(Cye)
The alarm clock rang in my ear. I moaned, remembering how early this was, but quickly headed to the shower because I was the first one up this morning. I rarely got up first, but today was special, and everyone would need my mostly unbiased opinion. I really wasn't too keen on Lily, but she was still nice, and I'd never met any of Kento's friends, and I had the feeling I'd be a much-needed mediator.
"Morning," I said, trying to be perky as I passed Seiji on my way downstairs. Seiji and Rowen stood outside the bathroom. Seiji stretched, and Rowen tried to sleep standing up. I made five bowls of cereal and put bread in the toaster. I sat down, eating fast, slightly nervous about how horrible this could be.
"Ready?" I asked Seiji as he came downstairs first, fully dressed in his uniform. "It needs to be done so that we won't kill each other at Han'a High," I told Seiji, watching him eat his breakfast as I started to put my bowl in the dishwasher. I was talking to reassure myself more than Seiji, though. Rowen bumbled down the stairs, fully dressed with his hair a raggedly, wet blue mop.
"Morning, sunshine," I said cheerily to Rowen, who slumped in his chair, resting his forehead on the table. "Wake up," I told Rowen as I went to the freezer and grabbed an ice cube, which I stuck down his back. Rowen yelped, pulling the block of ice out of his shirt. He glared at me.
"Not funny," Rowen muttered and began to munch his food when Kento thundered down the stairs, shortly followed by Ryo. Everyone ate in silence. Seiji looked up at me and gave the nod to reveal the little plan. I swallowed my nerves and began to speak.
"Guys, I think we need to meet all of your close friends," I began hesitantly. Kento and Ryo stared up at me. "I think all of us, Kento's friends, and Ryo's friends need to get together in a secluded spot outside the school."
"Hell, Cye, that's a retarded idea," Kento murmured. I grabbed Kento's food, making him whine, but he looked up at me.
"We're doing it. You'll get together your mates, and Ryo will gather his, and we'll meet outside of school before it starts. Got it? Kento, I've never met any of your friends, and it'd be fair if we all just got to know first names."
"Would make for better fights," Ryo muttered. Rowen smacked him upside the head, making Kento snort.
"Let's go," Seiji said quickly before another arguement started. We trudged down the driveway, and the air remained still, which let the fog settle around us. The mist seemed only to deepen the silence, which was very eerie, and I don't know if we were ever this quiet. Well, maybe after our last fight with Talpa, when we sat alone in the living room of the mansion directly after the battle. Mia suggested we talk about it, and we got out about a sentence each because the scars were still fresh. Even now, they still burned in my mind.
I shivered and a chill shot down my spine that had nothing to do with the damp morning. I forgot how terrible that battle had been, and I stared at my bare arm. Small, mostly fading scars covered my arm. The funny thing was, no one could see them but me. Seiji and Kento could always squint and find two of the larger ones, but to them, they were only faintwhite lines. Emotional scars that the power of the armor hid from others where the other scars.
We boarded the bus, and I sat alone as Kento, Ryo, and Rowen nodded off for a brief nap before we reached the school. I gazed out the window at cloudy Tokyo as we wound our way down the streets and headed for the school. When we arrived, I roused Ryo, who sat behind me, and Kento, who'd sat opposite of me. Seiji shook Rowen, who'd sat with him.
"I hope you're going to behave," I asked Rowen. He raised his eyes.
"If Lee gives me some more crap, no, I'm beating his ass," Rowen muttered under his breath to me. I rolled my eyes and frowned, watching the crowd stream past like phantoms in the fog.
"Go get them, we'll wait over here," I told Ryo and Kento as I pulled Seiji and Rowen over to a group of trees that seemed to stand out as vague, gray-green shapes in the over cast morning. Rowen leaned against the rough trunk of one of the trees as Seiji and me patiently waited. First to appear in the fog were Tomo and Akio, who looked apprehensively around as if expecting to be mugged.
