fact soon enough!"

Class got out, and the students were cramming to get out the door. Yukari noticed the new boy was silent the entire time, not giving attention to any of the other students. He packed his bag, and made his way out quickly, not throwing a second glance back.

"Wow, Jaden seems really focused on schoolwork," Moka commented. Kurumu laughed and got up real close to Yukari, "Yeah! I hope someone has been studying! After all, only super geniuses get in to high school early right?" Yukari rolled her eyes, "You're such a joke Kurumu; you know I'm the high-score setter for exams around her!" She turned, feeling smug and superior to the rest of her friends.

Tsukune chuckled nervously, "Be careful Yukari! With an attitude like that, you might find yourself getting just a tiny bit cocky!" Yukari scoffed, "Oh ye of little faith Tsukune! I'm the smartest student on campus, and everyone knows it!"

Kurumu rolled her eyes, "Yeah, you're also the flattest student on campus, how come you never brag about that?" She stuck her tongue out, and was rewarded with a familiar golden washtub materializing out of thin air and connecting with her skull. Pop, clang, thump! Yukari nodded superiorly and trotted out of the room, humming happily.

A few days had passed, and Yukari was continuing to suffer in her sleep habits. She would toss and turn for an hour or so, and end up just sitting at her desk the whole night, unable to fully fall asleep. There was the rare hour or so of precious slumber, but the girl was never fully able to enjoy them.

So when the day of mid-term examinations arrived, Yukari actually felt herself struggle a bit. Her mind wasn't acting as sharp as normal, and she spent more time than usual answering each question. However, when the end of the exam had arrived, the young girl left the room feeling as if, once again, she had come out on top!

The next day, Yukari joined Tsukune and the rest of the group at the lunch table a few hours later, and began to happily devour her food. It took her a few moments to notice, but everyone seemed to be acting a bit strange. Kurumu seemed to be purposefully looking over Yukari's head; Mizore was clenching a manga much too tightly, her face completely hidden behind it; Tsukune was paying way to much attention to the piece of shrimp on his plate; and Moka was looking nervously at her lap.

Yukari observed each of these strange happenings, and slowed her eating, "Hey guys… Is everything okay?" She didn't like this; were the pulling a prank on her? Or did something terrible happen?

No one seemed to want to speak, but finally Moka, albeit in a trembling, scared voice, opened her mouth to reply, "You just seem, awfully, chipper! Despite what happened…" Yukari peered at her curiously, completely unaware of the point her friend was trying to make.

"Uh, Moka," Yukari began, "What on earth are you talking about?" Everyone at the table reacted instantly. Kurumu instantly ripped the manga from Mizore's hands, revealing the scared snow-woman behind it, and began to converse with her rapidly, trying not to meet Yukari in the eyes. Tsukune, feeling the sudden desire to be a gentleman, rapidly cleared all the trays from the table, and made haste across the cafeteria to toss the food.

Only Moka was left with her attention on Yukari, and the young girl felt the fear resonating from her friend, "What's going on Moka, this isn't funny! What happened?" Yukari asked again, feeling suddenly terrified at what was going on. Moka cleared her throat and swallowed, "Have… Have you seen the scoreboard Yukari?" Yukari blinked for a moment, not understanding what she was talking about, before the sudden realization hit her like a cold icy hand gripping her heart.

The witch was gone from the table in a flash. Yukari barreled through the hallways, knocking students and faculty over in the process. She used magic to clear out large groups of people, leaving furious students behind her. She hadn't even bothered to check the scores of the midterms when they were released, as she had never been anything but number 1! She skidded to a stop in the courtyard, in front of the large bulletin board.

Number 2: Yukari Sendo! Number 2…. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. Second place… The horrible thought kept echoing in her head. She had only scored the second highest, out of the whole school. And the person in first place:

Jaden Arinaki.

I hope you enjoyed this a bit more! Please leave a review! No flames, just constructive criticism and constructive encouragement! Thank you!