Hello readers.

As you may have read in the description, this is a double author story based around two OC characters, Yui and Hideko. This means that I, and the other author named smexysesshomaru, will be alternating between writing chapters. We hope you enjoy :D

From the other author, LongHairedMan.

P.S. smexysesshomaru wrote this chapter.

Chapter 2

Yui pressed her hands against the cold glass, standing so close to the showcase that her breath was beginning to fog the window. "Whaaa~" she breathed, "So pretty!" She gazed at the display containing jewelry dated way back before even her grandmother was born. Pearls and necklaces; earrings and gems; bracelets and broaches; really, everything Yui could ask for was, lay glimmering out in front of her. The only thing that was stopping her from reaching in and grabbing the shinning objects, was the fogging up glass display case Yui was putting all her weight on. If only she was strong enough the break it...

"Heh, do you actually have any money for anything in there?" a familiar voice asked.

Yui jerked her hands away. Behind her, she could hear her two twin sisters, Risa and Ayano, giggling, probably still laughing at Yui's mad dash to the jewelry section of the store the second they walked through the entrance.

Yui made a pouty face with her back turned to her sisters. "A girl can dream," she mumbled quietly. Okay, so it was not just the glass display case that was stopping her from grabbing her gems: finances were always stopping her from getting everything she wanted.

She was standing inside a old antique shop in Akibara, Tokyo's centre of otaku and moe culture. It was a small shop, close to the train station which she would soon be heading to on her way to school. She had travelled down the street the store way on many times before, but oddly enough, this was first time she had noticed the store's existence. Unable to contain their curiosity, she, and her two sisters she was walking with, had decided to stop by on her way to class

Yui felt a light slap on her on the back, followed by a laugh. "Marry rich, Yui. That's the only way you'll ever afford anything in there... Hey Ayano, what do you think of this hat? Totally suits her, am I right?" Suddenly Yui felt an uncomfortable pressure on her head as what she thought was a hat was pushed down against her hair.

Ayano and Risa burst out laughing as Yui spun around, trying to feel with her hands what the hat looked like. It felt furry.

"Haha, perfect! That totally suits our little munchkin!"

"Eeeeeeh!?" she whined, partially for the theatrical effect of keeping her sisters laughing, "What did you put on me? What? What?!" She puffed up her cheeks and started to lightly pound on Risa's shoulder.

Risa continued laughing, and pointed at a mirror on top of the check out counter, situated on top of a display holding up various brands of sun glasses. Enjoying the attention her sisters were giving her, Yui ran over to it, ignoring the incredulous stare the old shop keeper was giving her on the other side of the counter. She was so short, standing around the height of a twelve year old, she had to stand on her tip toes in order to see the top of her head.

She made a disgusted face when she saw what it was: an old raccoon hat, with a stripped tail coming off the side of the hat. "Oh, ew! Ew! Ew! Yuck!" She quickly pulled it off her head in one, fluid motion, and whipped it across the store at her sisters. They squealed, making no attempt to catch it.

"What?" Risa, said, bending over to pick it up, "I thought it looked cute!"

"Adorable!" Ayano pipped in, making no attempt to hold hide her grin.

Yui puffed up her cheeks again. "You guys are rude! Look what you've done!" She started to smooth down her black hair. Whatever style that she had her hair in in the morning was now gone. Her hair did not take well to being manipulated, and she could feel her hair flying away from it's original, neat shoulder length style style she had straightened it to that morning. She sighed inwardly, Oh well. I'll fix it on the train.

"Ahem. Are you girls going to buy anything?"

The girls instantly stopped laughing as Yui's eyes widened. Crap! Forgot about him! She cleared her throat as she spun around. The shop keeper, a thin, bald old man wearing spectacles and a blue apron, was ignoring her sisters, glaring directly at her. Guess I was the loudest. Shit.

"Uhhhh...uh, yeah. Yeah! Sorry for the noise. I actually was wondering if you had any cheap jewelry...?" Her voice squeaked a little as she spoke.

