For those people who are expecting Secret to be uploaded (as it's winning in the poll): that's being done as soon as this is posted – give it a few days or so c:

Others: Welcome to this new fic! I started it a while ago for a friend. She burst into form on a Monday morning with 'the most amazing idea ever', and it turned into what you're about to read. I hope you enjoy it!

Misaki gave a small groan, slowly trying to prise the beanie from her tangled hair. Her nails were still bleeding and sore and after pulling the stupid hat off; she welcomed dipping her fingers into the cold water of her bathroom sink. She peeled her shirt off and winced, hating the tight feeling around her chest that she always got when the night approached, only this time she hadn't seen it coming; she'd forgot to check her phone for the sunset time again. And it didn't help that she had been indoors – it was unbelievably embarrassing to leave Kamamoto and Totsuka so suddenly.

After drying her fingers her nightly routine still continued. With a heavy sigh she trudged back into her bedroom, opened the wardrobe on the left and pulled out the first draw. Nauseatingly feminine underwear greeted her and she raked through them half-heartedly, trying to recall her bra size. Even after so long, she couldn't remember. All the stuff she had in here was stolen, of course. What would happen if she was seen during the day browsing the lingerie section of one of those ridiculously big clothes shops? She'd be kicked out for being a pervert, probably.

So subtly grabbing whatever she could find off washing lines was the best she could do.

Eventually she found one that wasn't too suggestive - and (after some awkward checking) in her size, it seemed. Holding it up in front of her, her frown fell further. She hated putting these things on. She always needed a mirror to see behind her, and the hooks always got caught on her hair. The one in her room was still smashed from last week, so she grabbed the rest of her clothes, headed to the bathroom again and looked, almost reluctantly, into the mirror hanging on the white-tiled wall. She met the familiar-yet-not heart shaped face that she had been forced to grow used to.

Not much had changed in terms of her features – her eyes still remained a golden-orangey-brown and her hair a darker shade of that – but Misaki's appearance was softer and more delicate, which irked her to no end whenever she saw herself. She was still noticeably pale, but it usually settled down quickly.

She grunted as she slipped out of her shorts; they had become way too big for her and caught around her ankles when she was tugging them off. She replaced them with a black miniskirt and changed her short white socks for longer darker ones. Boots were her choice of footwear for the night: halfway up her calf and silver blouse to match. Fiddling through the box under the sink that contained her make-up and jewellery, she put on a ruby necklace and earrings. The crimson lipstick she chose was a new one that had been given to her by the person she was wearing it to see. She applied a layer and checked her watch as she braided a small part of her hair. She frowned. It had taken her half an hour to get ready? Why did that always happen? Even when she wasn't going out, she still needed to swap clothes every damn evening, which meant her wardrobe was twice as large and twice as expensive as the average person's.

Misaki yawned and stretched before picking up her purse. She hated all of this.

But she loved him. He was the reason why she even bothered to put in effort.

She was expected in ten minutes; she needed to move fast. Her heels clicked on the pavement as she gradually left the suburbs behind, seeing more and more people as she went. Some of the men whistled and called out to her when they caught sight of her figure. She shivered, trying to ignore them and also regretting only bringing a light jacket. The temperature was slowly dropping and she soon began to look forward to her meal, knowing for sure that he would have remembered she liked tables inside.

The main square of the city was as busy as ever and she paused under a screen when her phone buzzed, quickly checking it.

It was who she had expected it to be. And he had texted her his location.

-It was so easy to find you. Turn around.-

She felt a grin spreading on her face as she saw him.

He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her into a warm embrace, sheltering her body from the cold evening, and burying his head into her neck. She replied first with a soft sigh, welcoming his greeting. "Nice to see you, Clumps-kun."

He laughed as he broke away. "Still hanging onto that nickname, Misaki-chan? My name is Saruhiko."

"That just makes you sound like a monkey."

"I'm not a monkey!"

