-The Red Agito-

Inspired by the fanfiction Does Childhood Friends Future Lovers by LadyJamie178 about Rem and Machina's relationship to one another I've decided to introduce to you to one of my OCs, Luna.

More information & fan-art about her on my Deviantart page & Fanfiction Profile!

I do want some feedback/critics so please comment in the end if you get the chance.

At the very corner of the room, assigned to the very back seat of the fifth row sits a frail-looking girl with snowy-white hair. A boy notices her eyes always glued to the window to the left, watching the outside world with dazed, blue eyes.

The boy turns his head around and he focuses on the spells he has in his hands given to him by his teacher, Kurasame. His eyebrows furrow in concentration as he tries out the magical spells in small, short bursts so to not disturb his classmates around him who were working silently on their assignments.

He hears a sharp whack! coming from the back room and turns his head automatically to the girl with albino hair. A teacher with the hair color of faded-violet holds a sharp-bladed sword with two separate edges on top of the girl's desk as he glares at his student with tired, blue eyes.

"Luna, please work on your assignment for today." Kurasame orders with a unusual strictness.

The girl stops staring out the window and looks at her teacher for what seems to be the one-hundredth time in his class. She nods quietly, and glances down at the white worksheet in front of her. Her blue eyes blink several times blankly before turning her head back to the window.

Kurasame clears his throat loudly, gaining the girl's attention once more. The boy watching feels his teacher's irritation and tries his best not to interfere with the situation. It was in his nature to stop conflicts between people, but knows from personal experience not to interfere with a student/teacher quarrel.

"Luna, I'm telling you one more time to stop daydreaming and do your work or you will go to the Headmaster's office." The teacher sternly stated finally, instantly changing the quiet, studious classroom atmosphere into an air of tension.

Students in the background began quietly whispering to themselves and quickly covered their mouth to stop the laughter. The boy glanced at his classmates with disappointment. He knew that they were talking about the girl and mentally reminded himself to talk to Kurasame-sensei after class.

The girl sensed this ultimatum was the final straw and nodded robotically. Then she picked up her worksheet and took out a pencil to write down her answers for the day. The teacher waited until the student was fully absorbed with her task before walking away.

"Geez, does this girl have the red-slip in her locker already?" One female voice whispered to her classmate behind her. The boy tensed, feeling a deep lurch at the bottom of stomach. Being given a red-slip was the worst thing happen to a student attending Peristerium School of Magic.

Red, being one of the main colors of the nation of Suzaku and the school, meant to the person that he or she was being "red-tagged" or watched at all times of the day, under the eyes of the Thirteen Perfects that patrolled the hallways, courtyards, lunchrooms, and dorms of the school.

The slip was a sheet of small paper that told the student that he or she was an outcast, a social stigma that was never to be interacted with or talked to. To risk associating to a "Red Agito" was to risk your status-level as a prestigious student of Peristerium.

Conformity was a highly prized asset to the students and to the instructors teaching the students. To conform to many rules, cliques, dress codes, and to school tradition meant to everyone that a student could be trusted to important missions sent by the headmaster, lessons from powerful instructors, or more respect and honor to that student.

To act independently from the rules and expectations of your instructors and to the elders of Suzaku, loudly resonated to them that a student like Luna couldn't be trusted to do the most simple tasks asked from her.

The boy felt himself go cold at the mere chance she could have been tagged as a Red Agito. He strained his ears to hear more, but the whispers beside him became softer and less distinct. He watched carefully, seeing that the girl had trouble deciphering the words coming from the sheet of paper she held in her hands.

She squinted her blue orbs, inching the sheet of paper closer to her face. The boy raised his eyebrows in mild curiosity.

Does she have trouble seeing?

Then the girl frowned for a moment, sticking out her tongue with a strong effort to be done with the assignment. She tilted her head to the left and then to right, tucking her pencil behind her ear as if she could concentrate better if the writing utensil wasn't in her range of sight.

She sighed, closing her eyes and opening them moments later.

The boy feels the urge to help his classmate, but stops himself. What would his classmates and friends think if he began talking to the new student who was known as the albino-girl who slacked in classwork and was socially an outcast in and out of the classroom?

The boy shook his head furiously. Why would he listen to THAT part of himself? What was wrong with him? He never excluded anyone in his life. He welcomed newcomers and made them feel at home here in Peristerium as they found their own group and place to belong to.

