Chapter Four! The format is a little different this time, but I hope nobody minds that. If I've neglected to mention anything important or if there are any inconsistencies, please let me know! It's hard to incorporate the ideas of the old series with new ones but fun too. :) Once again, thanks so much for taking the time to read and review!

Isuke

Having eaten dinner separately from the others, Isuke strode down the dormitory hallway. Those girls hadn't been her type of people. Hashiri was annoying, Ichinose was painfully naïve, Namatame was too pure, and Azuma was just an idiot. In her own attempts not to be friends with Ichinose, all she'd done was establish that she cared about her. That generally wasn't a good thing when you were trying to kill someone.

And you're loud enough that me and the girl prince could hear your little conversation from outside the room, she thought to herself. Hearing Azuma fumbling over Ichinose had not inspired her confidence in the blue-haired girl's abilities. But she couldn't let her guard down. Just because the girl had inhibitions about killing Ichinose didn't mean she'd show Isuke that kind of mercy if they ever came to blows, which she suspected would happen at some point.

What am I thinking? I don't need mercy. I'm the best at everything I do, and a clueless idiot from a famous family is not going to get in my way. Isuke already had a plan to eliminate Ichinose before anyone else got there.

She twisted the doorknob that would grant her access to her room. The sight that greeted her was a tall girl with wily red hair tied back in a sloppy ponytail bending over an open rolling suitcase. If this was to be her roommate, Isuke would hurry even more to get out of this school. What she really wanted was to go home, after all.

Before she could speak, the redhead turned and smiled at her, showing off some fangs. "Hey! Perfect timing. Do you have any makeup and nail polish remover? I left mine at home, and my nails are only half done."

Isuke clenched her fist and smiled back. "My name is Inukai Isuke," she said, folding her arms and watching the redhead unpack her bag. "And I might have some. I use gel for my nails, though." She showed the redhead the back of her long, slender hand.

There was a flash of curly red hair. The pinkette found herself in an arm lock, with her back firmly pressed against the other girl's. It had happened so quickly she almost didn't believe it.

"Hmm." The redhead examined her hand thoughtfully. "Your nails are so thin. I don't agree with this." She ran a delicate finger across her knuckles. "They're pretty, though."

Isuke was still trying to process how she could have let this happen. "You're being pretty rude, aren't you?" she growled, not bothering to struggle against the girl's iron grip. "Call me Isuke-sama."

Most people wouldn't have tried to give an order in this situation. Isuke was not most people. The redhead craned her neck to look at her, then laughed. "Okay, sure. By the way, isn't Isuke kind of a weird name for a girl?"

Isuke pouted. "It's not weird, it's cool. I got it from my Mama, not that you would or should care."

"Who knows? I care about a lot of weird things." The girl grinned. "Now let me use your makeup remover, Isuke-sama."

She released Isuke, who immediately put distance between them. "I'm Sagae Haruki, by the way. You can call me Haruki, though."

"Who said I'd call you anything different?" Isuke found her makeup pouch in her suitcase and picked out her makeup remover. "Here."

"Thanks. Wow," Haruki looked at the container. "This is some nice stuff."

"Wouldn't want to go to sleep with makeup all over my face," Isuke replied, stirring around the contents of her bag. "You needed this too, right?" She tossed over the nail polish remover.

Haruki caught it in her other hand and put it on the nightstand. "Yeah." She took in Isuke's face, figure, and clothing. "You put a lot of time into your look."

Isuke plopped her bag at the foot of the untaken bed and sat on the edge to take off her boots. "It's something I enjoy doing. Don't most girls like to look good?" She glanced at Haruki's messy uniform, hair, and poofy purple bracelet that clashed with the rest of her outfit. "Although, you obviously don't."

"That wasn't very nice," Haruki said, looking amused but a little hurt. "My style's just different from yours. I've been asked out before. "Oh, really?" Isuke sighed, her feet very happy to be out of those shoes. "So have I."

"Jeez," Haruki laughed. "Isn't that kinda obvious? I bet people ask you out all the time. Guys and girls."

As true as that statement was, it wasn't. Isuke tended to get bored with people. It was only when her dads made her socialize that she ever ran into age peers who were interested in her, and her personality took care of the rest.

