Whoa, I'm writing a chapter story.

So I'll just say this right now, as a warning to all: I am not the greatest in updating with chapter stories. Sometimes I can go on for some weeks before updating, but hopefully this story will not have that, as I finally set a goal to write one chapter ahead before posting any chapter here.

This is a surprise! I'm not much into AU setting stories, so writing high school stories like this was completely out of the question. (Though I don't mind reading them). So how this came along is out of the ordinary; it's probably because Tales of the Abyss is such a great game.

One more note. Yes, the characters in this story do have uniform. Since I'm horrible at describing clothing whatsoever, I decided to use the uniform style that the TotA characters have dressed up in already. If you've seen Tales of Fandom, there is one part in that game where the characters dress up in a school uniform; that's the uniform I picture for the characters in this story.

Full Summary: In Van's attempt to have his sister socialize more,Tear Grants is transferred from the prestigious school of Yulia City Fontech Academy to the second high academic academy known as Daath Academy of Lorelei. There, she meets people who completely change her way of thinking in high school, making her realize that high school isn't always about the academics. However, as she continues to attend there, strange visions from the past haunt her as she starts to get to know the people around her. What is this strange feeling of famaliarity with them, and why do they appear in these strange visions from the past?

So with that, I do not own Tales of the Abyss or the uniform from Tales of Fandom.

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"Come on, Tear. It's going to be great."

Mystearica Grants looked out the window of the hovering craft and towards the white fluffy clouds that passed by. It had been a stressful week for her, suddenly switching from a conservative, quiet study environment into a bursting and energetic type. It wasn't her choice to suddenly move schools, but when her brother had gotten a big promotion into teaching fonic self-defense with a higher status, higher pay, and longer hours, he suddenly took that opportunity to introduce her to the high academic school near the place he taught everyday.

Yulia City, the one city in the entire world with advanced high-tech fon machines, was also famous for their prestigious fonic academy. What she couldn't understand was why her brother decided to transfer her from the high tech city to the bustling yet conservative city of Daath, where she would be attending school for the remainder of the year. True that they did have a school with a good reputation and high academic standards (which is why it was no surprise to Van that Tear had gotten accepted on the first try of her entrance exam), but Yulia City offered the same.

It didn't help much that they still lived in Yulia City but commuted by aircraft onto another continent and city. She did question her brother's motives though – why would he send her to Daath when she was just walking distance between her house and Yulia City Fontech Academy? True that she did not have a passion for fon machinery, but in the very least she enjoyed fonic history and learning of the hymns. In all honesty, Tear did not miss the school much. Its conservative and quiet atmosphere practically made it impossible to make friends. However, moving wasn't exactly the best thing, either. She found it all very inconvenient that she had to go commute with her brother on the aircraft into the city.

Tear sighed once more, this time causing the window in front of her to fog up. She pulled down her long-sleeved uniform blouse for it seemed just a tad too tight and fit around her body. That was another thing she didn't like about Daath Academy; its uniform consisted of a brown button up long-sleeved top with fancy cuffs at the end, with a complimenting ribbon around the neck. Long-sleeved uniform year-round was bad enough; the seemingly too short skirt was another issue. Feeling bare from the shortness of her school skirt, Tear had decided to wear knee high socks to just feel slightly better, though it didn't help much.

She blew the bangs out from in front of her right eye in frustration. "I don't see the point in this."

Van turned to look at her. "How could you be saying that? Anyone would love to be in your shoes. I mean, you passed the entrance exam, and not only did you do it in one try, but it's to the Daath Academy of Lorelei."

She shook her head. She had heard this talk before and she did not intend on hearing it again. True that she was smart, but it bothered that she was because if she weren't, she wouldn't have had needed to go through all this inconvenience.

"And besides," Van continued, "you'll finally be able to meet the two best students I've had. And you'll be able to notice the similarities I keep telling you about."

She turned to him. "Is this the reason you're sending me to Daath?"

"No. I just think that you need to expand your social circle a little. Yulia City's academy has turned you into a woman of stone."

She rolled her eyes. "And you think meeting this Luke person would suddenly do the trick?"

Van shook his head. "You forgot about Asch."

"I thought they were rivals."

"They are, actually. However, I'm not saying that only Luke could do the trick. Do remember that Guy also attends school there already."

"Guy? Guy Cecil?"