He stared her down with his emotionless, bespectacled black eyes. "Check the store window." he said, pointing her past the old clothing section, back towards the store entrance. At first she thought he was telling her to leave, but as she walked over, making an annoyed face at her sisters who were making themselves "busy" looking through the clothes, she saw the jewelry display. It was a tiny display, with very cheap, flimsy looking necklaces and bracelets. Something that her little brother would think to buy her with his pocket money for Christmas.

She sighed, and started to look over it with her eyes, searching for the cheapest thing she could buy to appease the shop owner. She could hear her sisters giggling over weird clothing items behind her, and was starting to feel left out.

"Hm?' She breathed quietly, finding something. It was half of a small stone on a necklace, cut almost perfectly down what looks like should have been the middle. It was not perfectly round, but it was smooth, with red markings on it. She guessed that if the other half of the stone was attached to it, it would say something in Kanji. Someone had pierced a hole through tip of the stone and put a chain through it. It actually looked kind of ancient and cool for 500 yen...

Yui picked it up and brought it to the till. "I want to get this."

The old man, Kentaro according to his name tag, picked up the necklace and examined the pendant. He only glanced at it for a second before he dropped it onto the table. It made a loud sound, clattering onto the wooden counter.

Klutzy much? Yui thought, keeping a straight face.

He stared down at her through his thin spectacles, almost evaluating her. Does he think I'm going to steal it? Yui knew she was short for her age, but she was wearing her school's sailor green sailor uniform, so he had to know she was in middle school, and can make shopping decisions on her own. Despite the fact that she had her black hoodie tied around her waist because she was too lazy to carry it, and had purple eye contacts in for the hell of it, she looked her age, fifteen.

He took a second before he spoke, almost as if he was making his mind up about something. "I wouldn't recommend you buy this one."

"You wouldn't recommend I... buy it?" Yui parroted, confused. What? Does it cost more than it's listed as? "Then why are you selling it?"

He took his time to sort out his words slowly. Yui could hear the Risa and Ayano had stopped talking, and guessed they were listening in. He spoke in a hoarse whisper, almost as if what he was saying would bring about a curse if it was spoken too loud. "You could still buy it if you really must." he muttered, "But the person I bought it from... she... well, she says it's unlucky. Misfortune fell on her, and she ended up giving it to me for free. I... I don't want to sell it to someone so young. I'd rather it go to someone looking for trouble. I'm willing to give you a discount on other items in that section."

Yui had to stop herself from snorting. Old people and their stories... It's totally worth more than 500 yen, isn't it? 'Sides, even if it is cursed, I'll be fine. This kind of thing is my speciality. She smiled at him, "That's okay. I'm super lucky!" She held up her fingers in a V, and smiled with her teeth, trying to look as cute as possible.

"Young lady, I'm not joking about this. This thing is really unluck-"

"No really!" Risa butted in from behind her. She could hear her sister walk right up behind her, preparing to go on a familiar rant, "Yui is super lucky! She forgets to study for a test? It's cancelled. Forgets an umbrella? School ends early, right before the storm. Steps on her glasses? Optometrist is having and opening day sale and is offering free designer glasses and discounted lenses. Forgets to do her chores?"

"Mom accidentally pops the vaccum bag and makes a bigger mess than there was and cleans it herself," Ayano continued, joining in on cue. "Spills her lunch in her bag? Her teacher orders pizza as a surprise for homeroom. Forgets her gym clothes? Someone sprains their ankle on the way to the change room and Yui spends the class playing nurse while the real one is home sick! If anything, Yui needs something unlucky to happen so that she can experience life's gamble like the rest of us. The only unfortunate thing about this munchkin is her eyesight and her height."

Yui pursed her lips, nodding along with what they were saying as if they were preaching words at church. "Yup! So as you can see, I'm really lucky! I'll be fine. No worries." She continued to hold up her V with her smile, hoping she looked as cute as she thought she did. She batted her eyelashes for effect.

