What is today? I think it’s sometime late August, although I’m not sure when exactly.

That means the second term of school is going to be in. That means I could possibly snag some good stuff out of the lockers of the school. All I need to do is jump the fence and I’ll be in.

The fence is pretty high, though. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to jump it or not, but I’m sure if I grab hold of the gate just right, I’d be able to make it over.

Over the course of two weeks Kibo dreamed that he would hit the jackpot. He’d find something beyond finding just some food or clothing.

“That school’s pretty normal, but it should have some things in there I could snag. Every place has had something good inside. It’s gotta have something.” Kibo thought.

                                      ~ ~ ~

“Awe sweet! Finally, school’s out, I may just be able to jump the fence and get in. I think if I remember right, they leave the doors open. They probably leave them open for the different clubs, but all I know is that that’s the time for me to get the goods.” Kibo thought with high expectations.

After looking for a few minutes, Kibo got annoyed.

“Tch. There isn’t anything in here. Jeez, don’t they know how to keep some good things in this dump. What the hell is up with this crap! Well, I might as well take a walk, maybe I’ll get something good somewhere else.”

Kibo walked through the halls, searching each room he passed. With each room he searched, he grew more and more tired.

“Jeez, nothing. Absolutely nothing! Why doesn’t this school have anything?! I’ve been looking through this dump for probably two hours, why can’t I find anything?”

“It’s nighttime now. I don’t know when I should go to sleep. I’ve had a long day today, so I should probably find somewhere in this place to crash. I don’t think there’s any school tomorrow either, so I think I’ll be fine to sleep somewhere in here. It’s better than sleeping outside, I guess.” Kibo thought in assurance.

“Ah! A storage room! There should be something to use as a blanket in here. I don’t care if I sleep on the hard floor or not, but as long as I’m covered up, I should be fine.”

                                                  ~ ~ ~

“Wahh! Wahh!” cried the newborn baby.

“Congratulations, it’s a boy.” A doctor said.

“T-Thank you. What element does he possess? Fire like his father or Water like me. I wonder…” The new mother asked as she caught her breath.

“!”

“W-What’s wrong? Is he okay?” She asked.

“Here.” The doctor said as he handed her the newborn.

“Oh no! H-He’s a-a…” she exclaimed

“Don’t say it, Honey. We know, but we can’t do anything about it.” The father said as he tried to comfort his wife.

“B-But, what do we do? If we keep him-”

“Then we won’t. We just won’t, okay? I’m sorry.” He said as he put his head down.

                                                     ~ ~ ~

“Gah!”

Kibo woke up out of breath and a little sweaty.

“That dream again. I’ve been having it for years. What is it? What does it mean? I mean, I know what I am. I know what element I possess. But just… what am I?” Kibo thought.

Kibo sighed as he looked around.

“What time is it? There has to be a clock somewhere in this joint. Since its pretty dark out, I’d say it’s near two or three in the morning.” Kibo thought as his eyes searched.

“Jeez, this sucks.” Kibo said with a sigh.

The next morning is pretty nice out. Sunny, a little cloudy, but not too bad. It wasn’t even humid at all. Just an overall perfect day.

Kibo slept in. There wasn’t any point in waking up early if he didn’t have to. Out of nowhere, the door leading to the room where Kibo was in opened.

A student who seemed to be from the school walked into the room. She went to the shelves. She seemed to be looking for something. As she’s searching, she accidently knocks off a box, startling her.

“O-Oh no.”

As she bent to pick up the box, she noticed a tarp that seemed to be bunched up underneath the shelf. As she pulled up the tarp, she noticed a dirty and disheveled boy was sleeping.

“Hey. Hey.”

Puzzled as to why this boy was here of all places, she tried to wake him.

“Hey!”

Still not waking up, the girl got annoyed.

“HEY!”

“…mmph.”

When the girl yelled, the boy slowly, but finally, woke up. As he opened his eyes, he saw a girl with true beauty kneeling in front of him. He had seen many women before, both young and old, but this girl in front of him was something he’d never seen before.

She had beautiful brown eyes. Her eyes only brought out her beauty even more. She had no flaws whatsoever. The boy was captivated by her beauty, even though she wasn’t of his.

