?Kikumaru! Oishi!? The senior English teacher bellowed, ?For the last time! Is it really that hard to stop talking in my class?!?

Kikumaru stopped in mid-whisper and cowered back to his seat while Oishi looked rather embarrassed and nodded apologetically at the teacher. As soon as the teacher turned his back to the students again, Kikumaru made a face and the loud bursts of laughter from other students in the room caused the teacher to turn around again.

?Kikumaru! I had enough!? The teacher barked angrily, ?I will have a way of dealing with you later! For now, class dismissed!?

The teacher stomped out of the classroom and shut the door loudly behind him. After a few moments of silence, the bolder students got up cautiously, and as the teacher wasn?t going to come back, the students began to file out and the classroom was soon empty except for the Golden Pair.

?Eiji?? Oishi sighed in resignation, ?You got the teacher mad again??

?Huh?? Kikumaru acted surprised, ?What did I do??

?What?s going on?? Oishi thought to himself as he noticed that everyone was in front of the blackboard. He dropped his bags on his seat and before he even got a chance to join the crowd, Kikumaru pushed himself away from the group of people and popped himself down right on the seat next to Oishi.

?Eiji,? Oishi asked curiously, ?Something?s wrong??

?Oishi!? Kikumaru complained loudly, ?We got a new seating plan for English class!?

?A new seating plan?? Oishi repeated, ?Does that mean we?re not going to be seated next to each other any more??

?Yeah, and it?s boy girl, boy girl, too!? Kikumaru added, ?And I got paired with that foreign girl, and I don?t think she speaks much Japanese!?

?That?s not so bad, is it??

?It?s horrible!? Kikumaru asserted, ?Think about it, I love to talk and I would die if I don?t get a reply! I may suffocate in silence!?

?Well, maybe you can help her with the language,? Oishi tried, ?Besides, look on the bright side, she?s really nice??

?You?re right,? Kikumaru said lightly, ?Well, maybe it wouldn?t be so bad?I hope she will lend me school supplies like you do Oishi, I always forget to bring this or that!?

?Eiji, do you know who I got paired with?? Oishi asked, ignoring Kikumaru?s list of things that the red-hair boy always forget to bring to school.

?Of course!? Kikumaru offered with a pitiful glance, ?You?re with , the ice princess.?

?So, how?s that new seating plan in your English class working out, Eiji?? Fuji asked as the he and the Golden Pair went out for burgers after practice, ?I heard you and that foreign girl became fast friends!?

?Yeah, she?s really cool!? Kikumaru confirmed as he added some peppers to his fries, ?And her Japanese is getting much better, and she said that if I ever visit her country, I could stay at her place.?

?Really? That sounds fun,? Fuji smiled and turned his attention to the other boy, ?Oishi, what about your new seating partner??

?-san, well?? Oishi trailed off and took a sip from his coke, ?There isn?t really much to say??

?Then let me tell you Fuji,? Kikumaru finished off the last of his burger and swallowed, ?That girl is so cold, almost as cold as ice!?

Kikumaru took a short break and stuffed down a couple more fries before continuing, ?And today, she got mad at me over a pen!?

?A pen?? Fuji looked at the Golden Pair, ?What happened??

?I don?t think I did anything,? Kikumaru distanced himself from any sort of blame, ?It?s all her fault!?

?Eiji,? Oishi sighed and looked at the other third-year, ?Fuji, this is what happened??

*flashback*

Earlier that day?in English class?

?Yo Oishi,? Kikumaru skipped over and tapped his tennis partner on the shoulder, ?I forgot to bring an ink pen again, so can I borrow one??

?Sure,? Oishi replied and opened his book bag to look for an extra, ?Give me a few seconds??

Meanwhile, Kikumaru, with his ever so energetic personality, couldn?t stand long enough to wait for Oishi to find him a pen, and started to look around for something more interesting. His eyes landed on a black lacquered pen with silver engraving on the desk next to Oishi?s. Subconsciously, Kikumaru picked up the pen from its place and in the process of admiring the fine work, he did not notice that the owner of the pen was already bothered that her possession was in the hands of another.

?May I have my pen back??

Kikumaru jumped as he became aware of the speaker, but since he has a rather bright and cheerful personality, he thought no more of the ice-cold aura that accompanied the voice.

?Oh -san, this is such a beautiful pen! May I borrow it this class?? Kikumaru asked enthusiastically, ?Please? Please? Please??

?No,? replied, ?Now please return it to me, now.?

Kikumaru never thought that his request would be refused by the girl and took it very personally, ?What if I don?t want to give it back??

Kikumaru distanced himself away from the girl and flaunted the pen as the girl looked rather flushed. Taking the opportunity, Kikumaru quickly read and translated the silver engraving on the body of the pen and it said:

?The Pen is Mightier than the Sword - Edward Bulwer Lytton?

?Give the pen back to her, Eiji,? Oishi interfered as he finally understood what was going on, ?It?s not yours to keep!?

?Fine!? Kikumaru threw the pen angrily at the girl, ?I don?t want it anyways??

The pen traveled over the heads of many classmates and landed with a thud on the cold hard floor. Within a split second, the pen shattered and snapped into two pieces. By then, the entire class was watching the commotion between and Kikumaru Eiji. The red-hair boy suddenly realized that he had done something horrible, but by the time he could look away from the remains of that beautiful pen, was gone from the classroom and he was faced with silence and glares from the rest of the student body.

*end of flashback*

?I see?? Fuji prompted, ?So what are you going to do now??

?Oishi and I are going shopping for a new pen for her later,? Kikumaru said as he looked at his watch, ?And we should probably get going now??

?How did you get roped into this?? Fuji asked Oishi, ?She?s only mad at Eiji, right??

