(A/N) Yes, more on the updating spree! Sorry about the pointlessness of the last chapter, now we can move on to one of the sub-plots. And for those of you who wonder, the Kasasagi/Ryu bit earlier was one-sided. Ryu is straight. Not smart, but straight.

Gin

Sure, everybody knows who Hideyuki is. At my high school, he's practically famous. Trademark tea cigarettes, shoulder-length blond hair, hazel eyes, hooky-strewn school record, vaguely feminine look. Hard to miss, that's what he is. Despite this, I never paid him much attention. He was just another person in the long lineup of people that thought they were (are) better than me. In other words, nothing special.

There are basically three groups of people in Shiristu Daitou High. The pseudo exclusive pack lead by Hideyuki, the army of schoolgirls ruled by Mitsuko, Atsuko's sister. And lastly, the rejects who form their own little cliques on the margins. Even among these there is a hierarchy, and Yukiko, Atsuko and I were and will probably always be at the bottom. While this may have bothered many people, we always felt it kind of suited us. The history/mythology buff, the internet troller, and the wannabe DJ. All of these descriptions are, unfortunately, synonymous with 'nerd'.

Possibly the worst day for our little gang was when Atsuko and her sister got into a huge argument in the cafeteria. Mitsuko was standing over Atsu-chan, gloating about how her older sibling's life was going nowhere. Atsuko responded simply with "Shut the fuck up." And went on eating. Mitsuko got really steamed and it escalading surprisingly quickly. After a few minutes, her shorter-haired sister climbed onto the table in front of Atsuko and smiled down grimly. "Hey, everybody! Guess what? My Onee-chan is bisexual and our parents don't know!"

While she hadn't exactly been liked beforehand, Atsuko suddenly became the focus of quite a bit of hatred in Shiritsu Daitou. Mitsuko's gang isn't exactly known for it's open-mindedness, and it happens to comprise of about eighty percent of the student body (female members and by extension their boyfriends). Possibly the only group that didn't leave hate-mail in her locker was Hideyuki's group. Later on, we realized why.

Hideyuki's bi. Most of the people in his little pack know it, but those in Mitsuko's don't, so the two groups maintain a mutual friendship.

Actually, the way that I found this out was the strangest part.

Did I mention I'm gay?

)-(

I was walking out of school quickly, about a few weeks after Mitsuko's little announcement. I was on my way to our new hangout, some place called the Koneko Kissaten. It wasn't very busy as of yet, but it had only been open a few weeks and only had word of mouth to go on. Besides, the food's damn good.

On my way out the door, noticed Hideyuki and a few girls hanging out a few yards away. Even as I watched, I saw a few boys exit the building behind me and join them. Hunching my shoulders and turning away, I heard one of the girls talking as the smell of cigarette smoke drifted over to me. "Really, Deyu-kun? That's pretty hot. You still go for girls though, right?" I could practically hear him flashing them a grin. "Of course, Nana-chan." I could hear her cooing loudly and shuddered. "Hey, Deyu-sempai, my turn for a dare. Um… Hey, how about asking that kid on a date?" I smiled, knowing they weren't talking about me and wishing I could stay and watch.

"Hey, headphones boy, wanna get some tea?"

I stared at him. Hideyuki, king of the school? Asking me on a date for a dare? They probably expected me to recoil in homophobic horror, and they would laugh about it later.

Wrong.

"Uh, sorry, even MY standards aren't that low."

I turned away quickly and pulled the aforementioned headphones over my ears. But not before I could hear the "WHAT?"

"Sugoi, Deyu-kun, I can't believe he turned you down!"

"Yeah, ingrate!"

"Hah! That was priceless!"

Smack.

"Boy, what was his problem?"

"Don't worry, Deyu-kun, I'll go out with you!"

)-(

A few minutes later found me sitting with Yukiko and Atsuko in the Kissaten. The gold-haired fox demon named Talis walked by, dropping our food off on the way.She paused and stared at me for a second, then mumbled out loud. "I didn't really noticed before, but you look really familiar…" She shrugged. "Oh well. Don't forget to tip generously!" Aiko, the hybrid demon, followed closely behind, staring after her. "Please ignore her… Except about the tipping." She had shifty eyes for a moment, then chased after her kitsune friend. I couldn't help but notice a new customer enter the building. I wasn't like there were a whole lot of them. Groaning, I slumped and let my head fall into my hands. It was Hideyuki, peering in the room from the doorway. "Wow…" He muttered. "I didn't even know this place existed!" The green-eyed guy that Atsuko had identified as a three thousand year old immortal from China walked by, carrying a tray. "It doesn't! It's all in your head!" Talis looked at him sideways. "Koubou-hobo! Stop scaring the customers!" He responded with a "Look who's talking!"

I turned back to Yukiko, pretending I hadn't seen the blond at the door. "So, what are we working on today?" Atsuko decided to join us. "We still haven't finished our mythology project…" She eyed the demons surrounding us suspiciously, getting a laugh out of Yukiko. "Atsu-chan, I don't think that our teachers would believe us if we said that we interviewed a demon."

