Aaaaahhhh, where have I been?! Work, illness, and internet have been a pain, but here's the next chapter!

I haven't said it before, but I wanted to make it clear that I have no intentions of leaving this story. Though updates may be sporadic, they're always on the way. I'm not going anywhere! Sorry for making you worry~ D:

Also, much thanks to the new follows and favorites and switchpersonalities, Hello-Nanabanana, and the aptly vaguely named: Someone and Another Guest for your reviews!

Beware the Physical Exam!

Mary found it incredibly easy to fall in love with the cherry blossoms. The way they swirled in the air like falling snowflakes, and the warm rays of sun glittered off of the petals like sparkling gems in the sky. At the front gates of Ouran Academy, the spring was shedding the forest garden of trees of all of their pretty pink flowers.

"With the way they're falling," Mary wondered aloud, gazing at the freshly cut grass around them, "you'd think they'd pile up like snow or leaves. Maybe if I just lay here, they'll bury me."

Evie laughed as she watched her friend fall to the ground and sprawl out. Arresting the bag from her, she dug around for the Flashmatic before pointing it at herself. With the push of the blank button, Evie was comfortably dressed in a green baggy sweater and jeans. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew! Feels good to get out of that dress! Come on – get up! Let's go find the boys."

"Yeah," Mary grumbled, reaching for the Flashmatic to get out of the green party dress she was still wearing. With a bit of static, she was soon dressed in a pink skirt inspired by the cherry blossoms around her. She chose a white blouse complete with a matching, pale pink bow to tie back her tresses to finish the look. She tossed the Flashmatic carelessly back up to her friend who caught it and tucked it safely away. "We have to find the quack doctor, Yabu, before he causes any trouble at the physical exams."

"Ugh!" Evie groaned, rolling her eyes. Though Mary was reaching her arms up for assistance, Evie defiantly put her hands on her hips and frowned down at her instead. "When are you going to loosen up? We've been through the motions – I know we can't leave until we finish the story, so we're going back, and none of this is going to have happened. Right?"

"Uh…" Mary blinked, not expecting her friend to suddenly sound so exasperated with her.

"So why do you insist we stick to the plot? Everything will be fine!" Evie shook her head. She gave Mary a reassuring smile. "We've got the chance to explore and meet people who don't technically exist. You're crazy if you say no to that!"

"Well…" Mary knew Evie had a point, but she was still worried. She didn't like straying from the story line. What if they were needed for something important to occur? How much dialogue would change? Would they ruin things in Ouran permanently? What if remnants of their adventure would be left behind even if they rewound? What if they messed things up so badly somehow that they couldn't rewind?

Evie saw her friend was brooding. Grabbing Mary's hands, she violently yanked her to her feet. "That's it! This episode, we're doing things my way!"

Mary blanched as Evie dragged her off into the trees. Her way?! What was that supposed to mean?

It wasn't long before the girls wound their way through the thin trunks and came upon a garden party. Blankets were spread out in various picturesque locations with fancy, antique tea services upon them. Girls in their ridiculous yellow dresses were gathered around where hosts poured tea and filled their pretty, little heads with false compliments.

Mary glared at the scene, sticking her nose in the air. "They look like waiters at Applebee's…"

"Hey, guys!" Evie waved, calling out to them and completely ignoring Mary's negativity.

Tamaki noticed her first and fled his guests to greet the pair. He gallantly swept up Evie's hand. "The beautiful travelers return to us! Chic as ever, I see~ Would either of you lovely ladies care for a spot of tea out of our elegant, imported sets?"

"Sure, uh… you!" Evie chirped. Even though she wasn't a fan of most any tea, she was sure the hosts wouldn't disappoint. She left Mary's side to be led away to Tamaki and Kyoya's area. She could already see the be-speckled boy halfway through his pitch about Host Club photographs with a few empty-headed girls.

