Chapter 1: The Recommencement

Draco's day started out rather mundanely. He had woken up, dressed and made his way to the kitchen for breakfast. He groaned irately as he glared into the refrigerator. Foreign Muggle food. Foreign Muggle fridge. So much Muggleness! He sighed and grabbed a can of 'Cola Pop Fizz', closed the door and snapped the can open. He chugged its contents and tossed the can on the floor as he strode to the living room in search of a certain raven-haired beauty.

Upon leaving he faintly heard the familiar 'Kuso! Kono yarou!' and 'Baka shonen!' of Nanako and Akira, the housemaids. Since the housemaids had returned from holiday, they had made their presence known more and more throughout the household as the weeks progressed, often noted in highly polished vases and floors. Considering this as an opportunity to get something 'properly' done, Draco had tried to train them into making his favourite sandwich: braised beef, haloumi, relish, rocket and bell peppers on rye. However, his 'approach' was much in a similar fashion as he would instruct a house elf. The maids had not responded favourably to this treatment and took to calling him crude names and cussing after him in response. It really didn't help that he also made bigger messes, dirtying the floors just after they had cleaned them.

Syaoran, Harry and Ron sat in their usual spots in the living room, reading Owls, letters and watching the news. Syaoran looked up from the couch.

'…Malfoy…'

'Li.' Draco replied shortly, looking around noticing that the only other people in the room were Ron and Harry.

'Hey, Rat-face…did you chuck your Cola can on the floor again?' Ron smirked, pointing at the kitchen with his thumb.

'Shut up!' Draco snapped, turning away and ignoring Ron. It was true. It was a fizzy drink for breakfast everyday. And sometimes he did not care enough to actually use the rubbish bin. After all, that's what he did at home. Well, not Cola cans. They did not have those back home. Yet, he did make a mess. Then the halfwit house elves would trot along fearfully picking up his trash and often begging for more things to do. Of course, this was beside the point.

'Where's –?'

'Meiling?' Syaoran grumbled, fumbling with his school tie. He still could not adjust to Malfoy and his cousin being so painfully close. Sadly enough, he had no control over the situation. 'Outside.'

'What's going on out there?' Draco wondered aloud, as he approached a window to look out.

'Trunks is teaching her to fly. I daresay, she's rather good on her first attempt.' Harry said, a malicious smirk etched on his face as he flicked through the channels with the remote controller.

'Maybe because she's got such a magnificent teacher…' Ron drawled, mimicking Draco's usual tone, smirking once.

'I thought I told you to shut up!' Draco snapped and made way to the front door.

He did not hesitate to go outside and see for himself what was going on. Another one of Trunks' so called 'Flying Lessons'! He could not take this nonsense anymore. He stomped into the backyard and there he saw Tomoyo eagerly videotaping Meiling, and Hermione sitting under the tree cheering her on.

'Like this?'

'Exactly!' Trunks exclaimed. 'Remember what I told you before— let all the energy out. Control that power within you and allow it to lift you higher, but don't lose the concentration…'

Meiling nodded, gusts of aura breezing around her, as in a matter of seconds, she was levitating upwards. In no time she was in midair, and flying around. Draco glared at her airborne body and then at the lavender haired freak encouraging her. Since the 'giant underpants incident', Meiling and Trunks had gotten on fairly well, as she had readily defended him.

'Hello, Draco!' Meiling called from the air, waving to the heated blond.

Draco glared at her and stomped off into the house.

Chibiusa sighed dolefully as she pulled the school top over her head. Once she had adjusted the collar, she freed her matted hair and took to brushing it hastily. The humid weather wasn't helping; her hair was fuzzy and untameable. She decided to leave it in a high ponytail rather than dwelt with the painful process of doing it up in two cone-buns.

The other night she had met Hotaru in her dreams, a meeting arranged by her beloved Elios, who didn't want her to be in absence of her first real friend. The Princess of Saturn was doing well, soon to attend the city's annual Milky Way Ball, where they would skate on a field of stars. It was quite a spectacle even for such a beautiful establishment such as Crystal Tokyo. Hotaru had nearly mentioned the King and Queen, but Chibiusa had quickly cut her off to avoid it. She didn't want to know.

Elios had sighed softly but not pushed her into contacting her parents. But he did say that he loved her and that if she was ever feeling sad, she could contact him through her heart. He was always there. She knew he'd always be in her heart; her one, true love, only second in friendship to Hotaru.

