"TAMOTSUSAYURI'SBACK!" Obviously, being Koichi, the second Sayuri stepped in the school doors Monday morning he had announced it to everyone before she could even blink.

"Give the poor girl some space, will ya?" Takumi sighed. "She's been sick this whole time."

"You have?!" Koichi turned to Sayuri who had just walked in the classroom. She still looked kind of sick, and I wondered if she should even be here.

"Yeah, something wrong?" Sayuri asked, a little coldly, her voice still stuffy.

"No... but why didn't you pick up your phone?"

"I got grounded, idiot." She sat down in her seat behind me, almost immediately sneezing. On instinct, I ducked, sending Sayuri into an even fouler mood. Takumi knocked me on the back of my head as he walked by.

"Nice going, Tamato Soup," he muttered.

I watched him walk back to his own seat, calling after him, "What is it with you and weird nicknames?!"

"You're just too sensitive, Koko-chan," he laughed.

"Too sensitive, my ass," I growled as I looked back to the front of the classroom. I gulped as I realized Ms. Kawaguchi had been standing there for the past minute, and the entire class had been silent. Everyone was either staring at me or Takumi, as I had figured out by a glance around the room.

"NAOHW THAHT EVERRRYWAHN IS SILENT," she snapped, rolling the "r" and accenting the "t." "WE MAY CONTINYUE LEAHNING ABAOHT ELEMENTAHLS." She turned to the board, picking up a stylus and began writing. She was done in less than six seconds, and by that time, everyone had also pulled out their notebooks. "Elemental Types" was written in near flawless handwriting.

"NAOHW, THEHR AHR TWO DIFFERENT KOINDS OHF ELEMENTAHLS. MAIND, AHND MOTIOHN." In another quick seven seconds, Ms. Kawaguchi drew a hand and a featureless face. "FOHR EACH KOIND, THEHR AHR TWO WAYS TO TELL THEHM APAHT. ONE IS THEIHR CLAHN MAHRK. IF THEY AHR A MAIND ELEMENTAHL, THEN THEY HAHF THEIHR MAHRK ON THEIHR FAYCE. IF THEY AHR A MOTIOHN ELEMENTAHL, THEHN THEY HAHF THEIHR MAHRK ON THIEHR HAND."

"But I thought that there were five clans!" called a random kid toward the back.

"WHELL-"

"Uh, Ms. Kawaguchi?" Koichi stood up. "May I answer this?" She nodded, and he hurried up to the front of the room.

"Actually, there are. These two kinds are just different ways that the Elementals control their Element. For instance, I'm a Raito, meaning I control light." And shadow, I thought.

"But, I'm also a mind Elemental, since I control my Element, light, with my mind. Make sense?" Silence.

"So does that mean you're also a Kokoro Elemental?" Kokoa asked. Koichi froze up, panic crossing his face for a slight instant, before I jumped in.

"No, he's just a Raito. He means that he can control light with his mind, and not a certain motion like Sayuri can. Uh... Maybe a demonstration would help make things clearer." I added awkwardly after no one showed any sign of understanding.

"YEHS, I AGREE," Ms. Kawaguchi screeched. "KOHICHI?"

And suddenly, the front of the classroom went pitch-black, Koichi and Ms. Kawaguchi disappearing into the darkness. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Takumi and Kagerou stiffen up.

"The absence of light is darkness. Any light trying to cross that dark barrier will get rejected, bouncing back. Only darkness remains on the other side," I heard Kagerou mutter.

And then, almost as quickly as it happened, the darkness was gone.

Koichi was breathing heavily, having exhausted his powers. Takumi hurriedly rushed up and helped his brother back to his seat. Ms. Kawaguchi looked extremely frazzled, and she had placed her hand on the corner of the table.

"Does he need to go to the nurse?" someone who sat behind Takumi asked. Takumi shook his head and sat back down.

Class continued on, with some difficulty (the Elementals trying to explain the clan rankings, and absolutely no one understanding), and some extremely weird questions (for instance, "Are there sound Elementals?" I'm sure there could be, but they're definitely not in Japan), class was finally over, thank God. I had just turned away from my locker to find Takumi standing inches away from my face.

"Uh... something you needed?" I inquired.

"About Kagerou..." This again? "I... There's something about Koichi..."

"Huh?" I wondered if it could be the same thing Koichi wanted to tell me Friday morning. "What's wrong with him?"

"Well... You know how he seems to know more about the Kokoro clan than a normal Elemental?" I nodded.

"I had no idea where he got all that info until he said you guys knew Kagerou. I figured he learned it all from her. Why?"

"He told you about Kagerou?" Takumi's tone hardened. "Anyways. Yes, he learned some of it from Kagerou. But most of it... He figured most of it out by himself."

"Wh-" I was cut off by the bell, and Takumi took off. I already had a pretty good idea of what Takumi meant, but it couldn't be true. There was no way. So, I brushed it off and walked on to my next class. Which, luckily for me, was not art. I had had enough Kokoa for one day.

Walking in, I sat down at my usual seat, setting my stuff down on the table loudly. Giving no more than a glance to the board in front of me, I pulled out my sketchbook and began sketching. Even though it wasn't art, I still kept sketching. The class, in actuality, was choir, but the teacher gave little thought on what we did for the first ten minutes of class. She was short, with a slight limp in her stride due to a car accident years earlier. When she finally did begin the class, the laid-back, no-worries demeanor would be replaced with an almost Kawaguchi-level strictness that scared almost the whole class into routine. Not many people could reach that tone, so I respected her. I almost felt bad for only pretending as though I was actually singing.

Almost.

It was a short class, and we had about an hour to actually sing. I didn't know the song - none of us did, it was an old one, maybe fifty, sixty years old? I didn't care, anyways.

The teacher, Ms. Finn (she was from America), had let us out late, so I was one of the only people left in the halls when the bell rang. Fortunately, my locker wasn't too far from my next class, so I wouldn't be too late. But as I walked down the hall towards the room, I felt as though someone was glaring at me, although when I turned around, no one was there.

---

Tamotsu.

Wh-

That's right. I'm still here. You can't ignore me.

Wait... Not now!

ANYTIME IS A GOOD TIME.

Dammit, get out of my head!

I can't. You know that.

GO!

I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ALONE, TAMOTSU AKIYAMA. YOU CAN'T ESCAPE.

This-

YOU USED TO BE SO NICE TO ME, WHAT HAPPENED?

I never-

I WILL GET AHOLD OF YOUR SOUL ONE DAY. SOON...

SOON...

---<=|=>---

A/N: OKAY NEW RULE

--- MEANS SCENE SWITCH

---<=|=>--- MEANS CHAPTER END

THERE WE GO, NOW YOU KNOW

Arright uh there was something I was gonna say... oh yeah

I have a new schedule! I'll be posting a new chapter every Saturday. So I'll take the ~SLOW UPDATES~ sign down.

While we're on that subject, the reason I'm posting this early is because of last week. I started the schedule last week, then my Saturday was so busy that I forgot, so I posted it late Sunday night. I will make up for that by posting today, Friday. The main reason, however, is because I'm not going to be able to post tomorrow. AT ALL. I'm going to Worlds of Fun for the weekend with some friends, so it's a three-and-a-half hour drive north to Kansas City, so we're gonna leave early so we have time to get there when it opens. Then we're gonna be there all day, so I won't have time to post. SOYOUGETACHAPTEREARLYGOODFORYOU

Oka that's all
Bye!
-Rainflight