The end is where we begin

Where broken hearts mend

And start to beat again…

The stories we were told growing up were ones that had always seemed far too strange to be true. Legends of heroes and the power of love itself. How the fate of humanity had been altered so dramatically by nothing more than the love two people held for one another. As time went on, those legends undoubtedly grew more vague, the true story lost to the symbolism of a book printed and reprinted hundreds of thousands of times. The names of those who had lived and died for the world we live in still stand in memorial today, alongside the statue of a mech whose name I can never fully recall, but always feel as though I should be able to do as easily. History has always felt so vague to me, but for some reason this story speaks out as the most profound. Hearing it has always seemed to make me at least a little bit restless, as though I had suddenly realized that I was missing a part of me.

And for the most part, I've come to realize that it's true. There is a part of me missing. Incomplete, as though this rapidly changing world isn't the place I truly belong. As though the piece of me that I've lost is out there, feeling every bit as incomplete as I do right now. It doesn't matter what I've done. Music, art, writing. All three have been unsuccessful ventures to calm that listlessness, especially since the second one is something I'll outright admit I'm horrible at. Writing, it seems, has always been my main escape. Reading as well, though I find that I prefer the writing of stories as opposed to the recitation of them.

It makes me feel as though the life I live now won't be forgotten.

That it won't fade into nothingness like cherry blossoms ripped from trees, left to flutter to the ground below.

There are some things that make me forget about the ache. The lack of calm. I have friends, ones that I feel like I've known for what seems like forever. They're good people, genuinely caring, and above all my favorite group to be around. Some days it feels less like we're less friends and more family. Those "Draw the Squad" images keep cropping up in our lives, and on the odd occasion we're the ones who create them in the first place. But, as my parents have always said: 'Life in this world now is nothing like it was back then.'

When they were growing up, we hadn't discovered half of the things we have now. Science hadn't advanced to the point it was the same as magic. Children weren't born with strange abilities, untold gifts from something that nobody can yet fully understand. My friends and I were like that, as it seemed most kids our age were. Our first year of high school started as an absolute mess, such that it's a hassle just remembering it.

The second year, it seems, had decided to start much the same way.

I still remember the date clearly, down to the very minute she walked into the classroom.

Sakura Tenma. It was… a strange name, but there was a part of me that found it almost fitting. Her hair was the color of cherry blossoms, her eyes of that blue-green mix commonly referred to as cyan. And the looks she got from the class?

You'd have almost sworn the devil himself had stepped from the shadows.

It seemed she had already had something of a reputation among the students, a transfer from another school. They said that it was a common thing, she'd arrive at one school, break a couple rules, and after a time she'd be forced to transfer out. An endless cycle, and it most definitely had to with her powers.

In rare cases, it's said that some children are born with physical markings. Things that serve as telltale signs to their powers and in some cases: warnings. Just by looking at her, you could tell she was one of those unlucky few. Perhaps were it not for the horns growing out from her head, she might've been able to live a normal life like the rest of us. Those horns seemed to shape much of her social interaction, and served as a particularly crucial tell to those who angered her.

However, even with all of that obvious power, she never showcased any of it. Nowadays there were classes to help us control and hone our powers, and something I'd always noticed was that she was alone. "I heard she has to have someone to help her use her powers." That was the rumor that spread like wildfire through the school.

"A power that requires a partner? Don't be ridiculous," Ikuno said, pushing her glasses further back up the bridge of her nose as she stared at me across the table. She had a book in her hands as usual, and her calm demeanor spread easily to even the gaze she was giving me at this moment. She stared at me with green eyes, her purple hair in its usual style as she held the look for a moment longer before directing her gaze to the the source of the next response.

"It's not entirely impossible," Goro responded from a spot to my right, a fork in his right hand as he looked over at Ikuno through his own set of glasses. His blond hair hadn't changed in style in the least, even though we were almost adults now. There was only one person between us, and I smiled in silent thanks to him. "After all, the government has outright admitted that they have no idea how many powers actually exist."

"Yeah, but," another one of us started. It was Futoshi, evidenced by the sudden stop in the disappearance of the mountain of food he'd brought to the table. He was the... largest of us, to put it as politely as possible. It was, as usual, hard to see him through all the food. "That doesn't mean that it IS possible either." Immediately after, the sound of food being shoveled resumed, and I lowered my gaze. There was a point there. A power that required the help of another person had been unheard of, so the idea that Sakura had a power like that…

"Hiro." The voice of the girl directly to my right pulled me from my thoughts. I turned to look over at her, catching her sharp, green-eyed gaze as she inspected me for a moment. Her hair was falling into her face on one side, and I blinked as I leaned back slightly. "Why do I get the feeling you're on the verge of doing something incredibly stupid?" Her words were like knives, and it was made somewhat more impactful by the fact she may as well have been one of the people here closest to me. Her and Goro, at least. It had been the three of us at first, and that bond still held despite how big our group was now.

