Yay! Happy New Year! –confetti- ok, onwards with responses!

Samurai Angel- And to you as well! –bows- I suppose you might just have to keep reading to find out. –grins-

ShibiChicken- Erm… You sounded really sad in that review –frowns- Hope your Christmas got better! –glomps and hands you a Kiseki plushie-

twilight eyes 8120- As much as I pride myself on not telling anyone any hints about how the story is going to turn out, I must defer from my resignation. –takes in a breath- There's absolutely no romance between Kumiko and Shinobu.: ) It certainly would seem that way, but neither of them have feelings of that sort. Good guess, though!

AllisonWalker- Aww, you're so mean. Poor Kumiko would have a breakdown if she read that simple, heart-breaking phrase. –wags a finger- For shame! Happy Holidays to you as well : )

PrincessChaos- 0.0 you smacked Seto in your review! How dare you!! –ahem- be sure that it doesn't happen again. I'm happy you like this fic: )I hope I keep your attention!

Hikari, Lady of Light- Ah! Noo! Not the Oreos!! Anything but the Or-- -goes into zombie mode- must… update… update… SOOOOON! ­–gets whacked by a random frying pot- Whoa, what was that? –shakes head- Right. Your review. I'm glad you're confused! Mwahaha. And as I said earlier, Shinobu and Kumiko have absolutely no romantic feelings towards each other. They're the best of friends and they love being just that. By the power of Ramen, you must review this chapter! As soon as you read it!!

SukiLovesAnime14- Yes! I will keep going and going and going and going and going and going and…………………… -pauses- GOING!!

Skitty 2004- Aw, how kawaii! –pinches your cheek- You should have gone even if you couldn't dance! He could have taught you a few moves –winks- ah well. Some opportunities just zoom by like a fly on Mountain Dew. And –laughs nervously- I wouldn't follow this story's advice on what to do about your crush, as it will be taking a sharp turn towards creepy weirdness. I'm flattered all the same that you thought of the possibility, though : ).

Kikoken- Oh yeah. Kumiko's going to be doing just that for pretty much the whole story –grins- it shall be quite confusing, I assure you. Here's your update!

Alright! Onwards with chapter 5! There is a somewhat important footnote at the bottom, so I suggest you read it. There's an asterisk(well, since ff. net is SO opposed to asterisks, it shall be a pound sign -rolls eyes-)about halfway through the chapter that shows where its relevance lies, so that you hopefully won't be thinking "what the hat does this have to do with anything?" Anywhoodleedoodles, I had fun writing this chapter, and I hope you all will like it as well!

Chapter 5

The next day was definitely awkward—well, for me at least—especially since Seto and I sit kinda near each other. I could hardly look at him, and I'm sure the teacher thought I was sick or something because I had a sort of glazed look. I couldn't get my mind off what Shinobu and I had talked about yesterday, which was definitely thinking more about Seto than I usually did.

No, he couldn't possibly like me back. I've never seen him with a girl, let alone even looking at one, so how could he—no, no, don't think about that. He couldn't be… well, I suppose… no! He can't! I would have smacked myself had I not been in the middle of class. Seto's not gay.

The teacher was kinda stressed that day, and I actually switched from thinking about what was troubling me to what was troubling her. Apparently the previous test scores were extremely bad, and since two people scored very high, she decided not to curve it. Obviously everyone in the class knew who the two people were, so Seto and I got quite a few dirty looks. She decided that the mode of action would be for everyone to get into study groups that would meet on a weekly basis outside of school.

I stayed alone, deciding to work on that week's homework as everyone else got into their groups of friends, grumbling about how stupid the idea was. It took me a second before I noticed that the mean girls had mobilized near the desk directly in front of mine, and they were looking at me with really creepy smiles.

"Hey, Ikari, wanna be in our group?" one of them asked.

I really didn't like how they were looking at me at all. It was like if I refused, they'd go crazy and stab me with their lipstick or something. "Uh, I'm… I'm just… uh…" How the heck was I supposed to decline without getting attacked?

"C'mon; we could use somebody who's smart," another said. "We'd really love it if you joined up with us, really." God, did she drag the last sentence out.

I knew that if I joined their group they'd make me do all the work, or, going off of what they looked like as I tried to mumble out that I didn't want to, they might be trying to force me to be around so that they can make fun of me some more. "I-I really… would like to just—"

"Ikari, we're doing you a favor, asking you to study with us and all," cooed the main one, sounding really vicious even though she was admiring her nails. "We could help you with all sorts of things once you start hanging around us more—"

"She won't be in your study group."

I jumped and looked up to see Seto standing right behind them. They turned around as well. "What was that?" There was no attempt to hide the contempt in the question.

"I said she won't be in your study group." He walked around them and pulled a desk next to mine, sitting down. "She's already in one."

He whipped out a silver mechanical pencil and began working on homework as well while the girls tsked and turned around with a huff. My eyes were frozen on my paper, and I swear the heat from my face could have lit up Tokyo.