Something had passed the corner of Chibiusa's eye; she quickly glanced out the window. The same thing again: Meiling flailing her arms clumsily like an awkward marionette set against the overcast sky. She must have gotten up early, before six, because she was already dressed in the uniform, her hair done up in its usual "copycat" style, writhing about in the air.

It irritated Chibiusa. She could fly better. She hoped that Tomoyo would be more successful, because Meiling didn't deserve to fly. Meiling had also started learning how to concentrate energy into blasts, and had set Chibiusa's hair alight more than once, which was suspicious. Sharing their room was insufferable, but Chibiusa somehow managed to often find sleep, anchored mainly by the prospect of seeing Elios.

Meiling flew by once more, surprisingly with a hint of refinement. She was followed shortly by a procession of two owls and Kero. Chibiusa rolled her eyes as she headed down the hallway to go have breakfast. The morning rituals of the household were very different from that of her home. It was much simpler. She didn't have to be manhandled by her personal servants to bathe, dress her and do her hair. She was respectfully free.

Harry came out in front of her, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and reapplying his glasses. Dressed in the uniform, he turned and gave her a pleasant smile. He was much kinder than the other boys.

'Good morning,' he said just as Tomoyo came out of the room beside his, fully dressed, her hair done back in a pretty French braid. She smiled at both of them.

'French toast today?' she asked.

'In a French mood this morning, are we?' Harry teased.

Tomoyo giggled softly and winked. 'Only if you want.'

Harry backed up slightly, looking a bit indecisive.

Tomoyo instantly looked a bit uncertain herself and quietly stepped down the stairs.

Chibiusa smiled to herself. They were getting notably closer each day, but neither seemed to realise the other's feelings. It reminded her of Elios and herself, long ago … she shrugged off the thought and entered the living room to indulge in zabuton-sitting and French toast-eating.

About half an hour passed and everyone hurried inside to put on their shoes. Syaoran ruffled up his hair, as it looked best messy, Hermione fussed over the wrinkles in Ron's top as Draco brushed stray strands of fair hair from his face, checking himself in the reflection of a compact mirror. His hair had always been slicked back, but Meiling had convinced him he would be handsomer with it combed out in front of his face for a change. They were all ready to leave, Meiling just getting through the front door from her morning flight-training, Kero and owls following.

'Can I call Suppi, today?' Kero asked Tomoyo.

Tomoyo smiled. 'Of course you can. There are no expenses for friendship. But be careful. The maids are back in this afternoon. Akira will be readily at work, cleaning the study.'

Kero pumped his tiny arms and smirked. 'I am the master of enigma!'

'And meal on wheels!' Diana exclaimed as she chased after the bumbling flying beasts, Chi-Tun yapping after them.

'Can you imagine your maids finding all these feathers, fur and droppings in the house?' Hermione asked Tomoyo.

'That's right. We haven't cleaned it in weeks,' Tomoyo said thoughtfully. 'Sakura and I are usually rather clean, but I've just been so distracted. My apologies.'

'Nothing that a simple Scouring Charm wouldn't help,' Hermione said, waving her wand meaningfully. 'Good point,' Harry said, also producing his wand.

They briskly skirted the bottom floor and performed cleaning charms until all remnants of animals were gone.

'Wonderful, thank you!' Tomoyo sighed. 'They will puzzle over such a clean, tidy place. They may also wonder whether pet owls are legal, though.'

'You can hide them in my room,' Ron offered.

'Thank you, Ron,' Tomoyo said as he grinned.

Ron nudged Harry, who adjusted his glasses and didn't look Tomoyo's way. He was being shy again. It was adorable to note all the amusing interactions between people. Hermione fixed her hair quickly. Meiling flung one ponytail over her shoulder, looking haughtily at Chibiusa who was still putting on her shoes.

As Chibiusa stood, her head brushed lightly against Trunks' arm. She tensed up rigidly and edged away. Trunks looked at her with a blank expression and went to pick up his book-bag. He was always looking at her. She didn't know what to make of him. He must have been a pervert … the way he stared at her, and the way he was so outrageously erotically inclined and obnoxious. But there were times when she felt something gentle emit from him. His clear eyes met hers once more before he reached the knob and opened the door.

'We're all set?' Tomoyo asked.

'Yes!' everyone chorused.

