DISCLAIMER:I don't own Ao no Exorcist or Kingdom Hearts. Everything except my imagination belongs to the rightful owners.

The First Words out of Your Mouth

She just wanted a normal life, which isn't easy when your appearance has been stolen and your vocal chords have been shut down due to unforeseen circumstances.

It was because of that day that she swore she would become an Exorcist.

"You're not planning on going to my True Cross Academy wearing that, are you, Miss?" the purple-haired principal asked as she sat silently in the back seat of the ridiculously pink limousine. He looked just a tad odd. That curly strand of purple hair on the top of his head, the white suit, strangely forest-green eyes. She didn't like him, but didn't hate him either since he's the one who got her to attend. Her hand curled into a loose fist on the red velvet seating.

At this she tugged her gray hood further down, shadowing as much of her face as possible. That didn't require a response, therefore she didn't answer. She liked her gray hoodie and black slacks. If they were going to force her into a teeny-tiny pink skirt she'd rather claw their eyes out. But if wearing the stupid uniform was going to get her through the school gates, she'd willingly knot the checkered tie.

Principal Mephisto simply chuckled and seemed to have read her mind. "At least wear the tie, or put the symbol on your sweater. From today you will be a student of my Academy as well, yes? I understand the state of affairs you are under."

She nodded her understanding, feeling something in the back of her brain. This was called relief.

Now, the girl had no idea why she had received a scholarship. She didn't have any intentions of coming here until she learned she could become an Exorcist. And she would do anything to be cleansed of what dirtied her soul. She would have to go to the cram school, but that didn't bother her at all. She could still become an Exorcist no matter what the chances were. The entrance exam should be worth it.

The drive was longer than she expected it to be. So she did a little sightseeing.

This city was huge, and all the buildings were clumped together in separated colours. It was obvious where the academy was; it was the tallest building in town, had a fountain and a huge clock tower. Never had she seen anything so amazing. But she could deal with it. Adjusting to the environment was another story. Avoid eye contact. Stay low. Don't say anything to anybody. Those were the standard rules she used to stay out of the way. She gripped the strap of her shoulder bag a little tighter, repeating the words in her head like a mantra as if she would forget them.

"You seem quite nervous, Miss." Mephisto remarked. "Don't worry. I shall escort you throughout the day. You still have much to learn, so please do study to your heart's content."

Though he'd taken enough time to notice, this phrase did not give her the same prick of relief it was meant to. Quickly she reached up the back of her hoodie and tugged down the chest restraint she wore. A bit of the bandaging was folded up and itchy.

The limousine came to a stop in front of the school. "Oh! Here we are!"

The first thing she noticed was how many students there were. All of them were wearing the uniform and in clusters of friends big and small. There was so much variety.

And here I am to add to the list. She bitterly thought. With a small, quick bow of gratitude she hastily opened the door and jammed her hands into her pockets. She was quite hungry, but she didn't trust that Mephisto guy enough to take one of the weird coloured loafs and sauce that sat in the limousine. It probably wouldn't be good to die of food poisoning on the first day of school.

Mephisto climbed out of the car after her. "Follow me, please. I'll show you to the auditorium and then your new classroom."

Auditorium? She mouthed, but followed the caped man anyway. She could almost feel the burning gazes of eyes on her. If they were lasers she'd be nothing but ashes at that point.

Five minutes later, she was inhaling the unbearably stuffy air in the auditorium that was stuffed from front to back. Only thanks to the violet-haired principal was she able to find a seat near the front of the huge stage.

Is everything in this school oversized? She asked herself.

The ceremony started. "Freshmen representative, Yukio Okumura."

"Yes!"

Everyone including the girl turned to look at who had sharply spoken. A boy about her age had stood up tall and proud. His chestnut hair was neatly cut, and his blue eyes shone in determination behind his rectangular glasses. Upon further inspection he had a few moles on his face. She heard a few girls giggling and whispering, and strained to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"The freshmen representative got the highest score on the entrance exam, right?" One girl whispered to the friend beside her.

