Ch. 1- Broken Heart

Eighteen year old Yusuke Uchida awoke to the sound of crying. He sat up and brushed the grass off his hair and clothes, the drowsiness making him irritated. The young man had short black hair tipped into small blond spikes on top. His clothes were simple enough; a plain white shirt complete with blue jean pants. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Yusuke looked around.

An endless expanse of white-budded flowers moved and danced with the wind. The flower field stretched across all across the plain, the hills and the mounds. From his view, Yusuke was in the center of a sea of white and green. Farther south from where he sat was a cliff face, its end curled in like a tail. Waves crashed against the bottom, foam forming on the rock. To the north was a large group of buildings, sizes ranging from that of garages to mansions. Yokai Academy. The school for monsters.

Yusuke listened. The crying was echoing all around. The flowers near the center of the plain drooped, as if sad themselves. What is this? Where is that coming from? Yusuke began to walk through the flower bed toward the source. The sobs grew louder as he got closer. He stopped when he saw a dark shape amongst the white. Sure enough, that was the source of the crying. Yusuke slowly crept closer, undetected.

A girl…? Yusuke observed, more curious than frustrated now. The girl had her head in between her knees, arms hugging her legs. She wore a basic school uniform; white buttoned top and black skirt with matching knee-high socks and shoes. Yusuke wondered if she belonged to the academy, as it was early in the afternoon. Her hair had an icy purple color; the kind you see in the sky seconds before night took center stage. Her body trembled with each new sob. She still hadn't noticed Yusuke's approach.

How did she get here without my knowing? Yusuke thought crossly, glancing around the field. This has been the first time that anyone entered the area without any forewarning him about it. The fact that she had accomplished this unsettled him.

Should I just scare her off? he contemplated. Yusuke's methods never failed with any other foolish students who wandered into the field. After thinking about it, he decided against it. Better to figure out what's wrong instead of making it worse, he reasoned with himself. Stopping within feet of the girl, he asked, "Hey, girl. What are you doing here?"

The girl looked up, and Yusuke's eyes widened slightly. She had the slender, pale face of a doll. Her eyes shimmered like blue jade crystal, more so because of the falling tears. She didn't seem that much younger than he was. Was she fifteen? Sixteen, maybe? She looked at Yusuke silently, as if not seeing he was there. What stuck out most was the large red mark swelling slightly from her left cheek like a bruise or burn. "Whoa, that's a nasty looking mark. You okay?"

The girl hid her face from him. "I'm..." she said with a whimper, "I'm fine. And I'm not crying."

"Uh-huh. The tears dripping down your face say differently."

"SHUT UP!" the girl screamed, raising her right hand. The hand transformed into a translucent ice claw three times normal size as she blindly swiped at Yusuke. Surprised, Yusuke dodged out of the way just in time as nearby flower buds were cut clean off the stems.

"Hey!" Yusuke snapped, taking a step closer to the girl. "What's your problem?"

"Leave me ALONE!" The girl tried another claw attack, but Yusuke, now expecting it, dodged it easily. Again and again, she tried to slice him in half, cut him into ribbons, but Yusuke effortlessly dodged the attacks, hands in his pockets the entire time. Eventually the girl gave up, turned her hand back to normal, and hunched over, exhausted. Yusuke stood six feet away, ready in case she decided to attack again. "You done? You can't hit me no matter how hard you try. Although I'd appreciate it if you stopped damaging everything else in your path."

The girl looked around her. Tens, possibly hundreds, of flowers were ravaged, as if a lawnmower with mad cow disease had been sent free to wreak havoc. "Really, was all that worth it?" Yusuke asked, his tone neutral. Gesturing to the destroyed plants, he added, "What did they ever do to you?"

"Who the hell are you?" the girl demanded, still breathing hard, "and what are you doing here?"

Yusuke cocked an eyebrow. "I believe the real question is who are you, and what are you doing here in my flower field, crying like that? Really, I was only trying to help."

"I wasn't crying! And I came here to be alone!"

"Alone, huh?" Yusuke folded his arms. "Why would you want to be alone?"

"It's none of your damned business!" The girl looked like she was going to burst into tears again. "Why can't you people just LEAVE ME ALONE?!" She fell back on her rear and continued crying.

Yusuke watched the girl for a few moments. Deciding that she wasn't going to attack again, he sat down next to her. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small bag and a handkerchief. Opening the bag, he pulled out a sucker, unwrapped it, and stuck it in his mouth. "Here," he said, offering the hanky. "Wipe your face." The girl hesitantly took it and did as she was told, choking back sobs. "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Yusuke Uchido. What's yours?"

The girl took a few breaths before replying. "Mi…Mizore Sh-Shirayuki…"

Now we're getting somewhere, Yusuke thought. He pulled out another sucker from the bag. "Have this, Ms. Shirayuki," he said, tossing it, "I always keep some handy in case of a quick pick-me-up." Mizore, surprised, caught it on her skirt. Picking it up, she unwrapped it and cautiously put it in her mouth. "Tell me something," Yusuke pressed on, pointing over his shoulder to the buildings. "Do you go to the school over there?"

The girl nodded, sucking on the candy. "Are you gonna tell the teachers that I came here?" she snapped, and then flinched. Her hand shot up to the mark on her face, as if it was stinging.

"I don't care about the Academy. So don't worry about that." Yusuke stood up and dusted his jeans. "Look, do you even know where you are now?"

Mizore shook her head. "I didn't care where I was going. The academy...I just needed to-"

"-get away?" Yusuke finished. "So you don't know...Do yourself a favor, Ms. Shirayuki, and get out of here as fast as you can and never come back. This field is probably the worst place you could have run to. People who stick around here for too long tend to...disappear, if you catch my meaning." Yusuke turned and casually walked through the sea of flowers. Mizore heard him mutter, "Now where is that shadow?" before he seemingly melted into the white plains.

Who was that? Mizore thought. Besides the soft blowing wind, she heard no other sounds. She was once again alone. I...probably should be getting back. Even with Yusuke's warning in mind, Mizore didn't want to go back. Yokai Academy was the last place she wanted to be. The source of all her suffering was there.

Why did she do it? What supernatural force had willed her to do it? If she hadn't done what she'd done or said what she said, everything would have been normal and okay.

But she did. It had happened. She just couldn't keep everything inside any longer. And that's the reason why she suffered like she did…

With these sad thoughts in her mind, Mizore left the white flower field behind and walked slowly back toward the academy black gates. There was no way she could have seen the dark figure with sharp, yellow eyes watching her amongst the white.