'Ok, here we go …'

They all headed out the door, down the path and towards the front gate. Suddenly, something of a realisation fell over them. They stopped and turned dauntingly towards the house. A prolonged sigh could be heard from all of them.

'Sakura,' Syaoran groaned.

They filed into the room to find Sakura sound asleep in bed, her hair spread around her face like an ornate fan of gold.

'Sakura,' Syaoran said softly, touching her face. Sakura's eyes squinted as her mouth wound in a small grimace. 'Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. We'll be late.'

Sakura's eyes fluttered open and she stared up at them impassively. She blinked and sat up stiffly. 'Kero didn't wake me up!'

'You need more than three alarm clocks,' Meiling said observantly, eyeing the cartoon character alarm clocks resting against her headboard.

Sakura nodded gingerly and threw back the covers. 'I'm on it!' she wailed unconvincingly.

'Ehem,' Chibiusa felt she needed to clarify, 'Sakura's about to get dressed …'

The boys went slightly pink and scuttled out of the room. Tomoyo and the others volunteered in dressing Sakura, since she kept fumbling for the hairbrush and school tie and blazer, though it was still a touch warm out for one. Once they dressed her, they crammed a breakfast bar down her throat, shoved on her shoes and coat and hurried out the door. Sakura was almost airborne as Tomoyo and Syaoran gripped her arms to rush towards the school.

It seemed rather hectic a morning. But it was like this everyday. It was ordinary, typical and routine and it was actually rather comfortable. Chibiusa was only there about a week now, but she felt like she had known everyone for so much longer.

They arrived at school as was the daily ritual and went to their homerooms. Chibiusa sat at her usual spot to the left side of the room near the windows, where she would often gaze out when the teacher was taking role call. She had the same homeroom as Trunks, who had tried to sit near her once, but had failed once she had accused him of being a stalker. The teacher had requested he sit near the front to keep a close eye on him.

For first period that morning they would be going down to the science labs to make honeycomb as a treat for the second week back. It was her worse nightmare that the teacher would assign her and Trunks to be lab partners. Despite it being a simple exercise, she hated it! It was not just the simple fact that Trunks happened to be really good at mathematics and science, even better than her when she had always thought she was brilliant. No. It was knowing he'd find some way of being perverted, and she would scream at him. This time, he found it in the brown sugar that they applied to the concoction.

'You're as sweet as sugar,' he said in a very sly way, making her go bright red. 'But you know, you have a real bad temper. Why don't I just put you right into this Bunsen and simmer you? Maybe that'd make you calm down.'

Unrestrained, Chibiusa rounded on him, her mouth drawn back in a snarl. 'How dare you, you disgusting freak!' She flailed her arms and knocked the bag of citric acid into the Bunsen burner. Before she knew what had occurred there was a "pop" followed by a "bang-splat!"

The entire room was covered with a yellow, sticky substance that stunk up the entire room with a sickly sugary scent, reminiscent of molasses. Trunks, whose face was shining gold with the substance, gave her a disgruntled look.

'CHIBA! BRIEFS!' Toyota-sensei, their science teacher, roared. 'I REALIZE YOU'RE QUITE NEW TO THIS WAY OF WORKING, BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS!' Toyota took out a handkerchief and wiped her face roughly, only making her face filthier. 'You're going to clean this all up after class.'

Trunks glowered at Chibiusa, who had her arms folded, fuming. What a wonderful start to the school day.

The morning was a mild one for Syaoran. It was still warm, and he liked this a lot since he was strongly opposed to any cold weather.

Syaoran kissed Sakura on the cheek and then he, Ron, Harry, and Trunks met up with Takashi, Sumi and Fondu. Draco had disappeared, but no one really paid mind to this.

They stood in the halls talking for a while, discussing their classes and what had occurred that week. Soon the bell had rung and it was time for morning classes to begin.

Soon enough, they had arrived at school. Draco departed from the group and trailed behind the others. When he was very much out of sight, he found an empty corridor. With a finger, he swept his fringe from his eyes and examined the redness formed on the inside of his arm. This was making him grumpy all morning. It was painful and he had an inkling he knew what it meant. Suddenly, he heard the bell ring. Groaning irately, he rolled down his sleeve and headed to his class.

Takashi could not understand how Ron had managed to live for so long without hearing of a computer. He determined that Ron truly needed to get far away from that odd, rigid British boarding school. There was even a slight bounce in Ron's step as he and the others approached their third class. Physical Education.