"Yes, you are." She quickly took his hand in hers and used the other to push some hair behind her ear. "Where are you taking me tonight?"

He grinned, "you'll see."

The restaurant wasn't too far away, and it was surprisingly quiet considering the time of day, but Misaki decided she preferred that.

Their conversation during dinner wasn't anything unusual; it had been a week since she had last seen him and they had that much time's worth of catching up to do. Saruhiko told her about where his new apartment was and how he had a job interview lined up for early next month. She nodded and listened all the way through, just enjoying the sound of his voice. Even when he was talking about casual things like this she felt like she could just sit and listen to him forever, one of the many clichés she knew she was falling for. He was just so… so wonderful. The way he would sit there and smile pleasantly, his face free of any signs of worry even in more difficult times. Saruhiko would always stay on the positive side around her and made her feel as comfortable as possible.

His hair was dyed a shade of shadowy blue and styled in clumps at the front (for lack of a better description), hence the nickname. It was had been the first thing she had noticed about him on the evening they had met each other. Today, he was wearing his black-rimmed glasses over his dark azure eyes and his clothes were fairly smart; he, like usual, work a blue jacket and waistcoat, matched with…

"Is it a yes, then?" Saruhiko asked.

Misaki blinked and put down her chopsticks, "what?"

His smile faltered slightly, "you… weren't listening to me?"

She stared at him blankly, a blush becoming increasingly visible on her face.

There was silence until he laughed softly "don't worry, it's fine. I was asking if you wanted to go to the zoo with me tomorrow, Misaki-chan."

"Tomorrow? As in, during the day?"

He looked confused. "Well, it closes at five, so… yes."

She bit her lip and looked down at her half-eaten meal. "I don't think I can make it then… we could do something in the evening?" she winced when his expression hadn't changed, "I mean, if you want, we can-"

"Misaki-chan," he said bluntly.

"Yes?"

"There's something that's bothering me."

His words made her outwardly flinch with surprise. His tone of voice had fallen to a serious one, the complete opposite to how he was talking just moments before. She knew the question that would most likely come next.

"Why… haven't I ever seen you during the day before?"

She groaned inwardly, clenching her fists which were settled in her lap. It had been so long since they'd starting dating and he'd never mentioned that fact once. She hadn't even bothered to prepare an answer in advance. Her eyes flicked around the room for a few seconds, first to the ceiling, then to the floor as she was trying to think of an answer that sounded realistic.

"Well… things keep coming up, I suppose."

Saruhiko jerked forward and his hands were on her shoulders, his face inches from hers. It held a thoughtful expression and she suddenly didn't want to meet his eyes.

"You're not… with someone else, are you?"

That was surprising. She held her hands up in defense. "No! Of course not… I'm just…" she trailed off and then went silent. The room was virtually empty now and the only sound apart from movement in the kitchen was their breathing, and then a soft sigh from Saruhiko's lips. A few of the staff members were staring at them from the open office.

"It's fine. Sorry. I was just a bit concerned, that's all. As long as no one's hurting you, that's fine."

It was sad that half of her suddenly had to suppress a small giggle, and she tried her best to keep the same expression as he let go of her and sat back down.

"There's that aquarium that's open till late," he suggested, "want to go? I've heard there's a new baby shark been brought there."

"If you like," she smiled, relieved.

"Great. Let's finish our dinner, yeah?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Clumps-kun."

He curled his fingers through locks of her hair, his other hand resting on her lower back with nowhere else to go, pulling her up so that their lips were almost touching. The moon was high in the sky, but the stars that were sprinkled around it were engulfed by the neon city lights. The calm silence of the night was drowned out by cars and buses that flew past them along the busy roads. A chill of the air wrapped around her legs and arms but she refused to react. People walked past them, most drunk from a long evening in the bars. A couple shouted at them to get a room, or a simple, slurred, "just fuck already". They were easily ignored and eventually Saruhiko's free hand found his way into hers and he closed the gap between them in a long-awaited kiss. It was gentle and unsurprisingly tasted like the meal they'd just had. It wasn't hungry or greedy or rough. It was just a kiss. There was no other way to describe it and the feeling of his mouth on hers lingered long after he pulled away. Someone whistled in the distance.

