I realize I totally screwed up: my chapter 3 was replaced by chapter 4, so I profusely apologize for the misunderstanding! To compensate...I have not one, but two new chapters for you all! You're the best for sticking with this.

It would be an invasion of privacy. It would be a violation. It would be totally rude and...she was already dropping her textbooks back on the desk to pick it up. It was fairly new, though the leather was soft and pliable at the spine. Mari flipped to a recent page and made a face.

Hikari Mari

My, was this what he was writing?

Third year

160 cm. 45 kg.

Mari was startled (and, honestly a bit scared). Even she wasn't sure how much she weighed-until now. So how did he?

Eyes: green

Hair: brown

Body build: weak

She got over the whole stalker-page-thing and scowled at his lack of embellishment. Personally, she thought her eyes were a cool-green sort of color. Her hair was coffee bean with streaks of copper cropped thin at her shoulders.

Her body build...well, no argument there: she was pretty weak.

Mari flipped forwards. He had her schedule, her hobbies, even her personality traits (soft-spoken, stubborn, self-efficient...really!). He only knew her a day. These were not things he could find out in a day. Honestly, it freaked her out quite a bit (what was with these Rikkai-people?!).

Her heart thumped in her ears when she saw a new heading:

Family.

If anything came out...

Unknown.

Mari let out a deep breath of relief. Thank God...

A tiny side note was scrawled at the bottom of the page.

German assessment grade: 90.4% chance of 88%.

Her first thought was bewilderment. Her German assessment was going to be the midterm just like the other was taking place before winter break. How could he predict that?

Her second thought was indignant. He thought she'd get a B plus? Hikari Mari was going to ace this midterm and put his words right up in his own face. That grade chart on the back of the classroom was going to have her name right at the top, thank you very much.

Mari flipped through from the beginning: an array of names she didn't know. There was one, however: Murai Bunta. Her finger posed to push the book open to the page, but hesitated before grimly closing the book.

She put it where it was on the floor before hesitating and placing it on the table.

As she left, Mari wasn't completely sure what she was trying to say by doing that: just acknowledging the fact that she was there, or telling him she wasn't judging him.

Or maybe it was her way of saying, "I read my page. Now where's yours?"

"Oh my god, did you hear? Last week, that new girl, like, totally went into the boys' locker rooms at tennis practice: god, what a slut."

"Who'd you hear?"

"Inoue Tani. And from what I'd last heard, she was out for blood."

"Remember, the feminine form in the dative case takes the –en ending."

"Ah-okay."

She wanted to ask him then how did the affinitive case fit in with all that, and why did the accusative case have pronouns, and why was German was so blasting difficult.

But she kept quiet; she'd figure it out by herself later. If she even had time later. After taking care of Nori, putting up with his dirty diapers and screaming...shopping for dinner, making dinner, eating dinner, feeding dinner, cleaning up dinner, and everything else not dinner or Nori-related...

Mari glanced up to see Renji looking at her.

She blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You were scowling," he said pointedly. Mari began to scowl then stopped herself.

"No, I'm not."

"You were."

She was about to retaliate with another no, I was not, but silenced herself. Rule number three, gosh darn it. Don't let your guard down with petty arguments.

But he started it.

Yeah, well, I'm finishing it, jeered the little kid's voice inside her head, depressingly proud at that come-back.

"Sorry."

He looked slightly taken aback at that, like he'd expected her to argue, but didn't comment: just pulled out his notebook and wrote in it again.

Maybe the only other class she lacked in was physical education.

It was probably because everyone else was so majestically athletic during the mile: running past the finish line, hair splaying behind them, legs flexed, beads of sweat trickling down their faces, perfect poses illuminated by the golden sun.

It looked like a frickin' Nike commercial.

