I'm so sorry about the late update. I've had this sitting on my computer for nearly a year but completely forgot about it. I'll try and update some other stories but it may take a while. I've been busy and have had a horrible case of writers block but I'm getting over the worst of it and will hopefully have at least one new story up if not have some others updated soon!

/Akira's POV/

"Welcome home Aniki." My little sister said. After a few moments, I pulled her back and held her at arm's length, looking at just how much she'd grown while I was away.

She was tall, but still shorter than I was and she was wearing a knee-length white dress that didn't have any sleeves and looked perfect on her. She had her long, waist-length black hair down and part of it was hanging over her right shoulder. Her big grey eyes smiled up at me and I could easily see the slight haze to them, giving away that she was blind.

Even though she didn't have any makeup on, she still looked beautiful. She was smiling softly and I couldn't help but smile back. "Did you miss me?" I asked, letting her go.

"Of course," She replied. "It's just not the same when you're not around."

"Really?"

"Yep. Though I will miss the peace and quiet I had without you coming to check up on me every thirty minutes or so." She smiled widely as she teased me.

"That's mean," I said, pretending to be hurt and playfully pouting. "I just wanted to make sure my precious little sister was fine." I smiled and turned a little red when my stomach grumbled loudly.

Hikiri frowned at me and said, "You skipped lunch, didn't you?" I laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of my head. "Baka Aniki." She said, "You would starve to death if you didn't have someone to remind you to eat."

"That's why I have you," I said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "I just couldn't wait to taste your cooking again. Dad's may be great, but I still think you're the better cook."

She wiggled out from under my arm and said, "You go put your things away and I'll make dinner." I smiled as I watched her head to the kitchen before I picked up my bags and went upstairs. I wasn't sure what happened to our mother's, but I was sure they'd be back in time for dinner. I was happy to be home.

/Nokoru's POV/

I was worried. Yesterday, Akira had been acting very strange. He'd been spaced out and seemed to be worrying over something but each time Suoh or I asked, he would just smiled and say he was fine.

I wasn't convinced so I sent him home early, hoping that he wasn't sick. I could tell that Suoh was also worried about the younger boy. We were even more worried when he didn't show up in the morning to do his council duties. I was going to call his house, but Suoh stopped me, saying that if Akira was sick, we should let him sleep instead of waking him up by making the phone ring.

I knew he was right so I decided that we would go and visit to see if he was alright after school if he still hadn't shown up. For the first time in…well, ever, I silently worked on my paperwork without Suoh having to make me do it. I had gotten a big chuck done by the time classes started. I was scolded by my teachers for not paying attention in class but I couldn't help but think something was going to happen.

When classes let out, I was glad to see Akira had made it to school that day and seemed to be doing better than he had yesterday. It seemed he had just overslept in the morning and his mothers had made a big fuss, thinking he was sick, and made him even later.

I was right about something happening because just as Akira was serving the tea, someone knocked on the door and opened it. We heard voices before we saw the people and I knew that one of the voices belonged to the chairwoman, though I didn't know about the other one.

It seemed Akira knew who it was though, since he make a little yelp and dove under my desk, evidently not wanting to be seen by whoever it was. Suoh and I looked at each other, wondering what was wrong but we didn't get a chance to say anything as the chairwoman stepped in with a boy about my age next to her.

Suoh and I blinked as we say the teen. He looked almost exactly like Akira except he was taller, more muscular, and had light brown eyes. I shook my head a little and bowed to the chairwoman, casting a glance at Akira who had his knees pulled up to his chest and his head buried in them.

"What can we do for you chairwoman?" I asked politely.

"Nokoru-kun, Suoh-kun, I'd like you both to meet our new transfer student." She said.

The boy smiled easily and bowed, saying, "It's nice to meet you both. My name is Ijyuin Akira." We must have looked just as shocked as we felt, for he frowned and asked, "What? Is something wrong?"

