I don't own the characters. I attach strings to them and shout, "Dance marionettes! Dance for my pleasure!"

If there was one thing Fakir hated more than his fan girls, it was Parents Day at Kinkan Academy.

On paper, Parents Day was an excuse for the parents to come and see what their child was working on and how they were doing. How they could have a day in the life of their own child and all that sappy crap. For Fakir, it was an excuse for Charon to tease him and see how painfully anti-social he was.

"Lighten up Fakir." Charon jostled him playfully as they, along with several eager parents and students, walked down the pathway to their morning classes. "You look like you're about to attend your own funeral."

"In a way." Fakir thought ruefully. Because of his brooding nature and mysterious aura, a lot of people either didn't like him or thought he was the coolest thing since sliced bread. It annoyed the crap out of him, especially when he was trying to hang out with his best friend, Mytho, and his girlfriend, Rue. They had already walked ahead with their parents to their respective classes and he didn't feel the need to butt in. They barely ever saw their parents due to the fact that Kinkan was a boarding school.

As he walked to his homeroom period, he spotted a classmate of his.

Ahiru had to be the most cheerful girl he had ever met. Well, technically he had never met her. She was just in a lot of his classes. But the boys of the ballet division talk about her all the time. She was like a large bundle of energy squeezed into a five foot four body. She was the worst of all the ballet students. He knew she took a lot of probationary classes, but he had seen her dance before. Although she was amazingly flat-footed (kinda like her name, he couldn't help but notice) and a major klutz, she always seemed to enjoy it and somehow made it look better than it actually was.

He knew she only hung out with two girls and they were all tighter than knots (or so he had heard), but she hung out with Rue sometimes. They liked each other even though they were total opposites. He even talked to Rue about it once. She said that she and Ahiru simply liked the same things and since they were roommates, they just got along.

And yet today she had nobody around her. Nobody fawning over her or making sure she was prepped and prepared for her classes. No parents or relatives.

At first, Fakir began to envy the girl. It must be nice to not have people embarrassing you over every little thing, especially in front of your friends. But as he looked at her dejected expression he couldn't help but feel sympathy. Maybe her parents were just too busy to come?

He shrugged it off as he went to his homeroom class, dreading it already.

Fakir couldn't help but sigh in relief as the bell rang for the end of Art. Sure he was an awesome writer and good at everything else, but if there was one class he didn't enjoy it would definitely be Art.

He spotted Ahiru gathering her materials and putting them in her little cubicle. She had worn that sad face all day and it was really starting to bug him for some reason. What was wrong with her?

Unfortunately his adoptive father noticed. "Fakir?" He asked. "You've been staring at that red haired girl for awhile now. Is she your secret crush or something?"

Fakir's reaction was priceless to his friends, who were sitting less than a few feet away and snickering at his expected reaction. His face was red as crimson paint and you could hear his heart pounding in his chest. "Are you freaking kidding?" He exploded, startling everyone. "I do not have a crush on A–"

"Excuse me?" And there she was, the topic of this whole conversation. "Is something wrong?"

Fakir sighed and turned away, hoping to hide his red face. "Its nothing. Just a little...argument. Nothing for you to be concerned about."

She blinked. "Oh. Okay then." And walked away towards her next class.

He groaned as a snickering Rue and a chuckling Mytho approached him. "That was hysterical." Rue giggled. "I don't think I've ever seen you so red."

Mytho, though still shaking with laughter, put a hand on her shoulder. "Be careful Rue." He playfully warned her. "Fakir doesn't like to be teased too much. His face will get even redder and he'll broad even more than he usually does."

"Why the heck do I even hang out with you people?"

At last it was Ballet: the last class of the day. And Fakir couldn't be more relieved. Squealing girls had been coming up to him all day and introducing their mothers, who were squealing at how handsome he was. Of course, that just made Charon laugh harder at how uncomfortable he was.

The parents were asked to stand to the side while they did their small presentations. The advanced, intermediate and beginners all did small dances before they performed all together. As Mr. Cat announced that the intermediate class was starting and started the music, Fakir noticed he pulled Ahiru off to the side. At first, her faced remained blank. But as Mr. Cat spoke, her eyes began to tear up and roll down her face. Mr. Cat suddenly looked panicked as he tried to calm her down, but she just shook her head, said something and then ran out of the room. Mr. Cat sighed, but didn't run after her. Fakir was suddenly stricken with anger for some reason. He clenched his fist as he glared at the cat-like teacher out of the corner of his eyes. His friends noticed and became concerned.

"Fakir?" Mytho put a hand on his shoulder. "Is something wrong? Homicide doesn't look too far from your mind."

Fakir shook his head. "Didn't you see what happened? Ahiru ran out of the room crying her eyes out. I know Mr. Cat can be harsh, especially to her, but making her cry?"

Rue suddenly shook her head. "He wasn't scolding her Fakir. I heard them. He was asking her to sit out of the presentation since her grandfather isn't here."

