Rating: T+

Pairings: Nezumi x Shion, Kai x Rin, Inukashi x Takao, Christian x Aster, Nami x Shun, Kaori x Hikaru, onesided!Aster x Black (Forcedshipping), Pia x Hayden (Piaden), Elizabeth x Edward (Contractshipping), Dylan x Nath (Destinyshipping), onesided!Shion x Safu, implied!Riku x Hilary (Mindshipping), Natasha x Haru (Naru), onesided!Aster x Drew (Kissedshipping), onesided!Elle x Nezumi (Showshipping), Ace x Shun (Pastshipping), Ritsu x Serenity (Comfortshipping), Haruko x Riku (Oppositeshipping), Arwyn x Rowan (Centershipping), onesided!Shion x Thomas

Warnings: OOCness, OCs, rantings from a mad author, implying sexual content, grammatical errors and no beta.

Disclaimer: Whims of Anime does not own No. 6 or Beyblade, only the plot and the OCs. They belong to their rightful owners. Please support the official release.

Anime: To anyone that lives in my timezone, today is Halloween and update day! Yay, hope yours is fun, neh? *winks* Okay, lots of things go down, such as seeing many of the side pairings that are listed above. Let's see what you think, neh?

Shion: Thank you to the reviewers (kushina01, ritsu, btmdiamond, and Guest), those who favorited (CircleShadow, DaughterofAbyss, Hotaru Imai, Silvermist023, .jesus, btmdiamond, kushina01 and nezushijustwantstobefree) and followed (CircleShadow, D. Haiiro no otoko, DATA101, DaughterofAbyss, Faeryskillz3, Silvermist023, .jesus, btmdiamond, kushina01, .ce, nezushijustwantstobefree) this story! This chapter is for all of you lot.

Anime: *sobbing* You all are too good for me.

Rin: Get a grip, woman.

Kai: Let's see how you'll take this chapter. You must be feeling pressured, knowing how many people are reading this.

Anime: D:

Nezumi: And now she's in shock. Great.

Inukashi: To the chapter!

~~~DRAMA~~~

Quote of the Day:

"It is not wise to judge others based on your own preconceptions and by their appearances."

- Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)

~~~DRAMA~~~

3: Something Old, Something New

Monday, September 2

Shion and Aster were walking towards their class together, now dressed in the Emerald Serpents uniform. The uniform consisted of a green tie, a white buttoned shirt, a black blazer with the emblem of the serpent on the left and black pants, along with black dress shoes.

Aster hated the uniform.

While Shion was dressed immaculately in it and looking like a perfect model student, Aster had his tie loose and his blazer open, looking like a delinquent and troublemaker. He knew Aster was none of those things but he sure looked the part with his tousled hair, his mischievous half-smile and his clothes.

"Shioooooon." Haru appeared in front of him and began to float next to him, Natasha not far behind, "Can I mess with Mr. Utada today? I used to do it all the time when I was in Weston. So, can I?"

Utada-sensei was the foreign language teacher that had gotten on Haru's black list when the teacher had gotten in the prank war between Haru and Susumu in their first year. After that, he had been the victim of several of Haru and Susumu's pranks. Now that he was a ghost, Haru died of laughter (no pun intended) whenever he moved something of Utada-sensei's and the old man would freeze, muttering about 'ghosts'.

Shion nodded and Haru grinned before he walked into a wall, going through it. Natasha waved, "Ta-ta, I'm off to annoy the dean~." She flew to the ceiling and disappeared with a giggle. Shion smiled softly. No matter how old they were, the two ghosts still acted like carefree students. He sometimes forgot that they were dead, considering how lively they are.

"Hey, did you hear we're getting a new Home Economics teacher this year?" Aster asked suddenly, nudging his arm.

Shion blinked, "We are? What happened to Sakurada-sensei?" This was a new development. He hadn't been expected that Nat and Haru would scare her so badly that she'd quit. Then again, they had gotten on her black list when she had picked on him last year.

"Hmm, she quit. Apparently the ghosts of Weston targeted her." Aster said with a grin, "I'm glad that she's gone. I hated that bloody tart. She was an awful teacher with a hatred towards albinos." At this, he ran a hand through his white hair.

"I know. At least the ghosts got to her before Elizabeth did. I know I would've preferred the ghosts." Shion muttered, placing a hand under his chin before he asked, "Well then, what's the name of our new sensei?"

Aster shrugged, looking at the ceiling as they continued to walk, "Ortiz-sensei, I think. She comes from Laredo, Texas. A developing city in the border between the United States and Mexico. I'd visit but the weather isn't suitable for me to survive."

"Ortiz? Sounds Hispanic."

Aster turned to him, an eyebrow raised, "Wow, Sherlock, how did you figure that out by yourself? I would've never noticed. Man, I can't believe I overlooked that." Aster's voice was dripping with sarcasm. Shion loved his friend but something that annoyed him was that Aster could never pass up the opportunity to say something sassy and sarcastic. As he had once said, he was the 'sassy gay friend' Shion needed in his life.

Shion narrowed his eyes at him, ignoring Aster's smirk, "Why do you have to be so damn sarcastic all the time? And when you're not, you're being sassy."

"Someone in this friendship has to be like that, Shion." Aster replied with a laugh, "You're sassy, Shion, but you're not sassy-as-hell sassy. We have to change that by the end of this year."

"Let's not." Shion replied as he entered the class. Immediately, he noticed Hosoya – arrogant jerk – sitting down in the second row, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but in the classroom. Next, he noticed a raven-haired teen sitting in the corner of the room, staring at the window. Next to him was a dual-haired teen that was poking him with a pencil, trying to get his attention. Shion swore he could see the raven's vein popping out due to his anger and annoyance.

In the other corner of the room sat a teenager with navy-blue hair and storm-blue eyes that wore no shoes. He was fidgeting, as if he didn't like sitting still or he was uncomfortable. Sitting next to him was a teenager in a wheelchair. The handicapped male had light brown hair that was almost blonde, red-violet eyes and skin as pale as the navy-blue haired teen and the raven-haired one.

