The New Edition
Chapter Two: College can be such a drag…
By: Winter Peacecraft-Yuy
With additional help from: Meilin Rae, Trowa'sgal2004, and MiMeQ

Disclaimer: Meilin Rae: See chapter one please. (And if you don't feel like doing that, I hope that you remember the disclaimer, 'cause I'll be damned if we're typing it again!)

*~*

Hana sat outside Tokyo University. She was waiting. She had been waiting on Rekino for over an hour and a half. The young blonde sighed and clinched her fist. When Rekino gets her, I'm going to kill her! She better have a DAMN good explanation!

The wind blew Hana's wavy, golden blonde hair slightly as the ripples on her blue jean pants did the same. Her midnight blue eyes were narrowed at the street in front of her. The ends of her green, button up shirt were tied just above her belly button, which sported a green diamond stud. On her feet was a pair of two-strapped, sandal Birkenstocks. She also wore a small, heart shaped toe ring.

Where the hell is Rekino?

Hana looked around as people walked by. Some were couples, holding hands and talking about goofy shit such as children and sex. Others walked by themselves. A brunette walked up the sidewalk to the university, reading a book and dodging people at the same time. Hana had to give the girl props for being able to read and dodge at the same time. Before she could turn around, Hana thought she saw something

Blonde hair. Tall, male stature…

Hana turned her head sharply to the left as her eyes roamed the area. Dammit! I'm losing it! She snapped her fingers, sighed loudly, and shifted her weight. That blonde guy she had had several encounters with this morning wouldn't leave her mind. She hadn't felt this way about a man since she was in the eleventh grade. The face of Lawson Murphy entered her mind and she felt like crying. She had been in love with him since she had been a freshman in high school. The tears threatened to spill over. Sixteen had been a bad year for her, having lost both of her parents and lover in a span of months.

But the sadness quickly turned back to anger as she saw Rekino running towards her, book bag over her shoulder. Hana put a hand on her hip and tapped her foot lightly. Rekino stopped in front of her and bent over to breathe.

"Where…the hell have you been, Rekino?!" Hana's voice didn't waver one bit. She was mad, oh so very mad.

Rekino looked up, "The JC Penny's Saturday one day only sale!" She flashed Hana one of her innocent smiles. The only thing Hana did was glare. Rekino held up her hands, "Okay, okay. Sorry. I hit the alarm clock a little too hard."

"Damn, Rekino!" Hana threw her hands in the air, "That's the fifth alarm clock you've broke this year! I swear, we buy so many of those damn things that we could invest in the stock market and make millions."

"Well I am oh so sorry that I don't like getting up in the morning," Rekino said defensively, "So, do you wanna go to class or stand out here all day?"

Hana didn't say a word. She turned on her heel and headed for the university. Rekino smiled and shook her head. She loved to piss people off. As she caught up with Hana, she decide to make "casual" talk.

"So, how did your doctor's appointment go?" Rekino asked.

Hana looked out of the corner of her eye, "I'm not talking to you."

"Ugh! Fine!" She smiled slightly, "How was your morning?"

"I'm not talking to you."

"Okay."  She grinned even wider, "Did you meet someone?"

Hana turned to Rekino. This time, her eyes danced wildly, "Oh honey, you do NOT know! While I was at a red light, I saw this blonde guy in a Green Eclipse. He was FINE! While I was at Hardee's, I saw him again! He backed into me and I 'accidentally' grabbed his ass. Oh LORD Rekino, he has a nice ass! He's so muscular and stuff!" She walked up the steps and opened the door, letting Rekino in first. She went in shortly after, "I just wanted to…you know…get me some. He has the same taste as me too! He ordered a biscuit and gravy! Oh, and I saw Ryo. He was sitting with that blonde guy and - waitaminute…" Hana stopped and looked at Rekino, "I'm not talking to you!"

Rekino only laughed as the two walked down the hall to find their first class.

*~*

Date Seiji sat in class, bored out of his mind. He didn't know why he selected Western Civilization as an early morning class. It was boring as hell. He smoothed out his khaki pants and turned his attention back to the teacher, who was giving the general rules of the class. Seiji's blonde hair fell over his right eye gracefully. Eyelids were half closed over his silver/gray eyes. He leaned back in his chair as the teacher started to call row.

