Ice

A sleek black car hummed on their snow-cleared driveway, and Natsume constantly paced in front of the front door and peeked out of the curtained windows anxiously.

A tall, slender man with pale skin and beautiful blonde hair stepped out from the car, with a black suit jacket draped over his shoulders. Anzu kneeled on the couch in front of the window and pointed at his moving figure.

"That's Narumi-sensei?" she whispered to her dad, who also stared.

The young man nodded, and a look of disgust crossed his face. "Yes, that's him. He's a good person, but…" He flinched when a long chime sounded throughout the whole house.

Mikan tumbled down the stairs hurriedly with a small suitcase in her arms. She set it at the side of the couch and breathlessly tore the door open.

"Narumi-sensei," she panted, a smile lighting up her face. "Good morning."

Narumi was a vibrant man who hadn't looked like he aged. In fact, to Anzu, he appeared the same age as her parents. His wavy blonde hair and caring, lavender eyes looked exactly as they had in her parents' old photos.

He smiled and laughed. "Well, well," he said, scanning Mikan and Natsume, and their house. "It's been such a long time! How are you two?"

Mikan tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Fine," she said, then looked surprised as she realized Narumi was standing in a frigid wind, and snowflakes whirled into the house and melted on the wooden floor. "Would you like to have some tea?" she asked, motioning inside.

He shook his head and laughed easily. "No, no need to bother!" He smiled, and peered at the little girl, who was staring at him in fascination from the couch. "My," he said, "is this the Hyuuga Anzu-san I've heard about?"

Natsume encouraged her to stand up and introduce herself. She slipped off the cool leather seat and stood straight. "Hello," she said politely. "I'm Anzu. Nice to meet you."

Narumi laughed delightedly. "Such a cute girl!" He looked at her parents happily. "What Alice does she have, exactly?"

"Composing Alice," Natsume said as he touched the raven-haired girl's head. "Would you like a demonstration?" He indicated the grand piano several meters away with a tilt of his head.

The blonde man shook his head, and his eyes were downcast. "Oh, that'd be nice, but we really have to get going," he said, and their eyes flew over to the black car outside. "Perhaps some other time." He paused, then waved at Anzu, who hid behind her dad's leg. "It's time to go," he said soothingly. "Dress warmly."

Anzu nodded, and hurried to get a coat from the closet. She yanked open the white door and slipped a midnight blue winter jacket from the plastic hanger. She stood and slipped her arms through the puffy sleeves and watched as the hanger swung back and forth on the horizontal metal pole. She grabbed a gray flannel scarf from a wooden basket on the floor and draped it on her shoulders. With one last sigh, she shut the door and hurried to the adults at the front door, who spoke in low voices.

"Ah," Narumi said, nodding upon her arrival. "Shall we go?" He offered his hand, and Anzu took it hesitantly. It was surprisingly warm. "Want me to take your suitcase?"

Natsume and Mikan watched worriedly as she shook her head furiously. Her fingers wrapped around the handle of the case and tugged. A long black handle came out, and she glanced at her parents as Narumi opened the door once more. A flurry of white flakes fell inside the house and an icy wind ruffled their hair.

"Goodbye," Narumi said with a sad smile. "It was nice seeing you. I'll make sure Anzu-chan does her homework."

A smile flickered on Mikan's face. "How courteous of you," she said with a gentle laugh. "Thank you for your visit." Her voice caught on visit.

Natsume looked at Narumi uneasily, and it was obvious that he did not like the fact that his former teacher was holding his daughter's hand. "Goodbye," he said simply. Then he bent down to her level and gave Anzu a big hug.

"We love you," he said into her ear. "Write us a lot of letters when you can. Brush your teeth. Make lots of friends. And don't date anyone yet."

Anzu looked startled, and her eyes went wide. "W-w-.." she sputtered. "Otou-san, you're crazy!" How can you talk about boys at a time like this?