"Am I becoming like them?" he whispered to himself. Looking down at his work, he realized that he couldn't finish his spells. His blue eyes flickered to Luna and then to Kurasame-sensei. Sensing that his teacher was too busy with managing, he ripped a small scrap of paper from his worksheet and wrote something down.

Estimating the length from his desk to hers, he got out his deck of cards and took out his teleportation spell card. Putting the note and the card together, the boy glanced at his teacher and then to the card in his hand.

"Teleport."

In a blink of an eye, the card and note instantly appeared in front of the girl noiselessly. The girl's blue eyes widened at the sudden projection of magic and knew who it was from. Her eyes stared at the sandy-blond haired boy who smiled and gestured her to read it.

Picking up the white note in her hands, the girl cautiously opened it.

What are you working on, Luna?

Luna blinked and read the sentence again. She looked to the boy in confusion, wondering why he was sending her notes. The boy noticed her confusion, took a pencil and began writing in the air on top of his desk. The girl slowly nodded as she registered what he wanted her to do.

Removing her pencil from behind her ear, Luna began to write on the note. Once she was done, the girl looked at the boy who nodded and wordlessly told her to put the note on top of the card. She did as she was told and then looked at the boy as he whispered a word. Her blue eyes immediately went back to the note and card which disappeared without a sound.

The boy grinned at her when the note materialized in his hands and opened the note.

Spells ... the language is hard to understand ... I am not familiar with the words they use here.

Mind if I help you with them? And I know what you mean, many outsiders from other countries aren't fluent with Suzaku's language since we live on a small island away from the mainland.

Then the boy repeated the process as he saw the note vanish into thin air and quickly appear on her desk. Luna opened the note and began writing.

Ah, well I have a problem with this word XxXxXxXxXx. What does it mean in this incantation? The spell urges the user to think of fire and flames as a defense and cast it as such, instead of using the elemental attack as an offense. It is strange, your words. They hold a very different meaning in our language.

As soon as she was done, the boy cast the teleportation spell embedded in his card and they reappeared in his hands. They both repeated this process under the exhausted eyes of their teacher who was at his wits end, trying to stop one reckless boy from freezing his own desk by his own magic spell.

"CAREFUL NINE! You need to watch—SHIT!"

Kurasame quickly uttered the counter-spell and melted away the icy, cold spell away with a fire element. The teen boy with spiky, blonde hair grinned victoriously at his teacher. Nine had done his job for today, annoying his favorite teacher to almost suicidal tendencies.

The class couldn't help but be shocked and humored at their instructor's foul language when they themselves heard their war-hardened Instructor curse almost a thousand times when things went wrong in their classroom, which was often.

The two oblivious teenagers in the back row forgot they were in a classroom full of students with their instructor bent on murdering all his ignorant students with one swing of his blade. They finally connected with each other on a different level than others.

They didn't need to speak or have eye contact to communicate. With words they could express whatever they wanted on that thin sheet of paper. The boy was enjoying himself as he began "associating" to the new student in the back row. She was more interesting than he thought she would be.

Fire is one of the most difficult elements to master, Luna. You have to think strong and imagine yourself to be FIRE, devastating your way as you go into battle. It's also hard to control once you cast it. Prepare yourself mentally and physically as you cast the spell, but make sure that you don't cast it accidentally onto your fellow classmates. Trust me, I learned it the hard way.

Ah ... I see. I can see magic isn't what it all seems to be. My aunt tells me to think happy thoughts as I slay my way into battle. Strange isn't it? Thinking happy thoughts as you kill your enemies. By the way, if you don't mind me asking ... I have a question I would like to ask you.

As he finished her sentence, his face lit up. His heart pounded in his chest as his mind wondered frantically about her question. Gaining back his composer, he forced himself to calmly write down his answer.

Hm? What is it?

Watching her carefully, he whispered again the spell and the note with the card silently appeared on top of her desk. Her blue eyes looked at the note and he saw her write down a few words. He realized that girls don't usually make the first move in this sort of situation. He felt his hands sweating and couldn't help but nervously giggle at his predicament.

He looked up and saw that she was done. Gulping down his nervousness, the boy whispered the incantation and as usual, the note and card appeared instantly in his hands. Steadying his trembling, the boy opened the note.

What's your name?

He blinked and re-read the sentence again. He quickly looked at the girl who was watching the window as usual with her dazed, blue eyes. The pencil was tucked behind her ear and the worksheet on her desk was only half done.

