Everyone tells me I'm a genius. Ever since I was little, I was smarter than the other kids. I could build the tallest towers from building blocks, I could write the alphabet without messing up. I was the best at everything, no matter where I went. My intelligence only increased with age, and I was able to do high school course work in my first year of middle school.

When I was a child, my intelligence never hampered my ability to make friends, but as people became aware of my superior intelligence, they started ostracizing me. Even the teachers didn't know what to say think, I was smarter than them, and everyone knew it. They probably felt threatened by my superior intellect, so they just ignored me. So, obviously, I didn't have any friends after second and third grade. Without friends, there was no point to joining any sports teams or school clubs.

To amuse myself during my free time after school, I would take apart my household equipment and put them back together, just for fun. Many times, I'd use fuses and battery packs from old toys to modify the device. My watch has a tracking system, my Swiss army knife can turn on my laptop, and I can take the cap off of my pen and use it as a flashlight.

When I first started, it was more like a hobby; something to do when I was finished with my studies. But, once I started high school, it was the only thing that kept me going. My days became clockwork; I'd go to school, do all my homework during class, and once school let out, I'd go home, lock myself in my room and work until midnight. Every day, Monday through Friday, for two whole years. I guess my parents just thought I was studying, and my grades were still the top in my class, so they didn't ask any questions. On weekends, I wouldn't ever leave my room. There was nowhere to go.

Not like I wanted to be with my "family" anyway. My father is a movie star. Some kids my age may find that cool, but it's what I hate about him. Not only is he an incredibly successful movie star, but he's popular too. He attends all the fancy parties that the higher-ups organize, he's always on television, either to promote his newest movie or to have a live interview. Honestly, the way he lives a double life sickens me. On stage, he's charismatic, popular, proud, and a generally strong guy, but at home, he's just pathetic. He's always trying to buy my respect with things like laptops and phones, which I quickly and outright ignore. You might say I'm being rude or disrespectful, but I honestly don't care. Of course, because of his work, he's almost never at home, but the worst, most disgusting part about him, is not the way he leads a double life, but rather, it's how I'm expected to grow up to be like him.

Hell no.

Everywhere I go, nobody can see me for the genius I am. Instead, they see me as his son. Although they try and hide it, I know that behind their smiling faces, they're all wondering how such a popular and successful actor has such a sullen and introvert son. It's like I'm some kind of award. A consolation prize. Some teachers have even given me extra credit, not that I needed it, just because they knew who my father was.

It's despicable.

This is why, even if I wanted them, I wouldn't be able to make friends. Once they hear my last name, everyone would start floundering toward me, trying to get on my good side. They all just want the privilege to say that they have connections with the Hikari family. Many girls have actually tried becoming my girlfriend, just so they could meet my father. Of course, it never worked. A simple minded creature can only think of simple minded plans, and their fake smiles were transparent when viewed through skeptical eyes. This is why I hate my father. He's the reason I can never lead a normal life. I'm constantly judged and compared to him, when I'd rather die that follow his footsteps.

My mother isn't around anymore. I'm not saying she's dead or anything, it's just that she's gone for a while. About seven months ago, she got the opportunity to follow her dreams of becoming a doctor, so she took a plane to Radiant Garden, to learn from a prestigious medical school. She'll be coming back next year, which I guess is a comfort, but we were never close to begin with.

The only person I can stand is my sister, Xion. She's pretty tomboyish, at least compared to any other girls I've ever known. She can beat any guy in a fight, she never backs out of a challenge, and she's too headstrong and stubborn for her own good. This is all a result of something that happened a while back, but I can go over that later. She's kind of in the same boat as I am. Everyone expects her to be polite and elegant as the daughter in the Hikari family, but she goes and ditches the parties to watch movies or play at the arcade. We're similar in that way, but she takes it less offensively. I guess it comes with being a year older than me, or maybe she just stopped caring all together.

