Hi all! Here's a new PoT story for you all, and this time featuring Kirihara Akaya!! And not Bunta....sadly =( BUT! Akaya is great too so that makes up for the lack of Bunta....on my part at least....*ish obsessed with Bunta*

But here's hoping you enjoy it and hoping you review xD

Note: Certain features of the PSP were edited for this story.

The train rumbled away to its next station.

His body shook along with it, dancing side-to-side lightly with the momentum.

Eagerly, Akaya reached into his bag and fished out his newly acquired, prized item.

A black PSP glimmered in his hands under the train lights. Skimming his eyes around, he saw several other students about his age and older, and some working aged men, playing their very own PSP as well.

Since its release, it had been a major hit in Japan and everyone got one as soon as it was available. Presently, there was a new PSP-3000 on the loose, and he had wanted that one, but his parents denied it to him.

They said for his current grades, this PSP was what he got, not the new one. And that he would have to get better grades if he wanted the other.

Pssh. Parents.

Bribing their kids. Though Yagyuu would certainly disagree and say that it was an inspiration provided by them to their children to motivate them to work.

Flipping the little silver switch on the side of his PSP, Akaya waited for it to load. When the screen flashed to a bright red background with icons of his favorite characters around, he instantly clicked to the game of his choice, also his favorite game.

The opening scene of Monster Hunter Freedom 2 came up. He was near the end of the game, he knew. But that one monster was keeping him from progressing. Something Diablo or something along that line. He couldn't remember the name cause he spent most of is time fuming over being killed. He hated the monster with a fury.

No one defeats the great Kirihara Akaya!

But from tennis experience, he knew when to get help when needed. Or a slap was waiting for him at the end. As that was drilled into his head, he made his character enter the online hall of the game.

He didn't expect anyone else to be in there at the time, as what were the chances of someone playing the same game as him at the time, in a train?

But lo and behold, someone else is in the online hall. A female character. He groaned internally.

'She wont be much use…' he thought.

Preparing to leave the hall and do some solo missions instead, the girl character approached him. A text box appeared over her character.

Fayet: Hey, you wanna team up?

Blood Devil: For what?

Fayet: To fight Black Diablos. I need help.

'Oh…so that's what it's called.' Akaya thought.

Blood Devil: That one…you think you can keep up?

Fayet: Definitely. I just needed a small handicap.

Akaya twitched. Did she call him a handicap for her? He didn't appreciate being a handicap for someone else. But he ignored it for now.

He too, needed to defeat Black Diablos. And if help was there, he'll take it. Even if it came from an impudent newbie.

Blood Devil: Alright. Let's go then.

Fayet: K. Lemme check my equips first.

Akaya was shocked, to say the least. He hadn't expected her to keep up, and they actually beat the monster that had eluded him for weeks in 10 minutes! The girl, Fay he called her for short, even aided him and took him out of pinches. He backed her too but he didn't actually think that a girl can play so well.

Fayet: Woot! We beat it! You did great!

Blood Devil: Thanks. You too.

Fayet: But man, 10 minutes?! I thought it would take longer, haha. What equips were you using?

Blood Devil: Well…

The train stopped.

Fayet: Oh s-!! I have to go. It's my stop. Thanks a lot for the help!

Before Akaya can even type a reply, Fayet disappeared from the screen.

He looked up. Nobody in his cart left the open doors.

"She must have been a cart down…"

***~***

Ishimaru Kumiko's heart nearly stopped beating.

"Ishimaru-san? Are you feeling alright?" The teacher asked again.

"Uh-hai. Yes, I'm fine." Kumiko replied off-handedly, eyes still wide.

"If that's the case, please get together with your partner please."

Stiffly, Kumiko stood from her seat and turned to walk towards the back of the class.

She heard snickers from around, and the occasional moan from a girl.

Her feet stopped.

Green eyes stared up at her. Her own wide eyes stared back. She hadn't noticed, but beads of perspiration laced her forehead.

She was just so goddamn nervous!

"Yo~" He drawled out.

"Hi…" Was her soft answer.

Kirihara Akaya raised an eyebrow at the weird girl before him. "You going to grab a seat? We have another hour of class left." He said, and it sounded like a snarl to Kumiko.

She felt like dying.

Kumiko felt her hands tremble as she pulled a chair up and sat as far away from Akaya as possible in the little table space.

'Of all the people I can be paired with….I got the Demon!?'

***~***

"Umm…so I'll see you at lunch tomorrow, Kirihara-kun." Kumiko mumbled under her breath.

"Huh? What did you say?" The boy asked nonchalantly. "Can you speak louder?"

