//(8 Years Later)//

"So you bring 'x' and multiply it by 4.  Next you divide your new answer by 2.5--"

You are currently being lectured by the teacher along with twenty other students in Pre-Calculus.  Nothing new, really.  You hear it five times a week.

Your name is Kiyon A. Tris.  You have black, spiky hair, red eyes, male and have a pretty easy-going personality.  You were born around--Citri gave you the news--the year 3998; you were a July baby born on the 2nd.

Right now, you're trying to finish some class work as the teacher gives tips now and then.  Your fingers move swiftly on the holographic desk you have to fill in answers for the questions given.

Just your usual school day.

Until...

Knock, knock.

The entire class stops what they're doing and turn their gaze to the door of the small room.

Your eyes--currently hidden by brown contacts--watch the classroom door.

Your teacher, a short, young man with curly brown hair, dressed in a blue, Aloha t-shirt and black slacks, walked towards the door briskly.

The door opened a crack and voices were heard.

"--sfer student?  And in the middle of the day?"

"He had a late plane ride, but he insisted on visiting the school today."

"Pfft, why I've never heard of a student wanting to actually go to school for a long time."

Your teacher returned--but not alone.

You watched as a tall teen came after the teacher.

Spiky, blonde locks were barely concealed by a plaid, black baseball cap.

The newcomer was also wearing a long-sleeved, grey jacket over the school uniform--a white undershirt, a striped, blue and green tie along with khaki jeans.

Perched over his nose were black, square-rimmed glasses over coal-black eyes.

The teacher clapped his hands to grab everyone else's attention.

"Hey you brats!  We've go a newbie here, so pay attention."  Mr. Kaium then turned to the blonde, who was actually a few inches taller than the teacher. "Alright, go ahead and introduce yourself--but say it slowly since this class is pretty stupid."

A few indignant cries were heard in the room, but it was all just playful banter between the class and the teacher.

The new student seemed to be a bit amused and quirked a small smile before speaking in a loud voice.

"Ma' name's Aven Shiromiya.  Ah' hope ta' get along with ya'll."

You blink in surprise at the Southern drawl in the newcomers voice.  His last name sounded Japanese after all...

"Kiyon!"

You look towards your teacher, who had a lazy grin on his face.

"You'll be taking care of the noob."

You simply nod, smiling amusedly.

"Sure."

You wave over at the blonde, catching his attention; Aven nods and pulls a spare chair out to sit next to you.

~~

"So~Aven, where'd you come from?"

The blonde doesn't turn to look at you, but he responds nonetheless.

"Ah' came from Huston, Texas.  B'fore, ah' was in Hokkaido, Japan--but ah' was a baby at that time, so ah' don't remember much 'bout that place."

You nod in understanding before grinning.

"Welp, welcome to California.  I hope you'll enjoy your stay here in San Francisco."

Aven quirks a smile back and nodded.

"If there's nice people like ya', then ah' think ah' might like it here."

And then a paper ball was thrown at your head.

So much for nice people.

Aven seems surprised at turned a narrowed gaze to a group of giggling teens.

The three assaulters bolt out of the scene.

You bend down and pick up the ball of paper and unfold it.

He found just one big word printed on it.

NERD!

Well.

That wasn't anything new.

You're 14 years old.

Sure, you've skipped at least two grades--you're a Junior--but that didn't make you special.

Some people just think that you being smart gives them the right to bully you verbally.  Thank goodness it hadn't escalated to physically.

"What was that?"

You jumped slightly in surprise and quickly threw the paper away in a--thankfully--nearby trashcan; you laugh nervously at your blonde companion.

"Nothing, really!"

No one needs to deal with your problems.

It sounds stupid!

Aven looks displeased; he looks at the spot where those other students were once before looking back at you.

"Ya' sure yur' alright?"

You wave him off with a grin.

"I'm fiiiiine, 'kay?"

Aven did not look convinced, but he followed you out of the hall.

~~

"Hey....Kiyon."

"Yeah...?"

"Do ya'....um..."

You lift an eyebrow at Aven's hesitation. It was currently lunch time and the two were eating under the large oak tree in the school yard.

"'Do ya'' what...?"

Before Aven can complete his sentence, the blonde is interrupted.

Ping!

You blink in surprise and look at you backpack; you rummage through it and pull out your computer.  You put your ham sandwich on the ground.

"Sorry! Hold up for a bit."

Your computer was already on, so you scanned the screen for what the problem was.

Tree apparently notified you that you received a message.