Wait, she doesn't even know my name? She's been here since what? Last month? And she doesn't even know my name! I-I seriously thought she was ... I-I can't believe it. I got excited over nothing! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? AM I SOME KIND OF FREAKY PERVERT—? !

Anguish and despair riddled his mind as the boy's forehead collided with his desk dull thunk! Closing his eyes, he felt his heart drop several feet out of his body. He was mildly hoping that God Suzaku might help him get out of this idiot ordeal he created for himself.

Looking at the note, he forced his hand to write. He then whispered the spell and it landed quicker than usual on her desk. He watched her watching the window with her chin resting on the palm of her right hand. He wondered if she was ever going to notice the note on her desk.

His blue eyes glanced at his teacher and soon noticed the sounds of laughter and the yells Kurasame-sensei was making at the whole class. Reality crept forward, dulling his senses from Luna sitting in back row. His thoughts from a previous conversation didn't seem so important to him anymore.

Who cares if she's a Red Agito? Does it even matter anymore? She is still a person. Nothing about her changes in the end. So why brand her with such a horrible stigma just because she's a bit different from you? Why single a person out just because she's not good at what you do or what other people are expecting her to be good at? Aren't we suppose to be getting along in this school?

He sighed, noticing the reality of the present. Suzaku was fighting a war right now against Milites. There wasn't any time left to be acting foolish in this school, but every student and faculty member upholds the Status Quo at the end of the day.

The bell rang, making the teen freeze up slightly. Getting up from his seat, he looked at her desk and found the girl was gone: note, card and all.

His blue eyes suddenly felt drowsy after the note passing during class, and rubbed his eyes. He remembered to talk to Kurasame-Sensei about his classmates gossiping, but stopped himself again for the second time. Why was it so important to him that he wanted to nose into people's business?

Was he this desperate to help people?

He shook his head and smiled to himself, pushing his chair under his desk. He had to go to the Headmaster's office for his quick report before he headed to his dorm room. Fishing out his cards, he shuffled them out of habit.

What card did I give her?

Expertly using his hands to separate his deck, his eyes quickly scanned the letters, numbers, and colors and he instinctively knew that he had given her his most-prized card:

The Ace of Spades

He felt his lips form a smile.

"So, I guess you really aren't a Red Agito after all, Luna."

"Um, I really am, Ace."

The boy named Ace turned around so quickly that he lost his footing and fell backwards to the ground. The girl named Luna giggled out loud. His heart did a back-flip listening to her voice full of emotion.

"Here's your card."

She handed him his Ace of Spades which he accepted sheepishly.

"You're part of Class Zero, right?" She asked, holding her hands behind her back and bent down for a closer look at his face. Ace nodded and his face lit up again. Shouldn't she avoid me after knowing this about me? Class Zero was for the students who made a pact with the Crystal months before the war started. They were also the most respected and widely feared group of all Peristerium.

"You might risk your rep if you keep on talking to me, Ace." She said, her voice went back to the plain, blank tone she used when talking. Ace smiled at her and stood up, brushing away the imaginary dirt from his school uniform.

"Does it matter now? I was the one who initiated it first, am I right?" He asked, kindly. The girl nodded.

"Despite what everyone thinks about being a Red Agito, everyone in Class Zero wants to be one someday."

This caused Luna's blue eyes to brighten and she gave out a small, rare smile. Ace couldn't help feel like he was the luckiest guy in the world.

"Yes. I hope they'll become an Agito ...soon. Do you want to be one?"

Ace's eyes showed Luna his deep determination and drive, prompting her smile to widen.

"I want to be an Agito." He said with firm seriousness.

In the background, Kurasame-sensei watched his student's interaction with the Red.

"Everyone wants to become an Agito. No matter what the costs."

I hope you guys understood the symbolic meanings I put in there. If you didn't here they are:

*Agito - to move forward
*Red - the color of power, courage passion, and love
*Slip of paper - A warning, a tag or signal to others that he or she is dangerous

*Conformity in Japanese culture, or in this case a school full of students and teachers with high expectations - Since they are a homogeneous group (Suzaku Citizens), they are to abide to strict rules of tradition, rules, and social norms. To do what you are told to do means that you can be trusted and able to do your best without out-shining others.

To be an outsider or a foreigner from another country means to upset the social norms of the Status Quo which many people pride themselves in. To show individuality is to be an outsider who doesn't understand the culture, rules, and tradition.

*Ace of Spades - The highest card you could get in Western card game