Chapter 2: Crushed

"Inoue-sempai."

She turned and faced the pale-faced kouhai who had snuck up behind her. They were by the wall that separated the academy grounds from the Sun and Moon dormitories. She had just been about to cross over…but...

"Cross-san." She replied evenly, a smile no longer gracing her lips. It seemed that finally, they would be able to finish an argument that has gone on ever since she became the Day Class President.

The shorter Yuuki Cross stepped in closer, a hand reaching behind her. Her demeanor was unnaturally strained but there was resolve in her eyes. This was to be a battle to the death.

"Please give this up Cross-san. You won't win."

"I have to try." Yuuki murmured. "My future depends on it."

An angry male voice spoke up then. "You two are so useless. Miyako, how did you even get chosen as president?"

…

The girls' heads snapped in his direction.

"ZERO. You ruined the moment!" Inoue Miyako grumbled. Yuuki took advantage of the distraction and pulled two large folders from behind her back, filled to the capacity with papers and sticky notes. She threw herself at Miyako and squeezed her arms as tightly as she could around the older girl. Miyako scowled at Zero and then knocked Yuuki on the head.

"Yuuki! I said no already! I will not ask Onizuka-sensei to cancel your supplementary classes! Just ask Zero for help!"

Yuuki dug her head into Miyako's chest, her voice muffled by the fabric. "He's mean! He's not patient, rushes me through the questions, and doesn't even tell me how he got the right answers!"

"So, he's being a jerk." Miyako hugged her just as tightly, slightly more sympathetic.

"Hey, I can hear you."

Miyako shot a look at Zero, pushed Yuuki away and walked up to the silver-haired demon that was terrorizing her poor Yuuki. She unleashed her wagging finger at his face. "Zero, it's your duty to help your fellow disciplinary committee member with her studies!"

"…Where the hell does it say that?"

"I could always ask the Headmaster."

Zero cringed. Sure, put him in a cage full of fifty bloodthirsty vampires and he'll be fine, but face him against the overaffectionate Headmaster and he tries to escape. "You wouldn't."

"Try me." She placed both hands on her hips, straightening to 170cm of pure confidence. He scrutinized her face and frowned. Zero knew that if he called her on it, she fully intended on notifying that bothersome pacifist. Glancing over her head, his eyes locked onto Yuuki and narrowed.

"You, seven o'clock tonight. If you're late by even one second, I will kick you out of the academy myself." He turned on his heels and looked over his shoulder. "You can't hide behind Miyako forever."

"H-Hai!" Yuuki exclaimed loudly, not sure if she was more afraid of the prospect of the lesson itself or being kicked out.

"Hey! It's Miyako-sempai to you!" Miyako shouted as Zero started to walk away.

"I'll start calling you '-sempai' when you start acting like one…." He muttered under his breath.

"Hey, I heard that!"

"Tch, so?" Zero glanced at his watch and sighed. It was almost sunset. He still had a couple of minutes left before the Day Class and Night Class would switch, which meant…time for a nap. He wandered off, leaving behind the two girls.

"Sempai, you're amazing…" Yuuki gushed.

"Why?"

"You can handle Zero so well."

Miyako giggled at this. "Not really. He's just a person who hates troublesome things. So all you have to do is just threaten him with something he hates more, and you can get him to do anything. Believe me, I know from experience." At this, Miyako smiled, fond memories of her dealing with a certain brown-haired man surfacing. "Anyways, isn't it time for you to go to the gates?"

Yuuki's eyes widened. "Oh no, you're right! Sempai, thank you so much! Oh and before I forget, and the Headmaster wanted me to invite you for dinner this weekend!"

Miyako smiled. Heh, dinner. She would go….just as long as long as the Headmaster wasn't cooking. On a whim, she thought she would ask about the new student. He had looked the type to be popular with the girls and wondered whether he was causing any problems for Yuuki.

"Yuuki, how is Morita-kun doing?"

