AN: I apologize for the long wait, I was in North Dakota for a week. Thanks to KHCrazy for editing and partnering up with me and waiting so patiently to write her part! I hope you enjoy the new revised version of High School Hearts, and feel free to review, favorite, follow me!

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, shape, form or fashion, own Kingdom Hearts. I own the plot of this story, and the characters listed: Libby, Lexi, Jiyuna, Jinsei, Furi, Ikite, the teachers, and countless other characters that have never been in Kingdom Hearts. I partially own Emily and Ingrid as well, but those are KHCrazy's own characters.


CHAPTER TWO: LIBBY AND JINSEI


Libby

I walked around the school, making my way to second period: English III with Ms. Clark, a very nice woman who I helped in class often as a freshman. I smiled as I remembered freshman year, hanging out with Ms. Clark. Ms. Clark had just started teaching at the high school when I was a freshman, and her classroom was often messy, since she didn't have the time to unpack and really make the room nice. I walked into her class one day when school was over and offered to help her. She seemed really happy, and her room transformed as the year progressed.

When I entered the room, Ms. Clark looked up and said, "Great, this'll be a good class this year." I smiled and said, "Of course it will be, you're teaching it."

"You flatter me so much, Libby."

"I mean it, you're a good teacher," I replied, picking a seat in the front row of the empty classroom. I liked sitting up front, as well as really paying attention to Ms. Clark's lessons. She's the reason why I've passed my courses in English I and II, and I'm very grateful to her.

Students started filing into the classroom, one by one occupying spaces in corners and sitting at or on their desks. Some new kids were in the classroom, and I waited for Ms. Clark to take the role. The new students stared at me, and I smiled back at them, receiving only one smile in return.

Ms. Clark stood at the center of the room, watching as the students sat down and stared at her. It's understandable why they would stare; she's a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties, with dirty blond hair beginning in waves and ending in ringlets, grey and green eyes, a pale pink blouse tucked into her grey and black pencil skirt that shows off her curves, little black heels that make her just a little taller than me, and minimal jewelry. A few rings adorned her fingers except for her bare ring finger on her left hand, signifying her status as neither married nor engaged. Teardrop earrings hung from her ears, as well as a matching necklace displayed around her neck.

"Alright guys, I'm going to call out the role, and I want you to answer me when I call your name, okay?" Ms. Clark held up a sheet of paper and began to name the students. "Garnet."

"Here," said Garnet, a tiny girl with long brown hair, a white puffy shirt, an orange jumpsuit with buckles on her thighs, and red boots and gloves.

"Libby."

"Here," I called back.

"Zell."

"Oh yeah!" said a young man with a tattoo on his face.

"Zack."

"Right here!" Zack Fair cried, nearly falling out of his chair. Girls often stared at him, with his spiky black hair, electric blue eyes, and large muscles. He's preparing to go into the SOLDIER program in Midgar, where my dad is from. Midgar is the center of a large island that is very distant from Destiny Islands. I hope to go there someday.

"—Joshua."

A blond boy in a white button down shirt and jeans flipped his hair and said, "I'm here, Ms. Clark." This guy seemed really pompous and vexatious, but he was… angelic, in a way. There was an odd glow about him, radiating off his pale skin. I decided I would keep an eye on him.

"Squall."

"That's Leon," my friend interjected in his usual monotone voice. Only a select few people, including myself, could refer to Leon as Squall, which is his real name. He derived "Leon" from his last name, "Leonhart." Personally, "Leon Leonhart" sounds really weird. Squall's appearance was a pleasant one, with his light blue eyes and brown unruly hair, but his personality was the polar opposite of pleasant. He often wished for no affiliation with "bothersome pests," but I got into his group of friends somehow! Just kidding. Squall didn't hang out with anybody at first, but we became his friends eventually-"we" being me, Riku, Lexi, and Emily. He's a tough guy, but he's got a soft spot for us. "Neku."

Another boy with spiky hair and headphones answered "here" quietly, his mouth covered by his turtleneck. He was familiar to Joshua somehow, but in place of light, he had a much darker essence. This dark aura disturbed me, and I would watch him as well.

"—and Zidane. Okay guys, to start the year off, we're going to write a short essay on what or who we see in this classroom. This will contribute to a game we're going to play. You cannot name anyone or write about a place specifically. Everybody ready?" We all answered yes and began to write. I wrote on my paper, describing my friend Squall, who was in this class with me but didn't really didn't care to make conversation with me one-on-one, and a few other students. I then looked at Joshua and Neku, and began to write about them as well.

… hair that defies gravity… headphones that cover his ears from noise all over the world…

… pale, glowing, angelic skin… wavy, blond hair… devilish grin…


Jinsei

"Hey, Jiyuna!" I cried out to my sister. She turned around with her hair sweeping through the air, searching for the source of the call. Her brown eyes landed on me, and she smiled. My friends Pence, Hayner, and Roxas bumped into her after leaving the restroom and greeted her, Hayner slinging his arm around Ji as he usually does. I'm fine with it, since I let Jiyuna hang out with us when we were younger and she didn't have much of any friends. My friends are her friends, and we all get along just fine. Jiyuna, fortunately, has more friends now, and she'll still have some friends when my friends and I leave next year. I'm a year, nearly two, older than Jiyuna. We've always been close as kids, and we're still close now.

"Yeah, Jin?" my sister said as she made her way over to me.

