Chapter 2- Opening..

Three years later, It was my first day at high school. It was a private school in Aeries which is now
Sector 4 in Midgar. I can't remember the name, and I was walking down the sidewalk staring at the blue
sky were the clouds scattered around the sky. It was such a absolute differnce from toady. I was wearing
the usaul school unifrom. A blue jacket over white collared shirt and some beige khakis. I remember I
always laid my backpack on my right shoulder there wasn't anything heavy in it. My black bangs covered
my eyes as I kept on walking to school. The thoughts of the afternoon day was bright in my mind.


"Just don't become like me. Don't make my mistakes. It'll be a curse." I can hear that line echoing
through my head.


I walked across the intersection of Third and sixth. I looked left and right both ways were a few cars
were zooming by. It was a usaul day in Kessoku. Gulls flew in the air and I walked across the crosswalk
nodding at those dreaded words my dad said to me when I was almost in my teens. Then, I walked a few
steps more and there I was now at Thomas Bensin Acadamey, named after the current President around
that time. It look like your usaul high school. It was two stories high, and had a limestone yellow. In the
center doorway was a large statue of him made of pure bronze. His hand was under his jacket and his
other arm was raised in the air. A sign of how calm and tranquil the world was when people even knew
the name of their towns, and not cold numbers when Midgar was first built. So many kids were walking
into the school. Some were rushing into the house just waiting to enter school while others were pushing
each other just tick each other off, and so I continued to walk into the door which was painted silver, and
a crest of an eagle clawing a snake was hanging above me. I looked up and thought: "I shouldn't dwell on
it. I think I should be happy there blowing 8,000 gil a year for this."


".......I might like going here. It's different for me."

Then I was a kid running into the school, and then I looked back as the footsteps rapidly become louder.
He had brown spiky hair and blue eyes. The way he wagged his tounge up was notwithstanding as he ran
careless into me. I fell over and the impact shook my entire body. I fell face foward into the ground and
dirt went into my mouth. The bitter taster made me cough and blood slowly trickled down forehead. The
school's hallway just became white, brown and black blur. I blinked slowly as me eyes focused.

"The way he rushed into me...." I thought.

I knew to myself I have made a new enemy. His name was Kazuya Kemura, a kid who was from was
Wutai that was the same age as me. He was the 'bully' of the school, and I knew I'd have a vendetta with
him. This was just the start.

"....Bastard, you'll pay."

The tardy bell rang from homeroom as I slowly went up took my backpack and stared at the bulltein
board in the center of the hallway. It a large blackboard which has each and every students' names on it in
alphabetacal order. I looked through the column labeled 'V' in the rosters. It said: "Valentine, Vincent
HR: H101, Grade: 10, English" I sighed and then walked to H101 which was around hte corner of a set of
lockers in front of me. I nodded in disgust because of when I was tripped by such a unmannerly boy. As
far as I knew it at that moment, he wouldn't bother me ever again. I hoped.....

So I was there, and about ten minutes late. The door was wide open, and the class was in session. I
slowly walked into the room as a student with glasses and a flat nose yelled: "LATE!!" The rest of the
students in their desks kept on chanting: "LATE! LATE! LATE!" I covered my eyes with my right hand
embarrased because of my tardy appearnce. The teacher meanwhile put his chalk down on his desk. He
was blading, in his mid 30's. He has glasses, and toupee that was so obvious you could seen the fan
flapping his hair straight up revealing his naked forehead.

"You're late." the teacher said in deep voice.
"What is you're name?" he asked me.
"........" I didn't speak up.
"Shy, eh? Just tell me."

My eyes peered down at the floor and scrachted my scalp. I then scratched my elbows, and said: "Vincent
Valentine......." I said in jittery tone.
"Oh, ok. Just take a seat over there." the teacher said and then pointed at a empty desk at the corner of the
room.

So I sat down and took out my notebook, pencils, and rubber eraser on the desk. I looked up at the
chalkboard. The middile age teacher wrote slowly on the board. He wrote down: "Enlgish 10A: Welcome
Freshman!" He smiled at the class as the students wrote down the writing on the board. Then I felt a
quick but painful jab ot my rib.

"Agh...." I yelled during the teacher's lecture.
"Welcome to the world of-" the teacher said and paused.
"What is it?"

He turned and face me and adujusted his glasses which were falling off of his face. He looked at me and
sighed. I looked at the right and saw the kid who ran into me. That bastard then put his head down on
his desk, and put his hand in front of his face showing the middile finger in front of me. I looked right at
him, and my temper became bigger and bigger.