You open up your account, log in and see what the new message is.

From: CitrineeyedObserver [Abrv.: {CO}]
To: RedRider [Abrv.: {RR}]
Time Sent: 1:50 PM

CO: Li'l Red, Li'l Red~! :DDDDDDD

RR: Citri?  I'm kinda talking with someone, and you should know that since you're able to see me--like a creeper--for some reason.  But what's up? :)

CO: Hehe!  I know you're talking to someone!  And that's exactly why I messaged you! :))))))

RR: You're smiling a lot.  It's kinda creeping me out. (O_o)

CO: Oh shut it!  Anyways, Li'l Red, meet one of your friends! :DDDD

You blink in confusion...and then realization...and then shock.

You turn your gaze from the screen to stare at Aven, who blinked in confusion, setting his bowl of mac n' cheese down.

"Uh, ya' alright, Kiyon?"

You can't help but grin widely.

"So....what were you gonna ask?"

Aven seemed nervous.

"W-Well....ah' was gunna ask if ya'....were ever messaged by a random person?  They, he or she, always texts in orange.  And well they--aw gosh, ah' must sound crazy to ya'!  Never mind what ah' said."

Aven seemed to close in on himself, pushing his glasses up, which were sliding down his nose at the moment.

You watch in surprise when you caught a glimpse of bright, golden eyes behind the glasses before they were pushed up over them.

Now you're thinking: 'Yes!  He** yes!  After eight years, but I'm still getting meet one of my future friends!  He** yes!'

Your grin was so wide by now that it was starting to hurt a bit; you laugh brightly, startling Aven.

"What're ya' laughin' about?"

You reach over and quickly pluck Aven's glasses off of his face; the blonde quickly shut his eyes and reached blindly towards you, but you scoot back on the grass to stay out of reach.

"Kiyon!  Give those back!"

"No way, man.  Just give me a sec."

You inspect the glasses curiously.

It was a one-way tinted type of glasses.

No wonder you couldn't see those bright, golden orbs through the deceivingly-clear glasses.

Perhaps you should show your own eyes to him.

Thank goodness you brought a few contact cases.

You pluck your brown contacts out and place them safely into a case.

You turn back to look at Aven, who still had his eyes closed; his blonde brows were furrowed anxiously.

"What're ya' doin', Kiyon?"

You hesitate slightly.

Red eyes are pretty scary.  Not as scary as those golden eyes.

But you trust Citri.

And you've made your decision.

"Hey, Aven, can you open your eyes?"

"Naw.  That's not a good idea."

"I'm showing you my eyes too, man!  Come on."

"Yur' eyes are brown, stupid!  Not like mine..."

"I think my eyes are scarier than yours, doofus.  And they're not brown."

Aven's eyes snapped open at that.

Red clashes with gold.

You can't help but smile and wave hesitantly.

"Heya.  Let's have a proper introduction." You extend you hand out to the blonde. "My names Kiyon A. Tris.  What's your name?"

Aven started at the hand before smiling, shaking it as he responded.

"Ma' name's Aven C. Shiromiya.  It's nice ta' meet ya', Kiyon."

~~

A few days passed.

Aven ended up sticking with Kiyon instead of going out and making different friends.

The blonde eventually found out more about the bullies.

Kiyon never knew what happened, but the people who bullied him verbally always looked at him in fear now.  Their fear was especially stronger when Aven was standing next to him.

Kiyon also managed to meet Aven's little sibling, a sister.

Her name was Macie, a seven year-old.

Macie didn't have gold eyes like her brother--they were naturally brown.

The girl didn't seem to mind her brother's eyes; she thought they were 'as pwetty as tha stars above'.

Macie was also a bit mischievous; Aven also had a bit prankster fun in him.

Both Shiromiya siblings would try to prank Kiyon with everything, but the ravenet was smarter than most.  All of their pranks were unsuccessful.

Macie was sweet but a little stoic on the facial expressions; Kiyon managed to make her smile a few times.

Kiyon would visit their house, which was closer to nature than city; it was a plain, stone house with a tan-colored, wooden door.  Ivy ran up the walls on the sides of the house.

Kiyon was always welcomed to the area.

All in all, Kiyon became close friends with the Shiromiyas.

~~

CO: Hee, hee~!  So you guys are best buds, right?  Right, right, riiiiiiiiight~!? :DDDDDD

RR: Geez!  Calm down, Citri!  I'm positive you're going to destroy your keyboard by the way you're typing! :)

GoldenTechboss [Abrv.: {GT}] joined the Branch Chat Room.

