01

To fly… was a dream. It wasn't a possibility. It was in the realm of

FANTASY

But maybe one day

I could fly away.

The rain thundered down on Hiro as he continued to surge forwards, his legs cycling as fast as they possibly could as he advanced through the streets. His feet slammed against the pedals, his calves pushing for more momentum. His fingers gripped the bars tightly, concentrated. His hair began drenching against his face, his school uniform weighing down heavily. He moved his hair to the side to provide a better field of vision, before glancing down at his phone as he checked the time.

08:20

Damn, he had to be there in 5 minutes, or he would be late. And showing up late to the first day of school was not a good precedent Hiro wanted to set for himself. Plus, Ichigo would absolutely slaughter him. He could hear her voice in his head, scolding him for showing up late to the opening ceremony. Talking about how all the hard work he had to do was for nothing apparently because he was already showing up late, blah blah. Hiro did find himself agreeing with her though.

Mistilteinn High School. The most prestigious high school in the area and ranking up very highly in the nation. With a rigorous entrance exam, they truly strived to be the best. Privately funded, they constantly pumped out exemplary students that continued to change the world.

So, the question of how Hiro got in still bothered him. To be quite frank, it didn't make any sense. It was towards the realms of impossibility. He had only sent a response due to the pure nagging Ichigo had brought towards him. Hounding him for weeks, she constantly checked up on him, making sure he had his application ready. She would invade his room, read over his work, then revise it all, in hopes that maybe wording it differently might prove to them he was actually capable of attending such a school.

The day came where Hiro submitted it, along with thousands of other students. Each of them hoping just for a chance. Doubt plagued his mind, and he had already accepted certain denial. There truly was no point in giving hope, considering his own abilities.

Hiro wasn't a bad student, that was for sure. He was easily able to excel, and often he found himself leading the class, especially earlier in his life. However, such excellence faltered once the accident came by, leaving him an unruly mess. Ever since then, his school life just seemed so utterly unimportant. In the grand scheme of things, it was truly useless. At least, so he believed.

However, just a few days later, a letter came back to him, requesting an interview. A few days later, they had shown up at his house. Professional, black suits, sunglasses, clipboards, lean black pens. They asked a few questions and seemed to gauge his personality, then they abruptly left. Well, that meant certain failure, right? There was no way they still wanted him, with that sudden departure.

So Hiro once again accepted rejection, telling all his friends of the failure that was his interview. Ichigo told him to keep his hopes up, but he ignored her. Afterall, what was the point anyways?

That is until a week later, he got another letter requesting for him to come take the entrance exam. Ichigo was ecstatic, and Goro basically held him hostage in his room for three weeks, assisting the studying processes. Hiro had to beg for food and the restroom, and even then, he found himself kissing the ground when he was finally released outside.

Finally, the date of the exam came, and Hiro entered, unconfident. Goro's teachings evaded his mind, and the possibility of acceptance waned even further. So, once again, Hiro came back home thinking he was done for, and had to end up going to some average high school, which wasn't bad or anything.

He came home defeated, but after a day, he was over it. He had tried his best, and clearly it wasn't for him. His best just didn't cut it anymore. He felt bad for Ichigo and Goro, with their insistence in helping him. All those late nights gone to waste.

But then they replied with another letter, saying that he had been accepted to Mistilteinn High, to his bewilderment. Everyone celebrated, and even Miku and Zorome seemed to put aside their arguments for one spectacular summer night.

Thinking about all that, Hiro pushed himself to the next degree, cycling faster than ever done before. He yelled at bystanders to move, weaving in and out of traffic. And finally, Mistilteinn appeared in the horizon, its beautiful arches beckoning him forwards. He flew across the bridge, skidding to a stop in front of the marbled steps before the grand door to the school. He checked his phone.

08:24

Just in time. Hiro locked his bike to the stand before running up the stairs, nearly tripping on the slippery stairs while entering the school. Hands twitching nervously, Hiro stared at the grandeur of the school in utter awe.

