A/N: I've decided to work on a new Kiriyama fanfiction. This one is going to be more school based, but I will eventually move it to also fit in to the 'BR games'. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Please review.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Battle Royale, however I do own my OC's.

There are some qualities- some incorporate things,
That have a double life, which thus is made
A type of that twin entity which springs
From matter and light, evinced in solid and shade.
There is a two-fold Silence- sea and shore-
Body and soul. One dwells in lonely places,
Newly with grass o'ergrown; some solemn graces,
Some human memories and tearful lore,
Render him terrorless: his name's "No More."
He is the corporate Silence: dread him not!
No power hath he of evil in himself;
But should some urgent fate (untimely lot!)
Bring thee to meet his shadow (nameless elf,
That haunteth the lone regions where hath trod
No foot of man,) commend thyself to God!

Silence - Edgar Allan Poe

Chapter One:

I was new.

Everyone stared. They eagerly awaited the introductions and I shifted nervously in my new shiny black shoes cringing at the squeak that protruded from underneath them. I wanted desperately to adjust my collar, to gasp and suck in every last bit of oxygen I could; I felt I was suffocating under their intense gazes. They looked so expectant and I had nothing to deliver. I was not interesting or remotely pretty, I was too intelligent for my own good and I was socially awkward. Everything that would root towards me being a possible target of bullying.

I could not tell whether they had already concluded I was unworthy of their time or whether they were slowly coming to that conclusion. Girls eyed me curiously, already trying to fit me in to the appropriate cliche. The boys scanned my physique, some looked unimpressed where as others looked satisfied. It didn't take that much to please men after all.

There was one boy in the class however, that I couldn't help but notice. He did not look at me, not once. Instead he stared idly out of the window, shifting his gaze to his hands that lay remote on the desk in front of him. His hair was messy and blonde. It looked a tad bit ginger in the light and I could not fathom why he would wish to dye his hair at all. To stand out? An act of rebellion maybe? Did he have over bearing parents? Or did he just simply feel like it?

His eyes lacked any spark in them, They were cast downwards, uninterested and almost bored. They were two black pits although I couldn't help but bet they would turn a beautiful shade of umber in the light. Maybe if the sun hit them correctly...

I was interrupted from my thoughts when I heard someone clear their throat. It was the class teacher. No doubt ready to make introductions. I looked up at him from beside me and noted how he was dressed formally with his tie slightly loose and hair disheveled. He looked like the type who rode a bike to school. I'd already pinned his traveling habits. I was good at pinning people. He smiled warmly at me and then turned his attention to the class.

"Good morning class 9B."

They mimicked him. Tired voices sweeping the room and some loud and unnecessarily enthusiastic.

He cleared his throat gazing down at me once again. "We have a new student joining us today"

I cringed. Why did teachers always feel it necessary to give the customary speech of informing the class of what was obvious?

"Why don't you tell the class your name?" the teacher whispered to me.

I cocked an eyebrow.

Did I look five years old?

Nervously I sucked in a breath and averted my gaze to the class who stared impatiently at me.

"Hi, my name is Evie." I told them. It was short and simple.

"Make sure you take care of Evie whilst she is here." the teacher informed everyone.

"Why don't you go and take a seat over there." he continued, motioning towards the only vacant seat that I saw was situated beside the strange boy.

I swallowed thickly. Staring down at my shoes I made my way forward, taking extra care not to trip or embarrass myself amongst my new classmates. Their eyes never left me. I felt like an animal in the zoo, or perhaps an alien. Something fascinating and out of place for them, but as I mentioned before, I was not fascinating and I did not want to be. I wanted to get through this year and hopefully the remaining few years as easily as possible. The simplicity of it all was only something I could imagine. I had been ran out of my old school, ignored and then bullied. I preferred being ignored, the bullying was harder to tolerate. Especially when everyone hated you for no absolute reason. I had to be thankful for the fact that I did not end up like the girls you see all over Japanese news. The one's that weren't only bullied by their fellow peers but also their teachers. Molested or forced in to such a whirlwind of depression, their last thoughts were of escape that could only be achieved through a train, noose or height. I was too much of a coward to kill myself, or maybe looking at it in a positive light, I simply was not fed up enough to end it all.