"F*cker.....F*cker. I don't like you, bitch."
"I can't stand this........I can't accept this...bull" I thought.


Those insults were childish, but they can still go on anyone's nerves. My fists began to shake as the
Sweat beaded down my forehead. I tried to calm bown by breathing deeply and trying to see the
chalkboard, but I couldn't stand until it was our break period when my rage wen out.


It was 10:00 AM in the morning, I was inside the caftereia. It was full of students. From the 'brainless'
football player to the lonely 'nerd' staying in his corner typing vigorously scooping his thick eyeglasses. I
began walking with sweat on my head my eyebrows were angled. I was angry, and the pain inside me was
about to burst out. I took the lunch tray and sat down at an empty blue lunchtable eating my peanut butter
sandwich, and milk. I looked in front as Kazuya walked in front of me with a smirk on my face, he
bobbed his back and forth full of pride. He put his hand over his forehead and flipped me off again.

"What's your name?!" Kazuya yelled at me.
"..........." I replied as I turned my head away trying to look like I am not paying attention him.

Then he threw the small tray off the table and grabbed me by the collar. I was trying to release the grip
of his large but thin arms by shaking back and fort, but it didn't work. In the background, the other
students and the lunch servers stopped and looked at us.

"WHAT'S YOUR NAME!" he yelled into my ear.

My ears ringed, and hte sounds of the people in the cafteria began to fade away. I looked down and the
words slowly went out of my mouth.

"V.....i....ncent." I mumbbled.
"You're the one who knocked me over. The one who flipped me off in english class........"

He still had me in my grip like a eagles talon going through it's prey. He smiled, and then put me down
and threw me on the floor.

"You're damn right! I knocked you ever 'cause I am the boss of this school!"
"You sure don't like it, bastard."
"Why do you do this to me!" I yelled.
" 'cause you're 'fresh meat'."
"'Fresh Meat'? Aren't you a freshman, too?"


He paused and then put his foot on my gut and when the foot impacted into my stomach, I felt like I was
numb. I couldn't feel my face, my hands, as I spat out blood . I was wheezing and began to slowly recover,
and I covered my waist. Kneeling over, and stood up. Kazuya, was smiling and pointing at me.

"Ha-Ha-Ha!"

The rage was gouing outside me. I stood up with all my strength. I began to lcinch my fist and then I
charged a punch into that son of a bitch's face. His chin flew up the air Kazuya flew a few feet in the air,
and crashed into a trash can nearby. The can fell as well some lunch trays clanked on the floor. I looked
behind and the students were silent. One of them has a lunch tray in his hand, and it dropped on the floor.
I began breath heavenly, my heart was pumping blood at a higher pace the usaul, and a single man's
footesteps come from behind him. I turned back and I opend my mouth and bit my lip. Now, I knew it
became personal, but at the same time troubled.

"What the hell are you looking at?!" I yelled.
"Vincent Valentine, What were you thinking? Come with me. I'll have to call your parents."




A few hours later....

After the talk with the principal. I walked out of the school, bitter and enraged. I knew that I shouldn't go
home. So I began walking on the sidewalk with my face down. The sky was blue as usaul, but it wasn't
making me any different. The school began to grow smaller and smaller from my eyes. My hands shook
as I continued to walk away.

".......I don't know what do now. If I go home they'll kill me."
"-They'll be worried about me, but-"

The school disappeared from my view. It was bad, that guy made fun of me. I began to close my eyes,
and a tear dropped from my eyes. On the first day, I got kicked out off school, forever! I walked to a sign
that said: "Downtown Kessoku City" I reached somewere were it was a alien world to me. This place was
the Red Light Distrect. Prositutes were at every block asking for 'a date', trash litered the streets, and
broken beer bottles liad over the floor. On the corner, a bum was begging me for gil. He had tattered
clothes, his shoes were hole-ridden shoes. His dirty hands were rubbing to try to get some warmth. I
glanced at him for a bit, and I felt pity on him. Probably, the bum was rejected like me. I fel pity towards
him and gave him 4 gil. I guess I was trying to forgive myself. My rage made me punch and Icouldn't
control myself, but it felt a bit blissful .

"Thanks........ God bless you."
"............" I didn't reply and continued walking until I stopped and my stomach growled. I stopped and
was in front of a bar and so I entered it. The door swilved opened and a small bell rang. This was were I
found someone who changed my life for the worst.....