GT: Hey ya'll. XD

CO: :o

CO: :0

CO: :O

CO: Goldie, my man! :DDDDD

GT: Hiya, Citrine. :)

GT: You've been smiling a lot. :)

CO: Yesh. CCCC:

CO: But wait a minute! :O

CO: You guys should be doing your homework! >:O

RR: Already taken care of, Citri. XD

GT: Yep. ;)

CO: =_=

RR: Use your weird future-seeing powers to prove that we have. :T

CO: ...Okay, so you have. =^=

CO: But now you guys need to go to sleep! D:<

CO: It's not good to lose sleep on a school day! :|

RR: Speaking from experience? :3

CO: <_<

CO: Cheeky, kiddo. :/

RR: You sound old when you say that. XD

CO: I ain't old! D:<

GT: How old're ya' then? :?

CO: ........A little bit older than you guys.  And I like calling people who are younger than me that. :T

CO: Anyways!  Get to bed!  Or I shall smite thee! X3

RR: Yes, Mom. ^_^

GT: G'night, Ma'am! :3

The Branch Chat Room is now closed.

~~
<<(???)>>

Beep, beep!

Orange eyes cut through the darkness of the dimly lit room.

"Oh no."

The owner of the eyes darted over to their computer and started to wave their hands over the holographic windows drifting around.

They pressed the see-through computer keys that floated in the air.

Their eyes widened.

"No.  No, no, no, no--!"

They stood up instantly and stumbled to get to one of their other computers.

"Sh**!  It's too soon!"

They opened it and started to type furiously.

Beep!

They jerked their head back in surprise when a digital, demonic, laughing face appeared on the screen.

"Hahaha!  You fool!  You fool!  You foo--!"

They narrowed their orange gaze and started to block the hacking virus.

'No!  They're activating the GAME too quickly!  I knew I should've put up harder defenses!'

Orange eyes turned to a different computer.

'In times like these, I really wish I was a Yellow magic user--it would make things so much easier!'

They growled lowly before opening the flat, orange laptop.

'I need to warn them.'

On their screen was a snoozing ravenet boy and a equally sleepy blonde on another screen.

<<(Kiyon's House)>>

Kiyon groans when loud beeping interrupted his sleep; he fumbled for his laptop and opened it, squinting his eyes at the screen.

From: CitrineeyedObserver [Abrv.: {CO}]
To: RedRider [Abrv.: {RR}]
Time Sent: 2:30 AM

CO: KIYON

CO: GET UP

CO: NOW

The said ravenet is now wide awake.

RR: Citri?

RR: What's w

CO: GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSE

CO: PLEASE

CO: HURRY

RR: Citri?

CO: IT'S TOO SOON

CO: GET OUT

CO: NOW

Kiyon rolled out of bed and grabbed his rust-red jacket along the way; he also grabbed his contact case; he reached for his computer and watched as orange text filled the screen.  His red eyes read the words quickly.

CO: HEAD TO AVEN'S HOUSE

RR: What's going o

CO: NO TIME

CO: OH GOD THERE'S NO TIME

CO: SH**

Kiyon can't help but widen his eyes with surprise; he faltered in his jog.

Citri never swore before.

At least through text.

CO: I WON'T BE ABLE TO TALK TO YOU FOR A WHILE

CO: THEY'RE HACKING INTO MY SYSTEM

CO: STAY AWAY FROM THE

The orange text stopped coming.

'Stay away from the...what?  What were they going to say!?'

Kiyon was filled with worry.

RR: Citri!?

RR: Are you alright!?

RR: What happe

??: utfdmhetm,6,/$)€%]!ugg shg$^<\£>

??: KhjgYg?7-&))?^^€>^ubuhwiUbBu7

??: . . . .

RR: Who are y

??: H e e . . . h e e . . .

??: I

??: F o u n d

??: Y o u

??: . . .

??: = )

Kiyon was officially freaked out now.

The ravenet ran down the street at top speed after closing his computer.

~~

A fist knocked harshly on wood.

Bang, bang, bang!

A pale door swung open with a loud bang; a certain, angry blonde with glasses perched haphazardly on his nose was standing there in a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants.  His accent seemed stronger than usual and his hat was missing.

"WHUT!?"

Kiyon merely reached out and grabbed him.

"We need to go, now!"

Aven blinked dumbly but still scowled at the shorter and younger teen.

"Don't ya' realize whut time it is!?"