Grand pristine columns held up the ceiling that seemed to go up endlessly, a broad glass ceiling looking down upon him. A large mural sprawled the floor, depicting a large broad ecosystem, enclosed in a dome. It was huge, just as the pictures had made it out to be. It was beautiful…

It was…

Empty. Hiro made a dash to the auditorium, where the entrance ceremony was to take place. He opened the door slightly, peeking in as students sat before the stage, where two adults currently stood. Sneaking his way in, he took the closest open seat, trying to look nonchalant as everything seemed to be getting ready. To his sides, students chattered excitedly, all while attempting to maintain professional posture. Hiro straightened up, stretching his neck upwards to get a good look at the stage.

The loud disruptive noise of static erupted throughout, causing many to slam their hands against their ears, as one adult walked up, gently tapping the microphone.

"Ahem. I'm glad you can all make it here, given the weather that plagues us currently," The man began, pointing to the sky, where many of the students nodded in agreement. "I am Director Hachi. To my side is Dr Frank. He is the majority sponsor for this school, and thus actively participates in events."

The director was tall, wearing long black slacks with a gray uniform, awfully similar to a military outfit. He stood with a broad stature, and his dark hair was clean cut, complimenting his military guise even further.

On the other hand, the doctor was much older, that was for sure. Slouched over, he held a black cane for support, and a large white lab coat finished his look. He had gray hair that wildly sparked out from the sides, and to be quite frank, he looked like your average mad scientist.

However, Dr Frank was by far the more well known of the two men on the stage. He was recognized globally, pushing for advances in nearly all fields of study. He was a part of the space coalition between Japan and NASA to forward a rocket full of colonists to Mars. He pushed in medical advances for cancer development, creating a universal method of immunotherapy. However, he then researched into metastasis, and created an effective medicine capable of destroying all capabilities of cancer in most humans, with a 70% success rate.

Thus, the news he would be funding Mistilteinn was a surprise to many. It was just last year he announced he would be a central sponsor to the prestigious school, and he would be taking bipartisan control with Director Hachi. Many suspected that he was here in order to conduct a new research project, but the rumors haven't been answered yet, with Dr Frank being largely silent to the public.

"Today is a special day. Today, we introduce the class of 2035 into our school. This is by far the largest class we have ever had in our school, mostly due to the large amounts of excellent students that have shown themselves," Director Hachi raised in hands in an open manner, as if expressing his own pride. Hiro pulled out his phone, scrolling through his text messages. Multiple from Ichigo, asking where he was. Hiro winced as he recalled the agreement to meet up with everyone at 08:00.

"We have one last announcement. As you are all aware, Dr Frank has taken over as the majority sponsor for this school. In doing so, he has requested students to use for a research project. You will not apply, and instead Dr Frank shall choose you on his own jurisdiction. Do not worry, it is entirely psychological, and you will have complete freedom over your consent into such research," Director Hachi finished, to the murmuring of the entire auditorium

Hiro moved his hand to rub his wrist as he took in the information just granted. This meant that the rumors were indeed true, but he had doubts that he would be included in such a project anyways. If it was on a selective basis, it was near certain that Hiro wouldn't be chosen.

"Thank you all, and, please, enjoy your first day at Mistilteinn High School."

09:00

"We were supposed to meet up at 08:00, so where in the hell were you?" Ichigo demanded from Hiro. A short girl, blue hair falling to just below her chin on the right side, with green eyes that seemed to be searching through his very being. She conveyed a disappointed tone, her fingers tapping against her hip. They had been best friends forever, knowing each other from basically their birth.

"I was running a bit late, with the rain and stuff," Hiro answered sheepishly, pushing his hand through his messy hair. "I'm sorry and all, but hey, honestly, you guys should be glad that I didn't show up late at least."

"That's true, we all know how Hiro is. He's late to his own party sometimes," Goro laughed, and Ichigo just sighed in response. Tall, with loose blond hair, Goro was one of Hiro's closest friends, having known him for just about forever as well. The trio of him, Ichigo, and Hiro was as tight as family.