Amusement was written all over his handsome face, and he ruffled her hair. "I'm sure your mom has the same sentiments. Right, Mikan?"

"Hm," she laughed. Her momentary sadness flew away. "Maybe when you're a bit older." But her eyes twinkled mischievously, like she meant the opposite of what she said.

Mikan kissed her daughter's cheek and looked at her directly. Anzu was fascinated by her own reflection in the glassy, hazel orbs that looked into her own.

"Be a good girl," she said gently and squeezed her tightly in her arms. She let go, then both parents stood on their feet.

Anzu hesitated at the open doorway. Her parents looked awfully lonely. She thought about how quiet the house would be without her piano playing and yells when Natsume chased her with a brush. But Narumi's hand grounded her and she returned to her senses. She smiled a small smile at her parents. "Love you," she said, her fist tightening around the suitcase handle. "See you soon."

Then Narumi tugged her gently to the black vehicle, and Anzu put her head down as she pulled the suitcase along the snowflake-piled driveway. The wheels made little tracks all the way to the trunk, where Narumi rapped on the back of the car, and the hinged door popped open. He took the case from her cold hands and placed it among two other suitcases. They were small and neat, like hers.

The blonde man smiled and opened one of the side doors for her. She peered in and saw two children, a female with dark brown layered shoulder-length hair and calm sea blue eyes, and a boy with blonde hair that had a hint of… orange? His cerulean colored eyes looked startled as a gust of wind came into the warm car and a girl stood next to him.

"Scootch over," the girl in the seat said in a quiet voice. The boy looked at Anzu uneasily and slid across the black leather seat and settled next to the quiet girl. Anzu smiled at Narumi briefly before she stepped into the car, and he shut the door carefully behind her.

Narumi quickly yanked on the door to the passenger seat in the front, and slipped inside. "Okay!" he said enthusiastically, and Anzu could feel herself get caught in his cheeriness. The driver began to back the car out of the driveway, and soon, they were gliding on the road. "You are about to go to Alice Gakuen. Anyone nervous?"

The children all looked at each other simultaneously. "Yes," they chorused.

Anzu raised a hand. "Narumi-sensei, are you our homeroom teacher?" she asked curiously.

He laughed brightly. "Yes, I am!" he said. "I was also your parents' teacher."

The other girl smiled distantly. "Ah, Okaa-san talked about you one time…" she said calmly. "'A teacher that has the Pheromone Alice. He likes to wear interesting outfits. But mostly, I ignored him.'" She put up her index finger, as if to make a point. "That's what she said."

Narumi laughed, and sweatdropped. "My, well that certainly sounds like Imai-san. And how about your father?"

The blonde boy was nudged by the girl. "He's a vet," he said nervously. "He takes care of wild animals."

"I see! As expected from Ruka-kun." His lavender eyes lit up, and he looked at them thoroughly with surprise. "Goodness, I didn't realize! How rude of me!" He smiled, and leaned around his chair to get a better view of them. "Could it be that you don't know each other?"

Anzu had been quiet the whole time, and spoke up at that moment. "We do know each other," she stated, then smiled radiantly.


Flashback from a few minutes ago

She beamed when she saw him, and reached out a hand.

Squeeeze. Anzu had squeezed the boy's hand very hard, and he had looked startled.

"Scootch over," said a familiar voice behind him.

Anzu peered around the boy's back and saw a girl with pretty brown hair and a smile on her face.

Maiko-chan, she said warmly with her eyes. Then she slipped into the seat and Narumi closed the door.

She peered at the boy again, who looked uncomfortable next to her.

"Hoshino-kun," she said softly. He jumped, and his seatbelt kept him strapped to the leather seat. "You look like your dad." She knew the comment always bothered him, as it was said so frequently.

He squirmed, as expected, and Maiko reached an arm around him and patted Anzu's shoulder with quiet thoughtfulness.

"It's been a while," she said quietly. "How long has it been?"

