Me: I like writing this story!

Also me: *doesn't update for xx months*

Inspiration for this story comes and goes, so I'll update whenever I can.

Anyway, thanks for the favorites, follows, and reviews!

Chapter 3

Akira passed Kamoshida in the hallway again. And again there was a silent exchange of disdainful glares from both parties. While he didn't make a scene, the lecherous man did mutter some insults at the phantom thief. Calling him a lowlife, claiming it was a mistake letting him be a student at their oh-so honorable school; it was nothing new. Of course, Akira never took it to heart. Besides, that greater-than-thou personality of Kamoshida's wasn't going to last much longer. he and Ryuji were confident in that.

After their most recent encounter at the start of lunchtime, Akira was on his way to meet his fellow phantom thief when the words of passing students caught his attention.

"Oh my god! Did you hear about that accident on the stairs?!"

Halting in his step, Akira curiously listened in on the girls' not-so-hushed conversation. "I heard, I heard!" one of them exclaimed. "A first-year slipped at the top of the stairs and crashed into a group of students! I hope they're all okay."

"I was there!" her friend gasped. "It was really scary to witness. None of them were seriously hurt except for Hoshino-san."

Akira's eyes widened at the familiar surname. Hoshino?

"Yeah, I heard sensei took Hoshino-san to the infirmary—"

He stopped listening then.

Without a second thought, Akira redirected his destination to the infirmary. His meeting with Ryuji would have to wait. Morgana was going to be angry with him but he could handle the cat's scolding. Besides, Ayame was his friend. If he didn't check on her before they entered Kamoshida's palace that afternoon, his full focus wouldn't be on the mission. Or so he told himself.

Ironically, his reputation helped provide an navigable path through the sea of students wanting to avoid him. The perks of being labeled a criminal, apparently. Arriving at the infirmary, Akira gave two respectful knocks on the door before letting himself in anyway. A half-closed curtain obscured his vision of the person on the bed, showing only the vague form of legs under a blanket.

"Hoshino," he called out to her quietly. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?"

A hand reached out and pulled the curtain back. It took him a moment to realize the person sitting on the bed wasn't his friend, but a boy he didn't know. Upon closer inspection, however, Akira noted the jet black hair and round brown eyes. If it wasn't for the bandage on his chin and bruise on his cheek (signs of a volleyball member), he looked exactly like Ayame. That's when it dawned on him. He recalled Ayame mentioning a younger brother in the same grade during one of their library conversations. He didn't make the connection that they were twins until now.

The boy's startled look lasted only a moment before he gasped in recognition. "Aren't you... Kurusu Akira? The transfer student?" When Akira nodded, he offered a friendly smile, one reminiscent of Ayame's smile but at the same time completely different. "Nice to meet you. My sister's told me a lot about you, Kurusu-kun," Ayame's brother commented. "She says you don't match what the rumors say."

Akira rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh, thanks?" he responded lamely, causing the boy to chuckle.

"Ayumu!"

The two boys jumped and turned their attention to the door. Ayame held onto the wall, panting out of breath from having sprinted all the way here. Her expression was panic stricken as she stared at the boy no the bed. She was so focused on her brother that she paid Akira no heed.

Ayumu stiffened somewhat. "Sis—" He didn't get to finish before he was tackled into a hug. He tossed a dull look at Akira and sighed, patting his sister on the back. Apparently this wasn't the first time she fussed over him like this. "Ayame, I'm fine—"

"Like hell you are!" she scowled gripping her brother's shoulders. "How did you fall? It's your knee, isn't it?! I told you, you shouldn't be walking on it!" Ayumu squeaked when she ripped the blanket off of his body. One pants leg was rolled up and revealed an elastic brace compressing his knee. Ayame's frown deepened as she placed her hands on both sides of his face, almost too tightly. "Did you hit your head?" she continued her barrage of questions. "Do you have a concussion? What did the nurse say?"

"I'm fine!" Ayumu insisted, finally holding her at arms length away. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and happened hurt my knee again. No concussion, no serious injuries. It was all an accident." His eyes flitted to the one other person in the room, who watched the whole exchange with quiet mirth. He sighed, "Sis, you really need to stop. You're embarrassing yourself."