"Ichigo, please have some faith in me," I pleaded, a defeated tone in my voice as I closed my eyes and bowed my head slightly towards her. She sighed, and I raised my head again to look up at her. She smiled, rolled her eyes, and resumed eating as yet another voice chimed in on a slightly different topic.

"Hey, hey! You guys ready for the Exam tomorrow?" It was Zorome, his purple eyes holding an excited gleam as the brown mop on his head responded in turn to his excited motions. Were it any other kind of test he'd have been calling in sick, however the Exam- more properly known as the Aptitude Performance Exam- was a bit different. It was a new bit added to the curriculum to assess the development of powers in those populations who widely displayed them. We'd been taking it for several years now, but it seemed Zorome was unusually excited for this one.

"What's up with you? Finally find a way to use your power to make yourself taller?" It was, of course, Miku who chimed in with the witty retort as she aimed a mischievous sneer at Zorome from the complete opposite corner of the table. She seemed to be the one who had changed the most out of us as we grew, her hair now let down from the twintails it had been in for years as she leered at Zorome with a set of blue eyes. He glared back at her, and the pair of them near instantly launched into the same argument and banter that they'd repeated time and time again for the last few years.

At this point we'd just deduced that they enjoyed arguing with each other, and that it wouldn't end until one of them finally just shut up and confessed. But it'd been several years now, we were quickly nearing adulthood, and it hadn't changed at all. Hope was definitely fading for the pair of them, at least when it came to preserving the sanity of everyone on the outside.

Besides them, there were a couple of people at the table who had opted out of the conversation. Mitsuru and Kokoro, specifically. The former had his hair slicked back, and was trying his best to look pompous as he sat beside Ikuno. The latter, meanwhile, was seated across from Futoshi with her usual calm and happy expression on her face as she ate even with the human equivalent of a black hole sitting so close to her. Once upon a time, I was worried Futoshi was just going to eat all of us at some point.

I sighed, looking over my left shoulder absently just in time to catch the sight of pink hair turning around a corner and disappearing. I sat up straight in response, catching Ichigo's attention alongside much of the rest of the group. Even Futoshi stopped inhaling his food mid-way through bringing a roll of bread to his mouth.

"Hiro? What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, a worried noted in her tone as I stared at that spot for a few moments longer. I shook my head slowly, turning my gaze back to the tray in front of me.

"It's nothing, I just thought I saw something is all."

It happened three more times that fateful day. My catching sight of cherry blossom hair moments before it simply vanished into thin air. Two times I moved to chase after it, only to find myself staring at empty space. Forced to conclude that my eyes and mind were playing tricks on me, I sat in class staring out of the window for a long time. Sakura hadn't come back from lunch, which had of course been the catalyst for a new string of rumors to begin spreading. I paid them no heed as I watched out of the window.

My gaze narrowed slightly as pink winked in my vision, hiding in the silhouette of one of the buildings near the track. I fixed my gaze upon the spot, watching for a moment before that red-horned girl turned to look over around the corner.

Some would say I was imagining things. That I'd been caught in the craze that it seemed half of the other men in my class had been caught by, but I could've sworn by the chill that ran down my spine that she was staring right back at me. I continued watching for a moment, glancing up once to make sure I wasn't completely lost on the lesson at hand before turning my gaze back to that spot.

She was gone.

I couldn't keep the disappointment I felt in that moment from showing, and I sighed before forcing my attention back to the front of the room.

That said, such an act was far easier said than done. I spun my pencil around in my hand, a habit and skill I'd picked up after too much practice and free time. The air felt like it was buzzing softly, and the reason was all too clear. Tomorrow was the day of the Exam. Tomorrow would be the day we'd all have the chance to prove ourselves again, identify ourselves as higher ranking members of the class. The top ten were always posted on a corkboard in the main lobby of the school. Tomorrow was our chance to dethrone those who had risen above us the year before.

But that wasn't the only reason for the excitement.

The primary one, the elephant in the room nobody dared to mention, involved the mysterious pink-haired devil of a transfer student we'd gotten not too long ago.

The one whose power was rumored to only be able to activate in the presence of someone willing to help her make use of it. Several had tried already. Each one had wound up in the infirmary with signs of severe exhaustion and various other side effects that could only be described properly as "dangerous". The girl was a health hazard to whoever paired up with her. People had been taking guesses at where she'd rank ever since she arrived, so the hype was only natural. So too, then, was her absence.

I suppose it was hard, having all of those eyes on you at once. Gazes expecting something out of you. Gazes sizing you up, deciding if you'd be anywhere close to a match for them in the grand schemes that would undoubtedly erupt later in the year. When the year began to wind down and the school slowly allowed us to flex our powers more and more so as to achieve ever higher scores on our next Exam.

I suppose it was frustrating.

Having all of those people watching your every move.

Knowing that the only thing they were waiting for…

...was to watch you fall.

A/N: I'm baaaaack! Breaking off the hiatus with a brand new fic, from one of my newest favorite animes. If you haven't seen Darling in the Franxx yet- you should. It's great, though as usual the manga is slowly proving to be a bit better. That said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are very much appreciated, and I hope to see you all again in the next one!