Kumiko frowned but spoke louder nonetheless. "I said I'll see you at lunch tomorrow to discuss our project."

Kirihara groaned. He didn't like the thought of spending lunch on project. "Sure, whatever."

Kumiko watched the boy walk away and disappear amongst the students. She sighed.

Kirihara Akaya was not one of her favorite people. In fact, she was scared of him. A lot.

She even surprised herself when she spoke louder than usual against him.

She saw the way he was when he played tennis or when others opposed him. He terrified her. She considered him a school bully although there weren't actual reports of him bullying others, other than the usual taunting.

Lifting a shaky hand, she placed it over her chest where she felt her heart beating rapidly from the panic of talking with him. 'Calm down….I wont have to speak to him again till tomorrow.'

But her heart sank at the thought.

***~***

Akaya grumbled all the way to the train station. The nerve of that girl telling him what to do for the project. Sure their grade depended on it, but he didn't like being ordered around, especially by a girl.

A small voice in his mind denied that. 'She didn't order you. She practically squeaked at you every time.'

Brushing that voice, whatever it was, away, Akaya had to admit that she didn't exactly boss him. Perhaps instruct would be the right word.

His mind drifted to how softly she addressed him every time, and the way she jumped whenever he called her. Akaya frowned.

Obviously, she was scared of him. Even an idiot could tell.

The train was full when he got on and Akaya leaned against the pole instead. As he found his footing after the train moved, he instantly turned on his PSP again which he brought with him to school everyday.

Igniting Monster Hunter again, he went to the multiplayer hall. He was surprised to see the character Fayet again.

He walked towards her this time.

Blood Devil: Yo.

Fayet: Hey! I'm sorry about yesterday. My stop arrived.

Blood Devil: Don't mind it.

Fayet: You wanna go hunt some monsters together?

Blood Devil: Hell yeah! Can we go after this one monster though? I need the item it drops…

He liked this Fayet person. She was surely no game noob. And she possessed a great humor too.

He found himself enjoying the short 15 minutes they spent playing together before she had to get off the train again. But during that time, they ended up chatting rather than playing the game.

He found out that she was the same age as him and was indeed a girl. He doubted that she was one and asked her about it. She had playfully swung her long horn at him and convinced him she was a girl.

They shared most of their thoughts already within that short pan of time, and he was confident he knew most of her likes and dislikes.

Fayet: Eh, its almost my stop. I have to go now.

Blood Devil: Wait!! Where are you in the train?

Fayet: …..

Blood Devil: Come on! I wanna see how you look like D:

Fayet: I don't usually show my face to strangers D:

Blood Devil: Really, I'm not some kidnapper. Like I said, I'm the same age as you. Besides, we're on a train. I cant kidnap you or anything.

Fayet: It's not that. Meh. Maybe next time.

The train doors opened and Fayet disappeared.

***~***

Lunch came around all too soon the next day, and Kumiko found herself telling Akaya they would have to meet after school for the next few days to do their work.

As soon as he nodded, she practically fled from his sight.

Akaya couldn't really blame the girl. Many feared him due to his violent ways. He tried to subdue it now, but there's still a tendency in him to be violent. There was the occasional crush on him from girls despite his attitude, but it was mostly because of his looks apparently.

Finding himself at a secluded corner of the library after school, he waited for the girl to arrive. When she did, he let out a gruff, "Finally." It came out meaner than he intended. He was really frustrated after all. He was spending precious time doing this lame project when he could be playing tennis or on the train playing with Fayet….she should probably on the train by now, if the last 2 days were anything to go by.

The girl flinched but started on the project anyways.

Akaya stared at her for a moment, but soon reluctantly assisted in the project. It was for English class, which just added to his frustrations.

They had to create graphic interpretations of several short stories and write comments about them.

"It's spelled as 'retribution.'" Kumiko spoke up quietly. Her eyes were fixed on Akaya's paper.

"Oh…thanks." He mumbled. He erased and rewrote the sentence on his draft.

'The man wants retribution in the story…-'

***~***

Akaya sat down on the train in a huff, glad that he could finally leave school and head home.

Feeling bored already, he took out his PSP once again and started Monster Hunter. He was getting addicted to this game. And…

Akaya blinked astonished when he saw the character Fayet.

Blood Devil: Fayet?! O_o

Fayet: ?

Blood Devil: Why are you here!

Fayet: I take this train home…

Akaya looked around. Several other boys and the occasional man had their PSP's out. No girls…

Blood Devil: I thought you took the earlier train?

Fayet: Yea, usually. But I had work at school today and stayed after.

