Yays! Another chapter! If anybody's reading...

Just to let you guys know, Suzaku and Shion aren't really supposed to like each other for a while, so that's why they're all nagging to each other.

And also, this story will also contain some bonding between Suzaku and other characters like Rena, Rika and Keiichi. They'll be some chapters dedicated to each, just to lengthen the story a tad.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

"I swear, Shion, if this guy's dead, you'd be so screwed."

"O-Onee! He's not dead, only unconscious!"

"Well, Shii-chan, it was raining so if you weren't careful....What if you weren't careful, kana?"

"...Then I'd be screwed. But he was hurting Satoko! I couldn't just stand around and watch!"

"Nee-Nee, he wasn't hurting me! I just met him today...he seems more serious than any guy I've met."

"Hau! I hope he doesn't die!"

"Being tasered isn't fatal, nano desu."

"Gah, being tasered sounds awful."

"Hey, he's waking up! Go get Irie-sensei!"

"Meaning he's not dead. Good, I didn't want to have to testify for my irresponsible sister's murderous actions."

"SHUT UP!"

Everything was so foggy. Too foggy for his comfort. He moved his hand and rubbed his eyes until he could see....

A pair of big and worried mint green eyes were hovering over him.

This startled him a bit, and he blinked a little more.

Was he finally dead?

Was this an angel looking down at him?

She had such a lovely face....

Reality snapped back when the blonde girl, Satoko, pushed those green eyes away, "Suzaku-san! You're okay!"

He sat up, wincing at the pain in his left side, "Where am I?"

"The Hinamizawa clinic, of course!"

To the side, was a girl of around 14 or 15, with orange-red hair that was short in the back but long in the front. Her blue eyes were big and curious. She was wearing a white sun dress, with a blue ribbon around the waist, and sandals. Plus there was a white beret-like hat on her head.

"Hauu!" She exclaimed, holding her hands to her chest, smiling, "It's nice to see you! I'm Ryuuguu Rena!"

"Hey, man." A brunette boy with pale purple eyes that looked the same age as Rena smacked Suzaku in the shoulder in a friendly gesture. Wearing a black sleeveless shirt and a red vest overtop with some jeans, he looked cool and laid-back.

"I'm Maebara Keiichi." He introduced, saluting.

"Give him some air, you crowders." Another girl pushed the others out of the way. Suzaku stared at her. Those eyes looked like the ones he just saw, but...in a sense...they weren't.

Straight green hair pulled perfectly into a ponytail. Green eyes sparkling with fierceness. And much ahead in puberty when it comes to breasts, surprisingly....

Sporting a yellow t-shirt and jeans, she seemed almost tomboyish. But she somehow just wasn't the girl he saw...

"What's up?" The girl said, making a peace sign, "I do hope you'll forgive my sister. She's very protective over poor Satoko-chan."

"ONEE!"

THEN there was the girl. Man, she was beautiful. But, then he noticed.....she and the girl with the pony-tail were identical TWINS!!

The other twin's long green hair wasn't pulled up, but flowed down past her waist. She had a sleeveless turtle neck, with a navy blue skirt and heels. Her back was facing him, but her head was over her shoulder, staring at him in shock. A thin yellow ribbon was tied in a bow on the back of her hair.

She was by the door, as if waiting for someone.

"Well?!" Satoko waited, hands on her hips, for the girl to speak finally.

She stammered for a second, "U-Uh...hi?"

"Hi." Suzaku replied calmly.

"Shii-chan!" The other one, Rena, said, "You must apologize! Or at least explain to him what happened!"

"Yeah, Shion." Keiichi agreed, and Suzaku turned his head to him, "If you don't say sorry, Mion and I will think of a great punishment game for you!"

Suzaku looked back at her. So, Shion was her name....and Mion was the name of the other twin.

Shion pursed her lips, her expression changing to annoyance, but a faint blush was still on her cheeks.

She then finally stepped up, and bowed, "I am sorry for tasering you, Kiryuu Suzaku-san!"

Suzaku blinked, remembering what the other kids were saying as he was waking up, "You...tasered me?"

Shion couldn't help but smile mischeviously. Even her smile was beautiful. She held up a device in her hands, "This taser is actually pretty old. More than 30 years old, to be precise!"

"She doesn't like the new versions." Her sister said teasingly, coming up to her side, "She prefers to keep the nostalgic one."

"I take absolutely perfect care of it!" Shion retorted, putting the taser in some place under her skirt, "That's why it doesn't break on me."

Suddenly the door to the hospital room was opened and a young man of late twenties entered. He had red hair paler than Rena's, and soft green eyes. He had a doctor lab coat on.

