Back to School [Open]

If Starlette was honest with herself she didn't particularly like school. School always seemed like nothing more then a giant fashion show for the rich and preppy girls, a stupid competition for the jocks, and a literal hell for anyone who didn't fit into either of those two groups. Oh, you had your nerds, and your normals, and your freaks.. but in the end? Those groups were nothing more then targets for the bullies.

No matter where Starlette went to school she always found herself “in between”. Never fully fitting into one group or another. An outcast, really. She wasn't exactly a nerd even though she was a bookworm, she wasn't exactly normal considering her odd quirks and her affinity for magic, but she also wasn't one of those freaks who put on so much black eyeliner and eyeshadow that they looked like a raccoon. No, Starlette was always labeled as something 'other' and she didn't expect this school to be any different then the last few she had attended.

Even now she didn't arrive by a method that anyone would consider normal: she didn't own a car, and she certainly wasn't subjecting herself to a bus. A broom, even though she now had one, would have been far too noticeable – and would have drawn the wrong sort of attention off rip. So, Starlette had arrived by one of the 'portals' she could create: this one had taken her directly from Afterlight and to a shaded area of the teacher's parking lot.

Before Starlette moved she glanced down at herself: she was a black cami with a greenish gray short sleeved off the shoulder top over it. The top went about halfway down her thighs, giving it almost a dress-style look. With this she wore a pair of black leggings and a pair of black flats. Her Company pendant was tucked between her black cami and her top shirt – keeping it hidden from view. She had her apothecary sashel, which could pass as a purse and which held her Company cellphone, hanging from her right shoulder and a purple colored bookbag hanging from the left.

Starlette pushed her glasses up on her nose and peered around with emerald green eyes as she pushed her light blond colored braided pigtails behind her. ”Ugh... why am I doing this to myself again? I've got two jobs... I certainly don't absolutely have to graduate anymore...”, Starlette said to herself with a frown.

A kid was sitting out of the way, relatively unnoticed. He was wearing a dark blue short sleeved shirt. There was a red and white design on the back that looked like a fan, and the collar of the shirt was larger than usual. He had on red ankle length loose fitting slacks and red sandals. A red du-rag was covering his hair, and a dark pair of sunglasses were covering his eyes, due to "an optical condition."

Another day of school. Holeman didn't really need to come here, but he did to learn the history of this world - since he wasn't from it - and also for the entertainment, since the school seemed to be a breeding ground of bullies. Many larger individuals - members of the football team in particular - often underestimated Holeman because he stood only 4 feet tall, but the shirt did well in hiding his muscular physique. A prodigy of Spook, a legendary shinobi from his world, Holeman was well able to defend himself, against opponents twice his size, and even multiple people.

Holeman figured the kids who lived on campus, possibly because their parents didn't want to deal with them at home, had to show their asses and make scenes with the kids who did get to go home, simply because they could go home. They would also "make their bones" on new kids that enrolled. Holeman, eating a pop tart, noticed through his constant radar that today there was a new kid. A girl. She had green eyes and blond hair. Holeman could tell right away just from her body language that the girl was reserved, shy; a bookworm. Sniffing the air several times, an advanced sense of smell could pick up the scent of something that smelled a lot like chakra coming off of her. Interesting.

These kids in this school were definitely going to put her to the test and make her use whatever it was she could do, unless someone stepped in. If no one did, Holeman figured it'd be another opportunity to get some exercise...

Amaranth didn't really need to go to school in all honesty; she was a scientist by all rights with more then enough knowledge. However, she felt that it would be cheating not to go, especially given her age. Plus, it was a learning experience in and of itself. Of course, going to school had allowed her to quickly discover just how rotten and nasty kids could be to one another – and how quickly they tried to suck up to those who could take them places. In Amaranth's case she hadn't been bullied, but more then one kid had shown interest in being her friend – and she highly doubted they had noble intentions behind the offer.

So, Amaranth had decided to stick to those whom she already knew and trusted – like Holeman. She was seated next to him with her laptop open and resting on her lap. She had changed up her attire a bit: a black short sleeved top with a matching skirt, and leggings which were tucked into her usual black combat boots. Her bookbag was placed next to her, and she was humming to herself.