Van laughed. "Well, what other Guy could there be? You haven't seen him for…six years now, right?" He shook his head. "That's what you get for being at Yulia City school for too long."

"Was it my fault that I had to study for the high school entrance exams a year earlier just to stay in that school?"

Van looked at her with sarcasm in his eyes. "And you needed to study, why?"

"I'm not that smart."

"Yeah, yeah. But come on, Guy was your only friend; well, your only real friend."

Tear let out a small chuckle and smiled. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

For as long as she had remembered, Guy Cecil had been the only friend she had ever stuck close with since her childhood. Though they did not attend the same school, they were close and always made up things to do when they were children. Ever since Guy was a little boy, Van had always taken care of Guy, which then led to the inevitable meeting of Tear. They had stuck together, until the fateful day in which everyone in Guy's family had been killed in an aircraft accident. Guy was fortunately not hurt, though his chance of survival from the horrendous crash was questionable, due to the fact that it was a head-on collision. The only other relative that had survived was his cousin Cecille, who was the only one at the mansion at the time, studying for an exam and training. She had been there for him as he cried his heart out over the loss of his whole family, and though he was being taken care of by his cousin, her visits and his visits were still quite frequent. It wasn't until six years ago that she stopped seeing him.

Part of the reason for that was due to her sudden intense studying at Yulia City and her entrance exams to get into the high school portion of Yulia City Fontech Academy; the other reason was due to Guy's sudden move. Cecille was a training soldier and had to undergo rigorous training in Daath, Baticul, and Malkuth. Because of her frequent travel, Guy was left unattended to most of the time. It was by sudden decision that he decided to work under the second highest in command family in Baticul – the fon Fabre family. What struck her as odd was the fact that he chose that family, a family that he did not know at all. Van and herself had tried to convince him into staying with them, but he politely refused and said confidently that he would be alright. Van, surprisingly, did not stop him; apparently, one of Van's students was part of the fon Fabre family, though Tear did not know that at the time, until she had to transfer to Daath.

Tear snapped out of the past when she heard the light signal bell on the aircraft, meaning that they were nearing a stop.

"Approaching Stop: Daath, Headquarters of the Order of Lorelei"

Tear gathered up her bookbag and prepared to be squished about in the crowd. The aircraft served as public transportation across each continent, and at this hour, there were many commuting to and from their work places.

She rushed out of the aircraft just before it shut, and to her luck, tripped on her own feet. She did catch her fall; only to be stared at from Van.

"What?"

Van stared at her. "You sure you don't want me to drop you off?"

Tear brushed herself off and straightened her uniform once more, recovering from her near fall of nearly missing to get out of the aircraft. "I'll be fine."

"Ok. Quick review. What class number?"

She sighed. "This isn't necessary, Van."

He gave her a hard look before she responded, exasperated.

"Class 3-1."

"Good. Who's your homeroom teacher?"

"Professor Nephry."

"And who are the two that I mentioned that you absolutely must meet?"

"Luke fon Fabre and Asch…" she trailed off, not knowing his last name. "Why do you want me to meet them so much?"

Van waved her off and walked towards the direction of his work. "I'll come by at 4 so that I can see you board the school's bus, the Albiore, on time. Send your regards to Guy for me."

Tear shook her head and watched her brother's retreating figure towards the bustling crowds. As she did so, the road before her started to suddenly waver, as did the rest of the scenery as well.

W-what? What's going on?

She shut her eyes to block out the wavering view, only to suddenly see a whole completely different point of view.

'Where…where am I?'

The room was dimly lit with its pillars casting long, dark shadows along its walls. Another shadow began to loom its way up as well, though its owner was not that of a room pillar.

A light and even sound of boots steadily hitting the hard floor echoed around the room as a person walked on in. The owner of the sounds and shadows that disturbed the room's once peaceful presence stepped onto a glowing circle of some sort, with foreign language writing inscribed all around it. This seemed to be the only source of light in the whole room, but this did not bother the person much.

"The time has come. Be prepared…"

Suddenly, the light from the circle brightened and engulfed the owner. It wasn't until the wind draft that gently flowed through the person's hair and in front of her face made Tear realize and see who it was – it was her.

Tear opened her eyes in a hurried blink and found herself looking towards the tall buildings and realized that she was back in the present. Taking in deep breaths, she slowly tried to think about what she had just seen and heard. She had been apparently been in the point of view of this person…though it was hard to say if it was herself or not.