"Hey Hiro, what class do you have first anyways?" Zorome asked, bounding over to him. Shortish with flaring brown hair, he was easily one of the most fun people Hiro had ever met, meaning he was also extremely mischievous. His body runs about 100% faster than his brain, and he never thinks before committing to things. Hiro opened his phone to his school specific app, which told him his schedule along with various other things.

"Uhm, I got Maths 11." Hiro answered, scrolling to check his whole schedule. "What about you?"

"Hah, Maths 11? Sucker, I got Maths 10." Zorome laughed, puffing his chest up.

"Zorome, you do know that Maths 11 is higher than Maths 10? Meaning that he's ahead of you?" Miku asked, crossing her arms. Petite with auburn hair, she wore twintails, and crossed paths with Zorome about 24 times a day. Zorome just looked at her, as if processing the information.

"Of course I knew that! What do you take me for, stupid?" Zorome turned his head to the side, away from her. "I bet you're only in Maths 9!"

"Stupid, everyone here is either Maths 10 or above. And I'm in Maths 11, thank you very much," Miku smugly answered back, giving him a mocking smile. Her eyes leered at the boy teasingly, and Hiro could feel Zorome being put on the losing foot of this argument. However, such an occurrence happened more often than not. Zorome's instinctive nature often meant Miku was on the right side of the argument, much to Zorome's dismay.

"Hey, cut it out guys," Kokoro asked the duo, standing in between them. Adorned with long blonde hair, she was by far the nicest person in the group, meaning she was often the peacekeeper. "Plus, the bells about to ring, so we should probably all head out, yeah?"

"Yeah, but then that means I have to spend a class in Maths. Who wants to start their day with Math?!" Zorome plunged his head into his hands, sincere sorrow being expressed throughout his entire form.

11:00

"If you had to name one thing that really designates us as humans, what would it be?" Professor Cain asked the class, walking between the aisles. She was tall with light colored glasses hanging at the tip of her nose, black hair flowing down beyond her shoulders. She held a long pointer, slick black with a white top. Her heels clanked on the floor as she roamed the class, providing the only ambience to an otherwise silent class.

"We look different than animals," One student sarcastically offered, to the chuckling of some students. Professor Cain looked at him with disdain, before sighing.

"Wrong. Anyone else want to give it a try?"

"Uhm, we have the ability to think?" Another girl offered sheepishly, and Professor Cain seemed to jump onto that answer, leaning forwards to her direction.

"Yes, we can think! But so can other animals, right? Your pets at your home, they can all think. What makes us different, what is so different about our thinking?" Professor Cain turned to the class as she made it back to the front, sitting on her desk.

The class remained silent, and Hiro echoed her question in his head. What makes our thinking different? It was a very broad question, one that he could think of a few answers for. Yet, none of them seemed to be correct in his head.

With nobody responding, Professor Cain sighed and walked to the board, writing something with chalk. "Ethics," She said and wrote on the board, underlining it multiple times before turning back to us. "Ethics is what makes us human and different.

"We can see beyond the simplicity of survival. We need not to tie ourselves to just thinking of survival or our benefit. We have control of our behavior with our own morals. And that's the interesting thing. Morals can come from us, and society. Our behavior is built by society, what they deem correct. Of course, the individual then should be able to develop their own jurisdictions, yes? Tell me class, what is more correct. People accepting and running off what society tells them to do, or the individual making their own moral decisions with no regards to societal bounds?"

"People should do what society says. It's the best way to go about it without having any unneeded chaos," Hiro answered quickly in return. "Afterall, no societal bounds create anarchy."

"Really? And why do you think there would be chaos?" Professor Cain challenged, looking at him curiously.

"Because humans are all different. Each of us have different ideological complexes. If we were all allowed to run at our own jurisdiction, there would be chaos because everyone would be thinking that they can do different things," Hiro leaned back into his chair as he answered, striding forward confidently with his response.

"So you think that society is required in order for control. But what does the society do for us?" Professor Cain asked, and Hiro raised an eyebrow.

"Make the rules and laws?"

"And who makes the rules and laws?" The professor asked, leaning in closer to hear his answer.

"The people we elect to do so," Hiro answered again, this time a bit more uneasily.

