He wasn't entirely sure how he'd gotten himself into this predicament, all Keiichi really knew was that one moment he'd been cocking his fist back and ready to plow it right into the face of the offending boy who had been openly taunting him, and the next he was on the ground while blood poured from his nose. He could hear Mion shouting something rather vulgar over the ringing in his ears and the louder protests of the boy he'd nearly assaulted arguing with her. They both sounded pretty mad but from what he heard from Mion, as he had come to expect, she was winning the argument and sounded quite prepared to use violence if his attacker didn't shut up.

"You dumbass, you could have killed him! Why did you do that?!"

"Mion-chan, he came at me! What did you expect me to do, let him sock me!?"

"YES!"

Through all of this, Keiichi's head spun rapidly and he was completely and utterly confused by how two weeks ago he'd been sitting in Angel Mort talking to Shion about why Mion had been acting so strange recently and now he was lying on the pavement. Somehow, that single conversation had stirred up quite a list of misunderstandings, shouting matches, three punishment games and now it ended with him on the ground with possibly a broken nose and a concussion. His eyes rolled as his body relaxed, and the last thing he remembered was the feeling of warm hands cupping his face and Mion's voice calling to him worriedly above the annoying ringing in his head.

"Kei-chan, Kei-chan! Keiichi!"

Two Weeks Earlier

Keiichi let out a low breath, pillowing his head on his arms as he waited tiredly for Shion to finish her shift so she could sit with him and talk as he'd planned when he first arrived at Angel Mort. While he knew it was bordering insanity to come all the way to Okinomiya when he could simply talk to her at school, he hadn't wanted to play the risk of being overheard by the others about this particular matter. He knew that Rena would follow him and pester him mercilessly for even broaching the subject, and Satoko would be impossible to deal with for months if she heard him worrying about their fearless and merciless team leader.

So, it had only made sense that he went to the girl who knew Mion best, and since it seemed to be safe enough to talk to her in Angel Mort, he'd arranged to meet her there after her shift ended. That was half an hour ago, and full from the dessert he'd ordered, he was on the verge of passing out at the table to be at the mercy of the waitresses. Sometimes he wasn't sure who scared him more, the Angel Mort's fanclub that consisted of a variety of perverts, older men and teenage boys that were borderline obsessed, or the waitresses themselves, who seemed perfectly capable of kicking any and all who dared to get too touchy feel-y with them.

His eyelids started to droop, reminding him that he'd barely had much sleep the past week, he had been too stressed out by studying for exams and worrying over Mion's out-of-character behaviour. She had been leaving school early for nearly a week, cancelling every club activity and always growing anxious whenever she was asked about where she was leaving to. At first he'd expected it was just a new job that she didn't want to admit to having, but after a few days of continued rushing offs, he'd asked her directly where she was heading off to. Her answer had surprised him, her face had reddened sharply and she all but fled from him with a hasty promise to tell him later. That had been three days ago, and she hadn't spoken directly to him since.

"Sorry to make you wait Kei-chan, I had to–" Shion cut herself off with a little chuckle when she saw the poor teen face-down in his empty ice-cream dish. Sliding elegantly into the opposite bench, she cupped her face in one hand, watching him with mild amusement. 'I can totally see why sis likes him... He's downright adorable when he doesn't try to play it cool. The idiot doesn't know what he's missing.' Straightening her shirt, she had changed from her uniform because she didn't want to see his eyes straying over her body again, she tried to decide whether or not to wake him or watch him.

Her decision was made quickly, she knew well enough that Mion would kill her if she stole any unnecessary time with Keiichi, and as much as she enjoyed tormenting her sister, love was not something she was going to meddle in. Not to the point that she was sabotaging her own safety in the process anyway. Knowing that he'd be furious if she allowed him to sleep with his face in a dish, Shion reached forward to poke his head as gently as possible. He snorted but didn't move, and stifling snickers, she poked him again, this time rocking his head. Barely able to contain herself, she lifted his head with one hand and pinched his nose with the other, waiting for him to react. "Pfft..."

