âWill you share it with me?â Shinbe locked his gaze with hers as he took his seat.
âHeh?â Kyoko so elegantly replied. Why had her temperature just gone through the roof?
âYour book,â Shinbe smirked wondering what she was thinking. âThere seems to only be one.â
âOh. Yes.â Kyoko nodded sliding the book between them as he slid his chair right up against hers. She silently wondered if it was a rule somewhere that the new girl had to blush all day long.
Looking past him at Tasuki, she noticed her new friendâs smile had vanished and he was rapidly tapping his pencil against his desk as he stared a hole in her new partner. He wasnât the only one staring. It seemed every girl in the room decided they needed something out of their book bag so they could turn and look.
Shinbe placed an elbow on the desk and leaned in to block her view of the guy heâd seen lead her up the stairs from the office by the hand. âLooks like youâll have a partner after all. Name's Shinbe,â He winked wanting her full attention.
An hour later Kyoko was almost sad to see class come to an end. Shinbe had turned out to be a lot of fun as they did that dayâs science experiment. Only their table and Tasuki's table had gotten it right.
Shinbe picked up their shared science book the same time she did. Placing his hand over hers, he pulled her toward him. As she stared up at him with those big emerald eyes, it was all he could do not to wrap his arm around her waist and bring her flush against him. âIâll keep this,â his voice was husky then evened out as he added, âSince thereâs no homework.â His thumb caressed the back of her hand as he listened to her heartbeat speed up.
Kyoko nodded, feeling herself go weak in the knees, then pulled her hand away from his reluctantly. There was something about him that made her want to crawl up in his arms and that was just disturbing. She turned around to grab her backpack off the floor but noticed someone elseâs arm already reaching for it.
Tasuki scooped the book bag up before she could and quickly squeezed in between her and Shinbe. âReady for calculus?â
Kyoko nodded glad for the distraction. âNever.â She laughed at the look on Tasukiâs face.
Tasuki caught on to the joke, rolling his eyes and groaning. âYeah, every time I think I have math figured out, they throw something even stupider up on the chalk board just so they can laugh at me.â He grabbed Kyokoâs hand, pulling her behind him, âCome on, Iâll show you the way to hell.â
Shinbe watched them leave with his eyes narrowed on the hand that was holding hers so possessively. âHe thinks he knows what hell is, eh? I can show him the real thing.â Shinbe whispered jealously under his breath. He shrugged off the need to break the boy's fingers.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he let his powers fan throughout the school in a wave as he searched for any signs that demons were on the prowl. When the wave passed Kyoko and her friend, Shinbe frowned. It wasnât that the boy was a demon⦠the aura was strangely familiar.
In the next classroom, Tasuki started to take her toward the table he knew was open but suddenly stopped in his tracks. Kyoko followed his gaze, and everybody elseâs in the classroom. Her eyes widened seeing the long silver hair of the guy sheâd seen arguing with the secretary. As if sensing he was being watched, his head slowly turned and his liquid gold eyes captured hers and held her immobile.
âHow many new people do we have starting today?â Tasuki asked no one in particular.
âSix,â Kyoko answered him remembering what the secretary had said.
âMy seat is way up here,â Tasuki said broodingly as she slowly walked past him.
Kyoko felt a sense of déjà vu when she noticed one math book and that he had already slid it between the two seats as if waiting for her. She pushed the thought aside thinking maybe the teacher had asked him to share it with her before sheâd come into the room. The closer she got to him, the more disturbed she felt. It was as if every hormone in her body had just stood up and taken notice.
When she sat down, he scooted his chair closer and she felt heat creep into her cheeks. Looking out across the room she noticed a couple of the girls were now frowning at her. Knowing this was going to be the longest class in history, Kyoko closed her eyes and rubbed her temple.
As soon as the math class started their assignment, Kyoko struggled to remember how to do the problems even though sheâd learnt this the year before at the boarding school. Seeing Kyouâs hand nearly flying across the page, Kyoko sighed inwardly having become stuck on the second problem.
The teacher was walking the isles and noticed Kyou was almost finished with the page. âI see you have already learned how to do this Kyou. Would you do me the favor of helping explain it to Kyoko?â The teacher smiled sweetly but didnât wait on an answer as she turned up the next row of students.
