Second chapter, yay! Thank you for the comments for the previous chapter, they were helpful. I'm not really good with authors notes so if they get repetitive and boring, i'm sorry. I do not own any of the characters or ideas in Code Geass, TOS, Host Club, Chobits, Maid-Sama, Katekyo Hitman Reborn, and Darker than Black. Please comment as always

Chapter 2: New Beginnings

Lafayel cracked her eyes open slowly, squinting against harsh the sunlight coming in. the sheets were warm and unfamiliar. The bed was hard and unfamiliar. She had never been a morning person so her thoughts took a while to load. Suddenly, she remembered that yesterday they had arrived in the Sunshine District and had eaten at a ramen shop. Images of the guy and the vending machine and the headless rider and the Mokona guardian spirits came rushing into her mind all at once, forcing her to sit up quickly. It was a bad idea. Black spots danced across her eyes and her head felt like someone had dropped a rock on it.

Oh man, that was not smart. I keep forgetting that I have to sit up slowly…Stupid low blood pressure…Lafayel waited for the lightheadedness to fade before she began to move again. The room around her was sparsely furnished and unknown. Her bags lay on the floor next to the bed. Since she had been too tired to take much time to survey the room, Lafayel's eyes wandered around her surroundings. There was a bookshelf across from the bed that was underneath the window. A plain desk with an office chair was next to the shelf. That was it. The room felt plain and tiny, totally drained of any sort of personality. It made her miss home a bit.

"Hey, Lafayel, I thought you might be awake." Mozart popped his head into the room. He wore a wrinkled button-down shirt and his hair was a mess. With his came the scent of coffee and breakfast.

"'Morning, Mo. What time is it?" she asked groggily, letting out a yawn. Curiously, she pulled back the blinds and surveyed the large back yard of the apartment. The backyard, unlike most apartments, was smack in the middle with the building creating a perimeter around it. the back yard was like a lush garden, obviously well cared for.

"It's almost ten." He told her and walked into the room.

"Oh…what happened last night? I can't really recall…"

"Well, we were about half-way to the apartment when you suddenly fell asleep standing up. It was the oddest thing. I had to convince you to keep walking and you just slept walk all the way to the apartment. By the way, we're on the second floor in room 209. I just thought you'd like to know. You were just so cute, muttering about headless riders and flying vending machines."

Her face turned bright pink. "I don't talk in my sleep!" she insisted adamantly.

"I'm just kidding." He smiled. "So how 'bout some breakfast before we go exploring?"

"Sure," she hoped out of bed and stopped when she realized that she wasn't wearing the same clothes from yesterday. "Mozart…did you…?"

"No, I wouldn't dream of it. You just walked right in as soon as I unlocked our apartment and you went to this room and changed then went to bed. You seemed right at home." She just stared at him with skepticism. "You're really funny when you're tired. " She sat down at the table in the small dining room and stared at the food her brother placed in front of her. It was pancakes and bacon, a usual Saturday tradition.

"So have you gotten used to the kitchen?" Her eyes began to scan the rooms again. Everything was nice and clean, smelling of lemon cleaners and pancakes with bacon grease.

"Yeah, it's nothing fancy. It's pretty easy to use. The bathroom's down the hall on the right. My room's right across from yours, if you were wondering." Mozart sat down next to her and began to eat.

"Ok, sounds pretty standard. The garden's nice." Lafayel commented as she let the taste of the fluffy pancakes wake her up. Her mug of coffee sat by her plate, two sugar cubes and a bit of milk mixed in.

"It is. Our new neighbors have been taking good care of it. They must be nice people. Since it was too late last night to meet them, we might see them today. The land lady was also very nice. She helped carry our bags in when we arrived. She lives in the tiny house next door with her husband. Such a nice elderly couple. What was her name…Misuzu Ōyama? Yeah, that's what she said it was." He took a long sip of coffee.

"Looks like this apartment complex has a lot of rooms. Reminds me of the ones in New York."

"Only this one is much nicer than the ones in New York." He added.

"Yes, much nicer." Lafayel seconded and finished off her food.

"Why don't you go get changed and we'll start looking around the place?" Mozart suggested and she nodded.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Lafayel left for her rooms and picked out her outfit for the day.