She got the other shoe off and set it by the side of the bed. Her toes breathed in the cool air. "I'm going to take my shower first," she declared, sliding off the sheets onto the carpeted floor and swiping her makeup remover. "I'll call you when I'm done, which won't be for a while, because I'm tired. There might not be any hot water left."

Haruki laid down on her stomach and watched her enter the bathroom. "No need." She grinned. "I'll be watching."

The possible implications behind that comment didn't hit until Isuke was inside the glass shower cubicle, where Haruki couldn't see her expression. Dammit, why was she getting worked up over some stupid girl who didn't even know how to color coordinate?

She removed her makeup and took her shower in less time than she'd planned, because she really just wanted to go to bed. Making someone else wait for her was too tiring. Once the steam had warmed her lungs and loosened her muscles, she rinsed off and moved the shower settings to zero.

Wrapping a towel around herself and her hair, she left the bathroom and saw Haruki standing right outside the door.

"Don't tell me you were actually watching." Isuke grinned incredulously.

Haruki held out her hand. "I was also using the nail polish remover. It works real well."

Shoving her out of the way, Isuke walked over to her bed. She waited until Haruki had entered the bathroom before taking off the towel and slipping her black nightgown over her head. Strangely, she felt exposed. Exposure wasn't something she usually felt, as evidenced by her clothing choices. It was not a nice sensation.

There was no time to think about it tonight. Being smart required a lot of sleep to fuel her mind. Yawning, Isuke sank into the fluffy pillow she'd brought from home. "I'll be back soon Mama," she mumbled, curling up. "I'll get it done tomorrow and come back soon…"

The bathroom door creaked open and Haruki peeked out. "Did you say tomorrow?"

Isuke blinked and resisted the urge to walk over and smack Haruki upside the head. "I didn't say anything," she replied sweetly. "Go take your shower."

Haruki stepped out of the bathroom in only her unbuttoned white dress shirt and red plaid skirt. "Don't feel too bad. I have pretty good ears." She made her way over to her own bed and flopped down on her stomach again. "Why in such a rush?"

The concern was a surprise. "Didn't you hear that part?"

"I heard you wanted to go back home, and I totally get that." Haruki rested her chin on her arms, the mass of red spilling over her back. "I just think it's a bad idea to attack before we've been given any rules. Like, half of the class is still missing."

"The rules can't be too different from what we already know, can they?" Isuke frowned. "The rest of the class should be here by tomorrow anyway, so that won't be a problem."

Haruki pointed at her. "But if you end up breaking one of the rules by accident, you probably won't get your wish, and the target'll already be dead. Nobody's gonna be happy then." She tilted her head, her yellow eyes flashing. "Me included."

Everything Haruki said was probably true. Isuke tsked and rolled over. "I just want this all to be over. I want to get my money and get out of this cespool."

"Money?" Haruki's face changed. "Your wish is money?"

"Of course!" Isuke smiled. "Everything I do is for money. Money can bring you happiness."

"Hmph." The redhead stretched out on her own bed. "I feel like I should argue with that, but I'm in this for money too. Though, it's not for me."

"Well, neither is mine, so there."

"Then who's it for? Mine's for my family."

That meant they actually had something in common. "Same," Isuke replied. "Though, they aren't poor like I'm assuming yours are."

Rather than being upset by her insensitive comment, Haruki nodded and laid her head on her pillow, staring at Isuke's baby pink hair that was the same color as her favorite shade of nail polish. "I'd do anything for my family," she said seriously. "Anything."

The change in the redhead's tone was surprising. Even more surprising was what came out of Isuke's mouth next.

"If you're letting other people trap you like that, you're just an idiot."

Haruki continued to stare at her through half-closed eyes. Somehow, even though her back was turned, Isuke could feel the girl's gaze. It was like lying in the sun on a cold day. She found herself wanting to roll over and face her again.

Nothing happened for a minute or so. Finally, she heard the rustle of Haruki's sheets and the dull thump of bare feet hitting the floor. She turned to see Haruki about to enter the shower.

Seeing her move, Haruki turned and winked. "See you in the morning, Isuke-sama."

