Hey guys! I'm glad that I can give you all a quick update! This poor story has been neglected for too, too, long! (cries) Anyway, I hope that you'll all enjoy the newest chapter! I know I will!

As Long As I'm With You – Chapter 6

"Are you sure, Kiba?"

"A rave at Club Wolf's Bane? Sweet!"

"I'll definitely be there! Especially if Reika and Tsume are going to do "it"!"

Kiba and Hige had been performing their bit all day, extremely embarrassed, but still going along with the plan. They had recruited over one hundred students to the event, and they were off telling their own friends the news.

"This is ridiculous," Hige sighed. "Tsume owes us big time!"

"I doubt he'll pay us back…" muttered Kiba, a stoic expression on his face. "Just as long as we don't go, there's no problem…"

"Oh, you two are coming all right."

The two boys jumped as they turned to see Tsume and Reika standing behind them, wide grins on their faces. "You've got to come. Who's going to announce where we are?" Reika asked. "And you've got to bust in and find us, remember? It was our part of the deal."

"This is hardly a fair trade," Hige remarked, pouting slightly. "You give Kiba a necklace and we're your errand boys for this scheme. And speaking of which…" Hige frowned. "I didn't do anything for you! Why the heck am I still doing your chores?"

"Cause if you don't, I'll gut you," Tsume said, narrowing his eyes. Hige gulped, nodding.

"J-Jeez. Thanks Tsume, you're a real friend," Hige remarked sarcastically.

"Anytime," Tsume smirked. "Anyway, class is about to start. If we start out now and walk slow, we should be just in time to be late."

"Whatever," Kiba shrugged and the four walked down the halls, many whispers and giggles following them.

"Blue, darling, over here!" called Manami to Blue as she walked through the halls. Blue turned her head and smiled.

"Hey there Manami," said Blue. "What's going on?"

"I've got a plan," Manami smiled. "This Saturday, at Club Wolf's Bane, I'm going to sweet talk Hige for you, okay?"

"Huh?" Blue asked, blushing. "Th-that seems really…I don't know, weird."

"I'm not going to tell him that you like him directly!" Manami assured her. "That's so tactless! I'll just drop him hints and convince him to ask you out."

"But he seems to really like you…" said Blue.

"Leave it to me, Blue darling," Manami winked. "I know how to sweet talk a guy into anything."

"What should I do?" Blue asked Manami.

Manami sighed, thinking. Finally, she smiled and nodded. "Blue, darling, I think it would be better if you didn't come to Club Wolf's Bane. I don't want Hige thinking you're that desperate, you know?"

"I guess," Blue shrugged. "Okay…I won't go then."

"Perfect!" Manami laughed. "Oh! I have to get to class! Don't want to be late! See you later, Blue darling! Don't worry! By Monday, Hige will be all over you, I promise!"

"Thanks, I guess," Blue shrugged. "I owe you one."

"Oh no," Manami shook her head. "Consider it…my treat."

"Thanks again," Blue smiled, then turned around and started walking to her class. Manami smiled after her, waving.

"That bitch is going to get what's coming to her."

"Hey Cheza-chan!" Narumi grabbed Cheza's shoulder as the group came out of class. Kiba looked up, warily.

"Narumi-sempai…what are you doing here?"

"Oh, hey there Kiba-kun," Narumi smiled at Kiba. "I just wanted to talk to Cheza-chan."

"We're in a hurry," Kiba bowed to her. "I apologize Narumi-sempai."

"It'll only take a sec!" Narumi assured him. "It's really, really important."

"Umm…t-this one is in a great hurry…" Cheza informed her, bowing. "This one is sorry, Narumi-sempai."

"I wanted to apologize," Narumi said. Cheza looked up, her crimson eyes wide. "For what I said earlier."

"What did you say?" Kiba asked.

Narumi winked at him, "Now that's none of your business! Right Cheza-chan? Just a little talk between us girls?"

"Umm…yes," Cheza nodded. "This one apologizes as well…"

"You don't have to apologize!" Narumi laughed. "I was being a bitch! C'mon, I want to talk about making it up to you."

Cheza looked at Kiba and nodded. Narumi took her hand and led her a crowded hall. She slipped into a corner with Cheza, Kiba still waiting for them. "Hey Cheza, are you going to Club Wolf's Bane this Saturday?"