Kyoko was mortified. She stayed completely still as she watched him push his own papers away. When he leaned toward her to draw hers closer, a lock of his hair slid across her hand. Feeling the cool silkiness, Kyoko confirmed her worst fears⦠she was so going to fail math this year.
The corners of Kyouâs lips tilted in the barest hint of a smile as he heard her thoughts. Leaning down so he could look her directly in the eyes, he placed his hand over hers and whispered, âI wonât let you fail.â
By the end of class, Kyoko had remembered how to do the calculus problems. Theyâd even finished that nightâs homework assignment before class was over. Déjà vu knocked again when he offered to keep the book for them. Seeing Tasuki waiting for her next to the door, she hurried.
âDo you really have home economics?â Kyoko asked him to keep herself from looking over her shoulder at Kyou.
âSure. As a matter of fact, itâs mostly guys taking the class this year.â His eyes sparkled as he winked. âWe men have to know how to cook for our sweethearts and keep them happy.â Tasuki smirked, âBesides, we get to cook almost every day so itâs kind of like getting a snack before lunch.â
âHa! So the truth is finally out. I knew there was a reason I wanted to take this class.â Kyoko gave him a cheeky smile knowing she needed this class probably more than the others. Until last night, sheâd never been allowed in a kitchen and wondered if she would even be able to fake it enough not to become the class clown. Now that she was cooking for herself⦠it was either pass the class or learn to love Cheerios.
This class was set up completely different from all the others. There were tables and chairs like in a lunchroom instead of desks.
âNo assigned seating.â Tasuki wiggled his eyebrows and quickly led them to a table toward the back of the room. The whole right side of the room was made up of everything they needed to cook, including five stoves. Kyoko quickly looked around counting five tables and assumed each table would be cooking together.
Two other guys joined their table and Tasuki introduced her to Yohji, who looked like an all-around American jock. When he asked the name of the other guy, Kyoko realized he must be one of the new students. Again she felt like she was drawn to him by some invisible magnet that only worked on new students.
âHi,â she whispered as he smiled and nodded. He was just as striking as the two other new guys sheâd met this morning. His hair was awesome⦠it was dark and light at the same time, with amethyst highlights all over the place. It was shoulder-length but untamed, like heâd been in a windstorm and his eyes⦠they werenât a color⦠they were every color, and she could swear they sparkled with unnatural light.
âHi,â she whispered as he smiled and nodded. He was just as striking as the two other new guys sheâd met this morning. His hair was awesome⦠it was dark and light at the same time, with amethyst highlights all over the place. It was shoulder-length but untamed, like heâd been in a windstorm and his eyes⦠they werenât a color⦠they were every color, and she could swear they sparkled with unnatural light.
He seemed to be looking at her just as hard as she was looking at him. When their gaze met, Kamui smiled a smile that would have won the devil himself over.
âWould you two please get a room?â Yohji complained, causing Tasuki to growl and Kamui to laugh.
âOnly if we can lock you in it,â Kamui smirked at Yohji when he stiffened. He tried not to laugh out loud when the thought struck him that the jock was claustrophobic. âI was just choosing the person I was cooking for. Whatâs wrong? Jealous? Do you want me to cook for you instead?â
Yohji shrugged deciding to go with it, âOnly if it makes you happy sweetheart.â
Tasuki sat back in his chair watching the new boy watch Kyoko. They were wrong. It wasnât Yohji that was feeling the needles of jealousy. Maybe it was time to get to know the competition. He glanced over at the happy smile on Kyokoâs face and decided heâd best come up with a plan.
âToday we will be making Halloween candy from scratch,â the teacher announced as she passed out the recipes.
âAnd now we get to eat the heads off of monsters!â Kamui added as if he had just won the lottery. When Kyoko started laughing with him, Kamui felt his blood heat up and he found himself fighting the need to reach for her. He silently wondered if his brothers were fighting that same craving.
Each one of them picked a different Halloween-shaped cookie cutter and made ten cookies each, placing them on an oversized pan. When they were done, it was Kamui who was there to take the pan out of the oven. Seeing Kyokoâs pumpkin shaped cookies were badly deformed, he whispered a quick word in some forgotten language as he drew the pan out of the oven.
âHow did that happen?â Kyoko asked in awe as he brought the pan to the table. Her cookies were perfection and the guys cookies looked like five-year-olds had done them.
