Hey Everyone, Reader here! Thought I'd take a shot again at trying at a more romantic type of story. I'll leave the majority of the author's notes on the bottom, so let's get into it!

Italics = Thoughts

*BANG* = Action

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MAHOUKA KOUKOU NO RETTOUSEI

First Impressions

Chiba Erika sat distracted in her room, laying against her bed while she lazily gazed at the ceiling. Her tie was undone and thrown to the side, her crimson hair was messy and her socks and shoes sat neatly against the foot of the bed. Her right hand was placed on her chest while the left was planted against her forehead along with a slight blush was across her cheeks.

She was confused beyond belief. She was confused not only at the enigma that was Tatsuya Shiba, but at her own heart as well. Only after one day of magic high school and her life was overly complicated.

She couldn't explain it. The thumping of her heart, her erratic breathing, the scattered thoughts inside her mind. She had never felt like this before. Not when she fought, exercised or when she practiced her swordsmanship. It also wasn't unpleasant either. A type of happiness she had never felt in her life. It was all so confusing to the usually lively teenage girl.

Her thoughts switched over to the mysterious boy she had met earlier today. When she and Mizuki-san, her newfound best friend, had been looking for a spot on the top rows of the auditorium when she spotted the particular black-haired student. She remembered looking past his normal 'on the surface' features and seeing something akin to a thousand-yard stare in his cold cerulean eyes. A type of look she herself had known all too well.

And at that moment, on the slight chance of seeing that feature, she had thrown herself into an interesting group of people that she could quite possibly call her friends. Or at least something akin to that.

Shibata Mizuki, a shy and kind-hearted girl who looked out for others. She had helped her find her way to the auditorium and also kept her company as she had no friends going into the first day.

Well, she couldn't say that she had no friends, but that one particular friend had been avoiding her for a while now.

Saijou Leonhart, an especially annoying person whom she had butted heads with, though a kind-hearted person nonetheless. Not that she would ever say that to his stupid smug face.

Shiba Miyuki, a well mannered and a drop-dead gorgeous girl who's looks rivaled any other girl or women she had ever seen. Even herself, a person not to keen on her own presentation, was jealous of her looks. Her manners, the way she spoke, and her graceful posture gave her the spitting image of a queen. The image of a bro-con queen in her opinion, as seen in their flirtatious actions at First High School.

And then there was Tatsuya Shiba, someone who even piqued her interest. Other than his eyes, he appeared as a rather unassuming high schooler. But his eyes and the way he held his body were all indicators of someone who was a fighter. She would bet that had he had probably killed before. He also seemed quite smart, as he seemed to discern her last name in a matter of seconds. Although many would call him average looking, in her opinion he was...well... someone she would like.

Sighing loudly, she pulled herself from her bed, stretched her legs and arms before undressing herself from the rest of her school inform and putting on her training clothes. It consisted of a simple pair of robes. Maybe some training would put her mind at ease.

She walked into the empty dojo, picking up one of the wooden swords from the rack, walking to her usual spot and began stretching her arms and her legs. Then she began to practice the one of the signature sword technique of the Chiba clan.

Practicing the same downward slash for her specialized technique Yamatsunami, a powerful blade attack that could kill in a single strike, the thoughts from earlier crept into her mind. As she let out the attack the sword fumbled out of her hand and she tripped onto the bamboo floor head first. She squinted and the sword fell flimsily to the floor next to her while the sound of wood hitting wood filled the room.

"Ow..." she groaned as she held her hand to her now bruised head.

She pulled her legs to her chest as she pressed her head against her knees and wrapped her arms around her slim legs. Tears hard formed at the corner of her eyes while her eyes and hands quivered slightly.

What was wrong with her?

Why was she so confused?

Why did her heartache?

She rubbed her eyes as she laid out across the floor while pondering her own questions. After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling in silence, her eyes became heavy and she slowly drifted to sleep, the thought of the black-haired boy still on her mind. But what she didn't realize that a small smile had formed on her red lips.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! Hopefully, I will continue this, as Erika is one of my favorite girls from Mahouka Koukou No Rettousei, so I just wanted to write one about her! If you read my other story, Recalled to Life, its update will be the next thing I do! It will come out within the next week or two, so look forward to that! As always, thanks for reading, and have a good one!

Next Chapter: Activity Day