Book two!! Book two!! Book two!! Book two!!

Right, so far I've got two votes for plushie. (Yes, it would be evil, wouldn't it Saphira112 XD Muwahahahahah! oh, shouldn't laugh...) If you have not voted, vote dammit! Sorry if I sound demanding, but I'm still stuck. Although the plushie is taunting me now…

Yes, I liked the image of Tsuzuki in cupcake boxers too, laustic. They suit him, no? And thank you Hiyami, Aerith 21, Kouri18 for saying how sweet it was. I was worried it would seem strange for Hisoka to just suddenly agree to kiss him, but hey, I had to get them to do it at some point to get their relationship rolling. You were all the ones who finally pushed me to do it, my lovely reviewers, so thank you. That is why you should reveiw! It pushes me to actually accomplish something!

DesertQueen, I cannot tell you how happy you've made me! I really want to be an author, so hearing I have the stuff makes me feel so good. I have started on my first book, check my profile for more info. You'll know when it's been published because I'll be on the news as the crazy girl dancing in the streets at rush hour.

Oh, I have artwork now too! It's a picture from the first chappie. I want to post it somewhere, but I have no clue where. I heard good things about DeviantArt, should I join and post it there? My big issue is it must be free. I have no extra cash right now to be paying membership fees. Recommendations and info on DA appreciated.

Disclaimer: ah, how I wish it was mine. Sadly, it is not. Read on.

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Neina, Hisoka and Tsuzuki were once again summoned to the briefing room together. None of them were very enthusiastic considering everything that had transpired the last time this happened. And Tsuzuki was still hung over from new years, making him groan at every word and cringe at every shift in the light.

They sat, Neina crossing both her arms and her legs. "Does Enma have another 'favor' to ask? Because I'd love to relay where he can shove it."

Konohe coughed, though he understood Neina's chagrin. He'd heard about how she'd nearly changed her entire form in the fight.

"No favors, Neina-san. Just a simple mission that we were hoping you could help out on."

"That's what you said last time," Neina and Hisoka growled together, wearing identical expressions of annoyance.

Konohe smiled and pointed at them. "And that's why we need you?" Everyone had various expressions of confusion on his or her face. The chief smiled even more. "You and Hisoka are...fairly similar. And that's what we need for this mission. We need the three of you to infiltrate a boarding school to the east of Kyushu."

"A boarding school?" Tsuzuki tilted his head. "Okay…uh, why?"

Konohe turned to Tatsumi and nodded. The secretary turned off the light and turned on a projector. "About three weeks ago, souls began turning up before their predestined time. Each one has had some sort of affiliation with this school." A slide came on depicting an old western style building, four stories tall and obviously expanding through out the plains around it.

"Hosenki Academy. Very prestigious, only the most intelligent or those who have enough money to fake it are accepted as students or faculty."

"Then I take it Tsuzuki will be the janitor?"

"Hey!" Neina's Cheshire grin grew when he groaned at his own outburst and clutched his head.

"Ahem. As I was saying, they have been turning up dead at a rather alarming rate. Five in the last three weeks alone." He switched to the next slide and there was a collective groan and the sound of Tsuzuki's head hitting the table.

"Tatsumi, we just ate lunch! Was this really necessary?" Hisoka asked. The slide was of a mangled corpse, half-rotted with missing patches of skin and muscle tissue. The corpse was female, from the looks of the tattered remains of her school uniform.

"I'm afraid so. How old does this corpse look to you?"

Neina folded her arms and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Judging by the decomposition and mass of emaciated flesh, I'd say about a month." They all looked at her and she shrugged. "You hang around the forensic nerds in the Guard long enough, you learn some stuff."

Tatsumi nodded. "A well estimated guess, but you're wrong I'm afraid. This photo was taking around 48 hours after her disappearance."

They all gaped, Tsuzuki immediately putting his head back down when a wave of nausea threatened the S.S. Stomach.

"Two days?!" Hisoka said incredulously. "That's how she looks after two days?!"

Tatsumi nodded again, moving to the next slide, and the next, and the next, all of which were of rotting corpses. They varied in gender, height, weight, hair color, age and even nationality. One was even a faculty member. There was no apparent common thread.

