Life 1-2

"Ugh, I hate mornings! The sun's too bright, it makes my skin frickin' crawl, and it only gets worse."

"Oh please it was worse when we were kids. But not like it stops you from complaining every time."

Noé's griping about the morning sun was another thing that could be considered part of his routine. By the teen's own admission, he was a night owl by nature. The type of person's whose overall energy was inversely proportional to the amount of sunlight there was. Tsuno's own statement held truth, and Noé certainly wouldn't decide to just stop complaining even if his gripes were more about a minor annoyance than anything else it could be. And even after the coffee he'd downed with breakfast, there was still something of a tired droop in Noé's eyes as he and Tsuno kept with the milling crowd of other students headed in their direction.

"Ah, look! It's Edelweiss and Daidouji!"

"Two of the third-year boys? They look like models!"

"Hehe, hear that Noé?" Tsuno chuckled, tapping Noé's side with an elbow as the other boy was occupying himself on his phone. "Some of the girls are talkin' about us again!"

"They always do," Noé sighed as his eyes glanced in the direction of the chattering, the girls who'd been talking dashing further ahead of the crowd. Even when I change my looks like this, I can't seem to help but stand out a bit huh? It wasn't like Noé could put any blame on it. His name was quite obviously not Japanese, though he certainly fit the definition of a Hafu in looks. But despite that, he'd lived in Japan and this town, Kuoh Town, for as long as he could remember. And because of his obviously different nature, he tended to stick out even when he didn't want to.

Which was a lot easier to do considering the school he and Tsuno attended. Kuoh Private Academy, a ladder school that had formerly been an all-girls school until some years prior, opening up to co-ed status and expanding as a result. It was scarcely an easy school to get into and oddly prestigious for a town right at the edge of the metropolitan area. And thanks to being so recently opened to co-ed, it was the kind where if one followed the school's gender ratio down by the current crop of students, would go as such: Third years, between girls to boys, 8:2, second years, 7:3, and first years, 6:4.

Hardly close to what one could call nearing even. Pretty much everything within the school remained dominated by the girls and even the staff maintained a mostly female makeup. But, Noé wasn't really one to concern himself much with that, he had other things to keep himself occupied than school gossip and the other boys around him giving into their hormonal frustrations.

"Let's see, if what the guys from Karaba sent me is accurate, then right about now…" Noé turned on his heel as they neared the gates to the school, leaning onto the railing of the small bridge he and Tsuno had been crossing. The beanie-wearing teen gave an amused chuckle as he also turned. Because strolling up from the road was a group of more students clearly not from the same school, their uniforms hardly regulation and their hair all kinds of wild styles.

Gang members, far too obviously.

"Again eh? Didn't you just deal with those idiots Manji idiots?" Tsuno chuckled. The leader of the approaching group shot him a dirty glare as they strolled up. Any other remaining Kuoh students, the girls especially, were quick to clear out and get away from what was obviously about to become a scene. Though some stuck around to watch anyway.

"Think we didn't hear that one eh punk?!" The boy did his best to make his voice sound as gravelly as possible, Tsuno yawning at the attempt to be threatening. "Not here for you anyway! We're here for the Hafu punk we've been hearin' rumors about!"

"Ain't you dorks from the other side of the city?" Noé grumbled. "I mean I know you guys skip school a lot but seriously? You came all the way to Kuoh just to pick a fight with me?"

"Why the hell would we not?!" One of the gang members shouted. "We know all the bullshit rumors comin' outta this district! Shit about some hafu from Kuoh who's been taking down all the other gangs on his own! You don't expect us to believe that crap do ya? So spill it, who you running with eh?"

"Five," Noé snickered as he got confused looks from the gang. "Ah, sorry, just a habit I picked up. This has started happening often enough I just started to count how many times you morons say the same stupid lines when you come to fight me. That's the fifth time I've had someone ask what gang I'm with. The answer by the way is none."

"Bullshit!" The leader strolled up to Noé, trying to ply what height he had over the other teenager. "Like I'm gonna believe some scrawny pretty boy like you can handle guys like Manji and Toma on your own! You're runnin' with someone, no other way."

