Disclaimer: I do not own -man. Katsura Hoshino owns it.

The Heart of Life

Chapter 1. The Beginning of a Life

The black convertible drove up to the giant building. A sign in front of the building stated "ROSE-CROSS ACADEMY". Allen stared at the building. It seemed a bit over the top for a school. A giant castle-like building with a courtyard and at least six floors. A large, gothic gate marked the entrance. Allen felt his stomach churning. He was afraid that this school would be the same as the rest, cruel and heartless.

"Get out, idiot" Cross threw Allen his book bag. Allen slowly opened the door with his gloved hand.

"Take your time! It's not as if some of us have better things to do.," yelled the red haired man from the front seat.

Allen spastically and hurriedly jumped out in his black jacket and jeans before the convertible sped away with one of the doors ajar. Allen slung his book bag over his shoulder and made his way down the gravel path to the entrance. When he stood in front of the gate, he saw how truly over the top this building was. It reminded him of the Castles of Ireland book he'd read that summer in his free time. If this school was trying to imitate those castles then they had it down to a tee.

Something buzzed to the side of the gate.

"Who's there?" called a voice. Allen looked around for its source. A small box to the side of the gate buzzed again.

"Who's there?" It said in a slightly irritated voice.

"Um… this is Allen Walker. I'm a new student who just transferred today…" He said in a very unsure voice.

"Oh he~~~llo there!" Allen was taken aback at how cheerful the voice sounded. "Welcome to Rose Cross Academy or RCA as some like to call it. Come in! Come in! Can't have you tardy for your first day. Follow the signs to find the Office, please!" said the voice as the gates slowly opened for the boy.

Allen entered the place with caution. There were white signs with berets marking the way to the principal's office. Allen followed them until he found a door that had "Principal Lee" on a gold plaque. Allen turned the knob ever so lightly as to not disturb the people inside. He poked his head through the opening and saw a man with black hair and square glasses and a beret with a cup of coffee in his hand. The man wore a white jacket and a white shirt underneath as well as white pants to go with it.

"You must be Allen! Welcome! Come in!" said the man, cheerily. Allen made his way over to a seat in front of the desk the man was sitting at.

"I'm Komui Lee. Principal of this glorious school and brother of Lenalee Lee a student hear." he said as he held out his hand to Allen. Allen shook the man's hand and sat down in his seat.

"So… Allen was it?" Allen nodded. "This is your fifteenth school? Why so much trouble, if I may ask?" Komui asked looking at Allen's gloved hands and long sleeved jacket inquisitively.

"Um… well I'd rather not talk about it, sir. If you don't mind?" Allen said in a sort of disappointed murmur. Komui simply nodded.

"That's fine. I respect your privacy. Anyways I'll need you to fill out these forms by tomorrow" He handed Allen a small stack of formal documents. Then he lifted himself out of the chair and said slowly. "And I guess I'll have to guide you around the school since my dear Lenalee is busy at the moment."

He walked towards the door and turned the knob. "Come along please. " Allen quickly stuffed the papers into his book sack and chased after the man.

"Here's your schedule." He handed Allen a piece of paper. It stated:

1st period ArtFroi Tiedoll

2nd period Math Kevin Yeager

3rd period English Claude Nine

4th period P.E. Sakalo Winters

5th period Biology Reever Wenham

6th period Music Sheryl Camelot

"I presumed that you might like art and music for your electives. You can change them if you like," He said as he looked back at Allen. Allen shook his head.

"Great."

They first stopped at a door with a plaque that stated "Professor Froi Tiedoll".

"This is your first period class," Komui said as he pointed to the door. "You report here after the first bell in the morning which rings at 7:00 a.m. sharp. Professor Tiedoll is a very laid back professor so you won't have to worry about him too much."

They proceeded to the next class. They came to a door with an old plaque, that looked much worn out, with "Professor Kevin Yeager" engraved in it.

Komui whispered, "Professor Yeager is our oldest professor here at RCA. He is also the most generous and kind. He understands anyone. He is very strict on manners, so please conduct yourself carefully in his class. Alright on with the tour."

They went threw a number of other doors and rooms. Some being the mess hall, the gym, and the music room off to the side of the RCA building.

A bell rang as soon as they had finished the tour.

"That's your bell for 4th period. Remember the Gym is right next to my office. Be careful around Coach Winters. Bye and Good Luck." Allen stood there confused as to where he was supposed to go. He followed the signs again and got to the Gym in five minutes flat. Allen ran into the gym hoping he wasn't late. The bell rang just as he entered the threshold of the gym. Sakalo watched as the white haired boy scrambled across the floor.

"Hey You! Come here!" yelled the Coach. He was a bit scarier than Allen had imagined. He was very muscular, very tall and very mean looking.

"What's your name kid?" He yelled.

"Allen Walker, sir." Allen said exhaustedly.