Mary moodily clung to the bag holding the important relics from their own world, twisting the beige shoulder strap in her fist. Her stomach was suddenly clenched with nerves. How did Evie do it so well? Treating them like real people…?

She swiveled her head to see what everyone else was up to. The terrible twins were pulling one of their routines, highly questionable as always. Mary attempted to picture herself as one of the girls currently fawning over them and their 'forbidden' antics and her expression soured, a hand shielding the sight from her. "No way."

Evie was standing with Kyoya, apparently holding a conversation with him - to Mary's shock and awe. Tamaki was busily flitting back and forth between being Prince Charming for his guests and screaming in protest at Kyoya's sarcastic remarks at his expense. Evie was laughing between them, watching the show with the best seat in the house.

That left…

Mary's feet plodded along before she robotically came to a stop by Honey and Mori's blanket. Her knees bent on their own accord, and she more or less fell into a sitting position a fair distance from everyone else.

"Hey, it's Mary-chan!" Honey greeted, flowers twirling around his adorable head as usual. He seemed to have just popped out of a depression, and by the two girls viciously fighting over the three drops of tea he made for them next to her, Mary remembered why. Funny how some things still carry over…

"Er, what?" Mary squeaked, holding her throat at the sound. Why was she acting like Evie all of the sudden?! She wasn't shy! She was… bold. Well… in her own world…

"Did you want a snack?" Honey repeated the question she had zoned out for. He held up a variety of cookies and cakes. "There's strawberry, and lime, and cherry!"

"Mm…" Mary mumbled behind her fingers. Her other hand dug deeper into the strap of the bag.

"What, are you new?" One of the girls suddenly asked, making Mary's face go red.

"Nervous?" The other girl asked. Luckily, the Honey and Mori fangirls were much kinder. They both smiled. "Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai don't bite!"

"Yeah, they're both really kind!" The first girl motioned Mary to sit closer, and she felt like she couldn't protest. She crawled to sit beside her, wringing her fingers in her lap and trying to focus on being in the moment. But she could feel the clunk of the Flashmatic in the bag at her side, and she could feel her face fall. She couldn't let it go. This wasn't real. None of these people, these petals on the blanket… like some elaborate hallucination…

"Haha!" Honey suddenly giggled when he saw their assurances weren't helping Mary's blush lessen. "It's so cute when you're shy!"

"I am not!" Mary blurted, a vein character popping up over her brow.

Though no one else was particularly amused by her angry outburst, Honey just laughed again and sorted through the different cakes, picking up the lime. "Then we'll just have to choose for you! What do you think of this one, Takashi? Do you think Mary-chan would like it?"

"Yeah," came the baritone, usual response. He had his own fangirls quietly watching in awe as he meticulously poured them cups of perfectly prepared tea.

"Here ya go~!" Honey jutted out his arm, his oversized sleeve bunching at his wrist.

Players! How do they do this? It's so surreal! Mary grumbled to herself, but she accepted the plate and gilded fork offered to her. This world may not be real, but the cake here looked hella delicious anyways…

"It seems your friend has a taste for Honey-senpai," Kyoya observed, back to scribbling whatever it was he always scribbled in his notebook as his guests dissipated.

"You think so?" Evie asked, hands clasped behind her back. She wrinkled her nose as she observed Mary eat the entire slice of lime cake in a few bites. Evie wondered at that. She wasn't feeling very hungry, but she had been in Ouran for hours. Was it hours? How did time pass here?

"They seem to get along rather well," Kyoya said. He made a new entry in his daily register under Mary's name in his book, adding the price of a slice of cake to her debts. He idly wondered how much his current parley was Evie was going to cost her.

"I don't think so," Evie disagreed as she let her thoughts drift back to the present. She was glad it was so surprisingly easy to talk to Kyoya. At first, she was terrified he'd bite her head off or try to sell her something. Of course, the latter was still expected, but he was already rather chatty. "I mean, she'd never admit it, but you—er—I mean, what? I don't know, Honey's super cute, yeah, sure."

