A/N: I wrote this when ep 11 came out. A lot of theorizing and ideas went on after that episode and within the week of waiting for ep 12 I spent it writing this. In the end, this is an AU of Haru reluctantly accepting her role as the Queen Bee and taking Yuri's place. This is Nio centric, her thoughts being about how she feels about Haru from when they first met to then on. It's subtle but pretty gay and I hope you like it as much as I did when I wrote it.

I.

A frown was set on Haru's face. She was watching a screen that showed the new flock of Black Class students. Out of the thirteen, one stood out.

"She's only a girl."

Nio leered from the shadows. "You were too."

II.

The first time they met, Haru was unconscious. Curious, eager to see the promising candidate, Nio had sneaked into the Intensive Care Unit. The girl lay in the center of the room, wearing a plastic oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. The heart monitor read her pulse, its bleeps the only noise in the room. A needle rested on top of her hand, wrapped in bandages to keep it secure inside her vein.

Her hair was down then, and longer, strawberry red and flowing past her breasts. Looking back, Nio felt Haru looked best this way.

The second time they met, Haru had been discharged from the Intensive Care Unit. This time however she was asleep. Again, Nio sneaked past the hospital staff.

There was a soft breeze blowing through the room, ruffling the long, stark, white hospital curtains.

The oxygen mask and heart monitor were gone and the I.V. drip remained. The liquid slowly trickled with the sound of dropping pins.

Her hair was still long but tied in low hanging pigtails. Nio ran her fingers through Haru's hair, the entire time gazing at her neck. The other girl's breath was like a soft whisper and the rise and fall of her chest seemed so fragile. Her neck was like glass and in that moment Nio wanted to break her.

Nio's nails grazed along the nape of her neck but went no further. She had promised the chairwoman.

The third time they met Haru was awake. Although she didn't know Nio or expect visitors, she welcomed her warmly.

Nio held a bouquet of flowers, courtesy of Haru's relative, the chairwoman. Attached was a card wrapped in a black envelope, and as Haru opened it, she realized it wasn't a get-well card.

"A formal invitation to Myojo Academy," Nio explained.

III.

The chair was soft and made of leather but Haru shifted restlessly in it. Chairwoman. The title was like a too-tight dress, or shoes three sizes too big.

Maybe it was because she was only twenty years old, she thought. Nio and Tokaku both knew the real reason was guilt. To be sitting in this chair, alive, she had had to overcome her classmates. Tokaku reminded her that they had tried to kill her. Nio reasoned that Otoya, Isuke, and the others knew the consequences.

"With that in mind, it's like they killed themselves," she'd said, winking.

Neither of their reassurances helped Haru feel more comfortable in the chair, and her insides were festering.

"Why did they all want to kill Har-" She paused on the third person; since taking Yuri's place, she was trying to sound more professional. "- I mean. . . Why did they all want to kill me?" She ran her fingers over the scars on her thighs, hidden by the pencil skirt she was wearing. "Was it money?"

"Sometimes," Nio admitted.

"The incentive was that you could make a request for anything you wanted," Tokaku offered.

Haru raised her eyes to Nio. "What were their wishes?"

Nio scratched her cheek, grinning coquettishly. "Well. . .it's been awhile, so-"

"Please! You have to remember!" Haru suddenly stood up and slammed her palms against the desk. "I need to know what everyone wished for. . . so please remember. I know you can, Nio. . ." By now, Haru was used to Nio's teasing or the way she dodged subjects she still wanted to keep secret.

"Hmmm. I remember Haruki wanted the organization to support her family.." From there she continued on, watching the new chairwoman's expression go from despair to shock and finally to determination after Nio disclosed Isuke's wish.

"They all. . . died for their wishes," Haru said sadly. She had never blamed her classmates for the assassination attempts before, but knowing what had driven them put them in a perspective she hadn't seen before.

She sat back down in the chair, and drew in a deep breath. "Nio."

"Yes?"

"Contact Haruki's family. Hopefully it's not too late to help."

Nio nodded and was about to leave to carry out the order when Haru stopped her.

"After that, contact Isuke's parents. Ask them where they wish to retire to."

"The new chairwoman is so generous, isn't she, Tokaku-san?" Only Tokaku caught the snark in the blonde's voice.