"So we place the control of everything we do in the hands of the few?" She asked, and Hiro paused to think.

"Yes, I guess we do. Though, if they were to do things wrong, we would have them kicked out of their position," Hiro wrung his wrist with his other hand, a nervous tic he often employed in the face of uncertainty.

"But how do we decide if they did something wrong? What decides right between wrong?" She asked. And to that, Hiro had no answer. He shrugged, looking away, and thus ended the discussion between them.

18:00

The evening sun began to set, providing for a beautiful horizon to look at as Hiro cycled home at a much more peaceful pace than the morning. The golden orange rays of light shined spectacularly against the silent city, cool winds of autumn providing the perfect ambience to create a paradise-like atmosphere. Hiro thought back to the discussion with Professor Cain, which was by far the most interesting thing to happen that day. Although she eventually stumped him, he still believed in his answer.

Society was largely what we should base our entire lives on. They need to have these rules, right? It wouldn't make sense otherwise. It was something that Hiro had always thought, especially since…

But another part of him began to question it, rising from a part of his brain he didn't know existed. Why should they just follow society? Isn't it in our right to question those things, to find things out on our own?

As his mind wandered off, a fatal miscalculation ripped Hiro from his bike as he flew, hitting the concrete with a loud thud. He groaned on the ground, clutching his arm. Pain sporadically pulsed throughout, and he rubbed it regretfully.

Hiro got up slowly, stretching all his limbs to make sure he hadn't broken anything, before looking up. A white roadblock stretched itself across the street, blocking any form of entering or exiting. Looking over it, there didn't seem to be any construction, so the question of why the roadblock even existed surged through his mind, providing an annoyance that needed to be settled. If it hadn't been for the damn thing, he wouldn't fell in the first place.

Hiro looked over to his bike, which had taken the majority of the damage. It was scuffed up, scratches all over the thing. However, it wasn't broken, which Hiro sighed at, relieved.

Hiro got it back up before something suddenly caught his attention. A trail of blood. It was faint, just a few droplets here and there. Perhaps from him? But it didn't make sense, given the position he fell from. But it was indeed in a trail, leading over to an alley. Hiro pressed himself against the wall as he peeked his head over the corner, curiosity rising within him.

Laying against the wall was a girl, tall with long pink hair, wearing a large dark black overcoat adorned with white outlines that covered most of her form. Her hair stretched down far to her waist, a light pink color that distinctively stood out in the darkness of the alley. Her eyes closed, she was clutching her right arm, and her body slowly rose and fell with even breaths. She seemed to be sleeping, and Hiro would have left her there had it not been for the blood coming down from her head right across her face. It was a strict contrast from her pure white skin, providing a striking image.

He stood there for a few seconds before cautiously approaching her, his feet nimbly pressing against the ground to minimize noise. Hiro took heed not to wake her and slowly crouched down near her for examination. Her injury seemed to be bad, with blood streaming down her side. Hiro had to call an ambulance to come help her, right? Hiro got his phone out, beginning to dial, as he stood up. Hiro turned away from her as his phone rang, before they finally answered.

"Hello, 911, what is yo-"

The sound of a phone crashing to the ground was the lesser of two events as Hiro was suddenly pushed against the wall with a flurry of pink hair covering most of his sight. When the hair came to a rest, he found himself being stared down by two striking cyan eyes, cold and hard. Dangerous.

She stared at him, her green orbs maintaining contact with him as he heard his phone shatter into pieces as she stomped on it.

Well fuck that cost a lot of money too. He would've complained had it not been for her pinning him against the wall, most likely in preparation to kill him.

"Who are with?" Her voice was low, threatening, and Hiro saw her eyes wander across his body, as if examining him for any threat. Such action might have elicited a more positive reaction from him if it had been in any other situation, but given the circumstances, he could only feel himself getting colder.

"It's just me, just me, I promise," Hiro responded quickly, his wrists latched onto the wall with her hands. "I just saw you lying here bleeding so I was going to call-"

"The Klax right? You were gonna call the Klax and get me captured? Well, I'm not letting that happen," She growled, and her knee came up right between his legs. Startlingly close to his… Once again, such vicinity might have inspired a different reaction, but the circumstances prevented such. The Klax? Hiro gulped, pausing to collect his words.