Anyone could do that.

"Amazing!" Another girl swooned.

Not really.

"Yuuka, isn't he cool?" She almost squealed in her ear.

You're both going to the same school. What's the difference?

"Totally!" Yuuka said dreamily.

Kill me now.

Yukio strode over to the podium and unfolded a paper that had his speech written on it. The girl somewhat admired how calm and focused he appeared despite talking in front of hundreds of people he didn't know or care about.

Or maybe that's just because I can't.

He cleared his throat and began. "Passing through the gates of the Academy I so admired, I feel nervous just as much as grateful." His voice rang strong and clear through the auditorium, and somehow she felt compelled to listen, which was odd.

It's not like I can listen to my own voice. She silently rationalized.

"All the more, I hope we will be able to further our skills through friendly competition." Yukio continued. "I am the freshmen representative, Yukio Okumura."

The applause that followed hurt her ears. The speech was good for such a short one, she admitted, but there were too many people together at once. It made her uncomfortable and twitchy and suddenly she wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. Luckily after the clapping was over people stood up and started filing out of the auditorium right away. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, she quickly pushed past several girls and went outside into the schoolyard.

Then she heard a voice calling; a deep one that wasn't Mephisto's.

"Freshmen! I'll be leading you around the Academy, so please follow me."

At that point she heard more girls swooning over that Okumura guy. Why was he so popular?

"Okumura-kun, what faculty are you in?" That Yuuka girl asked. Her voice was dripping with so much artificial sugar it made the girl want to barf.

When she turned to look, Yukio's cheeks were slightly flushed from the attention he was receiving from several girls. "T-The Special Advancement faculty."

"Wow!" Another one squealed in admiration. "And you're so tall, too!"

Is that supposed to be a compliment?

"Thank you very much." He stiffly said. "I'm positive that all of you will do great this term as well."

She thought the girls would die from loss of oxygen. "Oh! Thank you so much, Okumura-kun!"

The girl couldn't take any more. Hurriedly she fled to the gigantic entrance hall alone. Regal-looking panes were up against the walls, and a giant red staircase was surrounded by two escalators. She tried her best not to gape and rather clench her jaw tightly. Pull it together. This is just the entrance.

A hyper voice caught her attention from the escalator parallel to hers.

"What the heck?" The voice exclaimed, and she turned to look. A raven-haired boy wearing a long red bundle on his back sped by on the escalator, gawking at everything and turning around in several 360s. His elbows were raised high in surprise, his crystal blue eyes dilated in excitement. "Is this really a school?" His loud voice echoed in the halls and she winced at the volume. How annoying. Several girls behind him must have thought the same thing because they all huddled together and started whispering.

It's kind of funny, she allowed. It's almost like he's saying everything I wish I could. A mirror to my reactions.

At least that was what she thought until she saw the cafeteria. Golden tables all lined up front to back, golden chandeliers, paned glass windows, food ticket vending machines… It was a heaven of fancy food! The growling in her stomach didn't cease upon seeing the cakes and all kinds of Italian food. She searched her shoulder bag for her wallet when she saw the price for the cheapest dish. 1500 Yen.

She nearly barfed again.

I think I can go without breakfast for a day.

That dark-haired guy was there again, spinning around in awed circles and staring at everything. How did he not care that everyone was looking at him? "There's even a chandelier and stuff!" He cried, waving his arms up and down. "Like in a 5-star restaurant!" The girl silently sighed. So naïve. He looked around the same age as her, but on the inside he had the maturity of a three year old.

The classrooms were oversized too. Neat desks all lined up in rows, with plenty of light coming in thanks to the paned windows on one side.

How much did it cost to build this place? The girl could only wonder as she took her seat near the back of the classroom by a big window. There was a nice view of the ocean from where she sat.

"Wow, it's huge!"

She winced again. Why was he here too? Couldn't he have gone to a different classroom or something? That wasn't conveniently the same one as hers? How could anyone think with this much noise?