"Ughn, gerroff..." Keiichi groaned, his words slurred as he waved halfheartedly at the blockage on his nose. Shion's laughter cut through his sleepy haze, and the teen snapped immediately to attention. Blushing pink at his foolishness, Keiichi began to apologize as quickly as possible for delaying her. "Sorry about that Shion, I've just been really tired lately–"

"It's fine Kei-chan, you brightened my day anyway just by showing up when you did." Shion waved off his apology with one hand, her other still propping up her head as she cupped her chin. Fingers playfully drumming against her cheek, she waited for his embarrassment to settle before she greeted him cheerfully. "So, first off I guess I ought to thank you for waiting for me to get off my shift, and sorry I'm late but I didn't want to talk to you in my uniform."

"That's understandable." Keiichi allowed, though inwardly he groaned at his loss. He had always liked spotting Shion in the skimpy black material, though he would never admit that he always had difficulty remembering that it wasn't Mion who was sporting the goods. The idea made him darken a little in the face, and he was quick to get back to the reason why he'd come. "So, uh, I guess you know why I wanted to talk to you here, right...?"

"Yeah, it's about Sis, isn't it?" Shion smiled rather innocently, but her eyes glinted with mischief that told Keiichi that he had to be careful treading this ground. Though he hadn't had to face Shion's wrath before when it came to Mion, he knew that the twins were fiercely protective of each other and wouldn't hesitate to use violence to protect one another. Folding her hands under her chin, Shion continued to grin and questioned in a purr, "So what exactly do you want to know about Mion, Kei-chan, and how can I help you?"

"Well, uh... She's been acting weird lately, I know you've noticed... She's pretty much quit the club for the last week, she gets all embarrassed when anyone asks her why and she won't talk to me." Keiichi explained halfheartedly, his shoulders sinking in on themselves as he thought of it. While he never would admit it aloud, Mion was his best friend and he rather enjoyed her company, especially when it came to club activities. Even if he lost he was having fun. However, she hadn't been around and it had shown the boy exactly what he was missing when she was gone, and it saddened him to think that he was losing her. "Is she mad at me or something? Did I say anything to hurt her feelings?"

'He doesn't know about Uncle Kazumi's visit? She never told them?' Shion blinked, puzzled by this knowledge. While her father and mother weren't entirely kosher in the eyes of her family, her uncles all played a major part in the family's schemes and business plans. A few of her cousins were now staying in the estate for the next month or two, which meant that Mion had to increase the time she spent at home instead of at school. However, Keiichi didn't know of this or what else was keeping her sister busy, and she saw the perfect opportunity sitting in front of her on a silver platter.

'I'd have to be an idiot not to take this. Shion, my dear, you are so going to get it when your sister finds out what you've done, but you cannot pass this up!'

Years of practise and swapping with Mion allowed her to pull out a completely angelic expression, and a slight tilt of her head put the cherry on top of the facade. As innocently as she possibly could, she suggested slyly to the surprised Keiichi, "You can't tell? Mion has a boyfriend."

"B-Boyfriend!?" Keiichi repeated in alarm, blinking several times as he tried to piece the knowledge together in his rather frazzled head. It was the simplest of equations yet his team leader's name and the word 'boyfriend' just didn't seem to fit together in the same sentence. Shion just continued smirking at him, relishing his astonishment, and he didn't have the state of mind to be annoyed with her smug look. "Mion has a boyfriend!? Mion, the goddess of heaven and hell, your twin sister, my club leader, Mion!?"

"How many times would you like me to repeat myself Kei-chan?" Shion purred with delight, playfully reaching over to drum her knuckles against his forehead. He had slumped back in his seat with an expression of pure shock and it truly amused the green-haired teen. His eyes shone with an unfathomable array of emotion, and Shion thought she spotted a hint of anger in his violet irises, and that alone gave her all the ammunition she would need to carry out the rest of her plan. Tilting her head and clapping her hands together smartly, she chirped, "Mion, my darling sister and your fearless club leader has a boyfriend. That's why she's been so erratic, it's quite simple. So does everything make sense to you now?"