âAnd this is why mostly guys take the class,â Kamui smiled as he took a bite out of Kyokoâs cookie then blinked when he heard a faint growl come from Tasuki. Taking a better look at the guy that had appointed himself Kyokoâs bodyguard for the day, Kamui tilted his head at the sense of foreboding.
Chapter 4 âBad Boys and Romeoâ
Lunch was next and when Tasuki got in the cafeteria line, Kyoko glanced out the large glass windows and started toward the outside eating area. Seeing tables scattered everywhere on the concrete, she looked past them and notice a of couple picnic tables under beautiful shade trees.
Needing a few minutes of solace to calm down from all the morning's excitement, she picked the biggest tree and sat down at the base of it, facing away from the school.
Hyakuhei leaned against the tree beside Kyoko, though he knew it was a moot point to do so. His eyes were dark, without any emotion at all and his lips held no hint of his mood. He was already tired of being invisible to her but he knew he had to bide his time. How could he comfort someone that didnât even know he was there?
Reaching into the backpack, Kyoko pulled out the small soft cooler that sheâd stuffed full of grapes and relaxed against the smooth bark of the tree. Hearing a motorcycle close by, she glanced up. A guy wearing dark shades, dressed in black, with long layered hair slowly road by the curb. She couldnât see his eyes, but she could tell he was looking directly at her.
She couldnât decide if it was because she hadnât been around the opposite sex, or if it was simply the fact that this school was full of guys that would graduate only to become super models. She could just picture the guy on the motorcycle on the cover of some movie about sexy bad boys. She ate a couple of her grapes and closed her eyes trying to block out the yummy site. Her hormones had already taken a licking today and she was starting to feel bent.
It wasnât like any of this really shocked her because at the boarding school she had gotten away with one thing⦠reading. When the other girls would go to the public library, she would always give the one infatuated with rock stars a list of books to get for her. She would then take the cover of a Shakespeare book and wrap it around the book she was reading so no one would know her guilty pleasure⦠Romance books of all kinds.
Sheâd started out with historical romances where the Indian would kidnap the white girl and take her to his teepee, keeping her there until she fell in love with him. Then she had branched out to paranormal romance⦠vampires were also known to kidnap the girl and keep her until she fell in love with him. Those books leaned closer to erotica and she blamed them for her hormones being out of control now.
For the last year, sheâd been reading every kind of paranormal romance she could get her hands on and the darker the better. Kyoko blew her bangs out of her eyes knowing her innocence was gone⦠if only mentally.
Hearing the school bell, she cringed, realizing she hadnât even eaten more than three grapes. Stuffing the container back into her book bag, she was startled to find a hand reaching down to help her up.
Tasuki knelt down in front of her as he took her hand. âAre you ready?â he slowly smiled when he noticed she got the same look on her face for him as she did with the new guys. Maybe he hadnât lost after all.
Kyoko returned his smile, âLead me to Shakespeare.â
âHow did you know?â Tasuki looked confused.
âBecause I couldnât get lucky enough to think the world literature class would allow us to read a vampire series.â She laughed when he cocked a dark eyebrow. When they entered the class, Tasuki pointed at the empty desk in the back, then went to see if the teacher had an extra copy of Romeo and Juliet.
Kyoko was already seated and getting out her notebook when the chair beside her scraped across the floor. She glanced up and her breath caught in her throat. The guy sheâd seen watching her from the back of the motorcycle during lunch was throwing his leather coat across the back of the chair.
Tasuki turned from the teacher with the copy of Romeo and Juliet in his hand when he noticed Kyoko was no longer alone. âI just canât win, can I?â he asked the air in front of him as his grip tightened on the defenseless book.
âExcuse me?â the teacher asked thinking Tasuki was talking to him.
Tasuki glanced over his shoulder, âI donât guess you would happen to have two copies?â He motioned toward Kyokoâs desk.
âWe did have extra copies, but it seems someone broke into the supply closet and raided the 12th grade books last night. Strange though⦠itâs hard to believe someone would want a bunch of math and science books.â The teacher shrugged as he turned around and started stacking the papers on his desk.
Tasuki took a step forward before realizing just what the teacher had said⦠Math, science, and the Romeo books were missing? Now that was odd. He looked at the guy beside Kyoko suspiciously. âWhat do you know about all these new guys that showed up today?â He quickly asked.