Summary: They were the most popular people in the school, named 'the Eight Powers' - and they all hated each other's guts. However, when the teachers finally decide that enough is enough and that they should learn to get along, all rules will be bent, broken or completely re-written. After all, all's fair in love and war. And this is both.

A/N: This chapter has been split into two parts because I thought it was too long altogether. Also, the computer's showing me this story in html code, so it's quite exasperating to fix. If anybody has any helpful suggestions to revert the Edit/Preview Document bit to how it originally was, I'd be forever grateful. Expect very slow updates. Criticism welcome. Oh, and I've recently edited to fix up a few things. As well as add pairings…

Pairings: Rimahiko, Amuto, Kutau and possible Yuukari. I'm not focusing on any couple in particular, and expect a long wait 'til you get to the romance.

Warnings: There will be swearing, because they are teenagers. There will be references to things of a sexual nature, because they are teenagers. There will be fights (hey, look at the title!) of a physical nature, because they're teenagers. This is, basically, a story written by a teenager, about teenagers, for teenagers. What else would you expect?

Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara! I do not know how to make it any clearer than that. So buzz off lawyers; I'm armed with a golf club. And I will not repeat this over and over again in every chapter just to prove a point. Deal with it.

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The Eight Powers

Fight! (Part I)

Amu sauntered through the halls of the school, bag hefted over her shoulder and a bored expression plastered on her face. People stopped to stare and mutter about her when she passed. It didn't matter; she was used to it. After all, she was the one and only, 'Cool and Spicy' Amu Hinamori. Nobody dared to approach her, although some of her fans, consisting of both girls and boys, followed discreetly from a distance. Half of her pink hair was gathered into a high side ponytail while the rest hung down to her shoulders freely and her indifferent golden eyes watched as students whispered the latest rumour about her into their friends' ears.

She was too busy watching what they were doing to notice where she was going and accidentally shoved hard into somebody's shoulder. "Hey..." she started, about to advise the other person to 'watch it', even though it was probably her fault. Amu Hinamori did not apologize to anybody.

"Are you blind? Can't you see where you're going?" a voice asked coldly. Amu looked down into the face of Rima Mashiro. The girl was extraordinarily short and looked like she was drowning in the amount of wavy blonde hair she possessed. Even though she was small, Rima was renowned to be the most frigid girl in school, earning her the nickname 'Ice Princess'. This did not stop her from having a horde of fanboys surround her every second of every day, catering to her every whim, however.

"Whatever, midget. Blame others for your own mistakes if you must," Amu said, not bothering to meet the other girl's hazel eyes as she did so. A chorus of "Ah, so cool!" could be heard in the background. Rima's fanboys sniffed or gasped at the insult.

"Of course; 'Cool and Spicy' Hinamori. I should've known. We wouldn't want others to know what a bumbling, incompetent fool you are, yes?" Rima replied casually. And the fanboys fell head over heels all over again while Amu's fans gasped this time.

"Yeah, just get out of my way, Goldilocks. I've got better things to do," said Amu disinterestedly, brushing past the shorter girl.

"What, like, going to the classroom alone, and going to lunch to sit by yourself? I wonder if you haven't noticed, Hinamori, but you've got no friends," Rima stated, inspecting her perfectly manicured nails. "Your fans won't even come near you. My, how sad your life must be."

"Oh? You're lecturing me about friends, kid?" Amu asked dangerously.

"Kid? You're even more stupid than you look. I'm in your grade, moron," Rima answered smoothly. It was true; Amu and Rima were both sixteen-year-old Sophomores.

"Whatever. I don't see you being very buddy-buddy with anyone either, Mashiro. All you've got are some slaves willing to do the dirty work for you. I work fine by myself and, unlike you, have no need to rely on others."

"Oh, I don't need them, but they make life that much easier, no? Honestly, you are a simpleton," said Rima, shaking her head sadly.

"I'd be careful about what I say if I were you. Wouldn't want you to get hurt, would we, being so small and delicate, right, dwarf?"

"Likewise, you wouldn't want to get hurt either would you, being so completely alone and self-reliant all the time," Rima countered without a blink.

"I can handle anything that comes my way, but can you?" Amu sneered.

"I won't need to. It's why I have the love-slaves, after all," said the unsmiling girl. "Well, see you around, Hinamori."

"Bye, Mashiro."

The two girls strode past each other, heading in opposite directions. As the fangroups passed each other, however, glares and insults were exchanged. Things were already nearing a boiling point, and with the start of the new year, they were soon going to bubble over.

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"Aw, can't you come with me on just one date?" Kukai asked, grinning charmingly at the pretty brunette. She was a tough cookie to crack, but he was convinced she would come around eventually.

"I-I already told you, I like s-someone else," she stuttered, searching for an escape. Kukai had her trapped against the lockers, arms on either side of her head and face inches away from hers. He was very good-looking, and her resolve was weakening by the moment.

It was well-known that Kukai Souma, captain of the football team and candidate for captaincy of almost every other sporting team in school, was a jock and a player. With his messy, reddish-brown locks, green eyes, charming smile and good build, it wasn't hard to see why. The student body had taken to calling him the 'Wandering Phoenix' for this reason as well as for his sports prowess.

Usually, he was surrounded by other jocks and cheerleading bimbos whose collective IQ was lower than a goldfish's. The exception was when he was luring another girl into his arms and then added their name to the list. What list? The list of those girls who had been taken by him. Of course, there were a few girls he wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole, but all the worthwhile ones were slowly hunted down and recorded.