Thank God she was gone. The sound of the shower lulled Isuke to sleep, where she dreamed of Mama's reading voice and Papa's cooking.

Hitsugi

"Ah…" Takechi yawned and staggered down the hallway. "That was delicious!" she sighed, hugging her stomach. "I'm gonna like this place. It's too bad I'll have to leave so soon…"

Hitsugi glanced up at her and folded her arms. "Didn't you just reveal that you'll be one of the first to attack?"

The raven-haired girl shrugged and stroked her hair. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm trying to trick you!" She lunged for Hitsugi's book bag, but the small girl was used to her antics and dodged.

"What's going on here?"

Hitsugi and Takechi turned to see a tall girl with red hair and a clipboard at the other end of the hall. She walked up to them with dignity and purpose, but Hitsugi could see nervousness in her crimson eyes.

"Oh, hey there!" Takechi bounced up to her and feigned ignorance. "I was just offering to carry her bag." Unlike this newcomer's eyes, there was no trace of fear in those turquoise orbs. "You're in the black class too, right?"

The redhead ignored the question and looked down at Hitsugi. "Is that true? It looked like she was bullying you."

There were two options available to Hitsugi; say she was being bullied, pretend to be weak, and make friends with this newcomer, or say everything was fine and be forever associated with Takechi. One answer was obviously the better one.

She made puppy-dog eyes and edged closer to the newcomer. "She's trying to take my bag," she said unhappily. "She did it on the train too. I think she likes to bully people."

Takechi blinked, and her mouth twitched downward. It was a visage of betrayal.

"You shouldn't bully people," the redhead said firmly. "This class is bad enough as it is without bullies."

The raven-haired girl stared down at Hitsugi, who met her eyes with child-like incomprehension. I can be whoever I want to be here, she thought, wondering if Takechi could read her mind at that moment. I'll do what it takes to achieve my goal, and you aren't a part of that.

Takechi backed off. "Ha ha," she growled in her high voice, standing up straighter. "Okay. I get it. Actually, this is kinda funny." She smiled menacingly, baring her gleaming white teeth. "Good luck, Hitsugi-chan!"

When Takechi had disappeared around the corner, the newcomer let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead. "That was close…"

"What was close?" Hitsugi stayed close to her, even though Takechi had left. Something about her was comforting.

"I thought she was going to hit me!" Chitaru admitted, smiling a little. "Maybe it was just an act, but she was scary."

The admission of fear was something Hitsugi hadn't been expecting. She had sensed the redhead's discomfort, but hadn't expected her to be upfront about it.

A real smile spread across her face. Here was a kind, honest girl, the polar opposite of herself.

She held out her hand. "Thank you for helping me," she said. "I'm Kirigaya Hitsugi."

Chitaru's jaw dropped a little before she smiled back and took her hand gently. "My pleasure. I thought you were a relative of someone, but if you are Kirigaya Hitsugi, then you must be a member of the black class. I'm Namatame Chitaru." She pointed down the hall where she had been. "We're roommates."

Roommates. If there was anyone she'd feel safe around, it was this tall, unconfident redhead. "That's great," she replied, giving Chitaru's hand a squeeze. "Let's go see our room. Or do you need to eat dinner?"

"Me and the others ate dinner a while ago. They made me the class rep, so I've been going around the dorms checking everyone off on this clipboard." Chitaru lead her down the hall to their bedroom. "It's strange that we didn't see you in the café."

"I ate on the bus here."

"Oh, really? I was going to take the afternoon bus, but I decided to go in the morning instead."

"I think that was smart."

As they made their way down the hall, Hitsugi felt Chitaru's palm moisten. Could it be she really was shy?

Even as her hand betrayed her, Chitaru wore a placid expression. She shortened her strides so that Hitsugi could keep up with her, even though the small girl knew she could've gone much faster. Everything about the redhead labeled her as a courteous, romantic type- everything except for those nervous hands.

While Chitaru talked a little, Hitsugi slid one finger out of her grasp and felt the girl's palm. Rough, calloused skin greeted her soft fingertips. At least she knew Chitaru wasn't the target. Those callouses were from fighting with a hand-held melee weapon, possibly a sword.

