"Yuri! Where are you going?"

"I'm off to my first day of school, dad! Wish me luck!"

"School? But it's only six. You'll be *early*!"

"I know!"

"Yuri! Wait!"

The skirted figure stopped by the door and looked over her shoulder.
For a moment, her trim figure was framed by the golden light of the
outside, obscuring her soft features in shadow. She looked
particularly good in that light- her brief chestnut hair looked
almost golden, her facial features were serene.

"Yes, dad? What is it?"

A pair of red pinpricks shone in the darkness, staring at her. The
fiery embers were devoid of any human attributes, alien to all
emotion or feeling. Around it, cheerless colors massed in an
unnatural way, siphoning the light, consuming all the brightness
that reached it.

"Take care, hear?" the looming mass said.

The girl smiled warmly at the red eyes observing her. "I will, dad."
In a short flurry of skirt, she was facing the outside.

"And Yuri?"

Yuri turned again. "Yes, dad?"

"Try to be a little more evil this time, okay? For me?"

Yuri grinned. She nodded once, short chestnut hair bouncing slightly
at the movement. "I'll try, dad."

At that, the young girl skipped away into the sunlight.

From within the darkness, a head shook left and right slowly, as if in
a deep, unquenchable remorse. Black loops of unknown material
overhanging the creature's shoulders bobbed ominously at the movement,
accentuating the gesture.

"Yeah... sure you will."

"Oh, and dad!" a voice called out from outside.

The head raised a bit, wondering what this could be about.

"I love ya!"

As the creature inside the chamber writhed in agony at the sweet
sentiment of the call, Yuri blissfully went about her way- to school,
to new discoveries and, hopefully, to new friendships!

*****

The early morning stillness was broken only by the sound of something
rising on the hill. The object flung dust into the air behind it as it
moved, agitating the atmosphere as it went on its straight-lined course.

It was fast. It was unstoppable. It was a powerful white projectile. It
was Yuri Mikagami.

Yuri muttered under her breath as she ran. She had left home at six,
hoping to get to school early for a change and then she had to go and
ruin it.

It was almost seven. And she still wasn't in her designated classroom.

"ImlateImlateImlateImlate," Yuri monotoned, a black school bag held
in one hand, lithe feet blurring at their maximum speed. "I'm LATE!"

Yuri pursed her lip in a sad pout as wind rushed through her face and
played with her short locks. It was all the flowers' fault. They never
should have looked so pretty and made her stare at them for minutes
on end.

At the last word, Yuri got a newfound determination to start the day-
and the entire schoolyear, for that matter- right. She increased speed,
and pretty soon, her destination was visible just above the horizon.
The school's clock tower, tall, dark and ominous, loomed over the
running girl just beyond the gate.

The clock said it was a minute before seven.

"I can make it," Yuri said to herself, "if I give it just... one...
more... *push*..."

With a final surge of energy, Yuri launched herself into the building's
halls, through the corridor and entered her classroom (which,
thankfully, had a sign that said, "10A" only a blind shoe would miss)
just as the school bell rang, signaling the start of the first day of
classes. The hallway didn't escape unmarked- her passage had scarred it
with not a few broken tiles marking her wake.

Yuri took a desk on the front row. Luckily for her, it was actually
unoccupied.

She panted on her seat, head on the armrest, eyes closed, and deeply
relieved to have made it just in time. No doubt, her new classmates
were giving her a fine collection of strange looks by now. So much for
making a good impression on the first day.

Yuri sat up straight.

"G-gomennasai!" she announced, eyes closed. "I'm so sorry I had to run
in here like that! It's just that there was uhh... an accident on the
road. It slowed me down so I had to hurry because I didn't want to be-"

She opened her eyes. It was only then that she noticed a strange thing-
the room was empty.

"...late?"

Empty, except for the narrow-eyed woman to the front of the room who
regarded Yuri very unpleasantly. Yuri attempted a smile.

"You're *on time*," the woman observed, voice cold. "Hardly the
impression I'd expect a student to make on the first day. I'll be
keeping my eye on you, miss."

"Yuri Mikagami," Yuri provided helpfully.

"Quiet," the woman, who was presumably the teacher, snapped at Yuri,
making her jump. "I didn't ask for your name. Now be silent until the
others arrive."

Yuri meekly obeyed, even if she didn't know who the woman was.

This was because she did know one thing, though.

The new high school she was attending was apparently not just your
regular, normal, everyday high school.

*****

***********************************************************************

			       Dark Heart High

		 Netherworld Educational Institution for
		    The Universal Propagation of Evil
			     crafted by Mads


*********************************************************
Part One: Foundations!
by Mads
*********************************************************

***********************************************************************

*****

At about seven-fifteen, the rest of Yuri's new class stepped in.

Yuri, who had found something interesting to do while waiting for her
classmates, didn't notice them at first. However, she found balancing
her pen on her nose a little more difficult once she caught a glimpse
of the first classmate who walked through the door.

This was because he did it without opening the darn thing.

Yuri's pen was still clattering to the ground when the classroom door
opened to admit another one of those who would be sharing a room with
Yuri that morning.

The next one strolled in casually enough, which, to be honest, was a
rather extraordinary feat for someone in his condition- at least, in
Yuri's opinion. The guy was tightly wrapped from head to toes in white
bandages. His arms were bound around his body by chains, and only his
legs were free. Also, not a few scrolls were stuck on places here and
there, with ominous characters written on them.

The left eye was the only exposed part of the boy's body, aside from
unruly brown hair sticking out in tufts on his head. The head moved
to look at Yuri as he paused right in front of her.

"Uh... Hi!" Yuri smiled and waved.

The eye narrowed and left Yuri, its owner losing interest and starting
to move towards a seat. Yuri blinked.

Behind him was a smallish girl of about seven with bright pink hair
and large, blue eyes. She was in a plain yellow one-piece dress and
was carrying a bag, following closely behind the bandaged schoolboy.

Yuri watched as both he and the girl took their seats. Or more
precisely, the boy sat on a school desk, and the girl whipped out a
small chair from nowhere and sat down in close proximity to the desk.

The pink-haired little girl promptly fell asleep.

Yuri returned to seeing who'd be next through the door.

She was just in time to see a pretty girl in what looked like black
tights that covered her body in irregular, sharp, jutting patterns.
Yuri couldn't tell whether it was cloth, or some kind of synthetic
fiber- it was rather hard to remain focused on her attire as she
sported folded bat wings as well.

Yuri staaaaa~aaared.

She repeated this action for the twenty or so others who followed
after the girl.

Most looked rather happy about something, grinning to themselves in a
slightly crazed manner. Still, others were withdrawn, almost pensive.
Others seemed to find being there highly to their distaste. All had
some strange attribute of some kind, whether it be their clothing, the
way they moved, or a body part of theirs- or their species, on a few
occasions.

The last one stopped in front of Yuri's desk, as the bandaged boy had
done. He was human (Yuri was inwardly grateful for that), tall, of
medium build, and of simple garb. Plus, he had a sword by his side.
Mustn't forget THAT. Katana, by the looks.

Without turning his head, the black-haired male looked down at Yuri
with calm grey eyes.

Yuri stared up at him with wide green eyes.

"Uh..." Yuri started, suddenly breathless for no reason she could think
of.

That was enough. The student walked to the last remaining seat in the
room. Yuri watched him until he was out of her field of vision.

"Good morning class," the woman in front said clearly, yet tonelessly,
making Yuri look. "Welcome to the Netherworld Educational Institution
For The Universal Propagation Of Evil. Welcome to Dark Heart High."

*****

At the mention of the school's name, lightning flashed, and thunder
rumbled outside for no explicable reason, startling Yuri.

"From now on, this will be your first class of the morning," the woman
went on, ignoring the thunder, "and I will be your teacher for this
subject. My name is Fujiko Kurosawa-sensei."

Yuri's right hand shot up. A small silver cat charm dangled from a
black cord that looped around her wrist.

Fujiko stared at the hand. Everyone else ducked.

"*What*... are you doing?" she asked Yuri, when after a few seconds,
nothing happened.

Yuri blinked. "Uhm... I'm raising my hand to ask a question, sensei."

Her classmates started to raise their heads from under their desks,
glaring at the perplexed Yuri.

Fujiko raised an eyebrow at Yuri suspiciously. "I... see."

There was an uncomfortable pause.

"Very well then. What is it?"

Yuri smiled, glad that nothing untoward happened. "What *is* your
subject, Kurosawa-sensei?"

The reply was prompt.

"Basic Villainy 101."

As Yuri started to ponder this unexpected tidbit of information, Fujiko
started talking again. Her voice, like her attire, was conservative and
unremarkable... but had an underlying sense of hostility to it.

"So, classes have begun once again," she said to the class, "and I'm
sure that many of you think that this will be like junior high, where
you basically just run amuck... am I correct in assuming this?"

The response she got were smiles of dubious nature from several of the
classroom's occupants. In fact, *most* of the classroom's occupants...

