Chapter Two

Class Assignments

Yuki left the auditorium, propelled by her sister. Mai was elated. She had had the best test scores, so she had gotten to give the speech for the first years. It had made her whole day, and now she was just plain annoying to her sister.

They pause at the bulletin board, and a line opened up before them. Yuki was a little surprised until she remembered that morning's little fight. Sure enough, the two boys, Luffy and Naruto, were standing near the large board, checking classes.

Mai was extremely surprised, having not witnessed the event, and stayed behind while Yuki strolled up to look at the class assignments. After she reached the board, she was enveloped by the crowd, all except for a small semi-circle about twenty centimeters from where she stood.

Scanning the lists, she made the discovery that she and Mai were in two different classes. Yuki, who had nearly failed the entrance test on purpose, had been placed in class 1-A, while her sister was in class 1-B. In reality, Yuki would have scored higher than her sister, but didn't want to give some crappy speech at a pointless ceremony.

Looking closer, she noted that her teacher was Kakashi Hatake, whom she had met earlier, again at the fight. It seemed to her that a lot of things would bring that up from now on. The names of the other classmates that stood out to her were Okumura Rin, Edward Elric, her friend Ema, Luffy, Gajeel, and someone without a last name. The only name given for the girl was Azu. The others in her class seemed ordinary enough, for belonging to the magic community.

A short, blonde-haired guy pushed his way to the front. "Whatcha' doing, shorty? Gonna get stepped on, you know," Yuki asked. It looked like he should've been in middle school.

"HEY! Don'tcallmesomepipsqueakwho'ssoshorthecan'tevenreachdoorhandles!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. It was amazing to watch, even to be on the receiving end of that short rant.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down. That's not what I meant. What's your name? My name's Ichinose Yuki," she offered, trying to make peace.

He drew in a few more breaths and answered her. "I'm Edward Elric," he said, very irritatedly. "So you're Yuki, huh? Bet I could take you..."

"Oh, not this again! Why did I have to intervene with that stupid fight!" Yuki really was tired of the way the others had judged her because of the fight. "Okay, you want to fight me? Challenge me to a duel, and set it up with one of the teachers. You're in my class, so why not."

That startled him. "I'm... in your class?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. At least, that's what it says right on the paper." Yuki calmed down, too.

"Oh, cool. Well, let's duel later today, okay?" he asked, clearly eager to test her strength, or his, whichever it was.

"Sure. Why don't you go and set it up with Kakashi-sensei? He's in the courtyard." After the suggestion Yuki made, Ed took off, leaving here in the middle of the crowd. It was really boring after that. She told Mai what class she was in, and then they left, the warning bell ringing loud and clear, cutting through the crowd's chatter.

As they rushed to class, Ed caught up with her. He had a mildly surprised look on his face, as if to say "How?" or "Why?"

"What is it?" Yuki asked him.

"How did you know he would be there? I arrived, didn't see anything, called out for him, and then he was there..." Ed replied, answering her question and asking his own.

"A little birdie told me," Yuki replied.

"C'mon, tell me how!" Ed pressed. It was clear that he hadn't noticed her ability to converse with animals, and she laughed.

"That is the truth!" she exclaimed, still laughing. "I can talk to animals, and shapeshift into their forms. It's not that hard either, but I don't think it's something you can learn. I was born with this ability." Yuki explained herself, and Ed blushed, feeling very, incredibly stupid.

"Sorry," he started to apologize. It was kind of cute when he got all embarrassed.

"Nah, it's not your fault. I suppose that's what people say when they're lying. Just, for me, it was true enough. A bird did tell me, and so that's what I responded with." Yuki said, preventing him from apologizing further. It was cute, but it made her feel bad.

They reached the classroom at that moment. It was complete and utter chaos. Half the students were screwing around, and breaking things in the process, while the other half just didn't have the courage to try and make them stop. That pissed off Yuki.

She stormed into the classroom, and Ed could tell she was angry. He tried to hold her back, but she was too strong. He wondered what their fight would be like.

Yuki was in the middle of the class, giving orders to the kids who were damaging things. Her fierce nature made most of them listen, but about three didn't. They, too, were caught up in a fight. This made Yuki sigh.

She noticed Luffy. "Great, another fight to stop with him in it," she thought. walking towards them, she glared, inspiring fear throughout the rest of the class. It calmed her down, oddly enough, until she realized that it was her evil side showing. She stopped glaring at her classmates.

"Luffy! STOP FIGHTING!" Yuki shouted. Luffy looked up, like a deer caught in headlights. She had known that feeling, and barely managed not to get hit by a car that time. Luffy was not so lucky, as a heavy blow caught him in the stomach.

"Ed, I could really use your help! Cage 'em up, please," Yuki asked. Ed hurried to comply with her request. He clapped his hands together, touched the ground, and cages shot up around the three fighters. Yuki knew it was alchemy instantly, but it was still cool.

