A/N: I don't own KHR or any of its characters.

I watch as the two children bicker over the last slice of steak.

Bickering between them was normal, but this was… this was cute.

"You got the last piece yesterday!" Hatsu yells across the table.

"If you agree to train with me you can have it."

"Ughhhhhhh fine, just take it." Hatsu leans over to grab the last slice of cake, but Kyoya quickly swipes it before she can react.

"Wha - "

"If you agree to train with me"

"You don't even LIKE sweets." He smirks.

"But you do."

"Why are you like this?" She deadpans.

"It must be done."

Hatsu crosses her arms and puffs her cheeks.

"Don't want it anymore."

Hatsu grumbles under her breath as she carries her dishes to the sink. My eyes stay on Kyoya. He smiles softly, watching her huff and puff about the room.

Hatsu grabs her backpack from the counter -

"Come on let's go, you lil glutton."

He stuffs the last piece of steak in his mouth. He gets up out of the chair - "I swear to god, if you don't eat that slice of cake I will have WORDS with you."

Kyoya scoffs, "Your words versus my tonfa." But he still scarfs it down - well, more like elegantly devours. Hibari's don't scarf down food, we aren't barbarians.

Hatsu rolls her eyes as Kyoya takes up pace beside her. "Yes, and I would still win."

Kyoya scoffs.

"Bye, Chieko-sama!"

"Bye, Obaa-san."

The door shuts behind them.

Whatever happened… it's about time. I smile and walk into my bedroom. I pull out my hair pin, and reach around one of the wood beams lining the wall. My hand traces upward in search of a small divot. I insert the pin into a small hole in the backside of the beam and a secret compartment in the wood reveals itself.

I remove the bundle of old papers and grab a pen from the drawer.

Mr. Onazuka distributes their graded tests back to the class.

I watch as Hatsu takes hers with her usual disregard. Surprisingly, her eyes widen, followed by a scowl of annoyance. Does she actually care about her grades for once? No way… if there's anything I can count on her for it's underachieving in class -

Her hand shoots up like a rocket to the sky.

"Yes Hatsu?" Mr. Onazuka calls on her.

"I think you misgraded my paper."

"If you're displeased with your grade, maybe you should study more after class." The class erupts in giggles. This isn't the first time someone's tried to shmooze their way up to a better grade.

"It's not that, I just think you miscounted my points."

Mr. Onazuka strolls back to her desk, skimming up and down her paper. "Looks correct to me. Maybe we can get you a study buddy." More snickers from the class.

Her scowl deepens.

WOW. Maybe she's turning over a new leaf. I guess if she studies hard the rest of the term she can raise her grade up a few points.

"No, it should be 70 points. 70. NOT 71."

Eh?

The whole class sweat drops.

"Um I gave an extra credit point to everyone who filled out their name and the date in the top left corner correctly." Mr. Onazuka replies.

"You gave extra credit for that?! Who can't spell their own name and date their paper correctly!" Hatsu stands, waving her paper at Mr. Onazuka. Eyes fidget nervously - apparently, a lot of people can't. (bless you, patient teachers)

"Isn't that better for you?"

"Better for me?! Some arbitrary extra credit for writing MY NAME? I don't want better, I want fair."

"It's just one point Hatsu-chan, sit back down."

Hatsu rolls her eyes, not taking her seat.

DING. DING. DING. The school bell sounds for lunch break.

"Alright everyone be back in your seats at 1pm."

"Hai, Mr. Onazuka." The students say in unison while they loudly divide into their clicks.

Girls clamor toward Mameko, the new head honcho since Komiya's sudden withdrawal from the school. I mean, what did she expect? This was getting off easy considering what information she tried to glean about my family.

There was a brief civil war between Komiya's posse to determine who would rise to the top, but Mameko quickly pulled in the reigns. And honestly… she was thriving. If there's one thing she had that Komiya didn't, it was self-restraint. Komiya was so used to getting her way NOW, but Mameko would bide her time. Well, she had nothing to worry about considering she steered straight clear of Hatsu. Not for any sixth-sense of what Hatsu was capable of… but because Hatsu didn't want what she wanted. And if that was the case, they wouldn't get in each other's way.

Hatsu stuffs the test into her desk cubby and pivots briskly out the classroom.

As the last students trickle out of the classroom, I walk over to Hatsu's desk by the window. A large stack of papers and tests she's stuffed into her desk haphazardly. I flip through the first couple.

70% on the last test… 70% on her past two math assignments… 70% on the history pop quiz... My fingers quickly graze through all the papers. ALL of them are EXACTLY 70% except the last - a singular 71%.

