Disclaimer: FANfiction.

"Look at this."

Freya looked up from her work. Loki was holding a flyer towards her. "Anything important that I should take note of, brother dear?"

The twins were relaxing in the school's massive garden in one of the many gazebos there.

Loki shook the paper. "Look closely." He urged. "The school's having some kinda music festival competition thing. Wanna join?"

Freya smiled politely. "Hell no," she said with a straight face.

Loki sighed dramatically. "Why nottt!" he whined, "It's good exposure, you know!"

Freya rolled her eyes, resuming to her writing on the worksheet she was doing. "Yeah, right. You just want the grand prize."

"How could you simply assume that!" Loki asked defensively, pushing his hair out of his eyes like he always did when he was guilty or stressed. "I'm not that hypocritical you know."

"Sure. And I'm the one who's been whining for money to buy a new pair of boots."

"Hey! What 'cha two up to?" Kukai sat beside Freya at the garden table.

Freya regarded Kukai with a small smile as she continued with her trigonometry. Kukai looked over her shoulder with a grimace on his face. "Math? Trigonometry? God, Freya. School's out for the week. Why not try to chill for a day or something?"

"No use telling her that, Kukai," Loki answered for his sister, who was still diligently calculating her answers, "Every time Freya gets a worksheet, she has to finish it or the world's gonna end or something." He narrowed his eyes and leaned over to Kukai's ear and said in a confidential whisper, "She's a Type A."

Freya's head snapped up, glaring at the male twin. "That's not true! You actually believe in that superstition? I just happen to have a lot of homework!"

"Which you've finished already and that's the last one," Loki corrected then yelped as Freya kicked his shin underneath the table. "That hurts!"

Freya shrugged. "Serves you right for not keeping that abnormally huge mouth of yours shut!" Her eyes trailed over to where Baraneko and Daichi were talking. Freya had a lot of questions about the Shugo Chara, but she would have to ask Kukai when they were alone.

Loki had no idea that Freya now had a little pint-sized mini-not-so-human following her around, constantly barking orders at her whenever she did anything wrong. Well, in the Shugo Chara's book anyway. Baraneko was obsessed with Freya being a proper lady, in other words, perfect. Freya found this oddly funny and exhausting, but it quickly lost its charm when it got too far. At one point, Freya had yelled at the guardian for chucking a pair of boots out the window, simple because it was too 'workman-esque'.

"Yes, fix up the turntable then I'll DJ for you," A faint but clear voice said. The three friends looked at the direction from where the voice came from curiously. "No. The last time I went there, a bunch of your drunken guests puked all over your system, and that's why I know it's broken. Yes, I'm not kidding. That's why you shouldn't have underage drinking. All right. See ya."

A brown-haired teen dressed in their school uniform carrying a familiar Walkman and a pair of headphones came into view. "Sora!" Freya exclaimed, "Hey!"

Sora's eyes glinted in recognition as he registered Freya into his mind. "Hey, Freya," he replied with a grin, "Nice to see you again. You're looking fine," He ruffled the girl's hair affectionately. "Oh hey, guys," he said again, after realizing the girl wasn't alone. "Didn't notice you there,"

Loki was surprised. "Well, that's a new one. Usually, people realize I'm here because I'm too handsome to overlook."

Freya shook her head in despair. "God Loki, you are so vain," she complained.

Kukai scoffed at Loki's words, and gave Sora what seemed like a forced smile. "Hey, Sora," his eyes were trained on the hand that Sora had on Freya's head.

Baraneko's sharp eyes and ears didn't miss anything, despite the fact that she was engaged in a conversation with Daichi about the other Shugo Charas she had yet to meet. "Interesting,"she thought, as she watched the exchange among the four adolescents from the corner of her eye.

"What was that about?" Freya asked, interest sparking in her eyes, "I didn't know you actually worked as a DJ."

Sora took this as an invitation to sit with them, heading for the empty chair beside Freya, but Kukai stopped him with a conspicuous cough. He looked confused as Kukai calmly stood up, gestured to his seat with a pointed look at Sora and promptly took the chair beside Freya.

A ten-second-long awkward silence passed as the teens tried to understand what had just happened. Kukai was being uncharacteristically unfriendly, as he and Sora locked eyes.

Freya decided to break the tension. "So, uh, Sora, you part-time as a DJ?"

Kukai and Sora were visibly startled; their visual connection breaking. Sora turned to Freya and nodded. "Yep. Since I'm planning to be a DJ, it's fitting that I start part-timing as one, don't 'cha think?"

"That's pretty cool," Freya said, impressed, "It must be nice to do something you love doing,"

"Don't you like music too, though? You could definitely look into the music producing industry, probably. All those posters in your room - that's a pretty wide range of genres!"