I barely registered the fact that the chairwoman was silently laughing and seemed to be enjoying herself. I regained my senses as quickly as I could and smiled, saying, "No, it's just…you remind us of someone." He didn't look like he believed me, but he nodded anyway. "This may sound strange," I began, wanting to know what was going on. "But do you by any chance have a younger brother?"

"No," He said, "But I do have a younger sister. She's two years younger than me but I doubt you two know her since she doesn't go to school here."

"Why not?" I asked, having put together some of what was going on. When he looked suspiciously at me, I said, "I was just wondering why you two wouldn't be going to the same school."

"She's blind so she has private tutors who come over and teach her." Akira answered. I glanced over and saw Suoh's eyes widen a fraction of an inch before they went back to normal. It seems he'd figured it out as well.

"Akira-kun will be starting tomorrow," The chairwoman cut in, "I hope you both will help him feel welcome." Suoh and I both nodded and started introducing ourselves to Akira.

/Chairwoman's POV/

I was silently laughing to myself as I watched Nokoru-kun and Suoh-kun meet Akira. Seeing the looks on their faces was priceless. I felt it would have been better had Hikiri-chan been there, but I figured she must be hiding somewhere. I was right as I saw Nokoru quickly glance to his desk, or under it to be more exact.

After Suoh and Nokoru were done introducing themselves, a little bit of an awkward silence came over the three, none knowing what to say. I felt I had bothered them enough for one day and I did get what I had come for, so I said, "Akira-kun, if you'll follow me we'll finish getting everything set up for your enrollment here."

"Ah, alright." He said and bowed once more to Nokoru and Suoh before we left.

/Nokoru's POV/

After the two left, there was a deafening silence in the room. Suoh and I turned to each other before Suoh headed over to me silently. I bent down and looked at the younger b-uh-girl for a little while. I watched as h-she tried to make his-herself (this is going to take some getting used to) into a smaller ball and she started shaking a tiny bit, though it was hard to notice if you weren't looking closely enough. I glanced to my side as Suoh knelt down beside me and I asked softly, "Care to explain?"

H-She curled in on herself even more and the shaking got a little worse. "I'm sorry," She whispered. Her voice was shaking and I knew that she was crying. Suoh and I looked at each other, unsure as to why she was crying exactly, though I had a pretty good guess.

I reached under my desk and gently slid hi-her out. She was much lighter than I had thought so it wasn't that hard. I looked at Suoh once more and he nodded in understanding.

I put my arms around her and tried to get her to stop crying as Suoh went to get a blanket, some tissues, and some tea and snacks. I had a feeling we'd be here a while as we listened to the whole story from the very beginning.

/Hikiri's POV/

This was torture. I ducked under Kaichou's desk as soon as I realized Aniki was coming in. I knew that made Kaichou and Takamura-senpai curious but at the moment, I didn't care.

I had to sit like that, listening with a heavy heart as my brother introduced himself and told them about me. I knew that Kaichou would figure it out fast and Takamura-senpai wouldn't be that far behind.

My secret was out. It was all over. I wished I would be able to disappear or at least turn invisible. I heard the door open and shut again and then the room was silent. Aniki and the chairwoman had left. I was dreading this moment.

I heard Kaichou bend down and ask quietly, "Care to explain?" I hugged my knees harder, not wanting to have to face them just yet. I was scared what they might think, and that they would be mad at me for deceiving them all these years.

They were my first real friends, and I didn't want to lose them. Part of me was mad at Aniki and the chairwoman for ruining everything, but the other, more reasonable, part of me knew this moment would have come sooner or later and it wasn't their fault.

I felt my knees getting wet and knew I had started crying. I tried to stop, but couldn't. I didn't know what I should do, so I just tried to curl into an even small ball, wishing myself to be anywhere but here at the moment. "I'm sorry," I whispered in a trembling voice, not knowing what else to do.

I felt a pair of arms come around me and gently pull me out from under the desk. I wasn't sure whether it was Kaichou or Takamura-senpai, but at the moment, I could have cared less.

