Chapter 1

My hand trembled slightly as I prepared myself to knock on the door of the room of which I will be sharing with my new roommate for the next foreseeable future. Who knew things would turn out like this?

My name is Aoi Livingston, a 16-year-old student at Dales Academy, a co-ed school for middle class students. My father died when I was very young and mother then remarried Mr Livingston, whom himself was a widow with three sons. This meant mom and I had to move into the Livingston Mansion, and we all lived happily ever after...I wish.

The eldest, Yue, was now running his father's affairs and had become the acting head of the house. I didn't know him very well since I pretty much just saw him at our parent's engagement dinner and at the wedding. Father and mother were 'retired' and was barely ever home, travelling wherever they wanted since they left on honeymoon. That left me, Sora and Ren. I was the youngest of all my step siblings. Ren went to the same co-ed school as me, but Sora who was the closest in age to me chose to go to an all-boys school.

I was lucky that I fairly quickly made some friends, well most of them were more like acquaintances but Jessica and I just hit it off right from the start and soon were like long lost besties.

All was well at first, but it didn't take long before trouble found me. Sora warned me that Ren was bad news and that I should stay away from him as much as possible which I did.

He had always been the troublemaker in the family. And then he got himself into a real mess and 'sold' me to the school's worst delinquent, Marius, to repay his 'debt'. Apart from me not having anything to do with it I, was lucky to find out before I got dragged off to his harem or whatever. It was rumoured that Marius' family was some gang. Judging from the way he looked I would believe it and I had very early on placed him in the "stay away from" category along with Ren.

Since our parents were currently somewhere in Argentina and Yue was in New York, negotiating business deals I had no choice but to turn to Sora. A plan was hatched to hide me in Sora's all boys school until a way could be found to get Marius off my back or at least until Yue came back and could sort Ren out. Since it was an all-boys school, it meant I had to become a 'boy'.

Sora helped me get all my documentation in order with the help of a computer-wiz friend of his and I had to have my hair cut. Today was my first day here. Sora had come home so that I didn't have to travel there by myself which I was grateful for.

Every time a teacher or other student stopped me and Sora to ask about me, I was convinced we were found out, but so far everyone bought the story that I was Sora's adopted sibling, which technically was true. Just the gender wasn't.

I was assigned to Saizo Shirogane as roommate. Sora seemed visibly relieved. When I asked him why, he said that it was because Saizo wasn't into girls, so even if my secret came out I would at least not have to worry about him harassing me. As much as it was intended to put me at ease it actually had the opposite effect since I would be pretending to be a boy, right? Let's hope I'm totally not his type...

"Um..excuse me?" I asked and pushed the door open. A tall boy was sitting on his bed, listening to music. He looked up for a moment, but then ignored me. Okay, fine...that suits me too. I carried my bag to my side of the room and unpacked the few things that I brought on Sora's recommendation. To make sure I'm not found out I made sure only to pack boy's clothes, even underwear. Do not worry, they were all bought for me since I was smaller than all my siblings so their stuff wouldn't fit me anyways and besides, borrowing someone's underwear…that's just gross.

Saizo seemed like a serious type of guy. His bedding was all dark colours, purples, blacks and stuff. But he didn't particularly come across as a goth... He had some piercings in his ears and I could see a little bit of a tattoo on his neck.

"What are you staring at?" he suddenly asked, glaring at me and taking out his earphones.

"Just trying to figure out if I need to sleep with garlic and crosses..." I said before I could stop myself. Saizo's eyes widened for a moment. He clearly wasn't expecting me to talk back. I heard from Sora that everyone practically avoids him because he's so scary. His glare intensified and I understood what made him so scary. He had unusual blue eyes and his eyelids were slightly slanted, perhaps one of his parents were Asian? He seems like the kind of guy I should avoid at all costs (even more than my stupid brother and that moron Marius), but Sora did say I'd be okay with him...and besides, he hadn't done anything to me so I shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

"Lighten up dude, I'm just joking," I said, clicking my tongue and then realising that it might be a bit of a girly gesture...I'd better pay attention to how I act... Just then my cell phone beeped and I took it out to see it's a message from Sora.

"All seems to be in order, will come by later to show you around and give you your schedule. S."

"Okay, cool. Thanks." I replied.

I unpacked the last of my stuff and then plopped down on my bed. The room wasn't very big, but spacious enough. It contained all the basic stuff you would need as a student. The desks had special lamps which would not irritate your roommate if you wanted to study late. This was going to be a lot different from what I was used to at Dales. I sighed and closed my eyes. If it hadn't been for that idiot Ren...

I must have fallen asleep because I woke when someone knocked on our door which turned out to be Sora.

"Yo, are you ready?" he asked me.

"Sure."

"Before we go, here's your books."

He then handed a whole stack of books to me, which I almost dropped.

"Hey! That's heavy, don't make me take all of it at once!" I protested and just managed to save a textbook from falling and then quickly placed them on my desk.

"Sorry about this, I'll sort them out when I come back," I apologised to Saizo who seemed not to care at all. He was still listening to whatever it was he was listening to and didn't even open his eyes. Perhaps he was already asleep...

"So, you think you'll be okay?" Sora asked as we walked around.

"I should...my roommate is not the most talkative fellow, but I think I'd prefer it that way. Last thing I want are distractions."

"I doub't anyone will bother you there since no one will ever willingly go to Shirogane's room, so don't stress. We'll have this whole issue sorted out in no time. I heard that Yue should be back in about a month's months' time."

"A month?! That long?!"

I leaned against a wall for support and sighed theatrically.

"Do you mean to tell me I have to live here for a whole month?!"

"Well, yeah...unless you want to go back to Dales and tell Marius to back off yourself."