Every so often she would look up and look towards one of the kids walking past. She noticed Holeman sniffing the air and glanced over to him with her silver colored eyes. ”Something wrong?”, she asked curiously as she glanced around some more, only now with a far different reasoning behind it. She knew her gunscythe was folded up in her bag – despite school rules that claimed you weren't allowed to bring weapons on the property – but she didn't want to pull the thing out of if she didn't have to.

If he was being honest, Yata came to school for no other reason but to get into a fight. It wasn't like he was actually learning anything when he actually had to come here, and as he was pretty much solidified into The Company now, there was really no other reason to show up.

Things were good. He'd killed for his job, literally, and gotten a promotion. Not only was he a Hitman now, he was also a Bouncer for the most popular club in the city. He wasn't hungry anymore. He didn't have to beat up people to loot their pockets anymore, either. His family still hadn't come looking for him after all this time; if they had been looking, they were doing a pretty shit job.

Yata rolled onto school grounds, an evil grin on his face and a bad look in his eyes. He had his usual look, with his Company Pendant swinging free upon his neck, not really caring who saw it or knew what it meant. He could see that he'd drawn lots of stares as he showed up again, which told him that perhaps someone had been looking for him.

He wasn't really concerned. At that moment he looked around, hoping to spot Biff and Moose, knowing they'd try starting shit when they saw him for deserting their crew. He didn't put it past any of the other well known bullies to try him either...

241 + 1,152 = 1,393 Word Count

Starlette took a couple of deep breaths; she really didn't know why she was bothering to put herself through all of this again. She was always one of the outcasts, and she really didn't need to be here. Plus, going to a new school was hard to begin with. Sighing to herself she forced herself to look ahead as she adjusted her backpack onto her shoulder properly. She knew her grandmother wouldn't be happy if she turned around and just went back home, so she forced herself to walk across the parking lot and out of it.

She joined the majority of the other kids who had arrived; giving them as wide a berth as possible. She glanced around with her emerald green gaze as she pushed her glasses further up on her nose. She was hoping for, if not someone she actually knew, at least a familiar face. It took a moment but she finally spotted Yata who seemed to have also just arrived. Further from him she then spotted who she knew to be Amaranth, the owner of Sunset Isle, and another kid who was sitting beside her. She was surprised to see Amaranth there and yet it gave her a little push into actually staying. If the owner of an popular tourist attraction could go to school then so could she.

"Come on Starlette, you can do this..." she muttered to herself as she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She just hoped she didn't find herself at the mercy of any bullies - oh she could defend herself easily enough against one or two, but she preferred to not have everyone knowing she could preform magic unless it absolutely became necessary.

Word Count: 290 + 409 = 699

"Not yet," Holeman said, swallowing pop tart. "The new girl there, I think she can use... Magic, it's called here. She has a heavy scent of chakra, or Chi as it's called. With how these morons are here, she's probably going to have to use it soon..."

Holeman wasn't going to sit there and watch the girl get beaten on or anything like that. If he had to jump in, there wouldn't be any hesitation. Someone else came onto the scene soon after the new girl; someone he'd seen before but not for a while. What was his name? Misaki something? He was part of a group of bullies, Holeman knew this, but for some reason he hadn't been around for a while. He could ride a skateboard and had a crazy way of fighting. He'd combined the two to form his own unique fighting style, and Holeman found him quite entertaining to watch, even though he was a bully.

There was something way different about him now, though. Chakra radar told Holeman that he was much, stronger than he was the last time he was in school. There was a strange look on his face, the kind of look one had when they'd committed their first murder and enjoyed it; the kind of look Holeman had seen before, one of hunger. Holeman then noticed the chain around his neck with the "C" pendant on it. He was a Company member? That explained the crazy strength then.

"I see The Company has a new recruit, eh? I wonder what your uncle was thinking hiring in a bully?"

Amaranth looked over, noticing a new face easily enough in the crowd of other students. The girl had both a backpack and some kind of sashel on her. She dressed modestly, more so then a lot of the other females who went to school. Tucked underneath of her shirt was something that hung from a chain, and she had a suspicion from the shape outlined in her shirt that it was a Company pendant. ”Ah... Hm. Something tells me that necklace she's got hidden has a Company pendant on it – at least it looks that way from the shape it underneath of her shirt.” Amaranth suddenly sighed softly. ”I don't know which is worse; being bullied or having everyone want to be your friend simply because of who you are.”, she mumbled softly.

