Chapter Three

As Gaby gets acquainted with her new roommates in the Girl's Dorm, she discovers a mishap that gets her kicked out, leaving her homeless. Can kindness from a stranger be trusted?

Her fingers drummed erratically on the windowsill behind her seat. She wasn’t sitting properly on the train, but she didn’t care. The nervousness was getting to her. And it wasn’t just because she was going to a new school, college in fact, it was also because she was called the “Legend” for scoring perfects on both tests that allowed her into the college.

            

Normally, people would be ecstatic to get such good scores and be accepted into their college, but Gaby wasn’t most people. In fact, she never even knew that there were tests. She hadn’t applied herself; her tutor, K, had done it for her. She had received the Acceptance Letter in her mail by complete surprise. And when she asked her tutor about it, K simply was excited for her to go.

            

Gaby stared blankly out the window. Her brain was working on overdrive on how she was going to deal with this dilemma. She doesn’t consider herself smart, and the truth would surely come out in class. And the biggest problem was the Japanese language test. Passing that made them believe she could speak basic Japanese. Gaby barely knew any Japanese at all, and the only Japanese she knew was from watching anime.

            

The intercom chirped out that they would be arriving at Tokyo Uni shortly. The panic rose even higher inside of Gaby. Her fingers stopped drumming to simply grip the sill as tightly as possible. She tried her best to even out her breathing, but it wasn’t working.

            

“Gaby?” Nate, her new friend, asked, “Mon papillon? Are you alright?”

            

“Yes!” Gaby shouted, “I-I’m fine! Just a l-little nervous is all.” She let out a pathetic laugh, which caused concern to wash over Nate’s face.

            

Before he could say anything else, the train slowed down for a stop. Gaby turned back around with a fake, yet anxious, smile on her face. Yuka, her buddy, and Ricky, Nate’s buddy had already stood up from their seats. The doors opened and the group of four trailed out of the train.

            

To say that Tokyo Uni was large would be a dishonor to the college because the place was massive. The train station was on the outskirts of the school’s gateway. The gateway looked to be like a park filled with trees, fountains, and benches where students sat with their textbooks out. Grecian columns stood around the gateway park, and the path through was paved with the cleanest stone.

            

Gaby stared in awe, while Nate placed his hands on his hips and breathed in deeply next to her. “Ah, smell the knowledge already,” Nate said with a smile, “The breeze feels nice too. I could get used to this.”

            

Gaby nodded in agreeance as she followed him when he moved with the two senior students. They made their way down the path and around the beautiful marble fountain that stood out in the middle. People stared at them as they walked past, and Gaby figured it was because she wasn’t Japanese. Apparently, Tokyo Uni rarely lets in foreigners, though it has happened before. Many people chalk it up to how hard the tests are. Not for Gaby “apparently”.

            

They made it onto the main campus that had a plethora of paths left and right, all decorated with cherry blossom trees, and one large path leading to the main building. Said building towered over all the others with a large dome shape on top.

            

“To the left is the Boys’ Dorm and to the right is the Girls’ Dorms,” Yuka stated, “So this is where we part. Takashi. Guzman. Bye.”

            

Ricky rolled his eyes at the curt dismissal. He shot back, “Of course, your royal assness. Why do you have to be so uptight, Yamada?”

            

Yuka tapped her foot in impatience. “You,” she gestured to Gaby, “let’s go already.”

            

“I have a name, you know,” Gaby muttered, “Alright. Bye Ricky. Bye Nate.”

            

“Bye, mon papillon,” Nate said, “I’ll text you later, ya?”

            

Gaby nodded. Yuka gave a huffed sigh behind her, indicating that she wanted the American to hurry up.

            

“Good luck with Mean Yamada, Gaby!” Ricky called to her, “You’ll need it!”

            

Gaby gulped nervously as she waved goodbye. She felt that Ricky was right on the money with that. She turned to the Japanese girl, who sneered in disgust at her before turning on her high heel and continued down the right path.

            

Gaby tried to make small talk when she asked, “So, Yuka, how do you like it here?”

            

Yuka stopped abruptly and swiveled around so quickly that it frightened Gaby. She glared with her deep brown eyes into Gaby’s own.

            

Yuka murmured something in Japanese that could have very well been an insult, and she said to Gaby, in English, “That’s Yamada-senpai to you.”

            

Gaby gave a frustrated pout, “I have a name too, you know!”

            

“Don’t care,” Yuka replied.

            

“Well you should, Yuka.”

            

The strawberry blonde growled, “You think you can just call me what you want?!”

            

“I could say the same thing to you!”

            

The two women stared each other down, waiting for the other to give up. Yuka’s smoldering eyes filled to the brim with electricity made Gaby want to look away, but she kept her eyes on Yuka’s. That’s what she had to do if she was to get any respect from the other.

            

The stare off lasted barely two minutes, but Yuka clicked her tongue and finally looked away. Gaby let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

            

“Whatever,” Yuka said, “Let’s go already.”

            

“Okay,” Gaby replied. She followed obediently after the blonde, passing by impressive looking buildings, though none would compare to the main hall. The dorm building was a tall and wide structure with a hotel-like entrance. The two girls went in and the first thing that Gaby noticed was a large circular desk in the middle with six elevators on each side of the room, and two staircases came down and wrapped slightly around the main desk.