"This classroom is just too big!" He gaped at the room and pulled out the chair that was two desks in front of the girl's. "This desk is even larger than the one in the monastery!" He then proceeded to smack the desk with both his hands as if to test if it would break.

Last time I checked, you were a freak if you talked to yourself.

The group of girls from earlier seemed to pick up on her thoughts because they started whispering:

"What's wrong with that guy?"

"What's he doing here?"

He faltered in his movements. She thought he heard because he suddenly pulled himself together and resorted to coolly staring out the window, chin resting in his palm.

Finally, some peace.

"Well, this is it for today."

God, you must be kidding.

"Everyone please return to your rooms and be sure to attend classes starting next week. Dismissed."

All the students stood up and rushed out of the classroom, chattering away with their friends. However the girl had a bigger crisis on her hands.

Shit. I should've taken something from Mephisto's limousine when I had the chance. Her lips turned in an unpleasant frown. Can I afford anything else?

The thought of all the food she might be able to buy sent her running out of the room. Unfortunately that guy started running for the door too and they collided roughly. The girl tumbled onto the ground and painfully rubbed at her tailbone. Why were the floors so goddamn hard?

"Oh! M-My bad!"

She looked up to see him extending a hand to her. He wore an embarrassed smile that was slightly crooked. That was when she realized he had fang-like teeth. He really needed to get those filed or something.

"This place is packed. You shouldn't be running." He frowned.

Hypocrite.

She shook her head to reject his help and stood up, brushing some dirt off her slacks. Quickly she fled the classroom, having had quite enough of the raven-haired boy for a day.

As she walked down the stairs, the halls were strangely empty. She thought that there would be a lot more students wandering around in an enormous school like this.

Where should I go now? I can't afford anything in the cafeteria, so there wouldn't be any point. I don't know where the dorms are. I don't know anyone here, but I shouldn't be ditching. Either way I'm all alone. Maybe I could find a spot to play Birth by Sleep. I'm almost done Ventus's story. Vanitas is such a di-!

A small whine caught her attention and she looked down. A tiny gray puppy stood at her feet wearing a giant pink polka-dotted bow tied around its neck. A little multicoloured pin was pinned onto the ribbon. Its tail wagged happily and the pin gleamed in the sunlight. Why would it have that?

A dog? She mouthed. What's it doing here?

It growled and bit at the leg of her slacks, forcing her to turn in a certain direction down the hallway. Then it scurried off, stubby legs moving much faster than she anticipated.

Am I supposed to follow or something?

Seeing as she had nothing else to do, she followed the fluffy dog down the hall.

She chased the little animal all the way out of the building until it led her out to the road, in which it then scrambled up the street lights and assumed a polite posture on the very top lamp. The girl looked a little closer. There wasn't any collar. Was it lost?

Or maybe abandoned by its mother because of the giant bow and assumed it was some sort of birth mutation.

With a big puff of pink smoke and a couple multicoloured stars, Mephisto Pheles sat gracefully without slipping an inch. In surprise she took a half-step back, contemplating whether to run or to punch him. Why would he lead her all the way out here?

He seemed to have read her mind yet again. "Pardon me. But the principal can't meaninglessly wander around the campus."

She cocked her head. Exorcists can transform?

"I see you're quite confused. Exorcists can't take the form of anything they wish; I'm special." When the principal glanced at her with a small smile, she got ready to run until he pulled a tiny golden key from his jacket pocket and flung it like a card. Swiftly she caught it and brought it into her field of vision. What…?

"With this key you can conveniently go to your cram school classes through any door." Mephisto explained, and her mouth fell slightly open in surprise. I knew this school was special, but I wasn't expecting this at all.

Elegantly he leaped off the lamp to see her eye to eye. "You already know this, but you'll be attending cram school for Exorcists. While you will be attending high school classes like everyone else, the Exorcist training will take place in the cram school. As a Page, you will study Exorcism. Though the high school classes begin next week, your cram school starts today." He started walking towards her until he was leaning down to her to make unnecessary eye contact, but she didn't dare move away. "You're prepared, aren't you?"