I chuckle.

So it's not that she's average - she's exceptionally average. Because what's harder than getting 100% on every test? Getting less than that on every test. And some of our tests were even graded on a curve!

How interesting.

From the corner of my eye, a figure darts through the school yard from my view of the window.

I watch as Yumi shuffles stealthily to the school gate, then bursts into a run, her legs running up the wall with the momentum she's built, hands boosting her the last inch over the top.

I dust off my school uniform as leaves fall around me.

"Made it."

Rustling sounds behind me.

"I know that's you."

"Hn." Kyoya states in response, if that can even count as one.

"Chieko-sama won't be pleased with you playing hookie."

I take off down the street running. "Isn't it the same for you?" he calls after me.

I shrug - "I'm a temp student anyways. Come here!" I wave my hands motioning for him to follow me into hiding behind a wall. He strolls casually, ignoring me.

I roll my eyes, run back to him and grab his hand, pulling him to a crouch in the shadows beside me.

"Have some subtlety for crying out loud!"

"I'm not afraid of herbivores."

"You do realize, we're not supposed to be out of school grounds right now, right? Have you really never snuck away from anything before?"

He scoffs, looking to the side bashedly. "Hibari's don't sneak."

I chuckle - "It's fun."

I throw off my backpack and unzip the top. I pull out an assortment of clothes.

"Oi isn't this my shirt?" Kyoya grabs the simple designless black long-sleeved shirt.

"Oh perfect, yeah change into that." He glares at me. "I was thinking ahead for moments like these." I smile innocently back at him.

"Wow."

I grab an oversized light blue hoodie and throw it over my school uniform. It hangs to my mid-thigh. Then I put on a white baseball cap with black stitching of a turtle on it.

"... Is that also my hoodie?"

"... It's just a simple blue hoodie, not everything is yours, anyone could buy a blue hoodie and it would look the same."

He narrows his eyes at me, suspicious.

"But yes this one does happen to be yours." I place my hands on my hips "I literally never see you wear any other clothes in your closet and" I do a twirl in my new (stolen) hoodie dress "do you really think you could pull it off this well?"

"It's two times too big for you." He deadpans. "

"It's called fashion - look it up bitch." I flip my hair over my shoulder with sass and a smirk.

"And when have you been in my closet?"

"Sorry I can't hear you, you're soooo far away!" I say as I skip down the street.

Has she always liked food this much?

It's not that she ate so much in quantity, but if we went into an ice cream store, she'd ask to sample literally every single flavor. Ah, and there she goes again. She runs up to a sweet potato food stall. Smoke lightly billows from the top of the stall as the potatoes slowly roast on the grill.

"Two please!" She shouts excitedly at the old man behind the counter.

"400 yen for two."

She quickly turns to me with large, pleading eyes.

I fork up the 400 yen and place it on the stall. "That's two more training sessions in exchange." Hatsu nods exuberantly in response. "Hai, hai!"

I watch her watch the sweet potatoes cook to perfection. It has taken me longer than I'd like to admit to realize Hatsu has literally no money. I would expect her to have some sort of funds from the Vecchio family or at the very least her immediate family, but she has nothing. Not one cent. What's her relationship like with her guardians? Don't they care about her?

I feel the quick torrents of rage swell over me like the smoke of the stand.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

She quirks an eyebrow at me. "I'm sure it'll be worth the 400 yen."

She scoots closer to the cart, tip-toeing to see - "How do you know when they're done?" she asks the old man.

And has she always been this curious?

I watch her as she pesters the old geezer for answers on the intricacies of sweet potato roasting.

She is constantly moving, constantly doing, and constantly thinking.

She grabs both potatoes from him, an old newspaper clipping wrapped at the base to protect their hands from the heat.

"This one's yours." She hands one to me.

She smiles as she takes the first bite - "Mmmmmmmm! Delicious~ What do you think?" She turns to see my reaction.

I take a bite, the familiar creamy sweet texture fills me with comfort.

"It's just Yaki Imo."

"Ah, you've already had this before?" Disappointment clear in her voice.

"Of course, everyone in Japan eats this in winter. It'll be better in a couple of weeks, when the weather cools."

"Oh."

Isn't she from Japan? And she's never had Yaki Imo? "I'll get you another when it snows."

She perks back up, "Okay don't forget!" She quickly finishes the last bite.

I'd watched her for a few months, and somehow I noticed all the wrong things. Or atleast, all the unimportant things and construing them as important.

A/N: Nice, quick update from me~