I'm sorry. I said in the last chapter that I wouldn't update if people didn't review. That was selfish of me. Sigh. I promise I will start posting again as soon as I finish the chapter. Please forgive me, readers! Without furthur ado here's chapter 11. I tried to make it slightly more Ikuto-centric this time. :) Enjoy. (Please review! I don't mind flames either. I just scoff at them!)

Song: In for the Kill - La Roux

Chapter Eleven: Hearts and Exclamation Marks

One would think that after all the heart-ache and trouble I had already gone through with one younger object of my obsession that I would eventually learn. Sadly, I loved reliving my mistakes. I hadn't even thought of him for quite a long time to be perfectly honest. The only reason he even popped back into my thoughts was because there he was, happily sitting on that same park bench from so many years ago, enjoying his favorite flavor ice cream, vanilla.

A pang of nostalgia hit me. God, I'd forgotten how much I missed him. He looked exactly the same as that fateful day two years prior, beautiful bright blonde mop of hair with that persistent cowlick we could never tame, sparkling red eyes that ranged from a shimmering rosy color when delighted, a frightening crimson when upset, and a sinful vermillion when craving something an innocent boy like him shouldn't, the soft pallid skin shamelessly displayed on that soft tantalizing neck I knew so well, and the rubicund tinge to his cheeks that made him look as bright and blissful as he deserved to be.

I slowly approached him, all those feelings of yearning, anxiety, heartache and fascination became an unbearable tempest brewing at the very depths of my core. He was still a good fifty meters away, but this is the closest I've been with him for two years and my mind was in shambles, and the little brat probably took a sick delight in knowing he's the only one who can turn me into such a wreck. I wanted nothing more than to stroke his shiny locks and just hold him. The closer and closer I came, the more I regretted my decision to approach him, however. He looked so happy without the complications of a nihilistic sham of an adult such as myself.

His eyes slipped shut and his supple pink tongue, that I was very well acquainted with quickly darted out catching the dripping ice cream. He pleasurably moaned after a particularly sloppy lick, eyes still shut in simple satisfaction from the sugary treat. I nearly groaned at the sight. I can't believe I'm getting jealous of an ice cream cone. Suddenly the boy froze. At that moment I offhandedly noticed that he wore the same uniform that the Fujisaki boy wore. How fitting.

"I'm going in for the kill. I'm doing it for a thrill. I hope that you can understand..." -La Roux

The blonde boy slowly looked up and when his bright ruby eyes finally landed on mine it took all my will power not to ravage him on the spot. Unfortunately, he did not feel the same. A choked gasp and the splat of a holier-than-thou-attituded ice cream cone was all it took for me to crumble. I grabbed onto his shoulders with much more force than necessary forgetting how easily my delicate prince bruises.

"L-let go of me Ikuto!", he cried attempting to claw away at my possessive grip. I can't let him go again.

"No."

"Please, Ikuto! I hate you! Please!", my blonde prince began to sob, "I hate you, please", he finished weakly before slumping into my chest. His choked sobs slashed at my heartstrings and I wanted nothing more than to bear his pain for him. His grip on my shirt was fierce and trembling. His tears seeped through the fabric of my expensive white shirt, but I didn't mind at all. I'd ruin a thousand shirts for you. That's what this boy did to me. He made me a pathetic bumbling corny mess.

"Shh", I began to stroke the blonde locks I yearned to caress from a distance, "it's going to be alright." Suddenly he jerked away as if my touch had burned him.

"N-no it won't! I-I hate you!", he cried, "I hate you Ikuto!"

"Please, Tadase", I begged. I tried embracing him once again and he smacked my hands away.

"Don't you dare touch me, again", he snarled distorting his pretty face into an expression he should never bear and ran from me. A splattered ice cream cone, and a broken Ikuto, forgotten so easily.

"We can fight our desires, but when we start making fires..."

Come on now, Nade-chan. Don't make your presence known. Get away. Now. For the first time in a while, I actually listened to my rational self and quickly scrambled away from the scene. I wondered how Tsukiyomi-kun could have possibly met Hotori-kun. I collected my thoughts and tried to put together the most comprehensive profile I could for Hotori-kun. Diddly squat. I knew nothing about him, and as I got more frustrated analyzing the situation, I realized that I didn't know anything about Tsukiyomi-kun either.

I wasn't sure what I was so pissed off about at the moment, but I refused to let myself believe it was due to the relationship between those two. I'm just frustrated that I can't piece this mystery together. Yeah. That's it.