I pulled the seat back and the metal of the legs scraped loudly against the floor; wincing, I plopped myself down ungracefully. My eyes shifted nervously over to the strange boy beside me, he gave absolutely no indication he knew I was there and so I chose to focus on the class and not the perplexing individual to my right.

That was the first day I entered Shiwoira Junior High. The first day I saw him, and he saw me. It was also the first step to the biggest mistake of my life. I can not even tell you, whether I have or will come to regret the strange occurances and fate of meeting him.

The first time I ever spoke to that strange boy was exactly three days after my arrival at Shiwoira Junior High. I had settled in fairly well, making friends with who I hoped were the right type of people, and they were. Takako Chigusa was the girl I hung out with the most. She was beautiful, athletic, popular, everything that I had never been and it seemed she was determined to transform me in something that could potentially be as interesting as her one day. I was sitting on the bleachers outside watching her run around the track at lunch time that day. The area was fairly deserted but that may have amounted to the fact that it was lightly drizzling outside, that did not stop Takako however, who had insisted on me going jogging with her. I had accepted the offer but had taken a rest not long after starting, feeling like my heart was going to give out if I continued. It seemed I would never be able to keep up with her pace, but she told me I had good stamina for a beginner. I still believe she only said that to be nice. It didn't bother me though.

Lost in my own thoughts I never noticed the shadow that loomed over me. Looking up I saw a beautiful girl glaring down at me. She had an almost mean expression on her face however. Almost.

"I'm Mitsuko Souma." she informed me, extending her hand. I couldn't help but notice how long and perfectly manicured her finger nails were.

I also couldn't help but notice how strange the act of offering her hand to me was. Wasn't that a western thing? I took it regardless and noted how cold it was.

"I'm -"

"I know who you are." she interrupted, smiling widely. A strange resemblance of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland occurred to me at that moment. Its grin long and wide, fake even. Just like her's.

She took a seat beside me, staring off in to the distance as I was. Watching Takako who was slowing down now, clearly feeling the impact of the long training she was under-going.

"Hm, Chigusa's getting rusty." Mitsuko commented.

I turned to look at her, confused. Rusty? Wouldn't that suggest she was slowing down in a way, losing her touch? I couldn't comment on that, after-all, I had only known Takako for a short amount of time whereas Mitsuko had known her for a lot longer.

"I think she has amazing determination." I offered. Willingly trying to defend my new friend, without touching upon anything that I did not know about.

I did not know whether Mitsuko had heard me, but if she did, she chose not to reply.

"You seem like a nice girl, Evie. Why don't you hang out with me and my friends sometime?" Mitsuko offered, turning her attention towards me.

I looked at her. Her brown eyes looked significantly darker today, darker than what I remembered from the past couple of days.

"Sure." I replied, not wanting to come across as rude. I then smiled, to show some kind of sincerity behind my words.

"Great. I'll see you around." she said, getting up and narrowing her eyes one last time at Takako. Then finally she sauntered off, a hint of sassiness being expelled from her limbs.

I sat at the bleachers, confused. Mitsuko's offer did not sit well with me. Even then I knew there was something wrong but I pushed it to the back of my mind. I needed to be more focused on my new friend and studies. You see, a new friend was a big deal for me. I had never had many friends throughout my life. The few that I did have would eventually turn on me due to the fear of bullies who encouraged them to have nothing to do with me. Takako meant a lot to me in the short space of time we had become acquainted. The fact she invited me over to her house that evening, meant even more to me. I had never been asked over to another girl's house before. This was an exciting prospect to me and I bathed in the glory of knowing someone else found me worthy enough to keep around.

