Keita: Eric's Alan does not own Gakuen Heaven.

Eric's Alan: I do own Mizuki Ito.

~X~X~X~X~

Mizuki yawned and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She had been up all night studying the mutation of the X7 virus and was no closer to figuring anything out than she was when she talked to Kazuki. She had given him the okay to go back to class,but to come back if he started feeling bad. She glanced over to her brother. Jin was sitting next to him taking his temperature again. The painful wheeze in Keita's chest was the only noise in the room apart from the pen scratching the paper as she made notes. She turned back to the X7 sample she had received from Kazuki's father. She didn't have a hard time convincing him to give her his sample. If she could figure out this mutation then she would have an easier time. She looked up once more when a cup of coffee was placed in front of her. Jin stood behind her smiling, his long silver hair shimmering in the early morning light.

"You were up all night. I thought you could use this." Jin whispered, so he wouldn't wake Keita, as he draped her lab coat over her shoulders. He leaned against the wall with a tired sigh. He had been up most of the night with Keita.

"Thank you." Mizuki replied after taking a sip, the steaming liquid warming her body.

"Have you made any progress?" Jin asked after a moment of silence. He was worried that she wouldn't have the equipment needed to prepare the medicine here at the school.

It was Mizuki's turn to sigh as she dropped her head to the desk. "No. I can't figure out how it mutated. If I could then it would be so much easier. I don't know how, but it went from highly contagious to not contagious at all. Which is very unusual. I've never seen anything like this before."

"Well that is a good thing." Jin said positively.

"At least we don't have to worry about it spreading..." Mizuki mumbled as lifted her head.

"Mizuki, if there is anything I can do then please tell me." Jin offered "I can't stand around doing nothing and I have some knowledge concerning the X7 virus."

"You taking care of Keita is enough. I can't do both and I know he would much rather have you then me taking care of him." Mizuki answered and then resumed her work. "I want to kill the virus permanently this time."

"If you change your mind my offer stands." Jin said. He desperately wanted to help, but would not push this. After all, Mizuki knew what she was doing and she was the one who made the medicine last time.

Mizuki stared at the sample, as if staring would give her an answer, and then at the blood she had drawn from Keita. How could such a slight change be so hard to figure out? She ran her hand through her long, red hair, her fingers catching a few tangles. If only she could figure this out! She stood suddenly, startling Jin, and started pacing. She continued to comb through her hair with her fingers.

"Old habits die hard." Jin teased with a grin. He remembered back to when he would tutor her with Kazuki. When she would get frustrated she would get up and pace. He looked out the window. "Take a walk. Some fresh air will do you good."

"Jin this is not an 'old habit'." she huffed. She knew he was right, though, and turned to the closed door. Pausing with her hand on the nob she added "You're right. Maybe fresh air will help." She knew she looked terrible, but at this point she didn't care. Her hair was falling from the hair tie and her bangs were falling in her face. Her eyes were red from lack of sleep and the dark circles under her eyes stood out against her skin. She hadn't planned on staying more than a day or two. She took another sip of her coffee and slipped on her shoes. This would be a long day.

~X~

Jin could see why Mizuki was frustrated with the mutation. It was so simple yet so complex. He had decided to have a look while the scientist was out and since Kazuki was here, no doubt planning to skip first hour, he didn't have to worry about leaving Keita alone. He would send Kazuki to class before second hour since Keita had finally regained consciousness. Jin pulled away from the microscope and started flipping through Mizuki's notes. He was paying attention to Keita and Kazuki, but they were more like background noise at the moment. Mizuki's notes were thorough and by the looks of it she was focusing mainly on the mutation. Jin knew that he would have to ease Keita's suffering as much as possible until he recovered. They turned when the door opened and Mizuki stepped in, her hair and clothes soaked. Jin fought a laugh at her ragged appearance.

"I started raining." Mizuki pointed out as she started drying her hair with a towel. She was grateful that the infirmary was warm.

"I know." Jin couldn't help but laugh now and that earned him a towel being thrown at him, which he caught with ease.