"Why isn't he here?"

Rue shrugged. "Ahiru just told me he was busy when I asked her. She wouldn't say anything about her parents." She paused. "Come to think of it, I don't think she's ever mentioned anything about her family. She never really volunteers that sort of information."

Mytho shrugged with her. "Maybe she has something she wants to hide."

It was finally the end of the day and Fakir was exhausted. He had bid goodbye to his adopted father and been on his way back to the dorm when he suddenly heard a small cry. Suddenly becoming curious, he followed the sound until he reached a small pond on the other side of the ballet building. Sitting down against a tree was Ahiru, the source of the small cries. She had her arms wrapped around her knees and drew them up to her stomach, burying her face.

Fakir couldn't help but wince when she let out another sob. He had never been very good with crying girls (actually...girls in general besides Rue for obvious reasons) but he knew he couldn't abandon Ahiru here. He bit his lip and nudged her knee. "Hey." Her head snapped up in shock. As soon as she saw him she suddenly jumped up and tried to run away. "Wait!" He shouted and she paused. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, but even she knew it really didn't look very convincing. "Yeah." He gave her an I-know-something-is-wrong-with-you-so-cut-your-I'm -a-happy-and-cheerful-girl-act-so-tell-me-what-the -hell-happened look and she sat down. "I hate Parents Day." She admitted.

Fakir sniffed. "Who doesn't?"

"Rue and Mytho." Ahiru whispered. "Pique and Lillie. I saw Femio looking absolutely ecstatic." She paused. "And you. I saw you looking so happy with your adopted father that I..."

"That you?" He prodded.

She sniffled again. "That I couldn't help but remember what it was like when my parents were alive."

He stiffened. Her parents...were dead? Well she certainly didn't act like it. "But you...you always seem so cheerful. Why aren't you more unhappy?"

"What is there to be unhappy about? I have wonderful friends and I am being given a wonderful education. What more could I ask for?"

He wasn't normally this curious, but something in his heart took over his brain and he asked, "How did they die?"

"They were shot." She whispered. "We were out in the forest taking a walk that night. Some drunk hunter came along and thought we were animals." She pointed to her leg. It had a small bump that was barely noticeable until she pointed it out to them. "This is where he shot me. They said I was lucky they didn't have to amputate my leg."

"How do you afford going to school?"

Her eyes somehow darkened. "My...grandfather technically pays for my schooling, but I haven't seen him since I got shot. He just showed up at the hospital, took one look at me and then left. I haven't seen him since. I can only contact him through his personal secretary, Miss Edel." She suddenly smiled fondly. "Miss Edel takes care of me when I go home for the holidays."

"I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have pried."

Ahiru shook her head. "No, its alright. After all, you know what I went through."

A sudden thought struck Fakir. "How did you know Charon was my adopted father?"

Much to his surprise, she blushed. "I-I um...I-"

"Spit it out already." He said with humor. It was actually pretty amusing to see her stuttering like this. Rue was always calm and collect, and almost never flustered like this. It was funny.

She must have been red as a tomato. "I may have...asked about you." She quickly added. "And my friend is a member of your fan club so she had a lot of information and she tells me so many facts about you that I have so much stuff memorized about yo-wait! That came out wrong!" She hit her head with her fist, though not so hard that Fakir had to block her hand. "Idiot! Sorry, but that probably came out a little weirdly."

He smiled, something he rarely did around others. "A little. But I get it."

She sighed. "I'm sorry. I always seem to say the wrong thing."

"You really think that?"

She smiled timidly. "When he does see me, Grandfather is always on me to sit up straight, not talk too much and act like a proper lady. He hates the way my parents raised me."

"Is he one of those stuck-up grandfathers?"

To his surprised, she blushed heavily. "Um, you know Drosselmeyer and Co.?" He nodded. It was supposedly a world-famous publishing company. "The president is my grandfather. Drosselmeyer."

Fakir's jaw dropped. "Wow. That explains why you room with Rue."

She blushed even harder. "Yeah. But Rue is nice so its not all bad. And I have Pique and Lillie." She smiled. "And now I have you."

It was his turn to blush. "I-I–"

"Ahiru!" The both jumped at Pique's voice. "Ahiru! Where are you?"

Ahiru smiled and stood up. "I guess thats my cue to go. Will I see you tomorrow?"

Fakir shyly nodded. "Y-Yeah." She turned to go. "A-Ahiru!"

She turned around. "Yes Fakir?"

He gulped. Why had he called her her name exactly. "I-I...um, I-I'll meet you by the fountain tomorrow. Be there by eight or I'm leaving without you."

Her reply smile was bright. "Thank you Fakir. See you tomorrow."

He smiled kindly when she disappeared behind the trees. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

The next day, everyone in school scheduled an optometrist appointment.

After all, the great Senior Fakir wouldn't be walking around, talking and smiling in the company of Ahiru of all people.

What puzzled them even greatly was when after a month, they began to hold hands and kiss.