Howdy doo everyone! Welp here is the second chapter. I focused more on Kimiko in this chapter but I plan on spreading out the love more. My ideas for the next chapter are full of Himiko and Tsuneko! I'll just try to get a good balance and try to focus on them all equally but that will be hard considering I think Kimiko is my favorite XP

Just a rundown of stuff...

"_" - dialogue

italics - thoughts

bold - author's notes

'_' - singing (still not in this chapter but it's coming eventually!)

- - time skip

I only own my OCs!

And I want to thank the one and only starsandsnowflakes for reviewing and faving! Thank you soooo much, much love, much love!

Much love to the guest AnimeGirl4891 as well! And I love Ren too! and just to let you in on a little secret, one of the lovely ladies will possibly end up with him ;P So stick around and find out!

Onward to the story! I apologize for how slow everything is going. For whatever reason my brain wants me to go into detail and explain as much as possible with some stuff but skip over other stuff :I ... my apologies

Chapter 2

"Kimiko Arai, get up this instant or so help me I will destroy all of your video games!" The younger twin stirred in her sleep before fully registering what she just heard. As soon as she realized what was said she lurched forward only to collide with her sister. The two twins held their foreheads in discomfort.

"What the actual hell Himi! Why did you threaten my precious like that and why are you even in my room?... Mae!" The purple haired girl sat on her bed with her hands up signaling she had nothing to do with this.

Himiko gently patted her sister's head before standing and walking towards the door. She twirled a lanyard, key attached, around her finger. "Silly little sis, I made a copy of your key! Plus, if it wasn't for me, you and Mae would be late for class which starts in," she looked down at her watch," about 10 minutes. See ya in class Mae." The older Arai waved to the girls before heading towards class.

With a sigh of exhaustion, Kimiko stood and headed to where her uniform was laid out. Once she was dressed, she gave herself a once over in the mirror. Today she opted to wear her hair up in a small pony tail with her bangs and a few strands in the back that were just a bit too short loose. She wore the (hideous) yellow plaid dress with a white long-sleeve button up underneath. On her feet were knee-high lace up boots that were black and a pair of thigh high white stockings. Once she approved of her appearance, she looked over to her roommate. Mae was all decked-out in the boy's uniform, again. Peaked with curiosity, Kimiko continued to stare at the spot Mae was once in thinking about why on earth she would want to wear the boy's uniform. She continued thinking about it until Mae cleared her throat and pulled Kimi towards the door. The duo would have to skip breakfast and run to class. As they started running, a thought ran through both of the girls heads. We really needed to work on our time management skills… but that'll have to wait.

Panting, Mae made a left turn into A Class with a minute to spare and waved to Kimiko as she passed by. She exhaustedly fell into her chair and plopped her head down. She could feel her already tired soul slip from her body. Before she could fall into a deep sleep, a book was slammed onto her desk. The poor purple-haired girl jumped with surprise before following the book up to see Himiko with Natsuki, Haruka and Otoya close behind.

Mae dead-panned as she looked at her "friends." All of them were full of energy and happy-go-luckiness. It made Mae slightly sick so she just laid her head back down. Her head was pulled up by Himiko.

"Mae-chan, what time did you and my sister go to bed?" Mae looked everywhere except at the girl in front of her.

"Well… um… I don't know, maybe around 5?" She braced for a lecture from Himiko and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Mae Sato! What in the world were you two doing?! Ya know what, don't tell me. But as punishment," a dark, frightening aura surrounded Himiko as she continued to speak," you will…" Before she could finish, she was interrupted by Ringo-sensei spurting out good mornings before listing what the schedule was going to be like for the week leading up to the first test. Basically, real classes started in a week and until then the students only had homeroom. But even still, these lovely lads and lasses had to do work in homeroom.

"Alright, this assignment is like a game. I'm handing out a worksheet and you and your partner must match the composer, idol and song! No cheating.~~" The gorgeous man began handing out papers before going back to his desk and listing off the groups.

Thank the heavens I'm not with Himiko! Mae gave a quiet sigh of relief before her partners name was listed. Welp, the universe truly hates me, doesn't it? She banged her head on her desk multiple times before her partner walked over. She was instantly enveloped in a death grip hug.

