Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Digimon seasons or any of its characters. The plotline is based off a Manga titled "Penguin Brothers", which has not been licensed in America. I don't own that either; I'm borrowing the main plot. I'm doing that to a few of my other fics, too. oo;
Shades of Gray: Chapter One
"Takenouchi Sora," she bowed, a few strands of her auburn hair falling to the sides of her face. "I transferred in from Paris, nice to meet you, ma'am."
"It's your sixth time," the counselor said, re-observing the paper in her hand.
The girl nodded. "Yes, it's my sixth time transferring to a different school. My father and I move a lot because of her job as a journalist."
"Mm," she nodded. "Okay then, Sora, welcome to Odaiba High School."
I feel misplaced the girl thought, shifting the strap of her messenger bag neatly on her shoulder. Everyone's… weird.
Sora noticed around her how everyone around was dressed in two different types of uniforms. To her right had been girls and boys dressed in white, and to the left had been girls and boys in black. Colors walked with their own color; there wasn't a black along with a white.
"Prodigious!"
The girl blinked and looked behind her. A redheaded boy about her age stared back at her with jet black eyes.
He's not wearing a uniform, he's dressed casually like me…
"Hello…"
"So, you're one of us?" the boy inquired.
Sora blinked. "One of who?"
"Us. Grays," a new voice added. A blue-haired boy smiled while he adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "You're not wearing a uniform like everyone else."
"Oh, well," the girl replied quickly, "I didn't know this high school had uniforms, so I didn't buy any yet…"
"Our school doesn't require uniforms," both boys replied.
"Eh? But these people "
"We'll explain it later, the bell's about to ring," the redhead placed his hand in front. "My name's Izumi Koushiro, a junior here."
"Takenouchi Sora, also a junior," she shook his hand, and followed to the next boy.
"Kido Jyou, senior."
Sora sat at the back of the class, staring at the intricate designs of her desk while people whispered and glanced at her.
"She's a Gray…"
"The new girl won't last long."
"… What are the Leaders going to do?"
What's up with this private school? Maybe I should've gone somewhere else…
"Oh, I just adore your boots!"
"Wha?" Sora snapped out of her thoughts and looked in front of her.
The girl had pink hair decorated with stars. She smiled at her; her carnation lips glimmered with clear lip-gloss. Both her elbows were propped on her desk while she stared at her with light chestnut orbs.
"In fact, I like your whole outfit!" she gushed. "By the way, I'm Tachikawa Mimi."
"Thank you," Sora said quietly. She observed how Mimi had a white sailor-type shirt on and a white skirt that was designed with neat creases. "I'm Takenouchi Sora."
"It must be nice being a Gray."
"Sorry, what exactly is that?"
"You don't know?" she raised an eyebrow. "I'd think you'd know by now…"
Sora shook her head, "No, I don't even understand why student are wearing uniforms when they're not even required!"
"Well, you see," Mimi placed three fingers up, "there are three groups at this school; Whites, Blacks, and Grays. Each side has leaders, except the Grays they're like the neutral ones around though there aren't a lot. Yagami Taichi leads the Blacks. That mop-head always goes around causing trouble. The Whites, however…"
"Tachikawa Mimi!"
"Ahh…" she quickly turned her attention back to the front. "Here!"
"That's nice to know," the teacher replied bluntly, "but can you answer the question?"
Mimi laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. "Well, see…"
"I'm sorry, I was the one distracting her," Sora said standing up. "I was asking her a few questions. Please don't blame anything on her."
Whispers rose among the class. Sora felt nervous again and immediately sat back down.
Yeah, I can tell it's going to be a long day.
"Mimi, can you show me to the next class?"
She looked around nervously. "Oh… sorry Sora, I'd love to but I can't. Uh… bye!"
"What?" Sora looked around and found Whites staring at her. Too weird.
The girl scurried up the stairs and turned a corner. She found herself knocked into someone and fell back a few steps. "Sorry!" She quickly bent down to retrieve the papers.
Ice blue eyes stared back at her. For a moment they widened, but then his guard was back up. He squatted as well and picked up a few papers. "Sora?"
She tilted her head. "How do you know my name?"
"Hey now, treat the president of student council with respect!"
"Ahh, sorry Jyou," Sora bowed. "I didn't know who he was."
"Oh," Jyou sweatdropped. "He's… Hey!"
The boy had already gone off in a different direction.
"Sorry, I gotta discuss some things with him," the blue-haired replied apologetically and left to follow him.
