"Just a pinch of this... and a little of that..."

"And we will have our first successful experiment?"

"That, I am not quite sure myself, friend, but a scientist is never afraid of failing... Ooh, we can add a bit of this too..."

"But, sir, this seems to be your biggest experiment yet! What if something goes wrong and-"

"Silence, young one! I need to concentrate..."

~ I ~

Sora sat up from his bed and panted wildly; he clutched his chest hoping that would ease the sharp pain inside of him. He used his free hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He had that dream again. Well, he wouldn't call it a dream - all he heard were mere voices from some scientists he had never heard of before. He didn't see any images of some sort along with these voices. But still, they scared him. Despite the fact that he has been having these dreams ever since he was a little child, these dreams would manage to scare him without fail. And every time he woke up, he would feel a sharp pain in his chest, as if someone had stabbed him in the heart. That would be the only time he ever felt pain.

You see, Sora was not normal. Sure, he loved sports, friends and about any other things a teenage kid would love. But unlike others, Sora had never experienced stress, felt any pain or even fallen in love (which, from my perspective, is really awful)! His classmates would burn the midnight oil studying and stressing about the upcoming exams, while he would sit in front of his computer all night playing computer games. His classmates would panic upon finding a deep, hideous wound on their bodies, while Sora would shrug and watch as the wound heals itself (in other words, it is as if Sora's body could regenerate - and he doesn't even bleed!). And while his classmates would have long, romantic walks at the beach with their partners, Sora would sit alone in his room and read his books.

Now, a normal person would want a life like Sora's because he didn't have to go through troubles a normal teenager would have. But in Sora's case, it was the other way round; he was sick and tired of, well, his entire life. He wanted to stay up late every night to study. He wanted to see the fascinating red liquid ooze out from his own wounds. He wanted to be able to love the people who loved him. No, he wanted to know what "love" actually is. He knew it was a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. But he wanted to know what it feels like. He's had teenage girls liking him but he could never like them back. He didn't even know how it felt to be loved by your own parents. Sora was adopted, so he never got to know who his real parents were. Not that he was close to his stepparents anyway. They had always scared him. They always gave him the sort of look that pedophiles would give little children - or at least, that was what he thought the looks were like. He also had a strong feeling that his stepparents knew something he didn't, and they didn't want to tell him because they were afraid it would change his life forever.

Then again, it could just be his imagination. He had an imagination wilder than anyone could imagine. They were so wild they could drive a normal person insane, but of course, Sora wasn't normal, so he wasn't affected.

The alarm clock clicked and began beeping madly as Sora slowly manages to control his breathing. He stared at the alarm clock and wondered why in the world does he have one. His parents bought that for him before he even got to middle school. They thought it would help wake him up just in time for school every morning and that that would make their lives easier. But Sora didn't need it; he could wake up early every morning without the help of the alarm clock - and definitely without the dreams. But of course, his parents couldn't care less.

Annoyed, Sora slammed the button on the alarm clock to stop its unbearable beeping. He got out of his bed and made his way to the bathroom.

xXxXx

Sora felt odd as he stepped into the school compound. There was something different in the atmosphere that morning. Maybe something happened over the weekend and he was the only one who didn't know about it because he was at home, playing chess with himself. Or maybe a couple of girls with the biggest mouths in the world had spread some stupid rumor about him and now everyone was starting to hate him. Maybe he had a huge zit on his forehead...

Sora chuckled to himself; a zit? Like that would happen. Sora had never had a zit before in his entire life. He never fell sick. He was absolutely perfect. Sora dragged his right hand to his forehead and felt around for a bump. When he was assured that there was really no such thing on his forehead, he heaved a sigh of relief. He needed to make sure. If anything happened to him, that would be the end of his perfect life. Sora felt around for the zit again. Still nothing. He sighed and wondered why he was even happy that he couldn't find a zit - or even a birthmark - on any part of his body. Maybe Sora will never be normal.

Sora could feel eyes following him as he walked down the hallway, and soon enough, he realized that the whole school was staring at him. Even the janitor was. Why? Had he done something wrong? That can't be; Sora was at home throughout the whole weekend. He never stepped out for anything. Sora didn't have many friends because everyone thought he was some sort of an extra terrestrial creature. Feeling a bit uneasy, Sora continued to walk to his locker and took the items essential for the next lesson.

He didn't feel right even during his classes. He knew that when he wasn't looking, people would turn to steal a glance at him. He caught a few staring at him every once in a while. And he even had this feeling that the teacher was watching him. Sora didn't like it one bit. He felt so uneasy, uncomfortable; he couldn't stop fidgeting and twitching and scratching. Was there something he didn't know? Why was everyone staring at him? It's not like he wasn't wearing any pants or something.

"We sincerely apologize for the interruption. We are paging for Sora Strife. I repeat, we're paging for Sora Strife. Kindly make your way down to the principal's office now. Thank you."

All eyes on him. Great, he thought. Now I will finally know why everyone's been acting so strangely. Sora got up and slowly dragged himself to the principal's office.

Not more than twenty seconds later, Sora was already standing outside the office. The answer as to why everyone was staring at him was only a step away. Sora was about to turn the door knob when he heard a couple of voices coming from inside. Sora waited, and realized that the people inside had not a single clue that somebody was standing outside the room. Sora gently pressed his ear against the door, and listened intently to the conversation being held by the two men inside. He recognized one of the voices; it was the principal. Principal Silverfeather. Sora had no idea whom the other voice belonged to, but it sounded to him like it belonged to a teenage boy. Slightly older than Sora himself, you could say. Both of the voices sounded dead serious and the two men could be discussing over something really, really important..