"And I know that you're only holding back until you know exactly what
rules to break and laws to violate...is that correct?"

More smiles.

"Now, I would rather have liked to introduce you to my subject in my
own little way," she proclaimed in her toneless manner, "and tell you
what texts to obtain, but something rather... *pressing* has come up."

Silence. Some of the smiles faltered.

"This isn't junior high anymore, my *dear* children," the woman said,
voice as ice. "And the person whom you are about to meet will prove
it."

She graced the class with an icy stare.

"Form two lines outside of the classroom and-"

The door flew open as someone abruptly slammed into it. A boy who was
wearing what looked like seven hundred pounds of black armor walked
in backwards, talking to someone. Messy yellow hair and an abnormally
high cut armor collar covered most of his face.

"C'mon, ma, let it go. My armor's clean enough already..."

"Awwww," a voice from the class taunted. "Does Cwaiggy-waigy's mommy
wanna shine his ahmour?"

"S-SHUT UP!" the boy roared at the voice, embarrassed. He turned and
his hand went for something draped by his hip.

Just then, Fujiko cleared her throat.

"*As I was saying*..."

The boy in front blinked, snorted and then moved to an empty seat
where he sat down heavily. The wood of the seat squealed in protest at
the weight, giving way slightly. He didn't seem to notice.

"Form two lines outside of the classroom in an orderly fashion. Failure
to comply will not be tolerated. Then follow me to the auditorium."

There was the sound of shuffling and low murmuring as the order was
executed. Yuri stood up as well and did as they were told.

Somehow, she felt a faint sense of foreboding...

*****

If Yuri's classroom was a mix of strange characters, the auditorium
multiplied that by a factor of ten. Or twenty. Yuri felt that she had
to grow an extra pair of eyes just to be able to keep track of all the
newness she found in it.

She was busy gaping at everything when all attentions turned to the
platform at the front. Someone was on it.

Or rather, some*thing*.

It was nine feet tall. It's hide was dark green and leathery, with
strange patterns seemingly carved on it. The creature had a head shaped
like an inverted triangle that sported rows of razor teeth in what
looked like a permanent grin. It had no visible eyes. It had six
muscular arms and clawed hands. It had a tail. And spikes. Lots of
spikes.

Yuri, being in the front row of the assembly, could verify all this for
herself.

As Yuri blinked up in wonder at the beast, something inside of her told
her that now was probably the right time to turn, run far, faaaaaar
away, and maybe scream in abject terror while she was at it, for
cosmetic appeal.

Before she could entertain that thought, however, another voice
sounded, this time, from outside her head.

"You're Akurei, the vice principal, aren't you?"

It was Gray Eyes from before. Yuri noted that he hadn't even bothered
to raise his hand.

"What is it to you, boy?" the monster hissed amusedly as it grinned,
thereby  establishing that it could talk, apart from being the apparent
vice principal of Yuri's new school.

Well, since it (whatever IT was) was the vice principal and all, Yuri
supposed that running away from it screaming in abject terror would be
awfully rude, and it might have a bearing on her record too.

So she stayed put. She prayed that it wouldn't come near her though.

"Are you supposed to be the one to address us?" Gray Eyes continued.

Akurei laughed. It was a metal-against-metal gnashing sound that made
Yuri's hairs stand on end.

Akurei grinned at the standing boy.

"You should be so lucky."

Ano?... Yuri blinkblinked. Was that supposed to be encouraging?

The next person who stepped up was human, but for some reason, Yuri
felt the urge to flee in fear tug at her even stronger than ever.

It was a man. A black-haired man, with cheerful dark eyes and a warm
smile playing on his lips. His garb was elegant, yet simple, reflecting
his stride and air. Nothing was askew on him, everything clean, neat
and well-kept, from his dark hair, to his regal dark cape.

Oh, and there was one more thing.

The word "EVIL" might as well have been written all over him.

"Good morning to you all, new students of Dark Heart," the new man
smiled as he spoke, his voice carrying over better than one would
expect across the large auditorium. "I am your new principal. My name
is Hamaji Amakusa."

*****

Yuri shifted uncomfortably. Somehow, since Amakusa-sensei had appeared,
the temperature had plummeted by several degrees...and was it just the
slightest bit darker in the auditorium? Not that it wasn't unusually
dark to begin with, despite it being a rather sunny day outside, but
still...

"Why are you here?"

Yuri blinked wide, frightened eyes at the principal. For a moment, she
thought that he was speaking directly to her. Then Yuri saw, to her
relief, that he was addressing the entire assemblage.

Principal Amakusa's eyes started to slowly roam the people present at
random. A smile was still on his face.

"Why? Why Dark Heart High?" Amakusa-sensei asked nobody in particular.
He turned to a nearby student. "You. Why are you enrolled in Dark
Heart?"

It was the armoured boy with the shaggy blonde hair. He smirked up at
the principal, arms folded.

"That's easy," the blond boy said cockily, "I'm here because my parents
made me come here and said that they'd skin me five different ways if I
didn't."

Most of the students burst out chuckling at that. Some snickered and
some laughed outright.

Hamaji smiled. "Cute."

The instant the word left Amakusa-sensei's lips, the place where the
blond boy was standing was suddenly covered by a pillar of black flames
that seemed to burst from the floor and continue on to touch the ceiling,
making the students nearby leap back in surprise. After a few moments,
the flames disappeared to reveal the charred student, who coughed out a
white puff of smoke in a comical fashion.

Yuri was still debating the reality of what just happened when
Amakusa-sensei found someone else to direct his question at.

"You. Why are you here?" Hamaji said as he looked about to face the
next student.

The boy in chains looked up at the principal with his lone left eye but
said nothing. His mouth was bandaged, after all.

A lesser man would have sweatdropped.

Amakusa-sensei straightened and looked down at the boy, some
understanding dawning in his dark eyes. He smirked.

"Ah. You must be that Balabalalde boy. I've heard of you. You do not
speak, do you?"

His answer was an indifferent blink from the solitary eye. Near him,
the small girl with the pink hair was hiding behind his legs, peering
out and up at the principal.

Amakusa-sensei nodded. "I see." He turned to someone else. "You then.
Who are you and why are you here?"

He was asking Gray Eyes. The boy faced the taller man coolly.

"I am Ki Tamaida of the Steel Thorn Clan," he said, no trace of emotion
in his voice, "and I am here because I want to learn the ways to crush
my foes and gain ultimate power for myself."

There was a slight murmur from the students at this. Ki smiled.
Amakusa-sensei looked thoughtful.

"Open hostility, egocentric goals, megalomania," Amakusa shook his head
and smiled. "Close, but not quite."

Amakusa let out a sigh and then regarded the student body with that
warm smile of his. His eyes twinkled.

"Judging from your general silence and lack of any acceptable response,
it seems that all of you have come here without knowing why," Principal
Amakusa smiled. "I find that unforgivably stupid. If no one is able to
answer my question, I'm afraid I'll have to ask Vice Principal Akurei
to do something... harsh."

Hamaji smiled warmly at them then, as if all he had just done was say
good morning. Akurei grinned and folded his six arms as he leaned
against the wall behind him.

Yuri, along with several of her classmates, blinked at the bare threat
made on their persons and how it was delivered. Surely, he wouldn't...

Akurei started sharpening the claws of one hand by rubbing them against
his chest plate. Sparks flew from them.

Okay, so maybe he *was* serious.

Hamaji Amakusa narrowed his eyes as he dared the assemblage to answer.

"Why?"

The question hung in the air like a guillotine blade, but no one spoke.

Amakusa-sensei's smile strained somewhat and he half-turned to face
Akurei.

A familiar hand and cat charm shot up. Everyone ducked.

"I know! It's because we're *evil*!"

The principal's face brightened a little at the answer.

"Precisely! You are all here because you're-"

Amakusa-sensei turned to face whoever had answered him.

Yuri smiled at him, hand still raised in the air.

Amakusa-sensei eyed her.

"*What*... are you doing?" he asked after a moment.

Yuri sweatdropped as she had a slight feeling of deja vu.

"Uhm... I'm raising my hand to answer the question, sensei," Yuri
explained herself, smiling nervously.

Glares abound were directed at her.

Amakusa-sensei's eyes narrowed. He stepped down from the stage and
walked up to a very self-conscious Yuri.

Yuri glanced at her hand and pulled it down fast when she realized it
was still raised. She put both hands behind her and tried to look
innocent.

The principal regarded her strangely.

"I... see."

"Force of habit," Yuri added sheepishly.

"And what was your answer again?"

"Uh... We're here 'cuz we're... um... evil?" Yuri tested.

Amakusa-sensei seemed a bit nonplussed at this.

"And you, I presume are... evil?" There was genuine curiosity in his
query.

Yuri glanced around a couple of times before daring to look
Amakusa-sensei in the face. For a moment, she was struck by how
handsome her principal seemed to be, but the moment passed.

