Whoop! I'm back! With more PikoxMiki! This is kind of like a partner fic to [Why or Why Not?]. It shall be 5 Chapters (already all planned out in my head!), and it's basically their relationship before [Why or Why Not?]. Soooo, without further ado, enjoy [Safe from Harm]!

My disclaimers are in my profile. ;D

Snowy white bangs falling over his one grassy-green eye, Piko shuffled out of the classroom to head for his next class. And it just so happened to be the one class that he couldn't stand: Math. Well, sure, he understood the work he was given. But he didn't like wasting so much time thinking on a problem. Numbers and equations do not mix. And it only made things worse that it was the last class of the day.

He didn't bother to hiss in annoyance as the other students pushed past him like he wasn't there; he was used to it, after all. But it wasn't necessarily that they were trying to bother or bully him; it was just that he was so darn short and petite like a little schoolgirl. And thick eyelashes, eyes of a striking color, flawless skin, and hair silkier than the school's very own diva Kagamine Rin could ever hope to get didn't really help him in the eyes of the other students. Though no one said it to his face, he knew they called him 'shota.' Yet Piko had somehow managed to hold a reputation there in the school.

How?

Well, he just so happened to be a pretty dang good soccer player. Sure, soccer was kind of a girl's sport, but the boys had a soccer team, too!

In short, Utatane Piko was respected.

After muttering a 'goodbye' to his pal Len, the white-haired kid gave a forced wave and a smile as his best friend turned to go the opposite way, to the music class Piko would much rather be headed to.

As he made his way down the hall, switching the strap of his backpack from his left shoulder to the right, Piko could hear some kind of shouting. He ignored it, though. People fought all the time. It was usually Rin starting up some kind of drama with a girl who she saw as a threat, anyway. He found it strange how girl fights were a weekly thing, yet fights between the boys – which should be more common than anything, since they were generally so immature – was a rarity.

Piko's eyes widened a little when he saw the crowd of students leaping to the side out of the way, almost like some kind of a wave effect. Coming from farther down the hall was a distressed cry, strangled from the tears the girl choked out as she ran as fast as she could right towards Piko himself. Shoes squealed on the linoleum floor, followed by the clacking of heels that came from the girls who chased after her, shouting out profanities and violent threats. He had no chance to move before the fleeing red-haired girl collided with him.

The impact sent him flying to the ground…hard. It drove the breath from his body and left him shaking in utter shock. The girl, lying awkwardly on top of him, started squirming to pick herself up and get away, spitting out apologies with an angel voice that shook from fear.

"I-I-I didn't m-mean to g-get i-in your w-way –"

"Oi, Utatane!" Rin called out, her clacking heels echoing in the rapidly emptying halls as she made her way over to him. The red-haired girl was sitting on her knees in front of him now – gathering up a few of the books that had spilled from her unzipped backpack. "Sorry that she so rudely got in your way," she sneered, lifting her foot in a fierce kick in the vulnerable red-head girl's side that sent her tumbling over. Rin held out her tiny hand in an offer to help him up.

Piko tried not to noticeably flinch at the grunt of the bullied girl when she hit the ground again, and he looked up at Rin with a gentle smile. "No thanks, Kagamine. I've got it."

The prissy blonde girl snorted and flipped back her short golden locks. "Whatever." She dealt another strike at the bruised and battered girl and spat out, "Be careful next time. Utatane wouldn't want useless scum like you breathing the same air as him." Then, with one last glance over at Piko, Rin padded towards her green-haired friend and vanished into a nearby classroom.

Blinking, Piko looked over at the girl a few feet away, hunched over her books while her shoulders shook from heart-wrenching sobs. He was pretty surprised that none of the teachers had come to see what all of the commotion had been about, but even more so that no student had bothered to stop and check if they were okay. By then, the halls were pretty much empty besides Piko and the girl with long, cherry-red hair. He knew the tardy bell would ring in moments, and as much as he wanted to run off to class to keep his perfect attendance record in-tact, he knew he couldn't just leave her.

Feeling awkward, the white-haired boy inched closer to her and placed a hand on her head. Seeing her flinch at his touch only made him feel for her more. He furrowed his brow as he took a look over her appearance. Her hair reached past her waist, a curly ahoge atop her head, yet it was tangled as though she'd just woken up from a terrible nightmare. Blood stained her shirt, though barely noticeable, as the sticky liquid matched the color of the fabric.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, leaning close so that he could speak into her ear.

She only responded with sobs that got louder with each passing second. "I-I'm so sorry," she stammered at last, voice muffled from where she buried her face in her arms. "I-I didn't mean to get in y-y-y-your way…"

"Don't worry about it," Piko said, letting his fingers sift through her long locks of hair. He blinked down at her. For some reason, he really wanted to look into her eyes. Then, he would be able to see the pain that she was feeling. He repeated his question, this time more firmly. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine…" The girl blindly reached for one of her books, refusing to lift her head. She wrapped her arm around it just as the bell chimed out loud enough to make the both of them jump in surprise. She turned away from him as she sat up, grabbing her backpack and shoving her things sloppily into it.

"Where are you going?" Piko leaped to his feet as she stood up, slowly and shakily.

The girl wiped away her tears vigorously with the sleeve of her shirt and sniffled a few times. "T-to class," she choked out. "I-I can't let you bother with me. I'm u-u-useless."