"...there must be a better option..."

"But, princi- I mean, Sephiroth... That boy really is the one. I know it ever since I first set my eyes on him."

Did he just say, "Sephiroth"?

The principal chuckled, "You're making it sound like you've just fallen in love..."

"Be serious, Sephiroth! That boy - Sora, I think that's what you call him - he is one of them. Haven't you heard the rumors that's been going around lately? It makes perfect sense now. Sora..."

"So suppose Sora really is one of them... what are you gonna do about it, Riku?"

"I... I'm gonna give it my all to protect him. I- ...We can't just leave him alone. It is our duty to protect every single one of them, after what happened last time..."

"...I understand. I suppose I might as well give you the details now. Once you got the boy, I want you to bring him to me, and from there, we can explain everything - starting from the time about Vexen and Zexion-"

Sora gasped loudly, and almost immediately, he covered his mouth with his hand. He needed to slap himself in the face later. The conversation between the two men stopped and only an awkward silence was present in the atmosphere. Eventually, the principal instructed the boy "Riku" to leave the office - and he did so. The boy opened the door and widened his eyes upon seeing a nervous Sora standing before him, then he shaked his head and made his way to... wherever he was going. Sora turned to the principal. Principal Silverfeather gestured him to come inside, and Sora did as he was told. He closed the door behind him and took a seat across from the man.

"So...," Sora started, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Y-you wanted to see me?"

The two stared at each other for a long while, not knowing what to say. Finally, after what seemed like five whole minutes of awkward silence, Principal Silverfeather nodded his head and leaned forward, "So I've been told by many that you were seen smoking and consuming drugs... Sora..."

Sora's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. What did he say? Since when? He was never interested in those stuff. Sure, he could consume drugs and smoke all he wants because the side-effects won't harm him in any way, but Sora would never do such things. He wanted people to see him the way he sees himself; a young man who prefers studying more than anything else (you see, Sora didn't study like any other teenage kid; he could easily read a whole encyclopedia in super speed and be known as the smartest person in the universe, but that was simply too easy for him). Moreover, did his parents know about this? Was everyone going to get a bad impression of him from now on? Was this the reason why everyone was acting so strangely?

The principal noticed the shocked expression on Sora's face and nodded once again, "I know what you're thinking... I refuse to believe it myself, but... apparently a lot of people saw you doing those things. Photos and videos have been sent to me and I have seen every single one of them; the boy who was caught doing all those... unaccepted activities looks a lot like you, Sora."

"But, sir...!" Sora spoke up. "I-I was at home the whole time! I have proof! Y-you can call up my parents; I didn't do any of those things, I swear! That boy in the photos and videos; he may look a lot like me, but he definitely isn't me."

Principal Silverfeather sighed as he rubbed his temples; both men were at a lost for words. And Sora was still wondering what the previous conversation was about; it involved him. He heard his name being mentioned.

"If anything were to happen to you, I want you to come to me right away, clear?" Principal Silverfeather instructed. Confused, Sora arched a brow. What did he mean? What's going to happen? Does it have anything to do with that "Riku" boy?

Sora shook his head, "I don't understand, sir. I-"

"Just come to me even if you feel uneasy," the principal interrupted, before mumbling what sounded like, "We have to get every single one of them..."

Sora sighed; he was already feeling uneasy, but he didn't think he could trust the principal this time. "Do my parents know about this?" he asked, hoping to hear a "no" from Principal Silverfeather.

"As a matter of fact, yes, they do," the principal said, smirking as he watched Sora slapping his own forehead in frustration. "But worry not; your parents also believe that you're not the boy as seen in the videos and photos."

"That's good..," Sora mumbled as he got to his feet. "Sorry to bother you, Principal Silverfeather."

"Not at all," the man replied, smiling. He was really fond of Sora for he was well-mannered. It's a wonder why he doesn't have any friends. Principal Silverfeather watched as the boy made his way out of the office, and back to his classroom. Once Sora's presence was finally gone, he leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily, "It's hard being an undercover..."

xXxXx

Sora had a lot on his mind, for once, and made sure he walked slowly to class so he had time to think. Who was the boy that everyone was talking about? What did the principal mean by "every single one of them"? Who was that "Riku" boy? For the first time, he was actually having a headache. But he didn't want to go back home. He didn't want his parents to worry.

All eyes were on Sora again as he entered the class and received permission to go back to his seat. Sora was definitely not in the mood to study right now; he could catch up. Right now, all he wanted to do was to lie his head on the table and get some rest. He was sure the teacher wouldn't mind...

Phew! I'm finally glad this site decided to cooperate and upload this document. I went through more than a minute trying to upload this. e.e I dunno if the site despises me or the connection here is being lousy. But, hey, what's done is done, and I'm happy with it!

So ta-da! My first story! I just woke up one weekend and came up with an inspiration to write this story. I left it lingering in my head for a looooong while until I couldn't hold on to it anymore; I have to write it down somewhere! And so the first chapter was born! ...Then the second. Then the third. And so on and so forth. :3

So! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It's pretty short, I know. xD It was slightly longer before I edited it. Oh yes, sorry for any errors or mistakes; my English isn't that good. Dx But it's okay. I'll keep learning. Please review!

-K

P.S. If you don't mind, care to tell me when your birthday is? I'd like to do a one-shot for you lovelies on your birthdays! :D