"What are you talking about?" she demanded. She followed her brother's gaze, where they ultimately landed on Akira. She blinked in surprise, as if seeing him for the first time… which was probably the truth. Her direct beeline to the bed without a single glance his way told the phantom thief just how worried she was for her brother. At least she finally acknowledged his presence. "Oh, hi, Kurusu-kun. When did you get here?"

Akira held back his amusement as Ayumu planted his face in the palm of his hand. "He was here before you, Sis," he drawled. A certain epiphany dawned on his face because he displayed a toothy grin. "He must've thought it was you who was injured."

The bespectacled teen shot the brother a questioning look—why's he grinning like that?—but before either he or Ayame could reply, a girl entered the infirmary. Akira gave her a cursory glance over. She had bandages wrapped around her wrists and fingers, and wore a knee brace. Dark brown hair tied up in a ponytail and exhausted brown eyes; it was Suzui Shiho, Takamaki Ann's best friend, if memory serves. She was also part of the volleyball team.

"Sorry to intrude," she apologized quietly.

Ayumu's eyes widened, his cheeks blooming into a deep red. "S-Suzui!" he sputtered nervously as he struggled to sit up straight in the bed. He also casually shoved his sister out of his personal space. "H-how—? Why—?"

"Mishima told me what happened," Shiho replied, moving to sit on the metal stool adjacent to the bed. Her hands folded gracefully in her lap. "Are you alright?"

The younger Hoshino displayed a bravado that was lacking just a moment earlier. "Yup! I'm totally fine!" he exclaimed with a confident grin. As if to reassure her, he (very lightly) patted his knee. "See? It's not a big deal."

"He's lying," Ayame sang nonchalantly. "He just doesn't want Suzui-chan to worry." Akira smirked as she proceeded to ignore the sharp stare from her twin by readjusting her uniform.

Shiho giggled softly at the siblings. "Thanks, Hoshino-kun. But please don't overdo it."

It was the first time Akira had ever seen the girl smile genuinely. To him, she always looked so despondent, despite the facade she wore in front of Ann. Still, she was sweet and kind; she was one of the very rare students who didn't believe the many rumors flying about him. Unfortunately, she was unable to offer information about Kamoshida's shady actions with the volleyball team. So into his thoughts, he almost missed the tugging on his sleeve, courtesy of Ayame. A smirk on her lips, Ayame motioned for them to quietly leave the infirmary. Glancing back to her brother and Shiho, he understood then.

"Your brother likes Suzui," Akira stated firmly once they were in the hallway.

"Very much so," Ayame chuckled, leaning against the wall. "But he's too shy to do anything about it." An brief silence fell between the two of them. Akira was content with the silence until he noticed Ayame fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. She looked up, realized he was staring back, and diverted her eyes toward the ground. Interesting. "Kurusu-kun, is it true?" she began, causing him to tilt his head. "That… you came to the infirmary because you thought it was me who was injured?"

Again, his steely gray eyes caught hers, wide and full of nervous anticipation. For once, he didn't have a prompt reply. For such a simple answer, he was having trouble saying yes. He needed to say something before things get real awkward. Ignoring the quickened pace of his heartbeat, Akira reached up to twirl a lock of his ruffled bangs and mumbled a very quiet, "Maybe."

Who would've thought she'd see the usually composed Kurusu Akira looking bashful?

He lowered his head and pulled at his bangs while giving her a cheeky answer. Ayame knew he only did that whenever he felt nervous about something. He managed to hide it well, but she knew otherwise, and that caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach. The idea of her criminal-labeled friend rushing to the infirmary for her sake brought a pleasant smile to her lips. A smile that remained for the rest of the day.

That is until classes ended.

After giving her report to the student council, Ayame returned to her classroom to collect her things. Since her brother couldn't attend volleyball practice, they were able to go home early. With bag in hand, she headed for the gates, where her brother waited.

"Hoshino-chan~!"