"Mae-chan~ I'm so glad we're partners!" Natsuki was screeching into her ear.

Just calm down Mae, calm down. She took a deep breath before prying him off of her. "Shinomiya-san, let's get to work, yeah?"

"Aww, Mae-chan, call me Natsuki!" She looked at him in stupor. He was so hyper active and happy… but really nice. She nodded before pointing to the sheet before them.

"Fine, Natsuki-kun, but we need to get to work."

A few minutes later, Mae and Natsuki looked down at their paper. They had successfully matched up all the songs and idols but only had a few composers matched up. This "simple" assignment was showing to be a serious struggle for the two idol course students. But, before they could finish their paper, Ringo-sensei clapped his hands and began talking. Mae zoned out completely and looked out the window. Her mind drifted off but was pulled back when she heard whispers among her classmates.

"Can she even read music?"

"I bet she just got lucky at the entrance exam."

"Does she even know how to play the piano?" These questions and variations of them floated around the room and pierced the person they were directed towards. Mae noticed Haruka tear up a little bit before getting up and walking away out of the room in a rushed fashion. She stood up abruptly and looked around at her classmates in utter disappointment.

"What is wrong with you people? Do you have no respect for other people and how they feel?" Her fists were clenched with rage. She angrily sat down before she sadi something that could get her in major trouble. But she was surprised when she heard more questions and statements float around the room.

"That boy is really cute."

"He must have a crush on Nanami."

"If there wasn't a rule against dating I'd totally go out with him."

These statements made Mae doubt her previous faith in humanity. Her head once again found itself being banged on the desk. Why are people so infuriating and dumb?!

~~Meanwhile with Tsuneko~~

Oh no, I hope Kimiko-san isn't late! That would make her look like a bad student with no potential! The worry-wart red head sat at her desk fidgeting with anxiety for her friend. Once she saw Kimi run into class and flop into her seat, Tsuneko sighed in relief. "Kimiko-san, I was getting worried you weren't going to show up to class."

Kimiko's face was smushed on her desk. She was too weak from all that running to move so she just spoke, hoping Tsuneko would understand the muffled answer. "Mae and I stayed up late playing video games and working on her lyrics for the assignment."

Tsuneko nodded in understanding before remembering she had the sheet music ready for Kimi to have and start writing lyrics for. She reached into her bag and pulled out her most recent work. Gently, she slid them under Kimiko's crossed arms that were on the desk.

Kimiko's eyes scanned the paper silently humming the melody before her eyes grew wide. She was suddenly rejuvenated. "Neko-chan, this song is so perfect!" She hugged her friend tightly before grabbing a notebook out of her bag and writing lyrics down. They were flowing from her pen like ink. She was, to say the least, inspired.

Tsuneko looked at Kimi as she wrote down words busily. She then scanned the room. Her eyes noticed Syo who was walking up to them. He sat in the chair in front of Kimiko and was about to tap on her shoulder but Tsuneko quickly stopped him.

"She is working on lyrics… I wouldn't disturb her." She then smiled apologetically. "So… What's up, Kurusu-san?" He looked around the room before turning to look at her.

"Nothing really. I was just going to ask Kimiko-chan if she had seen Ren." At that name, Tsuneko could feel her ears turn red, a sign she was still angry about the previous day's events. She chocked back her rage before responding.

"I doubt it. And I'm sure he is fine, no need to worry." He nodded slightly before Hyuga-sensei came in and began talking about the few days ahead of them, what to expect and whatnot. Tsuneko paid full attention to everything he was saying.

Once the class was busy working on their assignment, Tsuneko and Kimiko rushed to finish their work so they could chat about the song Kimiko wrote seconds before. Quickly and thoroughly, the two girls finished and began chatting away. Somehow, the two girls roped Syo into the conversation.

"Syo-chan, please tell Neko-chan that this line is fine the way it is."

"Kurusu-san, please tell Kimiko-san that it needs altering so it will flow better."

"It's fine the way it is."

"It needs to be changed."