"Allen…Walker." Sakalo scrolled the clipboard in his hand. "I don't have an Allen Walker here. Are you new or something?" The man asked.

"Yes sir. I just started today sir." Allen answered

"Well. Welcome to Gym Class… or Hell as some like to call it." He looked over to the students in the bleachers who quickly looked away.

"First of all, Allen, we need to get you a P.E. uniform." Said Winters, as he looked Allen up and down. "Second, we need you to take off your jacket." Said Sakalo as he pointed to the boys black jacket.

"But sir I-"

"No buts, take it off." Sakalo said in a half-raised voice. All the kids looked over.

Allen sighed in defeat and slowly began unzipping his black jacket. He revealed a red, long-sleeved shirt with a checkerboard design on the front. He had gone through this process before with gym teachers and had discovered a way to avoid having to show his arm. The longer he kept it hidden the better. And if that meant suffering a little heat then he would.

"Next time leave the jacket off. And what's with the gloves?" Sakalo asked.

"Um…I have a skin condition on my hand," Allen said quickly.

Sakalo raised his black eyebrow. Then shook his head. "Yeah, yeah. And third we don't allow weird dyed hair colors."

"Sir this is my real hair color." Allen whispered

Winters shook his head at Allen in defeat. "Oh hell, just go see Johnny for your P.E. uniform measurements." He pointed to a scrawny looking kid, with glasses two sizes too big for him. The boy had brown messy hair and earphones on his head, which seemed to have no purpose other than decoration. He wore a yellow t-shirt and cargo pants tucked into some combat boots. In his hand, he carried a measuring tape and a clipboard. Allen went over to the boy.

The boy looked up from his clipboard "Hi there. I'm Johnny Gill, the treasurer of the Student Council. And you are…?" said Johnny as he pushed up his glasses.

"Allen. Allen Walker. I just started today." Allen replied as he nodded slightly to the boy.

"Well it's nice to meet ya! Welcome to RCA. Let's see…" He looked Allen up and down but didn't say anything about Allen's "features". "You need a uniform, so lets get measuring." he started to unravel the measuring tape in his hand. "Do you want long sleeves or short? Though that's kind of a stupid thing to ask since its Aug- "

"Long sleeve please." Allen interrupted quickly.

"Are you sure about that? It's almost 80 degrees outside." Johnny asked confusedly.

"I'm sure. Believe me.," Allen said as he threw down his backpack and turned around for Johnny to measure him. The messy haired boy measured Allen's chest, shoulders, neck, waist and arms. Allen let out a tiny yelp as Johnny applied pressure to his arm.

"Sorry." He apologized quickly. "I'm sort of new at this measuring thing." Allen slightly let out a sigh of relief that Johnny hadn't noticed his arm.

"Okay! I think that'll do it.," he said as he backed away and wrote down one last thing on his clipboard. He examined his work and looked up at Allen. "We'll have your uniform by next week I suppose. You can wear whatever you want for P.E. until then, as long as it applies to school rules, of course. "Allen lightly brushed off his jeans and shirt.

"Thanks…Johnny." Allen held out his gloved hand.

"You're Welcome." Johnny shook his hand and then whispered. "I'd hurry and get your seat before Coach Winters calls you out." Allen let go and grabbed his book sack and jacket. He waved to Johnny as he ran over to the bleachers.

As he climbed the bleachers, he could see the looks he was getting. As if white hair was enough of a gimmick, he had a face long scar over his left eye. He stopped at a corner seat at the very tip-top of the bleachers. Just then, Sakalo yelled.

"Alright you wimps! Get dressed and get ready for your Physical Fitness test." Allen sighed to himself. After climbing all those steps, he had to descend to the bottom of the bleachers.

He threw down his jacket and book bag and made his way outside the door. A huge track filled the large open area behind the school. All of the equipment, including inside the gym looked almost brand new. Had Cross actually gotten him into a decent school?

Allen shook his head a bit to get the thought out of his mind. Someone pushed him out of the way. A tall, muscular, scary-looking kid with long black hair pulled into a ponytail, looked back at Allen with a look that could kill. Allen looked shocked as the boy walked towards the track. Then a tall redheaded boy came out from behind Allen and put an arm around Allen's shoulders.

"Don't worry he does that to every new kid." The boy said excitedly. "I'm Lavi. It's a strange name right? It means Lion in Hebrew. Anyways, what's your name?" Lavi asked as he stared at Allen inquisitively.

"Allen…Allen Walker." He said unsurely.

"Well it's nice to meet ya Allen! That over there," he said as he pointed to the longhaired boy "Is Yu. But don't call him that unless you want to lose some teeth. He goes by Kanda. Just don't talk to him." Then he noticed Allen's hair and scar. "Oh is that your real hair or did you dye it? Where'd you get that scar? Was it an accident?" Allen looked down in shame at his hand. Allen nodded.

"Yeah… an accident."