My impressions of the place so far: It's beyond strange. Even though this apartment may look normal, I bet it's not and I bet the people (sorry if I sound like I'm jumping to conclusions) may also be equally as strange as the ones from yesterday. I've given up trying to guess what today's events will be like; I think I'll just try and absorb whatever is thrown at me.

The smell of my familiar clothes offer me some comfort along with the lingering taste of Mozart's pancakes. I never thought that I'd miss home so much. Well, then again, I planned on traveling around the world once I graduate from high school. I guess this will help me get used to being away from home.

My face looks a bit tired as I splash water on my skin. I shiver against the cold water and pat my face dry. Today is Sunday, and tomorrow will be my first day at my new high school. It will also be Mozart's first day as the new history teacher. In a sense, we'll be going to the same school. I have no idea what to expect from my new school. Mozart said it's got a good education program. It's called Cross Academy High School, if I remember correctly. Mozart said that my uniform would be arriving sometime today. Needless to say, I have mixed felling about going to a new school. Being the new kid is never a comfortable feeling.

Pushing aside the unpleasant thoughts of school, I brush my hair and collect my bag and camera. I could hear the keys to my motorcycle jingling in the bottom as they bumped up against my phone. That sound made me miss my bike. This then made me quicken my pace and walk back out into the kitchen.

"Ready to go?" Mozart asked. He had brushed his hair back a bit, but it still managed to look untamed.

"Yeah." I replied. I almost opened my mouth to ask about my bike and if it was delivered safely, but he smiled brightly, already knowing my thoughts.

"Don't worry about your bike; they delivered it last night before we even got to the apartment. The delivery people move fast and efficiently." He told me and I let out a sigh of relief. I almost made a lunge for the door, but his hand around the collar of my shirt stopped me. "Hold on, Lafayel, you can ride your bike later. I thought we agreed that we'd go exploring together. I'll have some work to take care of tonight at the school so you can go riding then. Deal?"

"Fine," I huffed, rather put out. As much as I wanted to spend time with my brother, I was anxious to go off by myself, but I didn't push the matter.

"That's the spirit!" He opened the door and we found our way blocked by several people as a rain of confetti came down on us. The colorful pieces of paper landed in our hair as we stared at them in confusion. They were grinning at us, their arms carrying various objects like a box of cake and some other food items. One of the guys even had a small cactus in his hands. "Uh…Hello…" Mozart said, trying to recollect himself.

"Hello, neighbor!" the one with spikey brown hair said in a cheerful voice. "You guys must be the new people who moved in!" He was dressed in shorts and a red T-shirt.

"Uh yeah, we are. We arrived last night."

"I see! Well it was a bit late so we couldn't come to congratulate you guys on moving in. my name's Lloyd Irving, nice to meet ya!" He extended the box of cake towards my brother.

"Nice to meet you as well. I'm Mozart Vivace and this is my sister Lafayel Vivace." I nodded and the sound of my name and smiled at Lloyd. He looked about my age, maybe younger.

"Lafayel-chan and Mozart-san, those are some interesting names. This is Haruhi Fujioka-chan and her father Ryouji-san. They live in room 220 down the hall." There was a thin girl with brown hair cut short like a boy's standing next to him with a crockpot in her hands. Her dad had long, light brown hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. Judging by the stubble on his chin, I'd say that he hasn't shaved in a while. Also his skin looks smooth, like a girls'. I think I might be getting ahead of myself.

"It's very nice to meet you," the girl said with a faint smile. "I made you a casserole. I hope you two enjoy it." She was wearing Capri pants and a T-shirt. Her dad wore pretty much the same thing.

"Thank you, Miss Fujioka." Mozart thanked her and took the crockpot from her. "It smells really good; I think we'll have it for dinner tonight."

"My Haruhi-chan is such a good cook." Haruhi's father told us with a prideful glean in his eyes.

"Ah you have such a daughter-complex." The tall guy next to Lloyd said. He was holding a dark gray cat with a black patch over his right eye. His outfit was a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and jeans.

"I don't wanna hear it from you, Suzaku." Ryouji snapped. The cat struggled in Suzaku's arms and bit down on his hand, causing him to wince. It looked like it hurt but he still held onto the cat.

"Can I leave now?" A silver haired guy asked irritably, scowling at Lloyd. "I have to meet the boss now for training!" Without waiting for a responce, the boy turned to leave, but was stopped by Lloyd's hand around the back of his shirt.