"Morita…oh, the new student! I think I heard from Zero that he's under house arrest? Isn't that weird?"

'Oh?' Miyako arched an eyebrow. "I see. Ok, I'll let you go now!"

Yuuki then made a hurried bow and sped off behind the trees.

Miyako waved and then began to head back to the Sun dorm. The building was so far though, she could just make out the rooftop through the trees' branches. She had originally wanted to visit the Moon dorm, but it looked like she would just have to settle for finishing a report due the next morning. However, it only took her a few more steps to discover another distraction. Morita had positioned himself right in front of her. Having donned the compulsory pure white uniform, it was a sign that he was now officially part of the Night Class.

"My kouhai told me you were grounded." She looked around to see if there were Day Class students hanging around, and luckily, there were none. If she listened really carefully, far off in the distance, she could make out the ruckus the girls were making at the gates. All the attention was there. Somehow that didn't make her feel better "Or are you just eager to start class?"

He made a face and for a second, his surfacing grin reminded her of Aido, causing her to make a face. If she had to deal with another "Idol", she'd die. Now she knew how Zero felt about the Headmaster. Kaien, she could handle. Aido was a different matter. He was just an ass. "Please don't be like him, please don't be like him.'

"It's a small thing," Morita replied, folding his arms. "I thought you weren't going to report me?"

Miyako hadn't but now it made a little more sense as to why Kain was in the Moon Dorm earlier while everyone else was in class. He had been recruited. And she knew just by who...but Morita didn't need to know that. So she smiled sweetly and shrugged her shoulders.

"Sorry, it must've slipped."

"I wonder to who...Ichijou Takuma?"

"Why would you say that?"

"He personally signed his name on my suspension slip."

"Of course, " She said evenly. "Who do you think is in charge of the Night Class since Kuran-sama is away?"

"I see, it must be boring to be the Vice-President." His face was suddenly inches away from hers, eyes almost on equal level. Morita observed her carefully and then grinned. Lucky her, it was an Aido grin..Shit. "So, is there a reason why your heart skipped when I said his name?"

Her smile tightened. There may be a reason, but she would not give him an answer.

"Oh, your heart is racing faster, how cute." The soft blond vampire traced a path with his finger down her jawline, a knowing gaze running over her face. In one swift movement, her butterfly knife was out once more. And just a second later, it was firmly planted in the ground, successfully intercepted by Morita who now gripped her wrists in his hands. "Unfortunately for you, I don't fall for the same trick twice."

"It's more of a reflex exercise really. So if you could kindly let go of my hand Morita-kun," She tried to tug her hands away from him, but he wouldn't relent. Vampires and that superhuman strength of theirs, definitely not a fan right now. "I don't know what you're talking about." She denied.

"You do, and I intend to find out about everything."

"Inoue-san," A bored female voice spoke from behind them. "Ichijou needs to speak with you about something." Toya Rima stepped into the clearing, blue eyes focused solely on Miyako. It was as if Morita did not exist. Morita noticed and thought that just like yesterday, the Night Class students were purposely getting in his way. And since he wasn't sure whether Rima would report him or not, he stepped back from Miyako and released her hands.

"Well, I'll see you later then, Miyako, Toya-san." He quickly turned to the woods and waved goodbye over his shoulder. Miyako bristled at the use of her first name. She had known Zero for three years already, so he was one thing but Morita... That was when she finally realized that Rima was still waiting for her.

"Sorry Toya-san. I'm ready."

Rima nodded once and led the way back to the gates which they first had to pass through to get to the Moon Dormitories. By that time, most of the Night Class had already made its way to class, also meaning that the Day Class student had dispersed and were on their way to their own dormitories. As they pass through the gates, Miyako heard a crunch behind her and saw Zero with his customary stone face, just standing there and glaring at her. She winked and gave a mock queen's wave to lighten the mood before following Toya further. It was no secret how much Zero hated the vampires and although she didn't know him quite as well as Yuuki did, she knew that he never liked how friendly she and Yuuki were in contrast. Leaving the academy grounds behind them, Miyako silently walked behind Toya. She stared at the straight-lined back of the well-known model and felt the ring of nostalgia resonate within her, a confusing feeling that didn't make sense since she had only met Toya a handful of times. She shook her head as they entered the large sweeping doors of the Moon Dormitory, maids bowing their heads politely, taking no notice of Miyako as they hurried on their busy ways. Miyako assumed Icchan had already signed her in and after a few flights of stairs, both girls reached their destination and entered the Vice-President's room.