Today it was in a classroom because they were studying sex education. Ron wondered how sex could be legally taught in school. Fondu and Sumi, two of Takashi's friends, promised it would be a worthwhile lesson, so Ron was rather anxious to meet the one teaching the subject.

Their regular teacher Mitsubishi-sensei was absent that day. Harry on the other hand was sickened by the whole deal, as he had a feeling sex education was not what Ron suspected . Once they had arrived, Ron took his regular seat between Sumi and Harry.

Sumi Gachou was a mild sort of guy. He had dark brown hair, with natural beige highlights that barely met his shoulders. He was an overly nice person, and he could often be mistaken for a girl. Fondu Tapioka, who they later discovered to be Sumi's elder half-brother (by nine months), was very boyish in appearance and had shorter, darker, messier hair and sharp eyebrows. They both made an interesting pair, since despite their contrasting looks; they both shared identical deep indigo eyes, a tendency to be rebellious and disregard for formalities. As such, they were freely on first-name basis with them all.

After several more minutes passed, the class door creaked open. Every single boy in the room had abruptly stopped speaking and each of their heads jerked up to find a striking, young woman enter the room. She was dressed in a loose t-shirt marked 'Seijou' with the typical Seijou High school crest and her hair was tied back in a thin brown ponytail, secured with a red ribbon. She approached the front of the room and smiled at the class.

'Hello,' she began, 'My name is Datsun-sensei. I will be in for Mitsubishi-sensei who is away today.'

Many of the guys nudged each other and gave each other glowing looks. Some others looked very nervous and uncomfortable. Ron grinned expectantly at Harry. Harry looked about ready to throw up.

Running a hand through his red hair Ron made a glance towards Sumi who seemed unusually out of place.

'Hey what's the matter, Sumi?'

Sumi turned up his nose, his eyes round as whispered, 'I don't want Datsun. It's going to be so awkward.'

Ron looked confused. 'Why? She seems rather attractive.'

Sumi looked at Ron with purpose and shook his head. 'Well sure, but it's going to be so uncomfortable. It's far more sensible to have a teacher of the same gender.'

Why was Sumi affected? Ron wondered curiously. He thought it would be fantastic to have an attractive young teacher in sex education.

Datsun-sensei had suddenly put on a video, which projected onto a pull-down screen.

Ron's ears went bright red as his eyes reflected the animated movie before them.

Syaoran stared up at the board avidly, his writing hand dancing feverishly across lined paper as he paid every bit of attention. School was a breeze. He could absorb every piece of information within seconds, not to mention that this was also his most beloved subject. He stopped writing only to raise his hand confidently.

'Li?'

'The answer to the quadratic relation is 45.2, Daihatsu-sensei!' Syaoran said with great confidence.

'Excellent.' The teacher grinned, scribbling the answer on the board.

Syaoran nodded while he cracked his knuckles and returned a confident smile. Yep. This was how class was everyday. He came in, sat down at his desk in the middle row of the class, and when the teacher taught a lesson, he raised his hand and answered correctly. Although he appreciated the structure of the lesson, it was much more laid-back than his strict tutoring with the Elders. It was also refreshing to have a tutor who responded affirmatively to him when he gave a correct answer.

'All right now, it is time to work independently. Page 121, questions 1 to 50.' Daihatsu instructed as he turned and sat down at his large, wooden desk, which was strangely covered with ornamental glass fruit. Daihatsu's favourite appeared to be a green apple, which he polished often during class.

Syaoran was about to return to his notes when came the familiar poke of a pen in the middle of his back. With a groan, he turned his head and there she was once again.

'Yes, Hana?'

This was something else that happened everyday. He did not know what it was about Daffodil, but something about her irritated him. A lot. Painfully so.

And then she did what she did everyday. She blinked those large hazel-brown eyes that glinted with hues of gold and green as she spoke in that sickeningly drippy voice.

'Sorry to bother you, but I really need help. What's the answer to number two?'

He had to bite down a frustrated groan as he rolled his eyes. Turning more fully in his chair, he tapped her paper with his pen.

'92.'

And then he turned his head and resumed his own work. Now it was time for the countdown. 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 …

'Excuse me, Li?'

'Yes, Hana? What is it?' Syaoran repeated through clenched teeth as his eye twitched irritably.

'I'm sorry to bother you again, but can you explain how you got that answer?'

