A/N: Here's the next chappie (and up so soon!). But that's because I wrote half of this by the time I had the first chapter up. Now onto the third. Wish me luck!

Advent Hearts

By: Reminiscent

Chapter Two: In the Hollow of Your Eyes

Heels clicked sharply as they traveled rapidly down the hall. There was only one day every year that these suckers were ever worn, and that was the first day of school. Every other day, it was nice, comfy sneakers. Ah, sneakers...they must miss her at home. The wearer of the black, sleek heels stopped in front of a door, where she could here the buzz of the students inside. With a deep breath, she opened the door, and the room quieted as they watched her enter. Setting her papers and files down on her desk, she headed back to the front of the class room and waited for her students to take their seats. Her eyes rested on the brunette in the front row and her lips cracked into a grin. She still held the sheet for roll call in her hand, and she glanced at it. Yes, it had to be him.

"Sora Strife?" she asked the boy. His eyes snapped to her face nervously. Her smile widened considerabley. His eyes told all.

"Uh...yes?" Sora asked hesitantly. The woman's smile was sort of scary. She laughed a little.

"I figured. You look like you mother." She watched with satisfaction as the boy's jaw dropped. "Although you have Cloud's eyes."

"You...you know my parents?" he stuttered.

"More than you know, kiddo. Now." She turned on her heel with practised ease to face the chalk board. "My name is Tifa Lockheart, aka Ms. Lockheart." The white cursive stood out against the black. "Got it?" Tifa pushed some black hair out of the way and stared down her class. "I'm here to teach you History, so that's what I'm going to do. I don't tolerate any crap in my class, so if you want to challenge me, go right ahead. I'll take anything you send my way. There are rules here, so listen up. One, no spit balls. Two, no farting, belching, squelching of armpits, or sniffling without a tissue. Three, anything I haven't covered, but you can think of is immediately outlawed. But mainly, this is what you should worry about in my class: you are here to learn, and I am here to teach. Any objections?" The class was silent. Tifa raised an eyebrow at a hesitant hand rising into the air. "Tell me your name, and then ask away." A boy with extraordinarily bright orange hair stood, licking his lips.

"Wakka, ma'am," he began, "Um, I was just wonderin', I mean, I just wanna know...how thick are the books, ya?" The blonde boy behind him (his hair looked as if it could poke someone's eye out) snickered.

"Last I checked, there were seven-hundred twenty-two pages in them. Including index," Tifa informed. Wakka groaned and sank into his chair. By his physique, it was obvious that this boy greatly favored sports over education. Oh, well. She would force the knowledge into all of their brains if it took a cow brander to do it. She clapped her hands together and smiled eagerly. "Now that that's over, welcome to History class! Prepare to soak yourself in knowledge! And if you refuse, than you'll leave me no choice but to burn it into your very brain cells."

Yuffie sighed as she slipped into sweatpants and a T-shirt, and tied her tennies. This was so much nicer than heels and a skirt. She didn't understand why Tifa put up with it. Yuffie absolutely loved being active. She'd considered becoming a proffesional athlete, but fell short on money and became a teacher instead. And now she had more things going on, with her grandfather dying, and inheriting a dojo due to the will left behind. Yuffie pulled her hair back with a sweat band, grabbed her clipboard and pencil, and then walked out of her office into the gym. Fourty-eight students stood in gym shorts and T-shirts, stretching and standing around talking. A commotion caught her attention, though, and she focused on that.

"Brats. You need to be taught a lesson in respect," a tall blonde boy threatened, a black cap covering his head. A silver haired girl stood to his left, while a buff, tanned boy took a place to his right. A little black headed boy shuffled nervously behind him.

"Never go 'gainst Seifer's word, y'know?" the buff boy grunted.

"Never," the girl said, almost whispering. The smaller boy said nothing. 'Seifer' was speaking to another blonde, who was on the floor with a bleeding lip. A brunette was kneeling next to him, put the boy pushed her out of the way. A rather over weight boy pulled her to her feet, saying something that didn't reach Yuffie's ears. Seifer chuckled before pulling back his fist to punch the other boy again. Another blonde blocked his punch, though (how many blondes were there in her class?), and pushed him back. The new boy had a determined look on his face, and he helped the his bleeding friend to his feet.