Kukai was caught off-guard with Sora's words. Freya's room? He'd been inside her room? A nagging feeling of jealousy tugged at his heart as he looked askance at the bronze-haired boy.

"Well, I just stay up late at night sometimes, and I listen to a lot of music because of that."

It was Freya's turn to be looked at by Kukai. "She's an insomniac?" he wondered, studying Freya's pale complexion. There wasn't any evidence that pointed to her being an insomniac, especially when she was as pale as she was the dark shadows would've been noticeable.

"I could ask my dad and maybe he could show you around his studio, what do you think?"

"I'd like to try doing that. I'm not sure what I wanna be when I'm out of school yet." Freya said as a dream-like trance clouded her eyes.

"'Course you do!" Kukai piped up for the first time since Sora joined them. He stopped short of his explanation as he realized what he had just said. Sure, he knew what Freya would like to be because Baraneko existed. If she didn't, Baraneko wouldn't have been born or she would've had more than just Baraneko.

"But it's not as if I can just say that with Loki and that guy here… neither of them have a Shugo Chara…" Kukai thought, as he hastily laughed and started listing possible professions that matched Freya's abilities.

"You could become a singer, since you have a killer voice. What about a professional photographer? Your pictures are fantastic!" Kukai counted the possibilities on his fingers, getting excited, "Heck! Maybe even a supermodel!"

Kukai's monologue died on his lips as he repeated what he had just listed in his mind.

'Heck! Even a supermodel!'

Loki arched his delicate eyebrows, interested in his friend's sudden burst of vocal ability and also the sudden death of Kukai's words. Sora eyed Kukai, a flash of what seemed like challenge appeared in his eyes. Freya and the person of attention both felt blood rush to their cheeks, their respective pale and tan complexions turning the same crimson colour.

The pregnant silence got interrupted with a sudden song bursting from Freya's bag. Freya scrambled to her bag and quickly withdrew her phone. Standing up, she walked away from the boys, phone in hand.

"Supermodel, hmm?" Loki asked slyly, narrowing his icy eyes, "That's a bit too blunt, even for someone like you."

"D'you like her?" Sora asked straightforwardly.

Kukia starting sputtering and gaping like a goldfish. "N-no! Of course not! She's my friend!" he exclaimed, ignoring the ebbing doubt at the back of his mind.

Loki grinned, "Yeah, d'you like her?" He didn't get the deeper meaning of Sora's innocent-on-the-surface question. He merely thought that Sora, like him, was teasing their friend.

"No! How many times do I need to repeat the answer? She's my friend, dammit!" Kukai answered with a childish look of defiance on his face.

"That's right, she's my friend. A really really good friend!" Kukai assured himself with his thoughts.

"Is what you think?" Daichi's voice said. Kukai flinched a little and glared at him from the corner of his eye. Damn, why did Daichi have to be so good at predicting his thoughts?!

"Friends… well, guy friends don't go around saying that their female friends can be supermodels," Loki said, "Because that would be too weird. Well, unless you bat for the other team, of course." The ebony-haired twin shrugged.

"Why'd you say female instead of girl? Makes Freya sound like some kind of animal…" Kukai asked, "And by the way, I'm not gay."

Loki chuckled. "If I said girl, that would sound like I was saying 'girlfriend' and that would make you all the more pissed off that you already are."

"I'm not pissed off!"

"Yes, you are. Don't deny it, Mr. I'm-always-so-easygoing-I-never-get-angry-or-agitated!"

Freya sighed, rubbing her cheek unconsciously as she answered the call in a quiet, secluded area far away from where her brother and friends were. That was certainly the most awkward moment she had ever experienced. Thank God for the timely interruption. "Hello?"

"Freya?"

A chill frosted her spine. "Akashi."

"Ah, you remember me! I was afraid that Souma had brainwashed you to forget about me after that incident the other day!" Rakuto's deep voice said, "To be honest, I was quite worried when you didn't look for me the next day."

Freya gripped her phone tightly, gritting her teeth. "Of course I didn't look for you! Who in their right mind would go looking for someone they hate from the very depths of their heart! You were about to rape me!"

Rakuto chuckled at the other end of the line. "Well, putting the hate subject aside, it seems like I do have a place in your heart, don't I? It flatters me, really,"

"…Bastard," Freya said shortly.

"Now, now. Aren't you supposed to be a lady? My parents are married legally, thankfully," Rakuto was indifferent to Freya's insults, "Are you, maybe, upset that I interrupted your little rendezvous with that boy who barged unannounced into my house, your vain-headed brother and that ruffian who has not heard of an MP3 player that doesn't require you to lug CDs around?"

