EPISODE 1.1
The "Express" Elevator

It was yet another tiring work day.

Luka Megurine slung the long coat over her shoulder as she dragged herself towards the expensive apartment she was staying at. She hoped her idiot brother Gakupo had her dinner ready. She wasn't in a good mood right now.

"Ah, Megurine-sama!" the security guard on duty, a middle-aged man with a shining bald head, greeted her heartily. Too heartily, she mused, and she was well aware that he was ogling at her boobs. She glowered at him. The man shuddered under her intense look.

"U-Uh, Megurine-sama… A beautiful angel like you shouldn't be so angry—"

"Shut up, you old pervert."

She strode to the elevator, and the door opened to admit her. She glanced up and narrowed her eyes at the security camera on the ceiling, but said nothing. She hit the button to her floor, and the door began to close before her scowling face.

"Wait up!"

Her finger automatically flew to the button to hold the door open and a man slipped in, panting. "T-Thanks!"

"My pleasure," she replied curtly as the door finally shut itself. She then turned to study him properly.

He was a very handsome guy; his sapphire-blue eyes shone brightly beneath a turf of untidy hair of the same shade. He was dressed casually in a black T-shirt bearing the slogan 'F*** THIS WORLD FOR ALL ITS WORTH' and a pair faded jeans, a navy scarf tied loosely around his neck that further accented his hair and eye color, ending with a pair of worn-out sneakers on his feet. In his hand was a plastic bag with the logo of the convenience store across the road, and she could hear the slight clanging of cans inside.

She vaguely remembered this man—he was her neighbor living above her—but she had never spoken to him.

He seemed to notice her staring at him, and gave her a warm smile.

Doki.

Her heart began to hammer madly in her chest. What's wrong with her?

"If I remember correctly, you must be Luka-san who lives below me, right?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

"How do you know my name?" she demanded forcefully—a little too forcefully.

He chuckled at her sudden agitation. "I was in the same class with Gakupo back in middle school." He then let out a laugh. "That guy never fails to amuse anybody. He's really charming."

She stared at him with wide eyes.

"My apologies for not introducing myself. The name's Kaito." He gave her a small bow.

His name rang a bell in her head, but she couldn't quite place where she had heard the name. She nodded at him briefly. "You're probably the first person ever to compliment my stupid brother."

Kaito raised an eyebrow. Before he could open his mouth, the elevator lurched violently, throwing the two of them off balance before landing on the floor in a tangled heap.

"Ouch—"

"I'm sorry, I—"

She gasped as a strange feeling shot through her body. She looked down.

He had just grabbed her breast.

Her neighbor was as shocked as she, and he immediately released his hand, his face a deep shade of red.

The elevator shuddered again, and the lights went out. Luka was so mad that she burst out swearing. She couldn't care less the kind of expression Kaito would have at her colorful language.

After a few minutes, the pair finally detached themselves from one another and sat down side by side. Luka ran a hand down the front of her blouse. Shit.

"Um, Kaito-san…"

"Hmm?"

"The buttons on my blouse…"

"W-What?" She could feel his restlessness. "I'm really, really sorry!"

"Not that!" She was feeling extremely embarrassed herself. "I mean, the buttons on my shirt have… burst!"

Right, burst. She scolded herself inwardly. What a great choice of words.

He seemed to have frozen momentarily, then he was shuffling again. What is he trying to do?

"Here." Something soft was thrown over her. She touched the fabric. "You—?"

"Me going shirtless is better off than you…well, yeah." He trailed off lamely.

She removed her blouse and pulled over his shirt. Now she was very glad of the darkness. "Thank you."

A moment of silence. "It seems that we're now stuck in the elevator."

"…Yeah."

She heard him popping open a can. "Soda?"

She shook her head. Then she remembered that he couldn't see her. "Uh, no. It's ok."

Another rustling. "Strawberry pudding? The flavor goes well with your hair color."

She couldn't help but smile. "Alright." Their fingers touched briefly when she received the pudding from him, and it sent a jolt through her body. She felt herself heating up. She fumbled with the small container before she broke the seal and peeled off the spoon, finally sending big scoops into her mouth with trembling hands.

He drank noisily and then set down the empty can. "…How's the purple-haired guy?"

"My brother?" she swallowed the pudding and scoffed. "That samurai otaku…"

"Samurai?" he laughed. "He's still into that?"

"It pisses me off to watch him polishing his katana with a ridiculous face," she huffed. "I seriously have the urge to slit his throat with the sword."

"That's scary." There was amusement in his tone. "I remembered that he often boasted about his great onee-sama in class."

"What did he say?" She asked too quickly.

"Hmm… Said that he really looked up to her, and was ashamed that he didn't have half of the courage she had."

Luka was surprised. "…Did he?"

"He's a really funny guy." Kaito didn't seem to be listening to her. "No wonder. He has such an interesting girl for a sister."

The elevator felt very hot all of a sudden. "Are we running out of air?"

He shrugged. "Probably." He let out a yawn. "This is getting awkward—"

Luka shushed him. She had heard something. "…Yes!"

A low hum rumbled somewhere and the elevator began its ascend, though the lights were still not back on.

"Wait." She jumped slightly when Kaito grabbed her wrist. "That's odd."

"What?"

She felt his grip tightening. "We're… accelerating!"

The duo clung onto each other for their dear life as the elevator rocketed upwards. Luka was beginning to feel dizzy.

"Hang on!" Kaito yelled into her ears over the roar.

They slammed against the roof of the elevator when it stopped abruptly before falling back on the floor with a loud thud. Luka realized that she was on top of Kaito, who used his body to cushion her fall. "Are you alright?"

"I'm… still… alive," he answered weakly and winced.

She was very conscious how the warmth from his topless body felt against her skin. She could feel him trying to push her off. "Luka…san?"

Then the elevator lunged again, this time speeding down.

Luka's eyes were watering. Her body was aching painfully from the pressure of Kaito's weight on her, combined with the upward force that stuck them to the ceiling of the elevator.

"This is completely insane!" she screamed, anger bubbling inside her. "What the hell is wrong with this bloody lift?" She quickly closed her mouth, feeling that she could throw up anytime. Kaito's hair was prickling her nose—she felt very uncomfortable, but she didn't know what to do.

Finally, the elevator slowed down and they fell back onto the floor painfully again. Luka looked up to see that she had arrived at her level. She tore out of the darkness into the light when the door opened, dragging Kaito after her.

"Onee-sama?" Gakupo was running towards them, a Hello Kitty apron over his lavender tracksuit. "What—?" He then let out a gasp. "What have the two of you done?"

"Done what?" Luka was feeling venomous. She turned around…

And looked straight into the shirtless Kaito. She began to blush furiously. She had forgotten that she was still wearing his tee. "Wait, I—"

"Kaito nii-chan's back?" Two small figures appeared behind Gakupo—a pair of blond twins. They widened their eyes at the sight before them, then they both exchanged a mischievous grin and bellowed, "Kaito nii-chan has a sexy girlfriend!"

"That's enough, Rin, Len!" Kaito was also as scarlet as Luka. "That's not—"

"Kaito?" Gakupo's purple eyes were leaking with tears of joy. "Is it true? You and my sister?" He didn't wait for an answer and began to whoop around with the twins. "They are going to get married~"

"That's not it!" Luka shouted at the crazy trio.

They became quiet. Gakupo turned to his sister. "Then—?"

"Go Google it." She threw him a dirty look before she stormed into her house, followed by a shivering and slightly bruised Kaito.