A/N: It's really nice to know that people are reading. I mean, hey, I was probably the first person to ship this pairing even though the pairing idea was by my friend who was suggesting random people to pair IA with since I didn't want to pair her with Yuuma. So yeah. It's nice.

(Because there's too much IA x Yuuma and seriously, too much pink. Yuck for pink.)

(Hopefully one day there'll be more ReiIA fics but I'm hoping too much!)

A little short, this chapter, but there're quite quite some hints! And a little more characterization for Lily cos I like her a lot! =3=

Rei watched in amusement as IA blinked, trying to comprehend what he had just said, and then saw her face completely blank out, as she seemed to decide that he was a nutty person and she probably shouldn't mind what he said. Which she shouldn't, but Rei wasn't going to tell her that, was he? Leave her to her own thinking, and let her stay up all night!

(Right, so that was revenge for making him sleep on that sofa with a cat last night. But Rei wasn't childish enough to call it revenge. It was just...proper payback.)

IA blinked again, sighed and told him very slowly, as if talking to a child that he was to stay here, not to run anywhere, and not to flirt with anyone here. Proper emphasis on the last point, and to add to that, her ice blue eyes glared at his, before turning and walking away to the direction of the restroom. He sat frozen in his seat, once again hypnotized uncomfortably by the intensity of her eyes, and only broke from the trance when a longhaired blonde slid smoothly into the seat the girl once occupied. It was the woman who had slid him and IA their lunches.

"Hello there," the woman murmured, eyes half-lidded. Rei took a while to decide if she was being provocative, but the way her eyelids were lowered lazily it seemed like a natural thing to do for her, not some half-ass-being-sexy technique. Her long tapered fingers were tapping on the wooden table, slim and clean fingers that were not suited for doing cleaning-up work he had seen her do. Those fingers reached up to flick a piece of blonde hair over her shoulder, and Rei found himself staring at the motion. Her hair was properly brushed and curtain-straight, unlike IA's unruly yet attractive blonde. (Gods, did he just think that?)

"Hi," he answered, never forgetting to address people the right way, even if that person was just a cafeteria lady. The woman in front of him chuckled throatily, something Rei identified yet again as just the normal tone of her voice, and continued staring. "My name is Rei Kagane," Rei provided hesitantly, since the woman in front of him showed no hint of breaking the silence by herself.

"Oh, I know very well. They've been talking," she hummed absentmindedly, playing with the cutlery knife. Rei didn't ask who they were, as his eyes were completely fixed on the knife. The gleaming silver twirled around expertly in her nimble hands, and Rei realized with a start that the cafeteria lady was not just a cafeteria lady. This woman was clearly more than that, if the way she possessed the knife showed that. She cleared her voice and spoke again, and Rei flicked his eyes back to hold her cerulean ones.

"My name is Lily. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The air around her betrayed no hint of nervousness girls and women would normally have when they introduced themselves. Well, that was something this Lily person and IA had in common. They were quite friendly with each other (perhaps friendly wasn't a word he should use for IA, but nevertheless the woman seemed to have an exquisite relationship with the girl).

"No last name?" He inquired curiously. Lily didn't seem to be a person who talked briefly, from the premature smile lines around her lips. She was a person who smiled, laughed, and chattered a lot. It was mostly her throaty voice that carried around the cafeteria during lunch today, as she spoke with a little blonde boy. She might just be wary of him, Rei realized, and spoke less therefore. With that discovery, Rei decided to dig as much as he could from the woman in front of him. Cafeteria ladies had the most gossip and therefore information, a friend of his had said before, and he was going to find out how true it was.

"No," she laughed a little, the laughter bitter. " 'fraid no more."

Rei gave a silent oh as an answer. In their society, that kind of answer to the question meant that every single person in their family was dead. It was then a tradition to throw away their last names, lest the assassin was weary from the incessant killing by remembering bad memories and withdrew from their occupation to become a normal person.

Rei honestly didn't think that it was a very smart thing to do. That would just make the memories worse for the assassin, wouldn't it? Come to think of it, did IA still have a last name? He would have to ask her that later, though he doubted she was tell him, what with her closed off heart. It was then that he realized Lily wasn't speaking again, and was instead staring intensely at his face, as if deciphering what he was thinking just then.

And it seemed like she was indeed deciphering his thoughts, because she started the conversation off again with a casual "So how is IA?"

Rei jerked, not expecting that question. "Oh, she's fine," he replied, hoping that the answer was ambiguous enough for him to seem not interested in IA. Lily hmmed at him, then turned her eyes away from him to stare at the direction where IA had disappeared, the direction of the restroom.

