"I was looking for locker 305-A. I'm supposed to put my stuff in it. I'm glad someone else is here. I was probably gonna be here all afternoon if I had to find it myself."
"Oh, actually, it's just right there." Jian-wa pointed to the series of lockers across from him. "You new here?"
The guy nodded. "Thank you. I really am glad you're here then. I'm Heki Gyoku, by the way."
"I'm Jian-wa Chang. Yeah, you're lucky. Everyone else has already left for their activities. I mean, I'm only here now because my girlfriend and I were trying to convince her sister that she wanted to go to karate today. She just broke up with someone who might be there, so she was a little hesitant. Of course, now we're all late�."
"Did you? Convince her, I mean."
"Hai."
"Well, good for you." Gyoku shut the locker and started off. Then, as if a thought had just occurred to him, he stopped and looked back at Jian-wa. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be dating one of the Mizuno twins, would you?"
"Hai," Jian-wa answered distractedly as he tied his black belt.
"Yeah, I heard about that. Neko-san and Tenshi-san�, what a shame, ne?"
Jian-wa looked at him questioningly. Not everyone even knew they were dating. What were the chances this "new guy" would hear that they broke up?
Gyoku continued, "Hey, word on the street is that you used to hate the twins. How'd you end up dating one?"
"Where'd you hear that?" Jian-wa said defensively. Only a few people other than himself were supposed to know about his history. Even Chibi and Kimahou had been kept in the dark.
"Oh, the way I hear it, Michiru-san's been telling everyone about it. You know, how she tamed the guy who had wanted to kill her. What a big triumph it was for the Moon Kingdom and all."
Jian-wa's eyes narrowed. "Well, you heard wrong. Mi-chan would never tell," he declared as he pushed past the guy.
"Are you so sure of that?"
Jian-wa's only answer was to continue walking away. He couldn't believe the nerve of that guy - actually suggesting that Mi-chan would betray him.
Yet he also couldn't help but wonder how the guy had found out. And as he walked down the hall towards his Kempo class, he couldn't help but feel like a lot of eyes were on him. In fact, it seemed like everyone who was still out there was looking at him and whispering to their friends.
*Don't be so paranoid. It's just that the guy freaked you out, that's all.*
Still, he couldn't help feeling apprehensive.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The girls were waiting for him outside the door of their Kempo class. They waved as he approached, but Mi-chan frowned at his expression.
"Ne, Jian-kun? Are you okay?"
He avoided her eyes. "Ano, could I speak to you alone?"
"Ano�," Mi-chan was worried to leave Neko alone in her delicate state, but she could sense that it was important to Jian-wa.
*I'll be fine. I can take care of myself* Neko thought to her, though she still appeared distressed about the possibility of seeing Tenshi at Kempo. Considering everything, Mi-chan didn't bother thinking to Neko her opinion on how Neko took care of herself.
"�okay," Mi-chan let him pull her aside as Neko started into the classroom.
"Ano," he kicked at the ground, uncertain how to ask what he wanted without making it sound like an accusation. "I was wondering if�. You and Neko-chan never told anyone about me, did you?"
"About you?" Mi-chan repeated clueless about what he meant.
"Hai. About my past?"
"Oh, Jian-kun," she answered compassionately. "You know Neko-chan and I wouldn't do that to you. We'd never tell anyone about it." She punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Why are you worried about that all of a sudden, ne?"
"Someone mentioned it, and I wondered how they found out about it."
"They 'mentioned it'?!" Mi-chan asked appalled. "Wow. No, I don't know either. I doubt Neko-chan told anyone about it. It's not really something to brag about," she said as she tried to laugh it off.
*Not something to brag about?* Jian-wa wondered about her choice of words. Though they were the truth, they hurt for some reason. "What? That your friend and koibito used to want to kill you?"
"Huh?" She went over what she had said as she tried to figure out how Jian-wa had jumped to that conclusion. "No, Jian-kun, I just meant that you could trust us to keep your secret!"
"My secret that I was against the Moon Kingdom. Because you wouldn't want anyone to know that your boyfriend used to be evil! 'Cuz who knows, he might go back one day, ne?" He turned away to leave.
"Iie, Jian-kun!" She grabbed his arm, but he brushed her off. "No, you're turning my words against me!"
"Well, looks like I met your expectations then," he said coldly, as he ran off.
Neko was at her side instantly. "What happened?!"
Mi-chan was a cross between being angry at the boy or distraught that he had just run off from her. "He's being an idiot," she informed her twin. "Saying that I'm expecting him to go evil or something."
"Well, go after him and tell him he's wrong then!"
"I tried! But he's being stupid, and I'm not talking to him if he's going to be like this!"
