Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights, Love Hina, or anything else

mentioned! I barely make minimum wage, so don't bother to sue!

Kat: Yes...I like his hair. And something like that. Maybe a bit later. That

last chapter got less accomplished than I thought it would.

Random Person: Oh, yay! I got it right! ^___^

Silvermoonstar-Tenshi: Oh, that's cool. I think I saw a waitress once with

my name... And I figured it out. I saw your review on another story and

went to your bio page because... I don't know. ^_o;;

A figure sat hunched over a white keyboard, her fingers tapping

relentlessly.

"One day," She muttered, reaching out with her right hand and grabbing

a diet pepsi from it's coaster on the desk.

She took a gulp of it's sugary contents, wiping her mouth with the back of

her hand.

"One fucking day to finish this," She complained again, giving a sigh and

slamming the drink back down, sending little drops of soda flying in all

directions.

She sighed, pushing her chair back from the desk and rolling it over to her

backpack. She got off it and unzipped her bag, pulling out a thick science

text book and tossing it onto the desk, noting with satisfaction the loud

noise it made as it hit the plywood. Getting back on the chair, she

propelled herself back to the computer, brushing a strand of jet black hair

out of her face.

She was wearing a short black tank top, the thin material hugging

her frame, and a pair of long black jeans, silver embroidery in a rose and

vine pattern running up the legs. She had dark hair, black all over except

in front where she had dyed her bangs a deep red. Dark eyes looked out

of her fair face, two piercings in each ear.

"Cesia?" A voice called from somewhere in the house, it's sound

echoing off walls and reaching her in the back of her tiny room.

Still typing furiously, she cast a glance down at the text book and paused

in her writing long enough to open it to a page near the back, flipping

pages until she found what she was looking for.

"What is it?" She yelled, never looking up.

Finding what she was searching for, she groped around with one hand on

her desk, finally grabbing onto a highlighter. As she underlined the

sentence she needed with it's bright yellow ink, there was a knock on the

door to her room.

"Come in," She said, casting a distracted glance over her shoulder and

beginning to type again.

The painted white wooden door slowly opened and a smaller boy

stepped in, his mop of black hair falling into his eyes.

"Cesia?" He asked tentatively, not wanting to disturb the older girl and

get her angry with him.

"Yeah?" She said, typing away at a furious pace, "Could you make it

quick, Zoma? I've got this paper due tomorrow and I'm nowhere near

finished."

She sighed and complained in an annoyed way, "Junior year sucks."

Cesia glared at the screen, then continued, "And I've still got to get a

start on my regular homework. Thank God tomorrow's Thursday; I think

I'd kill myself if the week wasn't half over."

She hit the delete key a few times and turned around.

"So what was it?"

"Oh," Zoma shifted his weight guiltily. He was still a Sophomore, the

second lowest of the four high school grades, and had just been

complaining to his friend over the phone about how he had so much to do

that night.

Of course, compared to his sister, he had gotten off scott free.

"Kitchel says sorry about not meeting you today and that she will have

the tubing for science at school tomorrow," He stated.

"Ringleys told me," He said, adding in the last fact for good measure.

"Yeah, ok," His sister spun around in her chair until she was facing the

computer once again, "Thanks."

As she began the chore of writing her paper again, Zoma walked out of

her room and down a short hallway until he reached the door at the end.

He had a small bedroom here, about half the size of his sister's.

He walked inside, grabbing a black cordless phone off the beige sheets

which were lying in a crumpled pile on his bed.

His room was painted white, but much of it's walls were covered

with posters, pictures, and articles cut out of newspapers or magazines.

Above his bed was a poster of a young man in a hot tub with five

teenage girls, the words "Love Hina" blaring off the shiny paper.

Another poster, this one containing a huge iguana basking on a rock, was

placed over a wooden dresser in the far corner of his room.

A newspaper article about television being good for you was pasted on

the wall next to a small bookshelf and another article about the top ten

best rollar coasters in North America.

There was no computer, but a small television set did grace the floor next

to his bed, it's screen no more than ten inches wide. A video game

system was hooked up to it, and a paused image of an elven warrior

swinging a sword through a large purple and green demon was paused

on the screen.

The floor of the room was, like the rooms of most teenage boys, messy.

Clothing was strewn about, and the contents of his backpack were

dumped in a pile next to the door.

Pictures were taped spontaneously over the walls; his school picture; a

photo of himself with two friends; a picture of a dark haired Asian girl,

about his age wearing a loose pink t-shirt and a pair of jeans; Ringleys

and himself on some sort of carnival ride, both screaming.

Zoma spoke into the mouthpiece of the phone.

"Ringleys?" He paused, listening to his friend's response, "I told her."

He was silent as the boy on the other end said something.

