Do you know whats hard?

Video gaming.

Not just any video gaming, but classroom video gaming.

The type where you're constantly like 'Oh-fuck-I'm-about -to-beat-this-level-but-the-teacher-is-coming-to-check-on-me' video gaming.

The one where your sweating bullets the entire time while glancing nervously at everyone around you. Where you're not allowed to do crazy button mashing or yell out profanities as your character dies for the bajillionth time.

And it's this type of crazy video gaming that our heroine, Kross Imai(or Imai Kross in the Japanese perspective), is currently performing with her PSP. Surely someone should have caught her by now, but no, her teacher was one of the laziest bums she had ever met. He sat there on his fat ass, eating chips, and playing online games instead of teaching students actual frickin' science. Now most people would take this blessing and use it well, but, unfortunately, since Kross is such a hard core gamer she became submerged in her game and forgot one of the most important rules of classroom video gaming-

"Oh, Yeah! Take that you slimy-ass lava spider! I just owned you bitch!"

-quietness...

At this moment everyone in the room froze and looked straight at the very stupid main character of this story, who was now in a victory pose, her PSP evident in her hand. Quickly noticing her mistake Kross spazzed and dove under the table that she shared with three others, hoping with all her might that the lazy bum, known as Mr. Crosetti, hadn't noticed her cry of ownage. However, her hopes were quickly chopped up into bloody little pieces, eaten, and then barfed up as an annoying, nasal voice filled the room.

"Imai!" he boomed (don't you hate it when teachers call you by your last name because they can't bother to learn your first?). "We are currently still in school, so why are you playing video games!" Kross could feel the unsaid threat of her PSP getting taken away and she shivered. She was fine with suspension, even expulsion, but the mere thought of her baby getting taken away almost brought her to tears. Looking up from the ground she was laying on she began to give him her best puppy eyes.

"But Mr. Crosetti, sir, I've already finished the assignment you gave us and the homework. So, I thought I might just play a bit." She was really trying to suck up to him and threw in some sniffles here and there for extra effect. Unfortunately, he wasn't buying it.

"How many times have I told you that your not allowed to bring those video games of yours to this school!" the fat ass had finally decided to stand up this time. Though, he still hadn't moved away from his desk and he stood there tapping away at the surface with his fingers. A devious smile came up on her face as she got up and brushed herself off.

"Really Mr. Crosetti. Let's not be rash. How bout we settle this over a simple game of poker?" She fished out a deck from her back pocket and began waving it back and forth. "If you win I'll comply to any punishment that you wish to give me, but if I win I'll get off scott free." There was now a sweet yet devious smile on her face as she awaited her answer.

Mr. Crosetti paled a bit at the mention of one of her favorite card games. Everyone at American Creek High School knew her for her demonic poker skills. She had scammed many a person when she first arrived at the school and, even though she always upheld her promises, she rarely lost. Mr. Crosetti was one such person to fall victim to her and lost a pretty penny at it as well. Right when he was about to deny her request and put her in detention anyways, the end of school bell rang and Kross grabbed her black and purple Hibari Kyoya messenger bag and dashed out of the classroom, down the hall, and out of sight before the teacher could say a word.

Kross finally slowed to a stop once she was a block away from her school. She cackled about her amazing ninja skillz as she slowly caught her breath. She took a quick look at her KHR bag to make sure it was alright before straightening her clothes and continuing forward. Kross was not just a video game nerd but an anime/manga nerd as well. And even though she dabbled in almost any series you could think if, her all time favorite was Katekyo Hitman Reborn. She had posters, pillows, games, and the anime series all in her room along with all the other nerdy things she kept in there. It actually surprises herself how obsessed she is with it. Even though she had been reading manga for a long time she had not once been obsessed with a series as much as this one. Sometimes she even wished she could go live in the KHR world with all that man candy.

In fact, that was exactly what she was thinking at this exact moment as she walked home. She took her time and day dreamed all she wanted because she knew there'd be no one waiting for her there. It wasn't that her parents were dead, they just had no time for her. And there were no friends to hang out with because she had only been in California for three months and had been automatically labeled weird.

She really wished she could just go back to Italy. It wasn't one of the longest places she had stayed at but it just kind of felt right. It's close second was when she had stayed in Japan, but all the others, China, Britain, Korea, and Africa, just didn't hold a candle against those two. She was always good with languages so it wasn't as if she couldn't understand anyone, but Italy and Japan just seemed to fit. Even the languages sinked in faster then the rest.

She sighed again and tried to get her thought process away from such things as moving and instead turned back to her imagination. A flash of white in her peripheral vision made her stop and turn to look down the side street that was to her left. She had walked past it many times before, yet, this time, something felt different. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off it and soon enough her feet started to take her down it without her realizing. Surely, it wouldn't be to bad to take just a little detour? She would make it home soon enough.

How wrong she was.

The farther she walked the longer the path seemed to grow. It soon lost all the characteristics it had at the beginning and all she could see was the path, darkness engulfed everything else. Feeling that it was about time to turn back and get away from this creepy path, Kross did a quick about-face, ready to walk back.

However, where the path should have been there was nothing but darkness. Squinting into the black, she tried to make out anything familiar. The shadows seemed to writhe under her stare and panic rose up in her body as a tendril of it broke away and began to tug at her shirt. More followed it's example and began to attach themselves to her clothes and her messenger bag. She turned around, breaking away from the darkness, and began to run on the path she could still see, trying to get away from whatever was behind her.

A light ahead made her speed up her frantic pace and she dashed to th opening. She reached her hand out towards the light, as if to grab it, yet, when she went through it it almost felt as if she broke through the surface of water. She panted hard and thrashed on sheets that were strewn about her as she stared up an almost familiar, yet foreign, ceiling. Distant cries from below her made her freeze.

"Tsu-chan~! It's time to wake up!"

It took a while for her brain to process the words, but as soon as she did she quickly bolted upright and looked around the room. There was no doubt. This was the room of Sawada Tsunayoshi, the main character of her favorite anime.