She nodded sharply. Hell yes. I'm not backing out now.

He raised a gloved finger. "Ah, but let me warn you." Mephisto lightly poked her chest, right above her heart. "It is a secret that you're not a boy. Though we can hide your chest, hair, and overall appearance, there won't be any explanation if you're caught. Please do take care of yourself."

She nodded again but a little reluctantly. As if you need to tell me. I'll lose my only chance if anyone finds out.

"Great!" With a long swish of his arm and sending his cape flying, he hopped up onto the edge of the road and did a polite bow with a dip of his hat. "Now then, shall we get going?"

Get going where? She cocked her head again to communicate her confusion but rather than replying he did a little jump and fell down to the ground below. Hurriedly she scrambled over and saw him standing in front of a door on the inside of the bridge. Cleverly hidden. He looked up at her.

"Now, try opening this door with your key."

The girl gave a small nod of understanding and swung herself over the edge, landing on one knee on the cushy grass and pulled out the small golden key. It seemed to weigh less than an ounce, and yet holding it was oddly satisfying. It was almost like it fit perfectly in her hand.

Carefully she inserted the key into the miniature keyhole and turned, emitting a rewardingly loud clunk, full of promise that the door was indeed open. Taking a deep breath, she pushed on inside.

A silent gasp escaped her throat.

The halls went on forever. Checkered black and red tiles lay at her feet, stretching on and on into infinity. Golden, red, and green pillars stuck to the walls, and the doors were rounded with the same colours. How did this place go unnoticed? She glanced at the key closed in her palm.

What exactly is this thing? Better question…

She took a step inside. Where the hell am I?

Mephisto came in after her and shut the door. "The first-year classes are held in classroom 1106. Let's go."

She stuck close to the principal until they arrived despite how she always felt a little uncomfortable around him. Something about him just didn't seem right. Even though she was still starving, she mentally patted herself on the back for not giving into the little appetizers that sat in the limousine. At least she had some self-control.

"This way," He called, and she picked up the pace a bit. "Just for today, I'll stick around a bit too. Later I'll introduce you to where you'll be staying from here on out."

She nodded, but then he said:

"Ein, Zwei, Drei…"

With a snap of his fingers and another puff of pink smoke, he'd turned back into a fluffy gray dog, tail wagging as usual. He turned his muzzle up to the door. "Let's begin."

She recoiled a bit in shock. What? You can still talk?

"Why are you hesitating?" Dogphisto asked in a slightly higher, nasally voice. "Didn't you want to become an Exorcist? Isn't that the reason why you're here?"

Her jaw clenched. Of course it was. She didn't come here to screw around. If she was going to do this, she'd have to do it right but for now she had to head into the damn classroom. Exhaling a long breath, she gripped the handle and pushed the door open. No matter what happens, I can't let what other people think get to me. Hell, this place is probably flooding with talented people. How could I ever compare to what I've seen?

She found the exact opposite.

The first thing she noticed was that the class was very spacious and also in the same gold, red, and green colour scheme but was a lot more rural-looking and dirtier than the others she'd seen. A closet and cabinet at the back was overflowing with old papers. Then she noticed the people. Barely anyone was in there, and the creaking of the opening door seemed deafeningly loud in the utter silence. Everyone turned to look and for the first time she got a good look at the students who were in there. The students who wanted to become Exorcists.

A short blonde boy was talking silently to a pink rabbit puppet.

Is he like me? She couldn't help but wonder. No, wait. If he's a ventriloquist, he just talks through that thing. He still has a voice. She grimaced. Lucky bastard.