Saruhiko snorted, holding back a laugh. "Maybe we should have found somewhere else more private."

"Don't worry about it," she replied quietly, then yawning shortly after.

"You're tired, Misaki-chan," he planted a butterfly kiss on her forehead, "you should get some sleep now."

She nodded and stretched, feeling her limbs finally beginning to ache from the day. "I will, definitely." Misaki released her grip on his hand and began to walk away after exchanging a goodnight with him.

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?" he called.

She shook her head. "I'll be alright, thanks. Text you soon, Clumps-kun."

"Yeah, text you soon."

She watched him turn and walk the opposite direction to her, disappearing from view with his hands in his pockets down another street. She sighed quietly and felt the cold settle into her skin again without his hold to shield her and began to trudge back home at a decent speed to try and keep herself warm.

Misaki took the same route back, except there were less people leaning against walls and staring at her in the eerie yellow lamppost-light. For some reason, that made her feel more uncomfortable. She wasn't at her strongest right now – anyone could just jump out the bushes and hurt her and she wouldn't be able to defend herself very well. She ran her nails down her arms and wondered regretfully if she should have let Saruhiko walk her home… but then he would have seen where she lived, and that would have lead to a very difficult conversation she didn't want to have to deal with.

Her footsteps echoed on the street, one of the only noises contributing to the night's soundscape. A nocturnal bird called in the distance, and the rumbling of cars in the city was becoming quieter and quieter as she made her way deeper into the suburbs. She could hear and see her own breath, escaping from her mouth in a translucent cloud that dispersed into the night air.

Her phone buzzed and she visibly jumped before removing it from her purse. Unlocking it, Misaki tried to keep moving while using it. She was expected a text maybe from Saruhiko, but that was not the case.

-Hey, Yata-san. I had to tell Totsuka-san after you left so quickly earlier because he wouldn't leave me alone after he figured I knew where you went. Sorry. Can I bring him over to your place sometime? He wants to see.-

She scowled in annoyance. It was inevitable, she supposed; she could have gone without a second person knowing for a while longer. The more people knew, the harder it was to keep a secret under control, after all. But Tatara Totsuka was a reasonable guy, albeit a little chatty and annoying, he was one of Misaki's best friends and she supposed it was only fair for him to find out. Yet, a frown had become set into her face and she already began to worry about the events that would now happen tomorrow.

-That's fine, I guess. Come tomorrow morning while it's still dark.-

She sent the text to Kamamoto and shoved the phone into her purse again, wondering how she'd let this play out. She'd be making breakfast for three now, which meant stopping at the 24-hour supermarket on the way home. She turned a corner she wouldn't usually take and cut across a small green towards the shop. There was a bark and some scuffling some way to her right. She glanced over. It seemed that, even at this hour, people walked their dogs.

By the time she'd stepped through the door and nodded to the man behind the counter, Misaki had already decided what she was going to cook for them. Tomorrow was a Saturday so she'd prepare something traditional. She picked some nori up and grabbed some salmon to serve with it, as well as some rice because she was running low herself.

"What brings you out shopping so late, Misaki-chan? I mean, you only ever come in the evening, but it's gone eleven o'clock."

She shrugged. She knew the shopkeeper well because it was always his shift when she came and he often asked how she was.

"I just forgot to stock up on a few things," she smiled pleasantly as she handed over some bank notes, "I have friends over tomorrow and I need to do a bit of cooking."

"Oh, a little gathering, is it?" he opened the cash register to get her change, "is your brother going?"

Misaki frowned, raising an eyebrow at him. "My brother…?"