"I don't know who the Klax are, I'm just a regular high school kid. Believe me, I was just trying to help-" He began but she slapped her hand over his mouth as sounds began coming from the street. Footsteps, which meant people. Which meant he might get saved. He struggled against her grip for a bit, screaming for help under her hand, but a quick knee to the stomach silenced him

"Where's the damn girl? We got the report from Gutenberg that the girl was spotted around here," A man said roughly. His voice was dark, with malintent clear in his tone. Another bad person? What the fuck was with Hiro's luck right now? Karma was being an awful bitch for Hiro just trying to help for once.

"I dunno boss. But she injured, that's for sure. Once we find her, we'll send a bullet right through her and be done with it," Another man laughed, and Hiro heard the chilling sound of a gun being loaded.

"Doesn't seem like she's around here though, she must have run," The first man said, and suddenly the footsteps stopped and began to turn the other way. Hiro let out a breath in relief, one which the girl holding him against the wall reciprocated.

"Hey, what's that bicycle doing over there?"

The girl looked him in the eyes suddenly, switching from relief to anger. They were getting closer for sure, and his pulsing heart informed him that he was absolutely fucked. And with the sound of it, Hiro felt like they would kill him just for being with her. He glanced around, seeing there was nothing to hide behind or anything. He glanced back at her again, seeing if she had a plan. Seeing her look around in panic, it didn't seem like it.

They were getting closer, and it was as if time began to slow. Each footstep was excruciatingly loud, as if to remind Hiro that each step was one step closer to death. But, given the previous situation, it seemed death was really trying to take him here, forcing two situations onto him.

Hiro pushed her off and ran to the street, where he began to walk nonchalantly. A slight whistle to add to the tone, and perfect. Immediately the men aimed their guns at him, and Hiro stopped, acting surprised, raising his hands in the air. They were large and bulky, wearing black muscle shirts, and their arms were adorned with blue tattoos, though the tattoos didn't seem to be making anything, they were just blue lines. The black guns they held seemed to point at Hiro's very soul, and he felt his chest being constricted, as if death really was wrapping around him.

"Wait! Don't shoot! I'm just a kid!" Hiro yelled, dropping down to the ground. He looked over to the left at the alley, where the girl stood, staring back at him. He shot her a look, hoping that it was conveying a "trust me" look rather than a "I'm about to piss my pants from fear" look.

The men looked at each other, before beckoning him forwards. Hiro gulped, walking slowly to them, tense. They immediately began patting him down, seeing if he was armed. When they fully checked him, they kept their guns aimed while the largest one stood in front of Hiro, staring into his eyes.

"What're you doing out here kid?" He asked, his voice harsh and stern. His eyes were black, and his very aura was intimidating. Hiro's mind racked for the best answer, one to give quickly. Of course, his mind was completely and utterly blank, and his racing heart didn't help any either.

"I was… uhm… out with my girlfriend. Since I can't take her home or anything," Hiro answered, feigning shyness, as he looked down on the ground. A pause seemed to hold all of them to a still, and Hiro swore he heard his sweat drip onto the ground below. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the man sighed and gestured to the others, signaling to lower their guns.

"That your bike kid?" He asked, to which Hiro nodded fervently. "You know what the blood next to it is?"

Hiro froze. The blood. Fuck, the blood. What could he say, what could he say?

"Y-yeah, I fell off my bike. I wasn't paying attention to the roadblock, so I scratched myself a bit," Hiro revealed his forearm, which was indeed coated with a large scrape, blood slightly seeping out.

Another pause overtook them, and Hiro felt the red knot of existence being strung, tightening from the stress. Finally, the man nodded, as if accepting his answer.

"One last question. You seen a girl around here, long pink hair? She's wanted, a serial killer. If you have, you'd better tell us, or you might be her next target,"

Hiro paused, and he realized this could be his chance. She had tried to kill him after all. But he didn't feel right giving her away, and these guys seemed to be equally as bad or even worse than her.