"So, is it just some random psychopath?" Tsuzuki moaned.

"It's not as random as it appears," Konohe said gravely. "There is one common thread among all of these people." Tatsumi took his cue and clicked to the last slide, a collage of pictures of each victim still living and standing next to another person that was almost a mirror of them. "They were each one of a set of twins."

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Hisoka sighed, tapping his foot impatiently. Said foot was now clad in a black patent leather dress shoe, like his brother. These were slightly covered by blue and red plaid pants. Above the pants was a white dress shirt covered by cream colored jacket. The Hoskenki Academy seal was over the breast pocket. He pulled at the red tie around his neck to further convey his agitation.

"Oh for the love of…will you just come out already?! I'm not happy about this either! Let's just to get it over with."

There was a shuffling from behind the door but it did not open. "I'm not coming out!" Neina yelled.

Hisoka turned, throwing up his hands in desperation. Watari smiled encouragingly and motioned for him to try again.

"Neina, please. We're going to be late at this rate."

"Don't care, go without me."

"What exactly is the matter, Neina-san?" Tatsumi asked soothingly.

"I look freakin' ridiculous, that's what's the matter! I have a son, I should not be dressing in a schoolgirl's uniform!"

Wakaba came to the front. She had been the last to see Neina before she shut herself up in the break room. "Neina, you look great! I mean, you don't look a day over eighteen, and you look even younger thanks to what we did with the make-up and everything."

There was a slight pause in which everyone held their breath. "No. You all lose any respect for me if I come out now."

They all sighed. "Dammit woman, come out or I'll drag you out!" Terazuma yelled.

"You'll be paying for the damages if you do," Neina pointed out. He returned to the back with a grunt of annoyance.

"Neina, please come out. We need to finish our mission. Saya and Yuma aren't here, you don't have to fear anything," Tsuzuki said as calmly and sweetly as he could manage.

"Mmmmmgh…no. I can't, its just too humiliating."

Everyone was about to just storm the door when Watari held up a hand. Tip-toeing to the door, he cupped a hand over his mouth. "Tsuzuki, I know Hisoka looks great in his uniform, but don't molest the poor boy!"

There was a collective gasp of horror before the door swung open and off its hinges. "WHAT?!? Tsuzuki, I'm gonna…" She trailed off when she realized what had just happened and stares of mutual shock were exchanged. Neina covered her face with her right hand in mortification. "I can't believe I fell for that," she groaned. The hand didn't leave her face, but she opened her unblocked eye to take in their reactions.

The skirt was like Hisoka's slacks, a plaid of blue and red. The blazer was nearly identical but cut for Neina's shapelier figure. Instead of a tie a red bow was tied around her neck. She wore knee high socks and a pair of brown loafers. Her hair was separated into two pigtails, braided half way through each. Little red rhinestone clips shaped like hearts held her banes back. Around her neck was a heart pendant (the one Shadow gave her).

Hisoka stared wide eyed at the girl in front of him, having to remind himself that she was his mother and there for over forty years old. The other men in her audience gaped, resisting the urge to drool. Terazuma's cigarette fell out of his mouth to smolder on the tile floor. Wakaba smiled and bounded up to her.

"See, you look great!" She pulled her hand away, revealing the faint pinkish glow around her cheeks.

Watari wolf whistled. Tatsumi coughed and attempted to regain his composure while Terazuma turned away and lit another cig. Tsuzuki pulled Hisoka to the front and positioned him next to his mother.

"Whoa…they do look like twins!!"

Both Neina and Hisoka scowled, eyebrows twitching slightly. "Can we just get this over with?" they chorused. A look of surprise was exchanged and Watari began laughing hysterically. "Stop that! Stop! You stop!"

"Crap they even sound like twins," Terazuma graveled.

"Shut up! Ugh!" They through up their hands, before Neina began laughing.

"Okay, enough with the twilight zone moment. Can we just go, please?"

"Just a second," Wakaba chirped. She gently loosened the bow around her neck and retied it, making it a little fluffier and cuter. "There. Say…where'd you get this?" she held the pendant between her hands, admiring the red crystal in the middle.

"Uh…it was a Christmas gift," she said evasively.

"Really? From who?" She was to busy admiring the stone to see the blush and chagrin on the other woman's face.

