"Today, humanity celebrates the victory the knights of Belder achieved fighting the demons in the south region of Ranox, gaining terrain against…"

The TV was airing a special news report; however nobody in the room was paying too much attention. Ciel and Raven were both sitting on their beds. Raven was leaning against the wall dozing off while Ciel sat with legs crossed. Lu was sitting between Ciel's legs, with hers bent, giving her a place to rest her head as she listlessly watched TV. There was a faint white smoke floating in the room, as well as a soft scent of weed.

"Hey Raven, you're going out?" Ciel asked, seeing his roommate getting up.

"I have business with the others today."

Saying nothing more he left the room, leaving the other two alone. A few minutes tick by before Lu turned off the TV and spun herself to face Ciel. She smiled at him. Ciel saw Lu's eyes looking at him through half-lidded eyes. A vague smile on her face revealed how high she was.

"Ciel, let's do that."

Ciel rolled his eyes, already knowing what that "that" means. He couldn't say he disliked it, but it was something else that bothered him; something more. Lu rested on his chest waiting for him to answer. He reached the already lit joint that was resting on an ashtray; a forbidden item to have within the dorms walls. He took a long drag. The smooth smoke filled his mouth giving him a warm sensation. He held it in his and leaned towards Lu. She came closer, her lips less than a centimeter away from Ciel's. He released the smoke in a soft blow, while Lu inhaled it. It was for less than a second, but their lips did touched, neither objected. Lu leaned back letting the smoke flow out of her nose before finally blowing it away. The smoke rose to the ceiling forming a circle and dispersing.

Lu let out a small laugh before snatching the joint from Ciel's hands and taking a drag. It was Ciel's turn now. He waited for her to fill her lungs and leaned forward. She came near again. There was a scent in the air that didn't belong to the weed that Ciel picked up. It was a sweet scent that Ciel easily identified as the fruits shampoo Lu used. Lu lips opened and puffed the smoke at Ciel. She was so near that Ciel could feel the warm of her breath. It was enticing, tempting. He leaned a bit more against her. In the little time that exchange lasted, their lips touched again. Lu pulled back, but Ciel waited in the same position. Lu looked at him waiting for him releasing the smoke. But he instead leaned against Lu. The smoke escaped his lips as he reach for Lu's. This time they weren't simply touching. It was an actual kiss. Ciel froze the moment he felt the soft wet lips against his. Unsure of what to do next.

However his chance flew away when Lu suddenly pulled away coughing.

"Damn it, I swallow a bit." She said between coughs.

Ciel fell back on his mattress. None of this was out of the ordinary. Lu didn't seem to care about him kissing her. Worse. She didn't seem to realize that was even a kiss. It was always like that. Every time they were high and alone, she would want to do stuff like that with him. She usually says that it's more fun, but for Ciel it was started becoming more of a tease, no; a torture. To have access to Lu's sweet and soft lips yet not to being able to actually kiss her. Or like this time, kissing her, but not receiving. Ciel closed his eyes in frustration about it. He felt a pressure on his chest. Lu was leaning over him.

"Ciel, are you ok? It'd be bad if you sleep right now." Lu said.

Ciel rose again. He embraced Lu, she expectantly looked at him. This day Ciel wanted to make the same bet than the other days. He got his face close to Lu's, maintaining eye contact at any moment. He wanted to make sure his intent was clear. Lu still didn't move an inch. Nothing out of the ordinary. He kissed her.

The kiss was plain, Lu wasn't resisting it, but she wasn't reciprocating it either. She merely let her lips be caressed by Ciel. He continued to embrace her until she finally moved her hands to grab Ciel by the wrists and pull away.

"It's ok to have some fun Ciel, but let's stop here." She said, standing up and sitting in Raven's bed.

Ciel didn't say anything. He collapsed again in his bed. Not looking at Lu, with his eyes fixed on the roof, he waited for the next thing she was going to say. It was something he already knew, since she would usually say it.

The Elshard on Lu's pocket made a ringing sound. She quickly pulled it out and an holoscreen displayed a written message.

"Alright, I got to go Ciel. My boyfriend already finished training. It was fun, I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that she rushed out of the room.

"Why did you even come in the first place?" Ciel asked to himself while he pressed under his eyes, feeling a headache coming on.


"Alright, now it's your turn to attempt the experiment. Remember what I taught you just now and follow the steps carefully"

A small dog-like creature in a white lab coat presided over chemistry class. His students began rushing to form groups of two or three to reproduce the experiment they just saw. The teacher jumped off his stool and roamed the class with notebook in hand.