            

At the desk was a surly looking woman with a tight topknot on her head. She barely looked up when the two girls approached her.

            

“Sensei,” Yuka bowed lightly to her, “We’re checking in.”

            

The woman looked up and raised a brow. She simply thrust a clipboard at them and went back to her typing. Yuka wrote on the board first and handed it to Gaby afterwards. When Gaby got it, however, she noticed that it was in Japanese. Sweat beaded onto the back of her neck.

            

Yuka tapped her foot, impatiently, “Well? Sign it already and let’s go.”

            

“O-okay!” Gaby looked to where Yuka signed and put what Yuka did before returning it to the desk. She had no idea what she wrote, but hopefully it wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Yuka gestured for the American to continue following her. They took one of the elevators.

            

The tension was so thick that it was hard for Gaby to breath. Yuka’s eyes were blank, but it wasn’t as if Gaby was able to read them before. They rode the elevator to the fifth floor and Gaby went after Yuka down the hall.

            

The hall itself was wide, and only held four doors, indicating the largeness of the rooms. The doors each had an intercom beside it to talk into. Gaby thought about how fancy everything was. However, her thinking made her run into Yuka, who had stopped in front of the room numbered ‘17’ in both English and Japanese.

            

“Run into me again,” Yuka warned, “and you will be sleeping out in the hall for the rest of your time here.”

            

“Understood,” Gaby replied.

            

Yuka used her key to open the door and went inside, leaving the door open for Gaby to go in as well.

            

The inside was large and just as lavish as the rest of the building. The entrance was a bit on the small side and held a row of cabinets on the right, where shoes were placed. Gaby could see house slippers places on the ground right before the steps that led to the rest of the dorm.

            

“Take off your shoes and put on the guest slippers,” Yuka instructed, “You’ll have to get a pair of your own later. If I see your dumb American a*s walking with your outside shoes on in the dorm, I swear I will hurt you.”

            

“I know!” Gaby whined, “I’ve seen anime!” Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned that, but it seemed to get Yuka off her back, if only a little. She replaced her shoes with the slippers and continued into the dorm. The entrance led to the living room that held a large, grey sectional with big cushions. In front of said sectional was a glass coffee table that sat in between the couch and the TV stand that held the plasma screen TV.

            

To the right of the living room was a door that led out to the patio where blankets folded over the side of the railing hung and clothes on a clothesline above them dangled. The patio also had windows looking out and a lounge for outside tranquility.

            

Past the living room was the kitchen that held a kitchen island and a small dining table with chairs. Gaby noticed that the fridge was littered with post-it notes and the counters had containers of cookies with what looked like a single name written on all of them. Yuka cursed when she saw them, but she proceeded to point to the doors on the right of the kitchen.

            

“The room on the right is my room.” Yuka explained, “Under no circumstances is it okay to go in there, with or without my permission. The room next to it is Megumi’s room. Don’t disturb her either. She… she isn’t someone you really want to talk to.”

            

Gaby raised a brow at the explanation. If Yuka was telling her to avoid talking to someone, she might have to listen, especially when Yuka sounded so uncomfortable about it.

            

“And the door next to hers is the bathroom. Only spend ten or less minutes in there at a time. We need to let other people use it. We have western toilets, so don’t get scared about using the bathroom.”

            

Gaby rolled her eyes. “Where is my room?”

            

Yuka pointed down a short hallway to the left of the kitchen. “Your room is down there on the right of the hall. And the door on the left of the hall is the laundry room. Don’t leave laundry in there or else I’ll throw it off the patio and onto the ground. Understood?”

            

Gaby looked down the hall sullenly. Her room was disconnected from the rest of her dormmates, not that she wanted to be so close to Yuka, or the mysterious Megumi, but it made her feel lonely. Yuka took this as an opportunity to leave her. She entered her room and shut the door, leaving Gaby to fend for herself. The American girl ventured over to her room and, with a heavy sigh, opened the door to where she would sleep for the next semester.

            

Or at least she thought.

            

The room was littered with boxes. There were so many that Gaby could barely fit into the room. She could also see a bunch of storage cabinets in the rightmost corner of the room with stairs leading to a bed on top. Next to the bed was a small nightstand with a cute cat light. In the right corner connected to the wall with the door was a desk. To the left of the room was a large closet with two large bookcases with a chair in between then in the leftmost corner for relaxing and reading. The room would look real cozy, if not for the plethora of boxes.

            

The girl had no idea where to put her own things. Who did all these boxes belong to?

"Ohayo!” came a perky and sickly-sweet voice behind Gaby. She whipped around and saw a girl standing in the doorway with bright green hair in pigtails and a lollipop in her mouth.

            

“Um, hello?” Gaby greeted back.

            

“Ah!” the girl exclaimed, “An American? Are you our new roommate?!”

            

Gaby nodded, “Uh, yeah. I’m Gabriella, but call me ‘Gaby’. I am going to be living with you. Um… please take care of me?”

            

The girl giggled, “You are super cute, Gaby-chan! Your accent is cute too! Do you only speak English? Where in America are you from? What major are you in? Can we be best friends?”

            

The sudden barrage of questions stunned Gaby, who tried to answer the questions but choked on her answers.