"You can play you're game later, Gokudera-kun. Right now you need to say hi to the new neighbors." Smling, Lloyd pulled him back against his will.

"Hi, nice to meet you. There, I said hi and now I'm leaving." Gokudera said stiffly and, wrenching his shirt from Lloyd, stalked off. Well someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

"Don't mind him too much, he's always like that. That was Gokudera Hayato; he lives in room 270. He's a good guy once you get to know him. This is Suzaku Kururugi-kun and the cat's name is Arthur. Suzaku lives in room 261 on this floor. And this is Hideki Motosuwa-san." Lloyd pointed to the other guy next to him. The man looked down at me with a nervous smile. It was obvious that he wasn't used to talking to people. By his side stood a girl with long blonde hair and round chocolate brown that seemed ever curious. The oddest thing I noticed was the two giant ear-like things on the side of her head. They looked like they were made out of white and pink plastic.

"Uh yeah, I'm Hideki and I live on the first floor in room 112." Hideki introduced himself quickly. "And this is Chi." He gestured to the blonde.

Chi? I titled my head to the side curiously and Chi copied me. Is that really a name? But who am I to judge? I come from a family of weird names. But what are those ears on her head? A fashion statement?

"I see, it's very nice to meet all of you." Mozart, being the naturally friendly person he is just smiled as if nothing was up. I could tell that I was going to be the only one who really thought our new home was full of weirdness.

"Uhm…if you don't mind my asking, why does Chi have those ear things?" I just had to go ahead and ask.

"Why? Because she's she a persocom." Hideki replied like it was the most natural thing in the world. He said it like I was supposed to know what that was.

I just stared at him questioningly. "A what?"

"A persocom. It's a human-like robot that can do just about anything. Have you never heard of them?"

If I had do you think I would be asking? "No, we don't have anything like that from where we come from."

"I see. Well don't worry about it. It's common around here in this country."

"So where are you guys from?" Lloyd asked me eagerly. I swear, with that eager-to-please smile and cheerful attitude, he acted just like a puppy. All you needed to do was put a pair of floppy ears and a tail on him and he'd be just like a dog. Lloyd reached over and took the tiny cactus from Suzaku.

"America. We come from Georgia." I could see their eyes grow wide with interest.

"Wow, amazing! America! That's so cool! That place is like on the other side of the world, right?" Lloyd exclaimed.

"I guess…" I replied, not really knowing what to say. Our neighbors seemed rather normal if not a bit eccentric. They certainly are lively. I get the food, but the cactus confuses me.

"Anyway, here's a cactus!" He holds the plant out to me and I just stare at it before taking its' terra cotta pot. The pot was cool against my skin.

"Thanks," that was all I could say. I'd never in my life received a cactus, but then again I've never had moving in welcome.

"Hey, Lafayel, why don't you go put the things away in the apartment and we'll get going." Mozart passed her a glance and I nodded as I balanced the gifts in my arms.

"Sure, brother." I went back inside and put the cake and casserole in the empty fridge. It began humming as soon as I opened it. As for the cactus, I put it on the desk in my room until I could figure out what to do with it.

"So it looks like you guys are going out. Where are you headed?" I heard Suzaku ask Mozart.

"Lafayel and I were going to go have a look around the town. Would you guys have any good places you'd recommend?"

"Scouting out the town huh. Sounds like fun! Here's a map of the town if you want." Suzaku pulled out a map and handed it to brother.

"Ah thank you, Suzaku. I'm sure that it will come in handy."

"Places to eat are easy! Wagnaria is a good family restaurant to eat at. The food is really good and the prices are great. Also Ichiraku ramen is really good! There's also Kaidan Restaurant, Russian Sushi, and a lot of others!" Lloyd told them excitedly, his eyes glowing at the thought of food.

"Basically, any place that has food will entice Lloyd." Suzaku whispered to her.

Actually I'm kinda the same way. As long as the food is edible, I'll go pretty much anywhere. Russian Sushi? Sounds different, yet slightly appealing. I thought to myself.

"What about that Maid Latte? The food is good and the waitresses in the maid outfits are just too cute." We all stared at Hideki with a look of contempt and slight disgust. Hideki's face looked happy as he talked about this Maid Latte place.