Am I supposed to know him?
Sora pulled down her crimson sweater so that the border overlapped her black skirt. Her brown boots came up to her knees and with that outfit, people noticed her quickly. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her auburn hair that fell a little below her shoulders was tucked neatly behind her ears.
Maybe because I'm actually in color makes me seem more like an outcast.
"So, you're the new girl."
The new girl glanced at the mirror and saw the reflection of a White. She had light crimson hair that spiked upwards, matching her amethyst eyes, which were filled with amusement. She crossed her arms, shaking her head at the new girl.
"You won't last long. I suggest you pick a side soon or else you'll be in trouble."
Sora inquired, "Why would I be in trouble?"
"If you were smart," the redhead replied, "I'd choose Whites. But don't think you'll get your hands on Yamato-sama, either. Or maybe you'll just be a pathetic Black."
"I don't even know that person," Sora replied angrily.
"You'll know, but if you can't handle it, just leave."
With that said, the student walked out the door, leaving Sora with some serious doubts
"What's wrong with this school?"
"It's elementary when you think about it," Koushiro replied, taking a sip of his bottled water. "The school is consisted of Blacks and Whites, each one holding their own leader. Blacks and Whites are adversaries, of course."
"It doesn't explain why people keep talking to me like I'm a germ or something," she muttered. "Why did this happen, anyway?"
"We'll explain it to you later," Jyou shrugged the question off again.
"Stop it!" a girl cried.
The three looked at each other and stood up immediately. They ran to the direction of the scream. They turned to a courtyard where a boy in a black uniform stood over a young White.
"You should've kicked the soccer ball back to me, and not avoid it reading this dumb book," the chestnut-haired boy threw the book into the bushes, reaching for a metal pole near the other gym equipment.
Sora looked at each boy to her sides. "Shouldn't we stop him?"
Jyou looked away. "What can we do?"
The girl frowned and ran to the boy, clutching his arm that held the pole. "Stop it!"
Kids from all around looked at her. The boy had stopped his assault, and the young White looked up at them through her glasses. She stood up quickly and bowed, not bothering to fix her messy violet strands. The girl quickly left, angering the boy in Sora's grasp. He shot his arm forcefully and thrust the new Gray onto the ground.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Are you crazy?" Sora scolded back, "You could've killed her hitting her with a metal pole!"
"I see," the boy tapped the pole on his shoulder, pondering in a childish manner. "You're the new Gray, aren't you? Well, here's the deal." He pointed the pole in front of her face. "I'm Yagami Taichi, leader of the Blacks."
No wonder… he's the 'mop-head' Mimi told me about…
"First of all, when you belong in a group, you follow the Leader, no matter what. Don't ask questions, don't talk back, and don't revolt. Got it, new girl?"
She frowned, getting up slowly and clutched her fists. "You're an idiot."
Taichi flinched. No one had ever talked back… especially not to a Leader.
"Everyone here has to follow one of the Leaders, get into reckless and dangerous fights, and not even have a chance to defend themselves? What's wrong with you people?" She looked around her, to Koushiro, who merely crossed his arms with a smile on his face, and then to Jyou, who vaguely nodded. "Why aren't you questioning these rules?"
The Blacks and Whites whispered to each other, all of them staring at the two in the spotlight.
"Interesting," a new voice added. "Finally, a person who dares asks these questions."
The crowd moved and made way to a blonde boy wearing a white uniform. Sora realized immediately it was the boy she had met earlier.
"Ishida," Taichi frowned threw the pole back into the gym's rack. "Don't show your face, it makes me feel sick."
"Prodigious," Koushiro commented, who had slipped beside Sora unbeknownst to her. "It's odd to see Yagami Taichi, leader of the Blacks, and Ishida Yamato, leader of the Whites together. What unusual events today."
Sora titled her head and asked. "Do the Grays have a leader?"
"No, we're more independent," Jyou explained. "As we said earlier, there aren't much of us."
"Then," the new girl smiled, "I'll be a Gray then! I don't want to be amongst this fighting. I don't want to follow anyone's orders, either."
Yamato was surprised by her announcement, but no one seemed to notice, thanks to Taichi's reaction.
The mop-head burst into laughter, stuffing one hand into his pocket. "You don't want to follow orders? You'll regret coming here, new girl!"
"I'll stay," Sora said firmly. "Don't worry."
"Let's place a bet then!" the leader of the Blacks told the whole courtyard. "Let's see how many days she can last before she leaves…"
To Be Continued…