Kyoya's pen stopped moving for a few awkward moments as Evie's face flushed. She almost just said that! She almost just admitted that, after careful consideration, they both had their preferred hosts. And Kyoya certainly wasn't low on either of their lists. She dug her heel into the grass and stared down. How embarrassing!

"If you really want to know, he's her favorite," Evie finally admitted, jutting her thumb at the blond idiot beaming at his guests. It was better to change the focus with a little truth than let the girls' Kyoya obsession hang in the air between them. Sorry, Mary…!

Kyoya pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. That didn't match his records at all - that came as quite the surprise. He went back in his memory and could only recall scant interactions between Mary and the Host King and most of them ended in shouting. "Hm. From what I've observed, I wouldn't have made that conclusion."

Evie laughed at his roundabout way of saying 'oh.' "Well, you can't just assume all people work the same."

For some reason, Kyoya almost wanted to ask, drawing from the same logic, who Evie's favorite was. But he quickly realized that was a ridiculous question, and so he remained quiet, going back to his notebook and hovering his pen near Evie's name.

"Well, this was fun!" Evie brightly announced, smiling wide with her doe eyes shut tight. "Thanks for the awkward chat, Kyoya. You're way less scary than I thought you'd be! Well, uh… I'm gonna head over and see when Mary wants to skip ahead. Later!"

"Right…" Kyoya said, not taking his eyes off of the binder balancing in the crook of his elbow. His pen never touched the page. He couldn't wrack up an excuse of what to charge her for. Only after her footsteps marched a fair distance away did he chance watching her go.

"So!" Evie grinned, standing over her friend. Mary whirled around and looked up to meet her suspiciously sly gaze. "Having fuuuun?"

"Lots!" Honey said. He yawned and the guests swooned as he rubbed his eye. "But all this yummy food makes me sleepy~"

Mary put the plate back on the blanket, careful not to clatter it around too much. She stood and brushed out the wrinkles in her skirt and collected her bag. With as much dignity as she could muster, Mary nodded to the two Host Club members and the girls accompanying her. "Thank you… for the cake."

"Yeah," Mori said, to no one's surprise. His shrewd eyes studied the pair of girls for a curious moment before he noticed Honey curled up in a ball. "Mitsukuni. No sleeping on the ground."

"Aw…!" Honey whined, yawning again.

Mary and Evie walked away from the commotion. Seemingly out of earshot of any characters, Evie's growing smirk erupted into a full out, cheeky grin. Mary eyed her with a sideways glance, her grip relaxing on the satchel she was always carting around. She finally gave up and stopped walking, effectively stopping Evie as well. "Okay, what is with that face?"

"Soooo…?" Evie drew out the word, swaying side to side and making her ponytail follow along like a pendulum. "I said: having fuuuun?"

Mary's sass ebbed away slowly; the pout quickly becoming a smile. Her hands squeezed the bag tighter at the butterflies in her stomach. "…Yeah. I admit it. This is really kind of awesome!"

"I told you!" Evie slapped her friend's shoulder hard and giggled happily, unaware of her own strength as Mary coughed.

Mary recovered and girlishly held her heart. "Honey's so cute! And he was right in front of me! Giving me cake!"

"I knew you were holding it in!" Evie clapped, repressing her squeal of delight. It was good to see Mary loosening up at long last. Her friend usually wasn't such a stick in the mud. It was good to have her back.

"I had to!" Mary interjected with a gasp. "Can you imagine? I would've hugged him into putty."

Evie laughed and repeated how much she 'knew it' with a little jig. The trees cleared, and they had made it well away from the garden party back onto the path. A nearby pond glittered blue and white in the sunshine.

Mary crossed her arms and her weight shifted to one hip, back to her grumpy self. "This was all well and good, but what are we supposed to do for the physical exams coming up? Stand by and gawk like all of the other girls not named Haruhi in this show?"

Evie stuck out her tongue, repulsed at the thought. "Ew, no!"