            

“Megumi,” Yuka appeared behind the green-haired girl, “Leave the American alone. She needs to…” Yuka glanced around the room with a raised eyebrow, “…unpack.”

            

Noticing Yuka’s gaze at the stuff, Gaby stammered out, “T-this isn’t mine! I don’t know who’s this is!”

            

“It’s mine,” the green-haired girl, the mysterious Megumi, answered.

            

“Eh?” both Yuka and Gaby replied. The reply at the same time made Yuka glare at Gaby harshly.

            

Megumi nodded, “Yeah. It wouldn’t fit all in my room, so I put it in here. I heard that our roommate had decided to live off-campus, but here you are. Strange.”

            

“Off-campus?” Yuka asked, “Where did you hear that?”

            

“Front desk said so,” Megumi stated, “But I’ll go ahead and move everything. It’ll take a bit though.”

            

Just as they finished the conversation, the intercom at the door buzzed. Yuka rolled her eyes, but she rushed to get it, leaving Gaby and Megumi by themselves.

            

“These rooms are really nice and fancy,” Gaby commented.

            

Megumi nodded enthusiastically, “They are rather nice. Not as nice as the ones at my house, but they are quaint and cozy here.”

            

Gaby gave a questionable look. She briefly wondered what Megumi’s house looked like. She didn’t have time to ask as Yuka reemerged and said, “Front desk wants all of us down. Come on.”

            

The three girls put on their shoes and left the dorm. Yuka walked in front while Megumi stuck to Gaby behind.

            

“I never properly introduced myself,” she held out a hand, “I’m Abe Megumi. You can call me ‘Megumi-chan’ if you want. I don’t mind if a cutie such as yourself calls me that.”

            

“But aren’t you my senpai?” Gaby asked.

            

The other nodded, “Yeah, but like I said, I don’t mind if you call me that. Besides, I want us to be besties. Okay?” She said as if it was the final word and linked their arms together. Gaby gave an awkward laugh. The gnawing feeling of Yuka’s warning came back to her.

            

“She… she isn’t someone you really want to talk to.”

            

Maybe Yuka had said that because Megumi is so forward, and it makes Yuka uncomfortable? Maybe Yuka would back off of her if she was more like Megumi. Though she didn’t believe she could pull it off since she barely had the confidence enough as is.

            

The elevator ride down was uneventful, save for the chattering that came solely from Megumi’s mouth. Yuka growled lightly under her breath as the chattering continued. The tensions were rising, but Megumi seemed oblivious to them. Gaby, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable the whole ride.

            

When it reached the ground floor, the three got out and strode over to the main desk. Megumi kept her arm linked with Gaby’s the whole time, much to Gaby’s dismay.

            

Yuka spoke with the woman and then gestured for Gaby to come up. Both Megumi and Gaby approached, and the woman looked at the three of them.

            

“This is Gabriella Garnica,” Yuka introduced her, which left Gaby rather shocked, “You wished to speak with all of us about her?”

            

The woman nodded and spoke in English, “Yes. I have been informed earlier this week that your roommate, Ms. Garnica, was staying off-campus rather than in the dorms. I wanted to make sure she remembered that since she signed into the dorms.”

            

“But I AM staying in the dorms!” Gaby responded, “I never said anything about staying ‘off-campus’!

            

“It’s in our database,” the woman replied stoically, “And we have the papers on file as well. If this has been a mistake, it’ll take up to a month to fix. You can call this number if you have any questions.” The woman slid a card over to Gaby without looking at her. Gaby slowly took it and read it, or at least tried to.

            

Gaby shook her head and tried to get the woman’s attention, “But this is a huge misunderstanding! I can’t be homeless for a whole month! Isn’t the room empty without me in it? Can’t I just live in it until I get this mess sorted out?”

            

The woman finally gave her the attention with a harsh glare, “That is strictly forbidden. Someone can’t live in the dorms unregistered. It’s against regulations. Find a hotel for the time being and sort this mess out yourself. Now go away. I’m very busy with my work.”

            

With that, the woman turned back to her computer. Gaby felt her heartbeat pounding in her eardrums. Her breathing increased, and her eyes glossed over. What had happened? Who could have called them and told them that Gaby was to be living ‘off-campus’? This was absurd. Gaby had nowhere to go but the dorms. Where would she live? Not only will she be homeless, she’ll be homeless for at least a month, maybe even longer if they can’t sort everything out. How could this happen? She had only been in Japan a few hours and she already wanted to get back on a plane and take the over ten-hour flight back to America where she could lay in her grandmother’s arms and cry about how much of a failure she is.

            

“Gaby-chan?!” Megumi poked her, “You okay? You seem stressed out?”

            

The voice brought Gaby out of her thoughts. She gave a nervous frown and replied, “I… I didn’t ask to live off-campus. Something happened. Where will I live now?”

            

Yuka shrugged, “Just get a hotel like Sensei suggested. Not near the school though, unless you want to pay a fortune.”

            

Gaby tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but it refused to budge. She had a little money, sure, but not enough for housing.

            

“Yuka-chan!” Megumi whined, “Look what you did to poor Gaby-chan! You made her feel hopeless! Say something nice to her!”

            

Yuka looked away from Megumi, a slight blush on her cheeks. She folded her arms and stood straight, staring directly at Gaby. She said, “Things are going to happen. Sometimes we just sit back and roll with them. Other times we do something about them. Take your pick on what you’re going to do.”