She decided to stick to the obvious answer.

"Umm... yes?"

*****

About a week ago, the day had been bright as well; sunny and golden,
full of promise for the future.

Troi Mikagami hated it when he had to go outside.

"Thank you for enrolling your child in Dark Heart, sir! We'll take care
of the rest of the paperwork from here."

The almost-shapeless, vaguely human black mass before the clerk's desk
snorted. "Don't mention it." It turned to leave.

"Uh... wait a minute sir..."

The mass spun, impaling the smiling clerk with two crimson beams of light
from where its eyes would be, irritability etched in its movements. "What
is it?"

"You've forgotten to fill up the space for 'Child's Inherent Dark
Powers/Abilities', Sir Mikagami."

"No, I didn't," the mass said curtly and then turned. Then, in a softer
voice, he said, "My Yuri doesn't have any..."

"Oh, haha," the clerk mock-laughed, annoying the black mass to no end.
"That's a good one. I'll just put 'Dormant' down here for you, okay?"

"Suit yourself," the mass spat and then ooze-floated to the exit.

Watching his guest leave, the clerk wiped a tear from his eye, almost
bursting with politely restrained laughter, a huge smile on his face.

"Doesn't have any, he says. Riot."

He turned to the next parent in line.

*****

Interested eyes watched the girl and noted her uneasiness. Nearby, a
student coughed discreetly.

Yuri's response had seemed to puzzle the principal even more. He leaned
forward a bit and took the sleeve of Yuri's blouse with two fingers.

"But..." He peered at the white cloth. "You're wearing a *fuku*..."

Yuri remained motionless, unsure how to take her new principal's
inspection of her attire.

She managed a smile. "Umm... It's my old school uniform. I figured
that, since there really wasn't any indication or notice that we would
be having a uniform, I decided to wear this in the meantime."

Amakusa released her and straightened. The explanation didn't seem to
have clarified anything for him.

He put a gloved hand to his chin. "What is your name, child?"

Yuri blinked. 

"I'm... Yuri Mikagami, sensei."

"Yuri. Yuri Mikagami," Amakusa-sensei said, trying the words out. He
looked down at the girl. "I haven't heard of you. You haven't been a
student at the Dark Heart Junior High School, have you?"

"Um, no," Yuri answered, "I kinda attended a regular junior high and
then my dad made me come here because this was where he graduated. So
here I am."

"Your father..." Amakusa-sensei mused. "Who is your father?"

"Troi Mikagami, sir."

"Troi..." A small look of recognition sparked in the man's eyes. "Troi
"Hellstorm" Mikagami?"

"Um... I think so, sir," Yuri replied meekly.

"I see..." The answer seemed to mollify the principal a bit. "So
you're Hellstorm's daughter... Very well then."

He turned away, and Yuri exhaled a deep sigh of relief, unaware until
then that she had tensed up when the principal had spoken to her. She
had never been all that confident whenever it came to dealing with
authority anyway.

The principal walked back up to the platform and stared over at the sea
of faces before him. His smile was back.

"Now where was I?" he asked rhetorically to reintroduce his point.
"Ah, yes. We are all here because we are evil. And *because* we are
evil, what is it that we do here?"

"We revel in chaos and attempt to destroy everything in our paths!" a
boy yelled, raising a fist in the air.

Another two, who were probably itching for something to do, especially
after the principal's little conversation with Yuri, shouted agreement
and pumped their fists as well.

"YEAH! When do we get started?"

"*Be silent*," Amakusa-sensei snarled and directed at them a normal
smile that managed to look very, very dangerous, without being unusual
in any respect.

The three rowdy boys obviously valued their continued good health.
They were silent again within the second.

Amakusa calmed down and continued. "That was what you did in junior
high. But in MY high school, you will do things... differently."

Amakusa-sensei paused for a moment. And then, "In junior high, you were
taught the importance of so-called Melee Education..."

*Gee, it seems like things are done a little differently here from
where I come from,* Yuri thought as she listened.

"...where an atmosphere of constant competition and pressure was
induced upon you to instill your survival skills and aggressiveness.
However, now that you are in high school, those lessons learned are
still valuable, BUT..."

*I hope I don't have too much trouble...*

"...we require more than just strength. You will learn how to be
cunning. You will learn deceit. You will learn treachery. You will
learn the fine art of being evil. And as long as you are alive, in this
school, you will learn it in the manner that *I* see fit."

*...adjusting.*

Amakusa-sensei eyed his young listeners and went on.

"I'm sure you have heard of the rumors about how we handle things here.
About how, after the first day, we prohibit tardiness. And about how,
even on the first day, voluntary abscences or skipping classes is also
prohibited, among other things. About how we enforce a certain kind
of... discipline here."

The students tensed up. They had a bad feeling about what was coming.

Amakusa smiled at them. "Those rumors are all true."

Amid the groans and snarls that the statement elicited, Amakusa-sensei
grinned, warmth radiating from his face despite the unpleasant news of
his announcement.

"Yes, they are true. And I will tell you why. It is because we are
evil."

A student was suddenly protesting.

"How can we be evil if we have to adhere to rules and regulations? Evil
is disorder! Chaos! Anarchy!"

"Wrong," Amakusa-sensei said almost distractedly. "Evil is *untruth*."

Outside, the laws of dramatic timing dictated that lightning flash and
thunder boom at the statement.

Shadows played on Amakusa's face, accentuating his smile, giving it a
hint of malignity.

"The basis of all evil is untruth. Falsity. The perversion of what is
right. *That* is what we teach you here. Disorder is merely a byproduct
of untruth."

Amakusa-sensei grinned at them, animated by some dark objective.

"And to best teach you the ways of evil," Amakusa said, "we take you
away from an environment of chaos to one of enforced order. In this
way, the school can breed hostility, strife and discontent among your
ranks. We give you a prime atmosphere for learning your creed within
these stone walls. Here, we *refine* the things you have learned for
yourselves in the atmosphere of constant conflict in junior high."

Members of the class shifted, some of them getting it, some still
against it, all listening intently.

"More importantly, however, we enforce a system on you to mirror the
systems that are undoubtedly enforced upon you wherever it is you have
hailed from."

Hamaji's eyes became very serious as he pierced everyone with his gaze.

"The first thing you must learn about evil is this...

"Evil thrives best in secrecy and treachery. As long as there is a
system enforced by the good that is strong, the evil must not attempt
to destroy it while the system is at full strength. BUT..."

He slowly held up a black-gloved finger for emphasis.

"The evil can work *with* the system, *in* the system. By lying in wait
in the shadows, the evil can best learn how to destroy the good. The
evil never strikes head-on. The evil waits for the best opportunity and
strikes at the weakest point. In this way, the evil will win, and the
good will be crushed."

Lightning struck, thunder rumbled. Small smiles started to reappear on
some of the faces of the students.

"However," Hamaji continued, "as long as you are weak, like you are
now..."

He favored the student body with a condescending look.

"...the system will always be stronger than you. MY system is stronger
than you. *I* am stronger than any of you."

He got no argument, of course.

Amakusa turned around, hands clasped behind his back.

"The school will teach you the history of past practitioners of evil
and where they succeeded or failed. You will be taught the handling of
troops, the appointment of minions, and the manipulation of the
subservient. You WILL sit down in class every day, every hour and
cooperate. You WILL submit yourselves to the system."

Amakusa-sensei faced the class again, a strange look in his eyes.

"Being evil in the open is useless unless it can destroy the good.
Openness will only expose the evil to the forces of stronger powers.
Even evil will consume evil, given the chance. Deny them that chance.

"Prove to me that you can sufficiently deceive society. Prove to me
that you can hide your true natures, conceal them until you gain the
power to protect, enforce and proliferate them. Prove that to me..."

The principal paused to fold his arms across his chest and stare at the
congregation, challenge in his eyes.

"...and you will have proven to me that you are indeed worthy of your
dark hearts. Worthy of your being here, in Dark Heart High."

*THUD*

All heads spun towards Yuri's direction, where the girl was hastily
picking herself up from the floor.

"Sorry," Yuri mumbled, blue eyes meek, "I... I kinda... slipped."

Yuri didn't look up until she was sure that all the auditorium's eyes
had left her. She hadn't realized she'd been steadily falling asleep
just as the principal's speech had been starting. Just her body's
natural reflex to imminent long periods of boredom, she guessed.

Yuri let out a deep sigh as she felt attention's weight on her. She
had never planned to be *this* popular on the first day.

Behind her, she noticed that the bandaged boy was giving her a
lingering look. The moment she turned her head to verify this, however,
the boy's eye shifted, as if he had never even turned in her direction.

Ki Tamaida, on the other hand, who was just a row and column away from
the bandaged boy, was still looking at her with unmasked interest.

Yuri turned away and blushed.

"Now, I believe that I've told you what you basically need to know,"
Amakusa went on, as if nothing happened. "The rest of the information
on the school and its system can be found in the handbooks that will be
given to you."

