Division

Tamaki held tightly on her purse, sitting at the back of the shuttle. She was on her way to the second event of rush week for the business fraternity.

The first day had been relatively easy - a presentation on the fraternity, its accomplishments and requirements, and speeches from the president and alumni. Afterwards, snacks and drinks were provided for potential members as they mingled with the brothers. It was short and very informative.

She loved the people she had met and the vibe they had given off. The fraternity that Sasuke had joined was so... different.

They were more intense. Each conversation felt like they were testing her to see if she'd be good enough. Like they wanted her to prove herself. In other words, they were a bit obnoxious and she didn't like them.

Nothing against them though - she knew it'd be a good environment for Sasuke. He was competitive and would thrive in something more cut throat like that.

This fraternity was a bit more relaxed. They were more focused on the professional aspects and didn't talk as much about partying and crushing the competition. Overall, they were just a better fit for her personality. She really felt like she could gain a lot from them if they decided to give her a bid.

Good luck!

The text message preview shown on her phone. She smiled. It was the first week of the new semester, and Kiba had been so sweet about supporting her. He was busy with his own activities and was hanging out with the group tonight, but he still was there to calm her nerves.

The shuttle slowed down to her stop. She exited off along with several other students and began walking towards the business building. Today's event was a resume/cover letter workshop. If she wasn't going to get a bid, at least she'd be getting something out of this week.

The night she got the phone call, it was a mixture of shock and giddiness. Most of the group was at some random house party hosted by one of the Greek sororities. She stepped into a small closet to take the phone call and came out grinning ear-to-ear.

"I got it!" she ran forward, jumping onto Kiba to give him a hug.

"Called it," he smirked. He kept one arm around her, while his other hand picked up a paper shot cup. "Time to celebrate!"

"Alright!" Naruto grabbed the handle of vodka, swinging it up in the air. "This one's for you, Tamaki!"

The others joined in, cheering and holding up their own drinks.

She released one arm to grab a drink and held it up. "Here's to hoping I don't die this quarter!"

The pledging process was a long, torturous 8 week system that was meant to break her down, build her professional and networking skills, and bring her closer to her pledge brothers and big.

During the second week, she was paired with her big brother.

Her name was Rio. She was a 3rd year double major in Accounting and Dance and if Tamaki wasn't straight, she'd probably have a big, fat lesbian crush on her. The girl was pretty, she wasn't the hottest girl on the planet but just the way she carried herself was enough to get people feeling some type of way.

She was exactly who Tamaki wanted to be. She was outspoken and confident. She didn't care what people thought and wasn't afraid to challenge others. She made it known that she didn't care about holding a position in the fraternity but she still helped out when necessary. She was involved in a dance crew on campus and had a part-time internship at a startup. She wore clothes that probably attracted attention based on how much skin was showing, but she was also a strong feminist that could probably beat a guy up if he catcalled her.

Tamaki was in love with her. Being paired up with her was a sign of hope. She needed as much help as possible, and if she could learn to even be half as confident as Rio, she'd be satisfied.

She had gotten to introduce most of her friends to Rio, and they all seemed to have positive feedback. Kiba seemed to be grateful that Rio turned out to be a girl, so she couldn't imagine anything going wrong.

It was only the second week and she was probably stressed out of her mind, but at least she had a big that she got along with.

"I'm sorry," she spoke into the phone. "I have a meeting with the pledges and all the bigs tonight."

"It's fine," Kiba sighed. "We'll find time later. Is it cool if I watch the new marvel movie without you then?"

"Yeah, totally," her free hand was busy stuffing her laptop into her messenger bag. "I have a feeling I won't be able to watch anything until I finish pledging. I got to go, I'll text you when I get back tonight."

They said goodbye and hung up. The next few weeks was probably going to be like this, but she didn't really mind. She had her eyes set on the finish line.

The lack of sleep and stress from the projects were starting to get to her.

"Oh shit," she mumbled. Her phone was being flooded by messages from her pledge brothers. Apparently, one of their sponsors for an event they were putting on had backed out.

"What's wrong?"

She was studying in the library with Kiba, Sakura, and Sasuke. Midterms were approaching and this was probably one of the very few times she had seen him.

"Sorry, I have to go," she grumbled. "One of our contacts backed out for our charity event and we need to meet to come up with a plan b."

"I thought you said you were behind on studying?" Kiba furrowed his brow. He was clearly upset that she had to cancel their study date. Again.

"I am, but I really need to solve this," she was already closing her laptop and notebooks. "Sasuke, can I take these notes with me? I promise I'll give them back tomorrow."

"Sure," he rested his chin in his palm. "I type my notes too, you can just give it back to me whenever."