            

The advice struck Gaby like a brick. It wasn’t the sweetest thing to say, but it was probably going to be the only nice thing she gets from Yuka. She couldn’t stay in the dorms. Yuka wouldn’t do that kind of thing for her, and Gaby couldn’t ask her to do that. Gaby sighed internally and nodded at the two girls.

            

Both Yuka and Megumi walked her and her luggage out of the dorm hall. Gaby looked back at her new friends, or maybe just new acquaintances. Yuka looked at her without any remorse, as if she had kicked Gaby out herself. Megumi looked slightly forlorn but not too much. It pained Gaby to see such indifference. At least Megumi waved to her ecstatically.

            

“We’ll see you soon, Bestie!” Megumi continued to wave. She put the lollipop back into her mouth. Yuka gave a curt nod and went back inside, followed by her roommate.

            

Gaby watched them leave. “What am I going to do now?” She asked herself. She glanced around and decided to explore the campus. Maybe she’ll find a place to stay, like a shed or the gymnasium. The places she could possibly camp out at were bleak, and the pain in Gaby’s stomach began to increase with every hour she wondered around.

            

The campus was beautiful. As expected from such a pretty country. The university itself was in Tokyo, but with all the foliage around it made it seem like they were in a forest. A gentle breeze hit Gaby, reminding her of her bare legs. She shivered and wondered over to a bench that was shaded with a tree. The tree was big enough to shield her from the wind, so she put all of her stuff onto the bench with her and sat back in thought.

            

“Things are going to happen. Sometimes we just sit back and roll with them. Other times we do something about them. Take your pick on what you’re going to do.”

            

Thinking about what Yuka said, Gaby kicked her feet restlessly. What exactly WAS she supposed to do? She’s always been the type to sit back and take whatever life rolled at her. She let herself go to Tokyo, get on a plane for the first time, be in a friendship with a total stranger on said plane, be bullied by Yuka, and even be pushed out of the dorm.

            

Gaby thought a lot, but thinking wasn’t her strongest suit. Heck, nothing was her strongest suit. A lone tear slid down her eye. She couldn’t just cry out in the open like that. She wiped it away and laid her head down on her luggage. As the sun set slowly, Gaby thought about a place to sleep.

            

A hand on her shoulder woke her up. It was dark out, but not enough to be blind. Lanterns were lit along every path, so when Gaby woke up, she saw exactly who woke her up. It was a boy.

            

The boy wasn’t much taller than Gaby, perhaps by an inch. He had an undercut and the soft dark hair on his head flipped into a ducktail. His eyes were a gentle brown drizzled with concern, but Gaby couldn’t help but stare at the ear piercing on his right ear. Both of his ears were pierced with opal studs, but the right ear had a silver chain leading up to an intricate cuff on the side.

            

He spoke to her in Japanese, and his voice was serene. Gaby knew he asked her a question, but she had no idea what he had said.

            

“Um…” she answered, trying desperately to come up with something, “I’m sorry, uh, gomen nasai, but I don’t speak Japanese. Umm… arigatou, though.”

            

Suddenly the boy was clutching his sides in full-belted laughter, and Gaby’s face grew hot in embarrassment. She pouted and crossed her arms. How dare he laugh at her! She was trying hard!

            

“You must be one of those foreigners,” the boy spoke in lightly accented English. He sounded so practiced that it surprised Gaby.

            

“I am! So please don’t be so hard on me!” Gaby cried.

            

The boy laughed again and apologized, “I’m sorry. It was because you were trying so hard that I laughed. Don’t take it in a mean way. You were so earnest. I was asking what your name was.”

            

The whole situation had Gaby on edge. It was night, so no one was around, and it was dark out. And she was suddenly woken by a stranger. She hesitated, but she eventually replied, “Gabriella. Gabriella Garnica. But my friends call me ‘Gaby’.” The emphasis on ‘friends’ came out as a sort of warning that people knew her, even though it was an empty one.

            

He hummed in acknowledgement, “Gaby, huh? Hello, Gaby. I’m Takashi Kyo, but my friends call me ‘Kyo’.”

            

“Kyo,” Gaby repeated. Her face flushed and she stuttered out, “I-I mean Kyo-senpai! Sorry!”

            

Kyo smiled, “I might be your ‘senpai’, but you can just call me ‘Kyo’ or ‘Kyo-kun’. It doesn’t matter to me. So, Gaby-chan, what are you doing sleeping out her on a bench? If a security guard caught you, you would be in big trouble being out here after curfew.”

            

Gaby raised a brow. “Oh yeah? Then what about you? Why are you out here past your bedtime?”

            

The snark that spilled out of Gaby’s mouth surprised both her and the Japanese boy. He gave her a nervous smile.

            

“You got me there! You could be a good law student, you know. You notice that kind of stuff pretty quickly.”

            

“No way! I’m a Humanities major for a reason!”

            

“Humanities, huh? I’m a Law major myself. Gonna be a policeman, you know. I’m all about that justice.”

            

Gaby tapped her foot in impatience. This guy was worse than Nathan. “You never answered my question. Why are you out here?”

            

“And you never answered mine. But I’ll tell you.” Kyo’s smile became a dangerous smirk as he spoke, “I come out here every night to find pretty girls who fall asleep on benches.”