"Well?!" Mary said, exasperated. "Unless we go after Yabu, that's all there is to do…"

"Fine!" Evie relented, wrenching the bag away from Mary. She found the Flashmatic without difficulty and puffed the bangs out of her face with a deep breath. "Okay! So how do we skip ahead?"

"Wait! That made us—!" Mary made a wild grab, but she was too late.

The colors around them sped ahead, and without much warning, tiles were under their shoes and they were surrounded by pillars and air conditioning. The girls regained their balance and held their upset stomachs.

"Really sick…" Mary finished her previous thought, waves of nausea engulfing her.

"Mm… Yeah, I forgot," Evie admitted, holding her aching head.

Eyes still shut tight, Mary blindly grabbed around until she found the Flashmatic. She pulled it out of Evie's grasp and jammed it back in their bag.

After a few minutes, the girls were feeling well enough to explore the part of the school they were in. It was devoid of any kind of human activity, but the low rumble of hundreds socializing wasn't too far off. Before long, Evie and Mary found themselves in a mass of students all walking in one direction.

"We look strange…" Mary observed, as did many other students. Their clothes made them stick out like cupcakes in a sea of blue and yellow pastel dinner mints.

"If we get separated, at least it'll be easier to find each other," Evie thought optimistically.

Forced to agree, Mary continued on through an open doorway. She recognized it as the same long aisle where countless nurses and doctors would be lined up to assist the students. "Maybe we better get out of the way. I'd hate to get examined by mistake!"

"Eek!" Evie squeaked in fear, quickly following Mary's lead and winding their way horizontally across the lines of students. After a few nudges and apologies, the girls were in the clear in a vacant corner. "So… what do we do now?"

"Well…" Mary thought with a hand to her chin. "Besides finding Yabu, we'll have to be able to help him. How do we get our hands on maps of schools in the area?"

"Front desk?" Evie shrugged.

It wasn't difficult to find assistance at Ouran. The girls found a supervisor, and from there, they made their way to an information desk where a handful of smiling secretaries were ready to help.

"Having trouble finding your examination rooms, ladies?" A sweet faced girl closer to their age asked politely, beaming with servitude.

"Uh, actually…" Evie mumbled, unsure of how to go about asking for maps without sparking suspicion.

Mary used her devil-may-care attitude and took the initiative, talking over her friend. "Yeah, hi. Can we get some maps of the local schools?"

The woman looked confused. "Having trouble… finding… your school?"

"No, it's purely conversational," Mary explained with a wave of her hand like she was annoyed. "Besides, I'd really hate to go into detail."

Evie was about to scold her for being so rude, but the woman acquiesced and hurried off to fill their request. Now Evie was full of praise. "Wow, you make a good rich kid! Like you've been doing this all your life or something."

"Well, I didn't think rich kids would necessarily be all hunky-dory with the staff asking intrusive, tiresome questions," Mary shrugged though she swelled with her inflated ego at her success.

"Your sass makes you good at being a spoiled brat," Evie teased. Mary's response was to stick out her tongue in defiance.

The woman returned, flipping her long dark hair over her shoulder and replacing her plastic smile before addressing them. She had a few brochures in her hands that she placed on the counter. "Here you are! Are these suitable?"

Mary and Evie browsed through the pamphlets, shrugging and nodding as they did so. Evie spoke first: "Sure! They look great; thanks!"

After giving her a sharp jab with her elbow, Mary picked up. "Yes, they'll do."

"Glad to be of service," the woman bowed.

Once they were out of earshot, Evie started to complain, rubbing the sore spot on her middle that met Mary's bony elbow. "I think you're too good at being a snob… that hurt!"

"Sorry," Mary sincerely apologized. She bunched the brochures together, clapping them in her palm. "But if our outfits don't raise questions, they'll be asking about how sugar-coated we are. Okay! Now to find Yabu. Any ideas?"

"Guess we've got to start with that girl who got 'attacked,'" Evie made air quotes around the last word.