"Jin you are the worst..." she grumbled, however, she couldn't help laughing when she noticed herself in the mirror. He used to do this to her when she was younger. If she started pacing he would send her out for 'a walk' just before it would start raining. Somehow she never stopped falling into that trap, most likely because she was too frustrated to pay attention to the weather.

"It was funny then and it is funny now." he laughed. He loved teasing Mizuki.

"You know sending her out in the rain like that was never really funny in my opinion." Kazuki said from his spot next to Keita.

"Yet you always laughed." Jin countered playfully.

"Okay...so maybe it was a little funny." Kazuki mumbled and went back to playing with Keita's hair.

Keita looked up at Kazuki. "Who is she?" he inquired weakly. He was finding it hard to stay awake, but he didn't want to go back to sleep yet. Not while Kazuki was here with him. This woman looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before.

"Keita this is Mizuki Kurosaki." Jin explained. He had been thinking about what last name to give her since her real last name would raise suspicion. "She is a scientist who works for Kazuki's father."

"Why is a scientist from your father's company here?" Keita directed the question at Kazuki, but it was Mizuki who answered.

"I'm here because Kazuki asked me to come. He was concerned about your illness."

"Enough, Mizuki." Jin warned.

"What are you talking about?" Keita pressed. He wanted answers.

"There is nothing to worry about." Kazuki said soothingly "I guess I was just being overprotective again."

Mizuki grabbed Jin's arm and pulled him outside and closed the door. "He has a right to know." she snapped.

"Not yet." Jin retorted.

"Yes, he does! It is his life on the line!" she hissed angrily, obviously not thrilled with the idea of keeping this from her brother.

"We won't mention anything about the X7 virus until we are closer to figuring it out." Jin pressed.

"He is my brother and I think he has the right to know." Mizuki growled. She was fighting to keep her anger suppressed.

"He doesn't need to be worrying over it. Let him relax for now, Mizuki. I know you want to help him, but telling him that the virus has mutated and we don't have anything to help him yet will only scare him. We don't want him frightened over this." Jin reasoned.

Mizuki gritted her teeth, her eyes blazing, and muttered "Fine." before returning to the two boys with Jin right behind her. She ignored the questioning looks she was receiving and sat down with her notes once more.

Jin gave them an apologetic look. "Kazuki your class will be starting soon, let Keita rest now."

"Jin-san..." Kazuki pleaded. He didn't want to leave Keita now. He was worried that if he did then Keita would not be awake when he came back and he wanted all the time he could get with him.

Jin bit his bottom lip as he debated on giving in or not. On one hand it would be helpful to have him here with Keita. On the other hand Kazuki would be skipping class. Given the circumstances Kazuki wouldn't be in the way. "Alright, Kazuki, you can stay here."

"Thank you, Jin-san." Kazuki sigh in relief.

Jin held up a hand "But if anyone asks, you weren't feeling well. I can't tell them I allowed a student to skip class."

Kazuki nodded "It would look bad for both of us if you did."

"Not to mention the vise chairman would have a field day yelling at you." Jin added. He could only imagine what that man would have to say.

"He will get over it." Kazuki muttered, turning back to Keita he smiled and took his hand. He didn't really care if he got yelled at by the vise chairman.

"Jin, come look at this." Mizuki said anxiously. She hoped it was her eyes playing tricks on her from the lack of sleep, but she wasn't going to take any chances.

Jin looked over his shoulder. Mizuki's tone of voice had him worried. Her normally calm features were tense. Her shoulders were rigid and she was moving one foot over the other, her nails leaving marks on her skin. The look on her face made his heart sink, her eyes were wide and a mixed look of worry and fear made her look like a child again. There was a slightly hopeful look hidden under the fear and worry, it was almost as if she had an idea. He was by her side in an instant. "What is it?" he whispered.

"Have a look." she pushed the microscope over to him. "Look at the blood sample, I mean really look at it. Tell me I am imagining this."

Jin examined the sample. His heart skipped a beat and he drew in a shaky breath. "Impossible..." he body felt numb as the two glanced over their shoulders at the two boys.

~X~X~X~X~

Eric's Alan: I know this had a lot of Mizuki/Jin and only a little of Kazuki/Keita, but don't worry they will have a larger part soon. I just wanted you guys to get a feel for Mizuki.

Kazuki: Please review!