Toya Rima took one glance around the area and frowned. Shiki would not be happy when he came back from class... Yesterday, he had told her that he had had a hard enough time finding his bed, but in this current mess, she greatly suspected that his bed had already been devoured by the vomit of coloured papers lying across the room. Now that she thought about it, Kain had mentioned Ichijou's workload increase, but nothing had prepared her for this. Luck guided the two girls to a relatively "cleaner" area where Ichijou was sitting atop of his bed, wearing thick black glasses and looking very much the troubled nerd. It took him a couple of seconds to notice them but when he did, he looked as if they were his knights in shining armour.

"Mi-chan, Rima! Thank goodness you're here! I have a situation and I desperately need your help!" The rumpled-haired man scrambled wildly behind him, sending a cloud of paper cranes into the air. He finally sat up as they glided downwards, producing two pieces of paper: one orange and the other, a fluorescent pink.

"Here's the tough decision: which colour should I use to make Shiki's airplane out of?"

...

Ichijou clearly did not understand the meaning of their dumbfounded looks and held up the two papers, appearing to weigh out their values as coloured tree products. This lasted three minutes. Just so that he could stop, Miyako pointed to the orange and watched his eyes light up at her input.

"That's exactly what I was thinking! You agree too Rima, right?! Good job Mi-chan! Kaname will definitely like a pink one!" He exclaimed. He went straight to work, causing the girls to sigh.

"Was that it?" Miyako inquired.

Ichijou paused and then nodded his head. "Unless you'd like to help me sign some papers?"

"Hm?" Miyako glanced at Toya.

"Don't act like you don't remember! We spent a whole afternoon signing invitations for my birthday, you sign my signature better than me!" Ichijou scoffed, waving off the question.

Miyako blanched. "SHH! You can't just say that! Plus it was a long time ago."

"Please! Rimaaa, Mi-chan's being mean! Can you help..." Ichijou pouted and turned to the other vampire...except she wasn't there. "...me? Oh, where did she go?"

"Probably somewhere far away." Miyako sighed. It looked like she would be stuck with this after all. "Fine, I'll help as long as you don't go around saying that I can forge your signature."

"Great!" Ichijo said before a stack of papers dropped in front of her. She bit back a groan. Suddenly, she really wanted to start writing that report right now... But she wouldn't complain, this was a chance to show Icchan her reliability. So she shut her mouth.

It didn't last long. She had signed at least 5 different silly contracts when reading one set of waivers stopped her in her tracks. She shot the vampire a condemning look. "Icchan, what is this? These are your family documents about blood tablet distribution! I can't sign for these! I think I'm not even supposed to look at them!"

Ichijou averted his eyes and faced the opposite direction. "La la la..."

Miyako grumbled to herself and started to sort out two piles of documents. As she did so, Ichijou watched over her and his thoughts headed back to the past as he studied the girl he helped take care of nearly 8 years ago.

"Are you sure there's no one at school that you like?" Ichijou inquired.

"Icchan, I already told you! I only like Shi-chan!" A younger Inoue Miyako answered, exasperated with his curiousity. She had told him days ago that she liked the older quiet boy who she and Ichijo had briefly lived with. At first he had doubted her, but now, he just wouldn't quit bothering her about it. Maybe she could divert his attention... "Can you play the piano for me?"

Ichijou grinned widely, seeing through her intentions instantly. "I could, but I think you're just trying to distract me, aren't you? Anyway, why don't you just tell him? Even if you get rejected, this oniichan will give you a great big hug-OOF!"