A shiver ran through Chitaru's body. She stopped talking and looked down at Hitsugi. "Um… did you want to let go of my hand? Is that why you're poking me?"

Her embarrassed face was adorable. Hitsugi shook her head with more fervor than she'd planned. "No, that's not it. I just noticed your hands are a little scratchy."

Chitaru frowned. "I suppose you're right." She eyed Hitsugi sadly. "But yours aren't, are they?"

It was true that Hitsugi's hands were very smooth and just as childish as the rest of her. Working with poison traps and occasionally poison guns didn't leave much of a trace on your body besides the unfortunate growth stunting.

Sighing, Chitaru clasped her hand tightly and began walking a little faster. "Tell me, do you know anything about the black class?"

"Hmm?" Hitsugi didn't have to pretend to be confused this time. "Well… it's…"

Her stomach lurched as she realized what was happening. Just like Takechi, Chitaru thought she might be the target, so she was testing her knowledge. That wasn't too surprising. But what it meant was that Hitsugi could pretend to be the target if she wanted to.

At first it seemed like a terrible idea, but the more Hitsugi thought about it, the more interesting it seemed. Pretending to be the target would mean she wouldn't have Chitaru as a competitor in the game. If she got found out, which was very likely, it wouldn't hurt her. If she didn't, she could have one less competitor for the real target. And while she couldn't be sure of Chitaru's motives, she was showing a lot of genuine concern for Hitsugi's well-being.

At any rate, it would be a whole lot more fun than just another job.

For the second time that night, Hitsugi chose to lie. "It's a class that gets made whenever there's overflow from the other classes, right?" She tilted her head. "Why, is there something I should know?"

The redhead swallowed and pulled open the door to their room. "No… actually, yes." She nudged Hitsugi through the door. "Yes, there is something you need to know."

Otoya

Otoya sauntered out of the dormitory building, wondering just what the little loli was planning. She'd made friends with a big but not particularly scary girl, and one with a chivalrous streak at that. Someone like that probably wouldn't be that good of an asset in a class of much nastier assassins.

She giggled. Myoujou was going to be so much fun! She wished she wouldn't have to leave as soon as she would, but the most important thing was to get her wish and make sure she'd never be bothered by detectives again. Then she'd be able to do whatever she wanted for the rest of her life.

At first she'd thought of scouting the dormitory halls for her classmates, but waiting for them at the door was easier. Cool evening breeze wafted by, giving her the chills. She just loved that feeling.

Two voices came from around the corner, chatting about something. One was soft and high, and the other was rough and low. Hearing them, Otoya smiled meanly and disappeared behind one of the columns holding up the roof above the entrance.

"…don't you think, Tokaku-san?" the high voice said as it got closer and closer.

"I guess," was the mumbled reply. Their shoes clacked on concrete as one of them reached for the door.

Otoya burst out of her hiding place and grabbed both of their mouths. They jerked back, flailing their arms out. One with pink hair tried to mash her hand between her teeth, but couldn't open wide enough. Grinning, Otoya moved her hand away and stroked her cheek. She liked girls with a good survival instinct. Made them more fun to kill.

She was so preoccupied that she almost didn't notice the knife about to slice her hand off, but she leapt back just in time.

"What the hell was that for?" the bluenette yelled, wiping her mouth roughly. "Who are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Otoya purred, putting a hand on the pinkette's shoulder. "But I'll tell you. I'm Takechi Otoya."

Unlike the loli, these two didn't seem to know her name. That was okay. In any case, she'd make sure they never forgot it.

She felt the blunette's ice cold eyes on her hand. "Get your hand off her," the girl growled, closing in on her. "You jump out and scare the bejesus out of us, and now you expect us to like you?"

There was a lot of "us" going on here. Otoya folded her arms and smiled. "Calm down, okay? Can't you take a joke?"

"Jokes are supposed to be funny." The bluenette glared at her up close. "Don't do anything like that again."

"Can't promise anything," Otoya shrugged.

Then the strangest thing happened. She noticed something weird in the air, kind of like dust. She inhaled, exhaled… and felt very calm.

"Hey, do you smell that?"