A pair of warm arms wrapped themselves around me and I heard Kaichou saying softly, "Please don't cry. It's alright."

I felt as though I were only three years old as I buried my face in his shirt and cried, but I didn't care. They weren't yelling at me and didn't seem too mad, so I was happy, but I was also sad that things were going to change between us and mad that everything had come apart and scared about what might happen. I was overwhelmed at all the emotions that I felt and was letting them out through the form of tears.

I don't know how long I cried, but it felt like hours. I was drained and a little tired when I finally stopped. "Feel better?" I heard Kaichou ask softly and I flushed red with embarrassment. I did, however, feel better than before so I nodded a little bit, not looking up at him. I could feel the heat of my face and tried to will the blush away, though it refused to leave.

Kaichou laughed a little bit and I could swear my face went a darker shade of red. I probably looked like a tomato right about then. "I'm sorry." I said quietly, refusing to look up.

"For what?" Kaichou asked me, and I felt him softly brush a few hairs from my wig out of my face.

I was surprised by the question and said in a small voice, "I l-lied to you and I got y-your shirt all wet." Now that they knew the truth, I was a little embarrassed and shy; especially after I had just cried for what I think was about an hour or so like a three year old in front of them both.

"My shirt will dry," Kaichou said, "and I want to hear your reason for pretending to be your brother."

I nodded, knowing that I would have to tell them the truth now or probably tomorrow and if it wasn't now, I might chicken out and go back to America before I told them. I didn't want that so I let him help me up and guide me over to the couch where Takamura-senpai was waiting.

I kept my gaze directed towards the ground as I sat on the couch and pulled my legs up to my chest. I wasn't sure which one it was, but either Kaichou or Takamura-senpai draped a soft and warm blanket over my shoulders and pressed a few tissues into my hand.

"Thank you," I whispered and started to dry my eyes. The other two sat in silence, waiting for me to finish.

"Before you start your story," Kaichou started, "I'd like to know your real name."

"Hikiri." I said softly, still not looking at them. My wig was starting to get very itchy, considering it had been moving around a lot now. I reached up and started taking out the pins that were holding it in place before I took it off and shook my hair out, letting it fall down. I didn't hear a sound from either Kaichou or Takamura-senpai so I assumed they weren't surprised I had been wearing a wig.

/Suoh's POV/

Hikiri took off her wig and shook her hair out. My eyes widened and as I looked at Kaichou, I saw that he seemed just as surprised. Neither of us expected this. I thought she had cut her hair to make it more real, but I guess we were wrong.

With her hair down, she looked like a different person all together. For the first time, I saw the girl she really was instead of the boy we had always thought her to be. I felt my cheeks grow a little red and it took all my will power to hold it back.

She looked so vulnerable right now as she fiddled with her hair and stared at the ground, her cheeks and eyes red from so much crying. A small blush found its way onto my cheeks and try as I might, it didn't go away. I looked over at Kaichou and found he was smiling though his cheeks had gone a tad darker than their normal color.

I was glad I wasn't the only one. I looked back at Hikiri and couldn't help but smile as she tried to cover up a yawn. She was probably tired from all the crying she had done earlier.

It was strange to think that the boy we had been friends with for the past six years was actually a girl, but somehow…it seemed right. I always knew that 'Akira's' personality resembled that of a girls and 'he' did look and seem more feminine than most boys.

I smiled as I saw that Hikiri was trying to hold off sleep so she could tell us her reason for disguising herself as her brother, and I couldn't deny that she looked cute at the moment, her red cheeks looking like a blush and her eyes half open.

/Hikiri's POV/

I was on the verge of falling asleep, but I knew if I didn't tell them the story tonight, I'd be too scared to do it later on. "You can tell us tomorrow if you're too tired tonight." Kaichou's voice sounded a little far off even though he was sitting right across from me.

I shook my head. "If I don't do it tonight, I probably won't be able to do it tomorrow."

