Disclaimer: I don't own S.C. in any way! Mr. Thomas andJanetare mine, but you can use them if you want...

Fuu sat in class and was beating on her book with a pencil chewed at the end. She stared at the clock and wondered how a man boring like Mr. Thomas could ever be given the job of biology teacher. It was hard enough to pay attention to cell division, but his monotonous voice drifted through out the room in such away that you had to struggle to stay awake and listen, so Fuu picked up the habit of drumming her pencil, annoying as it was, but useful to keep her awake. She glanced around the room, 10 asleep, a new record, 5 art students doodling, 4 students day dreaming, 2 of those drooling on their desks, 3 sharing a bag of Doritos, 2 girls brushing their hair and adjusting make-up, and 1 boy examining the gum on the bottom of his shoes, comparing the amount and color of gum from one shoe to the other. She sighed and continued to strum, this habit caused many people to move their seats within the week of being assigned next to her. It suited her fine, she liked having an extra chair to set her bag on, easier to throw her beat up biology book in and scramble out of the door to lunch, her favorite time of the day. She looked up the clock and watched the secondhand move clockwise over the white face.

The door opened and a boy walked in, causing 3 of the sleeping people to wake, distracting the art students from the doodles, snapping the day dreamers from their day dreaming and wipe the drool from their desks, stopping the Doritos from being further devoured, and 30 fingers starting being licked clean of processed Nacho Cheese. However, the girls with their hair and make-up continued applying their fifth layer of foundation, and the boy examining his gum decided his shoes with gum were more interesting than anything else. But this boy that caused Fuu to stop strumming and a tiny voice in her mind told her that he was familiar to her, somewhere.

"Welcome to senior Biology, Mugen." Said Mr. Thomas reading the pink copy of Mugen's schedule. "Take a book." Mr. Thomas pointed to a shelf and Mugen walked over the shelf in a lazy manner that Fuu immediately despised.

"Where do you want me to sit?" He asked lazily. Mr. Thomas pulled out his seating chart that served as his role sheet. Fuu looked around and counted three other people without partners, she prayed that this misfit would not be placed by her.

"Over there, third row." Fuu sighed loudly, she was the only person without a lab partner in the third row, and glared at the blackboard. Mugen took a seat next to Fuu and leaned back in his chair. She began strumming furiously. After five seconds of very loud strumming, Mugen tore the pencil from Fuu and threw it across the room. Fuu, without turning and looking at Mugen, pulled out another pencil and began strumming louder than before. Mugen, again, after five seconds, launched that pencil into orbit. Fuu kept pulling out pencils, refusing to look at Mugen and also getting up and retrieving the abandoned pencils. Once the bell ran for dismissal to lunch, Fuu did not walk near the pencils, she did not look at Mugen, and claimed war against him.

This silent war between them continued for the next four days, it wasn't until lunch on Thursday that she felt foolish about it. After saying a quick prayer before digging into a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich, her friend leaned in and whispered,

"Look, the new kid has sat by himself all week. They say he's an ex-con. I don't blame people not wanting to be his friend." She looked across the cafeteria and saw Mugen sitting alone, eating his lunch. Fuu felt guilt twist in her stomach that made her almost lose her appetite, almost. She had been harsh to this new boy, ex-con or not, and if her mother was alive, she would scold Fuu for her behavior. She collected her lunch back in the brown bag she used and took a seat in the empty chair next to him. Mugen glanced over at her.

"Ah, Pencil-girl, you gonna strum some more?" He asked popping a spoon of chocolate pudding in his mouth. Fuu glared for one second but it soon faded into a bright smile, making Mugen blink while the spoon hung from his mouth.

"Hey!" She greeted kindly. "My name's Fuu."

"I know." She blinked at him. "I saw it on your quiz."

"So." She said after a quick silence but after she spoke, there was another long silence until Mugen finished his lunch.

"Well, pencil girl, I don't need your sympathy. Later." He threw his trash away and headed down the hall to his next class, hands rested behind his head. Fuu sighed, finished the rest of her food quickly and headed to class. In the hall, she overheard Mr. Thomas talking to some other teachers.

"Yeah, suddenly, with that Mugen's enrollment, I've been finding pencils all over my room, everyday. He's failing my class right now, and as of what I've heard from Janet (a counselor of some sort), if he doesn't pass, he won't get his diploma."

"Does he know that?"

"I don't think he cares." Fuu frowned internally and a distant look overcame her face that stayed with her for the rest of the day.

When the final bell rang, she found her circle of friends, girls around the same age with the same interests and dressed moderately alike. Although she thought the friendships were fair weather, she still enjoyed talking to them about important decisions in her life that weren't important at all. For example, if she should buy a totally hip skirt at the mall or spend it on a new CD. No matter how close she got with the girls, sometimes she found it hard to reveal to them her own real life, the fact that she was completely alone in the world except for a deadbeat dad somewhere. She had no plans for the future, college seemed out of the question for now, and she barely had enough money to cover rent. What little money she had left, she used on food, clothes, and a meager savings account. They chattered about nothing for a long time, what so-and-so said to what's-his-name about the newest couple at school. She leaned against the wall and said nothing to them. The doors of the school burst open and Mugen walked by, his head turning toward her and looking right at her as he walked by. For a second, she felt that he was looking into her soul but she didn't turn away from him. He gave her a lopsided grin and continued walking. Fuu pushed herself off the wall and followed him.