So far, only they were around. The other Emerald Serpents that took this class hadn't arrived yet and neither had the teacher. Someone entered the room as soon as Aster and Shion took a seat and Aster sighed, rolling his eyes, "Dear lord, what the hell did I do to deserve this?"

The one who had entered was none other than Black R. Bumby, otherwise known as Aster's stalker. He was in the Sapphire Owls dorm and was in his final year. He had black hair man with blood-red highlights (natural, he had boasted and Shion hated to admit that he knew that they were natural after he made Natasha and Haru investigate) and his eyes were glowing red with golden spots on them (no, he wasn't wearing contacts, as Shion had discovered when Natasha had told him such).

"Hello, Aster." The English male said with a smirk.

Aster rolled his eyes, "Goodbye, Bumby."

Shion sighed, "As much as I would enjoy seeing you flirting badly with Aster, don't you think you should be heading to class, Bumby-senpai?" As far as he knew, Sapphire Owls had classes on the second floor, not here in the fourth floor that was designated for the Emerald Serpents.

Black huffed, standing in front of Aster's desk and Aster glaring at him with all his might, "I am only here to declare my adoration for your friend, Kaji-kun."

"As if. You just want to get the Liddell family's money." Aster replied, narrowing his eyes at him, "Your dad tried to get in my aunt and mother's pants, if you recall, and where is he now, huh? In a prison in England, disowned and disgraced by the Bumby family."

Shion flinched. He remembered hearing about that from Aster when he had first asked the English boy why he wouldn't give Black the time of day even though the older male was very persistent. Aster had replied that the Bumby and Liddell family had been rivals for years since Black's father – Angus Bumby – tried to rape Elizabeth Liddell – Aster's aunt – and Alice Liddell – Aster's mother.

Black leaned in closer to Aster, his eyes dangerously narrowed. Shion knew that Aster bringing up that Black's father was in prison wasn't a good move. "You should be honored that I'm interested in you. Who else would pay attention to a bastard child of a disgraced family like the Liddell's?"

"Black, you're outta line." Shion growled when he saw how pale his friend had turned at that statement. People messed with Shion but it didn't faze him much because he could easily handle them. But when people messed with his friends, they crossed the line. Outright stating Aster's biggest insecurity was just cruel.

It had been a scandal when Jack Arendel had an affair with Alice Liddell when he had been married to Elsa Arendielle and had produced a child from said affair. Because he had already had a daughter – three year old Elle – Jack could not acknowledge Aster as his own son and he, along with the Liddell family, was disgraced.

"What are you doing here, Bumby?" A cold, English voice asked from behind the smirking teenager and Black turned around to face the newcomer, his smirk disappearing once he saw who it was. They were all surprised when they were greeted by the cold and harsh teenager known as the Ice Queen of the Emerald Serpents: Elizabeth Catherine Montreal of England. She was also called a demoness for her detached nature and her appearance.

Elizabeth was Aster's cousin from his father's side of the family and she had long white hair and red eyes similar to Shion's but they were cold and unfeeling. She was wearing the female version of the Emerald Serpents uniform: green tie, a white buttoned shirt, a black blazer with the emblem of the serpent on the left and a black skirt, along with black shoes and long white socks that made it up to her knees.

Bumby smirked and bowed slightly at her, ignoring her sharp glare that could kill with the amount of intensity she displayed, "No need to trouble yourself over our conversation, Lady Montreal. I'm taking my leave now, if you excuse me." With a smirk directed at Shion and Aster, he left the room.

Elizabeth turned to Aster, "Learn to defend yourself, Aster. If you intend to rest in a nest of snakes, sharpen your own poison before you try to strike." With that, she walked away and sat down in a seat next to Nezumi's. He flinched a little when she did so but that was the only reaction he gave when he noticed that the Ice Queen of the Emerald Serpents was sitting next to him.

"Your cousin is freaky, Aster." Shion muttered as more students began to come into the classroom. Not that he blamed her. Elizabeth had lost her own parents: killed by their political enemies, if the rumors were true. There was another rumor that Elizabeth herself had killed off the ones who had murdered her parents. No one wanted to believe that rumor but people who believed made it their mission to keep themselves in Elizabeth's good books.

"You have no idea." Aster replied. He groaned, slamming his head on the desk, "Damn, I wish we could switch place. I think I would rather have a mother like yours and a missing father than a mother who seems to hate my existence and a father that only uses me for his benefit."

"I'm not switching with you, thank you very much." Shion said with a slight smile as he remembered Haru and Natasha, "Besides, no one would buy it. I'm not like you and you're not like me. We may look a little like each other but that's it."

"You're no fun." Aster said, his voice muffled because of the desk. Shion rolled his eyes, patting Aster's head slightly. Finally, the tardy bell rang and all the students in the classroom took their seats and patiently waited for the arrival of their homeroom/ home economics teacher.

". . . I hear that she's a witch. . ."

". . . comes from America . . ."

". . . Hispanic, no doubt . . ."

Aster straightened in his seat before he sighed, "When do you think our new teacher will get here, Shion? I'm bored." Aster looked bored as hell, not that Shion blamed him. Combine a short attention span with ADHD and the result would create someone like Aster. Shion still didn't know if it was good or bad yet.

Shion shrugged, "I don't know but Ortiz-sensei is taking-."

"Sorry I'm late!" A voice shouted as the door opened.

All of the students were finally able to see the new home economics teacher. She was of average height, had long straight dark brown hair, tan skin, dark brown eyes and was wearing thin glasses. She was dressed in black slacks, a long-sleeved dark blue buttoned shirt and carried with her a black bag.

"Good morning! My name is Andrea Ortiz and I'm going to be your new home economics teacher and homeroom teacher." She announced with a grin, tucking a strand of stray hair behind her ear.

"Good morning, Ortiz-sensei." They all said in unison.

