Disclaimer: Gakuen Heaven and all its characters belong to SPRAY.

An impressive stack of papers hid the king from view as he rested his head against his cool, hard desktop.

He'd been going through those damn forms for what seemed like hours. Paperwork was definitely not his thing. The work he did kept him on his toes on a normal basis, but during the festival preparation, it seemed to double in quantity. If he had known this was what was waiting for him as president, he would've kept his big mouth shut during the elections.

Maybe he should've asked for a secretary. With a groan, he lifted his head and glared at the pile of papers looming in front of him before shifting his glare toward his vice president.

"Glaring at us won't make us go away," Nakajima Hideaki stated without taking his eyes off his computer screen. His fingers were a blur as he typed away, probably butting heads with the treasury again.

Niwa narrowed his eyes. How the hell did the man sense these things?

"I'm not glaring at you."

"Yes, you are. And stop pouting."

"I'm not pouting!" Hide didn't respond as he continued his finger marathon. Niwa watched him curiously. The man was a machine and watching him work made the king feel exhausted. It was like watching one scene in a movie looped over and over again. A man sitting at a computer. A man typing away at the computer. Forever. The end.

Not that Hide was a workaholic by any means. Sure, he was a hard worker and a real slave driver, but even he knew how to quit for some fun and relaxation. Even if his idea of fun sometimes involved some form of sadism. Hide seemed to get off on others' discomfort.

When he wasn't in a sadistic mood, the vice president would head over to his favorite jazz bar out in town. Niwa had accompanied him a couple of times, but the brunet found that the mellow mood provided by the smooth music wasn't quite compatible with his taste. It just wasn't physical enough. When the king wasn't sparring, he was a clubbing kind of man. The sweat and energy released from dancing was the only way to blow the stress of one's days away. Of course, meeting some lovely ladies was an additional perk.

Today would be a good day to ride into town, if he could convince Hide.

"Hey, Hide, how about taking a break?"

"You just had a break."

"A bathroom break isn't a break."

"We're behind on our work because of the festival plans. You should try to finish them before we leave."

Niwa glanced at the mountain before him and winced. "How about giving me a hand, ol' buddy?"

"I've already finished my part. That's your portion of the work."

Those fingers didn't pause once in its typing, but that didn't deter Niwa. He was used to these little exchanges with his vice president, and although it was tough winning against Hide, the king himself was at his best when trying to escape paperwork. Niwa sat up in his chair and stretched his arms over his head, yawning loudly.

"You're something else, Hide. I don't know many people as impressive as you. I bet you can do these things in your sleep."

"You can butter me up all you want, but you're still not getting out of it."

Niwa lowered his arms and tried a different approach. "You've been having too much fun over there, my friend. Don't you know how much time's flown by?" The only clock in the room was on his desk and Hide didn't own a watch.

"It's only been twenty-three minutes."

That was unexpected. "What? Are you counting time now?"

"I don't have to." The vice president finally stopped typing and swiveled around in his chair. He was holding something in his hand. Niwa stared at it.

It was a tiny blue teddy bear. Just like the chairman's bear but a lot smaller. And was that a small clock in its belly?

"What the hell?" Niwa raised his eyes to the bespectacled face suspiciously. A smiling Nakajima Hideaki holding a teddy bear was not to be trusted.

"Just a little gift from the chairman. I want you to meet…Paperwork Teddy."

Niwa felt a twitch in his eye.

"It's actually quite practical. Not only does it come with a little clock, but…" Hide reached up and pinched the right ear of the bear.

"Get back to work, you lazy bum!" cried the high-pitched and surprisingly loud little voice. Nakajima smirked, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "It's programmable." He pinned the bear onto his jacket and turned back to his computer. Niwa just stared, dumbstruck. A gift? From the chairman?

Wait a minute. "I'm gonna squash that thing," the brunet declared, coming out of his daze and pointing a finger. "Then I'm gonna find that damn chairman and tell him I changed my mind about not killing him and then squash him, too."

"Oh, he has no idea what I'm using it for so it's not his fault. I told him he owed me for not leaking his little secret."

"Hide, you're blackmailing our chairman?"

"Paperwork rocks my socks!" The fact that the dumb bear had no socks was obviously beside the point.

Hide chuckled and Niwa scowled thunderously.

"Oh, you think this is fu—"

Paperwork Teddy wasn't finished. As it began singing an ear-piercing anthem about the joys of paperwork, Niwa rose from his chair. As he stalked over to the other, who stood up as well, the latter put up a hand.

"The bear is a loaner. If you destroy this little guy, it's coming out of our budget."

"Do I care?"

"Two hundred thirty thousand yen."

"What! This little toy?"

"This little toy is high tech, and the clock is solid gold. Plus, it shoots lasers from its eyes."

Niwa stared in disbelief at the little animal who had thankfully, for all their sakes, stopped singing. Though he was skeptical of the little bear's worth, and the part about the lasers, he wasn't going to take any chances.

