A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated I've been sick and haven't really felt like doing anything. For those of you who also read Adventures of the Challenged I'll hopefully be updating that later this week.

Lesson 2: Peer Pressure

Deneve

Raki was having such a nice peaceful morning. He woke up to the sun shining through his window and when he opened his eyes he saw the sky was a beautiful blue not a cloud in sight. He decided to spend the day lounging outside enjoying the nice weather in peace and quiet without a care in the world. Oh, how wrong he was…

"This is nice. It's not too hot or too cold. I could stay here forever." Sighed Raki as he lay under a tree.

"RAKI!!!" A horrifyingly familiar voice yelled.

"No!" Raki gasps, his eyes popping open.

"RAAAAA-HEY, THERE YOU ARE!!!" Helen yelled walking towards him.

"No! No! No!" Raki says shaking his head in disbelieving horror.

As he watched Helen walk slowly towards him, each foot step bringing the sound of doom, he made the only decision he could. He ran. Looking back on his decision he realized that he didn't make the smartest one, but hey, he had to try. For one glorious moment he thought he had done it. He had really escaped from Helen, but once again all his hopes and dreams came crashing down around him.

"HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! IT'S TIME FOR YOUR LESSON!!!" Helen yelled.

Raki was almost free. He could taste it. That is until he felt something wrap around his torso like a python pulling him off his feet and onto his back. He stared at the sky in a dazed stupor until he realized he was being dragged backwards. He looked down and saw something black wrapped around him. Tilting his head back he sees that the black thing is attached to Helen and she is dragging him towards her.

"NO! NO! LET ME GO!!!!!" Raki screams, kicking his legs, desperately trying to escape.

"COME ON!!! I'M NOT GOING TO HURT YOU!!! I'M JUST GOING TO GIVE YOU ANOTHER LIFE LESSON!!!" Helen yells pulling him closer.

"NO! I DON'T WANT A LESSON!!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!! PLEASE!!!!" Raki screams, flailing his entire body.

"DON'T BE A BABY! OUCH! STOP FLAILING AROUND LIKE THAT!!! YOU'RE SQUISHING MY ARM!!!" Helen yells, wincing in pain.

"I DON'T CARE!!! LET ME GO IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT!!! HELP!!! SOMEONE!!! ANYONE!!!! HEY, YOU KID!!! HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!" Raki desperately screams at a three year old boy.

"It's ok little boy. My baby brother likes to joke around. Why don't you go play with your friends?" Helen says.

"Ok, lady." The little boy says, walking away.

"NO!!! WAIT!!! SHE'S LYING!!!! SHE ISN'T MY SISTER!!!! WAIT, COME BACK!!!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!!!" Raki cries desperately.

"SHUT UP! YOU'RE MAKING ME SOUND LIKE SOME CRAZED LUNATIC!!!!" Helen yanks Raki a little closer.

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE!!!" Raki flails violently managing to smash Helen's arm into a rock.

"OUCH!!! THAT HURT!!!" Helen yanks Raki hard, hitting his head on the ground.

"OUF! CLARE!!!! HELP ME!!! CLARE!!!!!! CLA-MMMHMMMHMPH" Raki is unable to finish because Helen stretched her arm to cover his mouth with her hand.

"RAKI! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET ME KILLED?!!!" Helen screams, looking into Raki's glaring eyes.

Unable to speak Raki puts all his effort into fighting against Helen's death grip. The fighting and muffled screaming continue the whole trip back to the tree. Raki lay on the ground panting at Helen's feet as she unwound her arm from him content that his attempts to escape were over. Raki sensing an opening tries to bolt only to get face planted into the ground.

Elsewhere

"Ouch!" Clare puts her hands to her face.

"What's wrong Clare?" Yuma asks.

"I don't know, but my face hurts. It feels like I just had my face smashed into the ground." Clare says.

Back to Helen and Raki

Five minutes and ten escape attempts later Raki is now tied to the tree with a very disgruntled look on his face.

"Now, we can finally begin our lesson" Helen says, looking at Raki.

"I don't want a lesson." Raki says, pouting.

"Now, today's lesson is going to be about peer pressure and why you shouldn't succumb to it." Helen explains, ignoring Raki.

"Aren't you the worst person to teach about peer pressure? You use it all the time to get people to do your evil bidding." Raki says, successfully not cowering from the murderous look Helen was giving him.

"SHUT UP!" Helen yells, while kicking Raki's foot.

"OUCH!"

"Now as I was saying, peer pressure is very bad. You should never let yourself be pressured into doing something that you don't want to do. It could have very bad consequences." Helen begins.

"Yeah, you should know. OUCH!"

"No interrupting. Now, I have a very special guest for today's lesson. Deneve!" Helen looks around the courtyard.

"What do you want? What is soooo important that I had to be here?" Deneve asks, walking towards Helen.

"Oh there you are! Ok, stand right here" Helen moves Deneve to stand in front of the tree.

"Helen, why is Raki tied to a tree?"

"This person here is the perfect example of how peer pressure can ruin your life." Helen gestures towards Deneve.

"Are you doing those stupid life lessons again?"

"How is it possible for peer pressure to ruin your life, you ask?" Helen continues, using her awesome powers of selective hearing.

"Hey! I do not like being ignored!" Deneve's left eye beginning to twitch.

"Well, it can ruin your life quite easily." Helen says.

"What did I say about being ignored?" Deneve asks, flames beginning to form around her.

"Uh oh, she's getting really mad." Raki thinks.

"I will begin to tell you the sad sad tale of her life." Helen says, shaking her head sadly.

"What did you say?" Deneve's voice taking a slight menacing tone.

"Well, that's it. Goodbye world." Raki thinks, as Deneve's flames begin to lightly singe his eyebrows.