"That's right!" Mary snapped her fingers. "If we find her, we'll find Yabu quick as a wink."

"Your slang today is very strange."

"Wait, is that him?!" Mary frantically pointed to a hunched man in a lab coat rounding a corner out of sight.

"Only suspicious types who move the plot walk like that!" Evie agreed triumphantly. "Let's get him!"

The girls dashed across the room, dodging students and nurses alike. A few shouts and shrieks of surprise trailed behind them as they rounded the bend and ran like bats out of hell towards the messily dressed figure.

The man heard the rapidly thumping footsteps and turned around just in time to utter an exclamation of alarm before Mary and Evie had him tackled to the ground, a cloud of previously nonexistent dust blowing around them. When it settled, it revealed both girls pinning the man to the ground by the shoulders.

Yabu looked back and forth between them in fear. "Wh-what's going on?! I didn't do anything!"

"No, but you were about to freak the hell out of someone by getting grabby. You don't do that," Mary scolded, her voice more commanding than usual despite her obvious hypocrisy with their current situation on top of the guy.

"Here," Evie handed the befuddled man the brochures and explained more succinct and friendly. "These are maps of the area. Your daughter doesn't go here. She goes to one of these public schools."

Yabu blinked in confusion, staring at the maps under his nose. He finally decided: "I… I can't take them. You're on my arms."

"Oh."

The girls released him, and they all rose to their feet without any sustained injuries. They were forced to repeat their explanations in a more civilized manner since Yabu was so shocked and slightly in fear of his life by the way they nabbed him out of nowhere.

"Thank you, girls. Very much," Yabu made a short bow to them, walking away down the hall towards the nearest exit.

"Next time try the information desk like a normal person!" Mary said, cupping her hands to her mouth to call out to his retreating back. "Wandering around a school could get a man arrested…"

"You're mean," Evie frowned, crossing her arms.

"You're right – I think I'm having too much fun with it," Mary admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. She hiked up the shoulder bag.

"Okay!" Evie's eyes lit up as her plan went back into action. She clenched her fists in excitement. "So now that that's out of the way – what do we do?"

"Gawk at the—"

"No!" She refused, interrupting her from suggesting it again. Evie grabbed the beige Ouran tote from Mary, wrapping it around her own shoulders as she posed for an adventure. "We can explore! See what there is to see. We have a whole empty tour of Ouran at our disposal! We can—"

"Hey, you there!"

Both girls jumped and turned in bewilderment to see a pair of male nurses rapidly approaching them. They didn't appear too happy, and their long aprons made them look like murderous butchers. They stopped before the main duo with arms crossed. "Skipping out on the exams, eh?"

"Huh?" Both Mary and Evie gulped in unison.

"All students are required to take the physical exam," the second, calmer man stated. "We must ask you to return to the facilities immediately to be sorted for your recordings."

"But we don't even—" Evie was about to argue, but even Mary didn't have time to stop her from spilling the beans before a couple of female nurses suddenly appeared.

"Come with us, please," they smiled. Their eyes dangerously flashed.

"Run!" Mary commanded, pulling Evie's arm along with her in the opposite direction.

"Hey!"

"Stop!"

"No need to be afraid—!"

"—Just an exam!"

"Wait!"

Puffing and dodging more students who were staring at them like they were raptors on a rampage, Evie and Mary found themselves at the end of the wide hall with two options.

"Left!" Mary cried, veering quickly.

"Right!" Evie shouted at the same time.

"Okay!" Both girls agreed with one another. Not realizing their mistake, Evie made a mad dash for the left hall, and Mary went right.

Mary's shoes squeaked against the linoleum as she turned another corner. She was sure she should have come full circle by now and would wind up right where they wanted her in the main room. Their thudding feet were still close behind her in pursuit. But where could she go?!

She found a side door, and she turned the handle and pushed without further debate. Mary quietly shut it behind her, hoping it would go unnoticed. When she whirled around, there were rows upon rows of white curtains. Or rather, perfect places to hide.