            

Gaby scoffed, “Okay, yeah right! Get away from me, creep!”

            

Kyo put up his hands in defense, “Ok. Ok. I’ll stop. I actually was coming back from work. See?” He lifted up a nametag on his shirt. “I work at a minimart within walking distance of the school. Because of my schedule, I come back late. Now it’s your turn.”

            

The girl kicked her feet nervously. Could she really trust a stranger with this kind of info? Besides, what could he do? “I…I got kicked out of my dorm.”

            

“Already? Isn’t today the first day for foreigners?”

            

“Yeah, but there was a mix-up, and it’ll take over a month to fix. So, for now, I’m homeless.”

            

A serious look cast over Kyo’s face, and the sudden change from a smile made Gaby’s insides twist in anxiety. Quickly, he got out his phone and dialed something. He lifted a finger to her, signaling that he would be right back, and walked a short distance away from her. Gaby thought about getting up and leaving while he was distracted.

            

He seemed slightly frantic, as if he was begging for something. Gaby felt her fingertips pulse from rising blood pressure. Maybe she should get out of there.

            

Just as quickly as he left, Kyo came back. He seemed to notice her frenzied look. “Hey, so this is going to sound completely insane, but I want you to just think about it for a moment, okay?”

            

Gaby grimaced, but she nodded in agreement.

            

“Okay. I asked my two roommates at the Boy’s Dorm and they are on board, for the most part,” Kyo added on the last part quietly, but Gaby heard it, “I had this idea that if you need a place to stay, you can stay with me and my roommates for the time being. At least until the dorm thing clears up for you. What do you think?”

            

A short silence fell onto them until Gaby shouted out an, “EH?!” Which prompted Kyo to hush her quickly.

            

“I know it’s a little weird to just be asked something like this,” Kyo explained, “I mean, you barely know me and I you, but I can’t just let you sleep out here. It would be just cruel.”

            

“B-but you live in the Boy’s Dorm, right?!” Gaby cried, “I can’t go there! It’s forbidden! If I did say yes, and I’m not saying I am, but if I was caught I would be expelled. And so would you and your roommates! How could you not think about all of the consequences?!”

            

Kyo smiled sheepishly, “I’ve never been much of a thinker. I’m more of a man of action! Besides, there aren’t a lot of options for you right now. The guards check everywhere; no place would be safe for you. And if you’re afraid of my roomies and me, I’ll give you the key to my room, so you can keep it locked while you stay. No one would have the key but you.”

            

Gaby’s feet tapped back and forth on the ground. This was sounding too good to be true. Something had to be up. Gaby glanced up at her ‘savior’ and asked, “What’s in it for you?”

            

Kyo put his hands on his hips and replied, “A goodnight’s sleep knowing that you aren’t sleeping on the ground somewhere.”

            

“So, this is for your own conscience?”

            

“You could say that. But I still want to help you for help’s sake.”

            

The girl pursed her lips silently. What choice did she REALLY have? Honestly? She would be found by security anywhere else and would be thrown out onto the streets. She couldn’t afford a motel either. But could she really live with three guys she doesn’t even know? She shouldn’t. Right?

            

“I’m sorry,” Gaby apologize, “I think I should pass.”

            

Kyo gave her a sad smile, but he nodded, “I can respect that. I won’t try to force you, but if you ever need anything, I’ll give you my number, so you can contact me.”

            

“Thanks, but I shouldn’t-” was all Gaby could get out before a yell was heard a few yards away.

            

The two looked to see a security guard shining his flashlight and yelling at them in Japanese. He walked briskly towards them. Panic settled in Gaby’s chest.

            

“Oh no!” Gaby yelped, “What are we going to do?”

            

“Run,” Kyo stated. His face was stoic and when he grabbed her hand, she jolted into action. Her luggage was plucked from her and put onto his left shoulder, while his right hand tugged on hers. The two ran towards the left side of the campus, or more specifically, the Boy’s Dorms.

            

Something that felt like lead fell into Gaby’s gut as she saw the large building approach. The guard was struggling to keep up with the two, and by the time they turned a corner, the man ran past them.

            

The duo sighed and Kyo put her luggage down on the ground. “You still want to find another place?” he asked her seriously.

            

Gaby’s heart was racing. She assumed it was from the running, or maybe from the panic, but now she felt a whole new reason to panic. She never had a choice.

            

“No,” she responded softly, “I’ll take you up on your offer. I have nowhere else to go anyways.”

            

A large smile broke onto Kyo’s face as he excitedly said, “Don’t worry, Gaby-chan! My roomies and I are the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Well, maybe not Daisuke, but Ken-chan is the sweetest. You’ll love him to bits.”

            

When Kyo picked her luggage back up and glanced around to make sure the coast was clear, Gaby let out a deep and shaky breath. If she wasn’t completely freaking out at the thought of staying with three strange men, she would be soon. The idea was stupid, but she had no real choice. To deny the offer, she’d be facing living in several places to avoid the guards and other people and being genuinely homeless.

            

Her thoughts flicked back to K. She cursed inwardly. She had meant to call her earlier to ask about the application. Surely K had been the one to take the tests. How else could Gaby have scored anything since Gaby didn’t take any of them? It was afternoon in California since it was so late in Tokyo. Gaby deduced the time difference; sixteen hours was a long time to be ahead.