"Morning, Cye?" Akio greeted me good morning, but was so nervous it came out as a question. "You're Rowen?" Akio asked tentatively to Rowen, who also nodded.
"This is Hashiba Rowen," Seiji began the introduction with Tomo and Akio. Akio bowed shakily in front of Rowen, who nodded deftly until Seiji elbowed him to return Akio's bow.
"I'm Akua Akio, and this is my twin, Akua Tomo," Akio's voice trembled as he gestured towards the glaring Tomo. I frowned slightly as Rowen shook both of their hands. "Ryo said you were a friend of his?"
"Yeah, I'm new, but I think you've heard of me," Rowen replied tartly. I shot a glare and pleaded with him to behave himself.
"Yes, Nilla told us," Tomo's tone was sour. "Cye, Lily actually wants to talk to you, too." Akio frowned, and I realized he was slightly angry with this subject. He adverted his eyes, and I watched a blush come over his face.
"Yeah, well, there's been some trauma," Rowen spoke up. "You might want to talk to your buddy Lee about it."
"Nilla said you were a jerk," Tomo said resolutely. I watched it go from shaky to terrible when Tomo spoke. Rowen raised his eyebrows, and I shot him another look and begged him to stop.
"Well, that was a weird situation," Rowen replied coldly. "I suggest you get the facts straight."
"Are you calling my friend a liar?" Tomo snapped at Rowen.
"Hey!" I shouted, breaking up the tense moment as Kento and a tall, thin black kid strolled out of the fog and into view. Thank gods, just in time to stop Rowen from retorting to Tomo. Everyone stared, looking at them, and a distinct look of annoyance came over Tomo's face, and Akio blanched.
"Hey, guys, this is Sean Johnson," Kento introduced his tall, lanky friend. "Sean, this is Mouri Cye, Date Seiji , Hashiba Rowen, Akua Akio, and Akua Tomo."
"Hey brother!" Sean shouted and went to give me a high five, and I hesitantly returned the gesture. Rowen and Seiji each managed a bow, but Seiji's bow remained short and curt, and for Seiji, I knew this was being impolite. "Show me some love!" Sean called to Akio and Tomo to give him a high five. Akio held up his hand and pretended to enjoy Sean's company, while Tomo flatly refused.
"Sorry, low on love this morning," Tomo's voice remained flat. I frowned, walking forward to Sean.
"I'm Cye, and I'm new to this school," I told Sean pleasantly and smiled at the tall black kid. He grinned back, very friendly towards me. It was a change from everyone else's mood.
"Yeah, brother, Kento told me about you. Did you have problems with Japanese, too?" Sean asked. I shrugged and shook my head.
"No, I was born here, so I know quite a lot of Japanese," I told Sean, who frowned slightly.
"I still struggle because I can't speak either language well," Sean said, laughing again in that good-natured way. "I've gotten better, though, and man, I best Kento at English! He's got nothing on me!"
Sean chuckled, while I just smiled forcefully, trying to relax in the presence of a moody Tomo, Rowen, and Seiji. I loved the break in the depressing mood, and Kento seemed at ease in Sean's company, and he might open up to Ryo's mates before the meeting was over if the mood remained even this decent.
"I haven't see you two around much," Sean looked over to Rowen and Seiji. "I mean, I met you at lunch, Rowen, but you're not in my class."
"Really?" Seiji replied sarcastically, and I felt my hope pop like a balloon. Seiji raised his eyes and walked closer to Sean. "Well, I guess I just have a good memory, but I do remember you."
"Where?" Sean said as he scratched his head. Kento shot a quick look at Seiji, pleading with him not to say anything awkward.
"In the hallway, in general, with your friends, maybe passing on the stairs" Seiji replied in mock politeness as he emphasized the stairs. Sean shrugged, taking another look at Seiji.
"Sean, every girl in this school has a crush on him," Tomo replied a little flatly. Sean's eyes widened, and he pointed at Seiji, nodding. Suddenly, Sean flushed like Akio had and looked away from Seiji towards Kento.