"Mugen!" She called out to him but he didn't stop. She hurried quickly behind him but the load in her arms was bouncing dangerously in her arms. She tripped over a crooked sidewalk and her books fell all around her. Mugen stopped his arrogant strut to turn around and smirk at the girl.

"What do you want Pencil-girl?" He asked smugly.

"Um." She gathered her books quickly. "Do you have a car?" She asked quietly.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I missed my bus and I need a ride."

"Why don't you ask one of your girly friends?"

"Because they don't have cars!" She cried. Her face and her voice softened. "And I don't want them to see where I live." Mugen's expression turned into one that looked very confused.

"And you're ok with me seeing where you live?" He asked.

"I figured you wouldn't judge me, they say you've been to prison before." He smirked and ran a cool hand through his hair.

"Fine." He started walking. Her face brightened and she followed closely behind him. They stopped at a very bright red, sporty car. He pulled out his keys and she stared at the car in awe.

"You drive this?" She asked him. The car backed up and drove off, revealing an old, beaten up, rickety Cadillac.

"She's a beaut." He smiled and unlocked the door for her. She sat in the passenger seat, afraid that the springs in the seat would burst through the vinyl and she then would need tetanus shot.

"So where do you live?" He asked, climbing behind the steering wheel.

"The Garden Estates." She replied.

"Fancy."

"The one on 49th and Jacob Street." He said nothing but popped in something on the 8-track. "Wow, I've never seen one of these before!" Fuu exclaimed. Mugen shrugged and continued driving. Fuu leaned back in the seat and stared out of the passenger window, clutching her books tightly. Mugen pulled out a cigarette, using the lighter from the car, he calmly lit his cigarette and drove in silence.

He came to a slow stop in front of the Garden Estates, four dilapidated buildings that hadn't been painted since before Fuu was born. The inside of the buildings were no better, the appliances were old and sometimes the electricity would go out for hours at a time.

"I didn't go to prison." He spoke breaking the silence. "I came close." Fuu nodded her head, taking this as her cue to leave. Shebreathed a soft thank you before climbing out of the Cadillac. She stood at the corner and watched him drive off. The image of him with his cigarette dangling from his mouth as he stared at her with his eyes would not leave her head. His stray dog eyes as Fuu called them.

Mugen turned down the street to his own residence, a place no better than the Garden Estates. It surprised him that a girl who seemed put together, who seemed to have a middle class family, lived in such a crummy place. But he was used to crummy places, the week that his parents decided to move to the city, his father was thrown in jail for possession of an illegal substance and his mother put a bullet in her head. Mugen, afraid of orphanages or foster care, took the streets, living a life that left him calloused everywhere, including his heart. He opened the door to his apartment, it looked just like it did the day he moved in, only a small bag of clothes, and his personal effects. He went to sit on the floor and felt a flood of anger at everyone. He hated his dad for moving them away. He hated his mother for being so weak. He hated people because they didn't care. He hated Pencil-girl for caring. He came back to what he called his hometown but he was gone too long for it to be home anymore. They forgot about him even when he was right in front of them, that's what he hated most, being forgotten. He had nothing to punch but the wall and for now, that suited him fine.

"Mugen!" A woman looked at the four year old in the back seat through her rear-view mirror. "Are you excited to spend the day with your friends?" Mugen cocked a crooked smile at his mother, already a very proud smile for a pre-school kid.

"Fuu-chan and I are getting married." The woman chuckled. "I'm gonna give her this!" He thrusted out a beautiful red flower he picked from their garden before they left. The woman stopped the car in the driveway. She helped Mugen out of the car and he ran out to Fuu, already waiting on the back porch for them. He offered her the flower and she gasped in delight. She took the flower into her pudgy fingers. She stared at it in awe and giggled.

"What do you say Fuu?" Asked her mother.

"Danks Mu-Mu!" She cried, she held his two cheeks in her hands and gave him a kiss, missing his lips and hitting him on the nose.

"Yuck!" Mugen made a face but was still smiling. The two women laughed at their behavior. Jin's car pulled in shortly and Jin bounded out of the car, carrying a brand new teddy bear. Fuu shrieked as she saw the teddy bear. Her body shook in anticipation to hold this new furry toy, she dropped the flower and ran up to the teddy bear. She wrapped her short toddler arms around it and squeezed it tightly, letting out a delighted shriek. Mugen frowned at the forgotten red flower. He picked it up and crammed it into his pocket, following Fuu. He gave Jin a cold look and scrunched his nose at the toy.

"That teddy bear is ugly." He told Jin. Jin glared at Mugen.

"You're ugly." He replied calmly. It took all three mothers to separate the two from the fight that took place shortly after Jin's reply. They sat in time-out for the rest of the afternoon but it didn't stop them from making faces at each other every few seconds when the women weren't looking. Fuu, who ran off with the teddy bear and missed the fight, decided that a tea party with her new friend and her other dolls and furry toys would have to replace the rowdy boys.

A/N: Another chapter! Yay! V. inspired right now, who knows how long my muse will stay with me but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This fic is about reincarnation, I'll try to keep the trio in character but sometimes, you just can't help it. I'm looking into re-formatting the prologue but right now I'm typing as fast as ideas pop into my head. Next chapter should be the introduction of Jin.

Tsunamimbw: I didn't want to leave it in a big clump but I've been itchin' to post it. But I promise to re-format it, scouts honor! Thank you for the review!

Animemuffin: Thank you! I hope you like chapter 1!