Cursing, he refrained from stomping on the accursed thing. As the blue-haired vice president sat back down at his station, something occurred to the brunet. "Hide, did you sing that song into him?" The other didn't reply and started typing away once again. Niwa threw a smirk at the man's back and made his way back to his desk, scheming of ways to snatch Hide's new toy. But the smirk soon fell off his face.

"Get back to work, you lazy bum!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Kazuki's eyes watered as he yawned, causing the words on the curriculum report to blur. He looked at his watch. Nine-forty. Once again, work occupied him to the point of missing dinner. Well at least this time he didn't have to worry about making Keita wait on him.

His face fell. Thinking about the redhead made him feel depressed all over again. For the last few hours, he was given reprieve through work. Now that he was finished, he could feel the weight of reality bore down on him again.

I wonder what Keita's doing right now? He hadn't seen or spoken to the younger boy since last night and, truthfully, he still wasn't sure what he should do. And that was a bad trait for someone in his position.

He gave a small laugh at the irony of his situation. Suzubishi Kazuki was definitely a worrywart. It must've come from his mother's side of the family. Keita used to tease him about his over-protectiveness, declaring him a mother hen or worse, his grandma. The current young chairman of BL was of a much different cut than his predecessors, and Kazuki often wondered if he was the right man for the job.

But he had no choice. It was the late chairman's wish for him to take over leadership and lead Suzubishi into greater heights and prosperity. The elder died trusting in his young grandson's abilities to surpass the former in his glory. Why the late patriarch believed in him so, the young blond guessed he'd never know.

Kazuki's father passed away when Kazuki was four, and his mother remarried a year later at his grandfather's bidding. Yasuda Kano was a man very much like the Suzubishis and was currently the VP of operations at headquarters. He handled much of the daily enforcement of the company with an iron fist similar to the predecessor he replaced. While Kazuki was CEO in name, his current position as chairman of the school kept him from stepping up to the front lines as an active head of the conglomerate. As a result, he relied on his stepfather to handle the company as an interim CEO which worked out well for everyone.

Kazuki hoped he didn't let his grandfather and the rest of the family down, but he was constantly reminded of how painfully wimpy—for lack of a better word—he was compared to the former leaders and even his stepfather. Not that he was a coward by any means, but he had received more traits from the Endo side of the family. He was very much like his mother: quiet, compassionate, obliging, charitable, and a worrywart. Not like the dominating, tenacious, unyielding Suzubishis.

The king's words suddenly came back to him. You're men. Be clear about what you want. Don't sweat the small stuff. It was similar to the words that had been drilled into him during his youth as he was molded step by step to fill his predestined shoes. You're a Suzubishi. You must be firm and unyielding. You must always exude an image of strength and infallibility.

Now that he thought of it, the king would've made a perfect Suzubishi. The man was definitely firm and unyielding in his ideas and beliefs. He was strong, courageous, charismatic, and clever. Very rarely did he have enemies, mainly because he had a way of charming everyone but also because he could scare the living crap out of them. Oh yes, Niwa Tetsuya was a real shoo-in for a Suzubishi.

Kazuki sighed and shut down his laptop. His stomach rumbled in complaint and the sound was loud in his spacious office. He rubbed at his flat belly.

"Okay, okay. Let's see if we can grab a little something from the cafeteria before it closes." He went to retrieve his student uniform out of his closet. His disguise.

He supposed he didn't have to insist on continuing this charade, but he had to admit he liked pretending to be Endo Kazuki, unremarkable freshman. It was exhilarating in a way, like being a spy. It also gave him a unique student's perspective on the happenings of Bell Liberty which, in his opinion, gave him an edge in knowing what was going on at his school. An edge, much to his satisfaction, that his predecessors didn't have.

Making a quick change in his bathroom, Kazuki pulled out his cell phone from his jacket pocket. He wondered if he should send Keita a little message. He didn't want to give the impression that he was avoiding the other, even if that was what he was doing, albeit unintentionally. Although he was still unsure how to proceed from here on out, one thing was certain. He still cared for Keita.

As soon as he started punching in a short greeting, he was interrupted by a knock on his door. Kazuki looked up with a start. Ishizuka left hours ago. Who could that be at this time of night?

"Yes?"

"It's us. We thought you might still be here."

Saionji Kaoru and Shichijo Omi, the two students from treasury who worked under the current chairman as undercover security operatives, poked their heads into the office. Although Kazuki released them from their obligation to him weeks ago, they decided to continue working for him which the chairman appreciated greatly.

"Sorry to bother you this late, but we came across something we thought you should see," Kaoru said, looking as elegant and as flawless as ever even at this hour. Kazuki envied him that power. The man was a god. Or maybe goddess. The rose-haired bishounen was considered the queen of the school after all. Omi's smiling face nodded once to the chairman as he followed Kaoru's lead.

Kazuki put his phone away. He knew anything these two found suspicious was worth his undivided attention. "What is it?"

Kaoru handed him a printout. The blond took it and together, they sat down on the edge of his desk. Omi perched himself on the arm of a chair. They had long since forgone formalities. "Omi was going through the weekly server check when he noticed this from the main server." Kaoru pointed at something on the page. Kazuki narrowed his eyes.