…oh…my…God. Oh my God. Oh my God. I couldn't move. He wasn't even looking at me, and I couldn't move. What just happened? Oh my God. Why did he just come over like that and—wait! He made them leave me alone again! What does that mean? Why would he do it again? And now I'm in his study group—wait, maybe he was just doing that for show; the teacher hasn't come around with a sign up sheet yet so maybe—ah! His elbow just touched mine! Argh!

I must have stiffened up or shivered or something, because he paused in his writing to slightly turn his head toward me. I still didn't move, but I must have blushed a lot more, if that was even possible. "Kumiko, you look like you're going to faint. Calm down," he ordered. I finally looked at him out of surprise.

Why was he being so informal(#)? Shinobu hardly ever calls me by just my first name as it is! I needed to get out of there. "I—I feel feverish all of a sudden," I sputtered out. "I think I'll—I'll—" I swallowed and stood up a little clumsily, trying to compose myself. "I'm going to get a drink of water." Hey, a real sentence. I hurriedly walked out, heading towards the bathroom, half-panicking all the way.

When I got in there, I went to one of the sinks and splashed some cold water on my face. My hands on the sides of the bowl, I stood hunched over it, trying to breathe normally. As I looked up at myself in the mirror, I was weirded out. I looked like someone had died. What was the matter with me?

Now that I wasn't next to him, I could think logically. He had made the mean girls leave me alone by deciding to be in my group. Ok. Then he sat next to me and didn't even talk to me except to tell me that I looked like I was about to pass out. Did he just say that to make fun of me, or did he actually care? Probably not the latter, but maybe he was trying to save me from embarrassment or something. I really wonder, though.

He called me Kumiko right off the bat, so I wasn't sure whether it was because he looks down on me, or… I didn't know. Shinobu calls me Kumiko-chan, and he's like a brother to me. It was too much to take in all at once. I decided to focus on the situation at hand.

Alright, so he sat down next to me. He was just working on his homework like I was, so that means that we're not really a study group, seeing as how we're both the top students in the class. Then I got to thinking—he's two years older than me, and I'm absolutely sure that he's smarter than I am, so why are we in the same math class?

I pondered that for a little while, then deciding it'd be best to go back to class, since the teacher would probably want an explanation as to why I suddenly dashed out of her room without a reason. I walked out of the restroom, taking off my glasses to wipe them on my shirt; I ended up stopping after a few steps because I'm completely blind without them on. I heard someone coming down the hallway and I paused when I heard them stop a few feet from me. I looked up at whoever it was, which didn't do much; I could only tell that it was a boy.

I slipped my glasses back on and squeaked slightly when I saw Katsuya Jonouchi there. I hadn't seen him in the longest time, but he used to bully me around when we were in grade school, and I had to admit with some vehemence that I still feared him in a way. I took a step back.

"Ikari-chan, what's wrong?"

I nearly flinched when he spoke, but it was weird—he didn't sound nearly as threatening as he did when we were little. I was more surprised at the fact that he went to the same school as me.

"I—I have to go back to class," I rushed out, turning away to walk quickly down the hallway. I turned a corner and hid behind it, waiting for the sound of his footsteps, but I didn't hear any. After a second, though, I heard him mutter something.

"Nice to see you again."

I heard him going the other way down the hallway, so I peeked around the corner. He looked almost exactly the same as he did six years ago, same messy blonde hair, same brown eyes… he still walked with a slight hunch in his back. I wondered vaguely if he had some sort of disease that made him that way, or if he just naturally walked like that, but I still didn't like it.

I should have smacked him right there, I thought. Man, would that have been the coolest thing to do. Pay him back for all the hazing he put me through when we were kids. Maybe I could have yelled at him, too! Yeah, maybe he's changed, but that doesn't mean that I should have to get over what he did without a little outlet for my feelings. God, how I hate him. But I can't do anything about it, since I'm too much of a wimp to face up to him.

I realized that I really should be getting back to class, and I had no idea how much time had passed since I had run out. I slowly approached the door and opened it; a lot of heads turned towards me. I guess I forgot how much of a scene I must have made when I left. Mostly everyone was packing up, so I took the opportunity to talk to my teacher. I walked up to her desk with an apologetic bow.

"Sorry I ran out like that; I felt a bit ill so I went to get a drink of water."

"It's fine," she said. She picked up a clipboard and looked at it, biting her tongue as she ran a finger down the list upon it. "Looks like you're all taken care of as far as the study groups are concerned."

"Huh?"

"Kaiba has already signed you up in one with him," she said, turning it around to show me. "Not that you two need to study, anyway." She laughed good-naturedly, and I slowly turned around to stare at Seto. He gave me one piercing look before the bell rang, signaling the end of school, then picking up his briefcase and leaving without another glance or word in my direction.

()-- In Japan, it is very uncommon to address someone by their first name. The suffixes -chan(girls) and -kun(boys) are added to first names if the two people are on close terms, but last names are used in most cases. If one is addressed by only their first name, it is a sign that they are very close to the person or related through blood in some way. It can also be a sign of severe disrespect.

Hence why poor little Kumiko is so confused .