The two girls were in a standoff. Syo looked at them and chuckled before grabbing the lyrics and music. He silently sang the words as written. Good-guy Syo then decided to voice his opinion. "I think it just needs to be sung slower. The line is great and so is the music." He then handed the materials back to the girls. They decided to call it quits on working on the song after three more disputes.

Kimiko walked up to Hyuga-sensei's desk and fidgeted nervously. "Excuse me." He looked up from the papers he was reading meticulously and hmphed in acknowledgment. "May I go use the restroom?" He nodded towards the door and Kimiko took that as a yes.

Once in the hallway, she started towards the restroom but stopped when she saw Haruka run out of her class followed by Mae yelling at people.

Ditching her previous destination, she stood beside the door to A Class, next to Otoya. "We should do something to cheer her up." Her suggestion seemed to light a spark in Otoya's brain before he nodded fervently.

"We can make her a cake!"

Kimiko smiled at the suggestion before noticing Natsuki appeared out of nowhere at the mention of the baked sweet.

"I can help you guys! I love baking.~" He was dripping with excitement at the thought of making sweets. "Let's do it tonight! Meet me in the kitchen at 7." He then bounced back over to his seat and looked around in an adorable daze.

Otoya looked over at Kimiko. "So you'll be there Kimiko-chan?"

She nodded before chucking lightly at how excited the two boys were about their baking adventure. "Sure thing, Otoya-kun! I'll bring my favorite recipe for triple chocolate cake!" She then waved goodbye and finally went to the restroom.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The rest of the day went by really fast. Lunch was rather boring and uneventful; it passed by in a flash. The only thing exciting about the day was the baking extravaganza that would take place later but until then, Kimiko had to think of something to do.

I could work on composing for Ren-kun's song. Or I could work on the lyrics for mine. That would be productive. She wasn't paying attention and knocked into someone. She stumbled backwards a bit and looked down with a blush covering her features. She immediately bowed in apology. "I am so sorry, I was not paying attention."

Her eyes traveled upward and met with Tokiya Ichinose's. If it was possible, Kimiko's face got even redder with embarrassment. "My apologies, Ichinose-san." She then side-stepped him quickly but not without stealing a glance back at him. Little did she know that he was looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

Within seconds she was back at her dorm. She opened the door slowly and flicked on the light. Once inside she dropped her bag on the floor and undressed quickly before putting on a more comfortable outfit consisting of sweats and a large tee. She then sat down at her desk and spread out all of her papers. Lyrics, eighth notes and eraser shavings covered the surface of the papers immediately.

"Kimi you should really learn to check your room. I've been in here the whole time." At the sound of her sister's voice, Kimiko fell out of her seat and bumped her head.

"Nee-chan! Again with this? We need to set up some boundaries or something!" Kimiko pulled herself up from the floor before being enveloped in a hug by her sister.

"I just wanted to talk to my baby sister! What is the harm in that?" Himiko pretended to tear up while speaking.

"Enough with the fake tears and I guess there is no harm in that… So whatcha want to talk about?" The twins walked over and flopped onto Kimiko's bed.

"Well I just wanted to see how you were doing. It's just weird being in a different class and not being in the same room! Sometimes I just get so lonely!~~" Himi clasped her hands over her heart dramatically before cracking a smile at her sister.

"I've missed you too Nee-chan. But I think this will be good for us, being separated… We've been forced to make friends." Suddenly the air in the room turned very serious.

"I don't need anyone else, Kimiko. We don't need anyone else as long as we have each other."

"I know, I know, it's just we aren't going to be together forever. Eventually we will go our separate ways." At these words Himiko stood abruptly and turned away from her sister.

"Don't say stuff like that Kimiko! You know it's always been us against the world. Ever since we were little we were in our own little world and no one was allowed in! Why can't it be like that? We were happy. Yo-you can't j-just leave me-e alone! I… I need you." Himiko had started crying towards the end of her little monologue. She quickly walked towards the door. Once she got to there, her hand firmly wrapped around the knob, she turned to her sister.

