Well, I got another review on the last chapter—and this one was, like, within a couple hours of posting! As such, I've starting writing this next chapter the same day as when I posted the last, something I almost never do—though I suppose I should be at least starting the next two installments of "Shadowy Light"…

Well, how about I let you guys decide! Please, when you get the chance, go to the poll on my profile and vote on which storyline you'd like to see me spend more time on: this one, Marluxia/Larxene, Axel/Roxas, or Demyx. Thanks! Now, back to our program…

If only the first day could be kinder…as most new students will tell you, the first day can make or break the rest of your socio-academic career. It's all about presentation. Come to school in a leather jacket, jeans, and a bad attitude, and you'll be feared and respected. Come to school with a sports jacket and a trophy, and you'll be worshiped and adored. And if you come to school with a giant wooden stick and an overflowing book bag…well, Ienzo didn't exactly set the best of first impressions.

"Monsieur, what on earth are you bringing into my classroom?"

"Umm…" He hadn't even sat down yet, so he had no choice but to comply when the spindly French teacher crooked a wrinkled finger to summon him to her desk. She sat in her rolling chair, waiting impatiently for him to explain, but he couldn't—he just wrung his hands around the staff and prayed for a miracle. "Well, I…"

"Oh, Madame Cousteau! I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce you!"

Saved by the bell…or rather, he thought, saved by Kairi and her impeccable timing. Obviously she would be better at getting through to this Ms. Cousteau—the old lady's stony face finally softened once she saw the girl bounding up to them.

"Ahh, my dear! Welcome back Kairi, I'm so glad you decided to continue your studies in French. You were one of my best students last year!"

Almost on command, Kairi blush a bright red, dipped her head, and curtsied. "Thank you, Madame. This is my friend, Ienzo." She reached around to grab his shoulder—and shake it just enough to loosen the death-grip he'd kept on the staff. "He just transferred here from our new sister school. I'm sure you've heard of it: Radiant Academy?"

Of all the brown-nosing schemes…and yet the lady was eating it up, like Kairi's word was gospel. "Oh yes, of course! Bienvenue, Ienzo, we are so pleased to have you here!"

"Yes, we're happy to have him too...although, as his ambassador to Destiny High, I do need to tell him about his condition…" Seriously, ambassador? Condition? Since when did Kairi have such an imagination?

"Oh? What condition?"

"Well, his weak bones. I don't remember what it's called, something medical…but the point is his body is very fragile. He's already broken his feet…how many times, Ian?"

"Uhh…a lot?"

"Right, a lot, so he needs his walking stick with him all the time—in case he hurts himself again."

Ienzo knew that it was a fairly flimsy excuse—he'd studied many such disorders back home, most patients required medical tags and leg braces and far more assistance than he had present—but still, Kairi could do no wrong by this woman!

"Oh I'm so sorry, my dear! Go, go, sit down, you'll have nothing to worry about from me. Enjoy your first day!" She waved them away, and they certainly didn't need to be told twice—the two kids made a break for the nearest desks.

"So…do I get a thank you?"

The little minx! Ienzo was still processing the fact that he wasn't in any trouble, while Kairi already had her feet outstretched and her hands back behind her head! "I…I'm sorry…You're a Princess of Light?"

"Yep. Not a drop of darkness in me."

"And yet…" He smiled back at her. "…you are evil."

"Hey, I do what I can. But you do owe me an explanation on that stick…"

And then, Madame Cousteau stood up and spewed some unintelligible French commands, signaling the beginning of class.

The rest of the day broke done into a very similar pattern—after running between classes to observe the different colors he could find, Ienzo would meet with his next teacher, either explain his "condition" to them or call Kairi over to do so for him, and sit down to the droning of administrative forms and classroom expectations. The stigma that came with the stick actually wasn't as bad as he thought it would be…at least the teachers knew enough to leave it alone after Kairi was through with them. Still, the other students didn't take to his oddity very kindly…the ones that didn't stare ignored him completely.

Eh, who cared? Ienzo had always been the loner, and if he couldn't change that on the first day, he wasn't going to push the issue anymore than he had to. Besides, he still had the Book of Retribution with him—give him that and a solid pencil, and he could probably spend hours just jotting down random notes.

So that's what he did the whole day—as soon as he made sure no one around him was going to bother him, he pulled out Retribution and wrote about everything he had seen that day. By the time he reached his last class, Chemistry, he had committed to paper quite a collection of observations on the colors:

Red: Anger, obviously. Mostly liquid-looking, very few solid manifestations. Always acidic? Produces heat, found mostly near eyes, chest, stomach. Location in person important? Disappears when combined w/blue

Orange:? A lot of girls, though age group may make unreliable. Compact, stays in place relative to person, draws in other colors. Consumes colors? Requires closer look…Pompousness? Pride?

Yellow: Seems split: one=fear, other=malice? Intimidation? Definite difference between them in behavior/shape/state. "Fear" is always non-solid, more energy/electrical. Passes between hearts easily—contagious? Some around head/shoulders (physical tension result?), others run along arms, especially if person is mobile. Other one solid, acts like green, or red. Usually directed at other person/thing. Colder.