"Does Hideki like maid outfits, chi?" Chi asked and looked up at him. Her voice sounded devoid of emotion and was rather tentative.

"You're sick, Hideki. I knew you were a pervert, but could you keep it to yourself. I feel so sorry for Chi." Ryouji muttered and patted the persocom head.

"I-It's not like that!" Hideki protested, his face flushed.

"Riiiiight," the three guys sighed with a patronizing tone.

"Hey, dad, I'm gonna go head back." Haruhi said. "It was nice meeting you both, Lafayel and Mozart."

"Same to you." We replied and watched as she left down the hall.

"Wait up Haruhi-chan~!" her dad sang and followed her down the hall.

"Well, sorry to keep you guys from your day." Suzaku apologized to us. Arthur was still struggling in his arms. It seemed to me like Suzaku really liked the cat, but the feelings were rather one-sided.

"You weren't keeping us. It was nice to meet some of the other people living in this apartment complex." I heard Mozart said. I was too busy storing these people's faces away in my memory. They all seemed nice enough, but I was kinda anxious to get moving.

"Don't worry! You'll have much more time to meet all the other people in the apartment. Most of them haven't woken up yet or have gone off to their jobs!" Lloyd told us in that cheery voice again.

"We can't wait to me them." My brother and I said.

"Well, we'll be seeing you around then! If you need anything let us know!" Lloyd said as they all turned to leave.. I was beginning to think that he was the mouth piece of the whole group. He just keep talking and talking, like an Energizer Bunny that just kept going and going. So upbeat and lively.

"Alright then we'll be sure to keep that in mind." Mozart locked the door behind us as we head for the stairs. I looked over the railing and saw my motorcycle parked under a tree out in front of the building. The sunlight reflecting off its black surface calmed my homesickness a bit. My pace quickened as I raced ahead of Mozart down the steps towards my bike.

"I've missed you!" I couldn't help by saying as I stroked my bike's sleek body. The metal felt cool in the shade of the tree.

"I guess you really have missed it." Mozart commented behind me. "Remember what I said; you can go riding tonight."

Sometimes I hate my brother's stubbornness. Once he comes up with a plan he always wants to stick with it until the very end. "I know; I didn't forget." I huffed, reluctantly pulling myself away from the bike.

"Whoa! Is that your bike?" Lloyd's voice called down from the second level behind me. I turned slightly and saw his sparkling face eyeing my bike.

"Yeah…It is." I answered and readjusted my bag over my shoulder.

"It's amazing! For a moment there I thought it belonged to the Black Rider. That's an awesome bike!" He gave me a thumbs up and a smile.

"I guess it does…" I looked at the bike and then back at him, thinking hard.

"Hey, Lafayel, where are you going to be going to high school at?"

"Namimori High School."

"That's where I go to school! And where Suzaku and Haruhi go as well. There are a few other kids who go there too in our apartment complex, but I'll introduce them to you tomorrow. What year are you?"

"A first year. Also my brother will be teaching history at the school." I informed him.

"Cool! You're the same year as me!"

Well I guess I was right about us being close in age. And the opening ceremony was last week so everyone's been at school for at least a week. So I guess either way I'll still be the new kid. The one thing I learned from coming from a mafia family is to be good a gaining knowledge about people just from looking at them. I could only nod.

"Maybe we can walk to school together! also, can I call you Lafayel-chan?"

"Possibly." I didn't want to get his hopes up and I didn't really know when I was going to wake up tomorrow. I don't think I'll be able to get used to this whole kun and chan thing.

"Alright! See you then!" He waved at us as we walked away.

"Seems like a friendly kid. Looks like he's taken an interest in you." I could detect the teasing tone in his voice. I shot him a look only to get a smile in return.

"I wonder."

"They were good people. Though the cactus was a bit of a surprise."

"My thoughts exactly." I replied. My eyes wandered along the streets, taking in all the houses, trees, people, and everything else. Everything looked normal, but yesterday taught me that not everything is as it seems. So is life, I guess.

"So where shall we go first on our grand day out?" Mozart asks as he studies the map that Suzaku gave him.

"What's the whole point of an adventure if you don't go wherever the wind takes you? Will just use that map to help us if we get hopelessly lost." I answered and kicked a can down the sidewalk. My Converse touched the pavement lightly as I walked in step with Mozart's.