Hamaji Amakusa graced the student body with one final smile.

"I fervently hope that you take what I have told you to heart and that
you all live through the school year. That will be all."

When Amakusa-sensei left, the coldness was gone from the auditorium.

...and somehow, Yuri wasn't in the least bit surprised.

*****

As Akurei and the principal stepped outside, low, mocking laughter
could be heard from the former.

"Not a one in the whole bunch, eh?"

"Not one," Amakusa agreed, nodding once, smile on his lips, but eyes
colder than ice. His cape billowed out behind him in a shadowy swirl.

He stalked away towards the main building, Akurei not far behind.

"Not one..."

*****


Lunch time wasn't quite what Yuri expected. Oh, sure, some students had
brought their own food, and others preferred the cafeteria staple. What
really seemed weird to Yuri however, was what others attempted to
consume.

Namely, their schoolmates.

Yuri would have to remember to stay away from *those* particular
individuals in the near future. Or the rest of the future, for that
matter.

Yuri decided that the cafeteria would be the wisest choice. Besides, in
her hurry to get to school on time, she hadn't had the time to grab
something from home anyway.

Getting her meal passed without incident, but Yuri was still faced
with the problem of finding where to sit.

Then the answer hit her. Literally.

"Oops," a small voice said from behind Yuri as she felt a cafeteria
tray hit her on the small of her back. There was the tinkle of dishes
whose stability was compromised for a moment and then regained. "Sorry."

Yuri turned around to look down at the small, pink-haired girl she had
seen in class earlier.

"Oh, that's okay," Yuri smiled at her understandingly. "Just be more
careful next time, alright?"

"Sure!" the little girl chirped. And then her face took on a
thoughtful expression. She cocked her head slightly to the side as
she stared up at Yuri. "You're that girl from BV-101, right? You know...
you seem a little different from the others."

"How so?" Yuri asked amiably. The little girl had started walking,
and Yuri followed. Around them, most of the cafeteria's occupants had
already started their repast.

A grey-skinned individual was busy stuffing something down his throat.
Something that was... *wriggling*. Yuri turned away, sweatdropping.

"Well..." The little girl beside her thought it out a little. "I dunno.
You're just... *different*."

"Well, maybe," Yuri said. She spotted an empty table by the corner.
"Hey, look! An empty table! Lucky us!"

Yuri stepped towards it, but stopped when she noticed that the little
girl hadn't followed.

"Actually, I already have a seat," the little girl said.

"Oh."

"Listen..."

The little girl shuffled a bit before continuing.

"I was wondering... could you join me and my friend for lunch?" There
was what looked like hopefulness in the little girl's eyes. "I mean...
if you wouldn't mind..."

Yuri couldn't see why not. Besides, meeting new friends was one of the
better points of having a new school, wasn't it?

"Sure!" Yuri said readily, almost without a second thought. Okay... so,
WITHOUT a second thought. And a dubious first one at that.

"Wai! Thanks!" the little girl squealed. "Thanks! My name's Leilei. Nice
to meet you!"

"And I'm Yuri. Yuri Mikagami," Yuri smiled. "Nice to meet you too. Say,
where IS your table anyway?"

"It isn't far," Leilei said, returning her attention to walking. "My
friend's there already. This tray's for him."

"Oh, you have someone over there already. Okay." Yuri glanced at the
contents of the tray. "I kinda figured that that asparagus in there
wasn't for you."

Leilei made a face. "I hate the stuff. But my friend likes it, so I
got some for him."

"Anyways, why're *you* bringing your friend's tray? Don't tell me that
your friend is that guy in the ban-"

The guy in the bandages looked up at the approaching girls. Yuri
blinked.

As Yuri just stood there, in front of the table, Leilei walked over
beside the bandaged fellow and set the tray down in front of him.

"Bala, I'd like you to meet our new friend," Leilei told the boy.
She smiled as she presented Yuri to him, and vice versa. "Balabalalde,
Yuri! Yuri, Balabalalde!"

Yuri's smile twitched ever the slightest. She set her tray down across
Leilei and the boy and sat down.

She waved slightly. "Uh... hi, Babala..."

"Balabalalde," Leilei corrected her.

"Balaba-what?" Yuri asked.

"Balabalalde," Leilei repeated.

"What-alalde?"

"Balabalalde," Leilei said for the third time.

"That's what I thought you said," Yuri sighed. She looked again at
the boy. He stared back.

"Ummm... hi! Nice to meet you!"

The boy said nothing, of course.

Yuri sweatdropped slightly.

Leilei turned to look at Yuri with apologetic blue eyes.

"I hope you don't mind," she said, "but you'll have to eat ahead of
me. I have to take care of Balabalalde here, 'kay?"

"Ummm... sure. That's fine," Yuri said.

Leilei smiled gratefully and set about her work. As Yuri started on
her lunch, she watched as Leilei unwrapped the boy's mouth. Against
all expectations, the skin underneath was smooth, normal-looking,
without any trace of scar, nor blemish.

"So he isn't your brother or anything?" Yuri asked, starting on her
meal.

"Nope."

"But is this why you come to this school?" Yuri asked in between a
mouthful. "To help your friend out with things he can't do himself?
You aren't a student here, are you?"

"Yup and nope," Leilei said as she fed Balabalalde a stalk of his
asparagus. "I do come here to take notes for Bala, but I'm really not
a student here myself."

Bala was uninteresting in his eating. He accepted the vegetable, eating
it as it was pushed in, and swallowing without any real relish or
distaste. All the while, his one free eye looked at Yuri unwaveringly.

Yuri wondered at Leilei's answer as she sipped her milk (strangely
enough, the cafeteria *did* serve milk). "Well, how about your own
schooling then?"

"Oh, it's all right," Leilei said as she pressed a napkin to her
charge's lip. "I'm done. Graduated last year."

"Wow... really?" Yuri gawped, eyes wide. "Here?"

Leilei shook her head, attention still mostly devoted to her charge.
"Normal school."

"Cool," Yuri breathed. "So you don't mind being a... ummm... sort
of nursemaid for your friend?"

Leilei stopped what she was doing and blinked for a few moments at
Yuri. For a second, Yuri thought she had struck a nerve of some kind.

Then Leilei continued, a slight smile on her lips, and said, "Oh, it's
fine. At first, I was kinda against it... but I got used to the idea
that he needed one, and it might as well be me. And he got used to
me too."

She flashed a genuine smile at Yuri, eyes closed in a cute fashion.

"I even get to call him Bala now!" she said. She turned to
Balabalalde. "Isn't that right, Bala?"

Balabalalde's eye shifted to look at Leilei for a minute. That
was as much of a response she got before the eye left her to
return to Yuri once again.

"That long, huh?" Yuri said through a bite of her sandwich. Yuri
decided not to press any further about how Leilei had come to be
with Balabalalde. She WAS still curious about her bandaged classmate,
though. "So why's he in bandages anyway? He doesn't *look* injured.
And what's with the chains and the scrolls?"

With Leilei around, talking about Bala in the third person seemed
so much easier, though he was actually there before them.

Leilei put a finger to her chin and pursed her lips. "I really don't
know. He's been like this since I first met him. I think it's to
control him or something like that."

Leilei gave Bala some milk.

"Control him from doing what?" Yuri wondered idly as she studied
the boy. "Does he ever speak to you?"

"Nope."

Yuri blinked. "Does he ever speak *at all*?"

"No," Leilei said. "But I think he's warming up to me. You'll talk to
me real soon, won't you, Bala?"

Eye shift, return.

"Wai!"

Yuri smiled. "That's nice. Tell me what he says when he does, okay?"

"Sure thing!" Leilei said. Both girls giggled... well... girlishly.

"Oh!" Leilei said, remembering something. "Some speech Amakusa made,
huh?"

Yuri sweatdropped. "I... uh... I guess."

Yuri really couldn't remember all of it. Memory was hazy when it came
to stuff like that.

"I wonder what he's so worked up about," Leilei wondered, taking a
small bite out of her own lunch.

She looked at Yuri then, blue eyes slightly hazy with emotion. "He
scares me," Leilei told her new confidant, "but I guess... if we
just do whatever he wants then everything'll be okay, right?" 

"Yeah... I'd say so. Yeah," said Yuri.

That aside, they talked about other things unrelated to school. Yuri
found that Leilei was remarkably similar to her in many ways. It was
a comforting thought.

Yuri finished her food, and Leilei was done feeding Bala. The small
girl returned the bandage on the boy's mouth to its proper place.

"Oh, I need to go to the washroom," Leilei said, interrupting a flow
of chatter from Yuri. "Excuse me for a minute, would you?"

"I'll join you," Yuri said. "You know where it is?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Yuri stood up and then said, "Will Babala... Balala... your friend
be fine on his own?"

"Oh, sure," Leilei said flippantly. "He can wait. Now let's go."

And so they did. Yuri gave one final look towards the table before
she did so though.