'What time has finally begun? And being prepared?

She put her hand across her forehead and sighed. Perhaps she had been losing too much sleep and maybe just suddenly collapsed from fatigue, therefore giving her such an odd dream. But if it was just a dream, why did it feel real, and most of all…slightly familiar?

"Hey!"

Startled, Tear gasped and turned towards the sound of the voice. To her surprise, a man that was her age was running towards her and did not stop until he was a couple of feet in front of her. It wasn't until he was close that she realized that she had to look up to look at him, due to the fact that she was sitting on the ground – alone.

The man stopped and panted for some well deserved air. When he did finally look to face her, his face was speckled with traces of worry.

"Are you alright? I was walking by and just suddenly saw you on the ground…"

"Um." Tear stood up and quickly brushed herself. It was embarrassing enough that she collapsed and so happened to be in the public where everyone could see her. "I'm fine."

He looked at her with concern, but it wasn't before long when his face suddenly lit up.

"Tear?!"

She knew the shocked tone of this person's voice. It was none other than…

"Guy?"

He stood back, apparently not prepared to see her at all. "What are you doing here?!"

Tear stood up, also shocked at the sudden reunion. "I-I'm transferring here.""

"Really?" He stared at her. "Oh, I knew that. You're wearing the uniform. and I did see Van that one day. But you should have told me!"

"Excuse me? If I recall, someone cut off ties with me when they moved six years ago!"

"Oh, that's right." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "But man…you've grown! Van was right about what Yulia City has done to you."

"What do you mean by that? And when did you see Van?" Tear inquired, not knowing that her brother had seen Guy just recently.

"You do look a little more uptight than the last time I saw you. It's like you've got a permanent mask of seriousness all over you. And about Van, well, I happened to bump into him when he was handling all the paperwork for you to transfer to Daath. Apparently you were taking your entrance exam so I couldn't just barge in on you." Guy took in a deep breath after his explanation. "I would have given you a hug, but…you know me."

"I noticed that you're still as girl-phobia as ever."

"Hey, I'm trying!"

She eyed him curiously. "You sure you're just not confused?"

He put his hands up defensively. "Hey now, that's just going too far. I love women!"

She shook her head. "I don't think proclaiming that you're a womanizer is any better, either."

Guy chuckled and smiled. "Well, I guess a few couple years didn't change anything between us. I'm glad."

Tear shook her head. "The day you actually have a girlfriend is the day rappigs fly."

"Hey now, that's harsh! I told you I'll get over it…someday."

Tear just shook her head and laughed.

Guy cleared out his throat and gave a small polite bow, extending his arm towards the direction of the academy. "Well now, Mystearica Grants, let me escort you to Daath's finest academy, which you will find quite suitable for studying and other social activities."

Tear rolled her eyes. "Just lead the way, Guy."

Guy laughed and dropped the manners. "Sure thing."

"I can't believe how incredibly nice you still are."

"Well I can't believe how incredibly cold you've become."

"I'm not that cold! Geez."

Guy rested his hands behind his head and sighed. "Well, we'll see how you act with the other people at school. That's the real test."

Tear just shook her head, but deep down she greatly appreciated Guy's actions. Six years had passed between them, and looks certainly did change. For one, Guy looked like a much more respectable gentleman with nicely fixed hair, proper posture, and good manners. However, the fact that he was still her best friend did not change, and she was glad to know someone from the school. She had to admit – going to the school alone did terrify her a bit. But with the comfort of a childhood friend, she felt that she could overcome the first day with anything.

Tear started to walk and followed Guy towards the direction of the school. As she did so, she noticed that she still couldn't walk next to him without a considerable distance between them and that made her sigh. It did sadden her a bit that Guy was still afraid of women, seeing that he would be a perfect man for any women. She sighed and shook her head. Perhaps sleep deprivation was catching up to her, causing her to worry about her friend's happiness. Nevertheless, she continued walking with Guy to Daath Academy of Lorelei, waiting what could lie there next.

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First chapter, done!

So I'll just clear this out on the spot – no, there is not going to be a TearxGuy coupling…I just put them as a brother-sister relationship sort of thing.

Please tell me your opinions of this chapter. I'll base it on whether or not I should continue this story. Thanks for reading!