I wish I could do the same.

xxCOMPLICATEDxx

About two weeks before the new school year started, my dad got an important business call. Apparently, his agent had got him signed up for a project that everyone had been anticipating to be the next big hit. Something about a book to film adaptation that would make millions. Of course, my dad took the offer, but the only problem was, the set was pretty far away. So, we had to pack our bags and move to the Radiant Heights, the place where all the rich people live, which was a few million miles from our current home. Exaggerations aside, my sister and I had to move schools. I didn't care, since a new school just meant a new group of students to ignore and another batch of tests to ace. On the other hand, my sister was the opposite of me. She had a large group of friends. She had a pretty good chance of becoming the student council president. She had so much time and energy invested into that school, but it was all for nothing. She was opposed to the idea of moving at first, for obvious reasons, but she gave up on protesting, seeing as there was no point.

The house we moved to cannot be called a house. It was practically a mansion. Maybe even a villa. Any waves of depression Xion was feeling were swiftly blown away by a tsunami of euphoric glee as she rampaged around our new abode. Even father felt a bit overwhelmed, seeing as how we were previously living in a big apartment. We started unpacking, although we didn't bring much. The agency promised that they would pay for the necessities, and that we should only bring things of personal value. Xion had two luggage bags filled with her things, while I put all my inventions inside a cardboard box with a 'FRAGILE' sticker on the sides. The inside of the house was larger than the outside. It had three floors, not including the attic or the basement. Also, according to the agency, a forty inch plasma screen television hooked up to a plethora of electronic games, video recorders, and DVD players, was a necessity. The best thing about this new house, was that I practically got a whole floor to myself. We still had to share bathrooms, but I repurposed the guest room as my workshop. At my old room, my 'workshop' was just my study desk, where no studying actually took place. It wasn't actually that bad of an arrangement, and everyone else seemed to think the same way.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before school started.

Because of my dad's connections, both Xion and I were transferred to a private school, conveniently located one bus ride away from home. This was my first time ever riding a public bus, since I'd never had any reason to do so. It's a bit embarrassing to have your sister teach you how the transit system works when you're sixteen, but I took it in stride. Eventually, the first day of school was just around the corner, and both Xion and I took different approaches to screwing the pooch. I came to school wearing my normal attire, a black unlabeled shirt under a leather jacket, with a matching paper-boy hat covering my spiky brunette hair. Doing this was a problem, since the school enforces a uniform code, but the peach colored blazer was so hideous I burned it so they wouldn't be able to make me change. Of course, it doesn't seem like it mattered, however, since the lady at the front desk didn't even give me a second glance. Probably saw my last name and didn't wanna get on my dad's bad side. My sister, on the other hand came to her first class twenty five minutes late, with bed hair, a piece of half-eaten toast in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. She's a year above me, so I don't know the exact details, but this rumor is probably true. Xion's not exactly a morning person, which is another reason she's an opposite of myself, since I came to class twenty minutes early.

According to her, when her last name was called in roll call, it wasn't really that big of a deal.

My first week of school can be accurately summarized by this one conversation with a few random girls.

"Hey… you're Hikari… right?" One of them asked me hesitantly.

"Yeah. I am."

"Oh! Um… do you wanna hang out with me and my friends?" She asks, as her friends nod and smile with her.

"What's my name?" I ask her.

"W-What? You're Hikari. You said it yourself!" She seems perplexed.

"No. My first name."

"Um… y-your first name?" I nod in response, waiting for her answer.

…

…

Gotcha.

"That's what I thought." I pick up my bag, sling it over my shoulder, and I walk away.

One would believe that such a simple question would be easy to answer, but no one can look past the Hikari name. It's one of the worst feelings in the world to find out that someone you were close to only did so because of your cool dad. That's why I made sure to ask that question to anyone who tried to get close to me. And you know what?

Nobody knew my name.

xxCOMPLICATEDxx

One month into the school year, I had no friends, and most people were too ashamed or too scared to approach me after I pointed out they knew fuck all about me. It was the day of the beginnings test, which was a foreign concept to me. According to my homeroom teacher, they make the students take a test in the first month of school, then another one in the last month of school to see if you've improved or not. It's meant to spur on motivation to do better each time, which is why they post your scores on the school bulletin board, despite how badly you do.