Syaoran sighed and then explained hastily, 'You examine the equation given, and then find the square root of—' Then he stopped as he looked at her. There she sat, gazing at him adoringly.

'Pardon me, but … are you even listening?'

Daffodil blushed with a quick brush-back of a stray strand of her bright hair. Sometimes Syaoran questioned if the colour was natural. He knew she at least had to have had a perm.

'I'm so sorry, Syaoran, but I just get so distracted by your good-looks. Has anyone ever told you that you have gorgeous eyes?'

That was too straightforward even for her. Syaoran glared at her, blushingly slightly. 'Yes. Plenty. And please don't call me "Syaoran". It's very informal.'

She pouted like a pampered child, her bottom lip glistening with pink gloss. He turned around and faced the front stiffly. He'd had enough for one day. He did not even bother to turn around the three other times she prodded him in the back. It was far too routine.

He could still reluctantly hear the giggles from Rika and Chiharu two rows down. It was great that he was in a class where at least there were two people he was comfortable talking with, but they did not help the situation much at all. Syaoran groaned and hoped the others weren't suffering nearly as much as he was.

Tomoyo sighed once more as she felt the gaze of a particular blue-haired boy some distance away. She would have much preferred Harry staring at her, but to that affect, she wasn't certain.

Sakura smiled towards Sanrio awkwardly and continued to copy notes.

'Kamenosuke is quite fond of you.'

'He's looking at me again, is he?' Tomoyo whispered edgily, holding a hand weakly to her head. 'I don't know why he's here anyway. He hates Home Economics. In fact, he once regaled to me about his allergies to pretty much every core ingredient in cake.' She shuddered at the thought.

Sakura snorted and looked thoughtfully at the chalkboard, and then began sketching a quick picture of a small double-layer cake.

'I wonder how the others are coping…I'm a bit worried for Harry and the others. Our school is really different from anything they're accustomed to. Draco and Chibiusa seemed especially bitter.'

Tomoyo grinned, sweeping back a lose strand of her wavy hair from her face.

'I'm sure they'll do fine. After all, they're magical beings and I'm sure they'll get through it.'

Sakura nodded slowly. 'Yes…'

'Guraibenu!' Sanrio squealed, raising his hand but almost jumping out of his seat with what looked like bursting excitement.

Sakura giggled a bit, as this reminded her of Hermione.

The teacher, Mazda-sensei, gave a weary moan and reluctantly turned to address him with a forced smile which seemed to suit her tightly wound bun.

'Kamenosuke?'

'I could not refrain from pondering if, we, in the future, will be examining the scientific dissimilitude of the baked provisions we shall be concocting.'

A small frown formed on Mazda's face as she buried her face in her hand.

'No, Kamenosuke-san. We will not analyse food. And for the last time, we do not concoct cakes, we mix cakes. Analysing is for chemistry or biology class, I've told you this before.'

The rest of the class (primarily girls) giggled as Sanrio groused in displeasure. Tomoyo sighed and continued to write more notes. Once again, Sanrio had signed up for a course just because she was in it. He was never going to quit.

Honda-sensei's Japanese Language and Calligraphy class had gone on for 45 minutes, but it seemed so much longer.

Up until a few weeks ago, Hermione could not believe there could exist in this world a subject she hated more than Divination. She was a hard-working student, and a great learner. Yet the class was much more than just learning Japanese— it was more of building upon grammar and handwriting. The first couple days, she survived without using magic. Time passed though, and try as she may, she was confused, and the more she took the effort to learn the more confused she got. Before long, after warring with her conscience, she resorted to using magic once more. Her scores were high, her calligraphy strokes perfect and she did well.

Yet shame haunted her.

Meiling on the other hand was thoroughly pissed off, and her struggle with a new language made her want to crawl into a corner and hide. Speaking and learning Japanese was the simple part, but learning to write katakana or using kanji that looked the same in both languages but meant something else – was more than she could handle. After two weeks of Japanese, she began to almost forget her own language. For brief moments she actually became uncertain about whether she was actually writing Chinese instead. Sometimes she subconsciously wrote entire articles that were a combination of Chinese and Japanese that confused even her when she tried to reread it. Ron dubbed her new "language" Chinapanese, which made her terribly bitter and her desire to possess magical powers just that much greater. As much as she hated language study, she took refuge in knowing she at least could survive English class, since she had mastered it back in Hong Kong.