“Waahhh!!”

Terrified, the young girl jumped back into a shelf, knocking off most of the random objects and boxes. When the boy made sense of his surroundings, he then noticed the girl, firmly glued to the shelf.

“S-Shadow! You’re a Shadow! W-W-Why are you here?!” the girl said fearfully.

Even with her beauty, the boy looked at her and scowled.

“Yeah, that’s right! I possess the Shadow element. Why am I here? I wanted some stuff out of this building, food, clothing, things like that. You people don’t have a damn thing here, though! After that I got tired, so I found a place to crash. You’re just like everyone else: judge first, ask questions later. Where the hell do you get off being scared of me when we’re complete strangers! We’re both human beings of the same kind.”

After his rant, the girl still trembled. But even though she didn’t move an inch, she seemed a little calmer. She seemed to open her mouth, as if to say something, but she never said a word.

A few minutes passed, and yet no one said a word. Then, the girl broke that silence.

“U-Um, a-are you hungry?”

“Well, yeah! Hell, I could eat anything at this point! Whatcha got?” The boy said.

After thinking for a few minutes, the girl hesitantly answered him.

“N-Not much. Since school’s not open we don’t usually keep leftovers.”

“Listen. I can eat anything. Anything that’s food, please give it. Okay?” The boy said as he tried to reason with her.

The girl nodded. They left the room together and walked through the halls of the school. After a few minutes went by, they finally reach what seemed to be a cafeteria.

“P-Please sit down. I’ll try to find something.”

“This is awesome! I’m actually getting to eat with another human being. Dammit, could my luck actually be getting better?!” The boy thought.

“S-Sorry. A-All we have is small food like snacks.” The girl said.

“No problem. I’m used to that kind of food.” The boy assured her.

“...U-Um?”

“Hmm. What is it?” The boy asked

“A-Are you okay?” the girl asked.

“Hmmm? What do you mean?” The boy asked, confused.

“U-Um. Well, you’re homeless, right?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah I’m fine.” The boy said with a smile.

“B-But…you don’t have anywhere to go.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve managed two years now, so I don’t really see a problem anymore.”

“T-Two years?!” the girl exclaimed.

Shocked by her outburst, the boy stopped eating. He was curious with how a sweet, quiet girl managed to make an outburst like that.

“H-How did you survive?! I mean, how old are you? You can’t be any older than me.” The girl asked.

“Me? I’m seven. How old are you?” The boy answered.

“I’m the same. Still though, how did you survive?” she asked curiously.

After noticing her surprisement, the boy couldn’t help but boast.

“Me? Oh, I’m just strong like that, you know. You are cute and all, but you wouldn’t last out there, out in the real world. That world can be in one of two ways: it can be completely peaceful, or it can be complete chaos.”

Taken aback more than the compliment than the insult, the girl’s face turned red.

“…”

“Ha Haa. I got you embarrassed now.”

“N-No, I’m not.”

An hour passed and the two were still talking. Out of nowhere, the girl burst out of her seat.

“O-Oh no! I have to get back to my club! I’m sorry I have to go.”

“Hey hey, it’s no problem. Next time school’s out we should meet again sometime.”

“Yeah, sure. Oh my, I didn’t even introduce myself. My name is Yuki, Yuki Mashiro.”

“Oh. I’m Kibo.”

“Well, see you later.”

“Yeah. See ya.”

“Wow! What a beauty! I still can’t find a single flaw about her.” Kibo thought.

There’s a tale told through many generations. It’s the legend of The Five Elements, which keep our world at peace. One of the five Elements is bestowed upon each birth of a child and they have it until they pass away.

The five elements are Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Shadow. Studies have shown that infants are born with the Fire element above all the other elements. Furthermore, less than one percent of infants born each year will receive the Shadow element. Because of that, the Shadow element is not only rare to people, but it is relatively unknown. Not even the best scientists, professors, or biologists can figure out this rare element.

As you can figure, the elements go along with the corresponding traits that are given to the human being. For example, the Fire element would give fire traits to the possessor. This is the same for the other elements.

