Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. Should the opportunity to acquire such arise, you would bet that I would be first in line to purchase. I do not own the story's cover image, either. Props for that go to the amazingly talented Rubyd. You can find the image along with some of her other works here:

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Rating: M for future chapters, to be sure.

Prologue

Campus was not incredibly large, Roxas had come to find after having traversed its roads, student paths and hallways for the past week. He had decided that he was relieved; Initially, coming to a smaller school had been a turn-off. However, with its mature trees, detailed landscaping, historical buildings, and updated facilities, he had decided it was not that bad. Not that he had gotten much of a choice when it came to picking this place. While his dream school had accepted him, they had done so without offering him any level of funding. His safety school, on the other hand, had offered him a generous scholarship. All he had to pay was food and textbook expenses. Most people he had explained his situation to called it a "free ride". So naturally, when it came down to choosing which school he wanted to go to…

His parents had not been too fond of letting him pull out loans for an education that he already had money for thanks to his good grades and top scores on his standardized tests. So it was with a heavy heart that he had sent his letter of decline to his dream school, informing them that without sufficient support on the college's part, he was unable to attend.

So, it had been mature trees, detailed landscaping and historical buildings that had greeted him a week ago, his life packed away and shoved into his car, filling all available spaces and even encroaching into the driver's seat a little. Finding his way around campus in his car was easy enough; Signs were posted at every turn, directing newcomers through the academic spread. Occasionally, while wandering from class to class, he still felt that same awe that he had upon arrival. The campus looked large to the untrained eye, giving the illusion of vast expanses of unused green space for students to relax or perhaps play a quick game of Ultimate Frisbee.

Classes were smaller as well, comparatively speaking. There were no more than fifty students per introductory course, as far as he had counted, which was nice. It gave a more…intimate feeling to the classroom. To not be known as a number was a plus, to be sure.

Amenities were also great. The campus dining hall was a stand-alone building surrounded by a strip-mall-esque structure that housed some boutiques, bookstores and even a couple of arcades. A smoothie shop was currently being built in, and personally, he could not wait to try it out. For now, though, he was stuck in the cafeteria. There were restaurants in the dining hall, but they were a little on the expensive side or they were fast food. There was a Faculty Lounge in the basement that he had looked into, but as the name suggested, general student body was not allowed unless they were being escorted by a faculty member to some event within the lounge. The cafeteria was good, though. The food was decent, the fountain drinks were free refills, and it was all you could eat with no time limit.

But something still perturbed him, despite all of the finer points of this place. People here were intimidating, for some reason. He'd had plenty of friends back at his old high school, but none of them had joined him in his choice of college…so he was alone. He instantly regretted not signing up for the roommate placement program offered by the dorm he was staying in, instead having selected a single room for more privacy. At the time, it had seemed like the optimum choice. After all, who wanted to share their four hundred square foot space with someone else day after day on end? Maybe, if he found that he was lonely, he would sign up for the roommate thing next semester.

His lack of friendships so far was not due to shyness. He'd actually been voted "most outgoing" by his senior class, so he knew that was not the issue. No. It was quite simply because he was different. With his brilliant blue eyes, lightly sun-kissed skin and incredibly spikey hair, he stood out. People here seemed relatively normal for the most part. Though, there was a few that appeared to forcibly push at the margins of normality…

And currently, one of those people was making him shift in the booth that he occupied. For the past ten minutes he had found himself unable to finish off his fries and grilled cheese sandwich, staring intently at his textbook and pretending to study…for if he looked up, he found another set of eyes on him. Every single time he looked up.

It was unnerving.

Not only was this guy staring, but he had the clearest pair of sea-green, almost aqua eyes that he had ever seen. Silver hair would occasionally slide over the eyes, the teen's bangs being just a little too long and a little too fine to stay out of his eyes for more than a few moments. From what it looked like, his hair was long, too…which was peculiar. No one that he had known (save for girls) wore their hair like that. He was also somewhat pale; it was as though he did not spend an inordinate amount of time outside, opting more for indoor activities like reading a book or perhaps playing a video game. A black (kind of a little too tight) shirt covered his upper body and he wore a kind of cloth over his forearm, the white material descending loosely down to conceal half of his palm. From there, he could not see what else the guy was wearing.

After a couple moments of uncomfortable, fleeting glances toward the student, the image of an ice cap floating on the ocean on a clear, sunny day in Antarctica popped into his head. Ice and the sea… Cerulean eyes flicked up once more, not particularly pleased about having the guy's attention. Yes, with his skin, hair and eyes, the kid could easily embody something like the image in his head.

For the first ten minutes, he had tried dutifully to ignore the guy, gnawing on a fry for far too long and staring at the same sentence in his book for the duration of the seemingly endless fry. When he looked up once more and saw those eyes still locked onto his general area, he repressed a growl, grasping a bit haphazardly for his drink. This was beginning to get ridiculous. He could feel the irritation settling in the pit of his stomach, making his limbs tingle and his skin prickle a little.

It was not necessarily the fact that the guy was staring that made him uneasy…It was the look that the guy gave him that was ultimately off-putting. Those pale lips were set in a straight line, save for the corners tilted down slightly, as though he were constantly in a somber or even depressed mood. Roxas frowned ever so slightly as the aqua eyes across the cafeteria remained focused on him, giving him the feeling that they were not just looking at him, but staring directly into his naked soul. Perhaps he was staring past him at someone behind him? He looked over his shoulder surreptitiously and then frowned when he saw the booth behind him was vacant. That was the last booth in his row. Blue eyes returned to the stare that was motionless on him. Maybe…he was just…zoned out?

He waved a hand in front of him a little, tensing when he saw the other shift. One silver eyebrow rose and then the gaze left him. Roxas sat there for a second, staring. W-What the hell? What a creeper! He really was just staring at him! A glare came to his eyes and he forced them back down to the table. Well at least the guy was not staring at him anymore. Blue eyes flicked up to check. Nope. Not staring. Good.

He twirled a fry between his fingers, frowning at it as he attempted to decide if he wanted to finish his food or not. He had a half a sandwich left and had eaten most of his fries…but now it felt like more eyes were fixated on him, observing him, judging him.

The fry was flung back to his plate in an unwanted gesture, and he shoved the porcelain dish away. Instead, he pulled his glass to him, absently attempting to catch the straw between his lips and failing a few times, chasing the little plastic utensil around the glass for a second. Upon success, the glass was drained in a couple of gulps, the ice settling with a few light clinks and clacks.

If anything, this was excuse enough to take another long stroll around campus and then return to his dorm to finish unpacking. He placed the glass down on the table and then went about gathering his belongings, checking under the bench to make sure nothing had been forgotten. He cleaned his own table, unable to leave a mess behind as he had been a waiter for the last two years of his high school career. Once he was satisfied, he slung his bag over his shoulder and carried his tray to the front of the room, stopping in front of the trashcan. Still…Azure eyes returned to the table that the student had been at as he discarded his food into receptacle. Even though the guy was no longer there (how long had Roxas sat there glowering at that one offending fry?), he could still feel the gaze upon him, penetrating him.

It was unnerving.

A slightly short start to what is likely to be a long story.