"Yeah, time to go!  Aven, c'mon man!"

The blonde narrowed his gaze at the other.

"Why?"

"Can't explain!  It's Citri!  They said something's gonna happen!"

Aven let something unreadable cross his face.

"Ah' see..."

The blonde grimaced and looked past Kiyon; he murmured softly.

"We can't go out now.  They've caught up ta' us already."

Kiyon blinked in confusion and opened his mouth to say something, but Aven dragged the ravenet inside before he could make a sound.

"Big Bwo?  What's goin' on?"

A sleepy Macie came into the room, rubbing one of her big, brown eyes; her short, blonde hair was sticking up in every direction.

Aven bent down to her level and gently grabbed her shoulders.

"Macie, ah' need ya' ta' listen carefully."

"M'kay, Bwo."

"Get yur' things.  We're leaving the area for a bit."

Macie blinked before nodding sleepily.

"M'kay, Bwo."

She kept a stoic face as she trotted back to her room.

Kiyon looked at her in confusion before turning a slightly narrowed gaze at Aven.

"You know what's going on?"

Aven looked at the ravenet and tugged his glasses off, revealing bright golden eyes as he sighed.

"...Not exactly.  Citirine's warned me before 'bout something that'll be comin' fer' us.  They tol' me ta' stay away from the...Shad...ows..."

Kiyon blinked in confusion when the other trailed off.

Golden eyes were wide and his body was tense.

Kiyon didn't move, but he followed the other's gaze with his eyes only.

In the corner of the room was a crouched figure; black mist rolled off of their body.

Aven shifted in the corner of Kiyon's eyes; the blonde reached up to his neck and tugged a golden chain out into the open.

The figure hissed.

Aven unclipped the chain from his neck and let it dangle by his side; a yellow gem was present at the end of the chain.

The blonde started to swing the gem; Kiyon could hear a strange hum in the air.

Aven narrowed his golden eyes at the strange being in the corner.

"Get yur' a** out of ma' house."

The chain swung in another complete circle before it glowed completely gold.

In a flash of brief blinding light, Aven was holding a sniper gun in his hands; he cocked it and leveled it at the being.

The figure hissed louder again and launched itself towards Aven.

Aven pulled the trigger and there was a flash of light.

Kiyon blinked his eyes rapidly.

He looked at where the being was before gaping.

The mysterious being was gone.

The entire wall was gone; some rubble clattered to the ground.

Aven shook his head, some ceiling dust fell out of his hair; the blonde huffed.

"Well, ah' hope that'll keep 'em away fer' now."

"Um, Aven."

Aven turned to look at Kiyon, remembering that the other was there; the blonde grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, that there was a Shadow.  Dun' worry 'bout it fer' now.  And this gun in ma' hands?  We'll talk about it later."

The blonde then shouted over his shoulder.

"Macie!  Get yer' butt in gear!"

"M'kay, Bwo!"

The child, a small backpack on her back, came trotting out and stood beside Aven, making grabby motions at the taller.

Aven snapped his fingers and the gun disappeared.

All that was left was the golden chain and the yellow gemstone on the end of it.

Aven re-clipped the chain around his neck before hefting Macie over his shoulders.

The blonde looked over at Kiyon.

"We're goin'."

The ravenet chose not to question things too much anymore and followed Aven out of the house through the hole he created.

They ran through long grass.

The three soon found the dirt road leading back to society.

Suddenly, a van came speeding out onto the dirt road; Kiyon widened his eyes in surprise while Aven narrowed his gaze and stood tall.

The van started to speed towards the three.

The blonde reached a hand out and snapped his fingers.

Before the van could come within a meter of them, it split apart, piece by piece and simply floated in the air.  Bolts, bars, screws--everything drifted past them.

The pieces flew--in slow motion--past the three; a bead of sweat ran down the side of Aven's face.

Once the last of the pieces went past the trio, Aven snapped his fingers, and the van returned to normal and had it's pieces back together; the vehicle screeched to a halt a few yards away from them before turning around, kicking up dirt.

Aven fell to his knees and groaned; Macie tugged his hair, keeping a stoic face.

"Bwo, Bwo.  Van's comin' back."

"Yea', ah' know."

A yellow aura surrounded Aven as he stood up slowly and turned to look at the van.

Kiyon, looking closely, could see no driver.  But there was a misty figure there.

A Shadow.

Aven's aura grew stronger.

"Kiyon, get behind and close ta' me."

"Yessir."

The vehicle came speeding back towards them; Aven ran towards the van.  Kiyon sweatdropped as he followed the blonde.

