I am so sorry! This should have been out months ago! I have lot's of reasons why it's not but I'll just shut up and post the chapter T^T

Don't judge a book by its cover!

Ch4-Whispers of things to come and things that have been

Ahiru jumped at the sound of the school bell, having lost track of time she felt shocked at how quickly her first day had gone. After her time with Mytho, Rue and Fakir she had remained behind the school with her feathered friends as she ate lunch, it was lonely and made her crave for Pique and Lillies' company- even if they would tease her about her day. The next few classes had not gone well either, her first attempt at chemistry had almost dyed the teachers hair bright green and she wasn't looking forward to her next history class after the glare she had received for quacking loudly in the middle of class (she had been hit with a paper aeroplane though) from the formidable Sohma- sensei.

Quickly gathering her history book and other bits and pieces, the human duckling shuffled speedily out of the door and down the hall, hoping to find the drama department before Neko-sensei [Nekozawa-sensei! ] decided to marry her off for being late. The halls were full of chattering students preparing to leave in groups of friends, a few girls giggling as another smaller girl blushed whilst looking down the hall at the gathering football team, Ahiru kept her smile to herself and walked on quickly glancing at the boys to see one of them staring at the blushing girl in wonder, smiling brightly at the look on his face before blushing ferociously when he noticed her and sprinting off with a yelp of surprise. She did not see the confused boy watch her leave nor the glares she received from the group of girls, the smaller girl looking slightly worried at the small exchange...

"Fakir."

Fakir finished packing his school bag before looking over his shoulder where his cousin was giving him an unsure stare; this was very unusual for Mytho since he met Rue. "Nani?"

For a moment the younger boy said nothing, looking around the room as he seemed to gather his thoughts, when he finally seemed satisfied he sighed and leaned back on his desk with his arms folded and head down. "That girl earlier, I can't shake this feeling that I've seen her somewhere before..."

Surprised, the taller teen turned to face his cousin with a mild questioning look. "You've met that brat before?"

"Yes-No. I mean...I don't know." Mytho sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair, "Doesn't she look familiar to you? I could have sworn that..."

As he trailed off Fakir looked back on his meeting with the girl, she had long orange hair and large blue eyes that were more emotive and naïve than what he'd expect to see from someone her age, she was skinny with freckled dotted across her nose like a child too.

Shaking his head Fakir decided to speak up, "Ii yo, let's get back before Karon starts to worry too much"

"Hai" Mytho nodded and made his way to the door where Rue was waiting for him patiently, Fakir watched quietly as he thought about their short conversation, even after dismissing the possibility of having met the strange duck-girl he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong about all this. Mytho rarely asked about the past, learning that he recovered better when he kept himself in the present, it had always been Fakir that was the one who was looking back constantly trying to work out what had happened all those years ago, why it happened and how he could catch the one who caused it...or more how he could prove that it was that man who caused it, so why was his cousin suddenly interested in looking back now? Surely Fakir would remember if that girl had something to do with them?

For the umth time that day he shrugged off such thoughts, he didn't even know the kids name and there was no way he could forget something that annoying, Mytho might have seen her in town when on a date with Rue for all he knew. But even then the strange feeling still lingered in the back of his mind...

Cleaning wasn't so bad, it gave her time to think while exercising- not to mention it was one of the few things she could do to a adequate level, but Ahiru found that it was much more lonely than she previously remembered. Sighing she looked out of the large windows of the drama studio, after only just managing to avoid Neko-senseis' [Nekoza-nevermind...] anger she had been left to clean up on her own while he watched over the media club (which he seemed a bit too passionate about ) on the next floor.

Blue eyes scanned the skies as the few remaining pupils left the area without a single glance her way, not that she had been expecting any different. Her thoughts drifted to her first day; being introduced in class, Neko-sensei [...], that incident with Fakir, meeting Mytho and Rue...it had been a very tiring day.

~Fakir...~ Ahiru remembered the tall boy as he threw her bag back to her, finding both her feeding tray and seeds neatly placed inside, ~should I thank him? He did give my bag back so maybe he's not so bad...~ the look in his eyes before she ran from him echoed in her mind making her shiver.

~But he looked so scary, like he was going to kill me! And he was a complete jerk, why should I thank him?!~ The first year huffed out loud, glaring at the image of her 'enemy'. Calming down she looked over the school grounds, ~Although he seemed to be friends with that nice 'royal couple', maybe he's just shy~ The duckling girl found herself imaging the dark-green-haired teen stuttering as he introduced himself to a class...~Y-yada, that's not it.~

Groaning in defeat Ahiru decided she'd try and find him tomorrow to thank him but after that she'd have nothing to do with the jerk. An odd noise caught her attention before she noticed the group outside not too far away from the studio, five laughing boys seemed to be crowded around somebody on the ground that she couldn't see and there was no teacher nearby.

Without a thought she was running out of the drama department and out into the gardens, just her bag clasped in her hand as she ran towards the group, she could see them clearer now, there was a girl with short mint hair on the floor searching blindly through the items that had fallen out of her bag.

"What's the matter? Lookin' for something" the group jeered along with the boy who spoke, his short hair was like black feathers over his pale skin and his eyes were an odd shade of hazel that was almost tinged red in the light, the boy reminded Ahiru of a taller, darker version of the 'Price' from before.

"Kora!" The bullies stopped laughing and turned to the tiny first year when she yelled, "Leave her alone!"

The leader sneered at her for a moment, he chuckled before gesturing to the group that they were done, flinging the glasses over his shoulder as he left. Glaring at them for a moment longer the duck-girl rushed over to the girl on the floor who continued to search for her glasses. Picking them up gently Ahiru tapped her on the shoulder making her jump, her dark blue eyes widened when the large specks were placed over her eyes again, blinking when she finally saw the red-head who had found them. Concern sparkled in the young girls eyes as she looked over the other, "Are you ok?"

The girl adjusted her glasses as she nodded, stuffing her belongings back into her bag before staring at the strange cow-lick on the top of the others head.

Ahiru smiled widely, standing as she held out her hand, "I'm Arima, Ahiru. What's your name?"

"Ya-yagami, M-Malen" she stuttered, lifting herself off the ground and looking away from the offered hand.

Ahiru shook off her confusion and dropped her hand, never losing her smile, "Nice to meet you, Yagami-chan!"

Marron glanced her way for a moment before nodding and dashing off in the opposite direction. Blinking the first-year watched her leave, confusion and sadness seeping in ~Ah...I thought I'd made a friend...~

With a slump in her shoulders and a sigh, Ahiru made her way home not noticing the pair of dark eyes watching her curiously...

That's all for now- sorry for unanswered Q's (please don't hurt me!)

I hope to be quicker with the next chapter! Thankyou to all who reviewed and/or faved- I would name you all but I'm in a rush-I hope to write quicker for you all to enjoy!

Please R+Enjoy+R ^v^