"He looks just like you," the man shrugged, not catching on to her expression, "what's his name?"

She was silent for a moment, considering what the shopkeeper had said. She understood perfectly what he had meant, but… how to answer?

"Yeah. He's my brother," she replied as she picked up the shopping bag with her purchases, her limbs protesting with the weight, "his name is Yata and he visits me a lot."

"Oh, well introduce me sometime. He'll need somewhere to buy his energy drinks, or whatever youth seemed to drink nowdays."

"Come on," she laughed, covering up her worries easily, "you're not that old."

"Well, this thinning grey hair says otherwise," he nodded to her, "see you next time, Misaki-chan."

She gave a small wave before stepping out the door, "see you."

The more she walked, the more tired she grew. Her feet jarred on the pavement with every step and she didn't know why – it was late, sure, but Misaki felt more exhausted than usual. She put it down to the late afternoon's rushed events and then hurrying almost straight out afterwards to see Saruhiko. She yawned again and rubbed her eyes with her left hand. All she could think about was sleep.

No matter what time she went to bed the night before, Misaki always had to be awake early.

She was greeted by a blaring alarm, a purple cushion in her face and her blanket wrapped awkwardly around her body. She groaned to herself and slid her arm off of her bed. She felt with her eyes closed for the table and switched off the source of the noise, then reached for her phone. Reluctantly sitting up, she checked the time. The sun was going to rise in half an hour and her body was already aching in response. Or it could have been left over from the night before. A thin layer of sweat had formed on her skin and she wiped her arm across her forehead.

It was the same thing every time.

Misaki stayed where she was, tangled amongst her bed sheets with her pyjama top hanging off one shoulder. The birds were starting to sing, another reminder of the coming dawn. Kamamoto would be brining Totsuka in ten minutes.

She finally decided to move and she fumbled with her clothes, replacing her underwear for something larger and less…showy. She disregarded the bra completely because she knew it wouldn't have use for much longer. She put on some baggy green knee-length shorts and a loose-fitting white jumper over a bigger tank top. Her teeth had been brushed and her face cleared of any remaining make-up just as the sound of the doorbell echoed its melancholy tune through her apartment.

Wiping her face with a towel, she headed down the hallway and to the front door.

"Coming," she called out.

Two figures were hazily visible as shadows through the glass and she hesitated for a second when they moved, obviously noticing her. It would be the first time Totsuka would see her… how she was at the moment. Hell, even Kamamoto wasn't used to it and he'd known for over a year now.

Her fingers curled around the handle and Misaki pushed the door open, leaving only her head showing – and not just to avoid the blast of icy air she'd let into the house. Her hair hung loosely downwards and she saw Kamamoto smile awkwardly, but the warmth was still there.

"Yata-san," his voice, after all this time, still wavered slightly, "how are you feeling?"

"Ok, I guess." She heard Totsuka gasp in reaction to the sound of her voice and frowned, "And it's Misaki right now, Rikio-san."

"Sorry. I forgot."

She forced herself to relax, stepping out from behind the door. The smaller's eyes widened even further to reflect his evident shock. Misaki smiled carefully. "You should come in," she muttered, "it's cold outside."

The two males took their shoes off as they went inside and she could feel their gazes on her back. She unconsciously pulled down her jumper further and slid her hands, balled into fists, inside the sleeves. They turned in to the living room and continued to stare as they sat down across the table from her. She fixated her eyes on her knees and tried desperately to think of something to break the silence.

"I…I'm going to make breakfast for you guys in a while," she glanced for a second up at Kamamoto, "I know you like salmon, Rikio-san, so I bought some. But, I wasn't sure about Totsuka-san, though…" she fell silent.

The larger man opened his mouth to speak, but Totsuka interrupted before he could even begin.

"Yata-san, that's really you, isn't it? You're a… girl…"

"Yeah, I've sorta noticed that, thanks," a pain shot through her stomach. "Although," she confessed, "not for much longer."

