"Today we have two new students. Please, introduce yourself".

"I'm Kokonoe Arata".

"My name's Hisami Touji! Nice to meet you!"

She remembered the very first day she met them. Not much had passed since then. They were ordinary transfer students but with completely opposite personalities.

No. There was something similar about them. Whenever she looked into their eyes she could sense it. That feeling, what was it?

Makoto looked at her watch. But it wasn't her. It belonged to Kokonoe Arata, no... Nine. She would never know the truth if she wasn't there on that fateful day - when Nine saved her from the explosion in the subway. She fell asleep inside the train and didn't hear the alarm. She woke up only to hear something blow up next to her and Nine's hot body falling over hers to protect her from the bomb.

Then she fell into the darkness. The moment she woke up she found herself in the hospital bed along with other victims. Time passed by but she couldn't forget Nine, she tried searching for him but neither he nor Hisami Touji ever appeared in school again. As if they were nobody. As if they never existed. No one could tel lwhere they came from and where they went. Makoto desperately searched through the school files but found nothing - all their personal files were gone.

Two young boys... Sphinx... bombs... Kokonoe Arata saving her from the explosion and disappearing. Him being there was all too convenient. It was too early to draw any conclusions but she wanted to see him. She wanted to him to prove she was wrong. Who could've thought that Tokyo was such a small city. Makoto didn't believe in coincidences but this was a fated encounter. She met Kokonoe at the convenience store. Convenience store. As simple as that. Not far from where she lived. She could recognize his stature right away: tall, pale and incredibly thin for a teenage boy his age. He was standing next to a boy considerably shorter than him. It didn't take long for Makoto to recognize Hisami Touji. If you looked from the side, those two looked like normal teenage boys doing some shopping. But it all turned out to be not so simple.

Again, that dream. Makoto lifted her head from the pillow and looked at the watch on the table next to the couch. That watch belonged to Arata, no, Nine. She woke up to the sound of fingers hitting the keyboard. Only one meter from her, Nine was sitting in his usual morning (and afternoon, and evening) pose and hitting it away with the laptop keyboard. She's gotten used to this sound soon enough, and even found it soothing. Apart from that the place felt quiet. Looks like neither Twelve nor Risa are at home. Makoto sincerely wished it went well between those two. But it was obvious they were trying. Now that left her with the other one. She glanced at Nine. Nine never showed any interest in anything or anyone apart from their plan. His face expression almost never changed, his eyes were as cold as ever but she could feel it was only the exterior of Nine's emotions. Afterall, such a cold person would've never tried to save her so desperately. Smiling to herself, Makoto got up without a noise and hugged Nine from behind. Nine didn't budge at all.

- What is it.

- Mmm, - Makoto buried her face in his neck. - Just charging for the day.

- Go brush your teeth and get dressed. It's unsightly, - Nine's fingers never stopped typing, nor did his face change. His tone was as cold as ever.

Makoto pulled away and yawned. Right, brush her teeth and get a shower first. And then maybe cook some breakfast. Afterall, that guy definitely ate some convenience store prepared bento again. It was summer outside but she still felt chilly, making her want to touch him again, to feel his warm body again. She realized she might have created herself a fetish. She's never touched a man before, despite being a college student and an apprentice teacher. But it was all in the past now. She resigned and took vacation from studying after the subway incident.

Makoto cooked breakfast with some tamagoyaki, and toasts for two.

- Nine, breakfast's ready.

- Don't want one.

- Tamagoyaki and warm coffee~

- I said I don't want one.

- But I cooked your half too! You're not going to waste food, are you? - Makoto made a pouting face.

- I never asked you to cook in the first place, - this time Nine turned to look at her and she saw how annoyed he was.

Pissed off, Makoto came up to him and pushed the power button on his laptop turning everything off.

- Oi, what are you doing?! - Nine stood up and grabbed her hands forcefully it almost hurt.

- I said breakfast! Go eat with me! You wouldn't listen, so it was the only way to make you listen to me! - Makoto yelled in response trying to get rid of his hands. But trying to pull away only made both of them fall on the couch with Nine atop of her.

- Is this some kind of game to you? Are you here just because you're bored out of your mind?! - Nine's grip grew stronger hurting her. He was angry but his eyes remained cold. - Leave! - Nine looked at the turned off laptop, - Damn, - He stood up and went to the bathroom.