Two girls sat next to each other at a table. One had short brown hair and the other had red eyes, purple hair tied back in two low pigtails, and strange eyebrows that kind of resembled guitar picks. They had been talking, until she'd shown up. Now they just stared. Their gazes made her flinch, so she turned her attention to the last group. A boy with pink fluffy hair stood talking to a gruff-looking teen with streaked brown and blonde hair, piercings, and some scars on his face. The table behind them was occupied by a noticeably smaller boy with glasses and a buzz cut that made him seem near bald.

But that raven-haired boy was there again. He sat at the back of the room in a corner table with a girl with short blonde hair and innocent green eyes. Like her, she wasn't wearing the uniform either and a blue and pink yukata was in its place. They wanted to be Exorcists? Well, there weren't that many people in the class. Maybe she would feel at least a little more comfortable.

This is it? These are all the students in this school that want to be Exorcists? She thought in shock and tried not to let it show on her face. Emotionless. Stay emotionless. That way you won't draw attention to yourself.

They kept staring, and she felt herself break out into a cold sweat. She hated the feeling of so many eyes on her at once even if there were only a couple people.

Oh, right. I have to introduce myself, don't I? Remember the name, remember the name. Shit. No chalk. Maybe the teacher will bring some later, but for now I'll just…

With a tiny, quick bow, she rushed past the tables and flung herself into a chair near the back of the classroom. She swung her gaze away from the boys ogling and to her shoulder bag. The girl yanked out her sketchbook, a mechanical pencil, and flipped to the last page.

[Who are these guys?]

Mephisto popped up and onto her lap. Normally she would've been a little put off by a principal sitting on her lap, but strangely enough she didn't quite mind when he was in this form. He was actually quite cute.

"They are going through Exorcist training just like you," He explained, and it felt so good to have someone actually respond to what she was thinking. There was so much more she wanted to say that it felt like the words were bubbling up inside her and out of her throat, and her hand twitched, wanting to write more. She could barely hold herself together and she had to draw in a deep breath to keep from scribbling out more.

"Some of them are yet to receive a Spirit Wound, and some already have it."

[Spirit Wound?]

She knew she could've tilted her head in question and he would've understood but she just wanted to write her thoughts out.

"Wounds or illness inflicted by a demon. You become able to see demons when you get a Spirit Wound. It is necessary to go through it to become an Exorcist."

A piece snapped into place in her brain. So that's why I could when…! Her hand shot up and two fingers grazed over the skin below her eye. I get it now. This was it.

"Well, not that you need it, since you've already seemed to have paid the price."

Her teeth gnashed so hard together they could have snapped. At that moment the door clicked and swung open.

"Ah, your teacher has arrived."

Does he have chalk? Was the girl's first thought. Then her mouth fell slightly ajar.

Black leather boots clunked on the wooden floors.

A brown suitcase was set on the desk.

"Good afternoon." A very familiar voice said. "I'm your teacher, Yukio Okumura, and I'm a new teacher here. I will be teaching you Anti-Demon Pharmacology starting today." He smiled warmly. "Though I'm the same age as all of you, I've been studying Exorcism since the age of seven. I finished my studies two years ago. So please address me accordingly during class."

The purple-haired girl raised her hand. "Nice to meet you." The girl next to her lowered her head a bit more into her book with a meek, "Nice to meet you."

"Hello!" The pink-haired boy waved cheerfully.

I had no idea. What kind of guy is he?

The raven-haired boy's cerulean eyes widened immensely in shock and bit his lip.

"He's a genius in Anti-Demon Pharmacology, and the youngest person ever to receive the Exorcist certificate." Dogphisto said.

"Is there anyone who is still yet to receive their Spirit Wound?" He asked calmly. Several people raised their hands limply.

"Three…" He repeated. "Then let's start the first class with the ceremony of the Spirit Wound."

[Ceremony? There can be a ceremony for Spirit Wounds?]

"He will summon a demon and make it give a Spirit Wound to those who don't have on yet." Dogphisto nodded his fluffy head.

She slightly recoiled. What? He can do that?

"Actually, this classroom has been vacant for a while now, so it has become the nest of goblins." Yukio continued like all was normal.