"Now, there seem to be twenty-one of you. Time for roll call to see who is absent and who isn't." She called out happily, making Elizabeth's eyebrow twitch in annoyance. She took out the list and began:

"Chamberlain, Edward?" The fourth year raised his hand, smirking at those that had turned to look at him. He had black hair, fair skin and orange-red eyes. He was of English ethnicity. It wasn't common knowledge that Edward was Elizabeth's fiancé. Shion was terrified to think of how their children were going to be like.

"Darkling, Hayden?" The third year raised his hand, smiling at the teacher with a bright smile. He had golden blond hair and cerulean blue eyes that shined with glee. He was an American, Shion recalled, but had roots from Europe.

"Garwin, Dylan?" The second year timidly raised his hand. He had light blond hair and sky blue eyes. He was born in France but had been raised in America, judging by the lack of a French accent. His father was related to the Denmark royal family while his mother was related to the Sweden royal family.

"Hisakawa, Haruko?" The first year raised his hand, his head raised up high. He had dark brown hair and red-brown eyes. He was half-Japanese, half-German, if the rumors were true.

"Hiwatari, Kai?" Shion noted that the boy that raised his hand was the one that had been bothering the raven-haired boy earlier. He was pale, tall and muscular and had crimson red eyes and dual-colored hair. The front-top of his hair was slate while the back-bottom was black. He must have been a fourth year.

"Hiwatari, Rin?" This was the raven-haired boy Kai had been annoying this morning. He was downright blushing upon hearing the name "Hiwatari" and was ignoring the grin Kai was giving him. He seemed to be a third year like Shion was.

Ortiz-sensei paused for a moment and looked at the two teens, "You two don't look like relatives. Is it a coincidence that you two share a last name?" Kai's grin turned wider and Rin buried his face in his hands, ignoring the stares people were giving them.

"No, Ortiz-sensei," Kai said with a grin, "We're not relatives. We're married."

The eccentric teacher looked at them for a long time, before clapping her hands together and grinning, "Well then, I'd like to approve of this ship and say that this ship is now canon! Let it sail!"

Aster burst out laughing while others covered their mouths to hide their grins while others stared at them, confused. Rin glared at Aster and punched the smiling Kai, who was closest to him. Eyes narrowed, he turned to the teacher, "Ortiz-sensei, can we please get on with roll call?" Shion paused, staring at Rin's face for a long time. His eyes looked just like Natasha's did and he looked a lot like Haru. Was he . . .?

Ortiz-sensei chuckled before moving on with the roll call, "Hosoya, Nezumi?" Shion's longtime rival since grade school raised his hand, looking at everyone with a lazy smirk. Ugh, he was such a smug bastard, Shion frowned, looking away. He was a Japanese from Russian descent, according to Aster.

"Kaji, Shion?" He raised his hand and he noticed that Nezumi was staring at him. He glared at him and Nezumi returned it. They had a silent glare contest that went unnoticed by everyone except Aster, Rin and Ortiz-sensei. Luckily, none of them said anything about the glares they were sending each other.

"Kinomiya, Takao?" No one raised their hand. Shion frowned and looked around, until his eyes landed on the barefooted teen and the handicapped one. The handicapped one was whispering something to the navy-haired teenager who finally raised his hand. He was probably a second year and Japanese.

"Kuonji, Riku?" The handicapped teen sitting next to Takao raised his hand. He was also a second year, Shion inferred, and was probably Japanese. He waved at Rin with a small smile. The raven-haired teen returned the smile and the wave. In that split moment that he did that, he looked a look like Natasha.

"Liddell, Aster?" Aster raised his hand up with a wide grin. He mouthed something to Ortiz-sensei and she snickered, shooting him a thumbs up sign. Aster winked at her and they grinned at each other as if they knew something the others didn't. Shion gave him a questioning look that Aster ignored.

"Midorikawa, Haru?" A timid hand was raised into the air. Shion studied the first year quickly. The boy had soft blue-gray eyes and had black hair with white highlights that Shion didn't know if they were natural or not. He looked Japanese so Shion would think he was one until it was confirmed.

"Miyamoto, Ace?" The fourth year raised his hand, looking bored out of his mind. He had black hair with a white streak on his hair, almost golden eyes and, around his neck, was a glowing red stone. He was half-Japanese, half-Egyptian.

"Montreal, Elizabeth?" The third year raised her hand, her eyes closed. Edward had turned to look at his fiancé and smiled softly, something that surprised anyone that saw that. Edward Chamberlain didn't smile. He smirked and sneered. Well, he and Elizabeth had been childhood friends so Shion supposed that he did care for her.

"Oak, Raidyn?" The first year raised his hand. Raidyn had dark orange hair and blue-green eyes and had a serious expression in his eyes. Shion had heard rumors that Raidyn was either from England, Ireland, Japan or Scotland. He hadn't ever heard him talk, though, so it was hard to see where he was from. Well, Nezumi, Ace or Arwyn might know because they had been childhood friends but it's not like Shion could ask them about something like that.

"Palencia, Pia?" The third year raised her hand. Pia was a Hispanic girl with a light tan, light brown eyes and slightly wavy dark brown hair. She was sitting down to next to Hayden and, according to Aster, they were now dating. Not that he'd be surprised. The two had been close since they were kids.

"Sakaki, Shun?" The second year raised his hand and greeted the teacher with a gentle smile. The Japanese teenager had spiky black hair that jutted out in every direction and soft amethyst blue eyes. Shion and Aster were fond of him because he was so nice to everyone. It made them wonder how in the hell he survived his first year as a Serpent.

"Sawashiro, Serenity?" The first year raised her hand, her head down. The Japanese girl had long light brown hair and light brown eyes that looked red. Unlike most people who had fiery red eyes – Kai, Haruko, Elizabeth and Shion himself – hers looked gentle. She was like a female version of Shun except she was younger and Shun was prone to being sarcastic. Serenity was like the incarnation of innocence and good.