"Did she go in here?"

Shivering at the voices behind the door, Mary took off running again. She tumbled through the curtains and fought her way through. She batted them away as much as she could, but Mary tripped up at the finish and came crashing down with a yelp, pulling a tall white curtain divider with her – fabric tearing and poles clattering to the floor around her.

Eyes rolling from the collision, Mary managed to pull herself up and untangle herself from the curtain before inspecting her surroundings, peeking out between the sheets. When she did, two shirtless gingers were watching her from above.

"Ah!" Mary screamed, backing away until she was against the wall with her hands over her eyes. "Jesus Christ, put some clothes on!"

"It's not our fault you attacked our changing room," Kaoru's casual voice said as she heard the zip of his fly.

"Maybe she's just a pervert, and she didn't get a good look earlier when we had our measurements taken," Hikaru suggested, finding his shirt amongst the wreckage of Mary's tumble and pulling his arms through the sleeves.

Kaoru saw the flawed logic in this accusation. The girl was huddling away from them, pulling the fallen curtain back over her head like a shield. "I don't think Peeping Toms cover their eyes, Hikaru," he argued.

"Are you wearing clothes yet?!" Mary shouted, frustrated she couldn't see during this conversation about her.

"Don't worry, it's rated G again," Hikaru teased.

Mary peeked between her fingers and saw that the twins were straightening each other's ties in their full uniforms. She breathed a sigh of relief. Still, of all the places to wind up… it had to be the twin terrors.

"So the boss is your favorite," Hikaru sparked conversation once again, squatting down to her level and pulling the curtain off of her.

First intimidated by his closeness and his eerily feline amber eyes, Mary was immediately angered after registering his words. "Wh-what?! Who said that?"

Kaoru squatted down next to his brother, both of them shrugging in sync. But Kaoru held out his hand to her to help her up where his brother did not. "We tend to overhear things."

"It's one of our many talents," Hikaru added with a matter-of-fact nod.

"Overhear?!" Mary was still speaking at an unholy decibel. Kaoru's offering hand went ignored, so he dropped it – Mary still not noticing the gesture. She went back over conversations she had in her mind, and if anything, they should be suspecting her of favoring Honey… So who brought up Tamaki? Who would know to? "Evie!"

The twins seemed satisfied with her realization, smirking at her in victory.

"Evie!"

The second exclamation was less vengeful than the first. In fact, it was panicked. Mary leapt to her feet in a flash, using the wall for support and looking around like a lost puppy. "Oh, no! I lost her! We were running from those doctors, and…!"

"Running from doctors?" Kaoru asked, more realistically concerned than his twin.

Hikaru seemed more interested in the possibility they were pulling a prank of some kind and had gotten caught. "What did you guys do?"

Both boys were startled when tears welled up in Mary's muddy brown eyes, her hands clamped over her mouth. Evie was somewhere off in Ouran. Possibly caught! And what's worse – Mary was all alone. Without the Flashmatic! "Wh… what am I gonna do?!"

"Hey, chill out," Hikaru ordered. He looked away so he didn't have to awkwardly watch her cry. He hated when girls cried. He remembered a time when he thought overly emotional people were funny, but now tears reminded him of those dark days before they knew Suoh. Days he wasn't always proud of. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "She's gonna be fine. It's not like we're in the jungle – this is a school."

"Yeah, she probably just wandered off somewhere," Kaoru said, much gentler and kinder but still unnerved she was suddenly falling to pieces.

"No, I have to find her - right now!" Mary demanded, quickly moving past them and escaping the changing room. Sniffling and holding her shoulders in fear and slight embarrassment, she looked left and right down the room and decided on the door she had come through. Best to retrace her steps.

"What's with the hurry?" Kaoru asked, falling into step beside her on her right.

"Yeah, like I said, relax," Hikaru said, hands now clasped behind his head on her left. "You're getting worked up over nothing."