Anzu paused for a second. "A year or two? Sometime around Christmas?"

Narumi interrupted their short conversation. "Okay!" he said cheerily. "You are about to go to Alice Gakuen. Anyone…"


About a few hours and a subway ride later, a similar-looking black car with a similar black-dressed serious-faced man drove them up to an ominous black metal gate.

A shiny metal plaque mounted on one of the brick square columns on either side of the large gate brilliantly sported the characters for Alice Gakuen. The gates slid open with a creak, and the car glided into the large campus.

Snow swirled outside their window, and Anzu watched as flakes dissolved into water when they hit the window. A few unclear figures moved around the courtyard, but the windows were too tinted to see much of anything.

The car came to a stop, and Narumi unbuckled his seatbelt. "We're here," he announced, then flew out of the car and threw open the back seat doors.

The children climbed out of the car unsteadily, and their shoes sank into deep snow. Narumi popped open the trunk and had all three of their suitcases in his hands. He tilted his head at a big glass door. "Shall we go in?"

They all nodded wordlessly and followed him through the snow and onto the sidewalk. Strangely, the sidewalk was clearer than the parking lot, and they could easily walk up to the clear, window door way. Inside, Anzu could see students dressed in white and black uniforms walk in the halls with bags slung across their backs or shoulders. Some glanced through the glass and watched as Narumi tugged open the door and held it for the three small children.

A boy materialized in front of them suddenly, and looked amused at the children's' surprised expressions. He had uniquely colored champagne-pink hair that came in feathery ringlets. The boy was dressed in a black blazer jacket with a white shirt poking out from underneath, and blue-checkered pants. He was older, with a strong chin and handsome facial features, and towered completely above them.

He smiled. "Ah, I received a letter this morning from my parents," he said. "They said there would be a surprise waiting for me sometime today…"

Anzu squeaked and gave him a running hug. She buried her face in his shirt and could smell something like sunshine. "Hareta-niichan, I haven't seen you for so long!" She bounced up and down on her heels, and her long gray scarf flopped in every direction. "Nee, nee, how are Tsubasa-jisan and Miskai-basan? Are they healthy? Do they work? How about you?" she burst. A few roaming students looked at the spectacle with amusement.

Hareta patted her head with an angelic smile. "They're fine," he said. "They do work… They chase criminals and hold them for questioning. Their stories are kinda fun." He smiled at Anzu, then at the three behind her. "School life is pretty easy. Study. Eat. Things like that."

Narumi ushered the other two children closer to the teenaged boy and smiled. "Hareta-kun, could you please escort them to a free set of rooms? That would be a lot of help." He set down their suitcases, which the children immediately grabbed. Then he glanced at his watch. "I've got to hurry to my class," he said with a laugh. He waved goodbye to the children. "See you tomorrow!" As he hurriedly walked off, he shed his black suit jacket draped on his shoulders, and they could see he was wearing a frilly purple shirt with silver buttons down the front, and bright white pants.

Grins spread on their faces, and Hareta tilted his head toward the end of the hall. "We should get going too," he said. "Maybe get you to your next class on time."

He led them down a long hall with tall, arch-shaped glass windows on both sides, and soft light poured in to illuminate the way. Above them, a ceiling stretched high above their heads, and if they craned their neck, they could get a vague glimpse of the inside of a large brass bell.

Hareta smiled at the looks of awe on their faces. "So," he said as they rounded a corner. "Who are you guys?" He glanced at Maiko and Hoshino questioningly.

Anzu looked surprised. "Ah, sorry," she said quickly. "You didn't meet each other at any of our Christmas parties, huh?" She gestured at the girl and boy who walked next to her. "Nogi Maiko and Nogi Hoshino," she said. "They're Ruka-ojisan's kids."

His fine eyebrows rose. "No wonder," he said, staring at Hoshino particularly, his finger on his chin in thought. "This boy is like a younger clone of his father."

