Thanks to all who have read/reviewed/favorited/followed this fanfiction of mine~! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter enough to come and check out the second chapter! Please enjoy it!

Ah, one last thing- about their ages and whatnot, the only age that I know for a fact would be Kouyuu's since he was 16 when he took the exams. I don't know how old Shuuei is, so I'm just putting down…what I want to put down. :3

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Saiunkoku Monogatari.

Chapter 2: Meeting Ran Shuuei

Deciding that it would be in my best interests to find my dorm room and put my bag in the room, I looked around to see if there were any people that would help me.

Of course not.

Why would anyone want to be of any help to a mere teenager such as myself?

Huffing a bit, I readjusted the strap of my bag into a more comfortable position over my left shoulder and started walking in a random direction. Hey, for someone like me who has no sense of direction whatsoever, most of the time just randomly walking will help me reach my destination. This obviously went through a trial and error period where I found this out, but that story can be saved for a different time. Focusing my sights straight ahead, I walked over to a set of stairs. Seeing something tied around the banister, I looked at it for minute before I could feel a triumphant smile gracing my lips.

Though to other people it most likely looked like a smirk. Squaring my shoulders, I continued on up the stairs, ignoring the death glares that were close to boring holes in my back. Happy that I couldn't feel the bindings on my chest slip, I continued gracefully walking on up the stairs. When I finally made it to the upper floor, I looked at another slip of paper that had been tied to the top of the banister before making my way down the halls.

Really. Reishin-sama knows how to hide directional notes for me anywhere, though he prefers that I ask for directions. Well, he had to go through the same thing as me at the National Exams, although he was a bit older than I am. He must have known that nobody would even try to help me.

Looking at the doors and the numbers painted on them, I stopped in front of a door with the number 68 on it. Breathing a sigh of relief, I opened the unlocked door and stepped into the most secluded room the dormitory could provide. It must have been the biggest as well since I could see a little bath included in it.

While I had never actually told anyone about my gender, undoubtedly Reishin-sama had already noticed some things. Shaking my head a bit, I closed the door and made my way over to the third bed- the one farthest from the door and closest to seclusion. Not knowing what to expect from the roommate I had yet to meet, I hid my bag under my bed as best as I could, only taking out some books to study from.

As I was about to sit down in a chair that was near my bed, I heard a clicking sound. Turning towards the door, I watched as a man with a long, black pony tail walked in, wearing clothes that befit one of the seven main clans.

So that's Ran Shuuei…Hm? He looks familiar…where have I seen him before? Ah, it doesn't matter.

Taking another look at him, while trying to not outright stare, I saw that he could only be a few years older than me at most. He has a very handsome face so I wouldn't be surprised if he had many marriage offers. Ah. I stared too long. Sigh

I really don't want to talk with anyone. While I do tend to be braver during my period, I am also more prone to showing all my emotions than hiding them and I'd rather not be known as the Grouchy Examinee on my first day…or the Examinee Murderer. All these men think that they're all that and they can look down on others because of their wealth. Heh, wealth won't give them brains though.

Hearing the man across from me clear his throat I refocused my attention on him. Crap, that's right- he caught me staring!

"Yes?" I ask in a somewhat grumpy tone.

Of all things that he could do that would end up annoying me further, he just had to chuckle.

"What?" I ask in a slightly sharper tone.

Getting his chuckles under control, he clears his throat again before looking at me and answering in a smooth voice, "I was simply wondering what it is that you were staring at."

Sighing once again, I answer, "I was staring at you to see what my roommate is like. I honestly wasn't expecting someone as young as myself to also be here."

"Oh, really? How old are you, if I may ask?"

"16," came my curt reply.

"Ah, I'm 18, so we aren't that far apart in age."

Now that was a little surprising. True, we aren't really that far apart age-wise. But I have a feeling that everything about us will end up being complete opposites.

First off, I doubt he was picked up off the streets.