"Nothing?!" Mary griped, a glare set on her brow as her pace quickened. "I'm sure if Kaoru suddenly disappeared, you'd be just as freaked out!"

"But we're twins," Kaoru pointed out like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which, to be fair, it was. No one was closer than the Hitachiins. Everyone knew that. But both boys were unnerved she had been able to tell them apart again so casually.

"Doesn't matter," Mary shook her head, opening the door and heading out. "I'm just as much of a twin with Evie as you are with each other. It's not about looking like the other or anything superficial like that. It's all in your head."

The Hitachiin twins fell behind, lingering by the door as Mary retraced her steps back down the hall. The wide windows reminiscent of the hall attached to their music room let in buckets of bright daylight, illuminating the entire passage and rendering the crystal chandeliers over their heads useless. They exchanged a curious look with one another.

"Is it?" Kaoru quietly asked, hands in his pockets.

Hikaru's expression soured as his arms fell to his sides. Finally beckoning a hand over his shoulder, he strode after Mary. "Come on."

Though he didn't stop thinking about it, Kaoru kept his thoughts and questions to himself and hurried after his brother to keep up.

Now… where… the heck did Mary go?!

Evie panted, hands placed on her knees as she regained her breath. She stood straight and leaned against the wall, parting the bangs from her eyes.

Dang, this sweater is hot…

Remembering the bag around her shoulder, Evie looked down and riffled through it to find the Flashmatic. Tongue sticking out in concentration, Evie thought of a white t-shirt and faded blue overall shorts before she aimed the Flashmatic at her person and pressed the correct button. Refreshed in the more breathable outfit, she sighed. "Phew… much better!"

Evie looked around her, satisfied she had lost the nurses and doctors long ago. Being a sporty kid had its perks. Mary wasn't nearly as in shape, but she was certain to escape the doctors, too. Mary hated doctors, so that would make her feet twice as quick. Evie was sure she'd run into her eventually. Until then, she'd poke around a bit. She opted to carry the Flashmatic in her fist as she began to walk further down the hall.

The high-vaulted ceilings and lit atmosphere were as breath-taking as ever. With a quick peek into a closed classroom, a few star charts and high quality telescopes told her it was an astronomy class. Cool!

"Eh…" Evie closed the door, hearing it click shut. "This was supposed to be more fun with Mary here. No one's complaining…"

She chuckled at her jab without Mary there to defend herself and continued on down the hall. The buzz of conversation came to her ears, and she proceeded with caution. Poking her head around the corner, she was surprised to find only one person in another empty hall.

Evie wasn't quite sure how to go about a greeting, and by the time she was mulling one over, she was already leaning against the window sill next to him, one leg propped up on the wall behind her. The best she could come up with was eventually: "Hi."

"You've been creating quite a fuss," Kyoya offhandedly reprimanded her, looking over his previous pages of notes. He clicked his pen and wrote a correction.

Evie puffed the bangs from her face again, juggling the Flashmatic between her hands. "Haha… yeah. We don't go here, so I hardly need an exam! Your doctors?"

Kyoya fiddled with his glasses. "Yes. They're part of my family's specifically chosen hospital staff."

"I get the feeling you don't like me knowing things," Evie rightly guessed with a small smile. The Flashmatic landed in her left hand, and she kept it there. His silence proved her correct. "I guess I'd be weirded out if a couple of crazy people suddenly appeared with infinite knowledge, too."

"I never said that," he corrected her. After all, Kyoya would never insinuate these two goons were any kind of smart. But he went ignored - much to his annoyance.

"Especially if they knew so much personal stuff. Yeesh," Evie laughed. She took a deep breath and stared across the hall through the open door where doctors and nurses were with groups of students on scales and behind curtains. "Done with your exam?"

"Aren't you supposed to know?" He retorted.

"Cheeky," Evie commented, ever perky. "But fair enough."

