She looked up from the maths as she heard footsteps enter the room. In stepped Hayabusa.

"I apologise for my tardiness," he told the geek shortly before going down to the back of the room and sitting in the seat beside her.

"Have fun?" she asked, eyes returning to the maths. It was good. Nobody could tell that she was talking unless they were looking directly at her fairly closely. There was a brief pause, before she heard his voice, among other noises that she assumed was him getting out book and stationary.

"I would have substituted places with you any day," was his simple, bitter-sounding reply.

"Have you seen these math problems? Even Mr Brain over there is having trouble with his," she muttered, pointing a pen over at Hayate inconspicuously. "Then you'll be grateful you missed most of the lesson,"

She heard a scratching of pen. "They're not that hard," he responded. "You just-"

"Spare me the details," she said, covering her ears. "You can do them for me if you want,"

"Hang on," There were a few silent minutes of writing beside her, before he took her paper which consisted of more white-out then actual answers. Soon enough, it came back, complete with answers. "Is that all we had to do?"

"You're a freak," she exclaimed, shaking her head. "We've had this sheet for about half an hour and you finish two of them in less then ten minutes, one which you weren't even here for the lesson,"

"I did this last year, remember?" he responded.

"Mr Hayabusa, are you talking?" came the geek's annoying voice from the front of the room.

"Not until just now, sir," Hayabusa replied politely enough, even though the words themselves weren't overly.

There was silence as the geek retired into remarking previous sheets. Until she heard Hayate's voice, quiet even with the silence in the room. "One point to him…"

The bell sounded with a shrill squeal. Grabbing her bag, she stood up. "Either of you two do drama?" she asked. Hayate shook his head.

"How did you get into drama? You're enough of a drama queen as it is," he joked, just ducking the blow she swung at him. "Room 512. Seriously, I don't know how you got into drama. It's usually hard to get into because the people that would drop out but can't usually go into it, and there's lots of them," he smiled, before it vanished again. "I've got to go," Before she could ask him where room 512 was, he had gone.

There was a pause. Before she heard a voice.

"I could show you where it is, if you wish,"

She looked up, startled, to see Hayabusa still standing there. "You didn't go with Hayate? Not in the same classes?" she asked, staring up at him. He shook his head.

"He has geography now. I have physics, in the room directly opposite 512. Hayate went in the opposite direction,"

"Okay. Thanks," she added uncomfortably. He accepted her thanks with a small nod. She followed him, ignoring the glares of obviously smitten girls, and ended outside a large room.

"This is the drama room. I hope you enjoy yourself, although…" he paused for a moment. "I doubt you will. Kasumi and quite a few of her friends are in this class,"

"Damn it!" she exclaimed. "Stupid whore!"

She noticed that he decided to ignore that comment.

"After you have drama, it will be lunchtime. If you wish I could show you around,"

"That would be good," she mused aloud. "Hayate offered to, but I think he forgot. You won't forget, will you? Otherwise I'll never learn how to get around this shit-hole,"

"I won't," he promised, before walking into the other room for physics. She frowned, took a deep breath and stepped into the drama room. No teacher yet.

The raucous jeers started almost as soon as she entered the room.

"Look, it's trashy Ayane! Bet she's trying to get into Hayate and Ryu's pants, huh?"

"I wouldn't put it past her," That was Helena. She recognised her. She was also the one that she called a sadistic whore at the start of the day, actually. All these girls seemed to be blonde, or at least most of them. Figures, she thought as she angrily pushed past one of them, causing her to drop her books. "Hey!" the girl exclaimed. This girl had brown, plaited hair actually. So much for the blonde thing.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Ayane said, putting on a look of mock surprise. "Did I knock you?"

"Yes you did, you trash!" The girl raged. Abandoning all pretence of surprise, Ayane stepped forward and grabbed the girl's tie.

"Listen, bitch. Call me trash one more time and I'll make you eat those words. Literally. You'll be spewing the trash once I've finished with you. Got it?" she cracked her knuckles menacingly to make her point.

"Let her go!" It was Helena, much to Ayane's surprise.

