Disclaimer: The Gakuen Heaven franchise and all its characters belong to SPRAY.

Author's Note: Unfortunately, I have not read the Gakuen Heaven Manga nor have I played the game. My story is based strictly off the short anime, so please forgive the freedom with which I write. Also, I like to use a bit of Japanese in my stories; however, I'm not Japanese so please forgive any misspellings along that line. Don't worry, it's not much and it should be words all of you recognise.

Masquerade

A tall, stoic man made his way through a wide corridor toward a pair of heavy wooden doors. His eyes were expressionless and his steps were unhurried and steady. In his hands, he held a letter.

At the entrance, he knocked twice and then entered. Inside, the room was dimly lit making the statues lining the far side of the wall look alive and sinister. Ancient swords and katanas hung along the back and expensive paintings covered spacious white walls, forced to be displayed without splendor in the darkness; the owner collected for his pleasure, not for decoration.

Unperturbed by the cold ambiance, the tall man silently made his way over to a figure standing behind an ornate 19th century French mahogany desk studying a newly acquired Jackson Pollack. Without a word, the messenger presented the envelope with his head bowed. When the item was lifted from his care, he took his leave without a word. Alone, the other viewed the contents of the envelope.

A smile appeared, shining in the dark.

A reddish blur sped past a group of upper-classmen leaning against the science building, startling them from their after-school loiter after another ordinary day at Bell Liberty Academy. Soon after, a high-pitched wail screeched its displeasure across the once peaceful school grounds, its owner tearing through the path, punching his fists into the air.

"Damnit, Endo! Give me back my bike! My livelihood! You can't keep doing this!" Shunsuke cried, dashing after the bike thief who was gradually growing smaller in the distance.

The blond tossed a quick glance back over his shoulders. "Sorry, Shunsuke, I'll make it up to you later," he yelled as he pedaled with all his might. He was late for his dinner date with Keita since his board meeting over the newly proposed plans for school renovations went overtime.

Alas, being the chairman of the school was a bother sometimes, especially when trying to spend some quality time with the one he loved. Even though Keita quietly assured him that he understood every time, Kazuki could tell it still hurt the younger boy, and he felt bad about it. Like this dinner date for which he was already over an hour late. Although he did manage to slip in a covert text message for the possible delay, making his best friend wait that long for food was criminal.

He shifted his weight forward and lifted his hips slightly off the seat to give himself more speed as the cafeteria came into view, the sight of it giving him more incentive. He was getting pretty good at riding this thing, he thought to himself in passing amusement. Shunsuke just might find himself some competition.

The brakes gave a loud squeal in front of the double glass doors as the blond came to a stop, shoving the bike up against the wall, concerns for Shunsuke's bike secondary to his worry for his friend. Heck, he could buy the guy a new bike. The young chairman rushed into the dining area, huffing in exhaustion as he scanned the room for the familiar redhead. He was prepared to beg forgiveness and a second chance…or was it fifth? Or seventeenth?

Crap, who was he kidding? If he were in Keita's shoes…he did not want to finish that train of thought.

A thin line appeared between his brows as his eyes failed to capture the slight form of younger boy in the near empty room. Since it was after nine—curfew was ten—very few ate at this time. A couple of sophomores cast curious glances at him and he realized he must've been a sight, but he didn't care.

When the meticulous scrutiny gave no indication he would find his young date, an unpleasant heaviness settled in Kazuki's chest. Keita was gone. Once again, he, Endo Kazuki, had played the villain.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Looking around, he grabbed the nearest chair, sinking into it as his body began to wind down off the last little bit of adrenaline he had worked up in his haste to get here. His stomach growled out nasty accusations of its neglect, but Kazuki ignored it having just lost his appetite.

Just what had he expected? Perhaps an angry Keita waiting with his arms crossed and feet tapping? No, he knew that was just wishful thinking on his part. After all, being an hour late was ridiculous. Deep down he had already known, but like a fool, he had tried to fight against his own common sense, a losing battle no matter how you slice it.

Pulling out his cell phone, he stared at it. No messages. Not even a "don't bother coming, I'm leaving." That didn't bode well.