Anzu and Maiko laughed at Hoshino's exasperated expression. Hareta looked bewildered.

"You know," he said sternly, "there's nothing wrong with looking like your dad. He's still pretty much a lady killer."

The boy flinched. "That isn't why I'm bothered by it," he sputtered. His blonde brows were knit in frustration. "It's just annoying. People say it all the time. I've become afraid of it now."

Hareta chuckled and stopped in front of a bare wall. "That's fine," he said. Then he pointed at himself. "Look at me. I look a lot more like my mom, right? I have a feminine face." He laughed at himself, and the others couldn't resist. They giggled along with him.

"Um," Anzu said, confused. "Are we waiting for something?"

They stood in an empty hall by the bare white wall. A staircase was across from them, and noise tumbled down from upstairs.

"Oh yeah," he mumbled. Then he grinned. "This way's faster." He jabbed a thumb at the wall.

"What? But—"

Hareta laughed, and extended a hand out to Anzu. She took it happily. "Okay," he said to the others, "grab each other's hands. We're going to go through the wall."

They looked at each other, then followed his instructions. Maiko grabbed Anzu's free hand, and Hoshino dangled in the back of the small chain. Their small suitcases were heavy, as they were slung over their shoulders.

"Ready?" he asked everyone. They nodded. Then, he pressed his palm on the wall, and it rippled like water. "Come on, keep walking!" he said, as he stepped inside. His body seemed to disappear before their eyes.

Anzu stepped hesitantly to the smooth white surface, and only Hareta's hand poked out of the wall, his fingers wrapped around her wrist. She gasped as he tugged gently on her, and she fell through what seemed like a waterfall curtain. Something cold and abrupt splashed all over her, yet she could still feel two hands holding hers. She couldn't see anything, only a bright spark that was far away. Anzu unsteadily put one foot in front of the other and walked on a wobbly, unseen surface.

The older boy's voice seemed distant and echoey, and the atmosphere began to lighten. "There's going to be a tight squeeze," he said. "It'll hurt a bit."

As he said it, there was an enormous flash of light, and Anzu hurriedly scrunched her eyes shut. A heavy, crushing force smashed into her right side, then her left, then from all over. Her lungs were momentarily shriveled, and she felt herself falling through another wall, she assumed, as a cold, wet feeling washed over from the top of her head to her toes again.

Nausea forced her eyes open, and light screamed in her eyes. The soft lights from the hall before had been changed into a fluorescent light overhead. The corridor they were in held many closed wooden doors.

The three kids knelt on the floor, trying to get over their dizziness as Hareta waited patiently in front of them. Anzu coughed and staggered to her feet. She helped her friends up to their feet, and they all looked at the older boy with drained expressions.

He smiled a small smile. "It takes a while to get used to it," he said as he led them down the corridor. Anzu patted her jacket, curious. It hadn't gotten wet after all.

They walked for a moment, and their guide paused in front of a door. The metal plaque on the door didn't contain a name like the others did.

"This is a room that's free," he said. "There's another one next to it." Hareta then pointed at the stars on the white collar of his shirt. "See these? This is your rank." Three golden stars gleamed where his finger lay. "This determines what kind of housing, food, and allowance you have. There's hoshinashi (no-star), single, double, and triple, and the last one, special. Your parents probably told you about these."

Anzu nodded. The story about her mom Mikan being a no-star for a few months was told quite often at their house. Natsume liked to poke fun, while Mikan laughed nervously at herself.

Hareta smiled, and his arm dropped to his side. "Well, I'll see you guys later," he said as he walked away. "Get your stuff unpacked. There's probably uniforms somewhere in your rooms. These are only temporary rooms until the higher-ups determine your star level. Anyway, the bell will ring in about… ten minutes? That's when the next class will start." He waved at them. "Bye!" Then he disappeared in a flash.