"What are you gonna do about it? Spray me with hairspray and throw nail polish bottles at me until I let go? Oh, and by the way, Hayate's my brother, so I doubt I would try to get in his pants, thankyou very much. If he were your brother, however, I doubt you would care whether he was or not. You'd try to root him. When he turns you down, try the dog. You might have more luck,"

"You filthy girl!" Helena's high pitched shriek did nothing for her head. "You're the trash! Where did you grow up in, a sewer?"

"Actually, she grew up in the same house as me, thanks,"

Everybody stopped, and turned to the source of the voice. Kasumi pushed her hair over her shoulder almost self-consciously.

"It's true. If you're slurring where she lives, then you're doing it to me too," the young girl shrugged. "So don't,"

"Shut up, you," Ayane hissed. All she needed was for her sister, her hated half-sister to be fighting her battles for her, and doing an extremely bad job of it to add insult to injury. Before she could say anything else, the teacher entered the room, holding a bundle of books. Putting down her coat and books, she noticed Ayane.

"Oh, you're the new girl. Nice to meet you. Glad to see you're already making friends," the teacher said brightly, observing the girls standing in a group of what must be friendship. Ayane scowled heavily.

"Give me some credit," she muttered under her breath, moving as far away from Kasumi and her flunkies as possible. The teacher ignored this and began the lesson. It was easy enough. She sat there and didn't do anything, and merely responded to questions with 'Dunno'. When they started acting, she continued sitting in the corner. Simple.

"Ayane, could you please participate more?" the teacher asked chirpily. She reminded her distantly of a persistent seagull. Ayane sighed. She hated seagulls. She watched the clock instead. Thirty minutes to go. Twenty minutes to go. Ten minutes to go.

"Seeing as it's the first half of the year, we'll finish off with some dances," the seagull chirped. She began thinking. This snob school certainly sucked, although she had met one nice person. One out of a lot, kind of sad when you put it that way. Who ever thought that she would be hanging out with her half-brother and his best friend? Oh well, it was better then putting up with Kasumi's whores. Anything was better then that.

Hayabusa certainly was an interesting guy. But she had no idea how her brother would have become friends with him. They seemed so different. She shrugged. Their business, not hers. And who really cared. She had met someone nice at this shitty school, which was a good start. Considering that the rest of them, if one was judging them by Kasumi's whores' standard, were idiots. Absolute idiots.

The bell rang for lunch. She walked out of the room without waiting to be dismissed and spotted Hayabusa among the group of people. He was talking to a few guys, none overly good looking compared to him, she noticed. When he saw her he subtly dismissed himself and walked over to her.

"How did it go?"

She smiled bitterly. "In a word, shit,"

He nodded. "I thought so,"

A crowd of girls began forming a half-circle around him, giggling and chattering girlishly. She made a face as she saw Helena in the crowd and went to go over there and rearrange her girlish gob, but stopped as she felt a hand on her arm.

"Don't. They can make your life more miserable then you want it to be,"

"Maybe I can get expelled," she said savagely, but knew that she could never do that. Even though it was only her step-father to please, she didn't want to shame her mother's memory like that. And she didn't want to shame herself like that either. Hayate wouldn't be so kind to her if she managed to go and get herself expelled, she knew.

"Come on. I'll show you around,"

She felt a gentle touch on her arm. My god, he's leading me! She thought. That's the first time a guy who isn't related to me has touched me like that and hadn't wanted anything else along with it. Wow. She turned around and shot a grin at the girls behind, who had dropped back and were shooting daggers at her. Putting up her middle finger at them, she turned around back to Hayabusa.

"So, where are we going?" she asked, leaning on his arm in a seductive manner. He looked down at her questioningly. "Show me," she purred.

They rounded the corner, and she dropped the act. "Petty I know, but hell, the looks on their faces was worth every second of it," she laughed.

"Don't. Please," he said softly. It took her a moment to register what he meant.

"What? Don't you like girls flirting with you, even if it is just to make some other bitches jealous?" she asked, shocked. What guy couldn't like a girl hanging all over him? Well, a gay guy, but who else? Was he gay? Was that why he didn't like it?

"Not at this point in time, no," his hand left her arm, sending a sudden shiver up it.

They walked around the school, he stopping every so often to point out rooms which she would need to know, and areas of 'interest'. As they came back to the locker room, he gave her a small smile. "I apologise, there is no smoking area,"

"Not your fault, I guess," she said, smiling back. From the way he was acting, she guessed that his smiles weren't all that common. She nearly jumped ten foot into the air when someone tapped her shoulder.