            

‘I’ll call her tomorrow,’ Gaby told herself, ‘I can’t scold her when it’s so late at night here.’

            

Kyo popped his head back from looking out. “Okay. Coast is clear. We better go while it’s all good. You ready?”

            

Gaby nodded quickly, not wanting her nerves to hit again. She could do this. She could do this and if she couldn’t… well at least she tried. She followed Kyo closely; too closely as she ran into him a couple of times. The two sneaked around the building and stopped at a tall lattice that led up the building. The whole place seemed to be covered in the latticework, and wrapped thoroughly around was beautiful wisteria. Gaby couldn’t remember if the Girl’s Dorm was covered in wisteria as well.

            

“You see the patio on the second floor right there?” Kyo pointed to a patio right above another patio. “The second one up is ours. You can tell by the stupid Superman underwear that Daisuke wears. He should know that it is all about Batman.”

            

A chuckle almost escaped Gaby. She looked at the embarrassing Superman boxers that flapped gently in the wind on the clothesline. Gaby herself was a Marvel fan, therefore she didn’t get into the arguments of the DC fans.

            

“How about you go up first, I’ll throw up your luggage, and then I’ll be up after making sure the coast is clear one more time?” Kyo suggested.

            

“Uhh…” Gaby hesitated, “Sure?” She wasn’t sure at all. Could his two roommates be waiting to ambush her?

            

“You don’t sound sure,” Kyo responded, “If you’re thinking that ‘his other roommates are going to grab me the second I get up there and do horrible stuff to me’, you’re wrong. Daisuke and Ken-chan are probably in the kitchen eating and doing homework at this time. And yeah, there are windows looking onto the patio, but they are absolutely too busy being into each other to notice anything going on out here.”

            

His explanation puzzled Gaby, but she seemed more convinced than before. She glanced up the lattice and wrung her hands nervously.

            

“You’re just going to have to trust me,” Kyo said, “I feel like you don’t do that often.”

            

“It’s hard to when a strange guy shakes me awake at 11 at night and asks if I need a place to stay with his two roommates,” Gaby replied, “To stay at his place that happens to be forbidden for members of the opposite sex to be in and if I get caught, all of us are going down in expulsion.”

            

“Then don’t get caught. Listen, can you throw your heavy luggage up two floors?”

            

“Can YOU?”

            

“You gotta start answering questions before asking them. Can you or can’t you throw your luggage?”

            

Gaby grimaced as she shook her head from side-to-side.

            

“Okay then. You go first. You’ll be fine. Just make sure to catch the luggage.”

            

Gaby took a deep breath and gingerly grabbed the lattice. She felt cold metal on her fingers and breathed a sigh of relief. The metal should hold her weight. Gaby pulled herself up and put her foot into one of the holes; she cursed herself for wearing sandals. Slowly, she climbed upwards.

            

“Have you done this before?” She whispered down at Kyo, who kept glancing around for anyone.

            

“They close the doors at 10 on weekdays and midnight on weekends,” Kyo explained, “I get off work at 10:30, so yes, I do this very frequently.”

            

Gaby continued and when she reached the second-floor patio, she climbed slightly further up and stepped onto the patio wall. She hopped onto the patio. It looked similar to the Girl’s Dorm patios with a lounge against the windows and clothes on the clothesline.

            

“You get up there fine?” Kyo called up quietly, “I’m gonna throw the luggage up now.”

            

Gaby popped her head over the edge and nodded. The girl reached her hands out for her luggage. Kyo placed it on his shoulder and, with a massive heave, threw it upward. Gaby was able to grab it. She gripped the handle and scrambled to pull it up. It was heavier than she expected, but gravity was most likely to blame for that.

            

“Got it!” Gaby cheered.

            

“Great! I’ll be up soon.”

            

Gaby sat herself on the lounge. She peered through the windows and found that the room was almost identical to the Girl’s Dorms, except everything seemed to be opposite. The kitchen was to the right of the entrance instead of the left.

            

She gasped when she saw two boys at the kitchen table, surrounded by papers and food. One boy was looking over the papers with a furrowed brow. He seemed to be complaining. The other boy was stuffing his face with onigiri. He seemed to be laughing at the other’s grumbling. Were these the two roommates? Probably.

            

Kyo stepped onto the patio. “Come on and meet the guys, Gaby-chan.”

            

The girl nodded and stood from her seat. Kyo waltzed right in, and she followed behind.

            

“Ken-chan? Daisuke?” Kyo called out, “You guys still up?”

            

The two at the table turned to the sound of his voice. The one who was eating onigiri smiled even wider than before. He wiped his face and stood up, prancing over to the two.

            

“Kyo-tan!” He exclaimed, “You’re home! Where’s the cute girl you promised?”

            

Kyo gestured to Gaby, who had been hiding behind Kyo’s back. She stepped out and gave a small wave.

            

“Hi…” she murmured, extending her hand politely, “I’m Gaby…”

            

“Gaby-tan?” He repeated, “Nice to meet you, Gaby-tan! I’m Nakashima Kentaro, but you can call me ‘Ken-kun’! I’m super excited to meet you!” He took her hand and pulled her into a hug. A sudden release of air came from her lungs as he picked her up and swung her around.