His teeth captured his lower lip. Maybe he was overreacting. Keita had always been understanding, more than was expected of anyone. Although it was getting old, he should just call the redhead and apologize. Again.

"Endo-kun."

Kazuki's thoughts were interrupted by a deep voice and he looked up to see the dark-haired dorm leader walking over to him. Great. He hoped he wasn't about to get another lecture on staying out past curfew or something to that effect. "Shinomiya-san. Konbanwa." The upper-classman nodded at him, stopping next to the table where the blond freshman sat.

"If you're looking for Ito-kun, he left a little while ago." Kazuki blinked at him and then nodded, letting his eyes drift toward the floor. "Aa. I know."

"If I ran into you, I was to let you know that it's okay."

Kazuki winced, unable to face the archery captain. "He said that?" Shinomiya nodded.

"He said he was going to turn in early since he's got an early day tomorrow." He narrowed his eyes at the fair-haired junior classman, who looked as if he had been punched in the gut. "Is everything alright?"

The blond stood up suddenly, making the other take a surprised step back. "Excuse me, Shinomiya-san, I just remembered I have to be somewhere. Goodnight." He took off towards the cafeteria entrance leaving the dorm leader to watch his harried departure with narrowed eyes.

"Don't break curfew," he called out after him, muttering under his breath as he left to make his rounds for the night.

Kazuki stared at Keita's door. Funny, that door never looked so huge before.

Calm down, he berated himself. You're being asinine. Shinomiya's words kept playing in his mind. He told me to tell you that it's okay. Hearing Keita's words coming from someone else's mouth made him feel low. The guilt he felt doubled in weight over his shoulders. He wasn't sure how he was going to make up for these constant slip-ups, but he would receive any punishment he was dealt and take it like a man. If Keita told him to get down on all fours and bark, he would do it.

Lifting a shaky hand to knock, he paused. But what if Keita was already asleep? His hand lowered slightly. If the younger boy really did have an early morning tomorrow, then Kazuki shouldn't bother him. Perhaps he should wait until the morning. He groaned in disgust at his obvious stalling.

Then again, leaving something unresolved at the end of the day wasn't the blond chairman's thing. Who's to say he won't make it worse by waiting? Maybe Keita was waiting to see if he would come. Maybe it was a test. He lowered his hand back to his side and closed his eyes.

Pathetic.

"Yo," a deep voice murmured near his ear. Jerking in surprise, Kazuki nearly landed against the door, which would've solved his indecision right then and there, but a strong grip on his arm steadied him. Heart racing and embarrassed at being caught looking like an idiot, he turned to find himself staring up into the smirking face of the student council president, aka The King, Niwa Tetsuya. Oh crap.

"O-o-sama," he stammered.

Niwa raised a brow. "Careful now. You're in your own little world there, Chairman-sama."

Kazuki winced. "Please, Oo-sama. Don't call me that." He straightened up and tried to pull his arm free from the other's grasp but to no avail. The grip was like a steel chain.

"Oh? Does it bother you? Surely you can't expect me to call you Endo-kun now that I know the truth. That would be downright disrespectful of me, don't you think?" With a feral grin the tall brunet pulled said chairman towards him while leaning into the shorter man, radiating an aura of self-confidence and power beyond anything the smaller blond could ever hope to attain, no matter how much he wished it. It sure would've come in handy in some of his business dealings.

Kazuki gave a nervous laugh and tried to pull back as much as he could, which wasn't much. "I just don't want anyone else to know." Dark blue eyes held violet eyes prisoner and Kazuki felt the force of the gaze drilling into him, making him leak guts. The King was definitely a terrifying man.

"You like playing these games, do you? A big rush to the head, pretending to fear me when you know you have the power to squash me like a bug." The brunet's tone became ominous and sent a shudder through the blond. No. The fear was real. Very real.

"Oo-sama, that's not—"

"Did you enjoy making me run around like a good little dog? Laughing at me after I've done your bidding?"

"No, I didn't—"

"I think it's time we finished our conversation from before."

