It was the first day, and he was nervous. He was always nervous. He didn't like moving; having to start all over. However, his dad was transferred, and they had no choice but to move.

High school was a . It always had been, for him. His height didn't help. Along with his quiet personality, and his like of walking alone, he was classified as a freak wherever he went.

He quickly dressed in jeans and a black shirt. There was no need to get dressed up. He styped his hair in the usual way; straightening his black hair, fixing his red bangs. He had dyed it last night, so the red was bright and deep in color, not yet faded.

Adding a small chain belt, a couple fishnet gloves and he was ready to go. His parents had already left for work, so he grabbed an apple and left; grabbing his school bag on the way out.

The walk to school was shorter than where he last lived, but much more interesting. In his last town, his walk as down a busy road, where all you saw were speeding cars and grey houses. But today, he walked through a park, a playground, and over a hill; on top of the hill he could see to the mountains, miles away.

This new school he was attending had a grand total of three hundred students. Yeah, that's right…three hundred. He sighed. It was going to be a long two years. After getting his schedule, he started walking down the hallway. His first class was Math in room 271. He walked slowly, searching for the room number. Bad idea; the hallway was full of people, and none of them were stopping. They pushed him out of the way, right into a tall blonde. He gasped.

"I'm sorry!" He said quickly, looking up at the other. The blonde looked down at him with a smile. He studied the blonde's face. It seemed kind enough, compared to everybody else around here. He noticed a white band wrapped around the others face, covering his nose, silently wondering what it was for. The blonde grinned.

"Its fine," he said, pulling them out of the way of the passing crowd. "You get used to the mob after a few days, don't worry." The blonde grinned again. It must have been contagious since he found himself grinning stupidly as well. "Where are you headed?" Quickly handing over his schedule, he watched as the blonde studied it for a quick second before handing it back. "I'm in all of your classes. Why don't you let me show you around today?" Nodding quietly, he looked up at the blonde and smiled. "I'm Reita, by the way. What's your name?"

"Ruki…," he spoke quietly. He was not usually this shy…so why was he now? Reita smiled down at Ruki.

"Nice to meet you, Ruki," Reita said, smiling as he led the other through the hallways to their first class. Ruki grinned and thanked Reita. He doubted that if it wasn't for the other, he would've made it through the hallway and to class in time.

"Oh god, what is that?" Ruki frowned at the voice and turned to see a pale, dark haired man sitting on a desk in one corner of the room, with a group of what were probably his friends sitting around him. He was looking right at Ruki. It was then that Ruki realized that the dark haired boy was talking about him. Reita frowned as he noticed the boy beside him looks down, hurt in his eyes.

"Aoi, get a life," Reita said, speaking up for the shorter boy, as he led him to two seats at the front, away from Aoi and his group. Ruki smiled slightly at the blonde. It surprised Ruki that Reita would stick up for him like that, even if he only had just met him. But looking around, he noticed that none of the class was really fond of the group of boys that had insulted him.

"Don't worry about Aoi, Ruki. He's just a jerk because he girlfriend dumped him…," Reita said quietly as he set his books on the table. Ruki looked up at him, doing the same with his new notepad and pen. He always liked to be fully prepared no matter what.

"So he's not always like that?" Ruki questioned. Reita laughed, making Ruki frown. Reita noticed this, and stopped, clearing his throat.

"Sorry…," he apologized quickly. "No, he's always like that to people who are even remotely different. He's pretty much the most popular guy in the school, though I can't figure out why. But whatever he says goes, and if he doesn't like you, then you're pretty much exiled." Ruki became even more worried. It was obvious that Aoi didn't like him…would he be exiled now because of one comment? The worry must have shown on his face as Reita spoke again. "But don't worry, Ruki. He's just upset…chances are it'll just be forgotten anyways. And if not, you still have me, and I'll introduce you to my friends. You won't be completely alone." Ruki smiled thankfully at Reita, but didn't get a chance to say anything before the teacher came in.

"Mr. Shiroyama, please sit down properly in your desk," the teacher said, walking up to the front of the class. Ruki looked at Aoi as the dark haired boy glared at the teacher before dropping into the seat, leaning back disrespectfully. He glanced over at Ruki, seeing the younger staring at him, and flicked him off. Ruki frowned and turned around. What was his problem anyways? Apparently, the teacher either didn't see that little act, or chose to ignore it as he started the day's lesson. As the class started on their work, the room went into a sudden burst of everybody talking, and writing, moving their desks around to sit by their friends. Ruki tried to focus on his work, smiling as Reita sat beside him. He was glad he had at least made a friend before Aoi decided to insult him in front of the class.

