Ayana grumbled as an all too familiar voice sounded from the hallway outside her door.

"Ayana! Hi!"

Not caring to reply to or acknowledge Hayate, Ayana simply continued playing Super Mario Bros. while her insistent shinyuu burst through the door to her room.

"Hey!" Hayate shouted, jumping up and down like a rabbit on a sugar high. "You didn't even answer me!" She gasped. "You aren't feeling depressed or anything, are you? You should stop staring at that screen and play with me for a bit to ease your teenage angst!"

Shaking her head, Ayana tried desperately to concentrate on the video game. She'd played this stage before, and she knew the secret for beating Bowser's son. Jump when he lands, then leap onto his head, she thought, gritting her teeth. Normally this would have been easy, but nothing was easy when Hayate was leaning over her.

Pouting, Hayate slowly made her way over to the bottom bunk and flopped down onto it. "Jeez," she mumbled. "The least you could do is act like I exist…"

"Okay!" Ayana shouted angrily. "You DO exist! And you're annoying the hell out of me! Go play with Jun or Shoshi or whatever!"

"Me? I've been here the whole time." A head appeared from the edge of the top bunk, startling Ayana and nearly causing her to drop her controller.

Turning back to the TV, Ayana now found it even harder to concentrate. "Sure! Now you two can both leave me alone to finish my game!"

Without warning, Jun leapt out of the top bunk, narrowly avoiding whacking her head on the ceiling. Landing neatly, she made a grab for Ayana's controller. Accustomed to such poorly planned attempts, Ayana leaned out of the way and elbowed her friend in the head. "Quit it!"

Leaning back, Jun sighed, shaking her head and tsking as she folded her arms. "Oh, Ayana… so absorbed in your video game world, when there's so much to explore!"

Nodding in agreement, Hayate clenched her fists in excitement. "Yeah! Like the woods behind the school!"

Jun shrugged. "I was gonna say the bathhouses, but that works."

"Oi," Ayana muttered, straining to pay attention to her game. She should have been done with this by now, but the constant outbursts from her shinyuu and roommate had caused her to miss the bad guy. Now all of her power ups had been spent, and she was forced to complete the level as standard Mario. Dammit, she thought.

"Or," Jun added, grinning mischievously, "you could explore my body, Ayana."

Not quite grasping the full implications of the statement, Hayate jumped off of the bottom bunk. "Ooh! Explore mine too, Ayana!"

Blushing happily, Jun grabbed Hayate's wrist and thrust their arms into the air. "We can give her the grand tour, Hayate-chan! A two-for-one deal!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Hayate replied excitedly, dancing around for no real reason other than her inexhaustible energy. "Just like at McDonnalds!"

"It'd be a happy meal, all right!"

"Or, even better, a mighty kids meal!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The door swung open with a bang, and Ayana keeled over, completely spent. I can't take any more idiots, she thought, falling over onto her side and watching half-consciously as Mario promptly died on the screen.

Having just entered the room, Miyamoto Shizuku observed the scene before her, and sighed. She could never be sure if it was nature or Hitsugi's brand of nurture that caused students to behave in this way. Probably a mix of both.

"Kuga-san, Mudou-san. The kaicho needs you for something."

Looking up at the esteemed S-ranker, Ayana and Jun nodded, ceasing their craziness for the moment and following Shizuku into the hallway while Hayate stared after them longingly.

"Aw!" she called after them. "Say hi to Shisho and Inorin for me if you see them!"

Smiling like she always did at her kouhai, Jun craned her neck and shouted back. "Will do, Hayate-chan. Hold down the fort while we're gone!"

Saluting, Hayate searched around the room for something to brandish. Realizing she had her sword on her, she grinned. "None shall pass!"

Even Ayana had to smile. Even if Jun and Kuro were complete dunderheads, they cared for each other and for other people, and it really showed. They were family, and Ayana secretly hoped that she was part of their family too.

"Oh!" Jun called. "Hayate-chan, Ayana's panties are in the second drawer down!"

All the ideas of being a soldier and protecting the dorms flew out the window as Hayate rushed back into the room, shouting "Thanks!" as she shut the door behind her. Gritting her teeth, Ayana resisted the urge to clock Jun. After all, the Kaicho's shinyuu was present, and they had been called to do work.