School was nothing like she had thought. She hadn't passed the exam, not that she'd expected to, and it had taken her at least six months for her to get in. School had never been a reality for her. Having war take over her life at two, she'd never been to school. But since she knew that she'd get nowhere without education, she payed her way in. The principal, recognising how much she wanted to get in, relented and placed her in the lowest class.

She had everything she needed. The money in the case had been a surprisingly large amount; it could keep her going for the rest of high school. Then she'd find out how to get more money. Maybe she'd have to work.

Feeling strange in her short school skirt and white top, all which felt so posh and foreign to her that she felt uncomfortable, she walked carefully into the school grounds. She was meant to meet a teacher in the front building so that she could be shown around the school and to her class. She'd started later than everyone else and had missed the orientation.

"Sakusa Kimi?" someone called. Still in a daze, she didn't notice until the person was right in front of her. "Sakusa Kimi? Are you the new girl, Sakusa Kimi?"

The girl snapped out of her daydream and realised that she was being called. "Sorry, sorry! That's me," the girl said, flustered. She could already feel her ears turn pink.

In front of her was a boy. Part of her could tell he wasn't a teacher, but he gave an atmosphere that made you obey him. There was some weird sense of authority around him. His strawberry blonde hair, perfectly styled to look natural but wasn't, and his amethyst eyes felt like it was penetrating through your soul. "Are you the one who's meant to show me around...?" she asked cautiously.

He smiled, but it didn't welcome her as it should've. "Yes. I'm Asano Gakushu, student representative of our year. I will be showing your around."

"Ah, o-ok. I just thought it was someone else - teacher. N-not that it shouldn't - You can - I... I will just shut up now." If there was one thing she lacked besides basic education, was communication skills.

Asano's smile didn't waver. "Come on, we've got a whole school to tour." Sakusa followed him nervously. It was awkward, but it didn't feel out of place in a school like this.

She was shown around the school as students slowly filled the school grounds. By the time the tour had finished, there was only five minutes before classes started. Asano had already gone. Sakusa raced to her shown locker and prepared for the day. Her heart beat so hard she thought it may fall out of her chest.

Collecting all her books took longer than expected, so when she finally finished she was already five minutes late. She raced down the hallways when her eyes caught sight of a red-head boy. His fiery eyes followed her as she ran past. Wondering what he was doing in the hallway, looking all cool as he slowly walked to class, she tried to frantically locate her class. In frozen panic, she glanced at her timetable. 1-E, Room 5. Sakusa darted around the long corridors and snuck glances into rooms. Her first day of school and she was probably going to be punished for tardiness; great.

"You lost?" came a friendly voice. She spun around to face the red-headed boy she saw earlier. Had he predicted that she would be lost? Had he really followed her around this maze? Sakusa felt more pathetic than she'd ever felt.

"Uh, yes?" Somehow, in the midst of rush and panic, she'd lost the ability to form proper sentences.

He chuckled. "It's down that way, Room 5," he pointed to his left and Sakusa zoomed away with a short word of thanks. "Pay for my lunch today!" he called down the hallways.

Pay? Lunch? Certain doom dawned on her as she sprinted with her books in hand - they needed to pay for lunch.

-3-

She bit her lip tentatively as she scanned the cafeteria. Hopefully, the red-head wouldn't be around and would've already forgotten her insignificant being. Then maybe she'll be able to get through the day without anyone else noticing her. What with her failures with trying to interact with the boys in the morning, she doubted that she would make any friends. Not that she expected to anyway. Her whole life, she'd been called weird, scary, strange. And she'd always been alone anyways.

Slowly and quietly, she slipped outside the cafeteria and into the fresh air outside - a luxury she had only just began to enjoy. But there was a tap on her shoulder as Sakusa just began to breathe.

Sakusa gave a small scream as she whirled around to face the antagonist. "A-ah! It's you..." she said nervously, trying to cover up her face with her long hair. Then she realised there would be no need; she'd just revealed that she did know him.

"I couldn't find you in the cafeteria. Come on, you still gotta get us lunch," he said, not noticing how flustered she was as he pulled her gently by the arm into the bustling hall of high-school students.

She wrenched her arm away, "Hey! L-look, stop. I actually didn't bring any money. S-so... Sorry, but go get your own lunch!"

There was an uncomfortable pause between them as his indifferent eyes stared at her. "Hm, okay then. I guess I'll be paying this time." He beckoned her over as he walked into the cafeteria full of people.

"What?"

"You still owe me though," he said. She let myself be dragged into the flow of people as he gently pulled her into the shortening line of students, waiting for their lunch. He grip was somewhere between tender but firm, as if he was carefully holding on to a new-born animal but he didn't want it to escape. Sakusa couldn't anyway.

The two steaming bowls of ramen in front of her felt like food for giants, not two high-school students. But the boy ate it like it was nothing. Sakusa, for one, had never seen so much food in her life. Gingerly, she started to eat. Bite by bite, tears gathered in her eyes. She'd never eaten anything so delicious or with such big quantity.

The red-head boy watched her with intrigue. She ate school lunches like they were business-class food. And he knew, coming from a rich family, that school lunches were at the very bottom of the ladder. "I'll bring you somewhere even better. Tonight," he said out of a sudden.

Sakusa jerked her head up, "What? What are you talking about?"

"You eat school food like you've never eaten anything better before. What's wrong with you?" he raised an eyebrow, "I can't stand it. I'll bring you somewhere better tonight."

Sakusa blushed in embarrassment, turning only her ears red. "W-whatever." She looked down and continued to eat.

He stood up, "Meet me here tonight."

-3-

That night, she didn't go to the school like the boy had asked her. The night was dark and dangerous, it was madness to go out with that stranger whom she still didn't know the name of. But she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Sakusa knew the feeling of rejection, being left alone. But something told her that didn't matter to the redhead boy. Yet she still felt ashamed.

-3-

"Ah, Sakusa-san. How are you?" Asano walked up to her that morning. It was quite overwhelming to see him again. She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in his presence. His eyes felt like it knew everything.

"I am good," was all she said as she got ready for the day. The hall was full of students as they chatted to one another and rushed to their upcoming class. "You? I mean- How about you?"

He grinned, "I'm fine. I heard that you might need help with some of your classes? I can tutor you if you would like. Or you'll end up in the bottom of the barrel, and I don't think we want that."

There was something intimidating about him that causes her insides to quake. "I, uh. Where did you hear that?"

"Teachers talk, Sakusa-san. And I just want to help you. My father... He doesn't like students who lag behind in academics," Asano said in a low voice.

"I... I'll ask if I need help."

-3-

Asano watched as her slim frame disappeared into the crowd of students. She really was quite an interesting person. Paying her way into school and then not asking for help when she extremely needed it. Or maybe she was just proud and rich. He didn't want her to fall behind in class, that would be on him. But there was something else about her that he couldn't put his finger on.

"So, she's your next target?" Came a sly voice behind Asano. At once, he knew who it was. Even after all that had happened, the two had established some sort of truce between them and subconsciously knew not to speak of last year. No one needed to know.

Asano's teeth gritted and a small scowl formed on his face. "Target? I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just looking out for a new student. That's all."

Karma grinned. He knew Asano was paying extra attention to the girl. "I was kidding! Anyways, what's her name? I saw her on Monday."

"Sakusa Kimi."

Karma nodded slightly. "How come she came in in the middle of the first term?"

"There was some problems with numbers. Plus she applied sometime at the end of last year," he said just as the bell rang. "I've got to go class now. Just leave me to her, Akabane-kun."

Karma watched as the student representative walked away with the same royal air that he'd always had. "Sakusa Kimi, huh?"