"Rika-chan came and got me." He said when he entered, "So Kiryuu-san is finally awake?"

Behind the man another little girl came in as well. An inch shorter than Satoko, she had long dark blue hair that reached past her waist and square bangs that reached just below her eyebrows. Her green dress was a tad messed up, a string sleeve falling off one shoulder. It appeared she had ran as fast as she could to get the doctor.

The nine year old fixed her dress and smiled at Suzaku, "Good afternoon, Suzaku!"

He started with surprise. She had dropped the polite suffix in his name?

But what was REALLY surprising was the girl's eyes. They were lavender....mysterious...somehow full of secrets...

That reminded him of...

Suzaku jerked his head away as if he'd been hit. The girl didn't seem offended by this gesture. She continued smiling.

"My name is Furude Rika, nano desu." Tilting her head, her blue hair fell over as well.

"Alright, guys, I need to look over Kiryuu-san to make sure he's completely okay." The man turned to Suzaku, "I'm Kyousuke Irie. Nice to meet you."

"Okay, manager. We'll leave!" Satoko nodded, then began to pull everyone out of the room.

"We'll see you later, Suzaku-san!" Rena said, leaving with Keiichi following.

Shion blinked, then went out with her sister, and Rika was last.

When Irie closed the door, he turned back, "You're not in too much pain, are you, Kiryuu-san?"

"Not really." Suzaku replied, shaking his head, throwing his legs over the side of the bed, wincing.

"You don't have to lie, Kiryuu-san." Irie said, coming to his side smiling, "Can you lift up your shirt, please?"

When Suzaku did so, there was a small red mark on his side.

As Irie prodded it, he asked, "So, you met Satoko-chan today?"

"Yeah, I did." He replied.

"I noticed she had a bruise on her left shoulder. I asked her how she got it, and she said she tripped on a rock and fell right on you, right?"

There was a silence, then he said, "Mm hm."

"Well, if she fell on you, then how'd she get the bruise?"

"....She tripped again...?" He tried.

Irie stood up, "Did Satoko-chan ask you to say that?"

Suzaku shrugged, "Yeah, actually. Saving her from bullies was the real story."

Irie grew serious, "I see. She made you promise not to tell?"

"Not technically. It was like she made it look like it happened. Like she wouldn't accept she was bullied."

"Mm." Irie sighed, "Poor Satoko-chan....why must you cover up things like this?"

Suzaku blinked, "How many times has people hurt her?"

"More than they should." He responded with an undertone, gazing out the window.

"They called her a traitor..." Suzaku murmured, looking at the floor, "And everyone ignored her when they hit her....why?"

"I don't feel like telling you." Irie made a playful smile, but his green eyes were still serious, "If you really want to know, ask someone else. Like Mion-chan or Shion-chan...they would know."

Suzaku nodded, "I understand." He'd definately ask Shion. Not Mion. Shion.

He stood up, fixing his shirt, "Well, thanks for looking me over, but I'm fine now."

"Not quite yet..." Irie said, "Shion-chan practically jumped on you when you weren't looking and zapped you unconscious. We haven't told the police about this---"

"I don't want to press charges." The brown-haired boy interrupted, "She thought I was a pervert hurting Houjou-san. You can't blame her."

"Nor would I." Irie agreed, leading him to the door and opening it, "But, Kiryuu-san, don't do anything reckless. Shion would love to kill you right then and there."

He simply laughed at Suzaku's bewildered face.

As Suzaku left the clinic, he wasn't expecting all the kids from earlier to run up to him.

"Suzaku-san!" Rena exclaimed happily, "Suzaku-san, was your injury bad, kana?"

"No, not bad." Suzaku replied, shaking his head, "You have this many friends, Houjou-san?"

Satoko nodded, "Yeah. They're all nice and great friends that I wouldn't trade for anything else!"

All the kids around her beamed.

"So, Kiryuu-san..."

Suzaku turned and saw Shion, arms crossed, "Why are you in Hinamizawa? Did you move here?"

"You can think of it as a vacation." He said, growing serious at that stupid reason.

Shion raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, "Y'know what, fine, we'll go with that."

"What're you talking about, Shion?" Mion asked her curiously.

"You seem to be an arrogant person, Kiryuu-san." She continued as if her sister never spoke, "Are you just a Britannian making sure us "Elevens" are behaving properly?"

"Shii-chan!" Rena gasped.

"Wow..." Keiichi murmured in shock, "Shion, why are you---"

"I happen to, in fact, also be Japanese, Shion-san." Suzaku said, saying her name for the first time, "I'm here for my own personal reasons. If you think otherwise, then I suggest you steer clear of me. We can be friends, or not be friends. And I, in my opinion, don't care about either. Because I won't be here for long."

