The next day went no better for Riku, for she was already at her wits end with Dark. He tried having breakfast with her, Risa, and Daisuke again, she had to kiss him in Drama for what felt like the millionth time, and now he was following her on her way back to her room. She couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going through his head. She had flat out rejected him, clearly expressed her near-hatred for him, and he still persisted on. She knew he wasn't the kind of guy who was used to hearing "no," but this was beyond ridiculous.

She hit the button for the elevator, not wanting to bother with the crowded stairs, and waited for the doors to open. As she stepped inside, she noticed Dark trying to walk in after her. She turned around and stretched out her arms, pressing her palms to both sides of the entrance. Dark took a step back and looked at her in confusion, while she only glared at him.

"Jeez, what's your problem?"

"My problem is you. You've been following me around all day and I'm tired of it! Take the stairs!"

"I have just as much right to use the elevator as you do! Besides, we're going to the same floor, is there really any sense in me taking the stairs?"

Riku let out a low growl. He did have a point and she was so tired of yelling at him and being angry, that she knew it would just be best to let him in. Once they got upstairs, she would go into her room and lock the door. She just needed him to leave her alone. She couldn't believe how easy it was for him to wear out her anger and turn it into... this. This thing that she couldn't find a name for. It wasn't surrender; she was just too tired to deal with him. It was getting to the point where she would just drown him out and ignore him, rather than fight him on everything. She really hoped this feeling would pass.

"Fine, get in."

She backed away from the entrance and hit the button to their floor. Dark stepped inside and let the doors shut behind him. He went over and stood next to Riku, being somewhat cautious of what she might do to him if he got too close. He glanced down at her and saw that her eyes were fixated on the floor and she had held her hands behind her back. He couldn't quite read the expression on her face, but it worried him greatly.

On the other side of the school, Risa was exiting the locker room and heading for the elevator as well. She wanted to drop off her backpack and gym bag before going to the library to meet Hiwatari. They had agreed to work on their English paper today and she had mixed feelings about it. She didn't know how things were going to turn out. Would they fight about everything or actually write an amazing paper? She wasn't sure, but she was hoping for the best.

Just as she reached the elevator, she noticed a familiar head of hair and stopped in her tracks. It was funny and scary that just as she was thinking about him, he'd be right in front of her.

"Hiwatari, what are you doing here?"

He turned around and looked her in the eye, also apparently surprised to see her standing there. He blinked a few times and cleared his throat, shuffling his feet and diverting his attention from her.

"I was heading upstairs to drop off my things before I went to the library. I take it you had the same idea?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was doing. What class are you coming from?"

"Science. Yourself?"

"P.E."

The conversation died right there, but both teens were surprised they had had one at all. It was just small talk with no deep hidden meaning behind it, but it was uncharacteristic for the two. Risa, despite loving to talk, never really talked with him outside of Band practice. That was the only time she felt compelled to question him. Likewise, Hiwatari was just quiet by nature, so he never really talked to anyone.

Despite the surprise, they both dismissed it and walked into the elevator. Hiwatari pushed the button that would take them to their rooms and as the doors were closing, he saw Krad at the end of the hall with what looked like a smirk on his face. He narrowed his eyes and gasped quietly, wondering what his roommate was up to. Risa saw the suspicious look on his face and peered out the door, but it was too late. They closed before she could get a good look at anything.

"Something wrong, Hiwatari?"

"I don't know."

Now that both the twins were in an elevator, as if on cue, the power was cut and both elevators were stopped halfway up. Riku and Dark gasped in surprise, while Risa screamed and Hiwatari growled. He knew there was something fishy the moment he saw Krad.


Back in the control room, Principal Sakamoto smiled smugly as half the schools power went out. She had gotten two of the staff members to operate the cameras and flip all the right switches. She asked Dark to corner Riku in the elevator and asked Krad to give off the signal when Risa was in one as well. They were rather lucky that both twins decided to go up at the same time or this plan wouldn't have worked.

She realized that power was also out in a handful of classrooms and clubrooms, so she decided that a half hour was all the time she could give Dark to work his magic. As for Risa, being trapped was insurance that she wouldn't interfere when she found out her twin and Dark were stuck together. She couldn't afford letting the wild fan-girl get in her way.

She walked out of the control room, satisfied with her work, and headed back to her office. She saw a small group of students gathered around her door. They had all come from clubrooms and were asked to inform her of the power outage. She told them all to head back to their activities; the power would be back in about a half hour.


Daisuke was coming from the art room in hopes of finding out the issue with the power. He walked by the elevator and tested it to see if it had also shut down. Finding out that it didn't work, he was about to walk away, but then he heard a loud pounding noise and some muffled speech. He lingered around the doors and listened closely, pressing his ear up to the cool metal. It sounded like someone was going back and forth between crying for help and screaming at someone else. Then he heard another voice who was simply arguing with the first one.

"Help, somebody get me out of here!"

"Will you quiet down? Nobody's out there, everyone's already either back in their rooms or at some club or sports event. Face it - we're stuck here."