As the two girls left, when no one was looking, Balabalalde turned
his head to watch them leave. The black depths of his eye observed
the movements of the fuku'ed girl with a keen interest unusual to
the boy.

They disappeared from sight.

*

The two new friends chatted happily as they stepped out of the
washroom.

"I'm so glad that you joined me for lunch, even if it's just for
today," Leilei was saying. "Sometimes, I get so bored with no one
to talk to. And I'm really not all that comfortable with those
others. You're more like *me*!"

Yuri smiled at the statement.

"It's fine," Yuri assured her. "In fact, if you'd like, I can come
sit with you two everyday for lunch. How's that sound?"

"Wai!" said the little girl, liking the idea. "Please do so!"

They walked awhile in a companionable silence before Leilei spoke
again.

"Yuri-kun... May I ask you a question?"

"Sure! Go right ahead."

"You didn't go to the Dark Heart Junior High, right? You attended
a regular junior high- like me, right?"

"That's right," Yuri smiled.

"So then... why are you here?"

Yuri blinked a bit. She hadn't asked herself that question before.
Now, it made perfect sense that she had to answer it, seeing as
that she was already there and everything...

"Hmmm... I guess I wanted to see what a new school would be like,
that's all," Yuri began, sorting through her possible reasons.

"Ano... but don't you miss your friends back at the regular junior
high you went to?" Leilei looked down. "I miss mine..."

"Well, yeah, I miss mine too," Yuri admitted, biting down slightly
on her lower lip. Suddenly, the real reason stuck out like a sore
thumb. "But I think, the real reason why I went here is because..."

Leilei looked up expectantly at Yuri's face.

"It's because my dad asked me to come here."

"You left your friends and teachers for the school he wanted?" Leilei
breathed, a little taken by the idea. "Wow... you must really love your
father then." 

"Well, it's not as if my old friends are gone forever," Yuri grinned
sheepishly. "We can still hang out and stuff... but, yeah, I DO love
my dad a whole lot."

Yuri smiled widely down at Leilei.

Leilei grinned back.

They were about to step into the corridor when something jumped out
of the shadows at them. Specifically, a large sack. And since sacks
generally didn't jump out at people of their own volition, Yuri
naturally thought this very strange indeed.

"Hwah!?" was as far as Yuri got before the sack closed in over her
and her new friend. Then she was stung by something and the darkness
was complete.

**********

Yuri blinked at the dim light that assailed her senses after almost
an hour of uncomfortable darkness.

"Whah-where am I?" Yuri asked no one in particular. Which was only
appropriate, really. There was no one in sight.

"You're in the school... whatever-it-is," said a raspy, somehow
familiar male voice from behind her.

Yuri turned to look at who it was, but was surprised to find that
she couldn't. She stared up and found that her hands were tied above
her head, and she was standing with her back to a pole of sorts.

Which is never a good thing, if instinct was to be trusted...

The owner of the voice stepped forth, however, making turning
unnecessary. It was the blonde-haired boy in the oversized black
armour from before.

"Well, how am *I* supposed to know where this is?" he said in his
rather raspy voice. "*I'm* new here too, remember?"

Yuri blinked at him. "You're my new classmate in Basic Villainy
101!" Yuri said. "Isn't lunch time over? Why aren't you in class
right now?"

Yuri looked frantically around the large rectangular building she
was in. It looked like a storeroom, or a gym of some sort.

"More importantly," she continued, "why am *I* not in class right
now??"

The boy grinned from behind his armor collar. "Oh, I'm soooo sorry.
I didn't introduce myself. I'm Craig Maimsworth. And I'm here to
exact a small token of revenge unto our beloved principal!"

He put his hands on his hips and bellowed laughter.

"AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAAAAAAAA!!!"

Outside, lightning flashed, and thunder boomed. Apparently, it was a
public service thing.

"Oh, and that's why you're here too, by the way," he said,
considerably calmer than earlier, apparently feeling that what he
was saying now was of less consequence.

Yuri's brow knitted. Her lips pursed.

Pause.

"I don't get it," she told Craig, making him sweatdrop.

"Well," Craig said compliantly, "let me explain it to you then.
Here..."

Craig walked over to something covered with a tarp. He uncovered
it to reveal what looked like a regular bed for one, only, it was
made of stone. There was a carving of a pentagram on the center
of it, as well a few splotches of dried blood here and there.

"THIS is my Altar of Summoning," Maimsworth said, spreading his arms
toward it. "And THIS is how I intend to get back at our dear
Amakusa-sensei for publicly humiliating me on our first day of
classes!"

"You're going to get back on the principal for embarrassing you?"
Yuri asked, mystified by the idea.

"YES, dammit!" Craig shouted, whirling to Yuri, startling her. He
looked manic. Which wasn't saying much, really. He seemed to be the
type who looked that way ALL the time. "It was an unforgivable
assault on my dignity! He won't get away with it! And I'll make
sure of THAT!"

His face was close to Yuri's now. Yuri could feel the tip of his
nose touching hers, close as they were. Their lips were a hair's
width from brushing each other.

"But why am *I* here," Yuri asked again, squinting at her host.

"Don't you get it yet?" Craig asked, smirking, and pulled back. He
pointed a gauntleted finger at Yuri. "YOU... You'll HELP me in my
plans to eliminate our principal!"

Craig grinned.

"You'll be my virgin sacrifice!"

Yuri facefaulted. "V-virgin s-sacrifice!? What the heck do you
mean by that!?"

"Oh, you know," Craig said matter-of-factly, hands on hips, "I
slay you in the name of some netherworld demon, and he comes out
to tear our principal apart, all in the name of sweet revenge,
yada-yada..."

As Yuri facefaulted mightily at this, Craig looked concerned and
then continued.

"I *was* going to save this activity for my year-end project, but
I decided that I'd rather do something else for it and do this
sacrifice schtick now. Besides, maiden sacrifices as investigatory
projects are so *common* now, wouldn't you agree?"

"Ah... I... ah..." Yuri went.

Craig spun on his heel and folded his armoured arms as he grinned
crazily to himself.

"This should be simple enough. This makes the most sense! Not only
do I get to summon a demon against the principal... I get to sacrifice
something *other* than goats for once! AHEHEHEHAHAHAHE- hmm... I don't
think I'm getting this laugh down quite right..."

Craig turned to smile sheepishly at Yuri.

"Sorry," Yuri's captor said. "Haven't quite gotten the hang of it
yet."

Yuri sweatdropped.

"Well that's why you're in this school, aren't you?" came a voice
from below Yuri. It was coming from a small bundle at her feet.
"To let the teachers teach you what you haven't quite gotten the
hang of yet in the ways of evil, right?"

Both Yuri and Craig stared at the bundle.

"Oh, I almost forgot about your friend," Craig said. "Figured I
needed a spare but I didn't get the chance to see who it was. Too
busy capturing you. Maybe it's time I saw."

He pulled the sack away from its occupant's head.

Craig did a double-take at the bound figure he found inside.

"Leilei?"

Yuri looked at Leilei. "He knows you?"

Leilei nodded at Yuri. "He and Bala were classmates in junior high,
when I first became Bala's assistant. Sure he knows me."

She then directed a frosty glare at Craig. "And he *also* knows
that he's *really* gonna get it for kidnapping me."

Craig's eyes narrowed.

"Well THIS is a surprise," he said, smirking. "So it IS possible
for Bala and his little gnome to be separated! Fancy that..."

He then turned around, a hand to his chin. "However... this DOES
make things a little more complicated than I expected..."

"You'd better let Miss Yuri and me go before Bala finds out that
you've taken me," Leilei said over his shoulder. "And maybe he
*might* let you live!"

"Heh," the armoured boy said, giving Leilei a sneer. "Ya think
I'm afraid of your ole bandage boy? I could slice him up into
little ribbons too small for the pigeons ta eat if I wanted to.
Now, where was I?..."

As Craig brooded, Yuri looked down at where Leilei was lying.

"This virgin sacrifice thing," Yuri said. "It's a joke right?
Some kind of initiation rite?"

Leilei shook her head ominously, eyes half-lidded.

"Ulp," Yuri ulped.

Craig spun towards the two captive girls.

"I know!" Craig said to Yuri. "I can't do anything to Leilei,
that's a given. Bala's no threat, but no use getting him riled up
for nothing... However, I'm sure Bala doesn't know *you* all that
well yet. I'm *sure* he won't mind if I...ummm... *appropriate*
you for my own needs. Hehehe..."

Yuri blinked.

"Aw, c'mon, Craig!" Leilei yelled, squirming against her bonds.
"Let us go! You really don't want to do this, do you? She's my
new friend! We just met today! And these ropes are killin' me!
Let us go!"

Craig put on a big show of being apologetic. "Oh, I *would* let
you go, Lei, but you might tell on me just to save your friend,
and I don't want THAT to happen."

He grinned. "So, I hope you don't mind, but, I think I'll have
to keep you around here until I'm done."

