Titles will always be my least favourite part of writing these episodes. Ok, so this chapter finishes up the introduction of the main characters and even some side characters – you'll get to see which is which soon. Any one of them catch your interest from their intros? Let me know in your reviews/comments. It's pay day so I will update both this and Rise from the Ashes.

4. Follow Your Heart

Reina 'Rei' Izumi didn't mean to forget to eat breakfast but there were just more important things. Science was her favourite subject especially the research side of it where she had to look things up, so why did it matter if she forgot to eat, drink or sleep every once in awhile? Tay just tended to worry too much.

Still, Mimi was a good cook, and she munched on the egg sandwich that Tay had brought for her as they headed towards class even though it was still a bit early.

"You're gonna collapse one of these days, Rei!" Tay said with a pout. "You need to always have breakfast. Mom says it's the most important meal of the day."

Rei rolled her eyes, pulling her reddish-brown hair up into a ponytail since it always got in the way of her work. "Yes, I know." Her lips quirked a little and despite her feeling that her younger friend worried too much, she did appreciate it. He could be annoying and talk her ear off at times but when he wasn't around, it felt weirdly lonely. Like it was too quiet – of course she would never tell him this information especially as she had not quite figured out the logic behind it if there was any. If anything, she thought Tay would be closer to MJ given they were the same age.

"This is really good, thank you," Rei said politely, something her father had instilled in her from a young age. "Tell Aunt Mimi I said thank you as well, ok?"

Taysuke chuckled. "Course I will. Now, wanna come see my project? I finished it and brought it late in the evening with Dad and Hana."

Rei raised an eyebrow. "You finished a project a day before instead of the morning it's due? Who are you and what did you do with Tay?" She might have Izzy's seriousness and politeness but her sass matched Touko more than people thought at times. The pout on her friend's face made her laugh a little.

"I can be serious about my projects, sometimes," Tay said huffing. "Besides, it was fun! There are so many planets in the world, and it was so cool putting them together."

And this was why her and Tay were closer friends. While he wasn't the most interested in school, he could listen to her rambles and genuinely find them interesting. He may not get everything about them, but he was there and that was all that mattered.

"Let's have a look then, ok?" Rei said as she took another bite of her sandwich and drank her juice. It did give her a little more energy and she'd be able to last through her exam today and hopefully get a straight A result like she had in the past.

Izzy and Touko always reassured her they would be fine as long as she tried her best, but this made her happy. She wanted to be a psychological researcher when she grew up, so she needed to do good in school – for her own sake. She followed Taysuke into the empty classroom, her eyes widening as she saw the detail put into his project. In a cardboard box, all the planets were stuck on. She knew Aunt Mimi had helped Taysuke but even then, he had a lot of fun doing this. She could tell that much.

"This is amazing, Tay!" Rei said, beaming a little bit. "I love the attention to detail and how much effort you put into this. You really liked this topic, didn't you?"

Taysuke nodded. "It was fun, and I wanted it to be good cause I had fun doing it. Science is a lot more fun than Math anyway."

Rei shook her head. The Kamiya siblings did not like Math, but Hana at least tried to pay attention for like the first 15 minutes of the class. "Neither of you are any good at Math, but that's fine, I'll help you both study for the test."

Taysuke beamed. "Thanks, Rei! You're the best!"

Rei rolled her eyes. "I know." Her eyes narrowed a little as Makoto entered the classroom, expression turning cold. "I should get to my own class. See you later, Tay. Thank you for the breakfast." She moved to push past Makoto, ignoring Taysuke even as he called out to her from behind. She didn't like that clingy brat but if Hana wasn't saying anything on that friendship, it was none of her business. That didn't mean she had to like it though – her mother said her dislike of Makoto was illogical but she just…didn't like him.

It was frustrating not being able to put a reason for it other than the fact that Tay was important to her, and he could do better for a best friend than Makoto Kimono. But why can he do better? That was a question she still did not have the answer to.

Kaito was able to push down his thoughts long enough for him to be able to do the exam but as soon as he handed his paper in, his eyes drifted over to Dai and Yuki. Yuki was always quiet and sweet, much like himself so he knew she kept more inside than she let on, but Dai had surprised him. He never thought the other kid could ever have any connection with Sam's disappearance. Was connection even the right word? But he knew something.

Something more than the rest of them did. Was it something he should bring up to his parents? No, this would cause needless worry. Worry that they did not need. He exhaled and focused back to look at his desk. When things are meant to happen a certain way, they always do. That was something his Mom had always told him.