The brunette in the classroom freaked out. "A-Are we going to be alright?"

"Don't worry," Yukio assured, and began unlocking his suitcase. "They are low class demons without any power in particular. The injuries they are able to cause are minor."

The girl rested her chin in her palm and suddenly found the wall quite interesting. How long could this day be?

I guess I gotta put up with it till I become an Exorcist. But still… what is with that guy? Something about him just… grates. All the noise seemed to be drowned out from her thoughts even as the dark-haired boy slammed his hands on the table and started yelling at the teacher. He's got some nerve, screaming bloody murder at our instructor. Not that he'll last long with an attitude like that. Maybe if I wish really hard he'll get transferred out of this class.

It didn't work.

"Oi!"

The girl looked up to see the source of her thoughts slamming his palm down on her desk, making her things rattle.

"Stop zoning out in the middle of class!" He scolded her as if he had a place to talk. "Hurry up and write your name on the board." A long piece of chalk rolled toward her hand.

She nearly toppled her chair backward from scooting it back so hard. Snatching the chalk off the desk, she marched up to the board to see several names already written. Since when were they doing introductions?

Renzo Shima

Konekomaru Miwa

Ryuji Suguro

Kamiki Izumo

Noriko Paku

Moriyama Shiemi

Takara Nemu

Okumura Rin

The chalk froze in her hand. Okumura? Since when was anybody related in this class?

Neatly she wrote down:

Takahiro Kyohei

For now, it'd have to do. But she at least hoped this would get it across that she was who she intended to be.

She could only wonder how long the charade would last.

When the bell rang, she felt like she'd been revived. Shoving her stuff into her bag, she pushed in her chair and made a rush for the door. Okumura-sensei had left early for a meeting and had them write some essay about different materials that could repel demons.

Unfortunately, she collided with the blonde-haired girl and fell right in front of the doorway. Why the hell was she falling so much today?

Rubbing at her already-bruised tailbone, she looked at her. She was already babbling on her knees:

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I'm so clumsy sometimes, I just don't know what to do! Oh, I'm really, really sorry!" She held out her hand. "Takahiro-kun, can you stand?"

Of course I can. Why are you so concerned?

The girl shook her head to reject the help again and stood up. The blonde's green eyes were glazed over with hurt of the neglect she was showing. When she turned to leave, she heard another voice:

"Oi!"

Oh, good god.

"The hell is your problem?" The same boy demanded. "You freaking tackle Shiemi over and you don't even apologize? Just because you think you're all top-notch doesn't give you the right to go running people over!" The rage in his eyes was clear as day.

The girl gnashed her teeth together. It's not like I don't want to apologize, dumbass, but not that you would understand.

"With that kind of attitude, you'll never be an Exorcist." He spat angrily. "So go on, just keep living in your own world. The rest of us got lives to look forward to."

Attitude? Don't make me laugh.

She didn't respond and kept walking when he caught her arm in a death-grip and spun her back around. "Where do you think you're going? Do you think I'm gonna let you leave without apologizing to my friend for hurting her? Huh?"

No response.

"Answer me!" He roared. In his fit of fury he grabbed at her collar roughly, yanking her forward. His teeth looked as though they belonged to that of a canine's. They were bared and ready to rip out her throat.

"You'll never be an Exorcist," He growled again. "Like hell you are. Like hell!"

Now, the girl had never thrown a punch in her life.

But she supposed there was a first time for everything.

A/N: Alright! Here is the pilot chapter of my current obsession, Blue Exorcist. As you may've noticed by now, my OC is based off the hooded character who is later revealed to be Shura in disguise. Before I knew the true identity, I started speculating about this character and the possibilities there could be and before I knew it this happened. I don't have the entire thing planned out yet; I'm really just crashing through this, but that's fine with me. I'm definitely going to continue writing the next chapter, but until then feel free to tell me what you think and R&R! :)

*When italicized text is in []s, it means that Kyohei is writing in her sketchbook to communicate.