So with that, he turned and began to walk away.

"Suzaku-san...!" Satoko started, but he ignored her.

"Shii..." Rika held her hands behind her back, "..Must you be so cruel?"

Shion blushed a bit, but her expression didn't change.

"Hey, does that guy have anywhere to stay while he's here?" Keiichi asked, "Does he even know where the inns are?"

"Man, he'll be wandering around for hours!" Mion exclaimed, "I'll go after him."

"Why you?" Shion said suddenly.

"Because I'm actually polite." She replied with a stern voice, and her sister looked down with shame, "Don't worry, I'll be back!"

Turning, Mion made a peace sign, then she ran out after.

He stood on a bridge over a thin river, watching the water, silently. He then leaned forward too far, his feet lifting off the ground.

He neared closer to tipping over, then suddenly a dreadful feeling filled his body which forced him to move back to safety.

Out of death's reach.

Sighing, he was startled when he heard, "OI! KIRYUU!"

The girl with the ponytail, Mion, appeared next to him, "Yo, Kiryuu-san!"

She leaned on the railing, "I came to apologize for my sister's behavior....again."

"Why didn't she come here herself?" Suzaku asked without looking at her.

"Because she's too proud. Just like me. If I were Shion, I wouldn't be here either." Mion grinned, but then frowned when Suzaku didn't change expressions.

"She's just....not entirely over what's been happening this year, if you know what I mean." Resting on her elbows, her chin on her hands, she gazed out among the trees, thunder rumbling in the distance.

"Yeah.." He replied, "...I do."

"I mean, she doesn't like Britannians alot. As in, not at all. I, on the other hand, have different views, even though I'm a Japanese myself."

A finger went twirling in her green hair, "I wanted to join the Britannian army to change it from the inside."

She paused when she realized Suzaku was staring at her with a strange look in his eyes.

"I don't think that anymore." She added, afraid she offended him, "I had just wanted to attend an academy and become a Knightmare pilot. But then Shion found out about my ambition, and she sort of snapped."

She didn't go into detail, and Suzaku didn't want to press further.

"So I changed my mind." Mion concluded cheerfully, though a twinge of regret was in her voice, "But it doesn't matter anyway now. After the death of Demon Emporer Lelouch was killed, things became so much more peaceful there wasn't even a reason to consider it anymore."

She sighed, "Well, that's what Shion says."

"Not everything is so 'peaceful'...." Suzaku thought quietly. He began to process her words slowly, not bothering to think any faster.

"Anywho, just don't be ticked off at her all the time, okay?" Mion stood up straight, actually punching him in the arm hard enough for him to react to it.

"Thank you, Mion-san."

"You got a place to stay, Kiryuu-san?" She asked suddenly.

"No."

"Great!" Grabbing his arm, she yanked him away from the bridge and started to run, dragging him along with her, "I'll set up a place for you! Don't worry about paying us back or anything! I'm gonna hook you up!"

Suzaku didn't even find enough strength to fight back.

Ah, well.

Maybe things won't be so bad.

"Here." Shion said, opening the door, quickly walking in, Suzaku following slowly.

"I used to live in these apartments. They're very conveniant. I don't care if you take my word for it, but you should."

She dropped Suzaku's bag on the table. She had snatched it out of his hands when she appeared before him, telling him to follow her.

They had walked through the town, finally reaching a building, where Shion walked in, nodded to the manager, and was allowed to go where she pleased.

He figured Mion had a chat with her twin, and now she was relunctantly showing Suzaku his new abode.

Shion pointed to all the rooms, saying what they were, "Bedroom. Balcony. Bathroom. Kitchen's behind you. There's a couch..."

"Thank you." Suzaku said quietly, as Shion turned to face him.

Her irritated expression did not falter, "No problem." She said sarcastically, "I hope this suits a Britannian like you."

She walked around him, heading for the door, but then his hand grabbed her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks and causing a gasp of surprise from the girl.

"Let me remind you again, Shion-san." His voice was stone cold as he stood behind her, "I am not a Britannian. I'm pure Japanese, just like you."

She dared not face him as he continued, "I haven't done anything to offend you, and you know that. If you want someone to force your emotions upon, don't randomly pick me, alright?"

Shion slapped his hand away, now turning with daggers in her eyes, "Don't ever touch me again, Kiryuu-san. But I understand the point you're trying to tell me. I apologize."

She stood up straight, looking up at him, amazed at his height, but didn't show it, "Good day to you, Kiryuu-san."

Then she left the brunette alone, and when she ran down the hall, her face turned red and she touched the shoulder where his hand used to be.

^-^ oooh, what will happen next?!?!?!?AAAAHHH!