The two sisters knew they needed each other. But, Kimiko also knew that if her sister depended on her forever, she would never let anyone else in. This was because of their parents never spending time with them or even acknowledging their existence. As children, the two girls were often ignored by their parents simply because the family business was more important. They were homeschooled so they were never around other kids their age. Eventually their seclusion became severe to the point where they wouldn't talk to anyone other than the other twin. They would go around doing everything together. All this made it impossible to distinguish them one from the other which ended up making matters worse. The Arai girls were lumped into one. If one did something, both were giving credit for it. The two girls only started getting over their reclusive habits when they met Tsuneko at the entrance exam. They had made a pact with each other: open up to more people and depend less on each other. Now, they have made a lot of progress and Kimiko was farther along than Himiko.

Kimiko looked at her sister and knew that she needed support in this endeavor. They wanted to do this so they could be happier. And Kimiko was going to help her sister open up to the world.

"I'm so sorry Himiko. I promise I will never leave you alone. Us against the world forever!" Kimiko had followed her sister to the door and embraced her tightly.

"Promise?" Both girls were crying at this point.

"Promise." At this, the two separated and looked at each other's crying faces. They cracked a smile and began laughing full heartedly, knowing they would always have each other.

A small buzz ruined the moment and Kimi checked her phone. On the screen was a reminder about the cake baking operation.

"Crap! Himiko I have to go… But first will you help me find something to wear? Something comfy but cute!" Kimiko smiled at her sister brightly before the two went and raided the closet. Kimiko decided to wear a pair of baby blue pants and a white flowy top with black knee high boots and her hair up in the pony tail. The girls nodded at the good choice.

"So why did you get all dressed up anyway? Is it for a boy?~~" Himiko poked her sister in the side and laughed at the embarrassed, shocked face she got as a response.

"What? No! Hehe… what are you even talking about? We can't love, remember? Jeez, huh, you are too funny." Kimiko adverted her gaze as her sister split the most obnoxious, knowing smirk of all time.

"So who is he?" Himiko wiggled her eyebrows.

At this, Kimiko blushed even more before mumbling a name.

"No way! Hahaha that is too cute Kimi-chan!" Himiko walked over to the door and swung it open. "I'll let you get to your prince charming little miss breaking the rules!" She slammed the door before walking off.

"Whatever…" Kimiko stood and grabbed her key and cake recipe before exiting her room as well. "Now time to bake some cakes!"

When Kimiko walked into the kitchen, she was shocked to see Syo and Mae hanging off towards the side.

"Oh good, Kimiko-san is here! We can get started now!." Otoya grabbed Kimi's hand and pulled her over towards the counter where the others were at.

"Mae-chan, I am surprised to see you here." She huffed in annoyance before looking at her roommate.

"Yeah, me too." She then pointed to Otoya and Natsuki. "These two dragged me here… against my will might I add." Kimiko sweat-dropped before looking to the two accused boys who were looking everywhere except at Mae.

"I was drug here by Natsuki too." Syo spoke up and was seemingly worried and angry. Obviously angry about being here but Kimiko was confused as to what could be so worrisome.

Before much else could be said, Natsuki began putting things in a blender.

"You are about to witness hell…"

Otoya, Kimiko and Mae all watched as Natsuki put outlandish things into the blender… Chocolate with the wrapper, some type of pink goo and HOT SAUCE?! Then he used a torch to cook the "cakes" at extremely high heat. Kimiko and Mae both put their hands up to their mouths holding in their sick. The smell and look of the "sweets" were repulsive.

"Who wants to taste?" Natsuki was dangerously close to Syo and Otoya trying to feed them his creation.

"Na-chan, can I cook now?" Kimiko watched as he jumped out the window after Syo who barely escaped.

Mae looked from the window over to Kimiko. "I'd take that as a yes."

Kimiko nodded before the two girls cleaned up Natsuki's mess.

"Now, let's make a cake Mae-chan!" Kimiko smiled from ear to ear and she held up a whisk and spoon in her hands. Mae chuckled before beginning to follow the recipe.

Within 30 minutes, the two girls managed to get two cakes and cupcakes into the oven. Now all they had to do was wait for them to cook, cool and then they could begin to decorate them!

As they cleaned up their mess, Otoya finally recovered from the taste-testing fiasco and the other two came back as well. The three boys smelled the aroma of the cakes baking and their mouths instantly started watering.

"That smells really good!"

"Yeah, I can't wait to eat some."