Makoto just lay there, looking at the ceiling. She could hear him turn on the shower. Was she hated? She knew she was unneeded here, so was Risa. But she wanted to change. Herself. And Nine. She wanted to show him what life was. There times when she just wanted to shout "No! It's not what life's like!". There were times when she wanted to cry as she watched Nine and Twelve struggle to live. Because to this world these two young boys were nobody. These two boys no one had ever cared about, two boys that had never known what love was. She wanted to change it. She wanted to change them.

Makoto stood up and went to the bathroom. The room didn't have a lock, so she could easily enter it only to see Nine stand on her right in the bath under a shower. It was her first time seeing his slender body. He was not as thin as she originally thought he was. Apparently struggles of living as nobody made him gain some muscle. he had very broad shoulders. In different circumstance, she'd drag him to the gym, but she felt strangely attracted to his body. Makoto pushed away the shower curtain.

- What are you doing here? - she felt his cold angry eyes on her, but she didn't care. Not caring enough to undress, Makoto stepped into the bath and kissed Nine on the lips. Whether he enjoyed it or was merely too shocked by her actions, Nine didn't pull back right away. She felt Nine's hands on her shoulders pushing her away, and for a moment their lips parted but their faces remained only one breath away from each other. Makoto looked into his eyes. if one didn't know Nine, one would say that his expression never changed. But having lived with him for a while, Makoto learned to distinguish between his moods through his voice. This time Nine was confused. Using the moment Makoto touched the back of his head and pulled him back for a kiss. To lessen his struggling she pinned him against the cold bathroom wall, but now she was all soaked in water because neither turned off the shower. Her whole cold body touched his. Makoto continued kissing his closed lips as her right hand trace the line of his body and touched his penis. He wasn't erect but it was only a matter of seconds. Afterall, this guy here must have never known a woman's touch. But she was the same. However, this time her desire was stronger than the feeling of embarrassment. Makoto started stroking him softly and it didn't take long for him to harden.

- Oi, wait... I said stop! - Nine tried to struggle but his grip on her shoulders grew weak once she started stroking him. Both of them slid onto the floor. Nine was panting slightly, his pale cheeks became pink, whether it was from arousal or from hot water. He stopped struggling and let Makoto have her way with him. The view of Nine with his eyes half-closed, panting, and erect, Makoto felt herself aroused as well. She slightly licked his lips, and to her surprise they opened. Continuing to stroke him, Makoto kissed Nine once again, this time sliding her tongue into his mouth. She didn't know if she was doing it properly, so did he, but they did what they thought felt good. Makoto mouth and tongue left Nine's mouth and traveled to to his neck and to his ear.

- Does it feel good? - Makoto whispered into Nine's ear. He didn't respond but as his panting grew heavier, Makoto understood that whether he wanted it or not, it felt good. She continued kissing his ear as her stroking pace quickened.

- No... d-don't... - she could hear Nine try to speak.

- Don't worry. I'm here, - Makoto gently whispered in his ear.

- Haah, hah... ah! - Nine climaxed as she was caressing him. His white fluid was all over her wet shirt and hand. Makoto kissed him on his forehead gently and held him as he just sat there breathing heavily with eyes half-closed.

A few moments later she heard the door open, and heard Twelve and Risa's voices calling Nine. Nine jumped onto his feet and got out of the bath.

- You're an idiot, - she heard him mutter.

- Don't you dare coming out right after me, - Nine's cold voice was back. - And..., - his eyes landed on Makoto's stained shirt, - wash this before you come out. Makoto silently watched as Nine put on his clothes, his cheeks still a bit flushed, and moments later he slammed the door as he left. Makoto just sat there and stared at the door. She was not quite sure what she had just done herself. She looked at her hand, covered with white fluid that belonged to Nine, and unconsciously licked it. It tasted salty, but it tasted just like Nine.

Makoto took a shower and left the bathroom to see Risa sit all lonely on the couch and Nine and Twelve gone. She didn't need to ask where they had gone off to, neither did Risa. Makoto only sat next to her quietly and looked at the sky. She knew that Risa was as worried as she was, but there was nothing they could do. It was not their life, it was not their revenge, it was not their resolve. They did not have a right to hinder their plans. Makoto looked at Risa. Risa had troubles in her life as well, big enough to run away from home, but she seemed to forget about them all for now, that's how precious those two were to her. Makoto looked at the birds flying in the clear blue sky and felt that all they could was pray. Pray that the end wouldn't turn out to be like what she feared the most.

E/N: This is very random but as a ZnT fan a lot of "what if" scenarios keep playing in my head. IThis short story will have only a few chapters, and I'm not writing it for the sake of smut, and I hope I'll be able to convey my feelings about ZnT through this story. Please, review.