The other two girls exchanged glances. "Could it be the cafeteria?" the pinkette ventured, pointing toward the brightly lit building a block away. "They had some really delicious food! If you haven't eaten yet, you'd better hurry."

A silly attempt to make her go away. Otoya chuckled. "If you want to get rid of me that much, just tell me. No, this smell is different. It's dusty."

The blunette shot her another glare, but this one was slightly different than the others. So she knows what I'm talking about.

"Well…" the pinkette fished for something to say. "Oh! Um… I'm Ichinose Haru, by the way. And this is Azuma Tokaku-san." She offered a strained smile. "Please don't scare us like that again."

A minute ago, Otoya would've given the same response she'd given Azuma. Things seemed different now, though. She nodded succinctly. "All right, I won't."

"Good." Azuma pulled open the dormitory door. "Don't know why you couldn't have said that two seconds ago."

Otoya laughed. "Cuz your girlfriend's cuter than you, that's why!"

"Oh, she's not my girlfriend!" Ichinose cried a little louder than necessary. Her cheeks were round and red as tomatoes. "We only just met each other."

"Great!" Spinning on her heel, Otoya began walking away from them. "That makes things a lot easier, doesn't it?"

The pinkette stared after her for a second before being pulled into the building.

Otoya sauntered back down the walkway, her hands cold from the night air. No matter how far she walked, that dusty smell still clung to her. Maybe it's memory was so strong that she couldn't escape it, or maybe it was stuck in her nose.

All she knew was that she had relented to Ichinose, even when it would have been so easy to brush her off and tease her. When she pictured the girl's magenta hair and eyes, she could feel a sort of subconscious reveration. She was positive that smell had something to do with her sudden change in attitude.

Even worse, it wasn't hard to guess that Ichinose was the target.

A pain in her forehead jolted her out of her thoughts. She looked down at her feet, then up at the cafeteria door she had just run into. "Oops!" she cried, twisting around to see the dormitories that were now about a block away. It only now occurred to her that walking away from the two girls had meant walking away from her room.

"Oh well," she sighed, grinning into the darkness. "I've always had a bad sense of direction!"

Haru

The door to their room opened smoothly to reveal something out of a nice hotel. The beds were neatly made, there was a warm lamp on a nightstand, and they even had their own bathroom. Nio said there was a group bath on that floor as well. She looked forward to soaking in the warm water.

It was so different from the world she'd been raised in, though! Her family had lived in a modest cottage out in a rural area, a place where the sun beat down and the grass grew up to her waist. It was the safest place for them to be. As a result, Haru wasn't well acquainted with money, or with people for that matter.

Tokaku brushed by her and surveyed their dorm. Her blue hair stuck out a little in the back, probably because she didn't brush it as often as she should've. Her collar was crooked, her tie was off center, and her shirt was untucked. She wasn't refined like some of the other girls, but she wasn't laid-back either. Haru couldn't really put her in any category.

That was what she liked about her, though. Haru skipped into the room and twirled around happily. "Wow!" she cried, flopping down on one of the beds. "It's so big! And there's a bathroom, and a TV, and… oh, these beds are so soft!"

As she landed on the bed, the air blew her skirt up. She gasped and tried to cover her legs, but it was too late.

Tokaku, who had been uninterested a second ago, was now edging toward her. "Were those scars?"

This wasn't good. Haru laughed nervously, and pulled her skirt down as far as it would go. "It's nothing," she said, kneeling to further hide her upper thighs.

"No, it was something," Tokaku insisted, with her knee already on the bed. "Those looked like knife wounds. Show me."

She hadn't expected the quiet, slight girl to be so forceful. "I'd rather you didn't," she said quietly, holding out her hand. "I was in the hospital for a while, and I don't like showing them to people."

Now kneeling in front of her, Tokaku looked at her for a moment before sighing and lowering her head. "All right. I understand."

Haru smiled. "Thank you. Sometimes we have stuff we don't like to remember."

To her surprise, Tokaku reached out for her… and pulled her hand back. She looked conflicted, as though she were fighting within herself. About what?

"Are you all right, Tokaku-san?"

The blue-haired girl turned away from her and slid off the bed. "I'm fine. I was about to do something, but I stopped myself. That's all."