Ruki gasped as he suddenly felt a pencil hitting him in the back of his head. He rubbed the now sore spot as he turned around to see who threw it. His eyes fell on Aoi. The dark haired male was staring straight at him. Why was he looking at him like that? The stare was cold, yet…mysterious? Ruki wasn't sure what to call it, but when he felt Reita elbow him to get his attention. Ruki turned around back in his seat, and continued to do his work.

"What was that about?" Reita asked, looking over at Ruki. Ruki glanced at the blonde and shook his head, not quite sure what had just happened between him and the raven haired boy.

"I…don't know…," Ruki sighed.

~!~

Reita led Ruki through the rows of round tables at the school cafeteria to one where two other boys sat. Reita grinned and greeted them, sitting down. Ruki watched as the two boys smiled at Reita, saying a quick hello to the blonde. Ruki stood there for a moment, not sure if he was meant to intrude in this little meeting. It would've been obvious to anybody watching the scene, that when Reita brought Ruki there, he wanted him to join them, but Ruki being who he was, wanting to make sure of this fact before he invited himself to the table. When the three looked up at Ruki expectantly, Ruki blushed deeply, but did not make any move.

"Ruki, are you going to sit down?" Reita asked, making Ruki blush and quickly sit down. Reita smiled at him, and motioned to the other two, who grinned and waved. "This is Kai and Tora," the blonde explained. Ruki nodded and smiled at them, saying a quiet 'nice to meet you' to each of them. Studying them carefully, Ruki smiled as not to seem rude. Kai, who sat on the left, had short, dark hair and wore a smile that could light up even the darkest of rooms. And even Ruki himself couldn't deny that the dimple that showed when Kai smiled was the most adorable thing he had ever seen. Ruki stopped when he realized what he just thought. How gay…. Tora, who sat close beside Kai, a little too close for them to be just friends, as Ruki thought, had a small, round face, and was rather pale. However, the skin tone worked well with Tora's dark hair. It gave the other a rather mysterious appeal.

"So, Ruki, how has your first day been so far?" Kai spoke, bringing Ruki out of his present thoughts. Looking up, Ruki seen the three of them eating happily, as Tora and Reita chatted excitedly with each other about some sort of get together Friday night; Ruki was mildly interested, but looked to Kai, who was still awaiting an answer from him. Ruki smiled.

"It's been okay, though I don't think I could've managed my way through everything if Reita didn't help me," Ruki grinned. He saw Reita glance over at him and Kai, smiling slightly. Ruki blushed, though he wasn't sure why, and quickly hid it by looking down at his sandwich. Okay, so it wasn't the most interesting of lunches, but he didn't really care much this morning when he made it. After all, since when did people judge a person's character by their choice in edible snacks? However, now as he looked around at the other's expensive looking lunches, he couldn't help but feel a little underdressed in the food section…Wait a second, what was he saying? He must be losing his mind…and it's only the first day! Looking up, he seemed he had missed out on something important that was said.

"Gomen…what was that?" Ruki asked quickly, blushing deeply. Reita laughed and looked at Kai, who also was smiling brightly, though Ruki doubted that he had stopped smiling since the beginning of the lunch hour.

"I said that we and a friend of ours are getting together on Friday. Would you like to join us?" Ruki looked at the three, his mouth open in shock. They wanted him to come with them? He had only known Reita for half a day, and he had already introduced him to two of his friends, and inviting him to hang out Friday? Ruki grinned. He didn't know things could go so good! Turning around, Ruki frowned. Perhaps he had spoken too soon. Looking to the door, he saw the same dark-haired boy from his first class walk into the cafeteria, immediately causing a shiver to run down Ruki's spine as he let out a small gasp. Reita noticed this and frowned, looking up to see what Ruki was staring so intently on; and seen Aoi. Aoi…. Aoi stopped, noticing the short male sitting at the table, his eyes focused directly on him. Aoi smirked. Ruki noticed that he had been noticed, but did not look away. He did not want to show fear, though he was obviously feeling it.

Ruki watched as the dark haired male sat at a table at the head of the room. Their eyes met once more, as Aoi nodded to him. Ruki was surprised, but nodded back. He wasn't sure what it meant; a secret agreement? A threat? The beginning of a war….but for now, Ruki enjoyed his lunch with his new friends. For after this day, a new kind of battle would begin.