Blood Devil: Oh…same here.

Fayet: Mmhhmm….wanna fight Fatalis again?

Blood Devil: Sure. That guy's easy.

Fayet: D;

Akaya smiled. He was really starting to like this Fayet girl.

Three days passed and Kumiko and Akaya continued to meet for an hour after school to work on their project. And Akaya continued to see Fayet on Monster Hunter. He supposed it was coincidental that she had to stay after now as well and catch the same train as him. They were school students in the end…and teachers, no matter where they taught, just loved to give students after school work.

Akaya also noticed that Kumiko didn't avoid eye contact when speaking now. That was a progress. And she actually speaks slightly louder than usual and not that rat-squeak from before.

'The three days must have dulled her fear…' Akaya mused as he glanced at the girl sitting in front of him. He didn't exactly like people being afraid of him. And for some reason, he didn't like her to be afraid of him especially.

She was…..nice. From what he can see. He only wanted adversaries and despicable people to fear him. Not nice people like her. Of course, he'll never admit that to anyone. It'll completely destroy his 'ruthless' infamy.

Akaya leaned back from the table and started shuffling through his bag.

Kumiko glanced at him from the drawing she was doing for their project. "What are you doing?" She asked softly, politely.

Akaya nearly followed his usual snappy reply of "None of your business," but bit it back. That kind of reply was saved for people like Niou and Marui. Not her.

"Going to take a break. I'm tired of this annotations crap." He said off-handedly, pulling his PSP out of the bag.

Kumiko perked up. "You have a PSP?"

"Yea…got it not too long ago." Akaya told her, switching it on.

"I have one too…" She trailed, not sure whether it matters if she had one.

"You do?" Akaya questioned, eyebrow raised. She didn't seem to be the type to play games. Maybe it was just for watching videos…

When sound transmitted from the machine, Kumiko looked up again from her work. "Monster Hunter?"

Akaya stared. "You know this game?"

Kumiko scoffed softly. "I play it."

Now Akaya was weirded out. She honestly did not seem to be the gamer type. This…quiet, shy girl?

"You any good at it?" He asked.

Kumiko smiled. "I consider myself proficient I guess."

'I don't believe her….Bet she's a noob.'Akaya thought as he snuck a glance at the girl from his screen. "You have your PSP now?"

She nodded without looking up. "Wanna play for awhile?"

She shook her head. "We've got to get this part of the project done by today, or we'll never be done by deadline."

"It's just for awhile."

"Maybe next time."

But the next time never came even though Akaya continued to play for every meet they had. She was constantly focused on the project and left no room for distractions.

Waiting for his game to load, Akaya stared at Kumiko as she worked. His cheek was propped up against his palm, PSP laying in front of him. His eyes scanned her face, noting how locks of hair fell into her eyes. Her porcelain skin was flawless and smooth, a symbol of her innocence and pure-self. His eyes suddenly trailed to her pale pink lips, which were in a moue as she fussed over the work. Unconsciously, Akaya licked his lips.

They looked…tempting.

Realizing his thoughts, he instantly beat them back. 'All this work must be getting to me…I don't usually work so much on ANY homework.'

He went back to his game…..and gave a half yell not too long later. Kumiko jolted from her work in shock, and stared at him. "W-what's wrong?" Her eyes wide as she asked.

Akaya looked at her, seething. "Nothing. Just lost that's all."

"To who?"

"To Lao-Shan Sung."

"Oh….Let me see!" And she leaned over, as Akaya turned the machine towards her.

She saw the game over sign printed across the screen, and Akaya's character in the background on the ground, being trampled all over by the giant dragon. Her eyes widen.

"Huge isn't it? Did you get this far yet?" He asked.

But it wasn't the monster size that shocked her. It was the character ID on the side that sent her heart rate into a frenzy.

"Blood Devil…" she whispered.

"Hm? Ah yea, that's my name. Don't ask." Akaya answered apathetically, not noticing her wide eyes.

***~***

Fayet: Hey, let's go fight Lao-Shan Sung!

Blood Devil: Huh? Why?

Fayet: You cant beat it right?

Blood Devil: How did you know that?o.O

Fayet: Well, its obvious. Its hard to beat. If I have trouble, you will too =3

Blood Devil: ….Yea sure. Whatever. Let's go.

Kumiko smiled from where she sat in the train. She nearly let slip that she was Fayet. She couldn't believe that all this time, she had been playing THE devil himself.

'He…isn't such a bad person…'

She realized that, the past few days she worked with him and played with him. Her parents and friends tell her not to trust people online but sometimes, the character people portray online are their real selves which they cant be in life.