"After today, I will expect you to be in class; therefore, I will not call row. If you do not wish to be here, then that is your loss. I'm not in charge of your daily attendance. You are all adults," The teacher announced. "When I call your name, please tell me what you wished to be called."

Blah, blah, blah. Seiji thought as the teacher started calling out names. He was in his second year of college at Tokyo University, so he knew the rules. It was different than high school. In college, they don't give a damn if you attend class or not. As long as they get their money, it's all good for them.

"Date Seiji."

His head rose at the mention of his name. He raised his hand and the teacher nodded. "Sage or Seiji is fine, sensei."

The teacher nodded and continued to call out names. Seiji, better known as Sage, scanned the room. There were a variety of people here. Short, tall, dark headed, light headed. It was a mixture. Kind of like…a freak show.

"Hashiba Touma."

"I would prefer Rowen, but you can call me Touma if you wish, sensei."

Hashiba Touma (Rowen) had been Sage's friend for about four years now. He had dark blue hair and eyes. The man was smart. With an IQ of 250, Sage knew Rowen wouldn't have a problem in any of his classes. He looked at Rowen through the corner of his eye. He was dressed like he usually was. His clothes weren't ironed and had several wrinkles. The man looked like that every morning. You'd think an nineteen year old could take better care of himself.

"Kazeno Ameko."

Sage looked across the room to find the person that named belonged to. He spotted her when she rose her hand and spoke.

"Amaya please."

The girl was French! He could tell by her accent. Since when did French people start coming to Japan? He was dumbstruck, but she was rather cute. She had shoulder length brown hair and, from what he could see, a purple streak going from her temple. Now that was strange…

"Mouri Shin."

The brown-headed man looked up. He was seated beside Rowen, "Cye will do."

He couldn't talk about strange people. Cye was part English part Japanese. He spoke with a strong English accent. He had very shaggy brown hair that barely touched his collar and sea green eyes. Cye didn't care much for his look, so he just wore a plain-striped light blue and white button up shirt with a pair of red jeans. He had to make a mental note to show Cye how to pick out clothes in the morning.

"Rai-Utano Hana."

When Sage didn't hear anyone reply, he got curious. The name belonged to a woman; he knew that much, but no one claimed it. He looked at the teacher and saw her shake her head lightly. She proceeded down the list, which was starting to bore Sage. She had probably already gone through thirty names. Who the hell took this class?!

"Rei Faun Josephine."

Rei Faun. Isn't that Kento's last name? He looked at Rowen with his eyebrow raised. Rowen only shrugged. Cye smiled and pointed behind them. They both turned to look at whom the name belonged to.

A woman, who looked a lot like Kento in the face, raised her hand. She had the same hair and eye color as Kento, dark blue and granite. She had a rather muscular build, but you could tell she was female. Her breasts stood out the most. Damn! All three thought at the same time. She had to have been a C cup, if not close to a D!

"Uhh…call me Josephine or Jo. It don't matter to me."

"As you wish," The teacher marked Josephine down as present and looked at the next name on the list, "Sanada Rekino."

Sage, Rowen, and Cye almost fell out of their seats. They had many conversations with their friend Ryo about his little sister. He never mentioned her name. The guys thought it was probably too much for him to handle. He had told them that his little sister had died in a fire with his grandparents ten years ago, which meant Ryo would've been nine at the time. Sage noticed that no one had claimed that name. She marked her off the list and continued with the other names.

Sage didn't know whether to be relieved or worried. He looked at Rowen, "Do you think that could've been Ryo's sister?"

Rowen shrugged, "I don't know. I'm not a psychic. Besides, Ryo told us his sister died in that fire, remember?"

"Yeah, but still…you never know," Sage said quietly.

Cye leaned over his desk slightly to join his friends, "Sage may be right, Ro. Maybe Ryo's sister wasn't in the house with his grandparents during the fire."

The side of Rowen's lips moved slightly and he shrugged his right elbow and flexed his fingers, "But she could have been. As it stands, she's not here so we'll never know."

After the teacher finished calling row, she turned around and told the class to open their books. As she was about to start the class itself, the door opened. She turned around to see two women standing there.

