Yellow Haze- Chapter I:Myths, Monsters, & Legends.

The light of the midday sun drifted in through the window, casting a dull light over the class room, due to the gray blinds that were halfway down. A soft, but consistent chatter filled the room- as students talked about the project they were currently working on. The teacher, however, was sitting in front of his computer- thin, bone like fingers typed away- making a constant, yet monotonous sound. As long ago, the class' daily discussion had ended, leaving the students to the work and the teacher free to do whatever he wished.

However, someone wasn't working.

The student in the front of the room sighed loudly, flicking a black piece of hair out of her gaze. It wasn't her fault, really- it was just that sociology was an extremely boring class for her- and she just didn't know anything about it. When she took it, she'd assumed that she would have been able to ace it- "I'm a Ninja, I should be able to do this! Knowing people is all part of the job!" however, Yuffie had soon realized that she sucked at this course.

A lot.

Which was really bad- she needed this credit to pass high school. Of course, Yuffie wasn't really interested in schooling- no, not at all. But her Godfather had told her just recently, that if she didn't pass High school, Godo- her actual father- would not accept her back into the dojo. Usually, she didn't dare fall for any blackmail trick, but Yuffie couldn't risk it. The only thing she wanted to do was to live a life free of any constraints and the only way she knew how to do that was to finish her Ninja training.

The bell rang, and Yuffie jumped out of her seat as the rest of the class starting packing up. However, before she could make her very hasty retreat, a voice cleared itself, causing her to pause. "Miss Kisaragi. I would like to speak with you."

Yuffie became solid like a piece of oak, stiffly turning around and nodding to her teacher. "Yes, sir?" she echoed, trying to appear as she was entirely innocent. She knew she wasn't doing that well in this class, so she made extra sure not to piss off the teacher- However, Yuffie knew all too well that even when she wasn't trying, she happened to piss off a large amount of people.

"Now, Yuffie, if you didn't know, you're not doing well in this class." the teacher swept across the little space between his chair and his table, sitting upon it and folding his arms- yet, despite his closed off body language, he still gave off a friendly aura. "You're in danger of failing this course."

Yuffie's eyebrows shot up- she knew she had been doing horribly, but failing?- as she opened her mouth to speak, she was cut off with a teacher's swift movement of his hand. Yuffie instantly shut up, and the teacher chuckled deeply.

"I know what you're going to say, and yes, there is a way to get enough credit to pass this class."

Yuffie decided not to tell the teacher that she wasn't going to say that, because she was getting a scapegoat. "How?" she spoke quietly, doing her best to keep her calm, cool, facade. This teacher didn't seem to know what she was actually like- and that was something in her favor, because if he did, he wouldn't be giving her this chance...

At least, she didn't think.

"Very simple, Yuffie. There's an advanced project that this class isn't going to be able to do this year- it's usually assigned as my final project. Here, this is the instruction paper." the teacher lifted a hand and reached onto his desk, handing Yuffie a stapled piece of paper, which she raised an eyebrow at once she read the title.

'Myths, monsters, and urban legends- Why, where, and how.'

"But, I'll be kind, and give you the basic idea. You're to research either a myth, an animal that's rumored to exist, like Bigfoot, or an Urban Legend. You're going to have to tell why, how, and where- in any form you wish. But, you must explain why people believe these things, and how they spread so quickly. You're allowed to present it in any form- be original." the teacher smiled at Yuffie, which confused her greatly- usually this teacher had a strict set of rules, guidelines, and other things- and if you didn't follow them to the dot, you wouldn't get the full mark.

"What's with all the freedom?" Yuffie couldn't stop the question before it left her mouth, and when she expected a glare, she had got a smirk- which confused her more.

"You can only truly know if a student has learned anything, if they know how to show you, without you telling them how."

Yuffie grumbled to herself as she sat in front of the school computer. Currently, she was working after school- much to her own disgust- to try and research her project. However, it seemed that the Gods were against her- all of the other school library computers were glitched to hell, and she was on the only one working. Despite the fact that it worked, it was extremely laggy and slow. Yuffie really wished that she had asked for a computer for Christmas, instead of a set of Kunai.

"Move."

For the last couple of minutes, Yuffie had been staring at the computer, not really knowing what to do. So, when someone managed to sneak up on her, she instantly snapped her head to the direction of the speaker- lucky that she didn't get a neck cramp.

Yuffie glared at the man standing before her- His name was Squall-but he demanded to go by Leon-, a brown haired peer that had icy blue eyes as cold as his heart. He seemed nice, but always happened to be a real ass to her- in her opinion, at least. "I'm using this computer, Squall." she raised an eyebrow at him, assuming that this fight, like all the others, wouldn't go anywhere.

"It's Leon, and you're just sitting here doing nothing." his glare intensified, as he folded his arms over his chest and stared her down.

"Well, listen here Scarface, I need to come up with some subject to research, if you could so kindly help me, I'd kindly let you onto this computer." Yuffie allowed a smirk to come to her face, as Squall visible flinched at her new nickname for him.

"What's it on?" Squall inquired, and Yuffie felt a flow of pride knowing that he'd accepted her terms.

"Myths, urban legends, ect..." Yuffie waved her hand dismissively, acting as if this project didn't hold the weight of her passing.

Squall's eyebrows narrowed deeply, and he suddenly looked very annoyed. "You do realize there's a section on that kinda stuff in the town newspaper?" he countered, his voice dripping with venom.

"Nope! Where do I get one?" she questioned, tilting her head to the side and jumping up, landing on her chair and staring at Squall's practically lifeless eyes- lifeless when they weren't expressing rage or annoyance- now that they were eye level.

Squall made a noise that sounded like a mixture of a growl, a groan, and sigh. Looking around the room, he spotted a copy on the nearby table- knowing it must have been left by a teacher, or someone akin to that- and snatched it angrily off the table, before handing it to her. "Move." he repeated in response.

"Thanks, Scarface!" she ripped it from his grasp, jumping down the chair and rushing past him.

"Whatever." Squall shook his head, as a figure stepped out from a nearby rack of shelves, holding a couple of books. Squall looked at them with a smug look, before speaking.

"You've got weird tastes."

"Comics... Comics... Personal ads... Ahoy!" Yuffie was currently sitting Indian style on her bed, staring down at the newspaper as she tried to find the section that Squall had mentioned before. Yuffie scanned the section, reading each part before her eyebrows shot up, a big grin coming to her face as she licked her lips. Jumping up so she was standing on her bed, she looked very pleased with herself.

"That's perfect."

End chapter one.

S.O.H