"You ok, Kaito?" Hana leaned over and asked him once everyone had handed their papers in. "You look kind of distracted."

Kaito sighed. Of course, if anyone would notice that about him, it would be his friend. He may be an only child but sometimes Hana made him forget that he was because of how often she was around. He shook his head.

"I don't know if I can tell you, it's not my secret to tell," Kaito said with a shrug. Hana was his best friend, but Yuki was his friend too. It would help having his best friend's opinion, but it wasn't worth breaking Yuki's trust. Mom was right - he did think too much sometimes.

Hana paused and shook her head. "But it's bothering you. You need to talk to someone so spill already." And that was his best friend - she didn't know when it was the right time to push and when it wasn't.

"No, Hanako," Kaito said firmly but not harshly, and the use of her full name made her scowl slightly, but he continued before she could protest that. "I'll figure it out, ok? I can't tell you." At least not until he asked Yuki and Dai if it was okay to. If they found it ok, he would be more than willing to.

Hana frowned but didn't push further. Her lips pursed and she turned away from him.

"Fine," Hana replied. "Do what you want."

"Come on, Hana, it's another person's secret, you know me," Kaito pointed out. Why was she overreacting so much to this? Then again, it was Hana but still.

Hana scowled again for a moment before sighing. "Fine, but if that person is okay with it, talk to me, ok?"

Kaito smiled at that and nodded. "You know I will." He laughed when he thought he heard her mumble something that sounded suspiciously like "goody two shoes". It was times like this where he could really see how much Hana resembled her father. He didn't always know when to stop pushing either. From what his own father had told him; it was the reason Tai and Matt got into fights so much. Like father, like daughter, he supposed. Hana could be a bit insensitive at times too even though he knew she didn't mean to be. Her heart was in the right place.

Hotaru Kido frowned at the whispers that went between Hana and Kaito because she was sitting right next to the two of them. She had blue hair just like her father Joe and it came just a little below her ear. She also wore square-rimmed glasses although she did plan to get contacts when she was older. Despite being dressed in her school uniform like everyone else, she wore small silver heart earrings and a small bracelet on her wrist. Unlike her friends, she was a girl who kept up with the latest trends.

She knew the test was over but the two of them could have at least waited until they were out of class. Still, she had to admire the fact that Kaito was keeping a friend's secret – that boy was as loyal as they came.

She didn't ask the two of them what was going on because her attention was suddenly caught by how pale both Dai and Yuki looked. While Yuki did get sick more often than Dai, right now, both twins didn't look too good. Having never been one to keep too quiet, especially if she felt someone was hurt, she walked over to the twins.

"Hey Yuki, Dai, you ok?" Hotaru asked worried. "No offence but you two look like you shouldn't even be at school right now. Are you guys sick?"

Dai and Yuki exchanged a glance, with the latter looking down even as Kaito and Hana moved to join them.

"We're fine," Dai assured quickly. "We just stayed up really late last night. Yuki was helping me study so that's probably why we're looking a little pale."

Hotaru nodded. That did make sense – she did feel like there could be something else, but she didn't push any further. "Well, if you two need anything, we can skip school early and go to my dad's clinic. He'd check over you two for free, you know that."

Yuki smiled softly, stepping besides her brother now. "Thank you, Hotaru. I promise you, we will if we need it."

"Ok," Hotaru agreed easily, laughing a little as Kaito took Yuki's hand to reassure her and she flushed while Hana scowled. She didn't have the time to dwell on Hana's sudden irritation though, because suddenly there was a loud crash outside. The whole building began to shake, and she stumbled slightly into Rei who had just come out her class as well.

Rei steadied her slightly, but Hotaru barely noticed the younger girl. What was going on?! What were all those crashing sounds coming from the outside? She saw teachers rushing, only Mr. Akimoto stopping in front of them.

"Some monster is attacking outside; we need to evacuate now!" Mr. Akimoto told them hurriedly. "We've already called your parents." He ushered the children to move.

Monsters? Parents? She looked to the others who looked as confused as she was, MJ moving to grip Kaito's hand while Taysuke shifted a little closer to his sister who gripped his hand.

"Let's go!" Daichi cried to the others and Hotaru didn't need to be told twice. She ran because as bizarre as the story sounded – the crashing sounds coming from outside did not sound good either.