Maiko and Hoshino stared after him. "Wouldn't it have been easier if we teleported?" the boy mumbled as he opened the second door that Hareta had indicated. "Quicker too…"

Maiko knocked on her brother's head. "He wanted to show us around the school. Besides, we needed it. This place is huge." She motioned at the large hallway. "We'll probably still get lost later." Then she waved at her brother and slipped into the other room. She motioned at Anzu. "Come on, Anzu, what're you waiting for?" She smiled and tugged the raven-haired girl inside. "Aren't you hot in that jacket? It's so puffy!"

The wooden door shut quietly, and on the plaque, an invisible hand quickly engraved the characters for their names into the metal.

Hyuuga Anzu and Nogi Maiko—Elementary Branch


Anzu twirled in her knee-length red checkered skirt and touched the cool surface of the wardrobe mirror. A grin lit up her face. The white and black long sleeved shirt seemed to brighten up her hazel eyes. Her hair hung in an inky halo around her head, and barely brushed her shoulders. She laughed and fell backward onto one of the fluffy beds.

Across from her, Maiko ran her fingers through her dark brown shoulder-length hair, and smoothed the fabric of her skirt. She retied the black ribbon on the front of the shirt. Then she slipped off the bed and put her arms through the straps of a small, sheep shaped backpack, a gift from her mother, Hotaru.

She smiled a small smile and punched Anzu's shoulder gently. "We better get going," she said, her calm voice colored slightly with anxiety. "Don't want to be late."

The other girl tore her eyes from her reflection. "Yep!" she laughed, then swung a small, leather school bag onto one shoulder.

Maiko held the wooden door open for her, and she danced out cheerfully.

"Wonder what kind of people are in our class?" she sang out loud. Anzu skipped happily at Maiko's side. The hall was empty, but distantly there was the sound of numerous doors opening and closing.

The quiet girl pulled out a crisp map from the sheep on her back. It was extremely detailed, bordering on too detailed, and had been penned in blue ink. Straight lines criss-crossed all over the paper, but Maiko had no trouble finding where they were at. Anzu was definitely lost, however.

Maiko led them down a set of stairs, and they went down them easily. They needed to get to a class somewhere a few buildings over. The dormitories were quite far away from the Elementary Branch building…

Soon, they were outside, and Anzu shivered and looked at the sky. Some gray, forbidding clouds were now partially covering up the sun. She shuddered when a clump of snow flew up and touched the skin above her black boots. Maiko ignored the frigid wind and marched right up to the glass door of the Elementary Building. Warmth crept into Anzu's skin when the door closed behind them, and she sighed happily as she rubbed her hands together.

"Where to, now?" she asked the preoccupied girl excitedly. "Class B?"

The quiet girl shook her head, her nose still in the architectural map. "No. Class A."

Anzu's mouth dropped in disappointment. "What? But, Narumi-sensei is supposed to be the homeroom teacher of Class B. Did he lie?"

Maiko looked at her, though her sea blue eyes were distant. "He spoke the truth earlier. He didn't lie." She paused for a moment. "He may have changed classes over the years. Who knows." She continued to walk briskly down the hall, and Anzu jogged to keep up with her, fascinated.

"Hey, Maiko-chan," she said. "You never mentioned what your Alice was. Is it a Soothsaying Alice?"

The other girl shook her head. "I can feel other's emotions. If Narumi-sensei had lied, he would feel guilt," she said calmly. "I can also control peoples' feelings. Like this." She tapped on Anzu's forehead with her index finger. Irritation and annoyance swept throughout her body like a flame.

"Wha!" Anzu cried, and the feeling faded away. "Is that supposed to be how you feel right now? You meanie!"

"Hm," Maiko simply said, looking off in the other direction. A smile was on her pale pink lips.

Anzu stopped and put her hands on her hips. "You know," she said indignantly, "maybe I'll just go on ahead." Then she stomped ahead several meters.