"Oh, they don't deserve you, anyway, whoever it is," Kukai said dismissively.

"B-but..."

"One date," he insisted.

"I-I can't..."

"Come on. It's just a..." Kukai trailed off when a new voice came from behind him.

"Do we have a problem here?" a smiling, purple-haired boy asked. This was Nagihiko Fujisaki, a walking bundle of contradictions. He always smiled politely while he was talking, never got flustered, and had hair that reached down to his waist. Usually, a person like that would be one of the first targets for bullying, but not this one. For this one, the student body had nicknamed, only half-jokingly, 'the Snake'. Once you knew that, you could catch the subtle glint in his brown eyes when he got really angry.

Kukai smirked. "Not unless you make it one, Fujisaki."

Nagihiko nodded understandingly, still smiling. "Well, jock; you see, this lady confessed to me just yesterday. Apparently, she prefers somebody more... shall we say, sensible - which is a polite way of saying 'not idiotic'. So she stays with me and you can go back to one of your bimbos or sluts who wouldn't know the answer to one plus one if it came up to them and started pulling their hair by their badly-dyed roots," Nagihiko explained with a friendly manner.

Kukai, like anybody else who was on the receiving end of Nagihiko's disapproval, was a little disconcerted. The open face, amiable tone of voice and relaxed body language just didn't add up with the words coming out of his mouth.

Nagihiko 'the Snake' Fujisaki wasn't ever bullied for several reasons. He was smart. He could mentally run rings around any thug that dared to mess with him. He was fast. Forget mentally running rings around the bullies, he could run them in real life too; after all, he was the captain of the basketball team - the only team that Kukai didn't have a chance to be captain for because the current one was more than a match for him. As well as being smart and fast, he was strong. Strong enough to take on anybody in a one-on-one fight if need be. On unrelated information, Nagihiko was also a fantastic break-dancer.

On the other hand, Nagihiko made enemies of people far too easily. He used his words of venom and charming smile against everybody he disliked, which was an overwhelming majority of people. Of course, he still had a large number of fans, most of which were female admirers, and this elevated him to the status of one of the most popular students in the school. One thing that set his admirers apart from Kukai's was that his were slightly more sophisticated; they had brains and they could use them.

Kukai finally gathered himself together. "Look man, I didn't mean any harm. I was just asking for a date, that's all," he said, raising his arms in surrender. He had heard the rumour that Nagihiko was actually part of a gang and wouldn't put it past the guy.

"And the lady said no. So why don't you stop harassing her and shove off somewhere else before I have to do something that we'll both regret later," he replied agreeably. Kukai made a face and pushed away from the girl.

"Damn bitch ain't worth this," he mumbled rather loudly. The girl in question heard it, certainly, for she raised her hand to slap him across the face. Unfortunately for her, Kukai's reflexes were fast, and he caught her arm before the blow could connect. What he hadn't been prepared for was a lightning-fast punch in the stomach from none other than Nagihiko himself. Kukai didn't have a chance to double over as the other guy grabbed the collar of the sports jersey he was wearing and slammed him against the lockers.

Everybody 'ooh'ed at the display, some of the less violent students scurrying away. The rest of the students just got themselves ready for a good show. They were all cheering or booing at this point. None of Kukai's jocks moved to help him because it'd make him look bad in front of the crowd. It would look particularly bad because 'the Snake' was still sixteen and a Sophomore, whereas Kukai was a seventeen-year old Junior. Perhaps later on after school, when nobody was around, they'd teach the punk a lesson. Or try to at any rate.

"Say that one more time, jackass," Nagihiko said, smile still in place.

"That bitch ain't worth this," Kukai spat, not about to back down from a challenge. Nagihiko let go with one hand to punch him on the face but Kukai got one in faster, right in his stomach this time. A blow for a blow.

The red-head swung again while Nagihiko was doubled over but the other guy's hand snaked up and caught it before it could connect. Kukai found himself jerked forward by the arm, his own momentum working against him and Nagihiko managed to throw the punch to the face that he'd wanted.

Kukai staggered backwords, wiping his bleeding lip with a sleeve. The two readied themselves for another exchange of blows -

Somebody coughed politely. It was a quiet, unassuming cough that somehow managed to rise above all the noise and cast a spell on it so that it died down. Reluctantly, and never taking their eyes off the other, Kukai and Nagihiko straightened up. Or at least, straightened as much as their aching selves would allow. Nagihiko turned around with a carefree smile that you'd expect during a picnic, not a brawl. Kukai, in worse shape, was leaning against the lockers and panting heavily, glaring at the back of Nagihiko's head.

"You two are going to be joining me for detention after school," Nikaido-sensei said firmly. He was usually a kind, bumbling, easygoing teacher, but at times like this, he would smile grimly and his face would grow dark and menacing. Some people feared for their lives when the look was directed at them, the effect enhanced by the fact that he was the last person you expected it from.

"Of course, sir," Nagihiko replied serenely. Apart from his slightly ragged breathing, he showed no signs of having been in a fight.

"Yes sir," Kukai muttered, feeling the bruise forming on the side of his face.

Before the teacher could turn on them, the students hurried off to their original destinations. Naturally, in less than five minutes the entire school would know about the fight between two of the most popular students there. Miniature arguments occurred as they debated whose fault it was, and there was even an almost-slap that didn't happen because somebody stopped the girl just in time.

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A/N: I hope you enjoy!