"This is…"

Kaoru nodded. "Whoever it was took care to be invisible. As you can see, this was no ordinary job."

"But, it should be near impossible to get so far into the security grid."

"It is impossible," Kazuki looked up at Omi who decided to speak up, "for anyone outside the grid."

There was a brief silence as the implication set in. "In other words, this originated from inside." The chairman looked up to meet two very serious pairs of eyes. It was similar to what they had found when the security was breached a while back by none other than the former school nurse, only this went further beyond that level. Kazuki wasn't going to ask the two students if they were sure about the accuracy of this report; he knew them well enough to know they wouldn't have brought it to his attention unless they were absolutely sure. They had his complete trust.

But apparently, someone else under him didn't.

"Have you figured out the motivation?"

"Not yet, but from what we've seen so far, it doesn't look like anything was stolen."

Kazuki pondered in silence for a moment, absently chewing on a fingernail. "I take it you're on this." The two students nodded. "Keep me informed of any new development. Also, be on the lookout for more blips on the grid, especially the higher levels. If a breach was made to this degree, we shouldn't take any chances. And check the prior weeks."

"And the levels for which we don't have clearance?" Omi inquired. Kazuki stared at them for a long time.

"The password is K8-LAZULI16. That should give you access to levels 2 and 3. I'll personally check anything above that."

The two students nodded and turned to leave the office after bidding good night. Kaoru paused at the door after Omi walked through it.

"Is everything all right between you and Ito-kun?" he asked as an afterthought.

Kazuki looked startled, then he sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but you don't have a very good poker-face, and neither does he."

"We've just hit a rough patch, but it'll smooth over soon enough."

"I hope so. When the two of you are in a slump you affect many others." Giving a small bow, the queen made his graceful exit.

Kazuki remained in his office to consider the comment. It was true that Keita's feelings had the power to influence others, but he had to wonder if Saionji-san wasn't exaggerating about his own. He was just average, unremarkable freshman Endo Kazuki, and he knew he didn't stand out. Without Keita by his side, his power to influence was probably zilch.

He looked back down at the treasury's report which felt very heavy in his hands. Things had been quite peaceful and quiet since the vice chairman's resignation, but it looked like the calm was over. He tried easing his mind with a deep breath and released it slowly. Hopefully, this wouldn't turn into another MVP battle. Luck didn't seem to be on his side much these days.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was severely after curfew when a bone-weary chairman made it back to his room in the dorms. After his conference with the treasury, he stayed behind to make some inquiries on the security breach, with the results being somewhat elusive. That implied that the infiltrator was no novice and that things were going to get troublesome. After almost two hours, he gave up for the night. It made him miss his chance to grab some food and his stomach was now dead silent, passed the point of feeling anymore, a sensation he was starting to get used to.

Sagging against his door, he nearly crooned in happiness at the prospect of a warm bed and plush pillow, but he didn't go in just yet; his attention was drawn to the door next to his.

The blond hadn't seen or spoken to the redhead since the previous night when the former walked through that very door and found himself unexpectedly dumped, and a series of circumstances as well as his cowardice prevented him from calling all day. Eyeing the door, he grappled with the knowledge that Keita was just on the other side and the almost palpable awareness of his friend's proximity nearly overwhelmed his senses. It was funny how a person could be so close yet be so far at the same time.

Keita, how are you doing? Are you affected by this as much as I am, or are you moving on just fine?

On an impulse, Kazuki pulled out his cell phone. His brow rose in surprise when he saw he had a message. He had turned it off after the treasury guys left so that he could work uninterrupted. Flipping it open, his eyes widened.

The message was from Keita. It was left about an hour ago, and it was very short, very sweet.

Oyasumi, Kazu-nii.

Keita…

Kazuki's mouth went dry and the phone slipped from his hand onto the carpet. Suddenly, a fierce longing pulled at his chest and the blond found himself moving toward the other door like a parched man searching for an oasis.

Keita...

He wanted so badly to see him, to hold Keita tight and beg him to reconsider, to give them another chance. He recalled the king's words vividly, to be clear about what he wanted. He recalled his tutor's words, to be firm and assertive. All he had to do was knock and go after it. Tell Keita he was making a big mistake.

But as he stood before the younger boy's door, he found himself frozen, unable to take that step. Because in the end, what he really wanted wasn't any of those things. It was becoming clear to him now, after seeing that little message.

Laying his forehead against the cool barricade and closing his eyes, Kazuki reached up and tenderly ran his fingers down the smooth wooden surface, picturing Keita's face, a happy smiling face that he hadn't seen in some time.

What he really wanted was to see that face again.

"I'm so sorry, Keita," he whispered against the door. "It looks like I can't do it. I can't chase after you, because I want you to be happy and I want to see your smile again, so…starting tomorrow, I'll do my best to be the big brother from your memories and bring back your smile. I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen. I won't fail you again, I promise."

His hand fisted against the door. "I love you."

"Oyasumi."

To be continued.