It had been a week, and Kat was starting to get used to life here. Everyone still thought she was a boy, she was desperate to find the headmaster. She wanted to announce her gender to this place, but was afraid of unknown consequences. This was a school riddled with death, for all she knew it could become her fate. While that line of thinking wasn't the most likely, still she wanted to be careful. After all, she had been given a second chance. A truly fresh start, and what a liberating thing it was. Her past haunted her but she had managed to sort of place it in a box of things she avoided thinking about. This box, high upon its shelf, didn't quite work. There was a shifting, a jolting sort of feel to it. Of remembering, of death. It was helpful for the most part, she supposed. Kat looked over at Chandler. He was on his laptop again, typing away furiously. She didn't know what he was doing. Some sort of writing, be it fictional or factual, she was interested. And why would she not be interested in the writing of someone with a double personality? During the day, he wore this emotionless mask. He carried his work ethic in his heart and his soul perched precariously on his sleeve. However, come nightfall, he was a sweet boy. A lovely friend she didn't stay awake for. Stuart, on the other hand, was always unpleasant. He had paid her no heed, acting as if she were beneath him. He seemed very entitled, he must of been rich in his life. That meant nothing now, he was left only with a useless attitude. She looked over at the door, wishing to not have to go through it. But she would, she would have to. Classes started very soon and she couldn't be late. The school environment was very strict. If she was late she would be severely punished. She dragged herself out of bed, releasing a groan. Class structure was strange here, there seemed to be no differentiation between age groups. In fact, there was both a five year old and a forty year old in her class. She worried about the five year old sometimes, after all, what could have driven him to suicide? That was something she wondered about with a lot of people. But she could never ask, and they did not ask her. It was an unspoken rule, obvious etiquette. Her eyes flicked over to Chandler, as he closed his laptop with a soft click. She had just piled her school clothes into her arms to change in the bathroom. When he closed his laptop it meant it was time to go, time to get to classes. That was their system and he expected her to abide by it. She rushed into the bathroom, in a great hurry. Only to find Stuart taking a piss. She closed the door, back against it. Breathing heavily. If only she had gotten up earlier. She had thought that Stuart had left for classes, but here he was. In fact, she was sure he had left. How had he gotten back in without her noticing? He was so strange like that, but this was not the time to muse about such things. Chandler looked at her expectedly. She dived under the sheets, and as fast as she could got changed there. She still had to keep her sex a secret until she could sort this entire situation out. Besides, she sort of… Wanted to be a Shinigami. It was an ambition, a new start. Sure the whole thing was inconvenient but she liked the school. She jumped out of her bed, wearing crumpled clothes and saw that Chandler had disappeared. Dammit! He had left without her noticing. This was terrible. She didn't know her way around this enormous school yet. He had always led her around and she was lost without him. She ran out into the hallway, he was nowhere to be seen. There was only one option. Running back, she shouted at the bathroom door.

"Stuart! Please please please help me!"

"With what?" A calm voice said from behind her. Shit! She jumped in fright.

"There you are!" (Thankfully fully clothed) "Chandler ran off and I don't know where to find my class." She steadied her breathing.

"Nope." He said plainly and walked away, out of the door. When she checked down the hallway, he was gone. What a dick, she fumed. they were going to same classroom anyway. And how exactly bad he disappeared so fast? These people were just crazy like that. Sinking down outside her door, she held her head in her hands. She didn't cry, though once long ago she might have. But she and been through more stress and heartbreak than most, and it had simultaneously toughened and weakened her. She sighed deeply, getting to her feet and brushing off her despair. She needed to search. She probably wouldn't find her class, but it was sure as hell better than doing nothing. If she did arrive she would undoubtedly be very late. Still a better alternative than not showing her face there. She looked down the hallway, hoping to Our Lady Of Perpetual Exemption she would be able to find her way back when she inevitably got lost. On second thought, perhaps searching out her class was a bad idea… She was already walking, fear of punishment pushing her forward. After all, her ideas of what it could be worsened every minute she was away. The halls were winding and complex. There seemed to be no system to how things were set out, which was why finding her class was so incredibly difficult. She knew that she was in room S304. But the problem was that the floors did not correspond with the alphabet. She thought that S floor might be the 32nd floor. It was rather confusing. She had heard that floor 27 was called Cupcake. She wanted to go to class there one day, coming into cupcake23 like a boss. Good reaper, it sounded like a username. When engulfed in her ponderings, she didn't seem to notice much of where she was going. This was very bad. Then a boy appeared. She didn't know his name but knew he was in her class as well. He was the one boy who was always late. He always got caned, sometimes they would hear his shouts of pain from the hallway. He didn't seem to care all that much. He had the hollow, distant gaze of someone who had given up. What was the point after all? They were in this school filled with the dead, the sad, the lonely souls. They had been thrown into this place, opportunity presented like some salvation, some second chance. But that wasn't what itwas. The were being trained to carry out a job many had carried out before. Like cattle for farming, soldiers for war. Sure they could paste things on the walls about the help to society and the status of a god. But that wouldn't change the truth. Maybe grim reapers did get strong, stronger than humans at the very least. But this was a world no one entered willingly. And just thinking about all those lost to the sick beginnings was making her queasy. This was a messed up system and she wished to… What did she wish? She wanted to be that person who made a change, who spoke out. She knew she could be that person. But could she really? There was an overwhelming part of her that desired nothing more than to get through this pace and out the other end in one piece. She didn't want to become like the boy in front of her, watching her inner dialogue with empty eyes. She wanted to persevere, to succeed and inspire many. But she just wasn't that person. She could be but she could not be. It wasn't that simple. The boy, he gazed at her, and something happened. There was a shift in him, seen through the glassy surface of his eyes. They lost some of their dullness, and seemed to brighten with confusion and fear. His stare went from fuzzy to piercing in a moment. That made her remember. She had forgotten, lost in his variations of existence. She cleared her throat, feeling as if she had not spoken forever.

"Do you know the way to our first class?" She asked, saliva seemingly running away from her tongue, leaving her dry and nervous. He simply nodded, looking at her with an inexplicable sense of confusion and almost… Awe. He gestured for her to follow and so she did. They ran to class in a rush of human fury and strangeness. They had shared something before, she wasn't sure what. But something had happened and she couldn't explain it for the life of her. They found strength in each other's lenses clad eyes. Holding true as the cane came down with quick bursts of pain and then slightly longer periods of feigned indifference.

She had made a friend.

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. And Sorry for the short chapter, also, like, no one has reviewed this yet, which understandable since like, two people read it. Maybe one. However, constructive criticism is always welcomed. I'm not gonna demand reviews for getting more chapters, since that's stupid. It always annoys me when people so that. You should be writing to express yourself not only a search for blind praise, gawd. The thing with that dude, I suppose you will have guessed but, I'm just building up potential reverse harem members because I am a lowlife piece of scum. Hur hur hur. We loves the harem. I hope. DON'T LEAVE ME ONE FOLLOWER! I will try to update when I have time. Dunno when that'll be. Ye bye why do I always write such long author's notes I'm stupid seeya I love you all unless you're cannibals because I don't love that cannibal bye.