Miyako retracted her elbow from Ichijou's abdomen and shot him a dirty look. She stalked off and before hurrying off, turned to shout back at him. "I don't want a hug from YOU!"

"...Icchan, why are you smiling at me like that?"

Ichijou blinked. Standing before him was the sixteen year old Miyako, hands on her hips and a worried expression.

"Oh, was I? I was just thinking about you and your crush on Shiki."

The worry immediately left her face and was replaced by something that looked like consternation. "Out of all things, you..." Why would he bring this up?

"Just popped into my head whether you professed your passionate love for him, even though he's with Rima."

Sometimes, she really didn't understand what went on through that head of his. But if he wanted an answer, he would get one. Miyako didn't reply right away but when she did, she looked at Ichijou straight on and brought her face just inches away from his.

"Icchan, I don't like Shiki anymore. There's someone else, I..." She trailed off, the words caught on her tongue. Her courage had run out as reason took over. She dropped her head. She couldn't say what she wanted, not yet. She had to prove herself first. "I'm not a little kid anymore Icchan, people change."

Immediately after she said this, his cold hands lifted her head up and his gloriously pale face was all that she could see. It was so close, she could almost count his eyelashes, those beautifully thick lashes that framed the most stunning pair of spring green eyes. Miyako's eyes widened in surprise. "Icchan?"

KNOCK!

Ichijou pushed her away at the shoulders and kept her at an arm's length. He had just knocked her head...She loathed herself for that one moment when she thought it would be something more.

"Ow?"

"Michan, that's not very nice! Sure, Shiki is lazy, sleeps in class, never makes his bed and never wants to play rakugo with me...but that's besides the point. He'll definitely feel hurt if he hears that!" Ichijou admonished her with that ever-perfect smile. She had been with him long enough to notice it was slightly strained from the usual, but said nothing. "Anyways, let's call it a night! I don't want to take all the fun away from Kaname. So...night!"

And as quickly as Miyako had entered, she was kicked out into the hallway with the door firmly shut behind her. Least to say, one second later, she was knocking loudly on the door.

"Ichijou! I-"

Ichijou interrupted her through the door. "Don't worry, I won't tell him a thing. You're our imouto."

It stung, that word. Imouto. 'Little sister'. Did he say that on purpose? Was he dropping a hint? She backed away from the door and just stared, imagining that infinitesimally cheerful smile. Imouto. That word kept returning to the forefront of her mind and remained there even as she left the hallway. Imouto? She was beginning to hate it.

Around the opposite end of the hallway stood Rima, leaning a shoulder against the wall, watching. She had just been thinking about that situation with Morita in the forest when Miyako had been kicked out.

"...Mi-chan?"

"She left." Rima replied. Ichijou then opened the door, looking left and right before stepping out.

"Rima! Where have you been all this time?!"

Rima purposefully ignored the question and went straight to the point. "Look, I don't know what's the problem with that Morita person, but I want to remind you of something, Ichijou. I let her come here because you said she'd be safe."

Without another word, Toya Rima left Ichijou and headed back to the academy for class. Hopefully Shiki saved her a seat... She glanced to the trees and grimaced. Even she had heard about the unorthodox suspension the new student, Morita, had been given. No matter how frivolous Ichijou seemed, he wouldn't deliver punishment without just cause. She could hardly care about Morita breaking the rules but she'd be damned if he made another threat at her sister again.

No, she wouldn't tell Ichijou about that infraction...he would just get in the way.

A/N: The over-protective sister, Rima, appears whilst we see the clueless side of Ichijou. But why is Morita so interested in finding out about Miyako and Ichijo's relationship? Hope you liked it! R and R pls!

(For those of you who don't understand how Miyako is Rima's sister, it's due to the fact that in my other VK fanfic 'When Lies Became Real', Rima's mother had adopted Miyako and..bleh, this fic is sort of a continuation to that story timeline.)