Ciel was standing alone, waiting for someone to join his experiment. Of course it'd be Lu who was the first person who came along.

"So, what did mister bow wow tell us to do this time." She said as she yawned with a tiny tear showing on the corner of her eye.

Lu wiped a tear and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"To combine the reactive in the flask A with the catalyst on flask B, and use another reactive to stop the reaction while observing the outcome." Ciel said.

Lu sighed as she let herself drop on her seat. She looked totally exhausted. Her eyes were also red and her skin looked a bit pale.

"What's with you today? Are you hungover?" Ciel asked while pouring a flask of blue liquid into a bigger glass.

"Oh nothing it's just that I couldn't sleep well." She asked, averting her eyes.

Grail came close and observed how the experiment was going. Lu tried pretending she was the one observing the outcome by taking some notes about it. She was lucky that Grail didn't check the notes since she could only manage to make gibberish on the paper.

"You're really in bad shape. Just go home, I'll cover you somehow." Ciel said.

"No, I'm alright, I want to be here."

It was weird because it literally looked like she would rather be anywhere but the chemistry class. Ciel stared at her. She wasn't her usual self. Acting lazy and not caring about class was normal on her. But being so quiet and calm was bad news. He wondered if she was ill, or if there was some other problem.

"Mister Grail. I'm not feeling alright. I think I have a migraine. Could I go to the infirmary to get some kind of painkiller?" Ciel asked out loud.

Grail looked at him and without saying anything he motioned for the door.

"Just in case, can my partner accompany me?" Ciel added pointing at Lu.

"Yeah, whatever, just go and don't waste any time in the hallway." Grail said before resuming his observation of the class.

The two of them exited the classroom and headed to the infirmary, at least until they were out of sight. They were in the corridor that lead to the fire exit, so there wouldn't be anyone walking over there. Lu dropped herself against the wall and curled in a ball, hiding her face between her knees. Ciel watched her, waiting for some kind of explanation.

"Did something happen yesterday?" Ciel asked.

"I'm not ready!" Lu shouted.

Ciel flinched. It took a bit for him to realize what Lu was talking about. "Ready for what?" he thought. Lu stared at him as if she was expecting him to say something, then hid her face between the knees again. Ciel tried to recall. He was sure something had to have happened yesterday with her boyfriend. Who was he called again? Lento or something like that. He was a good looking guy with nothing but birds in his head, and a weird strong desire to join the army.

"Did Lento… make you do something?" Ciel asked, carefully choosing his words.

"Ciel. I don't need you being an idiot, too. He wanted us to do it, what else would it be?" Lu said at the same time she crossed her legs and wrapped her arms around them.

"He didn't force you into it right?" Ciel asked.

"Of course not. I wouldn't allow him to do such a thing. But…"

"But?" Ciel asked, leaning against her.

"He's being an ass about it. He says that if we don't do it he will break up with me." Lu explained.

"What the hell? Just toss him away, why do you even bother with-"

"It's not that I don't want to do it" Lu interrupted.

Ciel shut up. He couldn't believe the words that just went out of Lu's mouth. She wanted it? Ciel was fully aware that Lu never did it with anyone. So did she want to do it with that asshole?

"But I can't. I'm not ready, and to top it off, he's just acting stupid. It's not that a big deal, if he was so desperate he could work himself out in his bedroom…" Lu continued.

"Don't do it with that guy." Ciel said.

"Huh? Why not? It's not like he's ugly or something…"

"Because I don't want you to do it with him."

Lu remained silent. She waited for Ciel to continue, but instead Ciel turned and left.

"Grail said not to take long; lets head back." He said.

The way back was really awkward. None of the two spoke a single word. Grail looked annoyed by their late arrival so he asked them both to write a report about the experiment instead after class was dismissed. Lu followed Ciel until they reached the entrance; there he headed to the male dorm while Lu went towards the training field. Ciel looked back to see her in the distance, with the light of the sunset he could only see two black figures meeting with each other. He punched a near pillar in a rage fit, catching the attention of Raven who was nearby.

"Hey dude, you ok?" Raven asked getting close to him.

"Heh, of course. Where are all of you going?" Ciel replied.

Right beside Raven, a group of black dressed, threatening students gathered. They all wore a long black coat over their student uniform. They eyed Ciel briefly.

"We have some work to do. Well I guess you'll be happy since you can spend all evening with that girl." Raven said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ciel said, turning to leave.

Raven got back at his group at the same time Elesis arrived. Ciel entered the dorms and rushed to his room avoiding everyone in sight. Once there he collapsed on his mattress.

"I have still an hour until she comes here… that's if she comes today." Ciel thought to himself.


