YES YES YES YES YES YES YEEEEEEEEEESSSS! Let it go down on history that I, kasadi, at the time of 8:28 pm on the evening of December 20, 2005, have a total of 1 fan! WOOOT! MOVE OVER, J.K. ROWLING! Thank you so much for your review, aserene! I took down my first release of Sincere Darkness to do some editing, but I put it back up in the same hour. Well, having just read my first review less than ten minutes ago, I am suddenly hyper and eager to write some more! Yeah, I currently have no life at the moment. Oh well! More story for you, then! Enough of my blabbering! On to the next chapter of Sincere Darkness! Before I lose my sudden eagerness to write!

Key

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

Modern day, Japan, Crossroads Elementary School

The pink haired girl sighed softly as she stood on the playground, watching the other kids play. Now at the age of ten years, Rini Tsukino was, once again, visiting from the future. She made regular visits now, about once every six months or so, so as not to alert the school of her sudden comings and goings. For some reason, she just wasn't in the mood to play with her friends, and they respected her wishes and had agreed to leave her alone this recess. She had a feeling that something was about to happen, and soon….

"Aw, is the wittle baby gonna cwy? Boo hoo!" Rini turned her gaze toward the direction of the taunting male voice and the laughter that followed his statements. She quickly found the source, and walked briskly over to the group of boys huddled in a circle around someone. When she got within a few yards of them, she noticed a small first grader sitting on the ground, trying to stand up. However, the boys kept reaching out and pushing the smaller child back down, laughing loudly as they did so.

Rini felt her blood began to boil with rage. These boys had to be in her grade. They were probably even fifth graders! She immediately spotted the leader of the bullies, a large and bulky-looking boy who had spoken before. Rini marched over to the circle and pushed through them to stand before the little girl, hands on her hips, ruby eyes narrowed and glaring towards the bully leader.

"Leave her alone! She didn't do anything to you!" Rini shouted furiously. The other boys actually took a step back, but the leader stood his ground. He glared right back at her through narrowed dark brown eyes. The future princess was not fazed however. She was angry now, and she wouldn't allow this little girl to be bullied any longer! She felt a sudden timid tug on the hem of her shirt. Glancing over her shoulder, her gaze softened as she saw the child she was defending. The girl was holding on to Rini's shirt, trying to hide behind her savior. Rini turned back to the boy, her glare stronger than ever.

"What are you gonna do about it? Tattle on me? No, wait. Are you gonna fight me, huh! You gonna try to take me on!" The boy guffawed at his words, and his gang suddenly regained their courage and joined in. Rini clenched her fists at her side, glaring at the gang of bullies with rage and loathing. If looks could kill, those boys would be worse than dead. If only looks could kill, if only they could! Rini opened her mouth to retort, but a shrill whistle interrupted her before she could begin.

"ENOUGH! Mr. Ranson, what, pray tell, are you and your posse doing to Ms. Tsukino and Ms. Kinnan?" The fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Andrion, stood behind the group of children, hands on her hips, fierce hazel eyes narrowed. The bullies gulped, looking quite nervous and fidgety.

"Well… Ummm… Errr… You see, Mrs. Andrion, me and the boys, we was just…" The leader of the gang to be had suddenly found himself at a loss for words. He couldn't come up for a valid lie that would get him out of this situation.

"All of you! To the principal's office! NOW!" Mrs. Andrion shouted the last word, pointing toward the school building. She was tapping her foot, a sure sign that it would be in their best interest to just listen and obey her. The group of children scurried off to the principal's office, afraid to face the wrath of Mrs. Andrion even more pissed off than she was now. All the while, the little first grader kept a fistful of Rini's shirt in her hand, never straying away from her protector.

Principal's Office

The principal was a plump man in his mid-fifties, with balding black hair and stern but kind brown eyes. However, as he looked over the group of eight in front of him, his eyes only showed kindness when looking at the two girls. The littlest girl was on the verge of clinging to the other girl, who had a comforting arm wrapped around her shoulders. Principal Laxer cleared his throat, leaning back in the chair behind his polished wooden desk.

"Now, Ms. Kinnan, would you please tell me what happened?" he asked. His voice soft, kind, and fatherly as he looked at Rini and the other girl, although his question was obviously directed toward the younger child. The small child slowly and timidly nodded.

"I-I was just s-s-sitting under the cherry blossom tree by the slide by myself. I w-wasn't doing anything w-wrong. T-they just c-c-came up to me and started t-t-teasing me and p-p-pushing me down on the ground." The little girl's voice was quiet and filled with fright. She didn't dare look at her tormentors. She only looked at Principal Laxer, sometimes looking at Rini as well.

The principal nodded, shooting the boys an angry look that made them fidget in their seats. He turned his attention back to the girls. He looked at the frightened first grader with sympathy and understanding for a moment, before turning his attention to Rini. He was amazed at how patient she was being with the little girl. The first grader was already one of the least liked children in school, but she always had been one of the sweetest, just like Rini.

"Ms. Tsukino, would you please tell me what you saw?" he asked in the same kind of tone he'd used with the victim of the situation. Rini nodded, glancing down at the girl for a moment and smiling reassuringly at her. She then turned her attention back to Principal Laxer.

"They were teasing her, and they were pushing her down to the ground. They wouldn't let her stand back up. They were laughing at her whenever they pushed her back down again," she stated, throwing the boys a look of loathing. The principal looked at the boys, furious. When he turned back to girls, his look softened. He smiled and nodded.

"Very well, you two may go. Recess is over now, so please return to your classrooms. I assure you that these boys will be punished. This is not their first offence. Ms. Tsukino, please escort Ms. Kinnan back to her class before returning to your own. Here are your passes," he said, handing them two slips of paper. Rini nodded and stood up, as did the first grader. They left the office, and could hear the principal's shouts as they walked down the hall. They walked in silence for a few seconds.

"My name is Rini. What's yours?" Rini asked, finally breaking the silence. She looked down at the young girl, who couldn't be any older than six. The little girl looked up at her, emerald eyes wide and innocent. They actually reminded Rini a bit of Hotaru's, only they innocent than her best friend's eyes.

"I'm Kaya," she said shyly. Her brown hair fell a little past her shoulders in length, and two white ribbons were tied into it, one on each side. (Once again, think Tohru's hairstyle from Fruits Basket.) Rini smiled, stopping as they reached the first grade classroom.

"Kaya. That's a pretty name. Well, it was nice to meet you, Kaya. I'll see you around," Rini said kindly. Kaya smiled shyly and nodded.

"I like your name too. Thank you, for saving me from those mean boys, and for the compliment about my name. Bye Rini." And with that, Kaya disappeared into her classroom. Rini stood there for a moment, staring at the closed door. She snapped out of her trance and went back to her own room, thinking about the little girl she'd just met.

Author's Note

Well, there you have it! The second chapter of Sincere Darkness. Yes, I know this chapter is boring and short, but hey, I wrote it in an hour, and my eagerness has faded. What do you expect? Besides, my main concern was introducing Kaya to the story in this chapter. Well, I'll update as soon as I can, and I'll try to make the next chapter longer and more interesting. Please leave me a review, just to let me know I have an audience! You saw how happy just one review made me! Imagine how energetic I'd be with two or more reviews! The next chapter would be even better because I'd be more eager to write! Well, until next time! See ya, everyone!