Unfortunately, those who possess the Shadow element do not even know they have it until a young age. Kids of the Fire, Earth, Water, and Wind elements can control a well amount of their element by the age of ten. Sadly, parents of the Shadow possessors disown their child, usually at birth. Society looks down on them in the same way. The Shadow possessors are treated very poorly, are feared by other element possessors, and are rejected of everything.

There is only one way of determining the element a human being possesses. It is their eye color; the element identification is determined through the color of the iris in the eye. Those colors are: Fire- bright red, Water- aqua, Earth- light brown, Wind- light gray, and Shadow- deep, dark violet.

Without the Five Elements, the human beings that live on the land are just that, human beings. This is the tale of The Five Elements and how society has reacted to it over past years.

“Ha ha! This is awesome! Not only did I meet a cute girl and talk to her, I even told her to meet up next time. I think I should treat myself today. Not any bread or garbage crap today, something even better. But what should I get? Hmmm.” Kibo thought with a grin.

As Kibo was walking through the town market like normal, he noticed a group of guys, a little older than him, conversing. They seemed to be wearing the same uniform as Yuki-san. Curious, Kibo listened in.

The group had three guys, one was a possessor of the Wind Element and the other two were possessors of the Fire Element. One of the Fire element possessors seemed to be the leader of the group, though. He had short, brown hair.

“Hey, did you see Yuki-san today?” The leader asked.

“Yuki Mashiro-san? Yeah, I did. She looks cute as ever, doesn’t she?” the Wind possessor asked.

“Yeah, it’s just a bad thing that she doesn’t have much upstairs.” The leader said.

“Huh? What do you mean?” the other Fire element possessor asked.

“Dude, come on! She’s got nothing up there. You can see it right there, don’t you know?” The leader exclaimed.

“…”

“Dude! The girl’s flat-chested! Do you not get that? She’s flat-chested.” The leader said.

Angered, Kibo confronted the group of boys.

“Hey!”

The boys snapped their heads in Kibo’s direction.

“Huh? What do you want, you worthless piece of crap?” Their leader said with a scowl on his face.

“Hi there. If I may ask, what was it you just said?”

Trying to stay calm, Kibo kept a smile on.

“Huh? Whatsit to you?” Their leader asked.

“I just wanted to know is all. Please tell me.” Kibo said with a smile.

“Hmmm…what was it I said? Something about Yuki-san, I think. What was it?” He said trying to remember.

One of the other two jumped in.

“Dude. I think you said Yuki-san was flat-chested.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s right. Yuki-san’s flat-chested.” Their leader said with a surprised look on his face.

Kibo’s face turned from a friendly smile to a scornful frown.

“You son of a bitch! How dare you talk about Yuki-san like that!”

Angered even more, Kibo ran at them, drawing back his fist. Just before he got to the boy, the other two restrained him. Kibo flailed his arms and legs, trying to escape their grasp as he seethed with anger.

“Dude, what the heck’s your problem? How do you even know Yuki-san?” he said as he walked over to Kibo.

“I know her, okay! She just helped me out. Do you even know what she’s like?!” Kibo yelled.

“Jeez, of course I do. She’s in my dang class!” he said snidely.

“Alright then. So it shouldn’t be a problem to tell me, a ‘worthless piece of crap’, what she’s like.” Kibo said as he smirked.

“W-Well, let’s see. She’s…you know. Um…”

As their leader stuttered and stammered, Kibo smiled.

“What’s wrong? I thought you knew what she’s like, since she’s in your class and all that, right?”

“Shut up! Since you seem to know more than I do, why don’t you tell me what she’s like.” The leader retorted.

“Well, where do I start? She’s cute, funny, very cheerful, and very kind, not to mention fun to be around.”

“Dude, are you serious. Man, what the heck’s wrong with you? She’s nothing like that, nothing like that at all!” the leader scoffed.

Kibo couldn’t take them anymore. Kibo threw up his leg out of blind rage, and hit him between the legs. The boy shrieked and fell to the ground. The other two went to the boy to try and help him, allowing Kibo to escape.

After running for quite some time, Kibo reached the school completely out of breath.