"Well, if you remember what it was, I'll tell her. I mean, I can't tell her if

you can't remember, can I?" He paused again.

"Ok. Ok, got it. Right. Bye, Ringleys." He pressed the off button on the

phone and tossed it back down on his bed, then sat on the floor, shoving

a pile of dirty laundry out of the way and picking up his game controller.

He pressed a small red button in the middle of the controller, and soon

became intently focused on the game, noticing nothing around him.

It wasn't until the daylight was fading and his eyes had long

become glazed over that he was snapped out of his trancelike state.

Frowning, he pressed pause and put down the gray controller, cocking his

head to one side and listening intently.

There. There it was again. A faint knocking sound. Sighing, he clambered

to his feet and exited his room. He made his way to the front of the

house and unlocked the door, peeking out into his quickly darkening

driveway.

A slim blonde girl was standing there, smiling down at him. Her curling

golden hair fell in waves about her shoulders and combined with her baby

blue eyes and creamy skin to create the storybook sort of charm that

surrounded her. As Zoma stepped back to let her into the house he

couldn't help but notice how she looked as though she had simply

stepped off the pages of a picture book; one of the ones filled with

dragons, knights, and beautiful princesses.

"Cesia's in her room," He said helpfully, breaking the spell she had cast.

She smiled at him, shrugging out of her white wind breaker and revealing

a cream and pink peasant top blouse underneath.

"Thanks," She said, folding her jacket over her arm, "I need to see her

about science."

Zoma nodded as the older girl walked off, then wandered over to the

kitchen where he opened the fridge and looked inside.

His parents were going to be late, again, so he was supposed to make

something for dinner.

However, he cast a glance around the inside of the refrigerator, there

didn't seem to be much in the way of edibles.

He retrieved a loaf of bread and a package of shredded cheddar cheese,

placing these on the kitchen counter.

Letting the door close behind him, he looked over his find.

"Cesia?" He yelled, hoping she wasn't in one of those moods when one

should not disturb her at all costs, "Cheese sandwiches ok for dinner?"

There was a pause in which he thought he could hear feminine laughter,

and then his sister responded.

"Sure, whatever. Tintlett's staying for supper, all right?"

He nodded, then remembered that she couldn't see him, so he yelled

back that it was and would she like one slice of bread or two?

***

"Your little brother is so sweet!" Tintlett practically gushed, "You're

so lucky! My siblings are evil!" She laughed.

Cesia grinned. She was sitting on her computer chair, pushing it from side

to side as she sat in front of the desk but facing away from it, towards

her bed where her friend sat. Tintlett was seated, legs curled under her

body, on top of a bright red comforter, leaning back with one arm behind

her, propping her up. Her other hand was resting in her lap along with

her neatly folded wind breaker. She was wearing a gauzy looking top and

an ankle length blue floaty skirt, it's material matching the color of the two gems dangling off of her two golden hoop earrings.

"Your sisters are nice!" Cesia protested, leaning out and resting her chin

on her hands.

"But they aren't helpful at all," Tintlett pointed out, "Not like Zoma."

Cesia shrugged, "Whatever. But he is older than them."

"Only by a year!" Tintlett laughed, the sound echoing off the walls like the

peal of a bell.

"True," Cesia said, mentally picturing her friend's little sisters, a pair of

fraternal twin girls.

"They act a lot younger, don't they?"

"Like they are still in Junior High," Tintlett confirmed, then switched

subjects.

"So how far along are you with the lab report?"

Cesia made a face, glaring at the computer, "I'm about," She spun her

chair around so that she faced the screen of the imac once again, "Two-

thirds done. Damn thing's due tomorrow, and Kitchel didn't meet me after

school like she said she would!" She made an exasperated noise and

pulled her legs up off the ground, crossing them and sitting indian-style

on the chair.

"She says she got detention again," Tintlett remarked standing up and

walking over to the desk, "What do you want me to help you with?"

"Fine excuse," Cesia muttered, then said, "The conclusion. I can't make it

long enough," She complained, "And that God-damned teacher won't

accept papers if they are too short."

Tintlett nodded, reaching up and brushing a curling strand of light blonde

hair out of her eyes, "So do you want me to write it for you?"

"Yes, please," Cesia looked grateful, "And could you help me with the

data tables, too?"

"Sure," Tintlett nodded, "May I see your notes?"

The dark haired girl got up and pulled a thick packet of papers from her

full backpack.

"Here. I think the data's somewhere in the middle of that."

Her friend gave no immediate reply, but began sorting through the stack

of notes, pulling out several pages worth towards the late-middle of the

pile.

"Thank you."

"No problem," Cesia grinned, "I should be thanking you, you are the one

helping me with my work."

Tintlett smiled, not looking up from the pages of notes, "You're my friend.

Besides, I am in your lab group. I want a good grade on this too, you

know."