And then there was Hikari Mari at ten minutes, huffing like she'd just smoked a pack. And then all through their warm-ups, which involved moving back and forth across the awful field in high knees, butt kicks, jump skips, and lunges. Her legs burned. It didn't help how no one else seemed affected. And it sure as heck didn't help when she tripped over the door frame on their way out to jog some more.

Renji just watched her and held the door. She was too irritated to feel any embarrassment.

Besides, it was just Renji.

Often, on the week of a big game, Renji had extra tennis practice and sometimes rescheduled last minute with a quick notice telling her to keep studying.

Well, if he gave me something to study... Mari scowled, shook her head, then scowled deeper. Give yourself something to study. He'd not here to baby you. Do it yourself.

Her face was pinched when someone walked in. What in the name did all these words mean? What was all this crap? Renji, help me!

Rule number three...rule number three...

Oh who cared? It was German. It was Renji. It was one little question. Not the end of the world.

"Renji, what do they mean here when they say 'the nominative case...'" Mari glanced up. "Oh," she said softly.

It was Yukimura. The boy with the soft hair and the soft eyes and the soft smile that made soft girls melt like soft-serve ice cream- too much. She had cracked...or maybe was on crack.

"I don't think I can help with German," he started, "but Renji asked me to tell you that you're free to leave early, if you'd like. He's in a match presently," he said in a soft voice that matched his eyes...

Oh my, she really was losing it.

"Ah-ah-ah...thank you."

She had her eyes fixed on the floor and a curious whiteness about her face. Being good-looking wasn't something Mari looked for in a guy. She wasn't even looking for a guy. (Not that she was into girls, or anything: she didn't have time for boys in her life. Not that there's anything wrong with liking boys-yeah, I should just stop talking now before I offend the Catholics. Oops.)

I'm a Christian. Just wanted to put that out there. Now, back to the story:

Relationships would barrel into rules one, two, and possibly four, if said relationship included, say, Yukimura Seiichi...

Mari hit her shin against the chair leg.

"No problem," he responded nicely. Through the pain in her leg, she felt his smile like an ever-present shadow. "Well, I'll see you," she heard him say before the door closed. The absence of his presence brought her crashing back to Earth.

Yukimura had a very keen eye for people. His team usually held the focus of both of his eyes, but once in a while, his attention would slip, and he'd see something-someone new. Like that Hikari girl.

Niou had pranked her, obviously, that day in the locker rooms, the way his voice dipped down afterwards.

The poor girl. And it surely didn't help that Bunta had no shirt on upon greeting her...but at least she had the decency to cover her eyes, unlike what most of Rikkai's girls would've done at that point (ogle, probably).

He'd seen her in class and around school, and by what little Renji told him about her, she was the sullen kind, rather timid, though extremely observant, given the way she would watch everyone with those lens-like eyes. Sometimes, Yukimura would see her sitting by herself by some lonely wall and feel compelled to offer her a seat.

But something weird kept him back. Even now, as he walked back to his seat with his lunch tray, her eyes would dart up every once in a while then focus back on her fork. As he sat, like she sensed his eyes, her sharp green ones pierced into his, feeling like a breath of ice cold mint before she turned away again.

They were intense, those eyes. They were full of the aura she emitted: a very strong inwardness that made you feel...feel...weird. Like you shouldn't bother her because she doesn't want you. Like she was closed in a shell with the key locked deep inside. Like a black hole.

Not haughty, like the presence Sanada emitted, nor particularly enigmatic, like himself or Renji: just- well...there really was no better word for it.

It was really weird.

But for a moment, when he entered the room after school, her eyes had seemed less sharp. Sharpness replaced by sensitivity. Then they'd changed back; but just for that second, she'd been open. Free.

Yukimura thought he'd care to see it again. He sat and the animated chatter of Bunta and apologies of Kirihara (for being late, as usual) brought him back to life. He shook his head slightly.

It was really, really weird.

Happy whatever-doesn't-offend-you and a Happy New Year, if that wasn't implied!

Review? :)