"Chill! It's just me," Hayate laughed. "Anyway, where were you two off to?"

"Just showing me around. You forgot. No matter. This school's still horrible but at least it's not so maze-like now,"

"Hey, Hayabusa, Hayate!" someone called from behind them. There were about five guys, not bad looking, she observed. "You guys coming?"

Hayabusa nodded. "Excuse me," he said softly, touching her arm briefly, before departing.

"Later," Hayate said dismissively, before turning to her, clicking his fingers and then turning back to the group of guys. "Hey, by the way, meet Ayane. She's my sister,"

She smiled, noticing how he didn't say half-sister. The guys grinned at her, much more like the guys at her own school then Hayabusa had been, she noted. Maybe there were actual 'guys' at this school as opposed to pure 'gentlemen'.

"She don't look anything like you, Hayate,"

No shit, she thought to herself. I must have got most of my features from Father. Certainly not a lot from Mother. Great. First day and they already know I'm illegitimate.

"You're right. I don't have boobs," Hayate rolled his eyes. "See you guys later,"

They walked back to the same tree in silence and sat down, Hayate sitting on one of the branches somewhere above her before she broke it.

"Uh, Hayate, thanks for being nice to me today,"

He smiled at her. "It's no problem,"

"Where did Hayabusa go? I guess he was dying to get away from me, huh?"

Hayate raised an eyebrow. "Probably not. I'd say he thought the opposite,"

"That he was not dying to get away from me?"

He laughed again. That made her smile. "No, that he thought you would be dying to get away from him. For all the people he gets along with, he isn't that social," he shrugged. "I usually have to make the conversation. You did quite well today, getting him to say something more then nothing,"

"Question…?" she decided to bite the bullet. "Is he gay?"

"Huh?" there was a flurry of leaves as he nearly fell of the branch. Jumping down, he sat beside her, along with the leaves that fell off the branch. "Why do you ask?"

"Earlier, I flirted with him to piss off those other sluts, and he didn't like it much,"

"Ah," Hayate suddenly found one of the leaves on the ground very interesting.

"So he is?" she suddenly noticed his discomfort. "Are you… uncomfortable because… he… you… no way! Hayate! Why didn't you say something?"

"What?" he asked bemusedly, but she interrupted.

"I get it now. You and him are like… together, and you didn't want me to find out so you're acting all suss. That's why he didn't like me flirting with him and why you're acting so weird now, right? Gee. I never would have guessed. You don't look the type,"

"What?" Hayate jumped to his feet. "If you think that my best friend and I are together, then you have to get out more. No, the reason I didn't want to say anything is because… it's his story to tell, but he's just had an… incident with his girlfriend. So no, he is not gay. More importantly, neither am I," he added as an afterthought.

"Are you sure it was a girlfriend?" she asked, but Hayate covered his ears.

"Not listening, not listening…"

"Ayane?"

The voice made her jump. To her surprise, Hayabusa was standing there, and by the look on his face she had a distinct feeling that he had heard every word of the conversation regarding his sexuality. There was silence for a moment, before she heard laughter behind her.

"Heh… you heard every word, didn't you? Trust you to come at the wrong time," Hayate stretched out under the tree. "Now you can fight your own battles. I have to stand up for my own pride too, you know,"

She hid her own smile as Hayabusa smiled wistfully at the tree. "No, Ayane, for the record, I am not gay. But even if I were, I would have better taste then to choose someone like Hayate, don't worry about that,"

She couldn't hide the grin that broke out on her face as Hayate swung at his friend and ended up punching the tree behind them. "You're horrible," Hayate laughed as he sat up, massaging his hand. The expression on his friend's face suddenly grew serious and reflective.

"No, I was with somebody until just recently. But… not any longer,"

"Break up?" she asked sympathetically. She had had that not so long ago, and it had been hard to get life back to normal afterwards.

He shook his head. "She died,"

Even with that bombshell, she noticed that Hayate had gone.

*

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Hmm… perhaps Ryu hit a sore spot with Irene… or perhaps I'm just trying to stir you up, or perhaps Hayate has more to do with Irene then Ayane thinks… or perhaps…

Yeah. Perhaps I better stop 'perhapsing' now. Enjoy. ^^