A/n: I know I haven't written anything in a while, so I hope I haven't gotten rusty. This story focuses on Kise because I think he's an interesting character most people overlook; I mean with his cheerful persona, who knows what lies beneath? It makes it fun to write his character because there's so many things you can do with it. Apologies if he seems too OOC. I hope you all enjoy, and please review; your reviews give meaning to my work.

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is my soul, and I'm selling next Tuesday.

Once upon a time, there was a little boy; he had blonde hair and yellow eyes, and he had two little sisters. As their eldest and only son, the boy's parents spoiled him rotten with attention. His sisters adored him as well, instead of being jealous that their parents spent more time with him than them. Even the gods loved him, granting him prodigious talent and the ability to copy anything he sees. The boy was loved by all.

He was a very charismatic child, too, a social butterfly since the day he was born. Even the coldest hearts would melt at the sight of his smile, and even the hardest of heads would succumb the his powers of persuasion.

The boy, however, was envied by some of his peers; they were jealous of his abilities and his popularity. The boy didn't hate them though; he let them keep their opinions.

All in all, the boy was a blessed child, reknowned for his cheer and sociability. He never held a grudge or wished ill on anybody.

At least, that's what everyone thought.

The boy was loved by others, but they were nothing in his heart, mere insects below his notice. He was talented, sure, but that talent made him arrogant; he believed he had no equal. The people who had faith in him, the people who flocked to him- the boy thought them all gullible fools, too quick to accept his empty pretty words, too blind to see through his fake smiles. His own sisters meant nothing to him, no more than ants on a sidewalk. Towards his parents, he felt even less; he was even a tad disgusted that he was related to them, such naive, talentless fools. Many claimed to be the boy's friend, but in his eyes they were all mindless fools, only seeking him to leech off his popularity.

In the boy's dreams, he saw himself beating up the people who bullied him, ripping them apart until they begged for mercy, crying and pleading for him to stop, please! -and each time he'd give them a sliver of hope that, yes, he'll let them go, only to brutally snatch it all away and laugh in their faces because who did they think they were to belittle him, to go against him who was better than them in every single way- and why should he cater to the whims of flies? Then he'd laugh and laugh and when he woke up, he'd always be in a good mood. His parents thought he was dreaming of little boy things like airplanes and dinosaurs but oh how wrong they were.

The cheerful little boy they all loved was nothing more than a mask, a fake persona put on to fool the world.

No one could see the boy for what he really was: an empty void, a black hole wearing a human face.

Even as he grew up, nobody noticed anything off with the boy, no subtle tells of the violence that lies within. With his intelligence, he breezed through elementary school; he was even nominated one of the smartest students. He was still popular, too; all the girls wanted to be with him, and all the guys wanted to be him. But, blessed as he was, he was never happy; no one could see past the mask he wore- they looked at him, but no one could see him.

Then, he entered Teiko Middle School.

And everything changed.