"Tate, Nath?" The second year raised his hand and he and Dylan shared a grin for a brief moment. Nath had jet-black hair that made it past his ears, blue-green eyes, ivory skin and a wicked grin that showed that he wasn't a pushover. He and Dylan – his best friend – were both compatible, as Nath had a harsh and cold nature while Dylan had a nice and friendly nature. Nath was distantly related to the royal family of the United Kingdom but he had been born in Italy and raised in Slovakia.

"Yamato, Riku?" The first year raised her hand up high and waved it in the air, her wide grin reminding Shion of Natasha. The small first year had green hair – was that natural? – and light violet colored eyes. Judging by her last name, Shion knew that she was Japanese.

"Yamato, Ritsu?" The second year raised his hand up high from where he was sitting down next to his sister. Shion knew they were siblings because they both had the same green hair, although Ritsu's hair was spikier. He had crimson red eyes that, surprisingly, looked friendly.

"Man!" Ortiz-sensei said with a grin, "You sure are a diverse class and you're all present, too! Dual-colored hair, black hair, brown hair, blue hair, orange hair, blond hair, white hair, green hair . . . you guys are going to be an interesting bunch, I'm sure." She clapped her hands together and smiled. Not a lot of students smiled back, all of them staring at her with blank looks.

"I don't think you need to introduce yourselves so I'll get right to it." She said, clapping her hands together, "From here to the end of the school year, you all will be doing an assignment where you'll be married to another student in this class. Unfortunately, or fortunately, there are only four girls in this class out of twenty one students so many of you boys will have to be wives."

Shion heard Kai snickering before Rin glared at him, probably kicking him from under the desk as Kai hissed in pain. Shion had a feeling that the two boys probably often talked about who was the wife in their marriage.

"I'll be choosing partners, of course," She said with a slightly mischievous look in her eyes that made some students flinch. Dylan, Shun and Serenity were among the only ones who were staring at her but had no idea what she was planning. Even the oddball Takao felt the tension.

"Let's begin, shall we?" She grinned, "Obviously, Kai and Rin will be a couple. They're already legally married, after all."

Aster snickered and Shion elbowed him when he noticed Rin glared at the other white-haired teenager. Aster pouted at him, muttering something that sounded like 'you're no fun' but Shion wasn't paying attention to him anymore as he focused on the pairs his teacher was making.

"Let's see, Edward, you're with Elizabeth." Lots of the guys sighed, relieved that they weren't going to deal with the Queen of the Serpents. Shion was glad about that as well. Edward smirked at Elizabeth, who smirked back at him. A lot of the students present gulped at that. The Demon of the Serpents with the Queen of the Serpents? This was going to be a handful.

"Hayden . . . oh, and the lovely Pia. You two look adorable together." Ortiz-sensei grinned and Shion noticed both teens turned a bright shade of red, the blush more prominent on Darkling's pale face. Some guys seemed disappointed that another girl had been paired off. That only left Serenity and Riku Yamato.

"Dylan and Nath. You two are a pair, got it?" Dylan nodded at the teacher and smiled at her with one of his gentle smiles. Nath merely smirked at the teacher before giving her a nod and mouthing something that looked like 'thank you'. It wasn't a big secret that Nath had a thing for Dylan, even though the blond had yet to realize it.

"Haruko and Ms. Riku will be another pair. Play nice, you two." That last comment was added when both Riku and Haruko glared at each other. The tomboy huffed and looked away from the boy she had been paired off with. Haruko did the same thing, minus the huff.

"Takao and Mr. Riku, you two will be a pair. Hope you two won't mind."

"It's fine, Ortiz-butterfly-sensei," Riku responded with a happy smile, "Takao-bat and I will be fine with the assignment. We don't mind that we've been paired together. Thank you for your consideration." Takao nodded his agreement to Riku's statement.

"Haru, you and Raidyn will be together, alright?" The two timid boys nodded but neither spoke. Shion sighed. He wondered how the hell those two were going to get along. Would they use sign language to communicate or will they actually speak to each other?

"Ace, you and Shun look like you'll make a nice couple." Ortiz-sensei winked and Shion noticed the smirk Ace gave Shun before winking at him. Shun made a noise that Shion couldn't describe and turned bright red before looking at his feet. The poor second year. Ace was known to be a giant flirt and an even bigger player. Shun was nothing but a blushing virgin. How would he cope with Ace?

"Serenity, you and Ritsu will be another couple." Serenity nodded and smiled at Ritsu with those sweet eyes. Ritsu looked away, hiding a small blush and his sister snickered next to him. He whispered something and she frowned, covering her face with her hands.

That only left Aster, Shion and Nezumi to be paired off. Seeing as she was pairing off most of the teens with people that they were comfortable with or sat close to each other, that meant that Aster and Shion would be together in this assignment and Nezumi would be-.

"Our final couple will be Shion and Nezumi."

Hold on.

Rewind.

WHAT?!

Shion openly gaped at the teacher, who continued as if she was ignoring the small catastrophe going on inside Shion's mind and, possibly, Nezumi's, "Mr. Liddell will be the only person that will not have a partner as he will be acting as the bachelor among these married people so you can see the differences between a married life and a single life."

"I see more perks in a single life," Rin muttered and Kai rolled his eyes at him. Those two already acted like an old, married couple.

Ortiz-sensei grinned, "You'll be sitting with your partner for the rest of the year and you will complete projects in this class together. Mr. Liddell will be working alone in said projects and you'll all see how easy it is when two work together instead of one."

Aster sighed, "More work for me, then. That sucks."

That definitely did not suck. Shion would've rather been working alone than with Nezumi freaking Hosoya. Working with his long-time rival was the worst thing ever. Shion felt his happy thoughts of this being a good year disappear. His first thought was: How am I going to survive this school year?