And then her attention shifted towards Yata. He wore his Company pendant in plain sight, and the look on his face spoke of trouble – at least it did in her opinion. At Holeman's question she looked back to him as she shut down her laptop. ”I'm sure there's something good about him if my Uncle hired him. When I met him in the tower the other day he didn't seem like a bad guy; a bit shy but not bad. I didn't know he was a bully though... My Uncle asked me to teach him Swift, and I did because I trust his judgment.” She shrugged then. ”Suppose we'll have to see what happens – that look on his face makes me think he might be looking for a bit of trouble.”

She turned her attention back to Yata, while glancing at Starlette. She had half a mind to go over and introduce herself to the girl, and get to know her, but hesitated simply because of the way everyone else acted towards her.

He could see the stares. He could hear the gossip, the whispers. He'd been gone for weeks with no explanation, and now, all of a sudden, he was back. Yata didn't care much for the shit talk; the last time he was here most considered him as a bully, but now that was no longer the case. As he began to roll around the school, performing new tricks due to the new bond he'd formed with his boards, he noticed a few people getting on their cellphones; some to record him, some to make calls. He noticed his new tricks made most of the talking stop and instead draw eyes of amazement.

While waiting for the first hour bell to ring he performed tricks that should have been impossible. It was on the second trip around the main building that he noticed a familiar bunch approaching a female who looked to be Starlette.

Biff, Moose, and 3 others. They were dressed the same way they were the last time he saw them outside of Zero Sum: Black sweaters with white dress shirts underneath, untucked, black dress pants and black dress shoes. Yata began to figure that this was the dress code of the bully.

Biff had a sarcastic look on his face, while the larger Moose, a hat on his head that came down near his eyes, resembled a sort of golem. The other 3 cronies were all looking toward the new girl as if she were a piece of candy or a delicious dish at their favorite restaurant. Biff and Moose stopped in front of her while the 3 cronies moved to block the way she came.

"Hi there," Biff said, his ridiculous hairstyle in full effect, held together by stupid amounts of hair gel and spritz. "You must be new to the academy. It's more like a zoo full of wild animals. Me and my buds here, we'd be willing to offer you some protection, but... our services can be stressful and taxing. If you'd be willing to...compensate us for our services, I think we can be persuaded to keep you safe. The academy can be a very rough place... and if you don't have any money..." Biff himself gave the girl a once over with a certain expression. "...Negotiations to pay us in other ways are always possible too..." The three behind started to chuckle and laugh some.

Yata began to roll towards them from afar...

410 + 1,393 = 1,803 Word Count

'... I should have just stayed in bed and pretended I slept through my alarm clock...' was what Starlette found herself thinking as she came to a sudden stop. She found herself being confronted by a dude who obviously needed some tips on how to style hair, and a big beastly looking guy who Starlette was sure was at least part ogre or perhaps had some troll blood in him. She glanced behind herself to notice three others: all of them looked to be dressed relatively the same. She was surrounded: as was likely their plan.

Starlette wasn't so much afraid as she was annoyed: she had been hoping to at least get through her first day of school without incident – and yet that apparently wasn't going to be the case. Starlette sized up the guy with the bad hair style, and then the troll looking individual: between the two of them she knew she stood no chance in a physical altercation – especially with the three behind her added into the equation. So, if this turned nasty all she could hope for was that none of them could preform magic, and she could get her magic off fast enough to do some damage.

Starlette rolled her eyes at the offer of protection; her annoyance obvious along with her defiance: she hated bullies. ”Yeeaaaah, no. You look like you lost a battle with your comb this morning, and that big guy there looks like he'd be too stupid to even find his way out of a broom closet. Why the hell would I want to be protected by the likes of y'all?” Oh, she knew her words were going to cause anger, and that was the point: the angrier someone was the less likely they were to notice things – such as her currently charging up a spell that had her hands glowing a white color and the smell of ozone filling the air around her as if a storm were brewing.

”Now.. why don't you move out of my way?” Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Yata approaching, but she kept her gaze trained on the one with the bad hair day, as he looked to be in charge of this group.

Word Count: 379 + 699 = 1,078

2 Company members on school grounds? Why would they be here? Holeman wasn't really one to ask; he didn't have to be here either. And that Misaki dude was in the Company too? He was currently headed toward 2 of the people he used to hang around back in the day. Was he going to try and exploit the girl too? Or would he help her, seeing as they were both part of the same Company?