"Oh, no, this can't be happening!"

Daisuke concentrated, attempting to identify the owners of the voices. After listening to a bit more partial speech, he put two and two together and figured out it was Dark and Riku stuck in there. He called out to them, letting them know he was there and going to get help, but it was pointless. They were too far up to hear him. He placed his hand on the door and balled his other one into a fist. He didn't like the idea of Riku and Dark being stuck in there together. He knew Dark had been trying to flirt with her and he didn't like it at all. So he pushed himself away from the door and ran to Principal Sakamoto's office.

Just as he was about to walk in, though, he saw Krad walk out.

"Krad? What are you doing here?"

"I was just informing our principal that one of the elevators is out and Satoshi and Miss Risa are trapped inside. What about you?"

"Really, they're stuck inside, too? Dark and Miss Harada are also stuck in one of the elevators!"

"What a coincidence that both of the Harada's would be stuck. Not to mention with people they can't stand. It's kind of funny."

"It's not funny! What did Principal Sakamoto say about it?"

"She said there was nothing she could do, but that the staff should have the problem fixed in about a half an hour."

Half an hour? Why would it take that long? Problems like this are generally fixable within a few minutes.

"It doesn't take that long to fix this kind of problem."

"I'm just telling you what she told me."

With that, Krad walked right past him and down the hall. Daisuke became very suspicious all of a sudden. He wasn't a technical person by any means, but even he knew that power outages like this were usually caused by a faulty breaker. All they needed to do was flip the right switches and the power would come back. Something was definitely up and he took it upon himself to find out what.


Riku and Dark had been trapped all of five minutes before Riku had stalked off to a corner and sat in it. All she wanted was to be as far away from Dark as possible and letting him get in the elevator with her was supposed to partially grant that wish. They would have gotten off on their floor and she'd have locked herself in her room, getting her at least away from him, though not by far. Now she was stuck with him for God only knows how long. She pulled her cell phone out and called her sister, hoping to get some help, but was disappointed to find that she was also trapped.

Now she just sat there, curled up in her corner, hanging her head and wondering why she was being punished. Dark stood in the opposite corner, looking down at her. So far everything was going according to plan, but he couldn't help but be taken aback by her reaction. He was expecting her fiery temper to flare out of control and then he'd have to calm her down and make his move. Instead, she gave him that perplexing look when they first entered, and even though she wigged out when the elevator suddenly stopped, she was now right back at square one.

To be quite honest, he had no idea what to do. Originally, he was going to soothe her hatred with some fake sob story for why he always acted like a "creep," then he was going to win her over by playing an apologetic card, and finally, he'd close the deal with either a date or a kiss. Unfortunately, without her usual anger, he couldn't use that plan at all. He may have been good at thinking on his feet, but even he got stumped every once in awhile. All he could do now was stare at her and try and figure her out.

"Why... you staring... me...?"

"What?"

Riku lifted her head, which she had buried in her knees, causing her voice to get muffled over. She looked up neutrally at Dark and repeated her question.

"I said: why are you staring at me?"

"How did you know?"

"I could feel your eyes on me."

He was waiting for her to call him a creeper or a pervert - something to show that she was still herself. This was totally not like her and her lack of sarcasm and rudeness only made him all the more wary and slightly terrified. Hiding her face, speaking in monotone, curling up in the corner, and now the lack of witty remarks was eating him alive. He couldn't take it!

"Alright, that's enough! What's with you?"

She jumped slightly at his raised voice. It didn't sound like it did when they would argue. No, it was much more serious. He seemed to be truly upset with her and this time he had the eyes to match his angry expression. It wasn't a game or a play argument anymore - this was for real.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the way you've been acting. You let me in here without putting up much of a fight, you've been hiding behind your hair, you haven't tried arguing with me or given me any sarcastic remarks, and now you're crouched down in the corner like a frightened child! What's the deal?"

Riku had to admit that Dark was pretty scary when he was actually mad. Not so much that under normal circumstances she wouldn't put up an equally intimidating act, of course. Had she not been so tired of him and this... this... game he seemed to be playing with her, she probably would have gotten right back up in his face. No, strike that - he wouldn't have even been in the elevator to begin with.

She dropped her gaze momentarily to think about what he said. She knew she was acting differently, but she also knew why. She was upset with the current situation, but otherwise she wasn't upset, mad, moody - nothing. She was just tired of him. Because of that, she wasn't going to throw it in his face with the intention of hurting his feelings, but she wasn't going to sugarcoat it for him either.

"Look, I'm going to be honest... I'm tired of you. All of this following me around, and flirting with me, and asking me out - I'm tired of it. I don't like you, Dark. You're not my type."

The look on his face was of pure shock. It was partially due to the fact that she truly didn't like him, but it was also because of her sincere honesty. He didn't detect any malice in her voice, so he knew she wasn't trying to be mean. He actually started to feel really bad, pushing her to the point where she was just tired of it all. It was strange how one minute he was anxious to be with her and win her over and the next he wanted to vanish and never see her again. That was obviously going too far, of course he'd want to see her again, but the way she was talking, she'd made it sound like he ripped her heart out, or something. It was too confusing for even him to grasp.