Draco glared up at the chalkboard as Mr. Cadillac, their current English teacher, scribbled onto the board. He leaned in so close his bristly eyebrows were coated with a fine white dust from the chalk.

'Now, can anyone tell me what "neko" is in English? Narukana Botan?'

'Uh…dog?'

'No…'

Draco rolled his eyes. They were such imbeciles. He still could not understand why he had to take English. He was English! Why, in his mind, he practically invented the language!

He groaned as he watched the others totally screw up on every second guess with simple words and sentences. He prodded the table with his pen as he glared harder into the chalkboard. Twenty minutes had passed, and Cadillac went back to scribbling other random pieces of useless phrases on the board.

Draco had given up on making notes days ago and decided he would not do anything. So the teacher was scolding him, reminding him that just because he was a new student, he was not getting a break from class participation. Draco nodded, but he did not care. He knew that if he wanted to, he could curse the ground that Cadillac stood on and turn him into a toad.

Draco groaned, because he knew without checking, that all eyes were still on him. Many of the students still could not seem to accept the fact that he was from England or even his pale hair colour. But in reality, it was his attitude that made him stand out and compelled them to stare at him until the ringing of the bell.

It was now lunch, and still Trunks couldn't believe the nerve of that girl. He hated the residual stickiness on his face from the explosion, which seemed to mount on top of the already annoying tightness of his uniform. The school had given him a larger size, and yet it still stretched taught against his muscled arms, making him perpetually uncomfortable. Though he supposed he hadn't a right to complain. Ron, Harry and Draco were tall by most standards, and only magic could make their uniforms fit them adequately. He supposed it was the same spell they used for their 'Underpants Prank'. In retrospect, it was a pretty amusing one, even if it was at his expense. Chibiusa had thought it was amusing too...she had laughed hysterically.

Trunks groaned. He thought despairingly about how Chibiusa had to go and get him into trouble. She had no sense of humour this time. They'd spent all of the second period cleaning up, making them miss English studies. The teacher wouldn't be pleased on Monday.

He walked down the hall on his way to the cafeteria, where he was to meet up with Takashi, who had said he wanted to talk to Trunks about something important. As he ambled along, he glanced out the window. Something caught his eye. A peculiar black bird with beady amethyst eyes was perched on the tall fence separating Seijou High from Tomoeda Elementary. He decided to get a closer look. He opened the nearest door and dashed onto the school grounds when suddenly…

'Yo, heads up dude!'

Trunks spun around and caught the football just as it whooshed towards him with proximity. It went "poomph" as he caught it steadily in his hands. He stared down at it curiously as the football team members ran over across the intensely green field, their mouths ajar.

'Whoa, dude!' one of them gasped. 'You're good!'

Trunks blinked. 'I am?'

A short, muscular man, who was evidently the coach, approached Trunks with a definite look in his eyes. 'That's it! You're our next star!'

Trunks inclined his head. He was their next "star"?

'How does quarterback sound?' the coach continued.

'But coach!' another groaned. 'I'm the quarterback! Isn't that a bit too quick a decision? I mean, all he did was catch the ball.'

'Hush up, boy! I know what I'm doing!' the coach retorted, silencing the boy.

Trunks chuckled nervously. What was 'quarterback'?

The guys met up in the cafeteria. Ron, Harry, Takashi, and Fondu talked intently about their day. They had just finished their computer class and were playing casually with their implements. It had been a much-needed distraction from the uncomfortable experience of health and P.E. class. Ron had anticipated something much more exciting, but he had learned more about the messy and disturbing aspects of reproduction, much more detail than his mother and father had been willing to divulge when he had first started puberty.

'Hey guys! Sumi's so cool!' Ron chimed. 'He taught me everything about those compooters! I think I can finally figure out how to successfully type my name now.'

Harry and Takashi turned red, straining not to laugh

'Hey, hey. I wouldn't get too close to Sumi, if I were you.' Fondu grinned, turning to wink at Ron.

'Why not?' Ron wanted to know. Sumi was such a pleasant person that he could not see what could possibly be the harm in his friendship.

Takashi laughed, 'He plays both fields, Weasley!'

'He plays rugby..?'

'Er...you could say that.' Fondu chuckled giving Takashi a secret smile.

Takashi started chuckling too. 'Sure hope he doesn't play rugby with me though!'

Ron looked mystified at this when suddenly Sumi had returned with his lunch.

'Hey, I'm here!' Sumi tittered as he sat down with the others.