"Yeah, I know," Cesia agreed, starting to type again.

"Is Kitchel going to get the tubing?" Tintlett asked suddenly, putting the

papers down.

The girl behind the computer nodded, "Yeah, Zoma told me she said she

was going to tonight."

"Oh, good," Tintlett relaxed, "I was worried I was supposed to."

Cesia stopped typing mid-word.

"That's right," She looked up, surprised, "You were supposed to."

Tintlett blinked.

"Why is she going?"

Both girls looked at each other, then turned to look at Cesia's cell phone,

ringing madly on the floor.

***

Kitchel tried in vain to smother a smile. She was walking down the

aisles in the local hardware store, somewhere between the paint

samples and the various types of wire. The smell of freshly cut wood and

various types of packaging materials was in the air. She breathed it in,

deciding that she wholeheartedly liked it.

She absent-mindedly tugged down the leg of her shorts, looking

around and wondering where it was that she had been told to go.

"He either said aisle 24 or 28," She muttered to herself, attempting

to mentally replay the conversation in her mind.

She had needed help in finding the tubing, so she had gone up to

the young sales assistant walking around; a tall, dark haired college

student who was going for his doctorate, but looked as though he could

be a professional body builder; and had asked him where it was that she

could find half-inch thick rubber or plastic tubing. He had then given her a

reply that she could only vaguely remember, what she remembered more

was that she now knew that he worked at this location after school every

Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

"And I'm not obsessed," She muttered to the little nagging voice in

the back of her mind, "I am simply a teenage girl who knows something

good when she sees it." She gave a short nod, almost not noticing when

she passed by what she had been looking for.

"Here we go," She leaned forward, studying the various types she could

buy, and not remembering if her group had a preference for one type

over the other. Kitchel pulled off the small bag she had slung over her

shoulder and reached inside, retrieving a small flip-top cell phone. She hit

the number 3 key, and watched as it speed-dialed Cesia's cell. As it

started to ring, she put it up to her ear and hoped her friend would pick

up.

"Hey!" She said in a cheery voice, "It's me, 'Chel. I'm at the

hardware store and wanted to know if there was a specific type of tubing

you wanted." She started to listen, then cut the other girl off.

"Yeah, I know. Rubber, half-inch. Anything else?" She paused, "Ok, then.

I'll just get the cheapest."

She took a second looking over the various types of tubing and grabbed

one near the bottom of the rack.

"What was that?" She asked, slightly distracted with her find.

"Oh," She grinned widely, "You wouldn't believe it," She said and started

to walk towards the cashier on the far end of the store, "Let's just say:

college student, works here part time, incredibly attractive."

A random passerby heard squealing coming from the teenaged girl's

metalic green cell phone.

"I know," Kitchel said, sounding very smug, "I found him. But if you want,

come by on either Saturday, Monday, or next Thursday. I'll point him out."

She reached the cashier and dropped the thick roll of tubing on the check-

out counter.

"Yeah. He works here and is a total hottie," She grinned into the phone,

"Ok, I have to go. Say hi to Tintlett for me!" Kitchel pressed off and flipped

the phone closed.

"Hey," She smiled at the cashier as he rang up her purchase.

The employee behind the counter, a fairly tall, fair skinned young man,

with hair so blonde it was almost white, and light green eyes, smiled back

at her. He was wearing the plain white uniform all the people who

worked here had on, and a pair of reading glasses were pushed up to

rest on his forehead.

"That Tetheus you're talking about?" He laughed lightly as she gave him a

surprised look.

"I couldn't help but overhear. He's my friend. I go to school with him. I'm

the one who suggested he get a job here, actually," He said offhandedly,

then added, "That will be $14.28."

Kitchel pulled a twenty dollar bill out of her bag, "Yeah, I was talking

about him," She handed him the money, "How did you know?"

He grinned, "It wasn't hard to guess. Especially from the way you were

going on," He sent her a strange, almost unreadable look, then seemed

to give himself a mental shake.

"Your change is $5.72," He dropped the money into her hand and gave

her a warm smile, "Have a nice day!"

She picked up her purchase, and quickly glanced at his name tag.

"You too, Kai-Stern!" She waved at him and exited the store, a white

plastic bag bearing the company's logo in hand.

Once the girl had left, Kai-Stern let out a deep breath. Sinking down

into the chair he had dragged away from the items on display and behind

the counter where he stood, he rubbed his temples, eyes closed.

"It's all just..." He murmured to himself, trailing off and searching for the

correct phrase.

"Fucked up."

He sighed again.

"Lord, I need a drink."

***

The plot bunny embryo Kat gave me is starting to grow... Who knows,

maybe it will be all adult sized by the time this story is over.

Review, please! ^^

*rereads story* O_o I added in a possible three pairings... Anybody find

them all?