"No," Cheza shook her head. "This one is new in town. This one didn't know that the club existed. What kind of club is it?"

"A Night Club!" Narumi told her, smiling. "You dance, and drink, you know the deal!"

"Drink? As in…alcohol?" Cheza asked, biting her lower lip. "Mother…Mother and Father say that-"

"You always listen to Mom and Dad?" Narumi asked, winking. Cheza blushed and Narumi sighed. "Look, it'll be a totally hot scene, and I want to give you a little make over before it!"

"Make…over?" Cheza asked.

"I'll do your makeup and stuff," Narumi told her. "You'll look hot by the time I'm done with you. Just tell your Mom and Dad that you're coming over to my house on Saturday night. My name's Narumi Kanakawa, you know that right? Just tell them I'm your new friend at school."

"All right," Cheza nodded. "B-but…"

"You don't trust me, do you?" Narumi winked. "Didn't I tell you before…?"

"I'm not like the other girls. I don't skip around and play nice. I'm going to make your life a living hell directly." She backed away, smiling brightly. "Got that?"

"I don't do tricks," Narumi winked. "I really want to help you."

"A-All right," Cheza nodded, smiling. "This one will come for the 'make-over'."

"And I'm sure Kiba-kun will be surprised," Narumi smiled.

"B-but don't you like Kiba-kun?"

"Maybe," Narumi shrugged. She just smiled and Cheza smiled back. "All right, now get going. And don't tell anyone about this. It's a secret, okay?"

"Yes!" Cheza nodded, smiling widely. "This one won't tell anyone!" With that, she turned around and ran back to Kiba, smiling widely.

Narumi smiled after her as well, just as the two girls from before came out. "Narumi-sempai! What was that about? Why are you being so nice?"

"And what's this about 'you don't play games'?" the other girl asked. "You're being devious right now!"

"I'm not," Narumi shook her head. "I told the complete truth. I really do want to help her. But it's for my own interest, not hers."

"I'm not getting any of this…" one girl shook her head. "What are you up to Narumi-sempai?"

"You two are no longer needed," Narumi told them coldly. "Leave."

"Huh?" said one of the girls. "What do you mean?"

"I told you, leave," Narumi said, narrowing her eyes at them. "I don't want your stink around me anymore. If you want Kiba-kun so badly, then go after him yourself."

"You really will backstab anyone to get your way!" one girl responded, gritting her teeth. "Maybe we'll tell Cheza what you're up to!"

"She won't believe you," Narumi shrugged, sticking her pinky in her ear. "Why the hell would she believe you guys over me? You've only been cruel and rude to her."

"Dammit, Kanakawa, it isn't fair!"

Narumi turned to them and sighed. "Who ever said life was fair? When you want something, you go and you get it. If you don't, you live to regret it. I want Kiba-kun. This is just a way for me to get him.

"Compassion is a waste of time," Narumi smiled. "I'm doing what I need to in order to get what I want."

That night, Toboe had bigger problems to worry about then girls. He was sitting in his room, hunched over his Geometry textbook, trying to study with all his might. "Man Toboe…" he said to himself. "You've really gotten yourself into a huge mess now."

Toboe had told Sakuya that he was at the top of his class, a complete and total lie. Toboe's grade were, at best, average, and in Math, they were even worse. There was absolutely no way that he could ace the upcoming test.

"No! Don't think like that!" Toboe shook his head. "You've GOT to ace this test!" He grabbed the tie from his bathrobe and tied it around his head in a defiant gesture. "Sakuya-chan is counting on you! I mean…all you have to do is study so hard that the test is a breeze!"

Toboe nodded to himself and looked down at the book. A beat passed.

"BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS!" Toboe cried, slamming his head repeatedly on his desk.

"Toboe, honey? Are you okay?" his mother asked from outside his door.

"I'm fine, Mom!" Toboe called. "Just studying."

"I'm even more worried. You never study."

"Mom, you're not helping," Toboe snapped, gritting his teeth. He heard his mother walk away from the door and he returned to the textbook. He gave a great sigh. "What the heck am I going to do?"