'Hey there, player!' Fondu greeted, slinging an arm around his brother.

'So how did you like that health class?' Harry began in attempt at diverting the conversation away from Sumi before it started.

'It was all right today,' Sumi grinned maliciously, 'Ah…the miracle of life.'

Fondu nodded perversely. 'Reproduction!'

Takashi grinned. 'Yes! That's what the teacher said. But did you know that the ancient nomads of Manila used to impregnate themselves by—'

'Don't even go there!' Harry interrupted, definitely not wanting to hear any more.

'Well I really thought sex education was something different,' Ron muttered into his upturned palm.

'Don't worry,' Fondu began, patting him on the shoulder, 'all us guys share that disappointment when we realized it wasn't what we thought it was.'

'I'm more less relieved,' Ron muttered, starting on his lunch.

Fondu clearly enjoyed it vigorously, whereas Harry and Ron flustered.

'I never realized there were so much details involved,' Ron added sickly. 'I mean, sure, I get the one part but then … what goes on inside …'

'Ron!' Harry exclaimed in disgust, full aware that his friend's mouth tended to wander when he was nervous. 'Nobody wants to hear it. NOBODY.'

Ron blushed slightly. 'Well, it's not like we haven't …'

'You and that Granger girl, eh, Ron?' Sumi asserted with a sharp nudge to Ron's ribcage. Fondu and Sumi seemed to be enjoying some inside joke as they chortled, eyes beadily on Ron.

Ron went an even deeper red, his head lowering. 'What's the big deal! Isn't it expected –'

'Shut it, Ron!' Harry cried. He was glad that Draco wasn't there to hear it all: he'd never leave Ron alone.

'Hey, at least he gets some,' Fondu teased Harry, who blanched.

Sumi and Fondu chuckled darkly as Trunks approached them. They all turned around to greet him.

'Hey there, we were discussing sex ed,' Fondu explained to as he sat down. 'Ron here …'

Harry quickly intervened. 'Nothing!'

Takashi gave a sly look at Ron, who looked away anxiously. 'Hey, that reminds me …' He turned to Trunks. 'We'll be right back. I need to talk to Trunks about something.'

Harry watched intently as they walked over to a table nearby. He also noticed that as Chibiusa walked by them, Trunks gawked after her, his eyes seeming to follow the natural swaying gate of her walk. Amusing.

After a long day of Muggle academia Draco paraded down the halls in search of the high school cafeteria. He glared at the glossy linoleum floors, furiously lamenting the absence of the dark corridors, towers and switching staircases of Hogwarts. He was heading to the school cafeteria to eat this so-called 'lunch'. No Great Hall. No Slytherin table. No bountiful feasts. No treats from his mother.

He sometimes considered sending an owl, pleading for his mother to send real food so he wouldn't have to eat rubbish. But at the same time, he could not take the risk of letting her know where he was…

As he thought of this, he heard a loud strangled squawk of a bird. Draco turned his head and regarded a wide open window. There, on a fence dividing Seijou High from Tomoeda Elementary, a night-black crow perched, its beady amethyst eyes on him with a hypnotic blaze. Draco did not know what it was, but he knew that this bird was not normal—that it was something almost human. This creature was angry with him. His books fell with a scatter of papers. Chills latched onto his spine. Draco rubbed his pained forearm. Could it be...?

Its eyes glinted red.

Suddenly terrified, Draco grabbed his books and ran down the halls, his dress shoes clacking as he rounded a corner and busted through the main school doors. Now on terrain, he kept running hoping to find a deserted part of the grounds, where he could mull over what he thought he saw. He, however, did not anticipate what he saw next. Standing in the dappled shade of a tree, stood a group of three teenaged boys and a short girl who sang softly.

Draco gaped, all air escaping his lungs, as he froze on the spot. The four teenagers looked up at him with equal surprise.

They were not only completely out of uniform, but were dressed rather oddly. Two of the boys wore long, black robes adorned with chains, hooks and buckles, and their eyes were winged with black eye liner. One's hair was long, blonde and spiky but the other had long slicked hair resembling that of Professor Snape. The third boy was gangly-looking, and wore what seemed to be a brown Victorian suit, complete with a large silver cross necklace dangling from his neck. The girl was the most startling of all. She wore a short Victorian-style black dress, complete with a laced up corset. On her legs she wore fishnet stockings trailed by a pair of Mary-Jane platform shoes. Her hair was brought up in long ringlets secured with a frilly headband. Her face was pale, with eyes similarly outlined heavily in black. Her lipstick, bright blue.