Kaichou was silent for a few moments before he said, "Well, before you start, can you tell me where your brother was for the past six years and why he doesn't know?"

I nodded and said, "Aniki was with our father, traveling around the world. We all kept it from him because he's very overprotective of me and thinks of me more as a delicate flower then a little sister who is capable of doing most of the things he can. He thinks that if I were to go to school, I'd be hurt or made fun of since I'm different than everyone else. Also because he absolutely hates the idea of guys trying to be my friends, thinking they'll corrupt me and I won't be his innocent little sister anymore.

"That's why if he finds out about this the first people he'll blow up at are you two. It takes forever to try and calm him down and listen to what we have to say." After a few moments of silence, I asked, "Do you have any other questions?"

"No, you may start now." Kaichou said. He didn't sound mad so I wasn't as nervous as I would have been, but he's never gotten mad at a lady before. I wasn't much of a lady right then, but he was still being kind.

I took a deep breath and started in on my story. "I was born blind, and because of that, I wasn't allowed to do many things…

/Nokoru's POV/

Suoh and I listened as she told us why she did what she did. She only wanted to know what school was like and make a few friends. The easiest way to do that was to pretend to be her brother who was already enrolled at the school.

I wasn't very surprised to learn that the chairwoman agreed to this. It sounded like the kind of thing she would do. What I had thought would be a long and confusing story was actually not that long and very straightforward.

She wasn't allowed to do much; she wanted to go to school; she wanted to show her family she wasn't just some fragile flower who needed constant protecting, and she just wanted to make some friends.

I understood the last reason better than she probably thought I did. I had grown up without getting close to anyone for fear I could be a danger to them. It was always lonely with nobody to talk to or have fun with.

Then I met Suoh. He didn't seem very comfortable around me at first, but after he saved me, he swore to protect me. I knew he was more than capable, and I desperately wanted a friend, so I was very happy. It was only a few years later when we came across Aki-uh-Hikiri.

I wasn't sure what it was, but something drew me to the disguised girl. I didn't want to put 'him' at risk so I told myself I'd be fine with just Suoh by my side. That plan backfired when 'he' kept showing up almost everywhere we were. Suoh thought 'he' was following us and for the first few days, I did to.

I confronted 'him' about it after a week and 'he' admitted that 'he' had been following us. When I asked why, 'he' held up a notebook and said, "You dropped this and I was trying to give it back to you." (A/N: I know, terrible, but it was all I could think of)

I had been very confused since I looked everywhere for it and hadn't been able to find it. "Why didn't you bring it to the student council office?" I'd asked the 'boy'.

'He' flushed a deep red and muttered something that translated to "I didn't know where it was." I think that was the first time I'd laughed fully and truly in a very long time. I still don't know what compelled me to laugh, but whatever it was, I was glad because after that I started spending more time around 'him' and eventually made 'him' the treasurer. It was a very good decision.

I opened my mouth to say something but the words got caught in my throat when I found Hikiri had fallen asleep. I smiled at how peaceful she looked, a little bit of a relived look on her face. She must have been glad to finally get the truth out.

"What happens now?" I whispered to Suoh.

"I don't know," He said softly, "I guess we just wait and see." I nodded, since there was nothing else to say. I stood up and went over to the couch, readjusting the blanket so it covered Hikiri completely except for her head. She had, at some point, switched to lying down on the couch and was using one of the cushions as a pillow.

I took a glance outside and found it was getting rather late. "I'll have her mother's come pick her up." I said quietly and Suoh nodded. He went to pack up his things as I headed over to the phone sitting on my desk.

Just as I was starting to dial Hikiri's house, the door to the council room banged open and Hikiri's older brother stormed in. Suoh and I were shocked and watched as he glared around the room, his eyes landing on Hikiri and then moving over to us.

"Can we help you?" I asked, glancing over and seeing that he had woken Hikiri who was sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Aniki?" Hikiri muttered sleepily.

I know, it's short, but I'll update the next chapter soon! Promise!