Maiko's eyes widened a bit, and she stretched her hand out towards her. "Wait, Anzu!" she called. But her voice was too quiet. "I sense someone nearby…"

Anzu spun around for a glimpse of her as she rounded a corner. "Huh? What did you say?" she called back. She could hear rapid footsteps drumming the floor behind her.

She slowly turned around, and her heart stopped beating as she glanced into the icy, blue eyes of a running boy. Maiko's hand appeared out of nowhere and yanked her out of the way before they could collide. Anzu was thrown onto the ground hard. The footsteps quickly died away when the figure darted into another hall.

"Just barely made it," Maiko panted, her eyes wide.

The girl on the floor rubbed her bottom. "What was that for?" she sputtered. "He could've run out of the way."

The quiet girl shook her head furiously. "No, no," she said, waving her hands. "That boy… he was different. Hatred seemed to pour out of him…" she trailed off, and turned to stare at a dancing Anzu. "Um, what exactly are you doing?" she asked, bewildered. "Why do I get a feeling of ecstasy from you?"

Anzu giggled, her hands cupped around her face. "That boy! That figure! That face!" she squealed. Maiko froze, not knowing what to do. She turned toward her with sparkling eyes.

"Hayami Yuusuke!" she cried excitedly. She pointed at where the boy was before, her arms moving up and down repeatedly.

"Excuse me?" Maiko stammered. "Do you know someone here?"

Anzu shook her head furiously. "No," she laughed. Her cheeks were flushed. "Hayami is a character I made up with Okaa-san! We made up this story of a handsome telepath that helps people." She danced on the spot. "That boy looked like a younger version of him!" she said excitedly. "That face is just like the drawings we doodled on notebook paper. I can't wait to tell her!"

Just then, the bell rang and large wooden doors began to open. Students, around the same age as them, poured out of classrooms and chattered as they headed to their next class. Maiko spun around as students went around them, like a human river.

"Come on!" she said a bit louder, and grabbed Anzu's arm. She was still waddling in her daydreams of this Hayami character from a story.

She dragged her over to an open door labeled 'A' and tugged her friend inside. A teacher with short brown hair and small black eyes was about to leave the room.

"Oh," he said, looking down at them. "I've never seen your faces before. Are you the new students Narumi brought in today?"

They nodded wordlessly, and he looked relieved. "I see. Anyway, I'm Misaki-sensei. I'm in charge of the greenhouse near the Northern Woods. I also teach biology." He smiled warmly at them. "It was nice meeting you, but I've got to go to my next class…"

A wrinkled hand caught his shoulder, and a croaky voice came from behind the girls. "I'll take over from here, Misaki," said an older man with thinning brown hair that was streaked with grays and a pair of round spectacles balanced on his nose. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the girls. "Get moving," he barked at the other adult.

Misaki hurried away before receiving some backlash of the mysterious metal stick in the older man's hand, and he pushed the girls to the side and dropped his files on the front desk. Maiko pulled the reluctant Anzu toward him.

"Try not to make him angrier," she whispered into Anzu's ear. "Seems like he's angrier than usual today."

The teacher eyed them severely. "Are you the new students?" he asked in a croaky and hoarse voice. He thrust a clipboard in front of his face and scanned the list.

"Hmph," he said distastefully. "I see that you are the children of two different rebellious former students of mine."

Maiko stiffened, her eyes narrowing. Anzu froze.

He waved them away. "Don't make noise in my class," he said. "Or I'll declare you no-stars, just like your mother…" He glared at Anzu briefly, then buried his nose in his notes.

What a horrible man! she thought, very offended. Maiko coughed and whisked her away to the ledged seats in the back. They slid onto a ledge, and began to unpack their stuff.

"Okaa-san warned me about him," Anzu mumbled mutinously with a sharp pencil gripped in her hand. "Jinno-sensei's a mean, old fart that likes to zap his students with lightning." She looked disgusted as she slid a notebook out of her bag.

