The Beginning

"Mrrrghh." Sky grumbled, blindly groping until he found the source of his suffering, a repetitive, irritating, and all-too-familiar- sound. From where? The dreaded alarm clock. He drowsily opened his eyes, squinting at the numbers displayed on its screen and realized that today, once again, school was starting. Sky got up, throwing on a random t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, his signature combo, and then slowly meandered his way to the kitchen, where he was met with a familiar chaotic sight.

Piles of dirty, unwashed dishes heaped on top of each other (a miracle it hasn't tipped over, considering how high it was) in the sink, the half-eaten instant ramen from last night still on the table, messy was an understatement. 'Sky, remember. Always clean up after yourself. A messy house means a messy mind. ' As he looked at the scene, a familiar sentence that was constantly repeated by his mother rang in his head. Sky sighed.

Back then, he didn't appreciate his mother's constant nagging and the time he spent with her, but now? He would do anything to get her back from the clutches of the reaper. He chuckled dryly, as he made his way to the fridge, taking out a store-made, plastic-wrapped, ham and cheese sandwich sitting in there for God knows how long, grabbed his backpack lying on the coach, and departed, locking the door behind him.

The sun's bright rays shone on his face, blinding him as he started his walk to school. As he walked along the sidewalk, he spotted a familiar figure ahead, also making her way to school. Long, white hair, glistening in the sun, cascading all the way down to her thighs. As Sky followed the girl's hair downwards, he quickly averted his eyes. He's a gentleman, not a pervert who ogles women! The white-haired girl turned around, her eyes like the reflection of a crystal-blue glacier narrowed into a glare: "Why are you following me Sky? You're such a creep!" Her voice dripped with venom, not matching her beautiful appearance.

"Sorry Skadi…" Sky mumbled a reply, looking down. He clenched his fists, disgruntled by Skadi's uncharacteristic outburst, but after some deliberation unclenched them. 'It's all my fault in the end. I ruined our relationship, so it's only fair that I take on the blame.' Sky thought, looking up at the vast blue expanse he was named after.

As he lagged behind to not be a "creep" he could hear the whispering of the students, eager to share any and all gossip they heard, and just as if not more eager to trample others to rise in social standings amongst their peers. The gossip was all about one thing: Sky. It was natural, of course. Humans, especially young adolescent males, love beautiful things and there aren't many things more beautiful than Skadi Everwinter, nicknamed the "Untouchable Snow Queen" because of her cold, distant attitude.

So when their queen shows an obvious disliking towards someone, especially when that someone is a social outcast, many "simps", or as they like to call themselves "Soldiers" would gladly jump on the opportunity to demean Sky, if only to get in their queen's good graces.

And after a few more minutes of walking, there it was: Yokai High School. Squeezing his way through the hallways filled with students, Sky made his way to his homeroom, where he quickly found a seat in the very back of the room, where he could avoid some of the prying gazes of his classmates.

"Alright students, settle down. It's time for class." A balding man in his 40s walked in, his fat stomach being the first thing seen when he came through the door. "Now, since it's the first day of school, let's play an introduction game to better know our classmates. Say your name and your favorite color, and then call on one of your other classmates." He droned. "S-Skaty? Skatee? Why don't you go first?" Skadi stood up. "Skadi Everwinter. Blue." She sat back down. Someone stood up, brushing his hand through his blonde hair. "A pleasure to meet you Skadi. Name's Tony. Let's be friends… or something more. If you know what I mean." Winking, he sat back down.

The girls swooned, after all, Tony was a hunk. H-U-N-K. He had lean muscle that could be seen through his thin clothing, and to match, a face that could put some models to shame. While the boys? They gritted their teeth in anger yet didn't act, because if you mess with Tony, you have to mess with his 5 goons that followed him everywhere. The teacher at this point was depressed. Why couldn't he have a normal class period, with normal students who followed the rules? It's not too much to ask for to call on another classmate. Is it?!

But it seemed all was not lost for our poor teacher, as another student stood up. She had hair like molten silver tied up into a bun, striking wine-red eyes and in conjunction with a pair of glasses made her seem like a smart person. Most noticeably though, was her huge bust jiggling within the confines of her red sweater, as if wanting to be free. "H-hello! My name is Alana! My favorite color is pink, and I look forward to studying alongside you guys this year!" She squeaked out, "A-and for the next classmate to go, w-why don't you go!" She pointed her finger to a person in the back: Sky. Upon doing that, she hurriedly sat back down, her cheeks flushed, one could almost see the smoke rising from the top of her head.

Every boy in the room clutched their heart simultaneously while exclaiming in their mind: "C-c-cute! Too cute! This should be a crime!"

Sky got up slowly, seeing that the boys were still in a daze from cuteness overload: "My name's Sky. Favorite color… Uhh… black." He pondered for a bit and then pointed at some random classmate with his head down doing who knows what. After that, classes flew by quickly, and Sky was eyeing the clock, ready to make a mad dash to the nearby food stall that was selling all different assortments of bread. Why? Because today they had the limited-edition, Melon Bread, Rose Edition! Sponsored and endorsed by Sky's long-time idol crush, Rose herself! With flowing green hair ever-adorned by a pink rose blossom and a pair of brown eyes, Sky was entranced since the first time he saw her on television. Back to the melon bread.

Once Sky heard the familiar chime of the clock signaling the period's end, he grabbed his stuff and made a dash for the stall, but, caught up in his dreams of obtaining the limited edition Melon Bread, he bumped into a burly guy when turning the corner, falling on his rear.

"Ohhhh, perfect timing pipsqueak. I was just in need of some extra lunch money, so hand it over and I'll let you go. Don't hand it over, and… well. My fists are world-class at convincing people to do what I want them to." He grinned, cracking his knuckles and advancing slowly.

'Shit, shit, shit! I can't give him my money or else I won't have enough to buy the limited-edition Melon Bread! What do I do!' Sky cried inwardly, distressed by the situation. In the end, fear won out, and he handed over his money, apologizing inwardly to Rose in his heart. Little did both of them know, there was something or someone, maybe even someones watching that encounter from the shadows with narrowed eyes full of killing intent.