It's not like I meant to see this rather personal scene at all. I was making my way home through a shortcut in the park after my invigorating dance session with Temari, minding my own business when I noticed from the bushes Tsukiyomi-kun staring at something with a weird look. I craned my neck and spotted the object of his attention, the blonde boy from student council, Hotori-kun. Although lingering was terribly risky considering I was Nadeshiko at the moment, I was outrageously curious as to how this interaction would play out.

I was too stunned for words. They sounded like arguing ex-lovers. How? This is ridiculous. He's way too old for Hotori-kun. I reasoned. Knowing that Hotori-kun and Tsukiyomi-kun had history left an inexplicable pang in my chest. I rubbed the spot vigorously hoping to rid myself of such silly sentiments I doubt they were together. It's pretty unlikely. I got up from my hiding place in the bushes, dusted off my obscenely short black skirt, and hastily took off in the direction of my manor. This has nothing to do with you, Nade-chan. If it really had nothing to do with me, how else could I explain this blistering ache festering inside of me.

"We can't ever stop... whether we like it or not..."

"Welcome home, ojou-sama", our maid greeted me at the door, taking my belongings. "Your family is waiting for you at the table", I followed her to the dining hall where my mother, father, grandmother, and brother were all seated.

"Thank you, Yamagawa-san. You may excuse yourself", my mother dismissed the young maid. I took the only empty seat, avoiding everyone's gaze. I used to find solace in Rhythm's silent exchanges with me, but after what we did, it really was just horrifically awkward for me. The pregnant silence was enough to make any normal family nervous and restless, but not ours. Wordless calculations and criticisms were the whole foundation of the Fujisaki household.

"Nadeshiko", my mother interrupted the unpleasant stillness, "may your unworthy mother have the right to know where you have been this whole time?"

"I apologize for my brazen imprudence, okaa-sama. I was with my esteemed cousin rehearsing for my performance this weekend. I do hope you can find it in your noble heart to look past this instance of my recklessness", I said stuffily. This is how a lady must speak. I looked at my mothers face and saw that she seemed satisfied with my answer.

The conversation unfolded into mundane topics such as the latest gossip about business ventures and later evolved into more scandalous topics about wealthy families such as the Hotori household. My eyes widened with curiosity and I carefully began to pick out important details.

"Oh yes, the lady of the household, the one who ran off with the younger man all those years ago? It seems she came back a week ago! The strumpet! Can you believe she has the gall to show her face to her family?", my mother scoffed in disbelief.

"Her husband is just as much at fault though! I heard he never slept at home! He's quite the philanderer, you know!", my grandmother chipped in. I was disgusted at how they seemed to take pleasure in the ruin of a family.

"But the worst thing is, I heard that their only heir is a man-lover", my mother howled with laughter, "can you believe it? Imagine your sons giving up their masculinity like that!". I felt ashamed and surprised. Hotori-kun? The prince? He's really gay?... Oh god., if my mother knew about my encounters with... I looked to my brother who seemed unnaturally calm about the discussion. I don't understand. They want me to be a girl, so am I allowed to like men? Or... Agh! This is too confusing. No Nade-chan. You're a man. You will not be gay. You aren't. This is done with and over.

"I heard this straight from his grandmother", I took a sip from the glass of water place in front of me as my mother continued her idle gossip, or so I thought, "she actually found the boy having sex with an older man in his bedroom."

I spit out my water. Tsukiyomi-kun and Hotori-kun WERE romantically involved!

"NADESHIKO!", after performing a water gun even a Squirtle would be proud of, I realized that my grandmother was in the trajectory of my spit infested water.

"I-I. Please accept my humblest apologies!", I bowed and took off upstairs to my room, effectively ruining the pleasant dinner we were having.

"Nagi! Wait!", Rhythm followed.

"Nagi? What in heavens name is that?", I heard my father mutter.

"They say we can love who we trust... but what is love without lust"

"Nagi? You in there?", Rhythm asked tentatively knocking. I gripped my blanket tighter attempting to hide from Rhythm.

"Nagi. I know you're here. Let me in!", he banged more fiercely on the locked door. Worried that my mother would come to check up on the noise, I wrapped the blanket around myself and scrambled to answer the door. I opened it a crack to see Rhythm's concerned expression. He pushed through and locked the door behind us.

Dropping the blanket shielding my body, I scrambled to get far away from him, controlling my erratic heartbeat. I looked at Rhythm with a pleading look, we can't do that again, I tried conveying. He gazed at me with a compassionate look of understanding, I know. I leaned into his chest hoping to be embraced and was pleased to see that Rhythm knew exactly what I wanted.