Second off, he is definitely a man.

Third, he seems to be a womanizer.

Fourth, I honestly doubt that he has as bad a sense of direction as me.

Fifth, he seems to be an easy-going type of person.

Sixth, he seems to also be aiming for 'field' work as opposed to staying indoors and taking care of dusty books.

Well, those are the only immediate differences that I could find between the two of us at first glance. Undoubtedly more will show themselves as time goes on.

Suddenly a face appeared in front of my own.

"GYAAH!" I screamed.

"You seem to have gotten out of your daze, Mr…"

"Ahem, Li…Li Kouyuu, Ran-san."

"Hahahaha! Please don't call me by such a boring name as that! You may call me Shuuei, or, if you prefer honorifics, Shuuei-san. When we pass the National Exams though, just call me Shuuei. It's rather boring to be surrounded by old farts, so I'd rather someone only a couple years younger than me not address me like I'm that old."

"Then…Shuuei-san."

"Hmmm, since you are younger than me, I'll just call you Kouyuu!"

"Oi!"

"If you want honorifics, don't you think you should first pass the exams?"

Grumbling to myself a bit, I saw that he looked like he wanted to ask a question. Groaning to myself and thinking I'd never get any peace and quiet with him, I grunted. Taking my grunt of suffering as a signal to ask his question, he spoke up.

"How did you know my name? Is it possible…that you have feelings for me?" he asked in a teasing manner.

Even though I'm a woman, I need to keep up my masculine look. Putting on my best disgusted face, I shouted at him, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WHERE DID THAT COME OUT OF?!"

Hearing him laugh, I simply kept my grouch look intact.

"I'm obviously kidding. I will never go after you, I promise."

"That's what you're saying to try and get my guard down isn't it?" I asked in mock skepticism.

"No, it's because it's true. I only go after women, and beautiful women at that. Even if you were a woman, I probably wouldn't go after you seeing as you barely have a chest and your hair is messy. The women I go after are always so gentle and soft-," I cut him off before my control slipped and I accidentally murdered him.

"I don't care for your preferences. Just stay away from me, and everything will be fine, Shuuei-san."

Hearing him chuckle again, I rolled my eyes before going to my little desk to study. Opening up my most used book, I blocked him out, focusing solely on advancing towards a bright future. He must have finally noticed that I was blatantly ignoring him because after about five or so minutes, he finally shut up and ceased bothering me.

A few hours must have passed before I felt a hand on my shoulder, making me jump. What can I say? When I'm focused on something, I rarely notice anything around me. Correction- I never notice anything around me.

Feeling my heart skip a beat, I looked in the direction the hand had most likely come from. Looking up the arm and towards the face, I felt myself involuntarily cringe. Ah, that's right. I need to act disgusted with him. At least my body can keep up without my brain for a little bit.

Frowning a bit, I ask, "What is it now?"

"Dinner unless you wish to fast until the morning."

Growling a bit under my breath, my stomach decided to grumble then. LOUDLY. Blushing a bit at the embarrassment I was feeling and the sure feeling that I had that I'd be teased for it, my blush faded when he only gently smiled at me.

Taking my wrist, he pulled me up to my feet, effectively making me stumble from the unexpected action. Putting my other hand in front of myself to make sure he wouldn't feel even a little softness under my clothes, I steadied myself before shooting him a glare. It's hard to glare when one is hungry.

Outright laughing this time, he took my other wrist before making his way to the door with me stumbling behind him. Finally getting steadied, again, I yanked my wrist from his hold and glared at him, silently telling him that he'd feel pain the next time he dared touch me.

Taking the hint, he simply walked in front of me. Feeling a tad grateful that I wouldn't have to go and get lost on my way to the cafeteria and starve in the process, I managed to mumble out a quiet 'Thanks' before we continued on our way as if nothing had happened.

:D I updated it the next day! Whoooo! Way to go me! Though this will not always happen, I'm afraid. Please review!