Haru blinked. "Um… what were you about to do?"

Tokaku looked back at her. "I was going to flip your skirt up."

"Eh?" Haru squeaked, blushing a little. "Do you want to see the scars that badly?"

"I'm just curious. You seem like a completely ordinary girl, and yet you have these massive scars on your legs."

Haru knew she was right, but how could she explain where she'd gotten them? It wasn't easy for her to talk about those things.

"Does it have anything to do with Hashiri?"

Haru blinked. "Um, no, not really. Why do you ask?"

Tokaku wouldn't answer. The two of them kept looking at each other, each waiting for the other to say something. No one did, and silence rushed in to fill the void. Haru's pink eyes were warm but guarded. Tokaku's eyes were still ice blue, but they weren't as cold as they had been earlier.

With one last look of disappointment, Tokaku shuffled over to her own bed. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Would they really dump a person with absolutely no experience into a class like this?"

Fear clawed at Haru's stomach. Although the others seemed to think she was clueless, she did know that she was in a class full of assassins. What she didn't know was whether or not it had already started, or whether or not it would be safe to reveal her knowledge to Tokaku. The girl was definitely different from the others, but it could be a trick.

She swallowed. When she was little, her mother had always told her that whenever she met someone new, the first thing to do was to trust them, because if she didn't, she could lose out on something beautiful.

In other words, the joy of having a friend was worth the risk of death. She would much rather have a friend and die than live on without love.

Her hands shaking, she met Tokaku's eyes again. "Tokaku-san… I know about the black class. I know you're all after me."

Tokaku's eyes flashed. "What?" she cried in disbelief. "Then you were all friendly and you gave everyone charms, knowing they were out for your life?"

Nodding, Haru smiled warmly at her. "I did. I don't know if anyone kept them, but…"

"How can you be so blind?" Tokaku yelled, anger seeping into her voice. "They want to see you dead! I want to see you dead!"

"Hmm…" Haru shrugged. "Some of them seemed nice. Nio-chan was telling me all about the school-"

"No, no!" Tokaku growled, grabbing her shoulder. "They're doing that to make you trust them. They'll make friends with you and then stab you in the back! I mean, think about that girl who jumped us outside! And you already have those… those!"

Haru put her own hand over Tokaku's. "They probably will. But as long as there's a chance that they won't, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt."

"Jesus Christ, Ichinose!" Throwing up her hands, Tokaku stepped back from her. "Do you want to die?"

There was a pause before Haru reached out and hugged her. "I won't die, Tokaku-san."

The blue haired girl shrank away from her touch. "How the hell do you know?"

"Because…" Haru replied, still smiling sadly. "I wasn't born to die." She looked up at Tokaku with unexpected conviction. "I was born to live."

A desk lamp shone on them, the only source of light in the room. It cast their shadows on the wall, larger than life and twice as foreboding. Haru closed her eyes and took a deep breath, remembering the words of her mother.

As long as there was light, there would be darkness. The darkness wasn't a bad thing. Letting one's fear of the dark prevent one from reaching the light… that was the true cause of despair.

It will never claim me, Haru vowed, staring into the blue eyes of Tokaku, the girl with no hope. I won't let it.

"I will always smile."

Tokaku's brow screwed up. "I don't get it. I just don't get you, Ichinose."

She backed up, letting Haru's arms fall to her sides. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll try not to be too long. And please," she sighed, "don't get yourself killed before I'm even out of the shower."

Laughing a little, Haru laid down on her bed and watched her leave into the bathroom. "Let's not joke about that."

Her eyes wandered to their nightstand, which was bathed in light from the desk lamp. On Tokaku's side sat a blue cell phone… and a cell phone charm.

So Tokaku had kept it, even if she didn't plan to put it on her phone.

"Don't worry, everyone…" she whispered, taking her handmade trinket and squeezing it between her fingers. "I'll graduate for sure."

Once she graduated, she could finally have the normal life she'd dreamed of.

It is so hard for me to write Isuke. I tried to take some lessons from "1000 Luxuries", because they do such a good job with her voice. Sorry for adding stuff to the end of this chapter.