“Misaki!” I opened my locker just as a voice called (honestly, what is with all these voices today?). I spun around (again!), my hands clutching my history textbook. “Yeah?” I answered, stuffing my books I my bag and slamming the locker door shut. Emily hurried towards me, her honey colored curls flying behind her. “I was just looking for you! Have you seen Jake anywhere?” she panted, skidding to a halt in front of me. I shook my head. “Why? What do you need him for?” “We have a geography project due tomorrow and we haven’t even determined the final draft of our essay yet!” Emily exclaimed. My lips twitched in amusement. So here we are, the Resistance on call for duty as Jane tries to enslave the human race, while high school students worry about their grades and what university they’re going to be attending (if there were any still standing). Go figure. “Well anyway, the second bell is about to ring soon, so I’d better be off,” I changed subjects hastily, adjusting the strap of my bag and preparing to hurry away. “Oh. Oh yeah,” Emily nodded, looking slightly disappointed. Sorry, Umm. The Resistance has to stay undercover, and talking too much to an outsider might allow a person to slip a piece of vital information out to the open, thus resulting to our cover being blown (hey, I am reasonably powerful. I mean really! I’m supposed to “save the world,” right? I can pretty much block out Jane’s attempts to locate us. Not that she’d ever tried. She likes to lure us out instead. Humph. Getting old makes people go nuts. And crave attention. (Especially when you’re nine thousand.) Anyway, I wished Emily luck and headed to homeroom. The majority of this country already knows what’s going on, including the government. Cross Academy is one of those blissfully ignorant places where people have no idea whatsoever about the mortal peril and human destruction that goes on every minute of every day.… It’s either that or they don’t read the newspaper. “Kaito? What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned when I noticed him staring off into space, eyes unfocused, standing rigidly with his hands clenched at his side in the middle of the emptying hallway. My concern changed into worry when he didn’t respond. “Kaito?” I shook his shoulder experimentally. “Huh? What?” he snapped out of his trance. “Geez Kaito, you scared me!” I sighed in relief. Phhkk! Just ‘cuz I fight crazy insanely influential people in real life doesn’t mean I’m not human. Okay, maybe a little over average, but still! I have feelings too, ya know. So … yeah … My heart did a little jump in my chest when Kaito was in a hypnotizing state of paralysation. I mean, imagine your best friend zoning out and looking like they’re witnessing a murder scene. Wouldn’t you freak out slightly? No? Well, clearly you had no childhood. What? I didn’t say I had one. I spent it kicking butts. Trust me; you probably had it better than I did. If you didn’t, well …You probably spent it staying at a mental hospital.... Or watching Spiderman. “I’m fine. What about you?” His eyes softened to a degree when they met mine. “You’re anyways staying up late and working so hard,” he murmured quietly, only for my ears to hear, even though there’s basically only the two of us in the hall with a couple of other dawdlers. Kaito brushed his thumb over the dark bags under my left eye. “I have to,” I whispered, gazing up at him searchingly. I realized how vulnerable I sounded, something I’m usually not. But this is Kaito I’m talking about. My most trusted friend (even though he tends to be rude sometimes). If I couldn’t trust him, then I couldn’t trust anyone. “You don’t have to do this you know. It doesn’t have to be you,” he whispered, leaning towards me slightly. “What are you saying?” My voice barely audible. But he heard me. “You can quit now. We can escape and leave Jane up to the others,” Kaito’s golden eyes glittered strangely, with an (rarely) unmasked emotion. Hope? Determination? Possibly … Love? No. I couldn’t think about that. Why not?! My inner conscious screamed. There’s nothing romantic going on between us, and there probably never will. We’re just … friends. You can make it more! It argued insistently. No, I thought firmly. We work together to save the world. That’s all there is. All that ever will be. I lowered my eyes, my long hair blocking my face. “We can’t.” I pushed him away and quickly turned on my heel. “We’re late for class,” I said shortly as the third warning bell rung, emphasizing my point. I hurried to homeroom with my head down, leaving a slightly stunned Kaito in my wake.