"2 Company members, eh..." Holeman said, finishing his pop tart and throwing the wrapper behind him in a trash bin. "And you taught him your infamous Swift Release huh? Hmmm, you all must trust that dude a lot then... he was a major bully last time I saw him. You telling me he turned a new leaf?"

Holeman sat up some, prepared to fly into action. The usual grin that was always on his face was plastered. There seemed to be an incredible amount of chakra - or chi- building up around the girl, suggesting that she was about to execute some kind of jutsu - or technique. Holeman could also notice many stopping and staring; many whipping out their phones to record the forthcoming incident.

"Well, this should be interesting. Hasn't been a good rumble at the school in ages..."

”Ugh, I don't understand why they haven't been kicked out, yet...”, Amaranth muttered as she saw Starlette become surrounded by the usual bullies. It was pathetic really: like some sort of sadistic welcoming party. Their intentions likely weren't noble, and Amaranth shifted slightly so that she could get up quickly if needed. She wasn't going to sit back and watch this girl get mistreated after all.

However, as she got a better look at what was going on she saw the girls hands glowing slightly – it was nearly hard to see due to how bright it was, but it was there none the less.

”Eh... I don't know Yata well. But, I trust my uncle. And if my uncle says I can trust him then that's what I'm going to do.” She then glanced over, seeing Yata on his way over to the confrontation that was going on. For now Amaranth decided she would just sit back and watch to see what happened - and only interfere when needed.

She said it looked like Biff lost a battle with a comb, which made some standing around burst into laughter, and Biff himself to give an evil frown. She said Moose looked stupid, so stupid that he wouldn't be able to find his way out of a closet, making him growl and close his large hands into fists, the knuckles popping in the meantime. More laughs came from the crowd, with some saying the girl was brave, but most were amazed with the glow coming from her hands.

The girl asked for them to get out of her way, to which Biff answered "You know... We were offering to be friends, and protect you from these animals, but you return our hospitality with insults?" He seemed to ignore the glow for now, as did Moose, but the 3 behind them were starting to look afraid. "I think we're gonna have to teach you a lesson."

Biff did a spinning motion. As he began to extend his right leg halfway through the spin, it became obvious that he was going to attempt to kick Starlette in the face. However, this wasn't meant to be. Biff's kick met the kick of Yata, who seemed to just appear from thin air with a spinning kick of his own, easily knocking Biff back into the opposite direction. When yata landed on the ground again he continued to spin while going low, executing a sweeping kick next towards, Biff's legs while he was off balance. The sweeping kick was so powerful that Biff was knocked into a cartwheel. When Biff was upside down, Yata, still spinning, stood up with yet another spinning kick, connecting with Biff's chest. he was launched backwards to land on the side of his head in a harsh manner, bounce twice and come to rest about 10 feet away. The crowd of school kids was in an uproar.

Yata seemed to just vanish into thin air. Attacks were launched toward the three standing behind Starlette. The two punches and kicks came so fast that it appeared to normal eyes that there were 3 Yata's all attacking at the same time. These attacks were launched so that the 3 cronies were all launched airborne at the same time to crash into each other and land in a pile, non-moving afterwards. Onlookers couldn't believe what they'd just seen.

Swift Release:

Finally, with his Red Aura active, Yata started walking slowly towards Moose, who then began to look somewhat afraid. "I thought you moronic pussy farts would have learned your lessons by now, but I guess not," he said. "What's the matter, Moose?... You're starting to look like a scared little bitch, that isn't like you... aren't you gonna flap your gums and tell me how you're gonna smash my head or some bullshit like that? Come on, let's hear it! Big bad Moose, so proud of his size and strength! Surely you're not gonna let a little shit like me fuck you up, are you?"

The Red Aura:

Moose looked a cross between scared and pissed. His big boulder arms were ripping through the sweater and dress shirt. Veins could be seen sticking out of his neck. The 3 cronies weren't moving at all, and Biff, his hairstyle having came loose in that sweep attack, was trying to get back to his feet. No one had seen Yata do such a thing before. With the redness leaking off of him like smoke as he waited for Biff to take action, there was much gossip around him. What was he now? Was this what he was doing all that time he was gone? Yata knows magic now? Rumor has it he came out of Darkman Tower...

"Well??" said Yata with an evil grin. "You at a loss for words, Moose? or are you afraid?"