The storekeeper, Kentaro, stared at her, not at all moved by the speech she and her sisters just delivered. He sighed. "If you must... that'll be 500 yen." he said.

Yui flashed him the brightest smile she could muster and reached in her pocket, pulling out the coin. Then she took the necklaces from the counter and stuffed it in her pocket. "Thank you very much. It's really cool looking!"

He paused for a minute as the three sisters walked out the store. "Come back again soon," he yelled at them.

Fifteen minutes later was fifteen minutes too long for Yui. She had slowly walked to the train station, waving goodbye to her sisters who went their separate ways to work, and then realized the time. It was 7:17. Her train had left two minutes ago.

She felt for the stone and sighed, coming to terms with the fact that she was going to be late. "You work fast," she whispered to the stone, "But I'm luckier than that. Today will go just as well as every other day before it, you'll see."

Looking around the steel white station, she searched for a bench where she could sit. Her usual crowd of people she stood alongside waiting for the train were gone, and she felt surrounded by complete strangers: adults who were probably commuting to work. Finding an empty bench, she sat down. There was an orange cone beside her on the bench, but she ignored it, knowing that it'll keep others from sitting beside her. The difference two minutes can make...

Reaching in her bag, she pulled out her cellphone and started texting a friend.

I missed my train. Tell Ms. S I'll be late.

Not even a second later, she got a reply: Idiot. Sure thing.

"Okay that's dealt with it!" She said, "Now what do I do for the next ten minutes?" She gazed around the station, her eyes evaluating the groups of workers standing in their suits and ties. Some were holding briefcases, some were yelling into their phones, and some, mainly the women, just stood there, with a brooding, bored look. It was if everything was the same them, day after day. They all looked... lifeless. Yui scrunched up her face. Ugh, one day I'll look like that. Gross.

"Young lady, can't you see the sign? Don't sit there!"

"Eh?" Yui looked to her right. A tall security officer dressed in blue approached her. He was wagging his finger at her, reprimanding her. Yui straightened her back up in the of authority. "Are you talking to me, sir?"

"Yes you! Can't you see the sign? Wet paint!"

"EH?!" Yui shot straight up off the bench, looking behind her. The white bench had a brown spot where she was once sitting. She stared at it for a second. "My sweater!" Reaching for the sweater around her waist, she pulled it off and stared at it. The once black fabric was now wrinkled white. "Aw~! It was brand new too! I had to get 80% on that English exam to get this!"

Begrudgingly, she looked at the orange cone that she had ignored earlier. There was a piece of paper attached to it that said, WET PAINT. She muffled a frustrated scream as she turned back to the security officer. "Is... there a washroom somewhere?"

"Next to the entrance. Next time read the signs, alright miss? Luckily the painter is still here."

Yui said nothing. She gripped her sweater in her hands, gave the officer a quick bow, and ran off.

Not even a minute later she was in the washroom, rinsing off her sweater. "Luckily the painter is still here," she mimicked sarcastically. "God, why don't they put a bigger sign over there?! Make it obvious to everyone!"

She looked around the counter, searching for soap to use to help wash the paint out. "There it is!" she said. Then she groaned. It was too high up; she could barely reach it while standing on her tiptoes. For some reason they had designed the room so the soap dispenser was above the paper towel dispenser. She could feel her green skirt riding up as she put her legs onto the counter to reach the soap, but made no effort to pull it down. She started squirting soap onto her sweater. "Who puts this stuff up here?!"

She heard the sound of a toilet flushing.

She jumped a little, as seconds later she heard the sound of a stall door slamming against the metal walls. She gave a nervous laugh, realizing that someone was in the washroom with her. "Sorry about this! I'll be down in a second, I just need to get some soap. It's too high up for me."

"Just continue what you're doing." A deep voice.