"Mion... has a boyfriend." Keiichi repeated numbly, still processing the information he had just been handed. It all seemed so strange, as though everything he had ever learned was now proven to be the opposite of what he'd believed. Glancing towards the window, he half expected to find the daylight turned into an inky blackness but the world still seemed to be in its proper order. Shaking his head several times, he turned back to the grinning Shion and tried to speak only to realize that his throat had tightened.

Swallowing loudly, he tried again but achieved the same results, a strained silence that pulled inside of his chest. The sheer absurdity of it all left him astounded, but there was something else that stirred in his stomach and let out a soft growling noise of discontent. Very suddenly, he didn't like this idea, even if it was something totally foreign to him. Shion must have seen this in his face and her smile broadened, and his annoyance doubled. Hands splayed flat on the table, he leaned close to her and hissed, "When did she hook up with this guy? What's his name?"

"Kei-chan, you should know better than to pinch information from me. Sis would be angry if she found out you were too chicken to ask her yourself." Shion chided him teasingly, though she knew that he wasn't too pleased with her evasion. She simply couldn't help it, the fun was already rolling on a fever pitch and she knew it was simply too late to stop the disaster she'd put into motion. Wagging her finger in a scolding gesture, she continued in a matter-of-fact tone, "You can't just milk me for the goods, if you want to know about Sis' love life, go and ask her yourself." She paused to let the idea sink into his head, then before he could make a chance to move, her eyes glinted and she added in a casual voice, "But I have to wonder, why are you so suddenly interested in who Mion's involved with? It never seemed to cross your mind before, I don't think you even bothered to ask if she was with someone when you first got here, right?"

Keiichi froze and then he felt a burning sensation jumping from his stomach and into his face. Abruptly shamed, he had to look away from the girl's knowing smirk and instead he stared at the table. His mind had done a total one-eighty turn because he knew she was right, and he grit his teeth in annoyance. 'I never did ask her, I just assumed she wasn't seeing anyone. For all I know she could've been dating this guy for months before I came along, she just never said anything. Dammit Maebara, why don't you think before you act!? Damn!' "N-No... I never asked if your sister was dating someone..."

"Was it because you wanted to ask her out?" Shion slid the question in as if it was the most casual thing to say in the world but Keiichi's reaction proved that it was anything but. His face turned the colour of his vest and he went ramrod straight as though a pole had been shoved into his spine. Shion nearly punched the air in victory, but many years of self-control kept her seated and smiling instead of dancing around the restaurant like she ached to do. 'Oh yes, got him! Haha, oh Sis you're so lucky you've got a twin like me!' Her voice was teasing as she leaned close, pretending to whisper and look honestly startled by his embarrassment, "Oh you did? I didn't know you liked my sister that way! It's such a pity that you never asked her out earlier, because I know Sis liked you too for a long time."

It seemed to be the day for shocks, however this time it wasn't just straightforward surprise that rocked him. A hint of pleasure sparked in his chest, and he nearly smiled at this new piece of information that Shion so readily handed out to him. Then he blinked, realizing that it wasn't the first time that Mion's twin had hinted it to him. He could remember it clearly now, how she leaned close to him and murmured softly into his ear how her sister still had someone she loved, while she herself had lost her own.

His body jolted upright again and his hands slammed down on the glass tabletop with much more force than he had intended. Shion jumped, clearly alarmed by his sudden change of mood, but Keiichi was beyond caring about this. He leaned close to her, eyes bright and shining with a youthful excitement that Shion had never seen before in him. It took some effort to keep his voice low and controlled, but he asked her in an excited hiss, "Shion, back in the caves you said that Mion had someone she loved. Did you mean me? She loved me?"