646 + 1,803 = 2,449 Word Count

Starlette had been prepared to release the spell she had been preparing for when suddenly the kick heading towards her was stopped: Yata clearly wasn't happy with Biff's attempt to attack her. Starlette remained in place as she watched him quickly dispatch of not only Biff, but the three goons he had had with him – moving so fast that it looked like there were several of him instead of just one. S

he discharged the spell safely; keeping it from accidentally releasing – chain lightning out of control was not a pretty sight, as she backed away from Moose. She wanted to make sure she was out of his large reach. It was then that Starlette glanced at the onlookers, noticing several who were texting and some who were clearly taking video of the incident or even pictures. ”So much for staying under the radar....”, she said softly to herself. She was definitely going to be noticed now, and she doubted much good would come from it: but, at least she had attempted to stand up to Biff and Moose, something she doubted many others likely would have had the balls to do.

Starlette was glad for Yata's intervention though: it had saved her from having to unleash was a potentially dangerous spell – while also keeping anyone from being able to see first hand exactly what she was capable of. She was curious as to what Moose was going to do: he seemed conflicted between being angry and being scared – would he attack Yata or would he run away? She doubted either way Yata was going to have much trouble with him – if he could move at speeds that fast then surely handling someone even as large as Moose wouldn't be too much trouble.

Word Count: 300 + 1,078 = 1,378

So, he wasn't a bully anymore. He was attacking the guys he used to hang around everyday, defending the new girl. This confirmed Amaranth's suspicions that she was also a Company member. Yata kicked the guy with the funny looking hairdo around like a play thing. The 3 guys behind the girl were also dispatched very quickly due to Yata's newfound Swift Release.

Holeman, with a grin, sat back to relax again, draping his arms over the back of the bench he was sitting on again. "Looks like we won't be needed, he's got this one under control," he said. "Doesn't look like he's one of the morons around here anymore. Your uncle have something to do with him shaping up? Jr the reason he's been gone all this time?"

An incredible amount of chi began to leak off of Yata then, grabbing back Holeman's attention. Holeman had never seen him do that before. He could fight and do tricks with that board with the wheels, but he'd never shown that he could use Chi attacks. "Well now, that's new. Jr musta taught him something..."

Amaranth likewise relaxed as she watched Yata begin to go to work on the bullies. The one with the weird hairdo didn't stand a chance against Yata and was easily dispatched even as he had attempted to attack Starlette. The three behind her looked as if they stood even less of a chance and were likewise easily dispatched of. Amaranth watched with a grin spreading on her face: she wouldn't deny she liked to see a good fight – especially since Mitsukai had merged with her and they had become one being.

Amaranth shook her head at Holeman, unsure of exactly what was the cause of Yata turning over this new leaf. ”I dunno. I'll make sure to ask him though the next time I see him... I was kind of curious anyway as to where my my uncle met him anyway.” Yes, Amaranth was sure that would be an interesting story to hear: plus maybe it would give her a chance to get better insight on Yata – he sure seemed like one of the good guys now, and she was glad to see that.

She kept her silvery gaze trained on the fight, wondering what was going to happen between Yata and the big guy that was left. She noticed that he looked a mixture of pissed off and yet scared. Would his fear be enough to make him run? Or was his ego big enough to keep him in place so that he too could end up getting his ass kicked by Yata? There was no doubt in her mind that Yata could handle him: even without Swift release she was sure this big one would be no problem. ”Hmm... this should be interesting.”

Biff looked at the red colored smoke stuff coming off of Yata and began to look afraid as well. As both of them used to look and talk down at the relatively smaller and weaker Yata, it was a satisfying sight. It only made the evil grin on his face grow somewhat wider.

"You know what, for the likes of you two weak little girls, I won't even have to use my real shit," said Yata, deactivating The Red Aura. "That better, Moose? Would it help if I tied my arms behind my back next? Big bad Moose, scared of lil ol me, who woulda thought of it?"

Moose just looked more enraged. "I ain't scared of you, you little shit," he yelled while winding back that large right arm of his. A powerful but slow haymaker was launched, which Yata was easily able to avoid. Yata began to skate circles around Moose, avoiding other punches thrown at him by ducking, and jumping wile performing tricks and kick flips with his board, much to the crowd's delight. Moose swung so many times that his skin became shiny with sweat, and he began breathing hard. Yata jumped over maybe the 12th haymaker thrown at him to do a handstand with one arm on top of Moose's head. Moose tried to clap Yata between those two large palms but Yata avoided it beforehand.