Elesis lead her group to the main gates of the academy grounds. Everyone walked at a fast pace, looking in every direction, with their hands tucked inside their coats. Upon arriving at the gates, a man dressed in blue uniform stopped them.

"Halt. Where are all of you going?" The man asked.

"We are just going out with our friends." Elesis answered.

"With so many?" The man asked not convinced.

"I have a lot of friends." She answered again.

He looked at the group behind her. It didn't take much to realize they weren't exactly the friendly looking types.

"Come on man, you're fucking ruining our weekend. Just step aside and get back to your pointless work." Elesis said, pushing aside the man.

"Wait! You have to tell me where you will be until you came back."

The group didn't answer. They went outside and kept going deep into the city center. The street they were walking along was a wide avenue with a four lane road and a trolley car in the center. They rushed to catch the trolley on the move and occupied the empty seats.

"All right guys. We are going to have a little `chat´ with the trash from South High technical school. I hope you all came prepared for it." Elesis said looking at the group.

After that she went to the rear and stayed outside. Raven joined her.

"I hope the info you got isn't made up." Elesis commented.

"I can assure you it's not. In about an hour, the gang from South High would met in the abandoned loading stand. After that they'll be receiving the package." Raven said, lowering his voice to a whisper.

Elesis punched the railing, bending it.

"Fuck that scum of South High. They not only dare to enter our territory; they want to bring their shit with them!" Elesis said with rage.

"We'll crush them and kick them out of the neighborhood." One of the group's members said, hearing Elesis.

Everyone else agreed. Good thing the automated trolley was empty. They rode it until they reached a street filled with abandoned buildings. That street used to be Altera's main industry node, but as Altera grew more populated not only by Nasod, the pollution the factories caused was starting to be a problem, so most companies were transferred to the outskirts or the surface. Now all that remained were abandoned sheds with broken crystals.

This was a hotspot for criminals and poor people alike, so the street wasn't frequented by normal citizens. Elesis raised her hand and her group split in smaller packs. They knew where they would be, after all; the entire place was one of many playgrounds for Elesis' gang.

The target was a green painted shed. Not very tall, but surrounded for a large wall that covered a wide area. The place was big to allow heavy transports in and out. Elesis climbed the wall and looked over. There she saw their enemies: the students of the South High technical school. They named themselves "The Banthus bane". And as if it wasn't enough with the name, the Banthus guy was a really egocentric guy who was always causing trouble to everyone else. However, it was really weird for people from another school to mess in the affairs of Elesis gang, since every band on the city already learned to fear them.

They were loading some big crates onto a truck that was waiting there.

"Any sign of the providers?" Raven asked from the ground.

"Nope, there are only pigs here." Elesis answered.

"Lets storm the place then." Raven said, heading with his group through the main gate.

Elesis followed her friend and made a signal for everyone to enter. They rushed through the unwatched frontal gate at the same time the others jumped over the wall. The Banthus guy's realize they were being assaulted and left the crates to confront the threat. In mere seconds, a big battle had begun. Students from Empress Academy outnumbered the ones from the South. It was going to be an easy victory, until some reinforcements arrived.

"I see the preppies showed up." A loud voice called.

Elesis stopped hitting an already defeated opponent to look at the newcomer. It was a tall and very muscular guy. With light brown hair and an eye patch. He was wearing South High uniform, which consisted on a white t-shirt and brown jeans. But to Elesis concern, he was carrying a massive sword like weapon. It looked like a sword sheathed in leather. Not only him, but other students from his group carried other weapons ranging from baseball bats to knives.

"Well, if it's South High most uncivilized pig." Elesis responded.

"Get your asses out of here if you don't want to die, you brats." He demanded.

"Do you think you're going to get away with this, Banthus?" Elesis said, right before charging in.

The battle intensified. Elesis allies were also hiding their own weapons under their coats. The leader of South High group targeted Elesis directly. He swung his huge sword fast enough to hit Elesis. But to his surprise Elesis didn't back away, she threw her fist at Banthus's face, forcing him to backstep away in time to avoid losing his teeth.

He kept swinging his sword, not allowing Elesis to come near. However she was agile enough to avoid any other hit. She waited for Banthus next swing, and she attacked with a kick, however this time the target was his wrist. Banthus felt a sharp pain in his arm as he dropped the sword. He realized after looking at the place Elesis had hit that his wrist may have been broken.