Freya's mind processed quickly as she realized that Rakuto was talking about Kukai, Loki and Sora. "If it's Kukai you're talking about, he was doing the right thing! And my brother is more of a man than you claim you are and for that 'ruffian' you were talking about, his name is Sora, and he prefers to use a Walkman because it's his preference! And how'd you know I was with them!? Are you stalking me again!?"

"Not quite. I happened to be merely passing by at a distance when I heard your lovely voice mixing with those unattractive sounds which you call your friends' and brother's voices," Rakuto answered back smoothly, "Look ahead of you. It's quite far away, but I'm sure you'll be able to notice my regal presence beneath a tree befitting someone of my stature."

"He must be talking about that oak tree…" Freya thought, scanning the garden, "Regal? Stature? Puh-lease, he's worse than Loki on a bad hair day. And that does not happen too often but it's really bad."

An arm waved at Freya, and her vision trailed from the hand to Rakuto's hateful but begrudgingly handsome face, the other hand had his phone pressed to his ear. "See? I told you, you can't possibly miss my presence."

Freya rolled her eyes, ending the call. Rakuto was smiling and pocketing his phone. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the tree, probably anticipating something.

"Well, I'm sure you're not anticipating this!" Freya smiled angelically before her expression turned malicious and held up her right arm and gave Rakuto the finger.

Rakuto lost balance for a moment before re-composing himself with a shocked expression on his face, watching Freya, who had a smirk of satisfaction, disappearing behind the green shrubs. "Who in the world taught her that? Such a vulgar gesture!" Rakuto mused to no one in particular, "Must be Souma and Makoto. I knew they weren't good for her."

Baraneko aimed a kicked at Freya's head. Freya yelped, snapping up her head and giving the Shugo Chara a glare. "What was that for?"

Baraneko crossed her arms, shaking her head with distaste. "You may hate the boy, but as a proper lady of a good family…" she gave Freya a scary, grotesque look, "Never ever do such a rude gesture!"

"Zephyr said it was a good way of telling someone off!" Freya protested, "Pandora and Loki agreed too!"

"Excuses, excuses!" Baraneko sniffed in contempt, "Your older siblings shouldn't be teaching you such things!"

"Wasn't it you who said Pandora's a true lady fit for a role model for me or something like that?" Freya asked, as she slowly made her way back to the gazebo.

"She may be quite the lady, but you shouldn't listen to her or your other siblings when it comes to such terrible manners! And that other brother of yours: Zephyr!" Baraneko started ranting, "He's a perfect, polished albeit quite fond of gaudy accessories, gentleman. He shouldn't know all these kinds of manners!"

"Gentleman? Zephyr?" Freya shook her head, "Those two don't go together, not at all. I think the term 'playboy' is more appropriate. 'Sides, since Zephyr's the only person I've ever known to be able to wear so many steel and silver accessories at once without looking weird, it's kind of like his trademark. Don't ask me how long he even takes to put them on every morning, because I honestly do not, and don't ever, want to know."

"You should go to his university," she continued, looking at a couple of students as she passed by them, "If you go to a dorm party, you'd be surprised to see what kind of things go on there,"

Baraneko's expressionless eyes blinked sleepily as she answered, "Well, I wonder how you know what goes on in there."

Freya gave Baraneko a look of horror. "If what you're thinking is that I partake in those parties, it's not true! Zephyr likes telling Loki and I of the horrors he experiences in university!" she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Probably he thinks it will prevent both of us from graduating from school or something like that. He says two people out of secondary education are enough in the family."

"But since I'm here, you already know what you want to be, so your brother's efforts are wasted," Baraneko shrugged.

Freya raised her eyebrows. "Eh? Really? I do know what I want to be? What do you mean by that?"

Baraneko sighed, shaking her head. "Really, I'm so embarrassed to have someone as clueless as you as my partner…"

A vein of annoyance pulsed on Freya's temple. "Well, excuse me! I didn't even ask for a partner like you!"

Baraneko smiled cryptically. "Well, that's true, but other than being your would-be self, I'm also what you want to be when you – to put this in childish terms – grow up."

"When I grow up?" Freya repeated, dumbfounded, "But I don't even have a clue as to what I want to be."

Baraneko's smile disappeared, her usual stoicism returning. "It's up to you to realize it, then. I know what you want to be, but really, if you don't know then what's the point of me telling you?"

"So, you're coming home with us today, right?" Loki asked Kukai. Freya had come back already, a look of contemplation on her face.

"She must've had one hell of a serious conversation, probably…" Loki thought. Little did he know that Freya had been talking to Rakuto, and that the conversation they had wasn't even a little bit serious.