"Nagi, what happened?", he asked softly stroking my hair gently removing the ribbons and hairpins that were once holding my hair into a girlish up-do.

"I-I don't know, Rhythm-nii...", I clutched onto his black shirt as if it were my only salvation before I started to sob.

"Are you worried about mother finding out? Th-that you're gay?", he hesitantly asked me. I ripped myself from his hold, the tears on my cheeks completely neglected.

"What?", I hissed, "Me? Gay? What the fuck are you talking about Rhythm?", I growled dangerously low. His eyes widened before narrowing them into an intimidating glare that only served to remind me that he was older and much stronger than I was.

"Yes, you, Nagihiko. Don't you dare deny it."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!", I hastily defended, not liking where this was going at all. Rhythm looked severely pissed off and grabbed my wrists roughly.

"What are you doing?", I shrieked struggling to break free of his grip. He violently slammed me against one of my bedroom walls similarly to what Tsukiyomi-kun did to me a while ago downstairs. He leaned his body tantalizingly close to mine and I practically squealed when he nestled his knee right between my legs. I hissed at the contact since I was still only wearing the skirt, leaving my 'goods' rather exposed. He brought his lips to my neck and licked the scar that Tsukiyomi-kun's blade had previously left.

"Where'd you get that, scar?", he purred while still sucking and biting my neck. I weakly tried shaking him off, but I was too wrapped up in the pleasure, and I ignored his question completely.

"Nnnnh, sto-", I gasped when Rhythm gyrated his hips against mine. I could barely breathe. All these sensation were too much, so different from being with a girl. He finally stopped lapping at my neck and made eye contact with me. His once lavender eyes turned almost dark blue with lust. Tsukiyomi-kun's eyes are that exact color... Rhythm's lips hovered over mine in a tormenting manner much like I did to Souma-kun.

"Don't tell me you don't want this, Nagi", he breathed grinding his hips even harder into mine. I moaned loudly forgetting that I was supposed to be rejecting this. Mmm. Since when was Rhythm so...forceful. He looked so confident, there I was an awkward panting mess.

He grabbed one of my hips and turned me around: my chest against the wall, wrists still pinned above my head. I squeaked when he placed his knee back in my legs prying them open. I flushed when I became aware of my indecently short shirt. Rhythm groped my ass before pressing his body flush against mine.

"Ah! Rhythm-nii", I mewled, "please..."

"Please what, Nagi?", he purred in my ear, lifting the skirt and grinding his obscenely hard cock against my clothed ass.

"Please... just", I couldn't even formulate a sentence because of the things he was doing to me.

"Do you want a big, hard cock buried up your tight little ass, Nagi?", he murmured into my neck while grinding his hips frustratingly slowly. I could only whimper. No. You don't... Suddenly he stopped moving his hips, but was still pressed tightly against me, and I moaned in disappointment.

"Do you? Nagihiko?", his warm breath tickling my neck. The way he said my name made me ridiculously hard.

"Ymmhg...", I whined unintelligibly. He slowly lifted his body off of mine and I groaned in frustration.

"Do you?", he asked once more. No..no..n-

"Yes! Just fuck me, already!", I uncharacteristically begged. Rhythm let go of my wrists and forced me to look at him. He stepped back from me and looked at me with understanding, well, not quite.

"That'd make you gay, you know...", he smirked. I... he... you... He tricked me! I gaped at Rhythm.

"N-no. Bisexual..", I said finally. Rhythm took a seat on my bed and I joined him, awkwardly crossing my legs to conceal the forgotten erection.

"That's just a nice way of saying you're a slut", Rhythm said with a lewd grin.

"N-no, it's not! I'm not a slut!", I attempted to sound threatening, but with my flushed face, long hair, and short mini-skirt I doubt I was intimidating at all, in fact, it only served to make me look more like a slut as Rhythm put it.

"You sure begged like one though", Rhythm smirked, pinning me to the bed and pressing his body against mine, reminding me of his growing problem. At least I'm not the only one.

"Alright then. Fuck me. Fuck me until I can't even walk", I challenged.

"Don't worry. When I'm done with you, you won't even be able to sit without remembering me", he grinned.

"Promise?", I said coyly. He ripped off my skirt and got down to business.

"Two hearts with accurate devotions... what are feelings without emotions"

There you have it, chapter 11. I was reeally trying to try to end the whole Rhythm x Nagi thing, but seriously these characters have minds of their own. Sigh. I guess the plot thickens... Please review! And thank you for all those who read this! I appreciate you!