Kyoya closed his book with a snap! Evie pretended not to notice his unease and the rising tension in the air as his frown deepened. "I don't know who you're supposed to be, but I decided to give you and your friend the benefit of the doubt at Tamaki's request. If the decision was mine, I wouldn't have tolerated such wild claims. Furthermore, if I suspect anything underhanded, don't think I'll hesitate to end it."

Evie finally looked at him and studied him closely. Sure she was about to say something about how 'cryptic' he was, or even make a threat of her own, Evie said something completely unusual. "I was thinking about what it means to be alive."

Kyoya blinked, using every faculty known to him to restrain any signs of showing the great amount of confusion and irritation he felt. He wound up biting his tongue as she continued.

"I thought it'd feel different," Evie looked down at her free hand, closing and opening it. "But it doesn't really. At all… I thought I'd be crazy and all over the place and static. Two-dimensional. Flat and narrow minded. But I don't feel any different from how I normally feel in my own world."

There she was going on about worlds again. Though he couldn't place these two girls by any resources he had access to, Kyoya was sure they were escaped asylum convicts of some kind. Who also happened to know a few magic tricks and illusions. His fist tightened at his side. Mental!

Evie gave him a warm smile, taking him aback at her abundant purity. "I guess that just goes to show the medium doesn't limit you. Your world can be just as real as mine! We're all human."

"Evie!" A scream cut across the hall, and Mary was upon Evie faster than either of them could blink. The twins appeared behind Mary at the end of hall, not up for running like maniacs to regroup.

"Ah! I'm putty! I'm putty – I give! You're squishing me like I'm Honey-senpai!" Evie giggled as she tried to pry Mary off of her.

"It was so scary by myself!" Mary whined but finally freed her friend. She turned to the twins with a condescending glare, the bow in her hair now askew from who-knows-what kind of adventures she had while they were apart. "Well, I wasn't all alone. These creeps have been following me."

"Hey!" Both Hikaru and Kaoru objected, eyes burning in anger.

"Hey, where's everybody been~?" Honey called from Mori's shoulders as they exited the exam room full of noisy students. "Is everyone healthy?"

"Yeah," Mori assured him, his black hair getting squashed by Honey's folded arms.

"Mary~!" A wild Tamaki appeared and used tackle.

Mary shrieked at his sudden proximity and batted him away, soundly punching him in the jaw. Tamaki gasped and recoiled, tears hanging in the corners of his eyes as he held his wounded cheek and pride. "That's no way to treat your favorite!" he accused.

Her jaw dropped, but to Evie's relief, Mary turned her ferocity on the twins. "You told him?! Do you realize what that's going to do to his ego?!"

"Like it wasn't big enough…" Evie shrugged, a sweat drop appearing over her head.

The Hitachiins snickered and made taunting faces at her. Mary bared her claws and hissed.

"Okay, that's enough fun for one day!" Evie laughed as she restrained her friend under the arms, holding her in a firm lock.

"So…" Tamaki was already back for another beating. Rose suddenly in his hand and fingers in his fabulous locks of hair as he posed in front of Mary, sparkles surrounded him when he winked. "Was it my charms? My good looks? Or was it my exotic flare that swayed you, my dear~?"

"I'm gonna kill you!" Mary seethed at the twins who were now dancing as they mocked her. She still couldn't hide her embarrassment as her cheeks lit up to a vibrant, tomato red.

"I know! It was my princely aura!" Tamaki said, spinning on his heel. "No sane woman can resist such a handsome display of selfless devotion!"

At this point, Evie was having a hard time holding Mary on her own. Honey shouted for Mori to help her, but it was too late. Soon, Mary was chasing the twins in circles with a very confused and jilted Tamaki with a wilted rose in the center of their squabbling.

Kyoya watched all of the nonsense with his steady, unwavering gaze. He found himself thoughtfully holding out the palm of his hand. He flexed his fist a couple times and shook his head, a small, involuntary smile appearing on his lips. Alive. He shut his notebook.