"Have any trouble today?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"No reason," I lied and turned my head. I was concerned for Jiyuna's safety, since our mom wasn't here to be concerned. I didn't want to find that she'd be in any trouble with somebody, today, or any other day. She's my little sister, and she's important to me. I walked away, unaware of my surroundings, and bumped into Riku.

"Hey, Jinsei," Riku said as we walked into the restroom. I greeted him back and said, "I just ran into Jiyuna."

He replied, "She is your sister, man."

"You know, I'm a little worried about her."

"Why?"

"I'm just worried, like any big brother would be."

"Jinsei," Riku gave me a discerned look, "You can tell me what it is. I'm your friend."

"Alright," I acquiesced, "Well, I'll be gone next year, and I can't make sure that she'll be safe from whatever comes her way. I've always been able to protect her, whether it's from bullies, guys, any incoming dangers that could hurt her somehow. Plenty of my friends and I taught her how to defend herself against bullies, and we let her know how to manage herself when it comes to weird men, but I just feel like I need to keep protecting her."

Riku looked at me sympathetically and said, "She's gonna have these problems all her life. You and your friends taught her well, made her very strong. Jiyuna has enough sense to detect the weird guys she should avoid, and I believe she'll find a real good guy that will protect her from those weirdos, too. As for those incoming dangers, how about you trust somebody to keep her safe? She's robust enough to wipe the floor with whatever comes her way, but I see your point, Jin. Unfortunately, I can't say you'll always be able to protect her, because you can't."

"I know that," I replied, "but she's only sixteen. Anything can happen while I'm away."

"Just trust that she'll be fine, Jinsei."

I sighed, then said, "Fine. So how are you and Jiyuna?"

Riku blushed and said, "What do you mean?"

I said, "I mean, how good of friends are you?" I could sense that Riku took an interest in Jiyuna, and I wanted to see if I could get him to admit it. I trust Riku, believe me, I just want another reason to tease him.

He answered, "Well, how good of friends are you and Ikite?"

Heat rushed into my cheeks and I stuttered, trying to retort, "What are you implying?"

"You like her, Jin. It's kind of obvious, with the way you look and trail after her."

"I don't have time for this," I started walking away, red-faced. Sure, I might like her, but that's no business of his. Ikite's just a friend, and that's all she ever will be in relation to me. I sorta wish I could change that… but she'd never be with a guy like me. Riku called after me, "You might want to consider Furi, too, she seems to like you!" How absurd, the idea of Furi liking me. Ha-ha.

I kept walking away, off to third period. I was in English III this year, since I was no good in it last year. I saw Furi and Ikite, chatting as usual. Approaching them, I sat in a desk behind Ikite quietly, then motioned to Furi to not give me away. She saw, and kept talking to Ikite until I grabbed Ikite's shoulders and yelled, "Boo!"

"Ah!" Ikite screamed, jumping up from her seat. She glared at me, then smacked my arm while I grinned at her. "Jinsei," she said, "You silly old devil, you scared me."

"I can tell," I responded, earning another smack on the arm. Furi giggled, and I said, "See? Furi thinks that was funny, too."

"Furi!" Ikite turned to her, scolding Furi for laughing while she gets scared stiff. I laughed and watched the girls interact. Ikite was a pretty girl, with bright green eyes and long brown hair with wispy bangs. She wore a short, pink one-shoulder dress with varying shades of purple layers around the skirt. The only jewelry she wore were silver armbands in different styles and colorful bangles on her wrist. Furi, on the other hand, had short brown hair in pigtails high on her head and soft blue eyes. She looked a lot like her older sister Olette, another friend of mine who will also leave next year, with the same khaki caprice, only with a yellow pleated halter top, slip-on beige shoes, and long crotchet fingerless gloves.

"Class!" Ms. Clark enunciated, "Take your seats, and we'll begin English for the year!" We all took a seat and Ms. Clark was taking role call, when tiredness suddenly swept over me. I could hear Ms. Clark saying something about writing, and I saw Ikite watching Ms. Clark intently, and Furi looked at me strangely, and then… and then… there's… blank… nothing… nothing… nothing.


The shadow-like boy wandered in the cave once again. He investigated his items on the ground, insuring that nothing moved from its place. The candles remained in their same spots, and so did everything else. The boy laughed to himself, thinking, I did a little too well in finding a secure spot to store my tools.

He picked up all his candles and set them upright. Out of his pocket, the boy pulled out sparkling, faint violet-colored dust in a bowl. On top of the dust sat a feeble bone and pieces of hair. He lowered the bowl to the dirty soil, then pulled out a pocketknife. He set it down as well, then pulled a lone candle out and lit it with his lighter. He began to mumble words, magic words, words seeped in dark magic. He stirred the cup of dust, without the bone and hairs, continued to recite the words, and then added the bone. The outlandish young man closed his eyes, added the hairs, and readied his knife. Sticking his hand over the mixture, the boy lowered the blade, the edge cutting through skin. Blood slowly dripped from his hand, and into the mixture, still speaking.

The mixture began to glow, and the boy began to shake violently. A cry erupted from his lips, it being elicited from his clenching throat. A fire was building inside him, and it burned. Eventually, the fire cooled, and he felt himself again, only a little stronger. The mixture continued to glow, and he set the bowl somewhere inside the shadows, protecting it. The boy once again left, waiting for the day when the thirteen would receive their letters, and he could resurrect them for an everlasting reunion that would change the fate of the worlds.

END OF CHAPTER TWO