Sage looked up from his desk and had to blink twice before he could think again. That same blonde girl from this morning was standing in the doorway of the classroom with another girl, who had raven hair and…purple eyes? She looked very familiar, meaning the black headed one. She seemed to resemble…Ryo, but maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. He shook his head from the thought and nudged Rowen.

"What?" Rowen asked sternly.

Sage pointed towards the doorway, "Cye and I may have been right."

Cye and Rowen both looked towards the doorway and saw what Sage was pointing at. Two women. One had waist length, wavy blonde hair and midnight blue eyes. While the other one had long, very long black hair and amethyst eyes. Rowen raised an eyebrow in confusion. She didn't look familiar, but then again she did.

They heard a chuckling sound behind them and turned to see the girl called Josephine with her hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh out loud. The one called Amaya nudged her softly, trying to get her to stop. Josephine shook her head and mouthed, "I can't!" and laid her head on the desk, her shoulders still moving from her laughter.

Sage turned his attention back to the blonde in the doorway. She did something to him, and he didn't like that. Usually, he was the one who did this to women. He had never felt this way about a woman. He just wanted to take her in his arms and kiss the breath out of her while making love to her all night long. But why? Why did he feel this way all of the sudden?

*~*

Rekino and Hana stood in the doorway of the classroom. Hana tried to hide her embarrassment. Everyone here…is staring at me. God, I feel like a clown in a freak show. She looked at the teacher and stepped forward, "Gomen nasai, sensei."

Rekino stood behind Hana with her arms crossed. She looked around the room and spotted Amaya and Josephine. She waved slightly to Amaya, who did the same. Josephine had her head on her desk, trying to keep herself from laughing out loud. Oh yeah, I know Josephine would get a kick out of this.

The teacher didn't look very pleased at all, "It's quite alright. Just don't let it happen again, but I'm going to need an excuse why you two disturbed my class."

Hana was about to speak when Rekino took over her job. Oh no Rekino. Please don't embarrass me.

Rekino unfolded her arms and stepped forward, "I hit the snooze button on my alarm. Well, I mean, I didn't 'tap' it. I hit it, if you know what I mean, and it fell in the floor. I guess it broke the alarm, but the clock works fine, I don't know why." She heard Josephine's laughter get the best of her. She decided to continue, "It took me fifteen minutes to get ready. I was playing with the radio inside my car, because nothing is on in the morning except stupid talk show people." She looked at Hana, who was blushing furiously, "Oh, and I don't know about her. She had a doctor's appointment this morning around six thirty. I reckon the higher power told her I was going to be late so she graciously waited on me. I think that's it." She stopped to rub her chin, "Yeah, that's it."

The teacher wasn't one bit amused, "Well, it seems that I have a comedian in my class. What's your name?"

"Sanada Rekino. Call me Rekino."

The teacher nodded and marked her down in the book and glanced at the blonde girl, "And you are?"

Hana gave one of her fake smiles and bowed slightly, "Rai-Utano Hana. I'm fine with Hana."

Rekino giggled slightly, "That or you can call her 'Blonde Bombshell' or 'Marilyn Monroe'." She quickly moved away from Hana, knowing she was about to be slapped.

The teacher glared at Rekino before she spoke, "If you two plan to attend my class, please be here on time. I do not like for my class to be interrupted while I'm teaching. Is that understood?" She placed a hand on her hip, staring at the two girls.

"Hai, sensei." Both of them replied together.

"Good, now take a seat. You'll have to get the information I've already discussed from another student," The teacher turned back around and proceeded with class.

Hana and Rekino walked up the steps of the classroom and took a seat beside Amaya and Josephine, who was still laughing. Rekino put her book bag behind her chair as Hana put hers under the desk. Before Rekino sat down, Hana slapped her hard on the arm.

"Ow!" Rekino hissed lightly. "What was that for?"

"Not as if you noticed, but you really embarrassed me! Thanks Rekino! Thanks a lot!" Hana whispered harshly.

Rekino looked at her friend, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Hana gave her the 'yeah right' look and turned her attention to the teacher. Rekino sighed in frustration. This just wasn't her day. She turned towards Josephine when she was tapped on the arm.

