Shadows and Hearts

(3rd Person P.O.V)

"Everyone please welcome Tsubasa Ando." Nodacchi gave a squinty-eyed smile. The special abilities class gave a loud smattering of applause. The teen that stood in the doorway had a strange air about him. They couldn't see him because he was in shadow. Walking forward, he stepped into the sunlight that spilled through the large French windows.

"Hey." Tsubasa was tall with spiky black hair covered by a black cap with a white star on it. His star rankings were inside his collar making it impossible for anyone to see how he had ranked in the Alice testing. He had an irresistibly white smile and an easy-going aura seemed to radiate from him. Even his clothes seemed more relaxed than the other students. His black tie was loose and the pressed white dress shirt looked worn, almost like he'd always worn it. The girls in the Special Abilities class were dazzled. The boys were wary but couldn't help staring curiously at him.

(Tsubasa's P.O.V)

I was amazed. I mean sure, having a school for people who can do things very few others can, is pretty astounding itself. But the reception I got from these people was the most astonishing thing I'd seen that day. And I'd met Narumi-sensei the cross-dresser already. (What a weird guy) All around the large open classroom were balloons. A massive white banner hung from the doorway with welcoming sayings on it, written in many different shades and colors. The kids in the class room all seemed to be about my age (middle school). The teacher who taught the Special Abilities was named Nodacchi-sensei. He had a kind face and he seemed to always be smiling. He wore a simple blue shirt and jeans. But he also had the kind of personality that made it seem like he never really knew exactly where he was. As I was glancing around the room, Noda-sensei asked to the room at large:

"Say, does anyone know where Misaki Harada is?" A girl with cropped pink hair raised her hand. Nodacchi nodded for her to speak.

"I'm not sure. She wasn't in any classes yesterday and no one's seen her." At this, Noda-sensei looked slightly worried. Hmmm. This Misaki girl seems to be important. I thought.

Composing himself, Nodacchi sighed. "What a pity. After she went to such extremes to make you welcome here Ando." Huh?

"Who's Misaki?" I asked curiously.

"She's the one who put this all together." Noda-sensei replied gesturing to the party spread out in front of us. "Quite a headstrong girl, that one. Mind you, she was very happy to hear we'd have a new student. After all, compared to the Technical Ability, or Pre-Dispositional Ability classes, we have different types of talents in here."

A girl with long grey hair seemed like she could not contain her excitement any longer. "So what's your Alice?" She practically screamed at me, cuing her girlfriends to cluster around me and ask the same question over and over.

"Hey, Mini-chan chill already." One of the guys muttered pushing through the group of girls. A loud gong resounded throughout the school. "That's the gong. Tell us later." He told me. With that, the class split and left the room for lunch.

Shaking my head, I decided to explore a little. There was a thick wooded area in 3 sections of the campus. I was trotting through the woods when I spotted a gathering of teens my age or a little older. They had surrounded something. Getting closer, I could hear voices.

"Leave me alone you morons!" The voice was weak but firm. It was a girl's voice.

"Now why ever would we do that? Persona's looking for you." One of the boys stated calmly.

"Persona can go to hell." The girl's voice replied. Suddenly all around the boys were girls. They had long, spiky, auburn hair, short blue skirts, and pale skin. They all also had black boots and academy issued white shirt and tie. Odd, I thought they have boy's shirts….

"Ah! She's got her strength back!" One of the teens yelled. His voice was high and screechy. His hair was short and grey. I decided I'd see how this one played out.

"She's just a girl! Just grab all of them!" The tall blonde one yelled. I got the feeling that he was the leader. The boys spread out following the girls. Then, she gave a chilling sneer.

"Bring it." With those 2 words, the copies all charged the nearest guys, and proceeded to beat them up. The blonde guy was sent flying into a tree, the grey haired guy got a rabbit punch in the face, and a kick to the groin, sending him sprawling. 4 more guys were trying to battle the onslaught of clones, when all of a sudden, behind one of the girls, a tall man dressed in an all-black cloak and boots with matching pants appeared. He wore a thin white mask over his face. He grabbed the girl's wrist and clamped something on it. The girl collapsed, all the copies disappearing with a popping noise. The girl lay motionless on the ground.

"Persona!" The boys got up from they're places on the ground. They bowed respectfully to the dark figure.

"All I asked was for you to subdue and return her to me. You have done neither. Your punishment will come later. Bring her to HQ." With that he vanished again, as if he and his slippery voice had never been in the clearing. The grey haired boy leaned over the crumpled figure of the girl and then pulled back his foot. Time to intervene I think. I thought to myself. Stepping on their shadows, I gave a swipe of my foot, and they all went flying. Taking a stick, on their shadows, I wrote:

Pink Fluffy Stars: 5 hours.

They would be busy with that exercise for quite a while. Walking quickly over to the girl, I felt for a pulse. Brushing the hair away from her face, I tried to figure out if she had a concussion. Pulling her against me, so she was leaning against my chest, I felt her arms and legs for dislocations and or breaks. She let out a faint moan of pain.

"Easy, it's ok, I'm not gonna hurt you." Her eyes suddenly opened. They were a startling shade of brown, like caramel and fall leaves. Those eyes seemed to stare into my very soul. Lifting her gently into my arms, I stood up. Trying to imagine the campus map in my head, I stepped onto a shadow. A few minutes later, we were in front of the infirmary. I could feel the beat of her heart against my chest and I could hear it weaken. She was getting to weak. Who IS this girl? I asked myself as I ran up the steps and through the sliding glass doors.

"What happened to her?" A nurse asked as her colleagues laid the girl onto a stretcher and rushed off.

Hmmm. I don't know if that girl was up to no good or not. It just seemed like she was defending herself. Even so…

"I'm not sure. I just saw her on the ground in the West Woods. Will she be ok?" I questioned. I had decided that if the girl wanted everyone to know the truth, she'll be the one to tell them not me.

"We won't know until we run tests. Do you know her name?"

"No."

"Okay then." The nurse said. "I'll notify the teachers and see if they can take a headcount or recognize her."

Nodding, I walked out the door, and trotted toward my room. What an interesting start to a new school year.