Merry leaned on her wrist and stared out the window, the snow fell gently and stuck to the window, the wind moved and the trees swayed, the light illuminating the snow making them like crystals falling. As an attempt to stay awake, she opened the flood gate and let her thoughts flow 'That nightmares' come back again... Should I talk about it? Maybe I should talk to Mom? Um, no. Embarrassing! Dad? Same? Maybe Aid—' "Miss Kohaku!" Merry jumped at the sound of her name being shouted, "Uhm, y-yes Mr. Kaito, sir?" She asked nervously as she adjusted her sitting position. The man sighed, "I called your name seven times Miss Kohaku. If you can't pay attention in my class, then I'm going to have to ask you to go to the principles office." He said, the class started giggling as Merry picked up her bag and left the room. She heard Mr. Kaito's voice fade away gently as she walked down the hallway towards the office. She paused in front of the door and groaned, "Ohhh I am so screwed.." Merry turned the handal and pushed on the door, revealing a small, square room painted a light coffee shade of brown, a desk against the far right wall and some chairs on the opposite side. She tip toed through, trying not to be caught, but her bag slipped off her shoulder making a crash on the floor. A young woman peeked from behind the computer on the desk, "Ahhhh Miss Merry, welcome back." The woman said. Merry laughed nervously, "O-oh uhm, yeah I guess so, huh?" She said. The woman chuckled, "Well, someone else is with Mr Yuu right now, but they will be out shortly. You may have a seat until then." Merry smiled, "Thanks Miss Gumi." She said, walking over to the chairs. Merry looked down at her bag and unzipped the front pouch to pull out her phone. She clicked the button and her screen lit up, revealing a few text notifications.

Len, 1H

Sis! I want to take Teto out, where should I take her???

She chuckled. She was taken from her thoughts as the door next to the desk opened, she turned off her phone and stood up. "Just ignore them next time, okay Aido?" She heard Mr Yuu say from inside the office, "R-right…" said a familiar voice as someone emerged from the office. "Lol! Aido what the hell did you do?" Merry asked as she walked over to the door, Aido looked up and smiled when he saw who it was. He opened the door again and smiled, "That's a story for later. M'lady." He said, "Oh why thank you good sir." She said sarcastically, "Lol see ya later Merry." He said, walking towards the other door, "Yup, see ya." Merry said as she shut the door to the office behind her. A young man with short, blonde hair turned around in his chair, "Well, if it isn't my favorite trouble maker." He said, "Hah, hello Mr. Yuu." She said, "Have a seat." My Yuu told her as he turned his chair around and sat down again. He leaned on his elbows and tilted his head, "So what is it his time, Merry?" He asked. Merry massaged the back of her neck, 'He's so casual, damn... making me nervous' She sighed, "I was daydreaming…" Mr Yuu chuckled, "Again, Merry? You're worse than me on Friday." He said. Merry laughed out loud, she started to loosen up a little, "I haven't been sleeping lately, I tried not to fall asleep in class and I guess I fell into a daydream." She said, smoothing her grey pleated skirt. Mr Yuu stroked his beard, 'She isn't telling me everything..' He thought. He hummed, "Are you sure it's just because of a lack of sleep? Is everything all right at home?" Mr Yuu asked with playful concern. Merry stiffened, "Uhm, haha yeah. It's just the sleep, that's all." She replied. An awkward silence fell over the room as Mr Yuu sat and studied the teen. Finally he slapped the table, making her jump. "Alright! Well, I'll do the usual note to your parents, try not to be daydreaming anymore in class, alright?" He said. Merry exhaled and smiled, "Yeah, sure." She replied. Mr Yuu stood up and walked over to the door. He smiled as he turned the handle, "If that is all Merry, I recommend you go before you miss science." Merry, confused, unzipped her bag and retrieved her phone. She turned it on and her eyes widened, "Oh crap! Gotta split!" She yelled as she shot up from her chair. She ran out the door, stumbling over her feet. Mr Yuu chuckled and started closing the door when she poked her head back in, "Th-thank you, Mr Yuu!" She yelled, running back out the door, past the desk, and out the other door. This time he laughed out loud as he shut the door and walked back to his desk.

Merry ran through the hallway, "Oh shhhhhooot! I've only got 3 minutes to get there!" She yelled to herself. She ran and ran across her campus, tripping herself over pedestrians and earning some middle fingers for running in front of cars. "S-sorry! Oh, sorry ma'am! Excuse me!" She yelled at people as she passed. Merry finally made it to the door of her science class and sat against the wall to take her phone out and have a break from all that running, "Maybe I have time to rest…?" She told herself as she gasped for breath. She turned on the button and shot up again, "10 minutes late!?" She exclaimed. Merry took a deep breath, opened the door as silently as she could and crept in. A woman was at the whiteboard at the front of the room when she heard the door open, she turned around and shook her head with a smile, "Oh Merry, nice of you to join us. Please take a seat!" She said. Merry's face turned bright red as the whole class turned around to see her, "Uhmmm.. I'm sorry Miss Miku." She said. She held her bag against her face and felt her way to her seat in the middle of the room on the left hand side. School went smoothly from there in out, and Merry walked home afterwards.

