Oh how long it has been since I have uploaded anything. I have some pre-made chapters for this one, so I will try to update every Wednesday until I run out of buffer and then I will become irritating and late again. Well... enjoy consistency while you can!

"Amu! Wake up! You'll be late for your first day of Middle School!" Ran's high-pitched voice rang, startling Amu out of a deep sleep.

"Waah! Oh crap!" Amu yelled, jumping out of bed and rushing to get dressed. Soon enough she was dashing out the door, still later that she would have liked.

"Let's hope this doesn't leave a bad impression on your homeroom teacher," Miki commented, the whole situation a bit too frantic for her liking.

"Shut up!" Amu countered, entering the school gates, "I'm not that late!"

She saw Rima waiting out in front of the school, "Amu," she greeted, "You're here early."

"Early!"

"Yeah, we still have twenty minutes till class starts."

"How is that possible?" Amu asked tiredly.

"Oh! I meant to tell you, the power went out last night so the clocks are all wrong!" Su stated.

Amu put her face in her hands, "And you couldn't have told me this sooner?"

"Sorry!"

"Amu! Rima! Good morning!" The two girls turned to see Nagihiko walking toward them, waving.

"Good morning! The boy's uniform looks pretty good on you, Nagi!" Amu commented innocently.

With a smirk, Rima added, "Hm, are you sure that's the right uniform, Nade –,"

Nagihiko shot Rima a panicked look, "Rima…"

"– Nagihiko?"

Luckily, Amu didn't catch that.

It didn't take long for Tadase and Kukai to arrive also. Amu thought the new environment was a bit strange, but she was in Rima's class so she figured things could be worse.

"So, Kukai," Tadase asked as they all waited on class to start, "What's this school like?"

"Well, it's pretty much the same as Elementary, except…," Kukai trailed off, looking like he was thinking of something unpleasant.

"Except what?" They asked.

"The relationships here are way more dramatic! I mean, it used to be it was totally innocent but now – look! Like right there!" Kukai stated, pointing at a couple currently engaged in a poorly hidden kiss.

"Shouldn't they get in trouble for doing that on school grounds!" Amu asked, blushing and turning away.

Kukai sighed, "You would think so, but the teachers don't care as long as they don't do it in the classroom."

"You'd think that feel at least a little embarrassed," Rima commented.

"Some people have no shame," Nagi agreed.

"Well, here, you can go from being a nobody to being a somebody depending on who you date," Kukai explained, "Like if a new girl comes to school and gets a popular guy to go out with her, then her status and name recognition immediately goes up."

Tadase frowned, "That seems kind of cruel, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but that obviously isn't stopping anybody. Oh, and Amu and Rima," Kukai added, addressing the two girls, "If I were you I wouldn't go walking around campus alone. There's always that group of third year guys preying on the new girls."

Tadase and Nagihiko both looked horribly uncomfortable as they imagined how that scene would play out.

Kukai took notice of this and added, observing the couples, "But I don't think you'll have to worry about that."

A different conversation started up, about curriculum, something Kukai didn't really care about, so he started scanning the crowds for something more interesting. His eyes fell on a particular third year, Hiroshi.

"Hey, guys just a heads up," Kukai said, regaining their attention, "Avoid him."

"Who's he?" Rima asked.

"His name's Hiroshi. He's a third year, a complete jerk and a total womanizer." Kukai's sentences were clipped and irritated, and his friends got the idea that Kukai had a certain grudge against this bold character.

Amu observed Hiroshi for a moment. He didn't appear dangerous, and he was actually pretty good-looking. He wasn't even doing anything, just leaning against the building and watching the gate, his friends goofing off and cutting up around him. He didn't seem like such a bad guy, maybe it was an outside character and he was actually a nice person.

Suddenly, Hiroshi's head popped up, and Amu followed his line of sight to a girl who was walking in the front gates.

"Oh, wow, she's lovely," Amu said quietly.

A girl with stunning figure and bright, clear eyes was making her way through the crowd, her long legs maneuvering gracefully around her clumsy classmates. Her hair seemed to be naturally brown, but it had an array of blonde streaks that appeared to be following the base of her hair line, so you could only see pieces of it. Her hair was curly like Rima's and fell to just below her shoulder blades.

"Who's that?" Nagihiko asked Kukai, after seeing who Amu was looking at.

Kukai looked at the girl and a soft smile came on his face, "That's Kaya. She's in my grade. She's beautiful, sure, but she doesn't talk much."

"Beautiful?" Amu asked, a mocking tone dripping into her voice, "Why, Kukai, I believe this is the first time we've heard you call a girl beautiful, isn't it?"

Rima let out a fake gasp, "It seems you are correct! What could this mean?"

A slight blush appeared on Kukai's face, "What? Don't get wrong idea –,"

Tadase, all good intent, interrupted him, "Is it true, Kukai? Is this girl… special?"

"No! It's not –,"

"It was bound to happen sometime, Kukai," Nagi consoled, "We'll be happy to help in anyway."

Kukai sighed, "Guys really it's not…"

Movement in the corner of his eye caught Kukai's attention. He looked up to see that Hiroshi had moved to intercept Kaya, who was making a B line for the school building.

She frowned at him, "Can I help you?"

They group was standing right next to the main entrance, where the confrontation between Kaya and Hiroshi was taking place.

"Actually," He said with a devilish smile, "You can."

She scoffed, moving to walk around him. He moved right back into her way.

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you trying to walk through here?" His voice was dripping with crude sarcasm.

Kaya's hand tensed around the handle of her bag, "Actually, yes." Her words were cold and measured; enough to make any person with common sense back off.

But Hiroshi was either very brave or very stupid when he replied, "C'mon, Kaya, we all know you're just playing hard to get. Do everyone a favor and just go out with me."

In an unfeeling monotone, Kaya replied, "As if I owe anyone here a favor. Now please move, I can feel myself getting dumber as we speak." She moved around him more quickly this time, the bell ringing as she entered the door.

Hiroshi cursed under his breath, and Kukai suppressed a snicker.

"I love seeing her reject him!" He laughed once Hiroshi was out of earshot.

"This has happened before?" Amu asked.

Kukai nodded, "Over and over, and she comes up with something even more scathing to say to him every time, it's really refreshing! Most girls just melt at his feet, but not her. She doesn't even have a heart of ice, it's more like steel!"

Amu and Rima exchanged a glance. At first they were just teasing him, but could he actually have developed a crush on this girl?

Kukai saw how skeptical they looked and responded, "The real reason I keep bringing her up is actually that she has a Guardian Egg."

"What? Really?" Amu asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know if it's hatched or not. She hasn't commented on seeing Daichi, so I'm really not sure yet."

"We'll have to discuss this further after school," Tadase decided, leaderly as always, "See you later!"

They separated, dispersing into the crowd and finding their ways to their respective classrooms.

"So all the former Guardians have Guardian Characters, huh, Jun?" Kaya commented quietly, "Seems fitting."

"Kaya, you really need to make friends with them, maybe they could help you –," Jun, Kaya's Guardian Character, began to say.

"No!" Kaya hissed under her breath, "I don't need help!"

"But that boy Kukai –,"

"I told you not to mention him! Jun, you know why we can't get close to them! Especially that boy Kukai!" Kaya relaxed a bit, now that they were in an empty classroom.

"And why is that?"

*le gasp!* Who could be eavesdropping on our fair Kaya? I think you could make a good guess. What do you think of my characters? Kaya, Jun, even that little turdlet Hiroshi... I want your opinions! I want your criticism! I write fanfics for fun and practice, so I don't really care if they aren't super good.

So... make the review button feel needed. 3