The next thought was: If this is a dream, please let this nightmare end!

~~~DRAMA~~~

"Hosoya-senpai?" Nezumi hummed and looked up at Shun Sakaki, who was twiddling with his thumbs, unsure of what to do with his hands. It was already lunchtime, hours after the homeroom incident that Nezumi didn't want to think about at the moment – don'tthinkaboutShionKaji,nomatterwhatyoudo – and was going to pretend that it didn't happen.

He was sitting down in the table that belonged to the Deathrunners. Sitting down in the table were the members of the Deathrunners that went to Weston: Aria, Ace, Abiel, Raidyn, Taro, Taka, Asuna, Yuna, Arwyn, Rowan, Aria Dawns, Zayden, Sariya and Rayne. Inukashi also sat with them, even though she wasn't a Deathrunner.

Abiel, Aria, Arwyn, Taro and Taka were from Crimson Lions. Asuna, Rowan, Zayden and Yuna were from Sapphire Owls. Sariya, Rayne, Aria Dawns and Inukashi were from Golden Badgers. Nezumi, Ace and Raidyn were the only ones from Emerald Serpents.

Abiel Nakahara was a Japanese teenager who was in his second year and had black hair that covered one of his eyes and royal blue eyes. The twins Taro and Taka Honda – Japanese teens in their second year as well – had the same green hair and emerald eyes. The difference was that Taro had his hair parted to the left and Taka had his hair parted to the right.

Arwyn Erin – a Swedish teenager on his fourth year – had black hair with light blue-green eyes and tan skin. Asuna Hagane – a Japanese teenager on her fourth year – had straight red head that reached up to her lower back and dark green. Her younger cousin – third year Yuna Amano – had dark brown hair that reached up to her shoulders and light brown eyes.

Rowan Timble was a Norwegian teenager on her fourth year and had flaming red hair with golden highlights that reached up to her shoulders and her eyes were amethyst. She and Arwyn had been dating since their first year.

Zayden Woods was a Greek teenager on his fourth year and had curly blonde hair with light blue streaks and golden eyes. The twins Sariya and Rayne Thorns were both from Poland and were third years. Rayne had light green hair with pink highlights and pink eyes while Sariya had pink hair with light green highlights and green eyes.

Aria Dawns – who was nothing like Aria Michaelis – was from Ireland and had her light brown hair with green highlights in twin ponytails and emerald green eyes. She was one of the youngest of the group, being a first year like Raidyn, who was the youngest.

Ace smirked slyly at the other Emerald Serpent and said, rather loudly so that everyone in the Deathrunners table could hear, "Ah, here is the boy that's going to be my wife." He winked at Shun, making the poor boy blush brightly and to start muttering.

Asuna glared at him, "Get off your high horse, Ace and leave the kid alone. He's just a second year, after all. Not to mention he's a virgin, unlike you."

"Shut up, Asuna." Ace replied.

Nezumi rolled his eyes at them before turning to the blushing teenager in front of him, "Anyways, Sakaki, what's up? You must have had a reason to come here, unless you wanted to be harassed by Ace."

Shun shook his head, looking a bit sheepish, "Oh, no, no, Hosoya-senpai. I don't want to be harassed by Miyamoto-senpai. I hope I didn't leave that impression on you. I came to ask you if we could . . ." He gulped, "Ifwecouldswitchpartnersfortheproject."

Nezumi raised an eyebrow and Ace pouted, "What, Shun-darling? You don't want to be with me? Don't we have that old spark anymore?"

Shun blushed, staring down at his shoes "I've been asking others if they wanted to switch but they said that they were fine with their partners. Although, Rin-senpai said that he wanted to but Kai-senpai didn't let him. So, that leaves you."

Ace stood up and wrapped his arms around Shun's waist, causing him to squeak and blush furiously. Ace grinned at the reaction, and Nezumi noticed Yuna covering her mouth, muttering something to Asuna, "Come on, kiddo. I'm not that bad. I don't plan on taking your virginity in the first date or anything. Besides, Nezumi is glad he got paired with Kaji."

"I am?" Nezumi questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You are." Ace murmured, giving Nezumi a look that Nezumi recognized, "All of us agree that there is sexual tension between you two that has to be resolved." All the members of the Deathrunners that were present nodded in agreement.

"Excuse me?!" Nezumi and Shun cried out in unison, Nezumi sounding horrified and Shun sounding embarrassed.

"Uh huh," Ace nodded wisely, "All we have to do is lock you two in a closet and-." Someone kicked him on the head, making him release Shun before falling back. The attacker was none other than Hikaru Amiya, a Crimson Lion who was also a second year, and was the twin to Nikko Amiya, an Emerald Serpent, and was the older sister to Riku Amiya – a first year that was in Sapphire Owls.

"Shut up, Miyamoto," Hikaru said, brushing her hair away from her face, "There is no way in hell that I'm letting a lecher and pervert like you around Shun for more than two seconds. Who knows how you'll corrupt my darling little brother."

The Amiya family had one thing in common: they had odd blonde hair and sky blue eyes. The tips of the blonde hair were silver and it turned darker as it reached the top of their heads, where it was almost golden like the sun. That was the main reason anyone recognized the trio.

"Amiya . . ." Ace growled out, "Just because you have no luck in relationships, doesn't mean you should let Shun here suffer your bad fate, Little Miss A-Cup." He looked at her chest and Hikaru turned red with anger. Nezumi smirked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Hikaru's lack of breasts as she had an A-cup was something that she hated to be teased about. Ace was going to get his ass kicked.

"Hikaru-chan." Shun grabbed her arm before she could punch him, "Let's go. I just came to ask Hosoya-senpai a question and he already answered it. Let's go, okay?" Hikaru stared at him and, after a while, sighed.

"Fine, let's go," Hikaru said, grabbing Shun's hand and dragging to a spot where they could see Nikko and Riku Amiya sitting, waiting for them. Ace sighed and sat down, looking completely dejected.

"Cock-blocked." Aria Michaelis said aloud, making the twins Taro and Taka spit out their drinks. Yuna and Asuna gave out cries of irritation, as they had spat the water out at them. Everyone turned to her, as if questioning her. She raised an eyebrow, "Come on, we all know that Ace has had a thing for Sakaki since the kid's first year. A shame that your notorious nightly conquests have reached his ears and Amiya's. Miss Flat Chest isn't going to allow you to approach him the way you want to, Ace."

Ace huffed, "Shut up, Aria. I didn't ask for your opinion, you bitch."

"I gave you my opinion, not Inukashi's." Aria replied with a smirk.

"Fuck you, Aria." Inukashi retorted.

Nezumi groaned, leaning his head on the table and running a hand through his hair, "Shame that you have an obsession with Sakaki. We could've switched partners, after all."