'Dumbass. You complete and utter moron of a man.' Shion rolled her eyes to the ceiling, unable to hide her disdain for his dimwittedness. Rubbing at her temples because dealing with him was giving her quite the headache, she had to forcibly remind herself that Mion was no longer 'available' to Keiichi and if she didn't keep up the charade she would most certainly get killed. Taking in a deep breath to steady her annoyance, she explained to him levelly, "Well, you know it's in the past tense now, right? She's got a boyfriend now, you were a bit too late realizing how Mion felt about you. She wasn't going to wait forever for you to take a hint. You lost your chance."

As quickly as his euphoria had come, it faded away to be replaced by a crushing wave of disappointment and guilt. She was right, and his entire ribcage seemed to shrink around his lungs and heart. The idea, as pleasing and exciting as it had been to know that Mion had liked him, it was totally out of his reach now. The pleasure had been given to him and taken away in a span of seconds, and he found himself mourning it with more strength then he knew he had. 'She's... She's right. Mion... moved on, didn't she? So it... doesn't matter anymore that she liked me, because she doesn't anymore... She's got a boyfriend...'

He didn't know why it bothered him so much, why his eyes burned and his chest ached like he'd been stabbed in the heart and his attacker was twisting the blade. It wasn't really as though he'd ever thought of asking the girl out on a date before, and he'd certainly never thought of her as anything more then a very good friend...

Several flashes of images raced through his head at once, melting together into a strangely cohesive picture of her expressions that burned into his mind. Her truly happy smile upon meeting him for the very first time, the pride in her eyes as she introduced him to his soon-to-be fellow club members. The sight of her triumphant grin as she beat him for the seventh straight time at Old Geezer and the unrestrained delight in her face when she took the doll from him and clutched it close to her chest, embarrassed by the gift but struggling to keep her cool. The sight of her back and her outstretched arms as she made herself a shield in front of the deranged Takano, willing herself to take a bullet for all of them and nonchalantly telling them, him, that nothing on Earth would make her happier than to ensure their safety.

'M-Mion...'

Shion turned her head away from his pained expression, nearly wincing with guilt. She hated to see the normally so heartened boy in so much confusion and pain, yet she couldn't find it in herself to try and comfort him through her teeth. 'It'll all work out... I just got to keep it going, for sis' sake.' Taking a moment to pinch herself fiercely in the arm, she leaned closer and said in a quiet voice, "Kei-chan, I'll tell you what, if you do me a favour, I'll tell you everything I know about the guy who's with Mion. Just don't tell Sis that I told you and keep it a secret that you know she's involved with him. She'd kill me for spreading the news around, especially to you and anyone else in the club."

"You'll... tell me all of that?" Keiichi questioned slowly, momentarily taken aback by the gentleness in Shion's voice. She was smiling a little, wearing an inviting smile on her strikingly feminine face, waiting for him to make his decision. He took a long moment, debating. Whatever he knew and whatever he was feeling, he wanted to protect Mion simply because she was important to him. His face hardened and he looked Shion square in the face, and for a moment he swore that she was proud of his decision even if he said nothing.

"Tell me everything Shion. Don't leave anything out."

AN

Yesh, I'm back, and with a new chaptered story to boot. It shouldn't be all that long, seven chapters tops for a guesstimate, but I plan to have fun with this while I combat writer's block for my Tales of Symphonia project. To any of those who've played that game, does anyone recognize a similarity between SheLloyd and KeiMion or am I just nuts? They seem really similar, lol, I think that's why I fell in love with this pairing... Eh, I'm busy writing and giggling and fangirling and playing ToS so... XD

I blame sugar, daydreams, and boredom for this fanfiction, also a hyperactive plot fairy that refuses to leave me alone because sanity isn't legal in her world. Meh, the sane people are the weird ones, and I quote Lucky Star for this. (KONA-CHAN!) Ahem, anyway... Enter a cliche disclaimer here, and please hit the green button below because it makes kittens happy? XD

PS: Anyone who thinks Shion is going to get her ass kicked by the end of this story, raise your hand. (raises my own to start 8D)

Sky