"That ain't happening! Oh, crud... do you realise that I'll have to study both Dales and Kingston's curriculums while I'm here, so I don't fall behind when I eventually switch back? I'm so going to die..."

"Don't worry, I have complete faith in you "little brother"! You've always been the clever one after all..."

"I'm so going to hurt you!" I grumbled and glared at Sora as best I could. He only laughed.

"Thanks," I eventually said in almost a whisper.

"Don't mention it."

It was quite late by the time I returned to my room and I was surprised to find Saizo wasn't there. It was already past curfew and even Sora and I had to sneak around. I wondered what Saizo could be up to? Anyway, doesn't concern me. I didn't think I'd have to stay here that long...I'd have to ask Sora to help me get my Dales books from home, I didn't want to bring it along right away and have to explain why I have them. Currently I couldn't return home since it would be watched no doubt. I had some messages in text and voice form from Ren but chose to ignore them. He'd also been contacting Sora, but he was pretending not to have seen or heard from me.

The next day classes started, and I was quite finished by the end of it. I got lost a couple of times, got shouted at by my male teachers. I already hated it here and couldn't believe that Sora would choose this.

The only interesting thing was seeing the school's 'hot-rods' as the guys call them. It consisted of a tall blonde guy with grey eyes, Leopoldt, and his followers. Leopoldt wasn't the athletic sort, but he did well with music (he played several instruments) and had a way with words (meaning a smooth talker). Erick was a swimmer and one of the best in this school. Brown tanned skin, short dark hair and green eyes. He would be representing the school later this year in the nationals.

Francois was one of the school's best basketball players. Brown shoulder-length hair and blue eyes. He seemed like a bit of a hippy, the laid-back type. And then there was Saizo. I had no idea he was part of the group. I found out that he was the best in the mixed martial arts club. It quite suited him. I couldn't help but think he should perhaps become a ninja or something. Considering that I couldn't tell when he returned to our room the previous night and I was normally a very light sleeper. Well, that proves my point, doesn't it?

I felt a bit sorry for these guys, not having any girls around to coo about them, but it didn't look like they minded too much. I found out later that there were some planned events during the year that involved a sister-school, such as gatherings for dancing. Boys and girls were required to learn dancing, etiquette and all that stuff that went with being nobility. I didn't think that still applied in the modern age, but apparently it still did in some circles.

Some days passed and I felt like I was slowly getting used to the new life here. Occasionally Saizo would be studying or at least be in the room when I was there, but we never spoke much. He didn't seem like a bad guy. Knowing that he was into martial arts helped me understand him a bit better.

After studying one day I went for a jog as I normally did. I was part of the running club at Dales and had been running every morning and evening for a while now. I had been considering competing, but then this whole thing with Marius happened. I wondered if I'd ever be able to return to Dales? What would Yue be able to do so that he would leave me alone?

I still fumed with anger every time I thought of what Ren did. Luckily, in this case, I was quite flat chested, so if didn't take too much to hide the fact that I'm a girl. I still wore a special vest underneath my clothes just in case. You never knew with a bunch of guys, I grew up with three so I would know about the nonsense they would sometimes get up to. I wore the school's tracksuit and my favourite running shoes which happened to be a bright green. I was running past the swimming pool when someone called out to me and I recognised him as one of my classmates.

"So, you're into running Livingston?" Charles asked, standing in his little speedo like it's the most natural thing in the world. He was one of those guys that thought he's God's gift to women and liked to flaunt himself, even to guys. Perhaps he was bi?

"Er...yes? And you swim?" I asked, not really knowing what to say. Thanks to my brothers I didn't just instantly turn into a red beet or anything but still to have a guy call out to me so casually... Charles went on for a while about all the swimming events coming up and his daily routine to build up stamina and such, as if I cared. I felt relieved when eventually another classmate called Charles and I could escape.

When I got back to our room, I somehow felt something was off. Had someone been here? I stepped in cautiously, but nothing seemed out of place...why was I feeling like this? A slight sound made me look under my bed. I'm not sure what I was expecting... monsters? Who in their right mind would snoop around in Saizo's room anyway?

"Nope," I said to myself and straightened up. When I turned, I looked right into Saizo's face and involuntarily yelled and fell back, luckily onto my bed. I had not expected to see anyone so suddenly and quickly clamped a hand over my mouth. He really could be a flaming ninja!

"Don't scare me like that, damn it!" I scolded him.

"I'm impressed that you're able to tell someone had been here," he said calmly, ignoring my outburst.

"There was?"

Saizo held up a little crumpled piece of paper.

"Unless you have taken to Zerox?" he asked.

Zerox I knew was a highly addictive drug which looked a bit like flat bubble-gum and came in a little wrapper.

"You found that in here?" I asked, not expecting him to answer such a stupid question, but I was just so surprised.

"I wonder why?"

"Good question."

I looked up and noticed Saizo was observing me.

"What?"

"You are not hiding something are you?" he asked.

Oh gosh...did he suspect something? I guess my scream just now was quite girly...

"Um...why would you think so?"

"You sometimes act strange...and you are always sneaking around with your brother."

"We're not sneaking! He's teaching me survival skills in this place!"

Saizo looked at me like I've said something insane.

"Look, up until now I've gone to a co-ed school with lots of people who don't care fudge about me which allows me a lot of freedom. Here I can't become invisible no matter how hard I try... and I can't even look out the window and get yelled at practically every day and nothing I do is enough. And now I sound like I'm whining like a girl... so I'm just going to shut up now."

I got my stuff together for the shower.

"So...why did you decide to give up your freedom then for Kingstons?"

I wasn't expecting Saizo to ask me.

"It's...complicated."

Luckily, he didn't press any further.

I managed to catch a shower and change without incidents. I always avoided PE classes as it would be the most difficult to not get exposed. I usually hid in one of the toilets until everyone left.