Ace grinned before looking towards the distance where he could see two white-haired teens talking, "What, you with Sakaki and me with Kaji? I gotta admit that Kaji is a looker but he and Liddell have a fiery attitude that's hard to tame. It's like they don't want to be-."

"No," Nezumi stopped him before he could continue, something everyone else was glad for, "I mean that Kaji and Sakaki could be together as a pair and us two together. Sakaki would be more comfortable with 'Shion-senpai' than with any of us."

"Well, 'Shion-senpai' isn't a thug or a pervert or a slacker," Rowan replied, leaning on Arwyn's shoulder, "so it's a no wonder Shun isn't scared of him. Besides, Kaji helped him last year when he got bullied because of his hair."

"There's no way that his hair is naturally spiky like that," Abiel – one of said bullies – replied, "He must be wearing some kind of super gel, I bet. We were about to find out when Kaji stopped us."

"Well, it was uncalled for," Aria – or "Sweets" as she was nicknamed – replied, "He hadn't done anything bad. Are you gonna start bullying Kai-senpai for his dual-colored hair? Bully Riku-senpai for the fact that he's in a wheelchair? Bully Takao-senpai because he walks around barefoot? Bully Aster-senpai, Shion-senpai and Elizabeth-senpai for their white hair?"

When Takao was mentioned, Inukashi's full attention turned to the conversation. Nezumi noticed and smirked a little, "Well, well, Inukashi, I didn't know that you had a thing for oddball Takao."

Inukashi blushed, before looking away, "I do not. I just find him very interesting."

"Does that have anything to do with the fact that he called you pretty this morning?" Sariya asked and they all laughed when the girl blushed a dark shade of red. Among the Deathrunners, rumors spread quickly so they were all aware of Nezumi and Inukashi's encounter with Takao."

"It has nothing to do with it." She muttered.

"Then?" Rayne asked as she wrapped her around Inukashi neck, grinning wildly at how flustered the other girl was, "I wouldn't blame you, though. Despite being so weird, that Takao sure is a cutie. Let's hope he's not gay, like certain people we know." At this, she winked at Nezumi, who rolled his eyes at the girl's antics.

"So, how are you feeling being married to Shion Kaji?" The twins Taro and Taka asked Nezumi with matching poker faces.

"After all-."

"-you said-."

"-that Kaji-."

"-was your-."

"-sworn enemy."

"Agh!" Arwyn cried out, grabbing his hair, surprising them, "You two should stop doing that? What is it with twins and having that weird telepathy thing that they use to talk in unison or finish each other's sentences?"

It did irritate Nezumi when the twins did that as well, as there were three pairs of twins in the Deathrunners: the Honda twins (Taro and Taka), the Thorns twins (Rayne and Sariya) and the Kawahara twins (Akina and Hitomi). Still, the twins were good in fights, especially when they were together.

"Nezumi, I think I should report that the Heartless and Nobodies have joined the Shadowriders so that they could take us down," Zayden – the official informant and ambassador of the Deathrunners – said, "I have armed an alliance with the Bladers and two other unknown gangs that, surprisingly, has a lot of members."

"Damn," Yuna muttered, "the Heartless and Nobodies? Those two are really big gangs. This isn't good. The Bladers and two unknown gangs won't make much of a difference against the Heartless and Nobodies."

"Calm down," Nezumi told her, "we still have the upper hand of having more competent fighters. So long as the White Knights don't side with the Shadowriders, we'll be fine."

This had been Nezumi's life since he was a ten, when he decided to form the Deathrunners to fight the Shadowriders. At first, it had only been himself, Raidyn, Arwyn and Ace that went out of their ways to mess with the Shadowriders. Eventually, the others joined in and so the Deathrunners became more popular.

The Shadowriders were dangerous people led by Ryoko or the Blue Dragon of Sakura. She was dangerous, fierce, wild and untamable, not to mention undefeated. Nezumi had met Ryoko and her three companions – Natalie, Nuriko and Anne – only once and that one time was enough to know one thing.

Ryoko could totally kick his ass.

Besides Ryoko and her three loyal dogs, other notable members of the Shadowriders were Haruko Hisakawa, Katsu Kawaguchi, Kailey Williams, Arine and Blayke Mizuhara, Kuri Matsukaze and Kin Yamamoto. Unfortunately, most of the members of Shadowriders had, somehow, enrolled into Weston. Thankfully, Ryoko hadn't been enrolled. In fact, her whereabouts were unknown.

Then there were the White Knights, the neutral gang that protected civilians and, sometimes, other members of gangs. After Ryoko beat the shit out of him, Nezumi had been nursed to health by Aralyn Le Faye, a senior gang member of the White Knights. The current leader of the White Knights was someone named 'Night'. Notable members of the White Knights were Safu Yasuno, Nikko Amiya, Riku Amiya, Hikaru Amiya and Shun Sakaki.

"Yo, check that out," Ace said with a grin, looking at a table where Shion and Aster sat. Black Bumby – who had no affiliation to any gang – was standing in front of them and it appeared he was trying to gain Aster's attention. The white-haired teen was too busy looking at Christian Anderson – had loose connections to the White Knights – to notice his stalker was trying to talk to him.

"Bumby harassing Liddell again?" Rowan muttered, "How boring and typical."

"You can say that again." Sariya and Rayne said in unison.

Nezumi almost turned away until he noticed that some guy was trying to talk to Shion, who was merely blowing him off. The guy was getting very close to Shion's personal space, Nezumi thought, feeling a little irritated.

What made him get more irritated was that this guy was part of the Shadowriders gang. Average looking. Dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Everyone would overlook Thomas Glass, which was their first mistake. Thomas was known for his serpent-like reflexes and people who didn't take him seriously ended up in a grave or in the hospital. The fact that he was with Shion irritated him, even though he had no idea why. What claim did he have over Kaji, anyways?

"Maybe you love him."

Nezumi jolted, "What?"

Raidyn looked at Nezumi with questioning eyes, still not making a sound. Since the incident two months ago, Raidyn hadn't spoken to any of them. Not that he blamed him. He could still remember the rain mixing in with Raidyn's tears and blood, the guy who had hurt him now gone, how scared Raidyn had looked and how he was trembling and sobbing . . .

Nezumi groaned, "It's nothing, Raidyn. I thought I heard something." When Raidyn cocked his head to the side, Nezumi shook his head, "Trust me, it was nothing. Just a voice." Raidyn pointed at him and then at his own head, looking worried. Nezumi rolled his eyes, "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Don't worry."

After all, what was the point of listening to a voice that said things like that? Him loving Shion Kaji? Yeah right. The day Rin and Kai Hiwatari had a perfect marriage, Shun fell in love with Ace and Christian finally noticed Aster would be the day Shion and himself would fall in love.

And those things wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

