"Yankee killer?"

A boy with a rather large and plump physique and auburn hair asked curiously, his mouth had a few leftover crumbs with the bread he's been munching on.

"Ah, they said she goes all apeshit fighting with some damn delinquents here in Mistilteinn." Another boy, albeit much shorter, answered in a gruff tone. The younger boy had messy, dirty blonde hair and piercing lavender eyes. Standing next to him with hands place on her waist in a haughty manner is a girl almost the same height as him who had vermillion hair tied into twin tails. Coincidentally, both of them had ahoges on top of their heads, making them look like siblings.

"Also, I heard the girl has ACTUAL horns and fangs! Must be why she's also called 'The Red Demon'!" The short boy exclaims, his fingers mimicking the shape of horns on top of his head, making the chubbier one laugh in amusement.

The red haired girl scoffs beside him. "And where'd you get all that nonsense, you big dolt?" She challenged, sarcasm laced in her voice.

"I heard it from the upper class men, duh!" The boy sticks his tongue out, making the girl roll her eyes at the childish action.

"And you believed all that? Jeez Zorome, never thought you'd be the type to listen to rumors!"

With both their ahoges seemingly having a mind of its own, the taut hair strands battle for dominance, and truth be told, static can almost be seen between the two ahoges.

"Oh won't you just quit it Miku? It's too early for yer' damn nagging!"

"Oho, is that so? Well, it's too early for you stupidi-"

Thankfully, before the fight could get any worse, a young woman with long, wavy, ash blonde hair approaches them with a soft, yet stern look on her pretty face.

"Now you two, let's try and get along with each other." The young couple glare at each other one last time before breaking apart from their small squabble. Instantly, the red haired girl, Miku, beams at the blonde woman before enveloping her into a tight hug.

"Kokoro! I missed you!"

Kokoro smiles and returns Miku's hug. "I missed you too Miku!"

"Kokoro chan!" The plump boy from earlier exclaims, his cheeks dusted with red. Instantly, the two girls pull away from their hug, Miku looking a bit unamused by the sudden interference.

"Hello Futoshi kun, do you need anything?" Kokoro asks, tilting her head.

"U-um.. I've made these for you.." Futoshi stutters, handing her a bento full of bread, giving her a nervous smile.

"They're anpan. (Red bean buns)"

The buns smelled heavenly and were a golden brown in color, as well as perfectly rounded. Also, the bread's top seemed to be branded with a heart design. Seeing how much effort he put with his baked creation, Kokoro sends him a sweet smile and reaches for a piece.

"Thank you, Futoshi kun." Taking a small bite, Kokoro notes on how soft its texture was, and how it had just the right amount of red bean inside it. "Wow! This tastes really good!" She compliments.

"Really?" Futoshi's heart flutters. "W-well then, I'll make lots and lots for you from now on!" He loudly declares, making Kokoro giggle over his enthusiasm.

"Oi, no fair!" Zorome cuts in, destroying their moment. "I want one too, Fatty!" He says while trying to take a bread bun from Futoshi's bento.

"Quit calling me that!" Futoshi says while keeping the bento far away from Zorome's prying hands. "-and besides, this ain't for you!"

"The hell?! Aren't you forgetting that I'M your best friend?" The shorter boy argues haughtily, his ahoge tensing up.

"Well yes, yes you are..but my bread only belongs to Kokoro chan!" Futoshi yells loudly, making their other classmates snicker over the two boys fighting over bread. Kokoro, on the other hand, was feeling slightly embarrassed over the two.

"U-um-"

"Tch, just how noisy can you two get?" A boyish voice interrupts the two with its rather sharp tone. Turning to see where it came from, they find a young man with slicked, dark green hair staring at them with an annoyed expression.

"Mitsuru kun?" Kokoro says, calling the attention of the said man who casts a glance at her.

Cold green eyes clashes with her warm blue ones.

Without saying a word, Mitsuru turns away from them and heads towards his seat.

"What a prick." Miku comments, while looking at Kokoro who was beside her. Kokoro just purses her lips in response.