A spinning back kick dug into the middle of Moose's chest while his arms were up, causing his eyes to nearly bulge out of their sockets. With the air forcefully ejected from his lungs he dropped to his knees clutching his mid-section, his forehead on the ground. The crowd was unbelieving that such a little dude could take down such a big dude with one blow.

Biff tried to take the opportunity to attack Yata from behind, swinging at the back of his head. Yata went low, then came up with a kick to the bottom of Biff's chin while balancing himself on his hands. He pushed off of his hands to then kick Biff in his stomach while he reeled backwards from the chin kick. Yata began to kick Biff on his arms, his sides and his head. When Biff began to block Yata started kicking his legs. Biff drew a knife and attempted to stab Yata, for him to leap and barrel roll over the stab attempt. He flipped over a second attempt, driving the back wheels of his Trick Board down atop of Biff's head and further ruining his dumb hairstyle.

Yata landed and didn't even seem mad about the knife. "You always were a cheap ass, Biff," he did say, though, while putting a foot on one side of Biff's face as he lie on the ground in a daze. "Can't win fairly so you pull a bitch move. So surprising with all the shit you used to talk, you and that big faggot Moose. I was the pipsqueak and you two were the Gods. Look at you now, with both of you lying at my feet. Who's the man now?" Yata drove his sneaker deeper into the side of Biff's face. "I can't hear you! Who?"

"...Y-You," Biff managed to say.

"Who??"

"...You are!"

"Misaki! Stop that," came a terribly familiar female voice from behind.

"Get off of that boy like that, what's the matter with you?" Added an equally terribly familiar male voice. The evil grin left his face. Yata turned to face his parents, who'd seen the whole exchange. He knew the day was coming when he'd have to face them again, he just wasn't expecting it to be today.

608 + 2,449 = 3,057 Word Count

Starlette took the time to get further away from the confrontation: she didn't want to risk accidentally being in the way – or worse, ending up used by Moose or the rest of the bully crowd as a pawn of some sort: it seemed like the kind of thing the bullies would do if given the chance after all. However, she kept herself close enough that she could hear the conversation – it sounded as if Yata definitely had known these individuals at one point in time, perhaps even been friendly with them, but that that was no longer the case. She was glad to see that Yata had turned over a new leaf: skills like his were better used for good then evil after all.

She watched as the between Moose and Yata started; Moose attempting to punch Yata and Yata avoiding it with what looked like ease. He then began to move around Moose on his board, preforming stunts to the onlookers delight while avoiding every attack that Moose attempted to hit him with. Moose was beginning to look tired the further it progressed, but Yata just looked like he was having fun and not even breaking a sweat.

Biff attempted to join in on what was going on, attempting to stab Yata, but he was able to avoid that too – it looked to Starlette as if nothing could touch him. Yata started talking to the individuals again when suddenly a female voice came out of nowhere that was quickly followed by a male one; she glanced in the direction they came from but kept her main focus on Biff and Moose – she didn't trust them. But, who were these other people?

The kid was something else to watch in action. He had a style all his own. Dancing, skateboarding and taijutsu, all in one. The big muscily guy was obviously all muscles; all intimidation. Against someone who knew what they were doing, he was helpless. The big one called Moose looked like a big lumbering ox compared to the experience of Yata.

When he went down, the one with the crazy hairstyle tried again, even pulling out a weapon. He was helpless as well. Both of them were on the ground, with Yata asserting his dominance over the two, even making the hairdo guy confirm it. Holeman would have thought this a cocky move, but he started thinking - having previously seen these two morons in action many times before - maybe they deserved it.

Someone else came onto the scene, calling Yata by his first name. Were these his parents? It was looking like this episode was about to turn from action into a drama...

Amaranth watched as Yata literally danced circles around Moose who was unable to even land a single hit on him. She could only shake her head with a chuckle: it was very exciting to watch, and she was sure that Moose was feeling the sting of embarrassment by now. And then a glint on a blade alerted her that Biff was attempting to join back into the fight; attempting to pull a fast one and stab Yata. However, this attempt was likewise dodged and in the end both Moose and Biff ended up on their asses. Amaranth couldn't feel bad for them – how many kids around here had they knocked around without any sort of consequences? No, it certainly showed them right to have a dose of their own medicine for once.