~~~DRAMA~~~

"What were you thinking?" Haru asked as he dragged his wife away from Shion's longtime rival. Natasha was giggling, her impish grin wide and as endearing as always but that was beside the point at the moment. Haru groaned, "Why in the world would you say that to our son's rival?"

"Oh, come on, Haru!" Natasha grinned as she was dragged to the place where Shion and Aster were sitting, "There's a thin line between hate and love. We crossed it ourselves, remember?" She still remembered the days that she would try to curse Haru Mizushima and had a feeling Haru did too. The good old days where she would make sure to put pink hair dye on his shampoo and where Haru would somehow find skunks and place them in her dorm room, making her life feel like hell.

Haru pouted and was about to say something when an angry raven with blue eyes passed through him, speaking in rapid Russian, using words that were not for the ears of innocents. He was being followed by a dual-haired teenager with crimson eyes, who was speaking in Russian as well but in a more calm manner. Haru frowned, "That was rude-."

"I said, leave me alone, Kai."

Both of them froze when the dual-haired teen – Kai – sighed, "I don't think I should. When you're in this state, who knows who you're gonna snap at."

Kai? Kai Hiwatari? The son of their friends Susumu and Kana? They looked closely at the teenager and Natasha gasped, recognizing those eyes and that face. It was Kai! Their darling godson was here in Weston! Haru smiled, wanting to hug the son of his best friend. Being a ghost wouldn't let him do that, though.

Kai huffed, "Rin, you're being unreasonable. You're annoying when you are."

"Annoying?!"

The two ghosts stiffened, having forgotten for a moment who exactly Kai had been arguing for a moment. Natasha quickly turned around to see Kai's companion and, if she had been alive, tears would've fallen down her eyes. Whether from sadness or happiness, she wasn't sure.

Standing in front of them was their only son, glaring at Kai in a glare similar to Haru's but with Natasha's eyes. He had the same face, although his features were now set in a scowl rather than a smile. He had the same hair – his soft hair that jutted out in several directions when he woke up and Natasha had to brush so it could be tamed – the same eyes – the ones that had seen them die as he screamed for them – . . .

Rin was alive.