"Someone. Okay, let's go!"

Hisoka, now suspicious, held up a hand. "What 'someone'?"

"Just someone," Neina smiled, backing up and searching quickly for an escape route.

"Kelton?" Tsuzuki asked.

"N-no."

"Runa?"

"Noooo…"

"Then who?"

Neina picked idly at the leather thong the pendant was attached to and muttered her answer. Cringing when Hisoka asked again, she took a deep breath. "Shadow."

Hisoka's eye twitched at the mention of the man in the black cloak. He hadn't seen him since the night of the Masquerade and hadn't complained, the way he acted so friendly towards his mother was a little off-putting.

"And you accepted it?!"

"Why not? He's been nothing but helpful and nice." And incredibly mysterious and allure—shit, I've got to stop that!

"We know nothing about him and your accepting his gifts?!" Everyone else exchanged glances and slowly backed away out the door, afraid of what the two blondes would do in such a confrontation.

"Hisoka, it's not a big deal."

"Then why didn't you just come out and say it?"

"Maybe because I thought you'd think it was…like I was betraying your father."

"Yeah, and what about my father? What would he think of you wearing another guy's gift? One who comes to your rescue and kisses your hand…" he looked away, pouting though he knew it was childish. Just something about the thought of his mother loving another man made him angry and agitated.

Neina blinked, realizing that that was indeed the reason Hisoka was upset. After talking about how much they loved each other, he thought she was trying to replace her missing husband. Smiling, she reached out and hugged him, ignoring he fact that he was tenser than a stretched rubber band.

"Hisoka, your father is the only man I will ever love that way. If I wear a necklace, it's because I like it, not because of who gave it to me. But if it makes you feel better, I'll give it back the next time I see Shadow."

"You're going to see him again?" the boy grumbled. Neina pushed away and shrugged.

"I don't know where he goes when I don't see him. He always finds me somehow."

Hisoka looked down, considering. Was he really that childish? "No, you can keep it if you want," he muttered. Neina smiled and hugged him again.

"By the way, did I tell you how you look absolutely adorable?" She rubbed her cheek against his, not minding how hot it felt.

Hisoka blushed, disengaged himself from the woman and walked as calmly as he could muster out the door. Neina laughed, but it died bitterly in her throat. Holding the pendant, she shut her eyes tightly. I wish I could believe myself. I really do.

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"Everyone, settle down!" a short dumpy middle aged man said to the class. The teens, all dressed in their uniforms, sat and stared at him expectantly. "Alright, after Harada-sensei's unfortunate accident, I've finally found you a replacement teacher. Please show some respect to Tsuzuki Asato-sensei, you're new English teacher."

Tsuzuki came in, smiling and waving. "Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, Tsuzuki-sensei." They all rose and bowed in an almost robotic fashion, sending a chill up the brunette's back.

"Ah, yes. Well, I also have some new faces to introduce you to. Come in, please." Hisoka and Neina filed in, Hisoka looking aloof and disinterested while his 'sister' smiled as warmly as she could manage to the class. "Introduce yourselves."

"I'm Hisoka Kurosaki," he sighed.

"And I'm Sakuya Kurosaki." All the boys in the class were at attention, nostrils flared and eyes bright as they looked her over. Hisoka felt immediately irked and tempted to set them ablaze for the way they leered at his mother. Er, sister.

"Alright, please take a seat." Tsuzuki picked up the English book on the desk, once again thanking Neina silently for allowing him to once again borrow a translator pendant so he wouldn't blow his cover. The class went off without a hitch, many of the students (mostly girls) came up to introduce themselves when it was over to introduce themselves and compliment his fluidity with the other language.

"Wow, Tsuzuki-sensei is so hot!"

"I know. I mean, I still miss Harada-sensei, he was so nice, but wow!"

Hisoka had an even bigger urge to set these girls ablaze for some reason he chose not to identify. "What happened to this Harada guy anyway?" he asked, trying to sound bored. The girls turned to him and blushed. He had been their next topic of discussion, this boy with large green eyes and china doll skin.

"Um, well, he died. He…" her friend, nudged her, shaking her head. "He just died."