Green: Most common by far, around head/arms/hands. Exists longest outside of set heart. Most stable, always liquid or solid, forms definite shapes. Maybe represents idle brain activity? Non-emotional thought? Most active when person is working to/on something…actions of person correlate to movements of green.

"Blue": Sky-blue most accurate description. Less common, but very bright in comparison. In head only. Always seen w/green color, disappears when combined w/red color .Happiness?

"Indigo": dark blue, bluish-purple. Apparently least common? None detected beside self—indigo maybe not detect other indigo?—except Kairi held some…requires closer look.

Violet: Most prevalent when object of desire is near, i.e. Kairi and Sora. Most likely love/infatuation? Dissolves into gas-like state when object of desire is not present, fades/shrinks/lessens after prolonged separation.

Green can survive outside heart entirely, other colors must transfer directly from person to person/group. How? Why?

"Alright everyone, who doesn't have a lab partner?"

"…What?" Ienzo had been in the middle of pondering his last few notes when he looked up and realized…everyone else was gone. Well, not gone gone, but he was the only one still sitting in a desk—the rest were sitting at black slate lab tables around the room, looking at him and wondering who was the freak sitting all by himself. Panicking, he jolted up and scanned the room to find Sora and Kairi—this was the only class they all had together, they'd look out for each other—but the teacher came up to him before he got the chance to run.

"Ahh, Mr. Ienzo, is it? It looks like you're the only student left without a lab partner…" The teacher, a middle-aged man in a lab coat whose hair was starting to grey at the temples, looked down at his attendance sheet and tapped the paper with his pen. "It looks like I'll have to assign you to a group of three at random. Now, where to put you…"

No…it was one thing to have class with and suffer the silence of these kids—the last thing he needed was to have to be forced to talk with them! It was a direct relationship—the more awkwardness between him and his peers, the more distance was needed between them. He wanted to cry out against this injustice, just ask to be put with Sora and Kairi and let it be done…when suddenly, without any warning, a new, peculiar-looking student practically punched the door open and ran into the center of the room.

He was short—not a nice thing for Ienzo to think, but seeing as most people were half a head taller than him, it was reassuring for him to know that he wasn't alone in that department. Still, once he got past that, he saw that the new guy must have been really athletic. While his arms and legs were still proportional to his tiny frame, the muscles on this guy looked as if they were carved out of his skin. Just looking at him, Ienzo started going through all the different names of muscles and thinking of how he could find each one on this kid just on the shape alone…though he had the good sense to shut that train of thought down before it got him in trouble. Ugh, if he could just get a look at his face…he had bent over to catch his breath, and all Ienzo could make out was the neat matt of brown hair which, despite its attempt at normalcy, still wound up spiked at the ends. Still, something about him was off…but what…?

"Mr. Atari! Late, as usual…though I don't remember finding you on my attendance list this year."

He finally stood up straight, showing off a flashy smile and bright blue eyes. "Yeah, about that Mr. Gingrich…they transferred me into your class last minute. Yeah, yeah, I'm as shocked as you. Think you've got room for me?"

What a perfect case of karmic justice—the chemistry teacher couldn't hide the way he gripped his clipboard with every syllable of this new guy's peppy chatter. Ienzo had hide his face behind Retribution to hide the laughter creeping up on him, though the rest of the class was a little less polite. What he wouldn't have given to know what kind of history these two must have had…the kid certainly looked the part of the rebellious kid.

That's what looked so peculiar about him! Everyone else was wearing the uniform, but this sandy-looking guy had taken the limits given and stretched them about as far as he could. The legs of his khakis were rolled up to his knees (showing off some great calves—no, stop that!), and he'd added a beige vest to the outfit. Well, at least he was able to look good in his rebellion…

"Ahh, Mr. Atari…a pleasure, as always. As much as I'd love to turn you away, you've actually just solved a problem for once. Here…" He pushed Ienzo up to the guy. "…this is your new lab partner. Now sit down until the end of class."

And so he left them there…a scrawny little boy, hiding behind his overgrown head of steel hair, and this cut-out from a Lord of the Flies film. For reasons he didn't dare mention to anyone else for years to come, Ienzo made the most awkward first-move of his life—he stuck his hand out for a handshake. "H-Hello. My name is Ienzo."

The other kid looked down at the hand, cocked his head to the side to see if Ienzo was serious…then chuckled and shook the hand back. "…Well, hey, I'm Tidus. Welcome to Chemistry."

He could have died.

BAM! Didn't see that one coming, did you? I swear, I don't know where I get these ideas, but that one came out of nowhere, and I just thought, "Why not?". Let me know what you guys think—I'm debating how big a role Tidus should have, but if you guys like him, I'll keep him!

Please review. I like reviews. They just look so nice when they pop up on my email, they put a smile on my face—even the anonymous ones (thanks for last chapter's, whoever you are!)