Like her.

She cant be the confident, smart-mouthed person she is online in reality. She hates the persona she has. She loves her online persona.

And…maybe Akaya is the same way? Maybe he's actually a nice person overall, like he is in the game.

Standing up, she kept one eye on the game screen while moving to the door that separates her cart and the next cart. Peeking in the glass window, she saw the boy sitting there, eyes focused on the game screen. His eyebrows were slanted, tongue jutting out from one-side in childishly concentrated look.

Her heart thumped.

But not from fear.

***~***

Akaya drummed his fingers against the table, impatient. Kumiko had left to the bathroom and he was stuck on the project. He needed her help….now!

Frowning, he turned to grab his PSP but stopped. He looked around the library, before grinning. He snuck a hand into Kumiko's bag and shuffled around, looking for that thing.

Finding it, he pulled it out. His grin widened; a crimson red PSP in his hands. "Nice color choice…" Akaya muttered, before switching it on.

He was surprised to find that her PSP theme was centered around Valkyrie Profile, which was a game he has yet to play but gained positive reviews from his friends.

He sifted through her videos and music tabs, finding them all empty unlike what he expected. But her games tab was full. Akaya pouted. He was forced to take back whatever thoughts he had about the girl previously then; about her being a game poser.

A little corner of his mind told him before incessantly that a person such as Kumiko cant possibly be a poser but he couldn't help it. It was uncommon here in Japan for girls to like games after all.

Going down the list of games, he saw Monster Hunter: Freedom 2. He was even more surprised. 'She really does play the game?!'

He started it and when the load screen came up, he couldn't be surprised anymore. The fact that she was indeed a gamer and played Monster Hunter gave him two blows to his mind.

The new one sent his mind racing into a frenzy and he fell over from his chair.

"Ahhh-Oof!!" He groaned from his spot on the floor. Kumiko's PSP was safe, in his upraised hand. He stared at the screen with comically wide eyes.

"F-fayet?!!"

The librarian shushed him.

***~***

Kumiko glanced at Akaya, weirded out by the fact he was walking with her to the train station. Usually they went separate ways.

"Umm…"

"Oh, I'll be going this way now." Akaya suddenly mentioned. Kumiko looked at him, surprised but nodded her head. She watched as Akaya went to the other direction in the crowded station. Shrugging it off and figuring he took another lane, she went to the platform her train would be coming in from.

Sneaking a glance over his shoulders, Akaya hid behind a column as soon as Kumiko looked the other way. Waiting for her to arrive at her platform (and his) he tried to get there without her noticing. How come he's never noticed her on the platform before, when they took the same train every other day?

The train soon arrived, and Akaya watched from the back as she got in and took a seat, facing away from the doors. He darted in and turned his back to her, walking briskly to the other end.

The train went on its way. He watched her take out the red PSP and started playing it. Hidden behind two standing business man who were busy conversing, she couldn't see him unless she concentrated. A pout came onto Kumiko's face, for whatever reasons that happened in the game.

He felt a grin tug at his lips. Her eyes were fixed in concentration on the game, lips pouting and cheeks puffed out. One of her legs were moving up and down in a rhythmic beat, alluding her frustration.

She was….cute.

She was Fayet.

Who would have thought that she was Fayet, that violent girl he played with in the game? She was the complete opposite of what he thought the real Fayet would be like. The Fayet that he developed feelings for, as silly as it was. It was a common occurrence, despite it being foolish; falling in love with someone through a game.

It was like those girls who idolize anime characters or game characters. They wouldn't get a chance with them because, they don't exist in their world.

But she existed in his world.

She and he both exist in each other's world, the two universes they play in. One for survival. One for life.

He switched on his PSP and entered the online hall again.

His eyes found Fayet inside the hall almost instantly.

Blood Devil: Yo.

Fayet: Hey.

Blood Devil: Got beaten?

Fayet: How do you know?o.O

Akaya looked at Kumiko, and saw a quizzical expression on her face.

Blood Devil: Just guessing.

Fayet: D:

Blood Devil: Well, lets get whatever that got you then. I'm sure we can take it on together.

Fayet: Umm…

Kumiko looked up at the map on the wall opposite hers. It was nearing her stop.

Fayet: Cant. It's almost my stop.

Blood Devil: We can go for ice-cream later. There's this one store at the next stop which my senpai says has good ice-cream.

Fayet: Huh?

Blood Devil: We need a break from all that project-jazz anyway.

"We need a break from all that project-jazz anyway."

Kumiko jumped and looked up, eyes the size of saucers. She felt her heart rate shoot up, from shock, panic and…fear?