And then suddenly a male and female were calling to Yata and Amaranth drew her silvery gaze in their direction, a frown suddenly replacing the former excited smile that had been on her face. Were these Yata's parents? ”Something tells me this is about to go from a fun and exciting to watch action movie, into a soap opera...”, Amaranth said softly. She couldn't help but feel bad for Yata: there was nothing more embarrassing then having your parents show up at school after all, especially highschool.

The parents. Yata turned to face them with an evil frown. His mother, his father, 2 of his older brothers and 3 of his sisters. All looking like they'd been genuinely worried about him. He'd been gone a few months, after all. Anyone looking could see that Yata resembled all of them. All of his siblings had the same color hair he did.

Yata had changed some. He was a little taller, and had packed on some muscle. Yata was still changing. His brothers and sisters all looked surprised. For the moment, he just stood there, staring and frowning.

"Misaki where have you been?" Mother Yata asked.

"What the fuck do you care," was Yata's response. She and his siblings looked shocked, while his father frowned.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to like that young man?" he said.

"I don't see anyone else around! Suddenly remembered I was alive you old fart? Suddenly want to be parents, now that i've gone off and made something of myself? Fuck off..."

"You're asking to get slapped in your mouth with that tone!"

"Pfffft," Yata responded, his evil grin returning. "You think i'm still scared of you? I guess you haven't been taking notes. Do you need glasses or did you see what happened to that big dumb fuck right there?" He pointed to Moose, still on the ground in a ball, his face in the dirt. "What makes you think you'd stand a chance?"

"...Misaki I know we neglected you in the past, and I know there's no way to apologize but we'll work to change that if you give us the chance to," said mother Yata.

"What difference would it make now? You expect me to come back to that house and starve? While these morons scoff everything down and laugh when I get the crumbs? I don't need any of you fuck bags. The boss of this whole city has my back now, i'm doing big things."

"Who the hell are you calling a moron, you little shit?" asked one of his brothers as he, his other brother and his sisters approached with frowns. "I don't care if you did get lucky and take out that big idiot, i'll STILL kick your little ass!"

"Yeah, you think cause you went to karate school you're Bruce Lee now?" asses the other brother.

"You guys, stop it," said Mother Yata.

Yata just kept grinning at his siblings as they approached. "I was just getting warmed up with these clowns, you want a shot at the title next?" he asked. "I'll take all of you weak bitches on."

"Seems like you've really grown a mouth since you've been gone!" said one of his sisters. "And an attitude! You're really asking to get slapped!"

"Shut the fuck up, bitch. Go suck a dick or something, it's all you're good at."

All of his siblings rushed at him and began attempting to hit the youngest Yata. Mother was yelling for them to stop and beginning to cry, while father was trying to break it up. Yata, with a big evil smile on his face, was easily able to dodge and slink around all of them on his board.

Yata positioned himself between all of them and unleashed his Aura with explosive force, which threw them all, even his father, backwards away from him a distance. His family looked upon his glowing red form with a mixture of surprise and fear.

"Come back home, to starve? To get laughed at? Made fun of?... Fuck no," he said, stomping the back of his board and grabbing it when it flipped upwards. "Those days are over. I do have to thank you, though... If you'd have never forgotten I existed, I would have never found myself. So go on with your miserable lives and forget about me, im doing just fine without any of you."

With his glow fading, Yata turned and started heading for school.

663 + 3,057 = 3,720 Word Count

The last thing Starlette wanted to do with a potential new friend was eaves drop on what was likely going to be a personal conversation. Given what she was already hearing it sounded like there was bad blood between Yata and his family. They kept calling him Misaki, and she remembered him saying he preferred to be called Yata – she knew that that had to be annoying, among everything else they were saying.

His siblings likewise didn't seem happy with him, and Starlette was torn between turning away and walking off so she didn't intrude on what should have been a private moment, or sticking around so that she could thank Yata for helping her. Biting her lip for a moment she reached up and adjusted her glasses, throwing a glance down at Biff and Moose on the ground.

Figuring she would stick around so that she could thank Yata meant she heard the whole exchange between him, his parents, and his siblings. And she saw the energy wave he unleashed that sent them all flying. She would wait, patiently, until Yata turned and started to walk back towards the school, before she would hurry to catch up to him. ”Hey, Yata. I just wanted to say thanks for helping me back there... Heh, I suppose I got a bit of a short temper. Probably shouldn't have insulted them like that.” She pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

A soap opera... but Holeman was able to figure out why the Yata kid became a bully. he had a pretty crappy homelife. It appeared that most of his family didn't even know he was alive if what he was saying was true, and his mother even owned up to neglecting him. It had to be so bad that Yata ran away, and somehow got mixed up with Jr and The Company. Holeman was still wondering how that happened exactly.