“Damn those idiots, talking about her like that. Next time I catch them-”

“Oh, there you are, Kibo-kun.”

“I know that voice.” Kibo thought as he turned his head quickly.

“Oh! Hey, Yuki.”

“Hey, you’ve never gone to school before. Right, Kibo-kun?”

“No, I haven’t.” Kibo agreed.

“Awe yay. I thought so. You see, I talked with my parents last night about you and-”

“Wait! Hold up a sec. What’d you do now?” Kibo interrupted.

“I talked to my parents about you last night.”

“What! Why? Why’d you do that?”

“Please, calm down. Let me explain.”

Kibo tried to stay quiet so Yuki could explain, even though he was worried and nervous.

“I told them, ‘I found a boy who was homeless. I asked him if he was hungry and he said he was, so I gave him some snacks from the school. We talked a little bit and he seemed really nice. Could he come stay with us please?’ ”

“Really?! What did they say?”

Kibo was on the edge of his seat. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“They said it was fine. They want to see you first, but it’s okay with them.” Yuki said with a smile.

Kibo felt his heart stop for just a second.

“Is this really happening? This can’t be, it just can’t.” Kibo thought, doubting what he just heard.

“Really. Holy hell! That’s awesome. You’re the best, Yuki-san.”

“N-No, it was nothing. Anyway, I told them I’d take you the next time we meet. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, sure. When do you want to meet up?”

“W-Well, I was hoping tomorrow, but first I wanted to do something with you.”

“Huh? What’s that?” Kibo asked.

“Well, I didn’t tell them that you’re a Shadow possessor. If I did, they wouldn’t want a single thing to do with you.”

“Oh yeah, good point. So how can you fix that?” Kibo asked.

“Well, I heard that a drug store has contacts that are colored. If we got a pair of those, you might be able to disguise yourself as another element possessor.”

“Oh, okay. I see, but…what are contacts?” Kibo asked with a straight face.

Yuki forgot that Kibo was homeless, so he’d never even heard of contacts before in his life. As Yuki explained, Kibo understood the plan even more.

“Do you understand?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, so what element would you want to be?”

Kibo thought for a while. He’d never thought of this before. After some thinking, Kibo answered her.

“You know what, Yuki-san? You’re absolutely amazing and kind. I’d wanna be like you all the time.”

“W-W-What do you mean?”

“I’d wanna be an Earth possessor, just like you.”

The next day, the two went to the local drug store. They weren't sure where the contacts were, so they asked the pharmacists.

"Um, excuse me. Where are the colored contacts at?" Yuki asked the pharmacists.

"Oh, colored contacts? They're in the back behind the counter. Do you have a prescription?" The pharmacists asked.

"A what?" Kibo intervened.

"A prescription. If you don't have a prescription, you can't get anything out from behind the counter."

"O-Oh. Okay, sorry to disturb you." Yuki replied politely.

As the two walked away, Kibō complained.

"Jeez, what the hell’s his problem, being hard on us like that? That little-"

As Kibō was ranting and raving, he saw one of the pharmacists leaving through the door that lead into the pharmacy. That gave him an idea.

"Hey, Yuki. I got an idea."

"Really? What is it?" Yuki answered.

"Do you see those people going in and out of that door? If I was able to slip through there, I'd be able to get those contacts."

"What!? W-What are you talking about? What if you get caught?" Yuki rationalized.

"Please, do you think I would get caught? I've been stealing my whole life. I just need your help with one simple, safe thing."

"…"

"Please."

Yuki was surprised. This boy was actually asking for her help, even though he had done this kind of thing his whole life.

"S-S-Sure. I-I guess."

"I need you watch my back. If anyone comes, do something. Bang on the door, start hollering, anything's fine. Can you do that?"

"…S-Sure."

Yuki was really nervous. She was pretty, had good grades, and was liked by almost everyone. Now, she was being asked to help someone steal something. She agreed, though, despite her uneasiness.

"Awesome! Thanks a lot, Yuki. You're the best!"















X X X


The theft was a success. Still shaken, Yuki was curious. How did he do that so quickly? He even made it look rather easy.