Craig sat on his heels in front of Leilei and patted her head.
"So you be a good little girl now while the adult goes about his
business, okay?"

"THERE'S NOTHING ADULT ABOUT *YOU*, YOU DEMENTED FREAK!" was
Leilei's reply.

Craig shrugged this off and stood up to look down at Yuri. He was
a head and a half taller than she was.

"Now then," the black knight said, his earlier manic quality now
fully regained, "let us begin, shall we?"

Yuri swallowed audibly.

Craig smiled and stepped towards her, a disturbing gleam in his
eye. Closer...

"Umm... uh..." Yuri stammered, searching for something to say-
ANYTHING to say. "S-shouldn't you... check first if you've got
everything you need? I'd hate to be missing something once I've
started on something, you know..."

Craig blinked and paused. "Hey... You're right. I'll have to double
check my stuff first. Be right back..."

Yuri let out a small breath of relief as Craig turned his back
to her. Though, for exactly what she was buying time, she had no
idea herself...

**********

The scene: a field just outside the Dark Heart High campus. The
players: a principal and a giant, drooling monster.

Hamaji Amakusa regarded the titanic creature before him as it
rushed towards him in gigantic leaps and bounds. The ground shook
every time the beast made contact with the soil.

As the seconds ticked away until the monster was finally upon
Amakusa, the principal calmly deduced as to where this monster
might have come from.

"It couldn't be from Akurei," Amakusa smiled calmly to himself,
watching the dog-like animal, which was 30 meters long, and ran on
all fours, "he only tries to assassinate me on Tuesdays..."

Spittle flew from the werething's snarling lips, light glinted off
its razor teeth. It unsheathed its claws as it closed in on the
principal.

Amakusa saw the person hiding behind a nearby clump of bushes.
The attire was unmistakable.

"I never would have guessed. It's from Knight School."

The dog-beast made its killing pounce. Amakusa calmly stepped aside
and lifted a hand slightly.

There was a deafening roar as the monster burst in intense black
fire, making it scream in agony. It didn't feel pain for very long,
though. The dark flames intensified further, and the creature was
dead before it even hit the ground. The earth trembled and shattered
at the creature's final descent.

As the beast skidded along for a short distance, Amakusa turned
around to watch the carcass burn. It had missed him completely.
He was unscathed.

Amakusa was smiling, but his eyes were cold, calculating. He very
well knew why the bastion of all that was noble and just, the Knight
School, had sent this thing after him. It was obvious, really.

For aside from being the principal of Dark Heart High, as was his
right by being the Supreme Being of Purest Evil, which was a fearsome
position in itself, he had done what no other principal, or Supreme
Being before him had done; he had fully conquered the world that he
belonged to.

And not just conquered either. He had eliminated every Knight School
graduate that had ever tried to dethrone him. His reign was stable,
unlike most of the other Dark Heart High graduates' reigns in their
respective worlds, where it would usually be short and disastrous.

Since then, no other Dark Heart High graduate had been able to
duplicate that feat- a fact which irked Amakusa more than anything
else.

And a fact that Knight School was desperately trying to *keep* fact.

"You're a little early this year," Amakusa called out without facing
the bushes. "It isn't even the interscholastic soccer match yet, and
you Knight Schoolers pull this kind of stunt... How very *ignoble*
of you, some might say."

In the bushes, the man who was probably the creature's keeper
realized that hiding was a moot point now. Remembering how his
pet was easily barbecued, he decided to run in the opposite
direction of Amakusa and keep at it until he was sure he was safe.

Hamaji Amakusa went on smiling.

In a second, it was over.

The man would later wake up with a splitting headache and a
feeling of weakness that would last for weeks. He would never know
what hit him.

Amakusa walked away from the still burning body of the monster the
unconscious man had brought with him.

"At least," Amakusa said to himself as he stalked off, "they're
being a little more creative this time."

The black flames didn't die out even after the corpse was long
turned to ash.

**********

"Okay, I have everything I need," Craig declared, holding up an
old looking black book, "I've got the ceremonial dagger, the
incense, the black candles... and of course, the virgin sacrifice!"

He favored Yuri with a malicious grin, and Yuri reddened.

Craig suddenly looked serious again. He looked Yuri up and down.
Craig sat on his heels again and kept his head at a level with
Yuri's skirt.

"The virgin sacrifice is the most important part of the ritual,"
he said. "You do know that, don't you?"

"Uh... sort of," Yuri admitted, looking down.

That would have been that, but Craig slowly raised a hand
towards Yuri's skirt and went on to say, "Are you *really* a
virgin? One can't be too sure. Maybe I'd better... *check*."

So Yuri kicked him hard in the face.

"HenTAI!" Yuri declared, leg in the air as a dazed and swirly-
eyed Craig hit the floor gracelessly.

Craig's eyes narrowed. "I believe I shall enjoy this more than I had
thought," he said in a somewhat sober manner as he lay there, a small
rivulet of blood flowing from one nostril.

And then there was the sound of the building doors slamming open.

Craig stared from his place on the floor. Yuri and Leilei just
stared.

"Bala!" Leilei squealed, overjoyed. "You found us!"

Balabalalde blinked twice. He stepped inside.

"Aw, dragonturds," Craig spat, seeing the bandaged boy from across
the room. "THIS is a problem..."

Instantly, he was on his feet and beside Yuri.

"Methinks," he told her, "I will have to work faster than I had
intended."

With a tug, Craig broke the rope that held Yuri, pulled her to
the stone altar at the center of the room and pushed her down on
it.

To the breathless Yuri, he said, "Now hold still... this may hurt
just the *slightest* bit..."

Yuri gulped.

*****

Bala looked on at what he saw before him. Craig Maimsworth, a
classmate of his whom he had fought a few times, was forcing the
girl he had had lunch with down on an altar.

Then he espied Leilei tied up behind the two. Bala snorted
disgustedly.

"BALA!" Leilei screamed at the figure framed by the doorway. "Stop
him! He's going to hurt Yuri!"

There was the sound of running feet. Craig looked up to see
Balabalalde already halfway to him.

"Damn, but he's gotten faster!" Craig said crossly, and let his right
hand fly to something on his left hip.

Yuri saw the knight sword dangling there. She turned towards where
her bandaged classmate was coming from.

"BALA! LOOK OUT!"

The sword was swung.

Balabalalde caught the deadly blade with the chains he was wrapped
with, avoiding being cut in two. There was the unmistakable "ching!"
of metal against metal. Surprisingly, none of the chains broke.

Craig grunted and withdrew his broadsword to make a followup attack.

Yuri fancied she could hear hero music as she watched Craig swing
his weapon left and right, while Bala either dodged or made it skid
harmlessly away from his body with a chain. The battle, if it could
be called that, went on at a fevered pitch, both contenders moving
at speeds Yuri didn't even know was possible.

Craig clenched his teeth and stabbed forward, managing to slice
a piece off Bala's face's covering. Shreds of white bandage
wafted to the ground.

Yuri gasped. She couldn't see his entire face, but what was revealed
to her then hinted at a rather dashing young man inside all that
wrapping.

Bala, of course, was the last to notice. He landed on his feet,
facing Craig, who was in another attack stance.

"You can get your little Lei back," Craig told Bala, squaring
off, "I'm not greedy. I just want the other girl, you understand?"

Balabalalde's eye narrowed. Yuri and Leilei watched closely for
a reaction.

"That other girl's all I need," Craig went on. "You can HAVE your
precious little maidservant. The wench on the altar is *mine*."

Bala eyed Craig warily. Then his battle stance relaxed.

Craig's eyes brightened somewhat. "So... we have a deal then?"

Bala didn't answer. Instead, he turned away and then walked
towards where Leilei was lying on the floor, tied up.

"W-what are you doing!?" Leilei protested as Bala propped her up
with a foot. "You've got to save Miss Yuri! Come on! Bala!?"

Bala kicked upwards swiftly, and Leilei's ropes fell apart. Aside
from that, he did nothing but look down at his pink-haired
associate as if understanding nothing.

Leilei sighed.

Craig did understand one thing, though. Bala's back was to him.
And that was one thing his opportunist instincts couldn't bear to
pass up, deal or no deal. With a crazed smile, he lifted his sword
to deliver the deathblow to his unwitting opponent.

"BALA, LOOK OUT!" Yuri screamed.

Balabalalde spun just in time to block Craig's sword again with a
hard chain. He didn't escape untouched, though. Scarlet fluid
sprayed and then flowed from a deep cut on his right shoulder.

"DAMN!" Craig roared and pushed forward, wanting to break the chain
by force. "YOU'RE MINE, BANDAGE MAN!"

"Bala!" Leilei yelled, frightened by her friend's bleeding.

Bala had had enough. His eye suddenly looked angry, seized by
something he had been suppressing so carefully earlier.

Craig seemed to recognize this look. He grinned.

"So I got you mad, eh?" the knight smiled his lunatic smile from
behind his dirty yellow locks, as if that was what he had been
waiting for all the time. "Attack me in earnest then!"