Elesis didn't waste time and threw a straight punch to Banthus face, this one connected and throwing him into the ground. She kneeled on top of him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, planting her fist into his face again and again. He tried to move his arms but Elesis legs were right on top of them. Elesis was so distracted with his face, that she didn't see another student charging against her, knocking her on the ground. The student however was immediately caught by Raven's mechanical claw, and thrown with enough force to fly a great distance before crashing into a wall.

Elesis got up and went back at Banthus, he was already up and this time was able to defend himself, landing a well placed punch to Elesis's jaw. It didn't stopped her for long, since she returned fire, burying her fist into Banthus's gut. He keeled over in pain just to let Elesis grab him around the neck and knee him on the chest making him fell on his knees. Elesis took the chance to elbow him on the back.

Banthus dropped on the ground to be kicked by Elesis. His fellow fighters fleeing after seeing their leader defeated.

"Alright, that's it for you." Elesis said, wiping the blood from her mouth.

She said that, but everyone remaining there was in really bad shape. She herself had a cut in her lips and a bleeding nose. She let her group catch their breaths for a while. Banthus lied there, half conscious.

"Ok, lets grab the loot and zoom out." Elesis shouted.

They all got the crates and started opening them. Elesis was excited about seeing the contents until Raven finally was able to tore the crate open with his claw. The content was nothing but a lot of pirated DVDs.

"What the fuck is this shit?" Elesis said, looking at the other crates just to see similar contents.

She rushed to Banthus and turned him face up with a kick.

"You, scumbag; where is the wine?" Elesis shouted at him.

He didn't answer. Only then Elesis realized.

"Shit, we got tricked!" Elesis said.

They leaved everything there, included Banthus; and rushed back to the academy. They didn't ride the trolley this time. They were walking at such fast pace that everyone in the street had to move aside for them to pass. They were fixing their injuries on the move using a variety of health potions. Soon they stood in the Academy gates, only to found a pair of students. Elesis told her group to go to the dorms without her, and went to approach the two persons waiting. They were Aisha and Eve. The sub-president and the president of the student council.

"Good evening ladies." Elesis said as she approached them.

"Cut the shit talk, grunt." Aisha said.

Elesis stared at her surprised. Aisha's bad mood was famous amongst the students, however, next to her, Eve just stared at Elesis with a perfectly balanced face. She wasn't sure if Eve was angry, happy or bored. Most likely the last one, giving her lack of words.

"Are you going to explain yourself or what?" Aisha pressed the redhead.

"Well, we just happen to got caught in a bar fight." Elesis said casually.

"Please"

This time it was Eve who was talking. Both of them shut up.

"Do not bother making up excuses. We have proof that you and your so called friends were in a gang fight on the abandoned sheds of the old factory street."

Eve accusation was everything Elesis needed to resign herself. She had learned the hard way that the president was relentless on disciplining students. Somehow, she was able to avoid getting caught until today. To make it worse, since she was the president of the student council and a very important person in Nasod society, the amount of power and control she held over the school was huge. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that her words weighed more than the principal's.

"Such actions are extremely dangerous for your health and your friends. If you wish to uphold our school superiority over the uncivilized pigs of South High…"

Both Elesis and Aisha froze at Eve's rude way of talking about the other school.

"…you could just exceed in our monthly sports competitions."

"Oh, you're right. O your highness! I won't do it again." Elesis responded, already walking away.

"Not so fast!" Aisha shouted.

Elesis stopped annoyed, she could be let off the hook if it weren't for `Miss Rotenmeyer´.

"I am sorry to announce that you ought to be punished for your actions. Since you not only endangered your friend's well-being, but the schools name too; I order you to make sure that the School Tower lower walls are free from those tasteless paintings."

She was referring to the graffiti some members of her gang had made.

"You are free to ask for your friends help on the task." Eve finally said.

Without anything else, she left, followed by Aisha. Elesis sighed, she was actually lucky that the punishment wasn't worse. She went back to the usual pub, where she knew she would find Raven.


"It looks like the wine wasn't there to begin with." Raven said.

"I wonder who the hell took it." Elesis added.

The wine they were talking about was the famous Elum wine. Even though it was called wine, it didn't came from grapes. It was a mixture of different type of El stones combined with some secret material. What made it so special was their incredibly stimulating effect and it's hallucinatory capacities, along with the fact that it was actually not dangerous for the health, unlike any other drug.

Some years back it was available in every bar in town. However, even if the drink alone wasn't dangerous; the people who drank it were a threat. Due to the stimulating, hallucinatory effect, they would usually end up causing trouble, so the Nasod government banned its consumption. Still, the drink was harmless to Nasods, and they even claimed it was good for them to have. So they applied a restriction to its consumption, only allowing Nasods to buy and drink it. Due to this, it turned into a luxury item that only rich Nasod could afford. That was the reason a lot of people wanted to smuggle it.