Their son was alive and he was in Weston.

~~~DRAMA~~~

"Lover's spat?" Aya grinned as Rin and Kai sat down in the table she and the others were occupying. Rin glared at her and began to eat his food, ignoring the others somewhat. He had only acknowledged Takao and Riku when he had sat down, after all. They didn't mind though. They knew how Rin was like after a fight with Kai.

Kai smirked at her, "Something like that, Aya."

"Man, you two are hopeless." Kaori laughed.

Kaori Kumai was a second year Japanese student with short brown hair that made it up to her shoulders, mismatched eyes and a crooked grin. Her left eye was red and her right eye was blue. She was in the Sapphire Owls dorm. Shun and Hikaru Kuwashima were second year Japanese students with identical blue hair and red eyes. The difference was that Hikaru had a small scar on his cheek. Both of them were in the Crimson Lions dorm.

Aya Orikasa was a second year Japanese student with blonde hair and violet eyes. She was in the Golden Badgers dorm. Nami Sakamoto was a first year Japanese student with long, light navy blue hair that was up in two ponytails and bluegreen eyes. She was in the Golden Badgers dorm as well.

Nami giggled, poking Rin with her chopsticks before eating more of her sushi, "I can't believe that you two are married, Rin. It seemed like only yesterday that Grandpa Granger was giving you off to the altar and that you and Kai got married." She smiled widely, "I was such a nice bridesmaid, wasn't I?"

"Yes you were, Nami-chan." Shun agreed with a shy smile. Nami blushed at the compliment her boyfriend had given her and Hikaru rolled his eyes at his twin, muttering something about wanting to throw up. His girlfriend Kaori elbowed him in the stomach, saying that she wouldn't mind to hear compliments like that coming from Hikaru.

"Nami, please don't remind me." Rin mumbled.

"But it was really cute!" Aya spat out, outstretching her arms and nearly hitting Takao and Riku, who sat by her sides, "You and Kai are a really great couple, even if you don't want to admit it, Rin! We even have pictures of your first kiss in the altar."

Rin glared, "If you know what's good for you, you'll burn that."

Takao smiled, "But it was a good wedding. I hope to have a wedding like that. Maybe when I meet a girl or boy I like." Kai ruffled the boy's hair with a smile. Considering how he had been treated for practically ten years, Kai knew that Takao's sexuality didn't matter to him at the moment. Takao being heterosexual or homosexual wasn't important to the teen at the moment. Getting back to society was, along with finding his missing older sister.

"We all know who Riku will be marrying, eh?" Aya asked, nudging the boy in the wheelchair, "How does Hilary Kuonji sound to you, Riku?" She laughed when he turned bright red, covering his face with his hands.

"Come on, don't tease Riku. We all know how he gets when we talk about Hilary." Hikaru said, eating his pasta. Shun nodded, shooting her a reprimanding look that only he could effectively give.

"Alright, alright, I won't." She replied, taking a bit from her burger. After a while, after she had swallowed the piece she had gotten, Aya spoke again, "How do you like Weston Academy, Riku, Takao?" She had asked both of them because the two hadn't gone to school in years, due to their circumstances. Riku had been in the mental hospital since he had been five and had been released last year while Takao had been kidnapped since he had been five and had been rescued last year.

Takao's eyes brightened up, something that they were glad for. His eyes had looked dead when he had been rescued last year and it hadn't been pretty. "It is a very nice school. I know more names now. I met a pretty girl. My teachers are very nice. The food is really good. The light is good too."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Hikaru, Aya, Kaori and Nami said in unison, holding their hands up to stop him from continuing while Riku, Rin, Kai and Shun were mildly surprised. Takao blinked at them before Hikaru leaned closer to him, "Say that again . . . what do you mean you met a pretty girl?"

Takao smiled brightly, "Yes, I met a pretty girl. She was with an okay-looking guy. Her name was Inukashi Shindo. It's a really nice name. She had nice hair and really pretty eyes." They all stared as they noticed a very slight blush form in his pale cheeks. They were all silent and Takao sighed wistfully, that small smile present on his face.

"You have a crush on her!" Aya exclaimed, her eyes wide with happiness.

"Tell us how she looks like!" The twins happily wrapped themselves around Takao, who looked very confused at the attention he was getting. Nami had joined the hugging party, proclaiming that he and Inukashi were going to get married. Kaori hugged Aya and both girls giggled excitedly, talking about future wedding plans.

"Congratulations, Takao-bat." Riku said with a smile, "Let's share a wedding, okay?"

"We need to know who this Inukashi girl is." Rin said with a pensive look on his face and Kai stared at his 'wife' with a shocked expression. Rin never went along with the antics of his 'younger siblings' before and would be the only voice of reason among them. He seemed to be in the same boat as the others, though, "Let's hope she doesn't mind that she'll have to go through the others and I before dating Takao . . . I have to begin the questions for the big brother test. Not to mention the father test because I can't have some stranger dating Takao . . ."

Kai sighed, "We don't even know if Inukashi Shindo likes Takao." That seemed like the wrong thing to say as several pairs of eyes turned to glare at him, as if the mere idea of someone not liking their 'little brother' was something unheard of. Kai froze, all of the glares silently killing him.

"Not liking Takao?" Aya said in a dangerous tone, her bangs hiding her eyes, "That girl will be either blind or stupid to not like him. . ."

"She can't have breaking his heart, either." Kaori said, her bangs hiding one of her eyes so only her red eye was visible, "Or she'll have to answer to us."

Kai sighed, "You're all impossible."

"We'll take that as a compliment." The twins said with a grin before asking Takao more questions over Inukashi. Nami and Riku had joined Aya and Kaori in the wedding plans for Takao and Inukashi. Rin chuckled, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"What's got you so happy?" Kai asked, "Thinking about me?"

"You wish," Rin replied, before shaking his head, "I'm happy for Takao. He's lost so many people in his life. Wouldn't it be nice for him to have someone to love?" At Kai's questioning glance, Rin huffed, "Call me a romantic but maybe him being with Inukashi will help him gain the ability to love, the one he lost when his family was killed and his sister went missing. I mean . . . it worked for me."

"What was that?"

Rin blushed, "Nothing. Um . . . hurry up and eat your food already. Lunch hour is ending soon."

"It just started."

"Shut up, Kai."

~~~DRAMA~~~

Notes for Chapter 3:

*I forgot to mention that Weston Academy is named after the school in Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler. If you read the manga, you know which one I'm talking about.

*Ortiz-sensei is the personificationof every yaoi fangirl.

*Elizabeth Catherine Montreal and Edward Chamberlain = OCs from Point of No Return, a Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler fanfic.

*Hayden Darkling and Pia Palencia = characters from my original story, the Feather of Darkness.

*Dylan Garwin and Nath Tate = characters from my original story, Dragon Chronicles.

*Haruko Hisakawa, Katsu Kawaguchi,Kuri Matsukaze, Kin Yamamoto, Haru Midorikawa, Riku and Ritsu Yamato = OCs of my Beyblade fic G-Revs.

*Riku Kuonji, Aya Orikasa, Nami Sakamoto, Kaori Kumai, Hikaru and Shun Kuwashima = OCs from MIAB(Beyblade fanfic), like Rin.

*Shun Sakaki, Ace Miyamoto, Hikaru Amiya, Nikko Amiya, Riku Amiya, Asuna Hagane, Yuna Amano, Abiel Nakahara, Arine and Blayke Mizuhara, Taro and Taka Honda = OCs from Dueling Legend (Yu-Gi-Oh! GX fanfic)

*Raidyn Oak = OC from PokeMutant (Pokémon fic)

*Serenity Sawashiro, Ryoko Kinomiya, Natalie, Nuriko, Anne and Kailey Williams = OCs from Revival of the Reincarnations (Beyblade fic)

*Arwyn Erin, Rowan Timble, Aria Dawns, Zayden Woods, Sariya and Rayne Thorns= OCs from Bittersweet Lullaby and Frozen Butterfly Wings (Rise of the Guardians/American McGee's Alice crossover fics)

*Heartless and Nobodies = anyone that has played Kingdom Hearts should know about this.

*Aralyn Le Faye = OC from Under the Star of Destiny (Harry Potter fic)

*I don't think I need to spell it out to anyone but, if you didn't guess, Raidyn was raped. Finding that out will be a mini-subplot.

*[Him loving Shion Kaji? Yeah right. The day Rin and Kai Hiwatari had a perfect marriage, Shun fell in love with Ace and Christian finally noticed Aster would be the day Shion and himself would fall in love.] My reaction: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

**Fun Fact: I learned from my friend that Shion is the Japanese name of Aster tataricus, a type of flower that Aster is named after. In other words, Shion and Aster are both named after the aster flower.**