"K-Kirihara-kun..?!" Kumiko stuttered.

The boy glanced at her from his newly acquired seat next to her. He had made his way over as he kept her occupied with the chat.

The train stopped and the doors opened.

"Well? You up for some ice-cream? It's a Friday." Akaya said, voice casual and eyes on their characters on the screen; They were sitting side by side on the table in the game hall, like how they were now.

People entered and left the train, the announcer's voice stating the imminent closing of the doors.

Kumiko saw a tint of pink on Akaya's hardened face.

She turned to her screen.

Fayet: Yea, sure.

***~***

"Well….this is a….surprise." The English teacher said, shocked as she looked at Akaya and Kumiko's project.

The poster was filled with all sorts of depictions of monsters (or perhaps badly drawn humans) and trains.

She read the justification for the images.

The monsters represent the bad experiences the characters had to go through. And they are all attacking the moving train which represents that the character is constantly going through life despite hardships and discovering new and unexpected things, like how a train always goes on. And rather than a car, it's a train as train tracks don't meet. They are parallel and never ending in a way. But there are points in the track where the rail intersects with another. This represents the people the main character meets in his life which also ultimately changes him

The teacher smiled unsurely. "It's certainly a new and interesting take on the story…but it isn't wrong. I'll take it in then. You two get bonus marks as well for actually handing it in on time."

In front of her, half the class groaned. Akaya and Kumiko were one of the few who actually completed all their assignments in the 1 and a half weeks they were given.

"I cant believe Akaya actually did his homework."

"Kumiko-chan probably did all the work…"

Kumiko rounded on the whispering students. "Well, YOU'RE one to talk. You didn't even do YOUR assignment." She dealt out at them.

The students gasped. Did the shy, sweet Kumiko they knew just talk back? And rudely too?

Kumiko was about to speak again but a hand on her arm stopped her. She looked over to Akaya.

"Don't worry about it." He told her before turning to the students who whispered about him, eyes gaining hints of red already. They instantly backed off when they saw his eyes.

He grinned, almost sadistically.

"Ahem…well…" The teacher coughed. "We only have about 5 minutes of class left and since you two are done, you can leave early. The others who handed it in as well can leave also." She announced.

Kumiko walked out, frowning. Akaya walked next to her, hands in his pockets.

"Well…they were rude. I didn't know they were like that." Kumiko stated, frown deepening. Akaya snorted. "They were rude? Your reply was just as bad, even though they deserved it. I didn't think you could be like that."

Kumiko looked at Akaya, eyes slightly confused and hurt. "Well….you liked Fayet didn't you? You liked Fayet before me. So I was thinking…"

"Thinking?"

She hesitated. "That perhaps, you liked that persona more, than the 'Kumiko' persona…so I wanted to be her for.…" she trailed off.

It dawned on Akaya, and his eyes softened. Here she was, saying that she wanted to be 'Fayet' for him, because he liked that sassy, outspoken attitude. And yet, she's still…

Just being Kumiko.

Kumiko looked up, when she felt warm hands in hers. Akaya gave her hand a soft tug, pulling her to him in the empty hallways.

"Idiot…I like you for who you are. Sure I started to like Fayet first, but you're her aren't you? And I also…started to like you as your usual self too…like how you are now," he muttered, feeling embarrassed at having admitted that. "It's….cute."

Kumiko looked up at him, smiling. "Really?"

Akaya placed his forehead against hers, a smile entering his face. "Yea…"

A 'zzttt' sound came from the side.

Akaya's head snapped to his left instantly, and saw Marui and Niou.

A blue PSP was held in Marui's upheld hand; while Niou looked over Marui's shoulder at the screen.

He whistled. "Well, isn't that cute?" He snickered as a sly grin formed on Marui's face. "It sure is. I never thought that I will ever see Akaya, with such a cute face with a cute girl, in my entire lifetime. And now, I have the memory of it for my entire life. Total blackmail~" Marui chirped, as he looked at Akaya with a glint in his lavender orbs.

He turned the PSP screen towards Akaya.

And now only did Akaya notice that, there was a portable camera plugged in on the PSP.

"W-what?! When did you get a PSP? A-and, why'd you get the attachable camera for?!!" Akaya spluttered.

Kumiko blushed as she saw the image on the PSP screen. It contained her and Akaya, foreheads pressed up against each other's, nose barely touching, and eyes focused on nothing but each other.

"Got it for moments like this, puri~" Niou provided.

"Delete it!!!"

Whatever happens in a PSP, doesn't stay in a PSP.

The image was posted on Niou's Facebook.

Reviews~