            

When he put her back down, Gaby bravely met his eye. She noticed his brown eyes held a kindness to them. She felt her heartbeat slow from its panicked pace as she took the rest of him in. He had spiked hair that was an orangey red, and a thick, black headband was wrapped around his forehead. She also noticed that he was tall, almost a whole head taller than her and Kyo, and he had dimples when he smiled. And, to Gaby’s surprise, he was quite muscular as his muscle shirt revealed sculpted biceps. Not that Gaby was complaining.

            

“Are you f*****g serious, Kyo?” came the voice from the other boy at the table. He had looked up from his papers and gave Gaby a disgusted look. “You know that we can get into serious trouble for harboring a girl in here, right? Surely you aren’t that stupid.”

            

“But she had nowhere to go, Daisuke,” Kyo argued, “Surely you aren’t that heartless. Besides, once she has her dorm situation sorted out, she’ll be back at her dorm.”

            

The boy at the table, Daisuke, took off the reading glasses he had on and stormed over to them. Gaby took in his appearance. He had annoyed-looking green eyes, and light brown hair in a tiny and cute ponytail. Long, side-swept bangs covered his right eye, but he shook it out of his face to look fully at Gaby. He was the same height as Gaby, so intimidation wasn’t there for her. At least, not much was there.

            

He crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently, “Oh yeah? And how long will that be exactly?”

            

“A month or maybe a little more than a month,” Kyo replied softly.

            

A livid expression came across Daisuke’s face, “A MONTH?! How can you put us in danger of expulsion for an entire month?! Are you insane?!”

            

“Dai-tan,” Kentaro frowned, “Stop being so mean to poor Gaby-tan.”

            

“And you, Ken, will you get off of her already?!” Daisuke shouted.

            

Ken, who had his arms wrapped protectively around Gaby’s head, pouted. Gaby was holding onto one of the arms that wrapped around her neck. She wasn’t even trying to pretend that she wasn’t grabbing onto his bicep on purpose.

            

Daisuke took a step closer to look at Gaby. “Who exactly are you anyway?”

            

“I’m Gabriella. Gabriella Garnica.” Gaby said, feeling braver with Ken’s arms around her.

            

An incredulous look plastered itself onto Daisuke’s face, “No way. YOU’RE the Legend?!”

            

Gaby grimaced, but both Kyo and Ken looked at him with a confused look.

            

“You both are so stupid!” Daisuke claimed, “The Legend received full marks on both of their tests to get into Tokyo Uni! You are in the same room as a formidable person. I just can’t believe it’s this girl.”

            

“Whoa.” Kyo and Ken whistled, both with a look of surprise on their faces as they faced Gaby. Gaby gulped nervously.

            

“Tachibana Daisuke.” The boy introduced himself, “You can call me ‘Tachibana’ for now. Garnica, right?”

            

Gaby nodded, “Yes, Tachibana-senpai.”

            

Daisuke nodded in confirmation to the name. “Now, how exactly is this going to work for a whole month? She can’t sleep on the couch.”

            

“Yeah, she can’t,” Kyo agreed, “Or else she’ll see you in your dumb Superman underwear, and that’s just embarrassing.”

            

Blood filled Daisuke’s cheeks and he growled out, “F**k off, Kyo! I’m not having the Superman versus Batman talk with you so late at night! Where is she going to sleep?!”

            

“My room,” Kyo stated.

            

“WITH YOU?!” Daisuke shouted.

            

Kyo laughed loudly, “No, Daisuke, you dummy. She’ll take my room, and I’LL take the couch. That way, if you prance around in your underwear, you won’t have to be so embarrassed, even though you should be.”

            

“Mention my underwear one more time and you can sleep on the damn patio,” Daisuke warned. He breathed a calming breath before he turned to Gaby once more, “We’ll have to get you some slippers that you will have to keep in the cabinet at all times. And you can probably use the mini fridge Kyo keeps in his room for your food. We can’t have anyone seeing your things around the house.”

            

The rest of them nodded. Gaby smiled and said, “Thanks for being understanding, Tachibana-senpai.”

            

“Dai-tan,” Ken whined, his arms still around Gaby, “Let her call you ‘Dai-chan’ or something. ‘Tachibana-senpai’ seems so stuffy.”

            

“It’s a respectful term, Ken,” Daisuke retaliated, “Besides, she should address all of us as such since she is in our debt. We could easily toss her out on her a*s, so she should be grateful.”

            

Gaby gave a deep pout. Ken picked up on her irritation and giggled, “Oh, Gaby-tan, Dai-tan is just mad because he isn’t the center of attention right now.”

            

“F**k you, Ken!” Daisuke exclaimed, “Will you shut your dumb mouth already?!”

            

“Daisuki,” Ken’s sweet voice lowered in warning as he released Gaby, “Leave her be already. It’s late and she needs sleep after the day she’s had.”

            

Gaby was surprised to see the look on Daisuke’s face. His eyes desperately looked away from Ken’s as he backed down quickly. He reminded Gaby of a chihuahua. All bark and no bite.

            

Kyo, who was silent, motioned for Gaby to follow him. She did, and they went down the hallway to Kyo’s room. It was just like her room in the Girl’s Dorm, tucked away from everyone else. When he opened the door, she was even more surprised to see the similar layout to her room in the other dorms. Except Kyo’s room was covered with posters of bands and the floor was covered with his clothes.