As expected, the test was easy for me. The questions ranged from easy algebra problems to more difficult physics equations. I breezed through it in the first five minutes of class, and spent the rest of the hour doing homework and sleeping.

An uneventful week passed by, when finally, the test scores were up for everyone to view. The announcement was made through the school intercom, so the teacher excused us from class a few minutes early to check them out. Everyone left the room quickly, obviously anxious about their grades, but I wasn't. I wasn't being disingenuous when I called myself a genius. I took my time putting my books away before finally walking to the main lobby. A crowd of students from different grades were crowded around the board, but I was able to get through to find the junior's sheet. On the way to the front, I could feel the gazes of all my classmates, though it wasn't something that I wasn't prepared for. I knew the feeling too well. Once I got to the front of the crowd, the contents of the paper didn't surprise me.

1. Hikari, S – 100/100

xxCOMPLICATEDxx

The next day proceeded a bit differently from the previous days. The amount of people whispering and gossiping about me increased. Some rumors about how my father had bribed the school or how I had cheated somehow. The amount of girls that would come up to talk to me increased as well, but the way I ignored them remained the same. During the afternoon classes, I could feel someone's glares burning into the back of my head, but I couldn't figure out who. The ending bell rang like any other day, everyone left in a hurry like always, but something was different.

I wasn't the only one left in the room.

Tap Tap Tap Tap

I could hear someone's footsteps grow louder as they approached me. I assumed they were leaving, so I grabbed my water. Closing my eyes to take a drink, I stood up, put the bottle down, and opened my eyes.

…

A girl, about as tall as me, glaring at me. Her face was only a few inches away from my own, and I could feel her breath on my face.

"Um… can I help yo-" I began to ask, considering that this was a bit of an awkward situation, but she interrupts me.

"Are you Hikari?" She asks me, but it doesn't sound like a question. More like a command.

"Yeah. So what?" Apparently happy with my answer, she backs up a few feet.

"That's good." She says quietly, nodding her head to herself, before suddenly pointing at me with her finger. "From now on, you're my rival!" She yells, determination in her eyes.

…

"I'm sorry. What?" What the hell is wrong with this girl?

"You heard me, Hikari." She pronounces my name the same way I pronounce the word 'tapeworm'. "You may have beaten me this time, but I'll get you next time!"

"I don't even know who you are." I tell her bluntly. She obviously believes she's more important than she actually is.

"Hmph. I'm Kairi Uchida! The top student in this school!" Her confident stare wavers a bit, "Well, I was, until you showed up!" You've gotta be kidding me. She's doing this because I did the best in the exam.

"So, you're jealous." Her face flares up, rosy cheeks easily visible.

"A-Ah, no way! You only won because you cheated! Or it was just a fluke! Or, or, SOMETHING!" She starts shaking her head, making her long red hear flail all over her face. "Ugh! Stop confusing me! Anyway, I'm challenging you to next week's physics test!"

This girl is crazy.

"Whatever." Saying that, I try leaving, but she blocks the doorway with her arms.

"Oh no you don't! You're not leaving until you accept my challenge!"

"I'll accept your challenge on one condition." I tell her.

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

Playing right into my hands.

"What's my first name?"

Kairi's hard glare switches into a soft smile immediately.

…

"It's Sora."

…

I couldn't help but stare at her, I don't know why I did. After a few seconds, she averted her gaze, looking to the side.

"S-Stop staring at me! That's your name, right?" She stutters out, her cheeks coated with a light blush.

"Tch. Fine. I accept your challenge." Satisfied with my words, she stands to the side, letting me through. As I walk down the hallway, I can hear her yell behind me.

"Don't forget! Next week's physics test!"

In the main lobby, I check the junior's exam sheet once again. Sure enough, beneath my name.

1. Hikari, S – 100/100

2. Uchida, K – 99/100

Hmmm…

Kairi Uchida.

How interesting.

I can't help but laugh out loud, it's just that this situation could not get any weirder.

The first girl this year who knows my name is the one who's declared war on me.

Well, at least this year will be interesting.

Of course, I have no intention of letting her win.

Kairi Uchida…

Bring it on.