After minutes of staring, the four shrugged and continued what they were doing, whether it be smoking, staring into space, reading or singing. Feeling completely embarrassed, Draco turned around and began to walk away.

'Where are you going?'

Draco froze, sweat prickling the back of his neck as his head turned slowly.

'Wh-What?'

'You lost or something?'

Draco noticed that it was the boy that looked like Snape that was speaking to him. All of them regarded him once again.

'No.'

'Snape' smiled and folded his arms.

'You must be. Nobody comes way out over here but us.'

Draco blinked, and decidedly told the truth.

'I wasn't lost. I just didn't know people hung out here…'

'You must be new then. Welcome to Seijou,' muttered the spiky haired boy in a husky voice as he tossed his cigarette and crushed it with his toe, before lighting up another.

Draco's face contorted in further surprise. 'You…go to school here?' he spluttered. 'Then why are you dressed like that?'

'We're skipping school today…and this is how we dress. '

Draco wondered for a moment if this was normal.

'You're not from around here. Are you an exchange student?'

'I guess you could say something like that…'

After another moment of silence, the girl put down her headphones and thick magazine entitled The Gothic Lolita Bible. She had been staring at Draco with deep interest for a while now, peeking over her book occasionally. But, he never really noticed. Not until now.

'Your hair is so light and pretty…can I touch it?' she asked.

Draco looked at her with a deep loss of words, and before he knew what was happening next, she and two of the other boys were stroking his hair. Draco was so bewildered, he was unable to show the anger he usually felt when 'unauthorized' people touched his hair.

'Wow…that feels cool.' burbled the girl, her gloved hands clasped together. 'It's soft. I wish I had pretty golden hair. Right, Hachi?'

The spiky haired boy in the black robes nodded., 'It's so expensive to dye.'

'Yes, my hair is nice, isn't it?' Draco responded haughtily. 'It's something we Malfoys are deeply proud of. A true royal trait for a pure-blooded w—'

Draco stopped, noticing his accidental slip. Yet, they hadn't noticed and their eyes were still on him with yearning interest, dying to hear more of his story. He decided he should change the subject quickly. '—w…well…anyway I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. Draco is fine.'

'Mitsu!' the girl replied, her voice expectedly as small as she was.

'Right, Mitsu,' Draco replied after registering that this was her name. 'So um…what were you listening to?'

Mitsu seemed to be thinking this question through before finally replying. 'It's a mix CD. Malice Mizer, Gackt, Miyavi, Deathgaze...it's Edward's though. I'm just borrowing it, but we all love them.'

'Well except Kane. He's more into Western Goth now,' the boy in the Victorian suit, Edward, muttered absently, gesturing towards the boy Draco thought looked like Snape.

Kane stroked his chin thoughtfully realizing Draco's apparent lack of knowledge of Japanese rock bands.

'So Durako,' he began, a strong Japanese dialect in his speech, '…what are you into?'

Draco scratched his head. He couldn't really recall if he even listened to music but figured he'd take a stab at it. 'Um... the Weird Sisters…"

Instantly he saw that look of hungry yearning in their eyes, which made him think instantly he must speak before they did.

'Yeah…they're really famous back home. Some…really dark stuff. I've been to their concerts millions of times. I even met them in person, but of course only a select few get such opportunities.'

He knew it was all a lie, but it sounded good. After all, he only heard them at Hogwarts once. But his story was working, and the four were listening eagerly.

'Well anyway…I better head back inside.'

'Well, come see us again!' replied Hachi, waving to him with a cigarette wedged between his fingers.

Draco nodded and left, wondering whether he actually meant it. They went back to their usual selves: smoking, reading, staring and Mitsu singing:

'Beast of blood! Along with the scream from the death throes…'

After all, they were unique, different, yet somehow familiar. Their smiles were friendly, yet at the same time dark and deeply mysterious.

'Sharp claws are shining brighter, dually obscene breaths continues…'

And although he knew them very little he knew somehow that they were in a way like him, unlike others with the desire to rebel. Something Draco craved every moment of his life.

'…And rips apart the silence of the night crossing the uplifting life…'

Even their style and their dress, in its odd old-fashioned style, reminded him of the wizarding world he had left behind.

'…get down, limitless night…'

Yes. He thought to himself. I will see you again.