So Bala did.

[cue prerequisite intense battle scene ^_^]

With both sides on the offensive now, the fighting was much fiercer,
with Bala apparently undeterred by his handicap, and Craig gaining
a skill previously undisplayed by the errant knight.

The air rang with the blows Bala delivered on Craig's armour, and
the wind sang with Craig's blade slicing through the air, and
occasionally, through Bala.

Yuri watched, fascinated. Leilei was cheering Bala on.

Yuri noted that while both fought with almost equal skill, their
expressions were quite different. While Craig had an expression of
profound glee and sadistic delight, Bala's eye held the
characteristics of savage ferocity, of power wanting to be
unleashed, wanting to be used.

Something inside Yuri told her that, whatever that look was, it
was probably connected to whatever reason it was that Bala was bound
as he was.

Once again, Yuri found herself wondering what Bala could really be
like as a person underneath the folds of his bandages.

The battle brought itself right up to Yuri's bedside.

Yuri yelped as she dodged a slice Craig threw at Balabalalde. The
sword hit the stone slab where Yuri had been mere moments ago,
making it crumble to debris.

"Sorry," Craig muttered as he returned to his opponent. Yuri
sweatdropped.

Leilei had gone to where Yuri was lying to help her new friend. In
a minute, Yuri was free from her bonds. The two girls' attentions
returned to the two contenders.

"Bala, Bala, he's our man!" Leilei chanted, "if he can't do it, he
can!"

Balabalalde kicked high, on Craig's shoulder, and then spun to
direct a powerful attack to Craig's abdomen.

There was the cracking of armour, but Craig held his ground. The
blow that should have finished him, instead merely gave him a
chance to counterattack. His boots dug into the ground as he
absorbed the brunt of the impact. He grinned up at Balabalalde.

As the bandaged boy recovered from his assault, it was the knight's
turn to strike.

Both hands holding his sword, the knight raised it over his head
and slashed downwards in a murderous arc, intending to decapitate
his enemy.

Cloth and flesh parted as steel found home.

"GYAHA!" Craig laughed in triumph.

"BALA!" Leilei and Yuri screamed in shock.

Bala was not through yet, however. He had leaned back just fast
enough to at least minimize the damage. The wounds on his chest
and arm were deep, but not fatal. He had enough strength to finish
the fight.

Yuri gasped, hand to mouth. "He's still standing!"

Bloodied and injured, Bala moved in for the kill.

With one foot, Bala kicked Craig's arms sideward, and away from his
body, and then, with a coordinated effort from his back, side and
leg muscles... let loose with a crushing swing towards the side of
Craig's exposed midsection.

Craig held on to his sword, which was to his credit.

Things seemed to move in slow motion then.

The black knight clenched his teeth as he almost folded sideways to
the force of Bala's kick. Armour cracked, flinging black chips of
metal flying in all directions, and Craig's feet was lifted off the
ground, dusty contrails marking his wake. Droplets of liberated blood
flew off Bala's open cuts, reddening the nearby air.

And then things returned to normal speed.

"Aw, DRAGONTURDS," Craig spat.

Craig was flung all the way to the side wall where he hit with a
crash, and the wooden panels gave way to his heavy steel armour.
Dust which hadn't been cleaned since the very first year of the
structure's existence flew up in flurries at the wind from Craig's
passage.

Bala spun once from the inertia and then steadied himself. Yuri
and Leilei blinked at the damage Bala had inflicted on their
kidnapper and vice versa.

The battle was over. Neither fighter had escaped untouched, Craig
having several bruises where Bala had kicked him, and Bala sporting
several cuts and nicks, including the remains of Craig's
not-quite-decisive final blow.

But it was clear who had won.

Bala turned his single left eye towards where Yuri was lying on the
altar, much of his front side a bloody mess.

Yuri sat up and looked at her erstwhile savior.
"Ummm...t-thank you..."

Yuri smiled shyly up at Bala. She fancied that, inside his bandages,
Bala was giving her a smile too. Sort of.

Suddenly, Bala was on one knee, head down, eye shut hard. Yuri
reached for him, concerned.

Leilei appeared beside him then, a worried look in her eyes. She
was staring with tearful blue eyes at the wounds on Bala's shoulders,
chest, legs and arms.

"Bala's hurt," she said in a low voice. She paused. "I have to go
take care of him... before he gets an infection or something..."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

Yuri's eyes softened. "I understand. I'm sorry to have caused you
all this trouble, Lei..."

"It's okay, really," Leilei said and managed a smile at Yuri. "It's
all that stupid Craig's fault anyway. And Bala *did* win, didn't
he?"

Yuri smiled. "Yup. He sure did."

Leilei took hold of one of Balabalalde's chains. "Come on, Bala.
Let's go."

Yuri felt too tired to go anywhere- probably from whatever Craig
had drugged her with. But she asked nevertheless.

"Will you two be fine on your own? Maybe I should help your friend
walk."

"We'll be alright," Leilei smiled at her, though she had to make
some effort doing it. "I know where the infirmary is. Let's go,
Bala."

Bala looked towards Yuri and then turned to follow Leilei.

Nearing the door, Bala moved his head for a last look at Yuri. He
and she shared one final glance before Leilei led him away.

Suddenly, Leilei's head appeared by the side of the doorway.

Her eyes were large and hopeful. "Umm.. See you tomorrow then?
Same time?"

Yuri blinked. And then, "Sure."

Leilei smiled cutely. "Wai!" And then she was gone.

Yuri smiled.

*

As Yuri dusted her fuku off, she heard a groan coming from beside
her. She looked, and saw Craig getting up groggily from a pile of
wreckage on the ground, and then falling over again.

After a moment of thought, Yuri got off the altar and hurried over
to the fallen knight's side.

"Are you all right?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

"After one of Balabalalde's little ole kicks?" Craig muttered. "Who
wouldn't be?"

"Well, you really shouldn't have kidnapped me and Lei like that,"
Yuri scolded him slightly, hands on hips.

"Well, SO-REE," Craig said, voice coated with a double layer of
sarcasm. "Jus' trying out the old revenge schtick here, you know..."

Yuri shook her head. She was about to help him up when that she
noticed a group of human figures walking towards the hole in the
wall.

"Who are *those*?" Yuri asked.

Craig took a look for himself, and his eyes expanded several sizes.

"Ah, dragonturds," he opined, "jus' my luck. Methinks I have to be
leaving now..."

He tried standing up, but fell again after finding out that his
side still hurt... and his arms, and his belly, and his...

Yuri looked down at him. "Why? Who are the-?"

Yuri suddenly found a hand around her waist. She looked behind her
to see Ki Tamaida smiling down at her.

"Wha-?" said Yuri, again feeling her earlier unexplained
breathlessness.

Ki put a finger to his lips. "Sh."

With that, he leapt off the floor, bringing the stunned Yuri with
him. Moments later, they were standing on one of the girders that
supported the roof of the building.

"Holy-!" Yuri gasped, hanging on to Ki's sleeve reflexively. "How'd
we get so high up!?"

"Quiet," Ki said. "Look."

Yuri looked down and saw that the group who had been approaching
earlier had now reached the prone Craig.

One of the group stepped up to look down at the knight. He was a
tall boy with glasses, armour wrapped around his legs and feet.
Behind him, dragged by two chains, were two cruel-looking jagged
tower swords which looked like they weighed several hundred pounds
each.

"So, what have we here?" the boy asked, looking down at his find.
"It looks like *someone* has been using our covered court to have
their little grudge match..."

A beautiful girl, almost as tall as the boy, stepped up beside him.

"Hmm," she said, her small finger delicately touching her lower lip,
"and it looks like we stumbled upon the loser, Kashin..."

The girl's earrings, one-piece dress and shoes all matched perfectly
with the Ingram Mac-10 at her hip. All were solid black. And she
wa-...

Ingram Mac-10?

Craig remained silent. There was great dread on what could be seen
of his face, however.

"Now, fellows," said Kashin, "we all very well know what we do to
trespassers on our territory, right? Especially if..."

There was gleam in his eye directed at Craig.

"...if the trespassers are *freshies*..."

Craig rolled his eyes. "Ah, dragonturds..."

The girl with Kashin giggled demurely.

Craig made a titanic effort to stand up. He succeeded, and he stood
before the new people, brandishing his sword, determination etched on
his face. He was sweating bullets though.

Yuri turned to Ki, suddenly scared. "W-who are they, Ki?"

Ki folded his arms and watched the group descend upon a hapless Craig.

"They're a group whose paths that none of us must ever, *ever*
cross," he told her.

He turned a serious face at Yuri. "They're the Dark Heart High
upperclassmen."

Lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled.

Yuri swallowed and looked down to see Craig gearing for an attack.

"I'll die first before I let myself be captured by you!" Craig
growled and launched himself at the leader, Kashin. "En garde!!!"