His brothers and sisters didn't take to well to Yata responding to them harshly, and attempted to put the little brother in his place, but failed miserably. Yata made sport of them all, even the father. In the end he demonstrated his newfound powers and stated that he wasn't coming back home, it was because they neglected him that he was able to... "find himself" as he put it, and that he was fine without them.

Holeman could never imagine being forgotten or neglected by his family, being "The Chosen One" and all, so he wasn't going to even try to imagine what Yata was going through. That guy would do more, Holeman thought as Yata was walking away. He was going to make a scene, leave a mark that most would never forget.

"Well that was fun to watch," Holeman said, standing and stretching. The first hour bell rang, causing the crowd to begin moving towards the main school building. "I'm gonna have to take a trip to the tower again, see how Jr roped that guy into joining up. For now though, better get to class..."

Holeman merged with the crowd and started heading towards school himself...

[Exit]

The soap opera ended about as quickly as it began. It was quite clear from what Amaranth could overhear that there was no love loss between Yata and his family. They had neglected him, and treated him very badly. It made a bit of sense now, why Yata had started out as a bully – lashing out over a nasty home life was very common after all. However, Yata had apparently come to see the light and was now bullying the bullies – which in Amaranth's opinion was simply karma.

Amaranth stood up when Holeman did and pulled her bag onto her shoulder that now held her laptop. She glanced back towards Yata's family before following Holeman towards the building: she too was going to have to pay Junior a visit and see what had happened to make Yata see the light of day.

-Exit-

Yata pushed open the front doors with both arms. He was both pissed and satisfied; pissed that those pieces of shit that were his family had the nerve to show up acting all concerned, barking orders and threatening him, when his brothers and sisters always made fun of him, and his parents often acted like they didn't know who he was, and satisfied that he'd gotten a little bit of payback. It felt good to see the looks of fear on their faces.

Many people were getting out of his way as he walked inside, seeing more looks of fear and concern on the faces of those in his old school that he didn't even have to attend anymore if he really didn't want to. He was starting to debate if he actually wanted to be here. Heading back to the tower to pig out on goodies while watching movies was seeming nice about now. Perhaps Jr would even send him to take someone else out, now that he was a Hitman.

Starlette, next to him as he was walking in, thanked him for the help, and said she'd let her temper get the best of her. Yata glanced over at her once before looking back forward at all of the scared faces. "Yeah, sure," he said, adjusting his board in his left hand. "You don't owe me nothin if that's what you're thinkin. You're prolly gonna end up with the popular chicks, right? Listen to them tell you how lame me and the rest of the scum of this school is, huh? Hell, you saw enough of that outside. Stupid mom can't even keep track of how many kids she has..."

He was still pissed, obviously. But the thought of them all on the ground looking as if they'd pissed themselves was enough to balance him out. "Anyways, welcome to the zoo, those wild animals are probably gonna try again, just so you know. Fresh meat in the jungle and all that."

333 + 3,720 = 4,053 Word Count

A frown formed on Starlette's face at Yata's words: they stung a bit. She had never been involved with the popular crowd, no matter where she had gone to school. She shook her head slightly as she hugged her shoulder straps of her bags closer to her chest. ”No... The popular crowd and I don't get along, never have and never will – and I'm not that kind of person.”

Starlette glanced towards everyone already in the halls, noticing the way they were looking at Yata. "On second thought.. I don't think I want to be here today." A soft sigh escaped her and she turned, walking not towards the office to go get her schedule but back towards the doors: she didn't feel like going to school today after all, and playing hookey couldn't hurt, right? She would keep Yata's warning in mind, and keep an eye out for Moose and Biff: she hadn't figured that would be the last she had saw of them anyway.

Once back through the doors she glanced about and then headed back towards the parking lot she had used to arrive: if she was lucky she wouldn't be stopped by any teachers on her way back to the hidden space she had used to make her traveling rune. She didn't really have any intentions in heading back to her shop, but there had to be something she could distract herself with for the few hours she was supposed to be in school.