"OH, you're that guy! Wow, sorry, I didn't hear a name with the rumor or anything, but man, wow, do you know how many girls want a date with you? I mean, I don't see guys that way, so maybe I didn't notice when I met you, but man!" Sean forced a couple laughs, realizing he'd bullied Seiji, and he appeared flustered. Seiji pursed his lips, and I felt the situation slide down a very icy path.
"Gee, this if fun," Kento said with forced enthusiasm as he rubbed his hands in a nervous gesture. "So, I see we've all mostly heard of each other."
"Yeah," I spoke as I saw a girl with long, ebony hair, like a shadow walk towards us, accompanied by a husky boy.
"We're here, buddy, this better be good," the husky boy said as he approached with the girl and looked around, obviously not pleased with the company.
"This is Hokib Bahkura ," Kento introduced the husky kid, "and this is Mioji Kaede."
"Hi," the beautiful, voluptuous girl introduced herself. She bowed politely, and I returned the gesture. Then, she held out her hand for me to shake it. As I did, I met her lively eyes, which made me blush because she fixed them on me as if to undress me. "Kento, you need to start introducing your friends."
"Oh," Kento replied dumbly and laughed. "This is Mouri Cye, Date Seiji , Akua Akoi, and Akua Tomo, and you've met Rowen."
"Ah, Date Seiji," Kaede said fondly as she grinned as Seiji. Seiji looked uncomfortable, but gave her a courteous bow, never the less. Kaede shot him a coquettish look, which caused Seiji to stare pointedly at the dewy leaves on the tree. "I've heard tons about you. You're not bad in person, I must say, but," the vixen said with a voice like silk. "Oh well, never mind."
"Can we stop talking about Seiji?" Tomo snapped. He was almost growling at everyone now, his eyes dangerously narrow. Akio stood there, staring off into space, subdued into silence.
"Shut it, punk, and don't you talk to Kaede like that," Bahkura growled harshly and threatened Tomo by stepping forward, towering above the skinny boy. "Hear me?"
"Boys, we don't need to kill each other," Kaede reminded them calmly as she leaned against the tree, staring at her manicured nails, then shooting us a teasing grin. "It's fine, boys, just drop your testosterone levels."
"Tell them that," Rowen said as he smirked. Sean and Bahkura chuckled at Kaede's joke, but no one else looked amused. I clenched my jaw, staring at everyone. Kento clapped his hands once, stepping forward, trying to break some tension.
"So, do we need an ice breaker game or something?" Kento suggested and stared around, grinning stupidly.
"I'll pass," Rowen replied blandly. "Sounds like third grade fun, but I'll pass."
"Morning," Ryo yelled, his voice a bit too strained. Nilla, Lee, and Lily followed Ryo towards the group, and my stomach turned realizing how awkward things really could become. Lily waved to me and gave me a giddy smile as she sprinted over. Lee looked pissed, as did Nilla, but Lily seemed oblivious to the fact that the mood took a nosedive into the negatives.
"This is Xailong Nilla, Tabiki Lee, and Jukuto Lily." Ryo's introductions were brief, and only Lily did the proper bowing. Both Lee and Nilla stood like statues in a mausoleum.
"Um, I take it we all know each other," Kento replied hesitantly at the understatement. Rowen snorted as Kento fumbled for words under the intense silence that made the very air feel like it was going to collapse around us.
"That was fun," Lee said stiffly and turned around to leave. Ryo yanked him by the collar.
"What, do you have a problem?" Rowen spat as he took a couple steps towards the sour faced Lee. "Come on, Lee, do you need to talk it out?"
"No talking required," Nilla replied sharply and gave Rowen and Kaede a deathly cold stare.
"Gee, princess, I didn't know you felt that way," Kaede's voice turned into a serrated knife as she walked away from the tree. She strolled up to the shorter Nilla, staring down into her eyes. They stood there, scowling at each other.