"Congrats, Ed. You might be able to beat me, if you can pull a trick like that in our duel. Be ready, I won't go easy," she said, grinning. That was when she caught sight of Ema, or rather, a dark corner of the classroom.

As the shadows surrounding her unfolded, a cute, short girl appeared. She was only as tall as Ed, which was saying a lot. Her hair was short and spikey, black with neon green streaking it. Her uniform was pretty ordinary, except for her sweatshirt, which was black with the initials for Dark Masked Devils on it in bright red. She waved Yuki over to her corner.

Ema nodded curtly at Ed as he followed, leaving the caged boys to be dealt with by the teacher. Ed was a little surprised at that, but continued anyways. Ema stood up and hugged Yuki. It had been over two weeks since they had seen each other, and they weren't used to being separated for that length of time.

"What's up? You look tired," Ema asked. She could always tell when something was wrong with her friend.

"Oh, did you hear about the fight that happened this morning? Yeah, well, I'm being treated like a goddess or something, and it's really bugging me," Yuki replied, annoyed.

"You know, normally, people would love the attention..." Ema had a point, but Yuki wasn't normal. Neither of them were, and Mizuki was just a little pyrophile.

"Yeah, well, you know," Yuki said, rubbing her head.

"Yep. Hope they ignore you soon!" Ema said cheerfully. Ed looked confuzzled.

The conversation ended, Ema pulled the shadows back around her, and Yuki went back to her desk, Ed heading to his. The teacher, Kakashi-sensei, entered the room.

As soon as he had reached the front of the class, he noticed the three boys who Ed had captured, sighing. Apparently, fights weren't that much fun for him, either, so he walked up to Ed and asked him to release them. Ed agreed and went to do the task.

"Yuki, can I see you for a moment?" Kakashi-sensei asked her.

"Sure," Yuki replied, and followed him to the hall. When they got out there and shut the door, he started to laugh. Yuki was dumbfounded, she hadn't expected that.

"Okay, so my guess is you snapped again. Right?" Kakashi-sensei asked.

"Well, sort of. I guess the constant fighting irritates me..." she trailed off, still startled.

"Okay, I told the principal and the student counselor about the earlier fight, and they suggested I make you the leader of the disciplinary squad they were looking to form this year. I've reviewed your file, so I know you, Mizuki, and Ema lived together, and what your powers are. I know you haven't met any of the third years, but I'm pretty sure you could take any of 'em in a one on fight. How about it, kid?" Kakashi explained the plans the adults had, and Yuki was even more surprised.

"I got the feeling this was the problem class."

"Well, yeah. You were put in it because you had low test scores. That exam we had everyone fill out after the entrance ceremony? It was almost the same as the entrance exam was. You got one hundred percent... why did you nearly fail on purpose?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh, well... I didn't want to say the speech at the entrance ceremony..." Yuki mumbled to him. It sort of embarrassed her now, thinking back on it. Why would she do a stupid thing like that?

"Wow, that's the only reason? You really aren't a people person." Kakashi checked his watch. "Oops, time to start class. Go back to your seat, I'll give you 'til lunch to make your decision about the disciplinary squad."

With that, their conversation had ended, and they both went back to the classroom. Ema gave her "the look", knowing what it was about. Shadows were surprisingly useful for gathering information.

Ed looked worried, so Yuki smiled, trying to convince him it was okay. Nothing bad had come of it, or so she thought. Kakashi-sensei had made his position quite clear. He wanted her to join the squad, and take her friends with.

Standing at the front of the class again, Kakashi-sensei cleared his throat, tossing a few shuriken at the students' desks who continued to chat with friends sitting close to them. This startled them into silence.

"Now, as you all know, it's the first day of school. I'm gonna be a bit lax with you today, because I don't know you." Lies, Yuki thought. She knew he had probably checked each and every person's file. "Behave, and we'll get along fine. Don't behave, and Yuki might snap again."

Yuki groaned, being thoroughly embarrassed. This was his way of trying to convince her, that he wouldn't let her off easy. "This is going to be hell," she thought.

"Just kidding, just kidding. Seriously, though. You guys need to behave, or you're gonna get something a lot worse than a trip to the principal's , this isn't your average school. Everyone here is dangerous."

Yuki glanced around. There was a guy with a tail and long ears. He was probably a half demon. There was Luffy, looking as cheerful as always, and then there was someone in the back, who had been in the fight. He had waist-length spikey black hair, and was eating a pile of screws. He was probably a dragon-slayer. She had heard of them before. What their element was, they could eat. Fire, Iron, Sky, etc.

Then there was a girl with horns. They were really just small stubs, like you'd find on a young deer, but something about them made her curious. Was this Azu? Her clothes were normal, what she'd expect from a teenage girl, and she had on a little makeup, like Yuki. Her hair was curly in front, framing her face in small waves, but in back it was fairly straight. Her hair was also pale pink with pale blue streaks.