"What the hell, Seifer?" he was saying, "We don't even do anything to you and your posse, but you come and bully us for fun! You don't need to beat us up for your entertainment!" Seifer laughed before turning away from the defensive boy.

"Why don't you tell that to your friend there. Ask him why I punched him." With that, the four meandered to the other side of the gym. Yuffie sighed heavily and walked swiftly to the four kids left.

"Why do you pick fights with him, Heyner?" one blonde said to the other, "You know he kicks your ass every time you try to kick his."

"Shut up," Heyner growled, "It's not like you care, Roxas."

"What are you talking about? We're best friends!" Roxas objected.

"Yeah, sure. So how come you're always hanging around with them?"

"Because I'd rather be friends than be beaten to a bloody pulp! Why don't you try it, too?"

"That's what I'd like to know as well," Yuffie interjected. Heyner's eyes flicked up to hers, and then he looked to the floor, finally getting around to wiping his split lip, which only widened the cut and made it bleed more. The girl who'd attempted to help him earlier, stood near him again.

"Heyner, don't touch it. You'll only make it worse..."

"Leave me alone, Olette." Olette's eyes betrayed her hurt, but she turned away from him, seemingly in a huffy mood.

"Fine. See if I care if you get a fat lip from infection."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Enough!" The two sheepishly stopped their fighting as their teacher pushed Olette further from Heyner. "I wanted to get this class started five minutes ago, and you, young man," she said to Heyner, "Are tying everyone up from getting measured, weighed, and stretched out to run laps." Yuffie looked over her shoulder at Roxas and nearly dropped her clipboard. It was Cloud. But miniature.

"Hey, is your last name 'Strife'?" she wondered. Roxas nodded. Yuffie cracked into a grin. "Cool! I haven't seen Cloud in forever! Who knew he'd ever have kids. I always thought he was too emo to even go through with the whole fathering thing. Geez, I guess times really change. But holy cow! Look at you! It's like mini-Cloud! Do you have a strange obsession with motorcycles, over-sized swords, and feeling sorry for youself?" The boy and his friends stared at her strangely.

"Um..." Yuffie waved it off.

"Well, never mind. CLASS, GET IN A CIRCLE AROUND ME!" At her authoritive shout, the class gathered quickly. Just as Yuffie was about to open her mouth and yell some more, the gym door opened with a slam again. Some kid with neon orange hair groaned as Tifa Lockheart entered.

"Sorry I'm late...Sora?" Tifa stood in front of Roxas, hands on her hips. "Mr. Strife, tell me, did you read the school's policy manual?" Roxas nodded.

"So you know that dying your hair during school hours is strictly off limits, then?"

"Yeah...why?"

"Don't play around with me! In first hour, your hair was brown!"

"Are you talking about...Sora?" This stopped Tifa's rant. She stared quizzically at Roxas.

"Wait, what's your name?"

"I'm Roxas." She blinked, and Yuffie giggled behind her. She whirled around to round on the younger woman.

"Roxas?" she asked. Yuffie nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep! Looks like a mini-Cloud! I thought so, too!" she exclaimed.

"You know my dad?" Roxas asked.

"You know it!" Yuffie said, dancing a little, "We go waaaaaaayy back! Right, Tifa!" Tifa sighed and sat on the bleachers. Yuffie got the suggestion and returned to introducing herself to her class.

"All right, so! You don't know me! I'll tell you now. I am..." she struck what she thought was a super cool pose, "THE GREAT NINJA YUFFIE, COLLECTER OF ALL MATERIA! So, seeing as I am THE GREAT NINJA YUFFIE, it only seems right that I start off with a little martial arts and self-defense. My assistant today is Ms. Lockheart, the History teacher! Watch me get my butt handed to me!" Tifa stood, pulling on leather gloves. Yuffie cringed inwardly. This was going to hurt. Badly.

"Ready when you are, Yuffie," the older woman said calculatively. Yuffie gulped.

"If that's the case, then I'll never be ready."

"Then why did you call me for a demonstration?"

"Because you're the only one who knows martial arts."