Piko reached out to grab her wrist, an action that made her jump and whirl to face him. And he almost smiled at getting to see her auburn eyes. They may have been haunted with the torment, red-rimmed from her crying. Her face may have been red and splotchy and wet from the hot, salty tears. Her bottom lip may have been quivering with weak whimpers. The thick bangs may have been plastered to her face with sweat and a little bit of blood, but…

She was still one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen.

Scratch that. She was single-handedly the most gorgeous girl he'd ever had the pleasure to meet.

"W-w-what are you doing?" she asked shakily, half-heartedly trying to free herself from his grip.

Her attempts at escaping only made Piko hold onto her tighter. "You aren't well enough to go to class." He started tugging her back the way he'd come, which she only objected to by dragging her feet.

"B-but I can't skip again, eh!" She gasped as the white-haired boy glanced this way and that before turning the knob to the janitor's closet. "W-wait! Y-you aren't g-gonna…" The girl grunted in protest as he shoved her into the small, dark room, but she didn't scream or cry or beg to be let go. She hit the ground on her knees, something Piko immediately felt bad about, but he pulled the door shut before turning and kneeling down to her level.

"What's your name?" he asked softly. It was true that Piko had no idea how to treat the girl; he wasn't sure if he should talk to her as though she were a five-year-old, if that would make her feel insulted or safer around him. He'd never really dealt with someone in her situation, and he was fairly confident that he had completely screwed his chances of making her feel secure. Especially if he'd just practically thrown her down like he watched Rin do minutes before.

"I'm so sorry; I-I…please, d-don't…" As Piko leaned closer, the red-haired girl inched away from him. He could hear her piteous sobs, a combination of whimpers and choking sounds as she fought not to wail out in pain or fear.

"I promise you that you're safe with me." He dug his hand down into the pocket of his dark jeans to fish out his cellphone, flipping it open so that he could light up the tiny area around them with the dim screen. He held it up to her face, dipping his head slightly so that his dual-colored eyes could meet her traumatized gaze. "I'm Piko. What's your name?"

She lifted her shaking hands to sloppily wipe away her tears before stuttering, "M-Miki…"

"Well, Miki." Piko clicked his phone shut and leaned back, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. "It's nice to meet you."

There was an uneasy silence that passed between the two, before Miki replied with a voice a little stronger than it had been minutes before. "Likewise, I guess."

Piko tilted his head to one side in contemplation, even though he couldn't see her clearly now without the light from his phone. "Do you not feel safe around me?"

Miki shuffled in front of him and heaved a sigh. He could tell that when she spoke again, she sounded as though she were just a little bit farther away from him, like she was trying to distance herself a little more. Like she still didn't trust him.

Not that he could blame her for such a thought.

"I-I'm…wondering why you haven't screamed at me yet," she admitted quietly. "Why haven't you hit me for being in the way? Why aren't you pissed at me for looking at you?" Her words dropped to a low whisper, dark and depressed. "Why do you care?"

It took him several long moments to consider her words and think of how to respond. Piko didn't really know why he'd helped her. There was just…something about seeing another human being get beaten so viciously that trigged an emotion within him. No person should have to endure that kind of torture. He didn't think it was right; that it was cowardly and stupid.

He lost what little respect he had for the blonde-haired beauty Kagamine Rin when he saw her beat Miki down.

"I guess I just have a big heart," he told her with a shrug. Piko smiled reassuringly, even though he knew she couldn't see it, and asked, "Are you okay? You looked like you got hit pretty hard back there."

Miki's laugh was pained and forced, her voice cracking with exhaustion. "It's okay. I'm used to it."

Piko raised a brow. "You shouldn't be used to getting tortured," he pointed out softly.

The redhead heaved a deep sigh and shuffled a bit in her spot. "Well, I am. Even by my parents. Well, dad. My mom passed away when I was young."

"I'm…sorry…" he murmured sympathetically, his eyes tearing up merely from the agony that seemed to drip from every word that Miki spoke.

She sniffled a few times. "Don't worry about it." Miki let silence take over as she waited patiently for the white-haired boy to say something. When he showed no signs of doing so, she sighed again and buried her head in her heads, groaning, "I suppose you've heard what you wanted. Do what you want with me. Nothing can be worse than the things I've already been put through."

The boy blinked rapidly, taken aback by her statement. There he was, being as sincere as ever, and the poor girl thought he was lying to her! That he was only trying to get information before taking advantage of her, or maybe hitting her like the others in her life had done. Piko had never felt the urge to comfort someone before like he wanted to do with her in that very moment.

"Miki, I promise you that I'm not like everyone else," he insisted after a few minutes' thought. "I'll be here for you if you need me to be."

She snorted. "Yea right, Piko. That's the story of my life. No one keeps their promises."

He reached for his cellphone again, flipping it open so that the dim screen light could brighten the small, dark room once again. Piko reached forward and took her hand, and her eyes widened as she met his gaze. The smirk on his lips wasn't one of mischief or some kind of lust.

It was a dare. He was practically begging her to challenge his words.

"Well, I keep mine."

Dooone~! It actually turned out nothing like I originally planned, but eh well. I still have 4 more juicy chapters of their life to write out. Reviews are greatly appreciated, and they mean quicker updates!

Also! To anyone reading my other stories, I'm sooo sorry that it's taking so long to update them! I hope to get two of them updated by the end of tomorrow. ;)

And, I'd love you forever if you go to my poll and vote for your top five Vocaloid couples. Reason won't be said yet. :D

Criticism welcome.

And goodbye!(:

(:Mizune