He slid down his corner of the wall and took her position. His eyes were half-lidded and he stared down at his lap. There was no way he was going to execute a plan, even if he did come up with one. It just wouldn't be right, not now.

"So, what is your type?"


Hiwatari and Risa had been sitting around for what felt like ages. Hiwatari sat calmly on the floor, leaning against the wall. He silently watched as Risa paced the floor and noted that she went back and forth between biting her nails and twirling her hair when she was nervous. He didn't want to be staring at her right now, but every time he tried to divert his attention, she did something to draw it back. After another few minutes, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Miss Harada, will you please sit down? You've been pacing back and forth ever since you got off the phone with your sister. I'm sure the school knows that the power's out and they're probably working to fix it right now."

"I can't help it; I hate being stuck in small places. I'm not claustrophobic, but small areas always make me think that I'm going to be trapped forever. I don't know why, they just do. I need to keep myself busy."

"Can't you do something else to distract yourself?"

"Like what? If I was in here with anyone else, I'd have a conversation with them. But you've got to be the hardest person on Earth to talk to."

"Really? You don't have a problem chatting up a storm during Band practice."

"That's different."

"How?"

"Because you promised if I improved, you'd answer my questions. I haven't improved enough yet to get anywhere, though."

"So? That's never stopped you before."

"Are you saying you want me to talk to you?"

"No, but I don't understand. My unwillingness to cooperate has never stopped you before. What's different?"

"The difference is that- Ah! Hiwatari, there's a spider on the wall!"

Hiwatari looked to where Risa was pointing and saw the giant spider she was referring to. There was nothing special about it, minus its impressive size. It was your regular, black, eight-legged, fuzzy arachnid. Nonetheless, Risa was scared to death and she would not stop screaming.

Hiwatari stood up and took off his shoe. He grabbed a hold of it and walked over to the wall, getting up close and personal with the little devil. He held his shoe up and smashed it into the wall forcefully, guaranteeing a quick death. He pulled back and saw the remains splattered all over, satisfied with his work. He put his shoe back on and looked over at Risa, seeing her calm down just a bit. He saw that she shivered and trembled every now and then and she appeared to be trying to curl up into herself, as if thinking an army of them would show up and eat her.

"Miss Harada, you don't have to be afraid anymore. It's dead now."

"I know, but still... it was so big."

He didn't bother to say anymore, already knowing there was no point in having this conversation. Even if he could convince her that she was perfectly fine and there were no more of them, people still had irrational fears, and this one was so common that he would just be holding his breath over the matter.

He took his place on the floor again and sighed. He suddenly wished that the half hour was up and that the elevator would start moving again. It wasn't even necessarily because he was annoyed with Risa, but that he didn't know what to do. She was more shaken than he thought and he was terrible at comforting people. It was just so awkward for him and he never knew what to say. He looked up and saw her in the corner, her bangs hid her eyes and she was still slightly shaking. He couldn't stand seeing her looking so scared, so he did the only thing he could think to do.

"Miss Harada, come here."

Risa glanced at him through her bangs and gave him a confused look. He was patting the spot next to him, motioning for her to come sit by him. She looked to his face to find out what was going on, but she couldn't read him. He still had his usual blank expression, but there was something different about it. Something so small, yet so disruptive. Still, she cautiously walked over to him and sat down, wondering what he was going to do next.

He saw the confused and semi-suspicious look on her face. He knew that was coming. He wasn't a people person, so it was unnatural for him to ask people to come to him and sit by him. Even so, it was better than watching her cower in the corner. As soon as she was seated, he slowly put one arm around her shoulders, trying his best not to startle her.

"H-Hiwatari... what are you doing?"

"You were just standing there shaking... but don't worry, I won't let the spiders get you."


Up in the control room, Daisuke confirmed his suspicions. He saw two staff members inside, fully aware of the power outage, and they were doing nothing. He saw the control board and he knew he hadn't a clue as to which switches to flip. So, he decided that he would have to speed up the process by busting them. He was pretty nervous and he hoped he wouldn't just get shoed off. There was nothing else he could really do, though - he had to try.

He pushed open the door and stepped inside, getting the staff's attention. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and laughed quietly.

"Hey, what are you doing in here?"

"I'm sorry to just barge in, but Principal Sakamoto asked me to find out what was taking so long with the power. She says it should have been fixed a long time ago."

Both staff members looked at each other confusedly. They were told to wait thirty minutes before switching it back on, but this kid apparently had orders to do it now. Not really knowing what to do, they got up and starting flipping switches, slowly bringing power back. After a few minutes, everything was running and fully operational. With that being done, Daisuke thanked them and walked out. He let go of the breath he didn't know he had been holding and sighed. He really didn't think that was going to work.