He was still gawking at her. "So everything Rikio-san told me was true, then? You're a… girl… at night, and a… guy during the day. He said it was a… a-"

"a curse," she wanted to finish it for him, albeit she did it a little quietly.

He looked confused. "Like… magic? Who did it?"

"I have no idea," she admitted, "I don't remember anything from the night it-" she suddenly stopped, letting out a small whimper as her body tensed painfully.

Both Rikio and Totsuka immediately reached for her.

"Ya-Misaki?" Kamamoto asked hurriedly, "do you need anything?"

"Just…take me over… to… lie down," her breathing was getting heavy and she was thankful that at least one of her friends had had to deal with her like this before. She welcomed his arms around her and vaguely registered him telling Totsuka to unroll a futon for her and get a wet towel.

He settled her down and closed her eyes for a second. She felt the towel on her forehead and smiled slightly.

"Thanks… guys."

They were crouching down either side of her and the younger was leaning forward worriedly. "You have to go through all this by yourself?"

"Yeah… every day and… every evening. Rikio-san's helped once… or twice." She groaned and grit her teeth.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Of course it does, idiot," Kamamoto replied for her, "think about what's happening in there."

A new expression dawned on Totsuka's face and his jaw fell open slightly.

"Now's not the… time for perverted conversations, guys."

The smaller blushed, "no… that's not what- Yata-san!" he suddenly shouted when Misaki cried out and was about to grab her, but Kamamoto stopped him.

"She's fine… I think. Don't worry. It won't last much longer."

They sat there for another few minutes until Rikio got up and grabbed something before coming back over again.

Totsuka eyed the scissors he now had worriedly. "What… are those for?"

"You'll see… look, she… uh… or he… is calming down now."

The flush had gone from Yata's face and he slowly sat up, his body protesting, and rested a hand on his head.

"Do you feel alright?" the younger spoke up first.

Yata grunted, "fine. Pass me the scissors, Rikio-san"

Totsuka jumped at his lower voice, and then looked with cautious curiosity when Yata held the blades up to his hair.

"You're cutting your hair?" he exclaimed.

"It's not going to get shorter any other way. I'm a guy; I don't like my hair halfway down my back… I need to do my nails too, actually."

"And it grows back every evening?"

Yata nodded, looking in the mirror hanging on the wall opposite him. He cut it into a familiar scruffy shape and then reached for the nail clipper on the TV cabinet.

"So," he sighed, exhausted before the day had even properly begun, "how about I get breakfast on?"

Kamamoto and Totsuka had left a few hours after they had eaten (remembering to leave compliments to the chef), and with nothing else to do, Yata found himself skateboarding down to the city again, with his hands in his pockets and headphones around his neck quietly playing music he wasn't bothered with. His wheels bumped over the cracks in the pavement and he glanced into the 24-hour shop window as he rolled past. It wasn't that man's shift at the moment – there was a women he didn't recognise standing behind the counter.

It was a day warmer than yesterday and he pushed his sleeves up to stop himself from getting too hot. Spring really was unpredictable where he lived. But cities were always hotter because everything and everyone was crowded into a small space, and not forgetting the fumes coming out of cars that made the air heavier. Yata yawned as he skated into the square. He needed something to do and that recommendation of the zoo the night before seemed like a good place to start…

"Yata."

It was Fushimi's voice, the one he had heard so many times before. Except, the sun was firmly positioned high in the sky, shining down and reflecting off the glass of the buildings almost mockingly, as if to emphasise the situation.

"it's been a few days since I've seen your arse around here."

Yata grunted in reply. All the care in his words had gone and the smaller jumped off his skateboard in reaction, coming to a stop with the man he had kissed barely twelve hours ago standing behind him. "Only because you like looking at it, Clumps-kun."

He felt a shove and then Fushimi seized his shoulders, whipping him round so they were facing each other.