Josephine wiped the tears from her eyes, "Fashionably late, as usual, huh?"

Rekino flashed her a smile, "You know it." She looked over Josephine and towards Amaya, "Sup Frenchie?"

"Hi, Rekino," Amaya said quietly, "You really should work on your manners. You're very rude and inconsiderate."

"No I'm not," She glanced at Hana's angered face quickly, "Okay, so maybe I am. I didn't mean to! Sheesh, you people think it's a crime."

The teacher stopped in mid-sentence and looked at the chattering group, "Miss Sanada, is there anything you would like to share with the class?"

Once again, all eyes were on Rekino, Josephine, Amaya, and Hana. Josephine immediately started chuckling. Amaya and Hana both blushed and covered their faces. Rekino smiled rather proudly and leaned back in her seat, arms on the back of her head.

"I don't guess so. You're supposed to be sharing with us. Not the other way around."

The teacher sat her book down and glared at her young, smart mouthed student, "You know, Miss Sanada, I have the authority to remove you from this classroom if needed be. Your smart aleck comments aren't needed."

Rekino shrugged, "Then stop asking or ignore me. That should be simple enough, right?"

The teacher blushed furiously and opened her mouth to speak again, but stopped when Rekino cocked her head to the side. It was as if her student was daring her to say something else. She sighed, knowing she would have to put up with this everyday. The teacher just shook her head, picked up her book, and continued teaching class.

Rekino smiled out of victory and picked up her pencil as she listened to the teacher. Hana nudged her in the ribs and spoke through their mental link.

Rekino, you're going to get yourself thrown out of here and lose your scholarship. Chill out with the smartass remarks. Hana said threateningly.

Amaya nodded her head. Although I do not approve of how Hana stated her comment, I agree with her. You need to keep quiet.

Rekino shrugged her shoulders. Well, she walked right into it. I'm here to supposedly 'learn' something. Not be harassed by menopausing teachers. Give me a break, you guys.

Rekino's right. Josephine piped up. But I have to admit, you gave quit a performance.

Just wait. The best has yet to come. Rekino smiled slyly. Hana and Amaya sighed. They knew Rekino was right. Josephine and Rekino slapped hands underneath the desk.

"This is going to be a long day," Hana muttered quietly to herself.

*~*

After the class was over, the girls left and met back up in the courtyard. Hana sighed, thanking God that her next class wasn't with Rekino. She didn't know if she could handle listening to the smart-ass comments all day. They didn't get old … just embarrassing. Rekino and Josephine were joking around while Amaya studied some of the contents of the book for her next class. Hana just sat quietly on a bench while she waited for the time of her next class.

"That was great," Josephine said, talking to Rekino. "I don't think that I've ever laughed so hard in my life. Man, Rekino, I wish that you were in all of my classes. Too bad I have Math Applications next. I hate math. It sucks." Josephine pouted to Rekino, who had English 101 next. "What about you? Do you think that you are going to like your next class?"

Rekino smiled. "I don't think so, Jo. It's English 101, and I'm not really big on English, so I don't know if I'll like it or not. I do know one thing, though. I have it all by myself, which is going to suck royally. Nobody in there is going to understand me if I blurt out 'where is the cooler'." Rekino and Josephine laughed about that one for a while.

While they were waiting, Hana noticed the blonde man coming up to them. She smoothed back her hair quickly, not wanting to look bad while he was there. She remained seated, hoping that he didn't notice that she had attempted to look good for him. When he reached her, she acted like she was reading a book intently and didn't notice him.

He cleared his throat and Hana looked up. "Well," he said slyly. "Now that I know your name, Hana, how about that number?" He smiled at her. She didn't reply, but rather looked like she was deep in thought. After a while, he repeated himself. "So, how about that number?"

Hana looked over at Rekino. "What do you think? Should I give him my number?" Hana grinned. Rekino knew what she was doing. She was toying with him. Rekino loved that.

"I guess," Rekino said. "That is, as long as he doesn't call at some ungodly hour like nine o'clock." Rekino laughed to herself. She loved playing along with Hana in these games. They had done this many times while they were in high school.

The blonde man raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Like nine o'clock at night?" He looked over at Rekino now, not believing that they actually went to bed that early.