When Nio left, Haru leaned back in the chair. Finally, it fit.

IV.

"Tokaku!" Haru reached towards the receding figure.

Nio stood in her way. Inside she was smiling, though Haru would never know. "You heard her. Let's go. It's too dangerous."

"I'm not leaving without Tokaku!" Haru yelled, gripping the shorter woman's shoulder to shove her out of the way. Suddenly, she jerked upwards, body trembling. Nio removed her fist from Haru's stomach. For a moment, Haru wavered, eyes fluttering, and then she collapsed. Nio caught her, smiling ruefully.

"Sorry, Haru. You weren't cooperating."

V.

Nio and Haru always pictured Tokaku as a cat. This wasn't the first time they had been forced to split up for the sake of Haru's safety. The chairwoman was not only a busy woman- she was a wanted woman, which made Tokaku's job harder when Haru had to make a business trip.

They had always managed, though. Somehow, Tokaku always found Haru even when they were traveling. She would show up, unannounced, through the window of a speeding train just in time for the dining cart, or Haru would realize the bell hop leading them to their room was Tokaku in disguise.

To an ordinary person, this was magic but Nio knew all the tricks and was unimpressed. She also thought she could do better.

It had been weeks since they had split up and Tokaku had yet to show. Though worried, Haru kept faith, keeping the light on in the bedroom. "If the light isn't on, she might not find her way."

It took all of Nio's restraint not to snort at Haru's childlike innocence. It had made her chuckle when they were teenagers, but it was just ridiculous now to see a thirty-year-old woman speak so naively.

Another week passed until Tokaku turned up, albeit not as expected. The package came that morning, wrapped in butcher's paper and tied with twine. Nio had to cover her nose even before she opened the package. Suspicious of its contents she went downstairs to the wine cellar to open it before Haru woke up. The package felt wet when she picked it up, just the touch of it sent chills down her spine. Nio was impressed that she was a little scared. It wasn't easy to scare her.

She gagged upon opening it, and then once fully unwrapped, it made her insides gurgle. Tokaku was barely recognizable, her body a jumble of bloody puzzle pieces.

Very quickly, she wrapped it back up and went upstairs. She was grateful that the maid was nearby and tossed the disgusting package to her.

"Dispose of this," she said briskly.

"Dispose of what?" Haru stepped into the room and immediately covered her nose, eyes locked on to the package.

"Nothing to be concerned about." Nio nodded to the maid. "How long do you plan to hold that?"

"Wait!" Haru apprehended the maid and took the package from her hands. She tripped under her footing and the parcel's contents splattered all over the kitchen tiles.

Overcome by the stench, the maid ran out, leaving them alone in silence. Haru stared in horror at the body parts strewn around the room. Bone stuck out from some of the limbs and intestines stretched out like ribbons. Her gaze finally settled on the head, eyes like clouded glass seeming to stare back at her.

"Haru. . ."

"What did you mean 'dispose of this'?!" Haru stammered, hands balled into fists and shaking. "You were just going to throw Tokaku away?! And not tell me what happened? Why? Why?" she screamed. Nio jumped aback, not used to Haru raising her voice.

Nio could never tell her the reason why. That she wanted Haru to remain hopeful and unwavering: naive.

VI.

"I knew you would be here," Nio said.

Haru's back was to her, facing the name embedded in polished stone. A plate of curry and a bowl of rice was set in front of the grave (one of the few in the catacombs with a body within). A fresh bouquet of flowers sat next to the food. The wilted flowers from only two days ago were set to the side.

She was accustomed to Haru's visits to the catacombs, a weekly ritual of hers ever since she took the "throne." Her attention to the dead starkly contrasted with the previous chairwoman. Yuri had ever only said her condolences and thanks. Haru brought flowers and conversation and sometimes silence. When she talked to her family or her classmates from Black Class, she was so animated, Nio felt, watching Haru, that it was as if they never died at all. She would have thought the girl was crazy if she didn't know this was the present chairperson's way of coping.

Knowing this, she normally wouldn't come down to fetch her, but she was expected soon for a dinner meeting.

"Please, Nio. Just a few more minutes."

"Of course." Nio bowed before leaving. She glanced at Haru again from the corner of her eye and wondered if the woman would mourn for her death as much as she did for Tokaku.