Kimiko looked up to realize they were back. Her eyes scanned all three of them, her eyes lingering on one longer than the others. As she realized was staring, she looked quickly to the side with a blush on her face. Seeing this, Mae looked at her quizzically before Kimiko mouthed that she'd tell her later.

After that slightly awkward moment, the timer went off for the confectionary treats in the oven. Kimiko and Mae went over and grabbed the sweets before placing them on cooling racks. "So boys, who wants to decorate the cupcakes and who wants to decorate the cakes?" Kimiko turned to look at the three lads. "Hmm. How-about Otoya and Syo, you two decorate the cupcakes, Mae-chan, you decorate a cake and Na-chan and I decorate the other?" The accompanying bakers nodded before grabbing the icing and heading to their assigned treats. Each one was thanking the heavens that Natsuki wasn't going to work alone because no one really knows what kind of disgusting mess he could have turned the cake into and no one wanted to find out.

Kimiko motioned for Natsuki to come over to where she was standing as she was getting the icing ready. Once she finished covering the cake in icing she handed Natsuki a piping bag. She placed her hands on top of his before instructing him on how to decorate a cake properly. "Now squeeze the bad lightly, too hard and the icing will shoot out and get all over the place."

"Like this Kimi-chan?" She chuckled lightly before moving to where she could help him easier. Gently, her hands guided his in a pattern to create a cute design on the cake. She released her hands from his while blushing slightly. "Here, it looks like you can do it on your own now." She smiled cutely at him before looking deep into his eyes.

The two of them blushed slightly as they noticed how close they were standing. He was basically hugging her from behind at this point. She quickly moved away to check on the others and their progress. Oh man, calm down Kimiko… Nothing can happen between you two. Besides, he isn't interested in you anyway. She absorbed what her conscience said and her face contorted into a look of solemn. As she reached Mae, she pushed all her thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Hey Mae-chan! That is some good decorating!" She nudged her friend in the side before sticking her finger in the icing and licking it off her finger. She was completely unaware that green eyes had watched her and blushed at her actions.

"Kimi-chan, you broke my concentration." Mae turned her head angrily at her friend who now had her hands up in surrender.

"Sorry Mae-chan… Haha you are so adorable when you are angry." Kimiko then poked the girl before hoping up on the counter.

Mae smirked up at her friend before speaking. "So Kimi-chan, what was all that about earlier? Hmm?" Kimiko's face paled as she realized what Mae was talking about. Mae was met with silence so she started poking Kimiko constantly, trying to get a rise out of her.

"Fine! I'll tell you just stop with the poking!" Her small outburst got the attention of the boys who were now looking at her in wonder. "What?!" At her slight outburst the boys quickly looked at their confectionaries and got back to work. This whole scene elicited a chuckle out of Mae.

"So… spit it out already."

Kimiko looked to the side and blushed. She really didn't want to tell anyone else that she was basically breaking a rule. Granted, she wouldn't classify her feelings as love but she did sure as hell like him as more than friends.

"Well I uh… I… maybesortaprobablylikethisboy…" (maybe sorta probably like this boy) She rushed her words and looked at Mae who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"I thought so… I just wanted to make sure." Mae looked at the lads who were in the room with the two girls. It was definitely on of them. But which one? Well, it could be Otoya or Natsuki. I feel like Kimi would mesh well with one of them. Is it Syo? At this thought, something churned within Mae's stomach. Eh, it couldn't be Syo… They wouldn't work at all. "So, which one is it?" She looked expectantly at Kimiko.

The girl being questioned gulped in nervousness before meeting her friend's eyes. She leaned in and whispered his name into her ear.

"Really?! I'm not going to lie, Kimi-chan, that is really cute." Mae once again chuckled as her friends face turned a light shade of pink.

Any suggestions just let me know! Please oh please review, fav and follow!

Once again, my apologies if I offended anyone or butchered grammar, spelling, or the like.

I have the next few chapters in my mind buzzing around but I am going on vacation so it may be a while... I'll try to update while I'm away! Oh, oh, did you see my not so subtle hinting at who Kimiko and Mae will end up with without saying it outright? How sneaky am I? Anyway, have a lovely day!

I'll see you next time.

:)