Lavi got the drift not go any further in this conversation and decided to join Kanda and crowd on the edge of the track. Allen joined the group of students.

"Okay people, it's time for your PFE or Physical Fitness Examinations. You do a couple of tests and we all go to our next class happy. If not," Sakalo paused. "You will all be doing push ups until the buses come, three hours from now." The class took this time to sigh and huff and puff about what the teacher had said.

"Let's start with the newest addition to RCA. Allen Walker. Get up here."

Allen stepped up out of the crowd. "Yes sir."

"Run the track one time as fast as you can. You average time should be 12-12.5 seconds if not then you are one sorry piece of work. Got it?" Allen nodded.

Allen stepped onto the track and got in a ready position for running.

"On your mark, get set, GO!" Winters yelled. Allen took off like lightning. He ran all around the track until Winters yelled "Time!"

"Good Job Newbie! 9.99 seconds. Not bad." Allen let out a sigh of relief. He exhaustedly made his way over to the crowd again.

A few more people did the track test though none scored as high as Allen did, before the class ended. Allen hated the attention of winning something or being good at something. It made him feel like everyone had a jealous eye on him. Saying "I wish I were you" was something, Allen cringed at . They had no idea what his life was like. If they did then they would have chosen their words more wisely.

Allen looked at his schedule. Wenham for Biology. Allen stared at the school pondering where Komui had said Reever's class was. Just then, someone grabbed the paper from behind him.

"You have Reever's class next. I could show you how to get there?" Allen looked back and saw a girl with long ebony hair and violet eyes. She wore a pink t-shirt over a white tank top. A plaid blue skirt skimmed the top of her knees with some small dainty, black flats.

"Allen?" She waved her hand in front of his face. He shook his head exiting the trance. "That is your name, right?" She asked.

"Y-yes. How did you know?" Allen asked confused.

"Oh sorry. I'm Lenalee Lee. I was supposed to take you around the school this morning but I forgot all about a major test in English. Sorry about leaving you with my brother. He's a bit of a handful." She said quickly as she held out her dainty hand to him. He slowly but surely took it.

"So um… Reever's Class." Allen reminded the girl.

"Oh right, follow me." The whole walk she never asked him about his hair or scar. She never asked why he was wearing gloves in August. She just talked about how the day was and what Reever's class was like and how she couldn't believe Allen had made it to the finish line in 9.99 seconds. She suggested he get into the track team. She even said she was on it. Allen just kept listening to her voice and staring at her. It was the first a girl hadn't questioned him on stuff like that or even ridiculed him for the fact that he wore white silk gloves in every season. Allen thought quietly to himself.

'I might like this school after all'

"Okay this is Reever's class. I'll see you in Professor Camelot's class. It's right out that door." she pointed to the double doors at the end of the hall. "Bye." She ran down the hall leaving Allen at the door to his next class.

The rest of the day passed without any complications. He met with Lenalee after Biology. Music class was okay, though Professor Camelot seemed not too fond of Allen. The bell rang around 2:30.

The students left on buses and vehicles. Allen solemnly walked alone. Cross never picked Allen up. He never even cared if the boy made it back home. One time Allen left the house for two days straight. The white-haired boy came back, wet and beaten. It was one of the five times he had tried to kill himself. But Cross never even asked one question.

Allen didn't care anymore though. He just walked. Walking let him think about things. Observe things. He liked to appreciate things people took for granted. Anything small or big seemed to be precious and wonderful to him except for himself. But some people would never understand that.

Allen felt a small raindrop hit his head. He quickly pulled on his jacket and started to run. He got to a little patch of dry covering to wait the rain out. Then he saw a couple of thugs walking the street. He nonchalantly tried walk past them but they made an impenetrable wall of muscles and fists.

"Hey punk. You got some cash you'd like to share with us?" said the shortest of the two

"None that I liked to share with idiots like you." Allen said under his breathe.

The tallest one grabbed a fist full of Allen's shirt. "Was that supposed to be an insult you little punk?" Then he punched Allen in the gut and took Allen's bag. He dumped the bag and his jacket, but didn't find anything to his liking.

"Since you ain't got nothing to pay for your little outburst we're gonna give you a beating as payment." The shortest one kicked Allen in the gut and the tallest slugged him in the face. Then one pulled Allen by his hair.

Just then, Allen heard a voice.

"Leave him alone!" The person who had hold of Allen let go of him. He hit the concrete with a bang. He could feel himself slowly fading. He heard one final thing before he lost consciousness. The sound of fast beat footsteps, getting dimmer and dimmer. Then he slowly let the world fade to black as the rain soaked his beaten body.

A/N: So this chapter took me a while. Primarily because I'm very lazy. Sorry! Anyways Comment, Criticize. Whatever you like. I know I probably made a few typos but please bear with me. Alright! Until next week. Bye! R&R

~Oracle of Delphi~