"It was a sad day indeed when a little Deneve, desperate to be accepted by her super cool friend, allowed herself to be swayed into a life of rule breaking." Helen began.

"Gee, I wonder who this super cool friend could have been?" Raki mumbles sarcastically.

"It was early morning when this super cool friend suggested they skip morning training. Little Deneve wanting to be accepted, followed without a thought of the horrible consequences." Helen continues.

"Yeah, horrible consequences you probably caused." Raki mumbles, glancing at Deneve.

"All your fault. All your fault." Deneve says with a haunted look on her face the flames around her quickly dispersing.

"Wow, I wonder what happened?" Raki curiously looks between Deneve and Helen.

"Oh, it was so tragic when they were caught by Erimita."

"Too many robes…" Deneve interrupts.

"It was even more tragic when little Deneve had to give Erimita a hug." Helen says.

"Wait, why did Deneve have to give him a hug?"

"Creepy eyes…"

"Well, her super cool friend had to think fast to get them out of trouble." Helen begins.

"You mean she had to think of a plan to save herself." Raki mumbles.

"Like hugging a corpse…"

"So, she thought of an ingenious plan and told Erimita that little Deneve was sad and wanted a hug." Helen finishes proudly; staring into Raki's shocked face.

"You mean that you traumatized Deneve to save yourself?" Raki asks.

"Well, it got her out of trouble too." Helen says a little insulted.

"But you weren't permanently traumatized!" Raki shouts.

"Well, this is a lesson on how peer pressure can ruin your life and the consequences for Deneve was being traumatized." Helen says.

"But you caused it! You made her go!" Raki shouts.

"Well, she didn't have to come." Helen shrugs.

"But..." Raki starts.

"Oh, there were so many times that Deneve got into trouble. There was the time that I got her to tease a yoma and he took a bite out of her. Oh, then there was the time I got her to paint 'Rimuto sucks and is a ugly meany head' on his door. Haha You should have seen Rimuto's face when he caught her. She had to clean the door and all the rooms." Helen says, with great amusement.

"You're a horrible friend." Raki shakes his head.

"I am not! It was awesome and we had a lot of fun! Didn't we Deneve?" Helen looks at Deneve.

"…" The flames start to return.

"Deneve?" Helen flinches as she starts to get singed.

"Awesome? Fun?" Deneve asks, turning to face Helen.

"I didn't think it was funny." Raki says, trying to break the ropes tying him to the tree.

"Raki, SHUT UP!" Deneve shouts.

"Ok, shutting up." Raki turns cold from the glare Deneve gives him.

"Well, we did have some laughs." Helen says, trying to break the tension.

"Laughs? You think my mental trauma is funny?" Deneve's voice becoming cold.

"Uh, remember this was for Raki's lesson." Helen says, desperately trying to refocus Deneve's attention on Raki.

Deneve's looks at Raki and he starts shaking his head in an attempt to say it's not his fault nonverbally.

"… That's right you brought me here to relive my traumatic childhood, which was your fault by the way, for the purpose of your stupid lessons!" Deneve says her voice getting louder with every word.

"Uh, that's it for today's lesson Raki!" Helen yells, backing away.

"Did I say you could leave?" Deneve grabs the back of Helen's shirt and lifts her off the ground.

"Ummm… yes?" Helen asks, hopefully.

"Wrong answer, try again." Deneve shakes Helen.

"No?" Helen asks, losing hope.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! Congratulations Helen! You answered correctly! Now, how should I repay you for all those years of mental trauma and you using me as an example of how peer pressure ruins lives? Any suggestions?" Deneve shakes Helen again.

"Ummm… Nothing? Forgiveness is always the higher road to take, revenge is for losers." Helen says, her eyes brimming with hope.

"No, I don't think I'll take the higher road and are you calling me a loser?" Helen is shaken once more.

"Well, if you put it that way then yes. Revenge is for losers." Helen answers.

"Wrong answer..." Raki's thought is interrupted when the ground starts to crack.

"What was that?" The flames surrounding Deneve grow and leaves start falling off the tree in little flaming clumps.

"Uh… You're a loser for choosing revenge?" Helen squeaks.

"RAKI! WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY?!" Deneve shouts over her shoulder.

"….." Raki panics not knowing if it was ok to speak now.

"YOU CAN SPEAK NOW!" Deneve yells at him.

"I learned that knowing when to shut up is very important, childhood traumas are not funny no matter what, and if you cause said traumas, you should grovel at the feet of the person you wronged." Raki finishes, hoping that Deneve won't kill him with Helen.

"…CORRECT! HELEN, I HOPE YOU ARE PREPARED FOR A WORLD OF HURT!" Deneve smiles evilly up at Helen.

Deneve ties Helen into a ball and bounces her on the ground a few times. When Deneve was happy with the bouncing height she took her claymore and swung the broad side into Helen before she hit the ground. Helen goes flying to the stone wall and bounces off, soaring back towards Deneve, who kicks her back to the wall. Raki watches, caught between wonder and slight worry that maybe Helen might die, but he quickly forgot that when Deneve did a spectacular spinning kick sending Helen flying to the eighteenth story wall. Deneve decides to stop when she hears an ominous breaking sound when Helen smashed into another wall. Deneve decides that she has done enough for now and drags Helen into some random hall and leaves her in the middle of the floor. Unfortunately, no one seemed to remember that poor Raki was still tied to the now very crispy tree. However, it wasn't as bad as he thought it was considering he was able to enjoy the rest of his day in peace. The only problem came at night when he still was tied to the tree and there was no one in sight. Luckily, Miria passed by him early the next morning and untied him and then she went to go yell at Helen for leaving him there all night. While listening to Helen's scolding, Raki was left in peace to hope that perhaps this was the final lesson.