Yui's eyes widened. That... doesn't sound like a girl... Her heart pounded as she turned slowly gathered the courage to turn her head and look in the mirror and see who was behind her. She screamed when she saw him: a fat old man with a balding spot on his head. He looked like a toad. He was pulling up his pants, staring straight at her legs, blushing. "KYAAAAA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!" Yui grabbed her skirt, and pulled it down as far as it could go.

The old man held his hands up in defence. "Why are you screaming? This is the men's washroom."

Yui continued to scream, looking glancing around the room to assess the situation. There were stalls everywhere, with the door of the one the man just came out of swinging slightly. In the corner, however, was a line of urinals. Yui screamed even louder, jumped off the counter, grabbed her wet sweater and ran out of the room.

Oh my god. Oh my god! Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod!

She ran back to the wet bench, and crouched behind it, hiding herself.

I will never... speak of this. Ever.

She looked up, watching people board the train that had just arrived. Oh my god. Oh my god. Never, never, ever. He saw my panties, didn't he? NO! Never!

The overhead announcement system started making muffling noise. "LAST CALL FOR THE TRAIN HEADING FOR SHINJUKO STATION."

"That's my train!" She got up and ran to it, trying to blend in with the dead eyed crowd. Please don't come on here, Mr. Not even a minute later, it was off, heading towards her school. She couldn't find a seat, so she stood, hanging on a pole, hoping no one would pay attention to her. She closed her eyes as she hung on the pole, trying to wish away that experience.

I'll be at school in ten minutes. I'll be at school in ten minutes.

Vrrr! Her phone vibrated. Wrapping herself around the pole, she took off her bag, reached around the sweater she had stuffed into it, and grabbed her phone. It was Sayo, the friend she had texted earlier.

Where are you? Sensei is sick and is leaving early so Mr. M is taking over. He's moving his exam to today. Hurry up and get here! It'll start in 20 minutes! (O_O)

Yui heart dropped to the ground as she read that text. Then she read it again. And then once more. Time seemed to stop. She felt her palms get sweaty. Not only had she not studied for that exam, she was not even there. That, in it self, would give her an instant zero. Mr. Matsuo did not appreciate any backtalk or excuses in his class. Yui just stared at her phone, defeated.

"Hm?" Yui looked up. She felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Ms. Teddy Bear panties, can I have that pole? My balance is not what it used to be."

Yui flushed and spun around. Directly in front of her was that old man, the one from the washroom. The bald, toad like man. Her brain froze as her face started glowing red. The train started to slow down as Yui dropped her bag out of surprise. He... saw...

Slowly she nodded, and bent down, picking up her bag. "You can have my spot," she robotically said. The train had stopped, and she found herself backing up, getting off the train with the crowd. Before she knew it, she was off the train, and it's doors were closing. Then it was gone. She blinked, petrified. Then she understood what just happened.

"I got off at the wrong stop..."

She remained planted for another few seconds. Then her mind started working again.

"Oh my god, THE TEST!" She yelled. The gaze of the dead eyed commuters all turned towards her. She blushed, embarrassed, and then took off running. I can make it there in fifteen minutes if I run.

She ran, huffing and puffing, slowing down to walk every couple of minutes for air. She ran past houses, in between alleyways, past a few parks, and then finally she saw her school gates. Vrrr! Her phone vibrated again. She glanced down at it.

Apparently someone in 3-C just punched Mr. M, in the face! You still have time! Hurry! ^.^

She sprinted.

Almost there. Just through these gates, up these steps, around this corner... There's the entrance! Up these steps and...!

As if her day couldn't get any worse, pain filled her as she hit something so hard she toppled it over, falling over with it.

Wow. Looks like Yui might be getting more then she bargained with that stone. Wonder which tall, mysterious man is the one she just bumped into? :)

AN: Hey guys! This is smexysesshomaru! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because it's about to get a lot worse for Yui (and I'm not talking old men and panties... or am I?).