"Well, that's the plan! My parents plan on taking a break from my brothers and I. Since they won't be home, I think staying at home with them all week will endanger my safety and holiday. They like to make me do stuff," Kukai said, grinning, "So, Freya, I'll be your house guest for the week!"

Freya blinked innocently as she remembered that Kukai was going to live with her for a week. "I forgot! Didn't Loki tell you?"

Kukai's grin disappeared. "Tell me what?" he asked in confusion.

"My parents had planned on bringing the whole family to a villa we have in a ski lodge, but since you're coming to stay with us, they plan on bringing you, too," Freya explained, keeping a straight poker face. What was going on underneath her cool facade, was actually a hyperventilating Freya, who had completely forgotten that Kukai was going to stay with them.

"Oh, and Sora's also agreed to come along," Loki added, and Kukai had to fight himself to keep up the interested smile on his face.

"Really?" he asked, "That's cool. So I'm supposed to bring my snowboard and snow gear?"

"That's the plan," Loki said, giving Sora – who had a really big grin plastered on his face – a high five, "Since our parents said you could come with us, I thought Sora could come along as well! It'll be a change to use more of the rooms there,"

"We're leaving tomorrow," Freya said with an apologetic look on her face, "I'm really sorry that this idiot of a brother of mine didn't tell you earlier."

"It's all good," Kukai said reassuringly, "I can just drop by my place to repack my stuff, if that's okay with you."

"We'll come with you!" the twins said enthusiastically.

"You just want to see my brothers, don't 'cha?" Kukai accused.

Freya and Loki had guilty looks on their faces. "Guilty as charged," they mumbled together.

"Freaky," Sora commented on their words of unison, "You guys really are twins inside and out, aren't you?"

"Maybe ninety percent," Freya corrected, turning to Kukai, "I never knew you had brothers 'till Loki told me. I'm interested to see what kind of brothers you have. Are they all obsessed with sports like you?"

Kukai had a mock offended look. "Well, for someone who can match up to me in football, you really hate sports, don't you?"

Freya shrugged. "It's very inelegant and makes you all smelly and sweaty,"

Loki leaned over to Kukai and Sora in a huddle. "She's prissy. Likes to be all girly and stuff," he whispered, "But Zephyr tormented her when she was younger to gain athletic abilities, so that's why she's good at football but she's embarrassed to say so."

A dark, evil aura emanated off Freya as she scarily pronounced her twin's name slowly. "Loooookiiiiii…"

"Well, gotta run! I'll wait for you at the gates!" Loki said cheerfully as he grabbed his backpack and started running from his sister.

"Come back here!" she shouted after him, grabbing her own bag and going after him.

Sora and Kukai had amused looks of disbelief as they watched the twins play predator and prey. Sora watched Kukai as he chuckled to himself. "You like Freya, don't you?"

Kukai stopped instantly, staring at his hands again as he started evading Sora's question. "No, no I don't. She's my friend."

Sora shook his head, plugging his headphones into his Walkman's audio jack. "Don't deny it, Souma. You like Freya."

"No."

Sora shrugged, standing up from his seat. "Well, no matter how much you deny it, you do," he said, "But since you're so intent on protecting your friendship with her…"

Kukai looked up at the aspiring DJ. Sora grinned, putting on his headphones and slipping a random CD he had taken from his bag into the Walkman. "Please don't cry as I take her for myself first!"

Then, he started his walk to the front gates, leaving the jock alone in the gazebo. Kukai turned to Daichi, who had been quietly watching the conversation between the two boys. "Well, Daichi, although I have no idea why Sora said that-," he picked up his own bag, "It looks like he's the one who likes Freya, not me!"

"Well, we should go now. They're all probably waiting for me," Kukai continued.

Daichi sighed. "He probably doesn't know he has a shocked and dazed look on his face right now…" he thought, as he watched the bigger one of their partnership start walking the same path that the three before him had taken. "Should I tell him?"

Indeed, despite constant mental reassuring that he, Souma Kukai, wasn't in love with his friend, he had an expression of a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

"Hey, I may be small and the one that Kiseki claims as the most brainless one of the group…" Daichi thought, floating after his friend, "But I sure ain't so dumb as to miss that out-of-place look on Kukai's face… I wonder… does he really not like Freya as he claims?"

I wanted to try to make Freya different from what she usually seems like, as you read the interaction between her and Rakuto. My writing about Zephyr and Pandora is to introduce you guys to the kind of family that Freya and Loki live with, as they're not really around most of the time. Anyways, I'm really glad to see the way how this chapter has turned out. I hope you guys will forgive me for the delay in updating!

Luv,
sakura-pichu16296