"Tadaima!" Merry shouted as she walked

(in the door. "Okaeri!" She heard Someone shout from the kitchen. Merry threw off her shoes and threw her backpack on a hook near the door. She walked down the tall wooden hallway and turned right into the kitchen. She took a deep breath through her nose, "Mmmm… something smells good." She said. Merry looked around the kitchen and put her hand on her hip, "So mom and dad aren't home yet, huh?" She asked. To Merry's right, someone was stirring a pot over the stove. That person turned around and looked at Merry, "No, not yet. They went out to dinner and told me to make something." He said. Merry sighed as she walked over to the table and plopped herself down, "They always go out now Fukase! Don't they think that their kids might want to see them once and a while?" She yelled angrily. Fukase was shocked at her outburst and turned around to look at her. She saw the shock on his face and stiffened, "Um, I-I mean…" Fukase walked over and got on his knees in front of her, she closed her eyes in fear. But Instead of punishing her, he smiled and ruffled her short red hair, "Rough day at school today?" He asked kindly. Fukase stood up, went back over to the stove, and threw some onions in a cast iron skillet, "Lighten up a little Merry, it's almost Christmas! They have to go out so they can discuss presents without anyone hearing, especially Rin, you know how she is. So if you want something for Christmas, I recommend dealing with it." He winked at her and continued cooking. Merry blushed, she was embarrassed and didn't know what to say, so she went to her room. She pulled out her homework and got to work. She got through one page of math before she heard Fukase call her down for dinner. "Merry, could you get Rin and Len out of their rooms? It's time for dinner!" He called up the stairs, "Aye aye!" She called back. First she walked over to Len's room and knocked on the door, "Oi! Dinner!" She called through the wood, "Yeah, gotta go Teto, sorry! Yup, love you too, okay bye!" She heard him say, she chuckled as she walked across the hall to Rin's door, "Rin, dinner!" She said, "Coming!" Rin called back.

Timeskip: bedtime

Merry pulled her shirt over her head and pulled on her pajama shirt, and pulled off her skirt and put on her shorts. She walked over and flopped on her bed before the door opened. "Honey, can we talk?" A male voice said as someone appeared in the doorway. Merry sat up straight, "Sure, dad." She said. She started to panic, 'What did I do? Did I leave porn up on my phone? Did mom look through it? Oh I'm so busted!' Her dad laughed, "You look like I'm gonna bite your arm off! Why so nervous?" He asked, his tone suddenly turning serious, "Oh n-no reason! What do you want to talk about?" She asked, hiding her fear of dying at the hands of her purple haired father. He pulled his long purple hair back in a ponytail holder, "Your mother got a note from Mr Yuu today, you weren't paying attention in class?" He asked, she breathed a sigh of relief and he gave her a confused look, "Yeah, I haven't been sleeping lately, I tried not to fall asleep and got lost in thought I guess…" she explained. Gakupo put a hand on her shoulder, "What's been bothering you? You've been distant lately, do you want to talk about anything?" He asked gently. Merry suddenly got afraid as memories of her nightmare swam across her mind… she gulped and smiled, "No dad, I'm fine, really. It's just been school, that's all." She explained. He looked her in the eyes, 'There's definitely something else...' he thought. He patted her leg, "Okay! Just remember you can talk to me about anything, alright Merry?" He told her. Merry softened, "Of course Dad. I'll try not to drift off anymore in class." She said with a chuckle. He also chuckled, "Alright then, good night." He said as he planted a kiss on her forehead. Merry smiled, "Yeah, goodnight Dad." She said warmly. Gakupo walked out the door and turned off the light, leaving her in total darkness. She breathed deep, "Nothing in here…" she told herself, "Let's just hope I don't have anymore nightmares tonight, and if I do I am thankful for the fact that today is Friday." Merry got under her blankets and went to sleep.

Merry might not have had any nightmares that night, but Aido was sure living one…

Tadaima means "I'm home" and is pronounced "Tah-Die-Mah"

Okaerinasai (Or Okaeri if you're being less formal) means "Welcome home" and is pronounced "Oh-Kah-E-Ree-Nah-Sye" (Or "Oh-kah-e-ree"

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I promise the next one will be more interesting, lol. Please leave a comment if you have any tips or ideas, I really appreciate feedback!

Thank you for reading, see you next time!

With love, Clubby21