Kashin grinned mischievously.

There was the "ping!" sound of clashing metal, and then Craig's
sword was suddenly flying from his hands to impale itself in the
building floor a few meters away from him. Kashin dropped the tower
sword that had suddenly appeared in his hand and it landed on the
ground, making a small crater and a lot of noise and dust clouds.

Yuri gaped. She hadn't even seen him move.

"Be careful what you wish for," Kashin said, folding his arms, "it
just might come true."

Craig groaned.

"Are they going to... you know," Yuri asked Ki, watching and worried.
"K-kill him?"

"No," Ki said. "That's against the rules. They're just going to make
him feel pain like he has never felt in his entire sentient existence,
that's all."

Yuri winced and looked on as the group carried Craig off.

"And they would have done the same for you," came Ki's voice.

Yuri blinked. That was true. She turned towards Ki to thank him for it,
and ask how he had known she would be there.

But he was gone.

Yuri did the only logical thing to do then. Yuri sweatdropped.

*

Ki Tamaida watched from the shadows as Yuri descended the girder via
access ladder after the upperclassmen were gone. He smiled.

"I have her trust," he whispered to himself. "Phase one of my plan is
complete."

Chuckling slightly, Ki jumped backwards and melted away into the
darkness.

*

Yuri sighed as she walked down the hall. Now how was she going to
explain not showing up for class the whole afternoon?

She was wondering just that when she ran into an area of cold air and
darkness. She looked up, and sure enough, she encountered
Amakusa-sensei in the school corridor in all his evil splendor. Or at
least, all the evil splendor he chose to show at the moment.

"Miss Yuri Mikagami," the principal said simply.

"Umm...hi," Yuri said, smiling but nervous.

The principal, naturally, was smiling as well.

"You didn't go to classes right after noon break, did you now,
Miss Mikagami," Amakusa-sensei said matter-of-factly.

Yuri sighed concedingly. "No, I didn't."

"And right after I just told you how that was prohibited," Amakusa
said thoughtfully, not losing his smile. "How... blatant."

Yuri bit her lip. Amakusa-sensei drummed his fingers gently on his
chin.

"And I've learned that you aren't the only one. You've influenced
others to do so as well..."

"I have?" Yuri asked, blue eyes wide and surprised.

Seeing this, Amakusa almost lost his smile to an expression of
wide-eyed startlement. But he regained his composure and even chuckled
slightly.

"I see... yes, you *are* good, Miss Mikagami. I see that now," he said.
"At first, I thought you might have been adopted, but clearly..." Then
to Yuri, "Yes, you have, my dear, sweet student. And, might I add, in
a way that would appear innocent to most others... but not to me."

Yuri didn't have the faintest idea what her principal was talking
about- so she kept silent. Amakusa-sensei put a hand on her shoulder.
Yuri looked at it unsurely.

Amakusa looked into her eyes. "Miss Mikagami. Never have I seen anyone
who wields the power of feigned innocence as well as you do. It seems
that, even before hearing my words on the importance of secrecy and
deception, you have already mastered it to the point of almost fooling
even me, even if only for a while."

The corner of Yuri's mouth twitched, but she let him continue.

Suddenly, there was genuine warmth in Hamaji's smile. "Your ploy
worked so well that you knew Maimsworth would handpick you as his
target. You even sowed seeds of friendship where you felt it would be
most useful. And it *has* proven useful. Also, you allowed yourself to
appear to be under the debt of the Tamaida boy... but only for some
future plot of yours, undoubtedly."

He drew back and peered at the girl, smiling.

"Truly, I am impressed."

Yuri didn't get it, but apparently, whatever it was was making the
principal happy, which was always good. She smiled back. Her smile was
still rather twitchy though.

"Um...Thank you."

"However," Amakusa said. His eyes became hard and stone-cold again.
"You dared to violate the system. *My* system. Do you really feel
your power sufficient to take me on?"

Yuri's eyes widened as Amakusa-sensei suddenly became ten times as
menacing, without having any apparent change in physical appearance.

"You may be good at treachery," Amakusa said, "but you have not availed
of the benefits of Melee Education, and you have not firmly grasped the
lesson that I tried to teach you this morning. Fortunately, both can be
rectified here, in my school."

He looked down at her. "For now, I will let you go. But do not ever
break the rules again, Miss Mikagami. I do not want to have to punish
you."

Yuri looked around, as if to find her answer. She looked at the
principal and said, "Umm...sure."

"Good," said Amakusa-sensei. He walked past her. "Carry on."

Yuri felt the cold draft of the principal's aura pass, and was about
to heave a sigh of relief when Hamaji's voice came again.

"Oh, and by the way, it was just as well that you did not attend your
Alchemy And Transmogrification class today."

"Ummm...why is that, sir?" Yuri asked, looking over her shoulder at
the principal.

"The classroom was destroyed," Hamaji said without turning around,
"by Sakazashi the Fifth, Doombringer. He became rather annoyed at the
instructor, or so I was told.  Do you know how he did it?"

"Ummm...how?"

Amakusa's voice was pleasant. "He raised his hand."

As Amakusa finally walked away, Yuri sweatdropped yet again.

Lightning flash, thunderclap, yada, yada, yada...

*

Hamaji Amakusa reached his office. There, he sat behind his desk and
steepled his fingers thoughtfully.

"I am starting to think," he told the empty room, "that this school
just might have its next principal after all."

The smile on his face was anything but pleasant.

*****

The legendary Hellstorm, a creature well known and feared on five
worlds for his unrelenting cruelty and sadism, raised his head
slightly at a sound coming from the entrance to his abode.

Spears of light penetrated the blackness of his lair but revealed
nothing of his appearance. He looked up at his visitor from his
place on the living room couch.

"How was school, dear?"

Yuri stepped up to the couch and sat down beside where her father
was lying. Or at least, near where two red points of light were
lined up diagonally.

"Pretty cool, actually," Yuri said, grinning, solid shadows
swirling about at her feet and occasionally twining around her
shoes.

"You like it there then?" the shadows asked her.

"It'll do," Yuri chirped, noncommittal. "I'll have to see more. It
IS still my first day there, after all."

"Of course," the entity occasionally known as Daddy Helly nodded
understandingly. "Now go up to your room and freshen up a bit.
Your mom's almost done making supper."

"Sure!" Yuri piped.

She stood up and then bent over to give her father a kiss on his
shadowy cheek. He shied away.

"Come on, you little baby," Yuri chided, smiling. "It's just a
little kiss!"

"I... I think I'll pass," came Troi Mikagami's deep treble from the
depths of the black.

Yuri smiled. "Love ya."

Troi cringed and Yuri turned to sprint up the stairs.

When she was gone, Troi looked up after her and sighed.

"That Yuri..."

*****

Yuri flopped down on her white-sheeted bed and exhaled deeply.

As she looked up at her ceiling, blouse unbuttoned and ribbon undone,
she thought about the events that had pockmarked her day, good and bad.

After some time of contemplation, a broad smile touched the corners of
her lips.

This school was going to be a blast.

*****

TO BE CONTINUED...

*****

Author's Notes:

Happy, happy, joy, joy thanks go to Puu (aka, the unkillable happy
face emoticon in chat). He has successfully managed to convince me
that this starter is at least worth the filespace it is saved on. Wai.
In addition, his commentary and editorial were INVALUABLE to the
development of this starter. Double wai. He has my eternal gratitude.

Extra special thanks go to Neovid as well, as he indirectly convinced
me to actually get down and write this thing. He was the only one who
looked for it when it dinnae show up in the Second Coming after I had
suggested its premise a looooong, long time ago at the first Starter
Sweepstakes. Thanks for wanting it, Neo. I'm touched. *sniffle*

Dankedanke waiwai to Scott and Ardweden too for reading the original,
unrevised version upon my request. Only youze two, Neovid and Puu know
how much worse this thing used to be. ;)

madsthebeast@eudoramail.com
amadeoiii@eudoramail.com
madsthehatchling@yahoo.com

Danke all. Godspeed.

Hosted by www.improfanfic.com

*****

Leilei looked up at Bala with large, strobe-like eyes.

"Do you *really* have to go?"

Bala, now sporting bandages for injuries as well as for his own
reasons, merely looked down at her.

Sighing, Leilei stepped closer and then began a low chant, holding a
hand up before Bala's chest.

With a faint *pop* the scrolls stuck everywhere on him fell off.
The chains clattered to the ground limply.

The freed boy flexed his arms and fingers experimentally.

Bala nodded and turned to enter the door marked "Males" behind him.

Barely a second later, a veritable stampede of teens poured out of
the portal, almost literally scrambling over each other to get out.

"SHIT, BALA'S LOOSE!" the last of them was heard to say as they
disappeared down the corridor.

Leilei leaned back beside the door, waiting for Bala to be done with
his business. The discarded scrolls were lying inside her bag, the
chains tidily piled near her feet.

There was a flushing sound.

Leilei sighed tiredly.

*****