"Tsuno, mind holding my bag?" Noé handed the bag off, Tsuno taking it and slinging it over his shoulder. As Noé started tying his blazer around his waist, he gave the gang leader a placid look while rolling his hoodie's sleeves up. "So, since I'd rather save time and not be chewed out by the Council President for this stuff again, let's cut right to the chase. Name and gang? It'll make it quicker for when I kick your teeth in."

"I'm the leader of Moebius from the East Ward, Karasuma! If it's a fight you want then-GUAGH!"

Before the gang leader could properly finish, Noé's right fist came ramming right up into his chin, the reverb of the impact audible as he sent the gang sailing back towards his four cronies. The teenager hit the ground like a sack, bouncing once before coming to a stop, letting out a groan as his head lolled to the side.

"Ohhh, one hit KO!" Tsuno whistled as he clapped his hands. "Not wasting time today eh Noé? You usually go for the multi-hits."

"I'm still gassed from last night, so not in the mood," Noé cracked his knuckles as he rolled his neck, giving the other four gang boys a glare as he approached them. "So, the rest of you wanna grab your leader and scram? Or am I gonna have to call an ambulance to cart your asses back to East Ward?"

"One punch?! He seriously knocked Karasuma out in one hit?!"

"Those Senba guys really weren't kidding! If he took the boss out like that…"

"He just got lucky!" One Noé decided was particularly unwise shouted against the ones realizing they'd messed up. "Just cause he knows how to fight don't mean shit!"

"By all means, waste his time when he's already this pissed," Tsuno chuckled. "More fun to watch when you idiots tick him off."

"You're not helping," Noé growled. When the gang member who'd spoken out rushed him, Noé knocked aside his punch with his left arm, slamming his right fist right into the boy's gut with the same force he'd knocked out the leader with. As the boy bent over his fist, Noé tapped him back, spinning around and slamming the already dazed boy away with a kick, sending him flying right on top of the knocked-out leader. "Now are we done here?"

"Let's book it!"

"Take the boss and vice-captain and run!"

"That's a new record," Tsuno laughed as Noé reclaimed his school bag, also taking the chance to wave at the people cheering as the gang members hightailed it. "Usually, they don't run off until you've almost knocked 'em all out!"

"Yeah, well that was probably just the leader and some of his cronies checking rumors," Noé remarked, shaking his right hand. "They'll probably be back in a few days with more of 'em. Same ol' same ol'. I'll call up Mikey and see if he and his boys can't head 'em off for me. Not in the mood for another gang fight right now."

"Think the Prez is gonna chew you out?"

"The bell hasn't even rung, I'm safe as can be."

As they passed through the threshold of the gate, Noé took a moment to stop. Red, that overwhelming red again. As his eyes turned to the source of this "red" that so distracted him A curtain of hair as red as crimson flaring in the wind, skin pale as snow, and eyes blue as the sky. Foreign looks and a body some would kill for, one of the idols of Kuoh Academy, Rias Gremory. In Noé's time at the school, he'd well learned the definition of someone who can be called a head turner. People simply stopped when the girl strolled into view, all so they could take in the sight she presented as she passed them by. Like a noble striding through a sea of commoners.

"Looking again?" Tsuno teased, Noé rolling his eyes. "I mean hey nobody can blame ya'? Gremory's one of the "Great Big Sisters" of Kuoh after all. Beautiful, foreign, yet so well versed in Japanese language and culture she fits right in like she's always lived here. Helps she's got a nice rack and ass to boot."

"Can you ever not point those things out?" Noé droned, Tsuno chuckling. "We're also in the same class as her, I'll remind. Not like we don't see her every day. Granted… it's fair. I'm not so dumb I won't admit she's beautiful… maybe a bit too beautiful though."

If there was one thing Noé took pride in (and there were many things about himself that he did) it was his sharp senses. Rias had, in the time he'd been acquainted with her to whatever degree there was, always given off this aura to him that he should be cautious around her. Something telling him to be wary and not fall for her charm like other people had.

Even when those blue eyes turned and seemingly fell on him, a graceful smile coming to the girls face, that he stayed resolute in that decision. [Wariness and caution… I'm treading enough ground around Prez most of the time anyway. It'd be troublesome if those two ever found out… not in the mood to be dragged into their mess, whatever it is.]

"Let's just get to class," Noé strode ahead of the crowd as he broke eye contact, Tsuno shrugging and following suit. It wasn't like he could avoid her anyway.