"No," Rekino said with a smirk. "Like nine in the morning. I'm still asleep then. I don't have a class until like eleven, except tomorrow, when I have to get up extra early and be here at eight." Rekino dropped her head. She hated to get up so early. It was like she was back in high school.

"Don't worry," Hana said kindly to her friend of many years. "I'll unplug the computer before or right at midnight so you at least get some sleep." She purposely turned her attention away from the blonde man, trying to tease him a little. Of course I'll give you my number, baby. You should figure that much. I'm not the kind to turn down an offer like that.

The blonde man cleared his throat again. "So, what do you say? Are you going to give me your number?" He flashed her a smile that made her weak in the knees. She couldn't help herself that way. Yeah, go ahead. You know you want to. Just pull out a pen and write it down, gorgeous. I'll call you. I promise. I wouldn't miss a chance to see you … completely.

Hana smiled at him again and took a pen from her purse. She stood up and walked over to him, taking his hand in hers. She felt the heat from his body, and she felt the slight shock as they touched. It sent chills up and down her spine. How is this happening to me? I can't believe this. Waitaminute, I can play that game, too. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not supposed to give my number to strangers. I guess that you're out of luck."

Sage couldn't believe her. She was almost exactly like him, and he didn't like that. He didn't like to be played with. He took her hand and kissed it lightly. "My name is Date Seiji, but you can call me Sage," he said. And anything else you want to call me, baby. I don't mind.

Hana smiled and turned his hand over. On his palm, she wrote the number for her and Rekino's apartment. She smiled and returned his hand to him. "There you go. Now you be sure and call me. I don't like to wait, because I'm rather impatient." Hana was about to turn around when Sage leaned over and kissed her. "Don't you think that was a little forward, Seiji?" Hana asked. She pretended to be angry, but she wasn't doing a good job. It didn't make her angry. It made her want him even more.

Sage smiled. "No, I don't think so. I'll call you tonight. Be waiting." Without another word, Sage turned around and walked off in the direction of his next class, which reminded Hana that she had to get to class.

"Girls, we've gotta get going if we're going to be on time for our next class." The girls said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Hana still had about ten minutes, so she sat back down to gather her thoughts. "You better call me, Date Seiji," Hana said quietly to herself. Hmm…Date Hana. Not bad, girl. That actually sounds pretty good. Hana Date. Date Hana. I like it.

*~*

As Sage was walking to his next class, all he could think about was that blonde woman, Hana. He looked down at the palm of his hand and smiled. Hana Rai-Utano, you better be waiting. I'll call you all right. Not only that, but I'll find you too. You won't know what hit you, baby doll. Someone calling his name interrupted his thoughts. It was his friend, Sanada Ryo.

"Hey Sage! Wait up man!" Ryo's shaggy black hair whipped in the wind as he jogged towards Sage, "You looked deep in thought, bud. What happened?"

Sage looked down at his hand and smiled, "Nothing. Nothing at all." Now she's got me lying to my friends. Oh Hana, you've already gotten to me. "What class do you have next?"

Ryo rolled his eyes, "Psychology."

Sage would have laughed at Ryo's expression, but he saw something. His eyes darted to the left, and walking into a classroom, was none other than Hana. He watched her hips swaying back and forth. He couldn't contain his excitement. Oh…by the Gods in Heaven, look at her. Mmm…mmm…mmm…I can't wait to get my hands on that! He licked his dry lips and continued to stare at her.

Ryo raised an eyebrow, "Are you okay, man? You look like you just saw a ghost."

Sage smiled and shook his head, "You're imagining things, Ryo." He couldn't bear to take his eyes off Hana. The woman had him completely hypnotized. He didn't know why, she just did.

*~*

As Hana was making her way to her second class for the day, she saw him. Sage was standing in the hall next to Ryo, but that wasn't what excited her. He was staring straight at her. As she reached for the door, Hana winked and smiled at him, tossing her hair over her shoulder, and added a little more 'swing' to her hips.

I love playing with men. But Sage, for some odd reason, has this affect on me. I can't figure out why, but I hope to the Gods that he calls me. Hana looked at her watch and saw that she was almost late, so she decided to leave her thoughts where they were and get to her next class. She walked in the door of her Psychology class and took a random seat that wasn't near anyone.

