The Devil's Feather (Book One in the Clock Tower Duology)

Reverie in the Hall of Night

Haruyuki Arita was utterly embarrassed the entire day, and instead of going home with his friends, he decided to sit down alone, eat some peanut butter sandwiches, and think about how terrible his life was.

Running a hand through his soft brown hair, Haru sat down on a bench and pulled out a sandwich, very hungry. He had been very hungry for the pass few weeks, trying to cut down on food so he wouldn't be picked on as much.

His terrible life was filled with neglect and bullying. He was neglected by his parents because they couldn't deal with him. He was pathetic, an embarrassment to them. His own father left his mother for her to raise him because of that reason. He was bullied because of his weight and because he was so pitiful.

A single tear streamed down his cheek as he shoved a sandwich into his mouth. Then another, and another. Soon enough he had eaten six sandwiches right on the spot. He tugged onto his Mitakihara Middle School uniform, sad that it had gotten way too tight over the year.

"I wish that no one could bully me," he said to himself. "The more they hurt me, the more I'm stressed, the more I eat, the more I feel bad..." He started to sob. "I just want-"

"Hey!" a voice yelled, and Haru immediately wiped his eyes and turned. It was a short young girl, with long and wavy cream-white hair, and unique eyes: they were circles of dark red and gold. She didn't wear a uniform, she must've been in the elementary school. "What are you doing all sitting there and acting so sad?"

The girl sat down next to him, and Haru eyed the ring on her middle finger: a band of silver engraved with black runes, a lavender gem in its center. "You don't have to sit with me... I was wanting to be alone..."

"Well, being all alone over here makes you look so sad. I don't like it when people are sad. What's your name?" the girl inquired.

Haru took a pause. "Arita Haruyuki, you could just call me Haru."

"Well, Haru-chan," the girl said, which made Haru feel embarrassed, enough for him to blush. You would only say '-chan' if you thought a person was a very close friend, or even cute. You would only say a person's first name to say that person was dear to you. "I'm Momoe Nagisa!"

"Hi there," Haru said, mustering a fake smile.

"Yeah... so why are you here. Why are you sad? I just wanna help..." Nagisa said.

Taking another pause, Haru sighed. "It's just... I'm bullied at school. All the time. My life is such a waste." Haru felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Nagisa grabbed his hands, and Haru realized they were both blushing. "But why? You seem such a happy little guy..."

"I'm fat," Haru answered, turning away from Nagisa, who adjusted her gold flower scrunchies that attached to the side of her head. "And I'm not popular. I'm just a pathetic little crybaby..."

"Here," Nagisa said, passing Haru a piece of cheddar cheese. "It's my favorite food... and it always cheers me up..."

Haru rubbed his stomach. "Should I really eat this..."

"No, it's okay..." Nagisa blurted. Haru smiled, and Nagisa started to brighten up as he started to enjoy the food.

"Thank you," Haru answered.

Little did they know of the smiling black haired girl sitting in the shadows behind them.

Jett was both ecstatic and anxious for his boxing match. Running his shaking fingers through his brown hair, he stepped into the locker room and greeted his teammates with a high five. After the near-ceremonial chorus of "Hey, Jett!", "Hiya, J," and "Are you ready, boxing buddy?" he changed into his boxers, put on his gloves, and inserted his orange mouth guard into his mouth.