"Don't call me that. Where'd you even get that name from, anyway?"

He responded with a smirk and a nonchalant shrug. "That girl. I see her with you a lot. She your bitch or something? Really, I never knew you had it in you."

Yata's collar was grabbed. An immediate reaction like he was hoping for. Their faces were inches away now, the taller practically breathing down his neck. Even as a boy, his feelings for Fushimi held the same strength and he didn't know why.

"You bastard – don't speak about Misaki-chan like that," he growled, "or I'll kill you."

"But if I wasn't alive, who would you spend your time harassing? Most of your day's all about making mine miserable, right?"

Fushimi clicked his tongue in annoyance and bit back a probably foul-mouthed reply to think of something else. But before he could, Yata carried on. "It's sad, really, that you have nothing else to do. You haven't got a job, your house is a shit hole… I've never seen you with a car, either. Public transport, is it?"

He tightened his grip on Yata's shirt and narrowed his eyes to tiny, vicious slits. "Again, how do you know all that stuff about me?"

He was ignored. "Now that I think about it…" the smaller trailed off for effect, stroking his chin as if he was actually thinking, "where is your 'girlfriend' anyway? Where's Misaki? Surely, if you love her that much, you'd know where she is? If she's safe?"

Fushimi, once again, couldn't answer; he instead held Yata's gaze with the same infuriated expression his face had contained since he had first made the remark about Misaki.

"Why don't you call her? Ask her what she's doing?"

The glare continued until the taller let go and fiddled around with his mobile.

Yata, as discreetly as possible, reached to turn his own off. He knew he really should have had two phones, but that was impossible to afford when he had to buy twice as much of everything else.

He felt it vibrate in response to the power-off command as he watched Fushimi bring his phone up to his ear. He heard a bleep and the speaker was loud enough so that he could make out the message. It was Misaki's voice – his voice.

-Hey! Sorry, I can't pick up the phone right now – I'm a little busy with a few things. Try calling me later! Leave a message if you like.-

Fushimi gave a dejected sigh and looked over at him, his teeth gritted.

Yata was thankful he'd recorded that message that morning. The only people who ever called him were Kamamoto and Totsuka, so he didn't need to worry about the fact that he could only create just one.

"Misaki-chan, it's Saruhiko." Yata flinched, surprised that he was leaving something after all, "I was just checking on you, because you said you had stuff on today and I wanted to know if you were having fun with whatever you're doing. I'll call you this evening? Love you…"

He pressed the 'hang up' button and put his phone away.

The smaller absentmindedly took a step back. Even though he didn't realise it, Fushimi had been talking to him, talking in the same way that he did when he was Misaki.

"Well," he tried to distract himself by making another poke and keeping his personalities further apart, "she doesn't even want to talk you! Some 'girlfriend'! Can't even be bothered to keep her phone on for you. See you around, Clumps-kun."

With that, Yata jumped on his skateboard without waiting for a reaction and hurried away from the one he loved, unable to stop a small tear slip down his face.

Did you like that? The next chapter should be up soon, and any suggestions for Misaki and Saruhiko's dates are welcome c:

End note 1 Misaki's nickname for Saruhiko – 'Clumps-kun'. It has a long background and is the butt of many inside jokes, but, long story short, it's to do with his hair compared to Munakata Reisi's. How else would one tell them apart when the series only had a few episodes out and nobody had an idea of what was going on? I decided to use it purely just because I wanted to, and also because it helps with the storyline. Anyone could figure out 'Saru' because of his name. 'Clumps-kun' is more affectionate and therefore gives Yata an advantage.

End note 2 What colour even is Fushimi's hair? Right now, based on a poll amongst my friends, I'm going with dark blue. If you can tell me otherwise, PLEASE do. I want to get it right, but the wonderful colours and sparkles in [K] don't always help.

End not 3 So, final thing… honorifics or no? I want your opinion. If you don't like, I'll happily remove them.