?Well, she looked so heart-broken over that pen and it was my fault for not stopping Eiji in time,? Oishi picked up his school bag and stood up, ?Besides, those kind of pens can get pretty expensive and since I am to blame as well, I should chip in before Eiji goes broke.?

?Really? You are a nice guy?? Fuji raised an eyebrow as the Golden Pair exited the burger joint, ?If I know Oishi as I do, there?s got to be another motive?I just wonder, what is it??

?Oishi,? Kikumaru called from behind some counters, ?How about this one??

Oishi looked at the pen set that Kikumaru was holding and shook his head, ?I don?t think -san would want a pen with rainbow snow flakes on it.?

?Aww, why not?? Kikumaru insisted, ?She?s like ice, so snow flakes are prefect for her!?

?I said NO!? Oishi couldn?t contain his annoyance, ?Sorry Eiji, I didn?t mean to yell at you??

?I guess we will keep looking then?? Kikumaru cowered back slightly and ducked behind more counters to continue to shuffle through the endless sets of writing utensils to find the perfect replacement pen for .

made her way slowly toward the English classroom. After that incident with Kikumaru Eiji, she didn?t know how the rest of her classmates would react to her actions. She stopped, took a deep breath, and opened the doors to the classroom. She let out sigh of relief when she saw that everyone was minding their own business and not even paying the slightest of attention to her entrance. She made her way to her desk and was in the midst of arranging her books on the table when she noticed a small box and a note.

?What is this?? thought as she looked closer at the box and opened the note that was addressed to her:

?A word is a bud attempting to become a twig. How can one not dream while writing? It is the pen, which dreams. The blank page gives the right to dream. - Gaston Bachelard?

closed the note and opened the box and let out a silent gasp. The pen inside was absolute beautiful, a simple thin black lacquered base with a hand-painted phoenix circling from the ink tip to the other end. She grabbed the note again to look for the name of the sender, but only to find it to be anonymous.

?Do you like the pen -san??

looked up and saw the smiling face of Oishi Syuichiroh looking down at her, and realized that the pen was from him.

?Is this from you?? said quietly, wanting to make sure, ?It?s beautiful.?

?Yes,? Oishi nodded, ?Since Eiji broke yours yesterday, it?s only right that we make it up to you.?

?But,? hesitated a moment before continuing on, ?This must have been much more expensive than mine.?

?Money is not an issue here,? Oishi emphasized, ?I just hope you can forgive Eiji and me for what happened yesterday.?

?What happened yesterday had nothing to do with you!? said, ?So there?s no need for you to take the responsibility.?

?But I want to,? Oishi asserted, ?So just accepted it okay??

wanted to say yes, she wanted to accept this beautiful present, but when she saw that many of her classmates were waiting to hear her response. Her voice turned cold and she shoved the box back at Oishi.

?I don?t need your charity!?

Oishi was stunned, he didn?t know why ?s mood changed so suddenly. So he blamed himself and threw the pen onto the hard cold floor. watched as a tiny piece of the paint chipped off the phoenix; the piece was so small that unless observed carefully, nobody would ever notice, but in ?s mind, the damage was big enough to hurt. She wanted to say sorry, but she couldn?t get the words out and could only forced back her tears and turned her back on Oishi.

A few days have passed since that second incident, but couldn?t get over the guilt she felt for refusing Oishi?s good-will. She knew she didn?t want any rumors that would certainly go around if she did accept that beautiful pen, but she also knew that she wouldn?t be able to forgive herself unless she did something to ease her subconscious. So she went to hunt down and bought the exact same pen.

Oishi saw the pen and didn?t make any comment. After a few days of tense moments, the boy returned to his good nature personality and didn?t mention the pen incident again.

Soon, a few months passed and it was time for final exams. barely arrived at the classroom in time for the exam due to the heavy snowfall the day before. She looked at the clock and noticed that the exam would begin in less than 5 minutes. She reached into the pocket of her skirt for her pen, but it wasn?t there!

She searched through all her books, bags, and pockets, and still no pen. panicked; she always brings just one pen and she didn?t want to ask anyone for help. Finally, her desperate search was taken notice by Oishi and after some persuasion, told him that her pen was missing.

?Don?t worry, I will help you to look for it.? Oishi reassured and started to look around the desks while slumped back in her chair in the hopelessness of the situation.

After another few moments of searching, Oishi let a cry of joy and felt her heart jump: in his hand was her precious pen. And at that moment, the exam proctor has started to hand out the exam. So accepted the pen and didn?t think of anything more of it as she started answering the first question.

A few days later, the exam results were out and was first again among all the girl?s scores. She sat alone in the classroom and was admiring that pen when she suddenly noticed that there was a paint chip on the phoenix. Suddenly, she realized what had taken place that day in the exam room. The pen she was holding wasn?t hers, it was the one she had refused from Oishi Syuichiroh.

She picked up her stuff in an instant and rushed to the tennis courts. The regulars were starting their warm-up laps, but grabbed Oishi aside as he came around the corner and pulled him rather forcefully into the boy?s change room.

?What is this?? held up the pen, ?This isn?t mine.?

?Ah?? Oishi knew he couldn?t hide it anymore, ?Well??

?You shouldn?t have helped me after what I did to you,? cried, ?Why are you so nice to me??

?You really don?t understand?? Oishi asked quietly, ?You don?t understand my feelings for you??

?I??

?Let me into your heart,? Oishi put his arms around the girl and after moment returned the hug and held the boy tightly.

?Yes.?

?Really?? Oishi was surprised at the easy response and looked at the girl with a questioned glance.

?I do have a romantic side you know??

Written by Amiya
Requested by Koorime Shinigami
August 25, 2007