I watched as Hideyuki stared around apprehensively. "Um, hello?" Then muttering. "The service is crap here." Aiko walked up to him and stuck her face in his. "HELLO? HOW MAY I HELP YOU, SIR?" Talis snickered in the backround. Hideyuki cautiously unplugged his ears. "Loud…"

"Sit." Aiko pointed to a table that was a little too near to me for comfort. "There." Knowing what was good for him, 'Deyu-kun' sat down. "Magical kappas will dance out of the kitchen and bring you a menu."

Talis blinked. "Uh, sorry Aiko, we're fresh out of magical kappas…"

Hideyuki was not impressed. "What a freak show." He mumbled.

Tal was soon disproved, as the small rabbit demon that Yukiko had taken a liking to danced out of the kitchen, wearing what appeared to be a kappa suit. Talis twitched. "Dear god." and Hideyuki stood up and started inching towards the door, only to be find his escape route blocked by Aiko. The grey furred demon growled. "No way, solid-boy. You come in, you buy something." Hideyuki raised an eyebrow. "Solid-boy? Is that the best you can do?" He was rewarded with a grin as he and Aiko got into an insult match.

"Golden snitch!"

"Striped dorkus!"

"Prude. She's a prude too." Talis had joined in, surprised that she and the other gold haired creature in the building thought so similarly.

"You stay out of this!"

"Oxymoronish kitsune!"

"… The hell?"

Tal joined in again. "Kitsunes sleep around, hello? Pfft. Prude."

"Shut up!"

"Flat-chested midget!"

Aiko snarled and made a leap for his neck, but luckily Tal stepped in at the last second. "No, bad Aiko, no killing the customers!" Aiko wandered off, sulking.

A few minutes later, she came back, staring at the two gold-haired people in front of her. After a long, uncomfortable pause, she exclaimed "Ha! I figured it out! You-" she pointed to Hideyuki "-Look exactly like YOU!" She pointed to Tal. Talis raised an eyebrow in response. "Pardon? No way. Number one, I'm a babe. Number two… Hey! You are pretty good looking!" Hideyuki looked smug while Aiko looked disgusted. The green eyed youkai walked off mumbling. "You've got it wrong, it's because you're both ugly."

"You work here, do you not?" Hideyuki asked Tal. "Um, yeah?" "Bring me plum and ginseng tea and three onigiri.." "Um, plum and ginseng don't mix, but okay." A few minutes later, a mahogany haired hybrid demon set a try on the counter with a clatter. "ONE TEA AND TWO ONIGIRI!" Hideyuki blinked. "Um, I ordered three onigiri." A few seconds later, an onigiri came hurtling towards his head from the kitchen. Hideyuki caught it and cocked an eyebrow. "I was never a fan of fast food." Tal snickered and grabbed the tray, then lead him to his seat. Aiko had tuned in just in time to hear the fast food crack and winced. "You're going to pun hell for that."

As if noticing me for the first time, Hideyuki walked over. "Whoa, eye candy at two o'clock…" Yukiko muttered. Atsuko twitched and mumbled something that sounded a lot like 'school project'. I gave her a sidelong glance and said "Yukiko, could you reach over and pull that curtain rod out of Atsuko's ass?" earning myself another twitch. I heard muffled laughter behind me and whirled around. "Ha! Gotcha! What are you doing here?"

Hideyuki blinked. "Um, stalking you? What does it look like?"

"Curtain rod. How long did it take you to think of that one, Gin?"

Ignoring Atsuko, Hideyuki continued. "I want you to accept my proposal."

Atsuko looked up. "What proposal?"

He smirked. The bastard smirked. "My offer for a date."

Yukiko stared at him, then me, bug-eyed. "You turned down that?" I held my head in my hands. "YES. Yes I did."

)-(

I entered the Kissaten to be greeted with a familiar sight. The sight that had greeted me for almost two weeks. Atsuko and Yukiko were sitting together at a table with a spare seat for me, and Hideyuki was at the table next to them with his chair turned around, chatting amiably.

I walked over and sat down, hoping against hope that he wouldn't ask today.

No such luck.

"Hey, ready to date me yet?"

I exploded. "NO! I am not ready for a date with you, nor will I ever be! Get it through your skull, I am not interested!" He pouted at me. "Come on, All I want is one date! If you still hate my guts afterwards, you don't ever have to talk to me again." I eyed him suspiciously. "And you'll stop coming here?" "Ha, are you kidding? The food here rocks!" A distant 'YEAH!' was heard from the kitchen, followed by a bang and a yelp. I held my head in my hands, dejected. "Fine, if it'll get you to stop asking, then fine."

He grinned. "Great! Although, you know this was gonna be the last time I asked… Guess I'm just lucky you caved today!"

The look I gave him would have had a lesser man bursting into tears.

Eh, sorry for all the dialogue in this chapter. But it's extra long, so there. sticks tongue out Now review or die! Mmmmm, death. DEAR GOD, SPICES!