"I hope you do not grow too close to her, if you know what I mean." The woman spoke up again, cerulean eyes boring hard into his. Her eyes flashed with anger, before her eyes returned to their lazy state. "She has been through great pain, and I hope that you won't cause anymore troubles for her. Especially since you're from the outside."

Lily tilted her head, and a long lock of blonde fringe fell in front of her eyes that she did not bother to brush away. Her eyes were still staring at his intensely, and Rei feigned an innocent smile. "Wait, what? I don't get what you just said."

"Hmm." She had been playing with the knife throughout the whole conversation, and now her eyes glimmered as she stabbed the cutlery deep into the table, inches from his hand. Rei barely had time to react as Lily bent forward so that her flashing eyes were right in front of his and Rei could feel her warm breath as she whispered. "If I had not known better I would have believed you."

And then in a flash she was gone, leaving behind only the scent of her namesake.

When IA returned from the restroom, the plates and cutlery had been cleared and Rei was sipping a glass of water demurely. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion when she found nothing out of sorts at the table, except for a crack on the wooden top. It was hard to believe that this Rei Kagane boy wasn't sniffing around the place and throwing everything upside down with his insane curiosity (as seen from his stares at just about everything). She slid her chair back and sat down, but not before noticing that the chair had been scraped back from its original position when she left.

"You were talking to someone?" That would explain why he didn't turn everything upsy-daisy — of course his attention was held by someone. Someone who was probably a person of the opposite sex, because she was sure no man would approach Rei Kagane of his own will. The boy shrugged and grinned, slamming his glass onto the table and leaned back with his arms folded. He was the very posture of confidence and mystery.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"...No."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Reaaaaaally?"

"Yes."

"Oh gods, you're irritating! Alright, alright, the cafeteria lady came up and talked to me!"

"Lily?"

It didn't surprise her very much. Lily was a very talkative person sometimes, so it came as no surprise that she would chat up someone as "hot" as Rei Kagane. Really, was he the topic of the day? It seemed like wherever she went, even the restroom, the girls and even some of the guys were talking about him — if he was a newbie joining, if IA was taking him under her wing, if he could go both ways when dating...etcetera. But it was the content of the conversation, always the content, that interested her.

"Wouldn't you like to know what we talked about?" He was leaning forward now, his lean arms on the table, his amber eyes glittering like a cat that found a tasty fish and was about to devour it. Saying no would be lying since she was interested in what they talked about, and saying yes would just lead her to fall into the very obvious trap he set up. IA chose to keep silent, pinkish-blonde bangs hiding her eyes from view. She had lost this little battle of wits, but IA was determined not to lose the war. (Did they even have this war thing going on between them anyway? She didn't know and didn't care, but she knew and cared that she lost this word battle.)

"You do!" Rei let out a triumphant cry, but he quickly recovered himself and grinned wolfishly. "But what to do? I don't feel like telling you." He continued in a sing-song voice, and IA was so annoyed she wanted to slam that big head of his down onto the table. Annoyed because he had won, and annoyed because he knew that, and was now just playing her around in the palm of his hand.

If there was a thing IA hated, it was being played like a puppet. She had been played like a puppet that night, and she had been played into joining the organization. And the worst thing was, she had let herself be played in all these musicals; without fuss, without a fight, she had let herself gone down like a sunk ship, let herself be washed away by the deep blue sea into the ends of the Earth.

She had been angry the past two occasions, but not this time. This time she calmly, very calmly, snapped her fan open — it was useful that she brought her fan wherever she went — and swiped at his arm. The angry red line against pale skin was a suitable warning not to tease her, and it worked, as Rei narrowed his amber eyes and hissed at her, white teeth showing. "That hurt! What was that for, anyway?" Droplets of red blood started to slide down his arm, leaving tracks and IA kept her eyes on his arm as she replied. "A warning."

"Don't make me aim for your neck next, Rei Kagane," she continued, eyes shifting to his face for recognition after her sentence. His eyes widened, before narrowing and he looked away from the girl, lips forming a snarling pout. IA paid him no heed as she turned for the corridor. There was no sound of scraping chair from behind her, and she sighed.

"Are you coming or are you not?"

Watching Rei drag himself unwillingly out of the chair, a hand clamped over the small wound, Lily huffed. IA was doing a good job of keeping him away, but for how long? The girl had no idea how to interact with people who talked — bothered — her all day long, since she never had friends. Lily didn't know how long Rei would take to break down her emotional barriers. Days? Months? On top of that, Rei Kagane was a dangerous person. She could feel it in her bones, in her blood, as lifeblood coursed through her body, whispering to beware of the new boy.