They ran off before he could try again. Sighing he turned to see if his fellow student under cover was doing any better and nearly fell out of his seat. Neina was sitting in her desk, smiling pleasantly, surrounded by a mob of boys. There were some girls as well, but mostly drooling young men.

"Ne, Kurosaki-chan, where are you from?" one asked.

"Well, we were born in near Tokyo, but we move around a lot because of our family's business. It's really boring, don't ask," she laughed.

"Who's older, you or your brother?"

"I am, by about three minutes. We're twins," she said innocently, ready to gauge their reaction. Everyone grew rigid and paled. Neina shot her son a glance and he nodded, reaching into his pocket. He set his dampener so that it would allow more emotions through, concentrating hard. There was fear, revelation, pity and…lust. A lot of lust. Quickly he turned it back to max, his own feeling turning to queasiness at the thought of them lusting after her.

Neina didn't look phased and simply tilted her head cutely. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"W-well…there's kind of a myth around here about twins." Neina leaned in, trying to show her interest to the timid young man who had spoken up. "They say that there's a curse here, that there's something here that…that judges twins."

"Judges them?"

"Y-yeah. You know, like which one is good and which one is evil. The evil one…it supposedly kills it." The rest of the class glared at him, but Neina just smiled.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to be on our best behavior. Won't we, brother?" Hisoka snorted and crossed his arms, leaning back in his desk.

"Don't worry, Kurosaki-chan!" one of the larger boys said. "It's just a myth! Nothing bad will happen to you here, not on our watch!"

Hisoka rolled his eyes, and he could just barely feel Neina's agreement on the outer layers of her shield. But she managed to just smile. "Thank you. I feel safer already." The boy overheated with a large grin on his face and flopped down to the ground.

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"The twins are being judged?" Tsuzuki asked. He sliced into his cake and chewed it in thought.

"Yeah. It kills the 'evil' twin. At least, that's what they said," Hisoka said.

"But evil is such a generalized word. I don't get it," the woman said, shaking her head.

"What do you mean?" Neina picked up her own fork, twirled it masterfully and scooped up the last chunk of his cake. "Aaaaaah! Neina!" He watched teary eyed as she swallowed it and sipped her tea.

"Would you say that was evil?"

"Yes!"

"As evil as say stealing? Or lying? Or killing?" Tsuzuki grew silently and relaxed from his fighting pose as she talked. "What's this things criterion? How can it judge evil when evil can be so many different things to so many different people?"

"But lying, stealing and killing are always bad," Hisoka pointed out.

"Always? We lie all the time. We lied today. But it's for the sake of saving people. So is it still bad?" Hisoka remained silent. "Let's pretend for a moment. Say one of us is sick and it's an illness we can die from, even you two. The only cure costs more than any of us can afford, than we can scrape together even in the ministry. Would you steal it, if it meant saving a life?" The men looked down, contemplating. "Now, lets say Muraki held one of us hostage. The only way to save the hostage is to kill him. Could you?"

"That one's easy, of course," Hisoka said with finality.

"Oh? What if it wasn't Muraki? What if it was someone else, someone we've never met? Someone who could very well have someone they care for but had a blood thirst he was dying to sate. Could you kill him then?" Hisoka's eyes grew distant and Tsuzuki stared at the remains of his dessert. "You'd better get use to the idea. Because it's a decision you might have to make one day."

Neina jolted, as if shocked at what she had said. Rising, she smiled in apology. "Well, enough of the ethos lecture! I vote we return to the hotel, since they think we live around here and don't have to return to the dorms anyway." They nodded, trying to shake off the seriousness of that conversation.

It sounds…like she's heard it before herself. A long time ago…Hisoka thought. Neina...what did you do before now? What is life to you?

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Alright, I'm just going to leave it there for now. Starting off slow cause I'm coming off a small case of writer's block. Next update soon, promise.

REVIEW and SUGGEST stuff, please! I need ideas for vignettes. And the question from book one is still in effect, so cast your vote! PM me if you want it private. And if you don't like the title of this book, I'd welcome other suggestions. Titles are hard for me.

Next time: high school sucks even without the threat of being murdered, or so the three agents shall learn. Tsuzuki makes a shocking statement to his partner that may change everything. And Shadow…makes Neina cry. All the while, they are being watched by something not even Neina knows.