It was their original goal to steal it, but now the wine was gone, and they were caught by the student council. Such bad luck Elesis couldn't believe it.


Ciel stared at the ceiling. He reached for his Elshard in his pocket. It was a beautiful star shaped crystal that displayed a holoscreen floating in front of him. He quickly browsed through his contacts until reaching Lu. Then he typed a message, pausing before finally sending it. He remembered when he got that Elshard; it was a very exclusive limited edition, only available to buy at Hamel on launch day. It was also expensive as hell, and Ciel really liked it the first time he saw it, but he couldn't even afford it. And just some weeks later, on his birthday, Lu gave him a cute envelop that contained such precious Elshard inside.

A knock on the door put him out of his thoughts, he rushed to the door at the same time he looked at the clock. "Crap" He thought to himself. Lu had arrived and he hadn't sent her the message. Trying to feign not being at home wouldn't work since she knew he would be here so he just resigned and went to open the door. However he wouldn't expect who he found. It was Lu, as always, but this time a tall guy was behind her.

"Ciel, this is Lento. I hope you don't mind I invited him over but I guess I should introduce you two."

Ciel did his best to put a fake smile on his face when welcoming Lento in. He got back at his bed while Lu and her boyfriend occupied the other one. There was a thick silence, then Ciel turned on the TV to try and break the ice.

"Today, a group of students from the South High Technical School were found badly hurt on the ruins of an old shed. The police suspects of another gang fight…"

They listened to the TV for a while before Lento finally spoke.

"So you're Lu best friend huh?"

Ciel merely looked back at him and nodded. What a lame way of asking it. Lento looked like he wanted to say something more, but then his own Elshard rang. Lento quickly picked it up and walked out of the room to talk.

"Ciel, be more polite to him!" Lu yelled at him once her boyfriend was outside.

"I didn't say anything."

"Well, that's also pretty mean and you know it."

Their little discussion was cut when Lento entered the room again, he looked like he was in a rush.

"I'm sorry Lu, it was the captain, they need me as soon as possible in the training field."

Lu looked really disappointed as she watched him gather his belongings and exit the room.

"But I guess I'll be finished by tonight. I'll give you a call when I'm done and we can still meet as planned."

Lento leaned to whisper something on Lu's ears that Ciel couldn't hear. Whatever it was made Lu giggle and turn red. She whispered something back and then bid farewell to Lento with a kiss.

"So, you're still having trouble with that…?" Ciel asked once Lento left.

"Well, I think that I will be ok. He told me the higher ups had their sight on him and that he could be promoted into the army soon."

Ciel didn't care, even though it was incredible news for a student to be promoted into the army so soon. He got up from his bed and faced Lu.

"I said earlier I didn't want you doing it with him." Ciel said.

"I am sorry Ciel, but it's not for you to decide." Lu answered.

Ciel turned his back at her. The thought of it dancing in his mind was driving him crazy by now.

"Besides, why do you insist on me not doing it with him?" Lu asked.

"He's an idiot, you said so yourself. And also, he would only last one month, two at best; as your boyfriend. Right like everyone else before him did." Ciel answered.

"That's not a reason to not give him a chance." Lu insisted.

Ciel didn't say anything more. He wandered the room before finally stopping by the window. He watched as a group of students fought over a discounted piece of clothing in one of the shops.

"Ciel… why don't you tell me the actual reason?" Lu asked.

"What actual reason? I already told you." Ciel said.

"Right… Well, I guess it's better if I head home, then." Lu said, exiting the room.

What was I thinking… Ciel thought to himself. Saying such things in front of Lu just to satisfy his inner envy. The actual reason he wouldn't want Lento, or any other men. The truth was that he actually loved her. He wasn't sure when it started, but he knew that every time Lu would come up with a boyfriend, he would feel his insides contorting. He was afraid that any of those guys could take Lu away from him forever. And yet he was still unable to convey his feelings, scared of the outcome. He was just happy with what he already had; the company of his loved one, a stolen kiss once in awhile, and a lot more. He was just lazy. Maybe if he even asked Lu out earlier they could be dating by now. He blamed himself for it until he fell asleep.


I hope you're all enjoying it so far. The story now will be starting to focus on specific characters and events since I guess you already have an idea about the whole world the AU is set in.

Next chapter will be up soon. Tell me if you like the story! :3

PD: By the way, I want to let you know if you don't already do, that if you leave a review without a loged account I won't be able to reply to you. So don't forget to log in if you want to ask or suggest anything :3