Yuki started to tune into what Kakashi-sensei was saying. He had been introducing students, having them announce their powers if it didn't make them uncomfortable. The student went to sit down, and Yuki's name was called.

"Okay, Ichinose Yuki! Very pretty name. Tell us a little about yourself," Kakashi asked her. She stood up and shapeshifted, turning into a hawk. When she did, a shimmer filled the air around her, until you couldn't see through it. When the glittering barrier dissipated, there was a hawk with red eyes sitting on the desk. It promptly flew up to the center of the classroom, and there was a flash of blue light when Yuki returned to her original form.

"I don't like people much." Yuki decided to be straight out honest. "You may think I'm crazy, mean, scary, or all of the above, but I am who I am, and I don't care what you all think. Avoid me if you like, start rumors if you like. I only want to talk to my close friends, and if I don't start the conversation, you might find me ignoring you. Now that I've made that clear..."

Yuki paused, letting her words sink in before talking again. "I am a shapeshifter, for those of you who couldn't make the connection of the hawk appearing and myself suddenly disappearing. I was born with that power, and I've mostly used it to help the communities I've been in. Any questions?"

Ed raised his hand. "If you don't like people, why were you acting friendly towards me? I'm not very special..."

"It's the first day. I could stand to at least be nice... and you have a very interesting power. I make it my business to study others' powers. Oh, and I thought your short rant was funny," Yuki answered.

"Who'reyoucallingsoshortthathecan 'tevenreachthetable?!" Ed yelled, launching into another short rant. Yuki and Ema laughed, and Kakashi-sensei tried not to break down in a fit of laughter. He was enjoying this class.

"See? You're funny when you do that." Ed was still steaming. His little hair, which Yuki thought of as the idiot hair, was sticking straight up, pointing at the ceiling. Ema broke into a fit of giggles, obviously loving the cute little idiot hair. It was too cute. "Any other questions? Any comments?"

"I have one," said the dragon-slayer. Yuki remembered his name was Gajeel. "How strong do you think you are? You had your alchemist friend put us in cages to separate us. Are you actually as strong as they say you are?"

"I don't really know what you mean," Yuki replied, smiling. "I'm strong, sure. Everyone here is strong. I don't pay attention to rumors. Details, please?" Yuki was sickeningly sweet, trying her best to not explode into an angry yelling fit.

"Sure, but you're creepin' me out here," Gajeel agreed. "Is it true you pulled Naruto and Luffy apart? I heard that they're insanely strong. Everyone is in awe of you..."

"Oh, that. Yeah, I did, and I don't think they were fighting seriously. Right, Luffy?"

"Yosh! We were just playing around!" Luffy agreed. He was really funny, sometimes. Yuki nodded a silent thanks to the rubber man and continued the conversation with Gajeel. The other classmates were listening in eagerly, even Ema, who, as far as Yuki knew, hadn't been present for that morning's fight.

It seemed like ages since she had pulled the two fighting guys apart. She had talked about it so much, it just bored her now. Like a show someone would watch over and over until they got sick of it.

"So, they weren't using full strength... huh." Gajeel looked almost disappointed, but his disappointment turned to excitement. It was clear he had a fight in mind. Kakashi just smiled. He probably knew Yuki's true potential, and wasn't impressed by Gajeel.

"Still, she surprised me! I thought only Ace was that strong!" Luffy exclaimed. Even playful fighting had been fierce, and they both came out of it with a few cuts and bruises.

"Really? I thought you weren't fighting at full strength," Gajeel said.

Kakashi-sensei decided to add more trouble to the mix. "What Luffy said was true. He wasn't fighting at full power. But neither was Yuki. She had a lot more power hidden under the image of a fragile girl. Remember, she's a shapeshifter."

It was like pouring oil on a fire. The reaction in the class was amazing to watch, but Yuki wished she could've been somewhere else. A bombardment of question came out all at once, from every direction. Gajeel looked so excited that he might jump in the air, and Luffy looked shocked to know that wasn't her full power.

Again, Kakashi decided to do more damage. "In fact, that wasn't even half her power. She's probably stronger than any student at the school currently." That practically destroyed her control. Yuki snapped.

"QUIET!" Yuki yelled. She had accidentally summoned the power of a tiger's roar, so it was twice as loud as it should've been. The entire class, even Kakashi-sensei, fell silent at that. Ema, completely cloaked in shadows, stood up and walked over to her friend.

Just as she reached Yuki, Mizuki burst into the classroom and ran up to her friend. Together, they talked her into going outside. It always calmed Yuki to look at art, and the school building was made of artwork.

After the three of them left, the class was still silent. Kakashi stood up to go and retrieve the three stray students, but thought better of it and sat back down. He was thinking about whether or not it was a good idea to have Ed bring her back, but again he decided not to. He knew how close she was to her two friends.