            

“I’m a little messy, sorry,” he apologized as he quickly picked up his things and threw them in a laundry bin on the other side of the door.

            

“You really don’t have to give up your room for me,” Gaby said quietly, “Won’t that be an inconvenience for you?”

            

The boy shook his head and replied, “Nah. I can put my clothes in the bathroom and get anything I need out for the night during the day when you aren’t in here.” He opened a few drawers in the closet and pulled out some clothes for the night and the next day. “I hope you have a good night’s sleep, Gaby-chan. I’ll be on the couch if you need me for anything.” He left his room key on the desk, closed the door, and left Gaby alone.

            

Gaby stood in the middle of the room, twiddling her thumbs. The room smelled heavily of the same scent Kyo seemed to carry: vanilla. She opened the cabinets under the bed and found an empty one that led to the underneath of the bed, most likely for maintenance or wiring. She put her luggage in there and closed the cabinet.

            

She looked up at the bed, which was neatly made with a pretty purple comforter. The pillows were matching, and in the middle of the two pillows on the bed was a pink pillow in the shape of a flower. Gaby ascended the steps and crouched onto the small amount of ‘floor’ by the bed that doubled as the top of the cabinets. Upon closer inspection, the flower pillow had stitching in it that Gaby assumed was Kyo’s name.

            

The girl smiled before descending the steps and grabbing her luggage from inside the cabinet. She pulled out pajamas and quickly changed. Returning the luggage to its place in the cabinet, Gaby went to go back up the steps when she turned towards the door. She ran over and locked it before running up the steps and diving into the plush bed. Her face buried into the flower pillow.

            

Gaby slipped herself under the covers and hugged onto the flower pillow. It smelled warm, like someone had aalready been hugging it beforehand. She turned off the lamp on the short bedside table and placed her head on the flower pillow.

            

‘I wonder how long I’ll be able to stay here,’ Gaby thought, ‘I have to fix the dorm mishap. I can’t intrude on these guys forever. At least Kyo and Ken are nice to me.’

            

While deep in her thoughts, Gaby slowly drifted off into dreamland.

Author's Note

I've realized that each of the re-written chapters get longer and longer. Case in point: 7,574 words later and this bad boy came out. I'm really proud of myself for keeping up with my 4,000 word limit. The last version I only had a 1,000 word limit, and I didn't meet it most of the time.

And I probably don't have to point out that things are going way slower in these chapters than in the last version, and yet they have more words! I've thought about it, and I've come to the conclusion that the first DL version's pacing was too fast. I reread it and found that some of the build up to the Triple Specials began right after the last Triple Special. That won't happen here. The Triple Specials are unique and even though their build ups might require a lot, they should really stay within their boundaries. That doesn't mean I won't hint at things, however. Small things here and there are good, but they won't be the main focus for the rest of the chapters, if you get what I'm laying down.

Another point, there are several important changes in this chapter, such as introducing Megumi so soon, and the thorough layouts of both the Girl's and Boy's Dorms. If you have watched "Hello, My Twenties" (AKA "Age of Youth") on Netflix, you might be able to recognize the layout of the dorms. Yes, I tried to mimic, as best as I could, the layout of their shared apartment because I LOVED the place. I originally planned a way different layout in my head, but I switched it at last minute thinking that it would look better this way. And if you've seen the show, it might be easier to picture the dorms for yourself.

If you may have noticed, which you probably have, I changed the looks of the characters. Gaby stays the same, since her look is iconic to her personality, but I felt that the boys needed a makeover. Hence why Kyo has an undercut along with his signature ducktail. And Ken is a ginger, instead of a blond like in the first version. I also gave Daisuke the fringe and a shorter ponytail. And I'll try to do a better job at describing when needed, such as I won't go into full detail with the clothing. Maybe some small things like, "She twisted the hem of her light blue tank top". I'll detail the looks of everyone, but the clothing won't come into play too much, so just imagine them in anything you like (for example, give Daisuke a chicken suit).

One last thing, if you have any corrections or if you really liked a certain line, please tell me in a review. Reviews really make this all worthwhile, and I want to know other people are enjoying this as I am. It could be anything, but please keep it about the story. I don't want comments like "You suck" or "Can we get to know each other better?" because those don't make my day. Things like "How long did this take to write?" or "Can we get [insert character's name] to slip on ice at some point?" will make me happy. I'll reply to the best of my ability (and my DMs are NOT poppin, so I'm not busy).

Thank you so much for reading! Until next time!

Reviews

[Ashimoto]

I can't help but LOVE Shimeji! He is so funny and perverted~ I think he's going to be one of my favorites. Also, I like Ali and Ryuu. They are like a comedy duo with all their fighting. :)

[Ace D Portgas]

Pretty intense way to end the chapter! It made Ali seem mean lol...I love all the characters introduced in the story...Shimenji loves the ladies and Kasi seems to really like tall men...I can't help but think Dai is going to do something that gets Gaby in trouble

[Emunah June.]

Uh oh. Not a very nice way to end the chapter. Ali sounds scary O_O

That was an awkward way to start the morning, eh?

[Gaby]

XD I loved it! It was great! :DDD Post the next one soon, I wanna read!!