"You do this every year, Yuffie. Suck it up and let's get started." With that, Tifa pounced at Yuffie. She attempted to kick the feet from underneath the ninja, but she leapt into the air. Tifa followed after her, grabbed her by the arm, and swung her down to the floor. The class gasped. Yuffie landed, but the shock to her feet was nearly unbearable. She jumped back at Tifa, clutching her by the leg, and spun her around in midair before throwing her at the gym wall. She hit the floor again, her legs giving out. Tifa landed on the wall neatly, as if it were the floor, and then shot out at Yuffie. Yuffie squealed and rolled onto her back, kicking Tifa square in the stomach and launched her over the class. Her adversary's sneakers squeaked in protest as she slid on the polished wood, and then hopped over the huddled mass of students to grab hands with Yuffie. The younger teacher ended up on a back bend, with Tifa on the other end in a mirror position (Rude and Loz, baby!). Tifa grinned. Yuffie's face fell in dismay. As soon as Tifa's shoes touched the floor, she used the momentum to continue her movement, spinning Yuffie around and around, before releasing her wrists and letting her fly at the bleachers. Unlike Tifa, she did hit the wall, falling onto the bleachers with a harsh 'thunk'. The students were up on their feet. Tifa shushed them.

"She's fine, don't worry." Yuffie pulled herself up to her knees and shook her head. She was bit shaky as she came down the bleachers.

"You went easy on me this time..." she said groggily, "Think I can still teach?"

"Yeah. You're okay. And I didn't go easy on you, Yuffie. You got better."

"Thanks. Do I look like I have a concussion? I hit my head..." Yuffie clasped her hands to her aching head as her gym class erupted into applause and cheering. "Remind me why I do this every year again."

"So, how was your first day of school, boys?" Aeris asked her sons and Riku as they sat at the dinner table, consuming their supper (after all, Riku practically lives with them anyways).

"Good. Ms. Kisaragi got her ass handed to her by Ms. Lockheart," Roxas said.

"Roxas, language."

"But that's totally stupid, 'cuz it turned out that Ms. Kisaragi got a mild concussion, and she couldn't demonstrate again in fifth hour for us..." Sora whined, sticking his tongue out at his brother, who, in turn, stuck his tongue out, too.

"But she's also the teacher for History class. Ms. Lockheart, I mean. I thought she was pretty nice," Riku added.

"Kisaragi and Lockheart, huh?" Aeris inquired mischievously.

"You don't say," Cloud said quietly.

"Yeah, they said they knew you, Dad," Sora said.

"Ms. Lockheart thought I was Sora and almost hauled me off to the principle's office because she thought I dyed my hair during school," Roxas interjected. Aeris laughed at this.

"Don't worry about it, boys. Ms. Lockheart and Ms. Kisaragi will explain it all in good time," she chuckled. Cloud stood abruptly with his plate.

"I'm going out," he muttered and left the dining room. Aeris sighed and carried on cutting her steak. Roxas, Sora, and Riku watched the blonde man go before turning their attention to the brunette silently eating her dinner.

"Where's Dad going, Mom?" Sora asked. His mother shook her head.

"Just off to visit a friend of his. No big deal. He'll be back in the morning to see if he's got any deliveries to make, so you might see him come back before you leave to school tomorrow."

"Who's the friend?" Roxas asked.

"You two have never met him. He and your dad go way back."

"Really?"

"Yes." Aeris looked to Riku.

"When do should I drop you off, honey?"

A/N: YAY! Now the reason I called it 'In the Hollow of Your Eyes'. It's because when Yuffie and Tifa look at Sora and Roxas, it's like looking at their parents. There. Also, in the next chapter, who are the HB (Hollow Bastion) tranfers? Who is Cloud's mysterious friend? Why is Aeris still alive (it's because I wanted her to be alive. Why is she alive in KH, huh? QUESTION THAT!)? I just answered my own question. When will Reno reappear (kya, he's so awesome!)? And when will Axel appear (kya, he's so awesome, too!)? FANGIRLY SQUEAL!

Thanks to Fun Sized, who reviewed my story before it had been up for five hours. (bows) The next chapter, Funeral March-part1, is for you. (betcha can't guess why it's called Funeral March, and if you possibley can, betcha can't guess why there's more than one part). Signing off, Reminiscent, the Half-Breed of Rejection.