Shit.

She wanted to keep walking, but ignoring the creep could be bad for her (and her brother) in the long run. Ayame stiffly turned around and forced a bow of respect. "Hello, Kamoshida-sensei."

Kamoshida stood in front of her, hands on his hips and eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Your brother isn't at practice," he stated, almost accusingly. "Where is he?"

Ayame took a step back, fear and confusion slowly seeping into her. There were many other students at practice. Why did he track her down just to ask about Ayumu? "My brother is in the infirmary," she answered calmly. "His knee was in pretty bad shape after the accident at lunch."

"Is that so?" he scoffed before sighing in disappointment. "If he can't handle a small injury like that, he's of no use to the team."

Ayame gripped her bag so tightly it was a miracle the handle didn't merge with her body. She could tolerate his offensively lewd comments about her, but there was no way in hell she was going to let him belittle her own brother to her face. "Being unable to walk isn't a 'small injury', sensei," she snapped. "The nurse was the one who instructed he skip practice and rest."

The horrible man blinked in surprise at the sudden sharpness in her voice. She was hoping he would back off but it only urged him to run his mouth even more. "Ah, I see you're upset. I'm sorry, Hoshino-chan. I was being insensitive. Of course I want my precious student to have a successful recovery—"

He's so full of crap.

"—In the meantime, why don't you be his substitute?" Licking his lips suggestively, Kamoshida eyed her up and down. She suppressed a grimace from forming. Every time he looked at her, she could feel a cold shiver run up her spine. "Come to think of it, you have the ideal body to join the volleyball team," he continued as he placed a hand to his chin in thought. "Whaddya say?"

"No," was her immediate response but quickly amended, "Thank you for your consideration, but I'm simply too busy with student council and my clubs to join a sports team."

"Aw, that's a shame." Ayame couldn't help but feel his disappointed tone was an attempt to make her feel guilty. As if that would happen. "I really think you could be a great asset." Her heart leapt to her throat when he suddenly bent forward, his roaming eyes leveled with hers. "Will you at least consider it, Hoshino-chan~?" The girl inwardly sighed in relief when someone caught the teacher's attention and he backed away. Ryuji stood a little ways away, hands in his pockets and scowling. Kamoshida clicked his tongue. "Sakamoto, huh? Did you want something?"

"Not from you," the blonde snapped and used his chin to point to Ayame. "With her."

Kamoshida kept his glare steady on the former track star as he stepped in front of him, trying to use his taller height as an intimidation tactic. That was clearly ineffective, much to the satisfaction of the two students. "Watch yourself, Hoshino-chan," he eventually said before walking away. "Hanging around has-been trash isn't good for you."

Ryuji's nostrils flared with rage. "What was that?!" he growled but received no answer. To take out his anger, he kicked at the wall. "Asshole!"

Now that the disturbing teacher was gone, Ayame felt like she could finally relax. She offered her savior a grateful smile. "Thank you, Sakamoto-kun." Her smile widened when he turned to her with a look of surprise, as if remembering she was also present. "Unfortunately, I think I might've gotten you into more trouble."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Like it matters with that sleaze bag."

"So, what was it you needed, Sakamoto-kun?" she asked amicably.

"Huh? Oh, I didn't need anything." Ryuji scratched his cheek sheepishly when she tilted her head in confusion. Was that a little blush she saw? "I was on my way out when I saw him harassing you. Bastard doesn't even hide how much of a prick he is." She knew he wasn't as bad as everyone thought. Before Ayame could respond with another thank-you, Ryuji waved her a goodbye. "I gotta go meet up with Akira. See ya, Hoshino!"

Ayame shook off her dumbfounded expression and hastened her pace to the school entrance. Once she reunited with her brother, the two started their journey home. On the other side of the street, she spotted Ryuji. Next to him, a taller student with an unruly mess of black hair and glasses. She stopped for only a second, just enough to see the bespectacled teen smile brightly. Ryuji said something amusing because Akira chuckled and nudged him.

A frown pulled at her lips.

Why couldn't he smile and laugh like that in front of her?