After they left the pharmacy, they went back to the school. The two were curious as to how well they would work on Kibō. As Kibō tried them on, both of them were surprised.

"Holy crap! Are they supposed to go in on the first time?!" Kibo exclaimed.

"Is this the first time you've tried these kind of contacts in?" Yuki asked.

"This is the first time I've had this done ever! How do they look?"

Yuki face turned red, he looked very good in them.

"Y-You can't tell they're in. Really." Yuki replied.

"Seriously? That's awesome!"

"R-Really? I'm glad."

"Thanks, Yuki-san. If you wouldn't have thought of the idea, we'd still be stuck figuring out a plan. You really are the best."

Yuki's face turned bright red.

"N-Not really." Yuki replied modestly.

"Come on. With all you've done, how can I not be grateful?"

"A-Anyway, what do you want to do?" Yuki asked, changing the subject.

Kibō thought for a minute, then, thinking of nothing else, he fell to the ground with a sigh.

"Jeez, I'm not sure. I'm just exhausted from today."

As Kibō was thinking, Yuki walked over to Kibō, bent down, and extended her arm toward him.

"Do you want to come to my house?"

Kibō looked up, in the sunset Yuki had even more beauty than before. This caused Kibō's face to turn red for the first time.

"Y-Yeah, if it's no bother to you guys?"

"No, you won't be." Yuki reassured him.

Yuki smiled, causing Kibō to ease himself as he took her hand.

"Okay, let's go."

The two left the school. A little while later, they got to Yuki’s house. It was a normal, two-story house. As they walked to the door, Kibo’s heart began to pound.

“Holy crap! Is this really happening?” Kibo thought in disbelief.

They walked in the door and closed it behind them.

“I’m home.”

“Oh, hey Yuki. And who is this?” the man said as he walked into the hallway.

“This is the boy I told you about. His name is Kibo.” Yuki said as she introduced Kibo to the man.

Speechless, Kibo bowed in respect.

“Well, hey there, Kibo. Nice to meetcha. Hey, honey! That boy Yuki told us about is here.” the man said.

A woman came out of another room. She looked at Kibo and smiled.

“Well, hello there. I didn’t think you were coming today. What’s your name?” the woman asked politely.

“M-My name is Kibo. Thank you for letting me come.” Kibo responded nervously.

“Please, come sit down. You’ve probably had a long day.”

Kibo walked over into the living room and sat down in a chair while Yuki sat in the chair across from him and her parents sat down on the couch.

“Oh, I see you’re an Earth element possessor. Are you able to do anything with the Element?” the woman asked.

“N-No, sorry.”

“Crap, they noticed! What do I do?” Kibo thought with panic.

“Oh, well I’m sure you’ll get better at it. Maybe you could practice together with Yuki.” The woman offered.

“N-No, that’s fine. She’s been so nice to me these few days, so I’d feel awful if she had to do more.”

The group talked for the next couple of hours. One of the parents noticed the time on the clock.

“Oh my, it’s late. Yuki, can Kibo sleep in your room for a little while? Sorry Kibo, we haven’t had time to find a room for you. I hope it’s alright.” The woman apologized.

“Y-Yeah, no problem. If I could ask though, how long do you want me to stay here? I don’t want to be a burden.” Kibo asked hesitantly.

“Well, let’s see here. You can stay here as long as you want. Okay?” the woman replied.

She looked at Yuki’s father for agreement.

“Yeah, I don’t have a single problem with it.” The man said.

“R-R-Really?! T-Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Mashiro.”

Kibo stood up and bowed in complete gratitude.

“Now Kibo, stop with the formalities. Okay?” the woman said.

“B-But…what do you want me to call you, then?” Kibo asked, confused.

“Hmmm, let’s see. You can call me ‘Mom’, okay?”

“Yeah, kiddo. Just call me ‘Dad’. How about that?”

Kibo raised. As he looked at them in utter shock, he started to cry. He had completely forgotten what it was like to cry.

As he stood there crying, the woman got up from the couch. She walked over and hugged Kibo.

“Now, now. It’s okay. We’re family now, okay?” the woman said.

“Y-Yes. T-Thank you… Mom.”