"Ryo, I'm wasting my time," Nilla snapped. She turned to Ryo and shouted, "Not only is Rowen here, but you knew she'd be here, didn't you? Ryo, I loathe her, and you know it!"
"Stop it!" Kento's temper snapped as he growled at Nilla and got up in her face. "Back off! He didn't do anything to you!"
"Shove it," Lee spat as he stood in front of Nilla. "I'm sick of all of you, personally, and I don't know why I came here, so go screw yourselves!"
"You better take that back before . . ." Bahkura growled, walking up to Lee.
"You can't finish a sentence, how touching," Tomo added sarcastically from behind me. My stomach flipped as the disaster began to unfold all around me.
"Don't rip on my friends!" Sean defended Bahkura and pushed Tomo up against the tree. Akio ran to his brother's aid, but he looked pathetic as he tried to wrench Sean away from Tomo.
"Back off!" Lee screamed as Bahkura picked him up, getting ready to throw him on the ground. Nilla swung a punch, connecting with Kento's cheek. Kaede slammed Nilla into the tree as the girls began to fight. Lily shrieked, running over to Nilla.
"STOP IT!" Seiji and Rowen hollered as they moved, running to the middle of the brawl. I stood, transfixed, watching the fight unfold before my wide eyes.
"Shut it!" Bahkura hollered and smacked Seiji in the eye before he could react. Rowen's eyes widened, and he ran forward, just in time for Lee to turn and kick him in the nuts.
"Bastard!" Kento shouted and smashed Lee with a couple punches, putting him on the damp ground. Ryo pulled Lily off Kaede, trying to keep her from screaming, but it ended in Lily turning around and vomitting on the ground. I frowned, seeing a mob of people start to come over at the shouting. We were going to get caught.
"Nilla! Stop it!" Ryo ordered and held Lily up as she threw up again on the grass. Kaede threw Nilla to the ground, and Nilla slammed her in the gut. Kaede yanked Nilla's auburn hair, and she clawed at Kaede's face.
"Don't mess with my brother!" Akio feebly yelped as he and Tomo double-teamed the athletic Sean, and they tried hitting him low, but Sean had already caused Akio and Tomo a broken lip each, and Tomo's nose started to bleed after the last punch.
"Oh bloody hell," I whispered as people began to watch. "STOP IT! We're going to get expelled! People are coming over!"
I rushed into the melee, managing to help Ryo pull apart a couple of the fighting pairs. However, Lee looked up, deciding the fight wasn't worth it, grabbed Lily and Nilla ,and bolted. I spun around and pried Sean free from Akio and Tomo, but got a bloody nose. "We're going to get in trouble!" I shouted at Sean, who looked around and realized people had gathered.
"Dang!" Sean muttered hoarsely as he charged through the mob. I stared around, looking for Rowen, Kento, Ryo, or Seiji, but all of them had disappeared. I gaped at the crowd that was whispering and staring around where the brawl just occurred.
"What?" I asked helplessly to no one in particular. Now, I was the only one standing in the circle of people, with vomit and some blood sprinkled on the ground.
"That's what I was just going to ask you." I spun around as Ms. Smith spoke from behind me. "Fighting is illegal on school grounds, Mr. Mouri. Can you explain what happened? You're sporting a nice set of black eyes and a bloody nose."
"I, well, some people weren't getting along," I stammered, not wanting to implicate my friends.
"I assume you were one of them?" Ms. Smith said crossly.
"Well . . ." I stuttered, not knowing exactly how to respond. I'd been getting along, but telling her it wasn't me wouldn't be much help.
"Come with me, Mr. Mouri," she ordered me to follow her into the school. I felt my stomach sink, realizing nothing about this could be good. "I personally am ashamed of you, and I regret to say they're be disciplinary action."
A/N: July 2007 Yeah! Revision is coming along, and the next chapter is going to get hacked up, unlike this one, which stayed pretty much the same as the origanal. I kept the fight mostly the same, but I added Lily throwing up (see chapter 20 for why). Thanks, MorganRay.