After school that day, I was walking with Takako back to her house. She had told me it was only a ten minute walk from the school and even jokingly suggested we jog there. Many students were being dismissed from their schools and so they hung around local shops and cafe's chatting animatedly about the day or about unintelligible topics. It was then that the black uniform and blonde hair caught my eye. That strange boy was leaning casually against the gate of a basketball court, staring absentmindedly ahead of him, whilst his three friends chatted excitedly to him from either side. I could not remember any of their names, nor had I heard anyone speak the strange boy's name yet.

It was after Takako quickly popped in to the shop that everything went wrong. I felt someone roughly shove me down, and I landed smack bang on my ass. Glaring up I caught side of a big, tall ugly looking troll of a guy and then immediately I recognized who he was and my heart skipped a beat. I instantly regretting the glare I gave, which had not been missed by him at all. He made a point to announce this to anyone who would listen.

"Oh, look who it is. I'm surprised you're still alive. Would have thought you'd kill yourself by now." he mocked.

I said nothing. I did not want to infuriate him and hoped quickly he would grow bored and leave before Takako returned.

Wiping my hands on my black skirt I made a move to get up before I was roughly pushed down again.

"Bitch's are meant to stay where they belong." he laughed cruelly.

Aito. How I hated this guy. He always made a point to make my life a misery in my last school and when I leave to start afresh he shows up again. I felt rather panicked, I did not want him to feed nonsense or lies to Takako when she returned. She was my only good friend. I feared she would turn on me too if she believed anything he told her.

"Please leave me alone." I whispered.

"What was that? Are you begging? Begging like a bitch?" he continued. His friends laughed out loud around him and my face grew hot. I felt tears stinging the corners of my eyes and I fought hard to keep them back.

"I've never done anything to you so just -"

"Who said you Tohuko fags could pick on someone from Shiroiwa High?"

I looked behind me and could see those three boys from my class situated in a protective circle around me. The one who had just spoken was the biggest and clearly the cockiest. They all glared at Aiko and his gang of thugs behind him in a hateful manner. I blinked, astounded by what was going on. Was I being saved? That had never happened to me before, this was certainly new.

Aiko scowled, looking down at me and a wave of recognition evident on his features.

"Shiroiwa Junior High, huh? Never noticed the uniform." he informed them, clearly shaken by their sudden appearance.

"Yeah? Well make a note. If we see you fucking with anyone from our school again, Kazuo will get you like he did last time." warned another of the boys from my class.

Who on Earth was Kazuo?

"Oh, shit yeah. Sorry!" Aiko said, putting up his hands in a sort of truce and staring behind me.

I turned around and it was then that I noticed that strange boy was about ten feet back, still leaning casually against the basket ball court. Obviously he had chosen not to join his friends but still surveyed the scene with mild interest. I turned my attention back to Aiko who had hurried off with his tail between his legs, his gang following suit behind him.

The three boys who had saved me, gazed down at me quickly before also rushing off to be beside that strange boy. I did not even have time to offer them my thanks. Getting up slowly and brushing off the gravel that had stuck to the material of my clothes I eyed the shop thankful that Takako was clearly taking her time.

"You should grow a back bone."

I whirled around almost frightened that Aiko had returned to finish what he started but instead I came face to face with that strange boy.

His blonde messy hair blew gently in the breeze, his tie had been discarded long ago and I couldn't help but notice how tall he was. I gazed up at him from beneath my lashes, unsure of how to respond to him.

"Kazuo we're going to get some soda's, ya coming?"

That stange boy did not even bother to turn to reply to his friend but instead gazed down at me, staring directly in to my eyes and refusing to break eye contact. His eyes were so dark but I could not deny how greatly they complimented his appearance. He was very good looking, even if he was strange.

Finally, he turned away. Walking slowly and deliberately to join his friends, and I stared after him, mouth agape and slightly offended by his words upon the realization of what he said. However, he was right. That str- Kazuo, the boy who had clearly beaten the crap out of Aiko was right. I did need to grow a back bone.

Takako had finally exited the shop holding two cans of soda in her hands. She gazed at my face recognizing that something was wrong.

I continued to stare ahead.

"Is.. everything alright?" she asked, slightly worried. "What are you staring at?"

Kazuo. That strange boy.