Kazuki blinked in confusion. "Conversation?"

"Aa. The one that starts with me punching you in the face." The grin from earlier was nowhere to be seen, and the tall brunet fisted his free hand, towering way past the other's comfort zone. Kazuki's eyes widened as he realized he was about to be pummeled. All rational thought flew miles from his brain, and his body automatically went into survival mode which sadly, in this case, meant groveling.

The blond put his hands up against Niwa's chest, giving a pitiful but firm push. He shut his eyes, unable to meet the blazing gaze of the other.

"Oo-sama, please, I'm sorry for the deception, but I had to do it. It was not my intention to make a fool out of anybody, and I never laughed at you behind your back. Please believe me. I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry," he pleaded for him to understand. He wanted to come out of this exchange minus a black eye if possible. Trying to explain how he got that at the next board meeting might be awkward, that is, assuming he survived in the first place.

There was no reply from the brunet. Kazuki opened his eyes cautiously. Those intense blue eyes were no longer on him. They were staring down at the hands splayed against his chest. The blond quickly pulled his hands back as if they were touching hot metal and stepped away, this time successful in escaping. "Ah, sorry," he cried and planted his fists against his sides, adopting the look of a child getting ready for a punishment.

A small chuckle broke the uneasy mood. "Oi, Endo, are you really afraid of me?"

Kazuki stared at the amused man. Was this a trick question?

"Well, considering you could easily kill someone like me, shouldn't I be?"

"No. For one, you're the chairman of my school so I shouldn't kill you, and two, I don't kill people just for lying to me." Kazuki considered that while inching back some more, just to be safe.

"Yes, but you were going to punch me."

"Punch, yes. Kill, no."

"Believe me, Oo-sama, your punch would probably kill me."

Niwa blinked gave a small laugh at the statement. "You've never been punched in your life, have you?" Very much amused, the tall brunet closed the distance between them again. Kazuki flinched. "Don't worry. My urge to punch you has passed." At that, the blond breathed a sigh of relief. "However." His relief was cut short.

"I've still many questions to ask of you, Endo." The soft statement was accompanied by an unspoken challenge for the other to make an objection, but the young chairman just nodded.

"I understand." He owed the King many times over for all his help, whether directly or indirectly. Bell Liberty wouldn't be what it was today if it wasn't for this person.

"Good. I will also refrain from calling you by your title since you're so adamant about wanting to be known as a boring little freshman. I, on the other hand, prefer to be called Oo-sama."

Kazuki smiled. "Of course, Oo-sama." Niwa grunted his approval. "Now then, are you gonna knock on that door or what?"

Kazuki's smile faded. "What? Oh, I…I'm not sure." Giving a sigh, the brunet lifted his own fist against Keita's door.

"You want me to do it for you?"

"Ah, no! Wait a minute, I don't—he might be sleeping. I don't want to wake him."

The King looked at his watch. "It's only nine-forty."

"I know but he has an early day tomorrow and he said he was going to turn in early and…" he trailed off at the look the King was giving him.

"Endo."

"Hai?"

"Shut up and listen for a moment." Kazuki wasn't dumb enough to object. "I don't know what's going on between you and Keita and I don't know why you look like a kid who just wet the bed, but stop sweating the small stuff. You're both men for god's sakes. Stop acting like a couple of pussies and be clear about what you want. Trust me, it'll be less of a headache in the end." He lowered his hand from the door and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm gonna turn in before Shinomiya catches me with his creepy radar. Anyway, think about what I said. We'll have a nice long chat regarding our own agreement later. Maybe over a couple of drinks on you." He winked. "Ja."

The tall brunet turned on his heels to leave for his own room leaving Kazuki speechless and staring after him. King Niwa Tetsuya certainly didn't mince words. However, what he said had merit. The blond thought about his situation and felt a slow smile come to his lips. The King was right. The key to a successful relationship, besides keeping your promises, was good, clear communication. That had to come first before any second-guessing, and if one were lucky, it would eliminate the need to second-guess in the first place.

Feeling renewed determination, he faced Keita's door, raised his hand and knocked twice.

To be continued.