While she was applying makeup, she didn't notice that someone had taken a seat behind her. She finished touching up her lipstick and put her compact away. When she looked over to see what had caught her eye, she noticed that it was Ryo … and he was sitting right behind her. He was staring intently at her until the teacher walked in.

The teacher, an older man, who appeared to be in his late forties, tapped a pointer on the podium to get everyone's attention. As the students looked up at him, he began to speak. "I will call your names out for the first day. After today, as I hope you have guessed, I will expect you to be here on time. If not, that is your problem. I will warn you that this is not high school. I do not give make up work or notes. As a matter of fact, I don't give notes at all. I speak. It is up to you to write down what you think is important. Is that understood?" He looked up to see a sea of baffled faces. "Good."

Hana tried to block out the teacher. She would listen to what he had to say later. After all, she had intelligently brought a tape recorder. As he called out the various names, Hana focused on her thoughts of Sage. She tried to concentrate, but it wasn't working, so she returned to listening to the professor call out names. "This is so boring …" Hana said to herself quietly. A person next to her looked at her and nodded in agreement.

"Rai-Utano, Hana," the professor called out. He looked up to see where she was sitting. He did not receive a response automatically, so he repeated himself. "Rai-Utano, Hana. Hana Rai-Utano. Are you out there, Miss Rai-Utano?"

Hana froze. I can't respond or Ryo will know who I am. What the hell am I going to do now?

*~*


Amaya Kazeno sat in the front row of her class. She liked to be up front so that she could see everything that the teacher was doing. She smiled as the teacher introduced herself to the class. She seemed like a very nice person, not like Amaya's other teachers. She smiled frequently and tried to remember the students' names from when she called them out. Amaya sighed with content. She always enjoyed school, but this was far better than she could have hoped.

A guy from her first class, Rowen, sat next to Amaya. He felt that she would be "safe" to sit beside. She seemed polite, unlike most of the boozehounds that you can find in college. Plus, he had to focus. This was a tough class to be in for only his second year in college. It was Chemistry. Rowen sighed to himself, regretting the choice that he made when he was deciding on what career path to choose. It was going to be a long, tough road, but Rowen enjoyed it, so he decided that he would stick with it.

When the teacher excused herself for a phone call, Rowen took that chance to talk to Amaya, a girl that was also in his first class of the day, Western Civilization. He tapped her on the shoulder, and she looked his way with a polite smile. "Yes?" She had a French accent, and Rowen knew that he had his work cut out for him if he wanted to convince her that he should know the information that he was seeking.

Rowen cleared his throat quietly before speaking. "Are you Amaya Kazeno?" When she nodded, Rowen continued. "Well, I noticed you in my first class, Western Civilization. I also noticed that you were seated beside someone that I found rather interesting." Rowen paused for a minute to let Amaya gain her thoughts. "Do you know who I am talking about?"

Amaya looked deep in thought for a moment. "Well, I have two friends that I think would find you interesting as well. One of them would probably find you more interesting for yourself, and the other … well, she would probably find your body the most interesting thing about you." Amaya smiled to herself. She didn't like to speak that way about her friends, but it was true.

Rowen lost his train of thought for a moment. He was too interested in the way this conversation was sounding. "Oh, really? Well, I'm not really superficial. Tell me about the one who would like me for who I really am, please." Rowen waited patiently. He was focused on what she had to say. Then, he decided, he would get back to his point.

Amaya let out a little giggle. "Well, that would be Rekino. She's very nice, too … although sometimes I do not approve of her behavior …" Before she could finish, Rowen jumped in.

"Do you mean Rekino Sanada?" Amaya nodded at his question. "Oh, man … I don't know. That would mean a lot of trouble for me … I mean … does she have a brother?" Rowen looked at her hopefully.

Amaya grimaced. I don't know if I can answer that question. Just tell him, Amaya. Just say that you can't say. Tell him now. I wish that I had an excuse …Before Amaya could make up an excuse, the instructor returned. Amaya looked at Rowen apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you that. I must listen to the instructor." Without another word, Amaya turned her attention back to the front of the room and ignored Rowen.

Damn. I was so close to finding that out. Why do teachers have to be such killjoys?