It was the next day, and Toboe was still trapped in his recent dilemma. "If I tell her the truth…" he muttered as he walked through the halls, "she'll know I lied about everything. I can't do that."

He grabbed his Geometry book from his locker and started to drag his feet to class. "Maybe I should fake sick. That won't work; I still have to take a make up test and fail that!"

Toboe let out a great sigh. "I'm so stuck. This is horrible. There's no way I can get a good grade on that test without..." Toboe stopped and looked up. "N-no way! I'm not going…I'm not going to cheat!"

"Cheat on what Toboe-kun?"

Toboe jumped five feet and turned around to see Sakuya. "Oh! Sakuya-chan! I was just repeating to myself what I said to my brother yesterday when we were playing tennis against my parents! We have a tennis court in the backyard!" Was this ever going to stop? Toboe was an only child, and he had never played tennis in his life.

"Oh wow!" Sakuya smiled. "I'm glad you set your brother straight!"

"We have Geometry next, right?" Toboe asked, smiling. Sakuya nodded, hugging her book tightly.

"Yep. Let's go, shall we?"

Toboe and Sakuya walked to class together, Toboe distracted the whole time. 'I can't believe I just keep lying to Sakuya…' He felt really horrible and looked down at his shoes to hide his eyes from her gaze. 'It started out just to impress her…but now…I feel like she's not even knowing the real me anymore.'

The two walked into class and sat down, waiting for Saotome-sensei to enter the room. Toboe looked at the board and saw they were doing review today. Good…he definitely needed it.

"And that's it for today's class," Saotome-sensei told them as the bell rang. The Freshman all started to get up, glad that the long, boring review session was finally over. Even though Toboe had paid his best attention, he hadn't gotten anything out of the lesson.

"Toboe-kun, can I see you for a second?" Saotome-sensei asked and Toboe looked up. Many students snickered and a few looked sympathetic for Toboe. Toboe gulped and nodded. He walked over to the teacher's desk and soon, Saotome-sensei joined him.

"Toboe-kun, you haven't been turning in your homework recently…"

'Is this it?' Toboe thought, annoyed. 'I'm sweating bullets here over your test, and you're going to lecture me about homework?'

"I want you to do extra lessons to get your grade up."

"Saotome-sensei!" Toboe and Saotome-sensei looked out the door to see Ruriko-sensei, a pretty brunette teacher standing outside. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course Mana—I mean…Ruriko-sensei," Saotome smiled, standing up and walking out into the hall, closing the door behind him. Toboe sighed.

"Well, Saotome-sensei is single," Toboe shrugged. He turned his head back to the desk and his eyes widened as he saw Saotome's drawer wide open and stuffed with papers and pens. But that's not what intrigued Toboe. It was the piece of paper in a manilla envelope.

It was the answer key.

It wasn't uncommon for teachers to pass out answer keys to their students after the test so they could check their answers if they wrote them down separately. But Toboe had never seen them so haphazardly stuffed into a drawer.

He looked at the, his eyes wide. He glanced back at the door to see Saotome-sensei still talking to Ruriko-sensei with no intention of stopping. Toboe's eyes darted between his teacher and the drawer. Time was running out. He would be back soon. Toboe's backpack sat open on his desk near him.

Sakuya. His reputation. His promises. His lies.

Toboe looked at the paper, then at the desk where Sakuya sat.

"You're so great, Toboe-kun!"

He grabbed a sheet, checked the heading "Chapter 2" and stuffed it into his bag. He didn't dare shut the door, but he did zip up his backpack and place it on his back. Just then, Saotome-sensei came back in, smiling. "All right, where were we Toboe-kun?"

"I'll do extra homework from now on," said Toboe, looking at the ground. "I promise. C-Can I go now?"

"Of course," Saotome-sensei said, a little surprised by Toboe's reaction. "You may go."

Toboe bowed to his teacher and quickly walked out of the room, his head on the floor. He glanced at his backpack and shook his head. "…I'll…I'll never do this again. I promise!"

With that, he sprinted off, as if leaving his own guilt behind him.

Yay! The end of the chapter! A quick update for all the faithful readers! Thank you for being so patient with me! Man, I'm on such a strict deadline! I've got to keep writing!

Until then,

Ciao for now!