"Nah. Haven't seen anyone like that around, and I've been through most of these alleys with my girl. We would've noticed if she was peeping on us," Hiro chuckled lightly, as he walked backwards to his bike. They just nodded before turning back, walking back from where they came from. Hiro watched them leave, before being pulled into the alley again, where the girl once again pinned him to the wall, this time with much less force.

She held her hand against his mouth again, blocking his words as her eyes scanned him one more time, as if doing a reexamination. Hiro would have struggled, but this time didn't feel as threatening. Plus, the attention felt… nice, strangely enough. Finally, she slowly released him, backing up a bit.

"Not a Klax?" She asked out loud simply, tilting her head as she continued to stare him down.

"Yeah, of course not," Hiro responded, his throat feeling drier than before. "Who are you anyways?"

Seemingly ignoring him, her eyes made their way back to his own, and a strange look overtook her. It looked like recognition, which was weird given that Hiro had absolutely no idea who this girl was.

"You look awfully like someone I used to know," She murmured, raising her hand to caress his cheek, an action that Hiro nearly yelped at. "Are you my darling?"

Silence overtook the atmosphere as they looked at each other, her with hope, him with confusion. Hiro cleared his throat, unsure of how to answer. Her darling? What does she mean by that? Like, romantically? Hiro certainly wouldn't mind being her darling, but as of now… he had no clue who she even was.

"Uhm, no. I think you have the wrong guy," Hiro mumbled awkwardly, turning away from her striking gaze.

"Unfortunate. I really thought you were," She finally said after a while, letting go of his face, allowing him the chance to finally relax. "Oh well."

Hiro stood awkwardly in front of her, his hand attaching itself to his wrist, rotating it in circles. "Anyways, I had asked earlier, who exactly are yo-"

She licked his cheek suddenly, to his astonishment, and Hiro yelped, flinching back further into the wall as she smiled and licked her lips. "I like it. You taste dangerous. You sure you aren't my darling?" She murmured as she seemed to savor Hiro's taste.

She turned around, walking through the alley, leaving Hiro behind to stay there, still under shock from her action. He was definitely reddening up, and this time it seemed circumstance finally allowed such a reaction. She had just… licked him! Licked him! But, strangely, Hiro found it… alluring. He had every right to be disgusted, but he found himself attracted.

Damn teenage hormones, being weird again.

"Wait! What's your name?" He called out, and she paused, turning her head to give him a look. Her eyes glowed in the dark alley, and they seemed to pull him closer, an endless vortex drawing him in. With blood crawling down her face, one would think that such a scene might have emerged from a horror movie. But no, in fact, it was nearly the opposite. Standing there, with her long pink hair flowing in the wind, her perfect complexion being invaded by the red pool of blood, she looked simply… beautiful.

"Doesn't matter. I'll see you around, darling," She called out, before running and turning the corner. Hiro stared back where she had run, reddening up slightly. Darling? She was probably just teasing him, but he couldn't help but feel this wave of energy rush him over. Darling? He kind of… liked it.

Hiro slid down the wall to a sitting position, clutching his insatiable heart. It was… exhilarating. This whole experience. She made his heart race, not necessarily in the romantic fashion, but just in general. Being with her gave him a sense of excitement he hadn't felt in a long time. But also romantically, as his mind found itself fixated to her tongue on his cheek. And the way she looked at him afterwards, and the way her eyes just shone so perfectly in the evening tone.

She was seriously beautiful. And Hiro was seriously tied up in his hormones.

He finally went back to the street and picked up his bike, getting onto it and taking an alternate route home now that the first one was blocked. As he cycled back home, Hiro couldn't get her out of his head. Her and her long pink hair. Ahead of him, the golden rays of light finally dissipated, leaving the night as his only spectator.

The Prince Meets the Princess

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! This is the first chapter, and if you would like to learn more about my progress, please visit my profile. One error that I made while creating this story was using first person point of view initially, and this was done for the first four chapters. If you spot the use of I, me, or my, please inform me so I may fix it.