"Don't mind him." A woman with dark violet hair held together by a butterfly clip suddenly approaches the two girls. "He's just irritated he and Hiro are classmates again."

"Well that figures." Miku rolls her eyes over the explanation. "Isn't it hard dealing with him Ikuno?"

Ikuno shrugs, her eyes coming up to her glasses to readjust them. "As if I have a choice; he is my cousin after all." Scanning the whole classroom, she realizes someone was missing.

"Where's Ichigo?" She asks.

"Ichigo chan said she'd be at the front gate with Goro kun." Kokor chimes in.

"And why is that?"

"Well, they said they'll be waiting for Hiro kun at the entrance.."

Just then, Zorome butts in with the girl's conversation. Some might think he was being rude, but since all of them were childhood friends, this was a pretty normal occurrence between them.

"Speaking of Hiro...that wuss didn't even bother to show up at the opening ceremony!" Zorome exclaims in annoyance.

"Well look who's talking. If it weren't for me, you would've been the same as him!" Miku reprimanded, poking Zorome at the chest.

"Zorome's right though. I haven't seen Hiro today." Futoshi comments. To be honest, he was feeling quite worried over the guy, considering they were all childhood friends. In addition, it was no secret to Futoshi regarding Hiro's downward spiral from a child who was looked up upon, to the man he is today.

"He has never attended a single ceremony since sixth grade…" Kokoro quietly says to herself.

"Well if I'll say, Hiro's just running off again to wallow in his self-pity." Mitsuru says with a smirk.

'How pathetic' he thought.

Feigning concern, he tells them, "If I were you,I'd spare a thought for how he feels."

Miku makes a face. "God, was that forced."

Just then, the group of friends turn towards the door opening, revealing Ichigo, Goro and the raven haired teen they were talking about just now.

Hiro.

And as usual, he was looking as gloomy as ever

"Ichigo." Ikuno greets with a nod and a small smile on her lips. Ichigo returns the smile with a smile of her own. "Yo Ikuno."

"Yo Hiro!" Futoshi calls out with a wave, making Zorome cringe.

"Never thought the two of you were THAT close." He mutters.

"Oh come now Zorome, we're all friends here you know." Futoshi said, earning a scoff from Mitsuru at the background. Futoshi turns towards Hiro, who responds back with a small nod.

"Tch." Zorome rolls his eyes before glancing at Hiro. Blood boiling, it unnerved him to no end seeing the guy look all depressed and gloomy; nothing like the Hiro most adults would gush about. In all honesty, looking at him now made him utterly pissed.

Sometimes, he gets the urge to kick the damn boy in the ass for no reason.

Just then, the school bell suddenly rings, signaling everyone to get back to their seats. As everyone settled, the door flew open and entered their homeroom teacher.

With wavy red hair, a voluptuous body, and an aura that screams womanly charms, Zorome's foul mood instantly disappears as he beams at his teacher.

Meanwhile, Miku had a knowing and teasing look on her face as she stared at the starry eyed boy seated beside her.

With a gentle smile on her face, she greets her class with a curt bow.

"Good morning everyone! I'm Nana and I'll be your homeroom teacher from now on." Almost the whole class cheered, Zorome being the loudest, since Ms. Nana was known to be popular in the campus for her kind and caring personality.

"Anyways, since most of you seem to already know each other, we'll just have to skip the introduction part." She grins. "Instead, let me all introduce to you our new student."

"She's a little different, but I hope everyone gets along with her." Ms. Nana adds.

Calling forth the new student outside the room, Hiro, who was slouching on his desk, could hear faint footsteps, followed by gasps and silent whispers.

Wondering what seemed to cause such reaction, Hiro slowly lifts his head to see the new student. His eyes slowly widen and his heartbeat quickens as he takes in the student's appearance.

Hair the color of cherry blossoms, sharp teal irises framed with long lashes and lined with red eye liner;

And two red horns protruding proudly as she gave the class an intimidating stare.

It was her, the girl he just met earlier at the Sakura tree; the girl who had a strange name, and an even stranger taste for sweets; the girl who continues to captivate him with her alluring presence. It's-

'Zero Two!'