'Oh d***.  Are we doing what I think we're doing?'

Aven jumped and landed on top of the van, grabbing Kiyon's sleeve so the ravenet wouldn't fall off and get ran over instead.

Aven placed his hands on the roof of the van and frowned; yellow light surrounded his palms.

The vehicle suddenly swerved violently to the right.

Kiyon yelped and hung on the edge; Aven widened his eyes as he continued to keep his hands planted on the van.

"Kiyon!"

The van was heading towards the forest.

Macie hopped off of Aven's shoulders and grabbed one of Kiyon's hands; she tugged on him with a surprising amount of strength and assisted him to get back on the van.

However, low branches became their next obstacle course.

Aven narrowed his gaze and the yellow glow around his hands increased.

Briefly, golden, circuit lines spread out beneath his finger tips before disappearing.

The car slowed down and halted.

Aven sighed.

"Thank goodness.  The tech in this van's mediocre, so ah' was able ta' shut it down with no problem..."

Black mist started to exit the van; Aven tsked.

Macie clambered onto Aven's shoulders once more.

"Bwo.  Let's go."

"Sure thang."

Kiyon followed the two through the forest.

Suddenly, a white light flashed above them; Aven cursed under his breath.

"That can't be a good sign."

Kiyon glanced up and the light got brighter.

Soon it was so bright that the three could only see white.

Everything blacked out.

~~
<<(???)>>

Bang!

A pale hand slammed down onto a wooden desk.

"D*** it!"

Orange eyes were narrowed in frustration.

"They were caught in the GAME."

The figure turned their gaze to the floating screens around them.

".....I'll have to ring them all up now....."

They went over to their orange computer and started to type on it.

From: CitrineeyedObserver [Abrv.: {CO}]
To: GreenGift [Abrv.: {GG}]
Time Sent: 5:25 PM

CO: Gift.

GG: Woah, no emoticons.  Must be pretty serious, huh? :0

CO: Three people have already entered the GAME.

GG: ...Wow....that's...pretty serious.

CO: Yes.  But what should I do now?  The GAME has been activated earlier by...them.  I'm afraid of what will happen to the others.

GG: Aw, C.  Don't worry your pretty head over us.  :3

GG: Send me into the GAME. ;)

CO: NOW!?

CO: But you'll be

GG: I'll be fine, C. :3

GG: Send me in. :)

CO: ...

CO: You're the most reckless out of everyone.

GG: Hehe!  I hope that's a compliment, C. :D

CO: Please...be careful...

GG: Gotcha. ;)

The orange-eyed figure sighed, rubbing a hand over their face before looking over at the screens.

They flicked their wrist and the screens came closer to them.

"Let's do this then..."

~~
<<(In An Apartment)>>

A brunet teen with messy hair grinned lazily at his computer screen before rolling away from it.

Glowing, green eyes shifted to the silver chain on his nightstand; there was a emerald gem attached to it.

His tan hands covered in fingerless, black gloves reached out to the chain and grabbed it.  He wrapped it around his fingers and wrist; the gem rested in his palm.

The brunet ran a hand through his short, curly hair as he grabbed a backpack and stuffed it with chips, lollipops, gummies and any other snack; he gets hungry easily after all.

The teen then grabbed his phone and laptop; he stuffed the latter in his pack while keeping his phone out.

He exited his apartment room and locked the door.

He stuffed the key into his pocket before walking towards the stairs.

~~

He was now standing on the roof top; he looked at his phone.

From: CitrineeyedObserver [Abrv.: {CO}]
To: GreenGift [Abrv.: {GG}]
Time Sent: 5:55 PM

CO: Are you ready to go?

GG: Yep.  Energize, C.

CO: Did you just quote Star Trek?

GG: Yeeeeeeeeepppppp~! ;)

CO: ....

CO: :)

CO: Good luck in there, Gift. :)

The brunet watched at a white light appeared in the sky; he started to levitate on the roof top.

The brunet looked at the green gem on his palm and murmured to it.

Brown wings tinted with green sprouted behind him.

Loose feathers drifted here and there.

The brunet grinned as he looked at the light above.

He spread his wings wide.

"Here we go..."

He darted up into the sky and entered the small circle of white light.

The door closed and the black, night sky was all that was left.

(O.D.D.- Sorry about the shifting views.  I'm kinda experimenting with them more in this story.  Anyways, see you later!  Remember, I'm trying to update my other stories too. (^_^ ; ))