"Yes, my Okaa-san mentioned him a few times," Maiko said calmly. "Said the same thing as your mom, more or less."

A few students came into the room, quieted by the old teacher's twitching eyes. They hurried and sat down and began to prepare for class. Some girls' eyes lit up as they saw Anzu and Maiko among the empty tables.

A girl with wavy blonde hair and another with straight, boyish dark hair came up to them and curtsied. "Hello," said the blonde shyly. "I heard that we were having a few new students today. What are your names?"

Maiko smiled, and pointed at herself, then at the girl beside her. "Nogi Maiko and Hyuuga Anzu," she said calmly.

The blonde smiled in response. "I'm Maria, and this is Nakao," she laughed. The girl with the pixie cut giggled, but didn't say anything. "We both have Divination Alices, so if there's anything you'd like to know, just ask."

Happiness flitted across Anzu's face. "Oh, how cool!" she laughed, clapping her hands together in delight. "How do you go about seeing things?"

"Oh, we do lots of things: tarot cards, crystals, palm reading…" Maria trailed off with a giggle. "It's all very fun and confusing."

As they talked, more and more students flooded into the room. The classroom chattered without a thought for Jinno, who sat from afar and watched them with his eagle eyes.

A sudden thought occurred to Anzu, and she spoke up. "Um, Maria-chan, Nakao-chan, do you know a boy…?" She began to describe the running boy from earlier, and they looked taken aback.

"Oh, that's—"

"Yes, it's definitely him."

Nakao pointed at the open door, and the boy himself walked into the room. He settled into a seat in the back, and students edged a bit away from him in fear.

He had a slender build with a handsome but emotionless face, and his hair was a dark chocolate brown. Dark ringlets tufted over his ears and layered out. The bottom layer at the back of his head barely breached the nape of his neck. Long bangs hung on his forehead, covering his eyes. He had piercing light blue eyes that sent you chills if you looked into them. And around his neck was a foreboding, black ring that looked tight against the pale flesh of his neck.

Nakao motioned for everyone to put their heads closer. Her eyes flickered and saw into each person's frightened pair of eyes. "That boy is Naruse Kirio," she whispered. The name sounded eerie even among the loud ruckus from around the room. "Like his name suggests, he'll cut you if you come near him."

Maria nodded, and swallowed dryly. "He has the Ice Alice, and he's in the Dangerous Abilities class. He's always moody, and by himself. No one talks to him. He's a monster. He practices with Persona, the one who is in charge with outside affairs, every morning. I heard that they snatch passersby and use them as test subjects, like running targets."

That's so sad. And frightening. "Are you sure he doesn't have any friends?" Anzu whispered, her throat itching. "Someone to talk to?"

They both shook their heads. "He doesn't allow anyone to speak to him," Nakao said quietly. "I think a few brave upperclassmen tried once... They were all cut up and bloodied."

Maiko touched Anzu's shoulder and she jumped. "So much for your 'Hayami,"" she said, amused. Their secrecy dropped quickly, and they pulled their heads away from each other. "What a shame."

The other two girls looked confused. "'Hayami?'" they echoed. "What's that?"

Anzu puffed up her cheeks. "A story character…"

The bell chimed the beginning of class, and the noise died down in their throats as Jinno rose from his swivel chair and brandished his hand-fitted lightning rod.

What Anzu didn't know was that the boy named Naruse glared at the back of her dark-haired head…


Comment: Okay, a list of some clarifications…

-If you were confused, Hareta (the teenaged boy from the middle school branch that Anzu knew) is the son of shadow controller Tsubasa and doppelganger Misaki. ^-^

-Hareta means "sunny."

-Naruse Kirio. The "kiri" in Kirio means to cut, or is the sound of cutting something. Either one.

-Oh yeah, and Anzu means "apricot." ^-^ Hoshino means "(of the) stars," I think. Maiko is… something (shrugs).

Anyway, thanks for reading this chapter! Please review! (laughs)