"Thanks," she didn't even look at them. She was growing more and more upset at the abrupt news.

"Tamaki." Kiba frowned, "What about dinner?"

"I'll just buy something later, I don't know." She sighed, her fingers combed through her bangs. They were too long now to sit on top of her forehead and needed to be side swept. "Thanks guys, I'll see you later."

She jogged out of the library, despite the angry stares from the employees.

Kiba angrily pushed away his textbook, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling.

"Just 5 more weeks," Sakura tried to lighten the mood. "She'll be done and it'll be back to normal."

"I don't remember Sasuke being this absent."

"My pledging process was different," he raised an eyebrow. "We were hazed more than anything, and that was all in the middle of the night. She has to do a lot of projects and assignments."

"I guess..." he straightened up.

"Just try to be patient," Sakura pushed on. "She needs you."

"Why are you taking this out on me?"

"I'm not!" she groaned. "I'm just too stressed out right now."

"You're the one that wanted me over."

Kiba stood up from the bed, crossing his arms as he looked at her. Tamaki finally had a break Friday afternoon. She asked if Kiba wanted to hang out before her dinner with her pledge class, and he happily agreed.

They were sitting inside her dorm eating chips. She had spent most of their time updating him on the pledge class and mainly complaining about how unfair some of the assignments were. Kiba had mainly listened, but made small snarky comments which eventually ate away at her nerves.

"I did but-"

"You did?" he narrowed his eyes. "We haven't hung out this entire month because you've been so busy. Why call me over if you're just going to bitch at me the entire time?"

"What the hell?"

"I feel like you're not even listening to me."

"I am! You're just making rude comments about my friends."

"Yeah, cause you're complaining about them," he rolled his eyes. "If you hate this so much, why don't you just quit?"

"Because I need this, Kiba. I'm finally showing some progress and have some interviews lined up."

"Okay. You have some interviews. You might get an internship and I'm happy for you. When are you going to start responding to my messages? You leave for these meetings or parties and have me worried sick out of my mind. I haven't even met some of these people that you're going out to black out with. How do you think that makes me feel? You're too preoccupied to even realize what's going on around you."

Instead of getting angry, she shrank. It was rare that they had arguments, but whenever they did, it never ended well because she would just run away from the situation by avoiding his questions or accusations.

It wasn't until college did they start having these fights. The new environment brought in new friends and situations that she had trouble dealing with, which led to them clashing on ideas and miscommunication.

She looked away from him, choosing to stare at the floor.

"Don't do that," he sighed. He was angry, but it was hard getting anything done when she retreated.

They were silent. The air was thick with tension - he was angry and she was too scared to say anything. Normally, he would try to calm down and they would talk it out, but he was too frustrated.

She looked up and saw that he was putting his shoes back on.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I'll talk to you later," he mumbled. He was too angry to say anything else. If he did, there was always the possibility of him saying something that he'd end up regretting.

Her eyes became glassy as he stepped out, the heavy door closing by itself. This was the first time didn't resolve the situation right away.

I'm sorry.

Four hours later, he finally responded back saying it was fine.

It took her two days to muster up the courage to reach out to him. Sending the text message was nerve-wracking, and it was hard having to juggle her responsibilities while thinking of the best way to approach him.

She was feeling absolutely horrible. She was entering the fifth week of pledging, and at this point, everything felt like a mess. She was numb from the lack of sleep and stress-inducing engagements. If she had to describe everything in one word, she would call it a hurricane.

Today would be the first time her class would be going into an activity excited. They planned a large social event for the fraternity. There'd be pizza and soda while they played rounds of glow-in-the-dark mini golf. She'd finally be able to relax and not be so scared of the fraternity brothers.

"Ugh, this lip gloss is too sticky."

Natsumi was her pledge brother. She was a second year, but she was ditzier and focused on things that were a bit more shallow. The girl joined the fraternity to network and gain professional skills as she'd possibly be taking on her father's entertainment company after she graduated. She could be a bit annoying, but Tamaki knew she had a good heart.

"Can I try some?"

Natsumi looked over at her, surprised. "Sure. I thought you didn't wear make up?"

"Mm," she looked at the tube of glittery pink liquid. "I don't, but I kind of want to try getting into it. It looks fun and it'd be nice for going out and stuff."

"Oh my god, yes!" Natsumi jumped up and squealed. Her dyed blonde hair bounced effortlessly. "Finally! It's about time you started, Tamaki. Let's go shopping tomorrow. I can teach you everything."

"Can't we just buy it online during our study sessions? I don't really like going out to the mall."

"No!" she gasped. "We need to make sure we get you the right foundation. You can't just buy that online, silly!"

"Fine, fine," she gave in. "But nothing too expensive please. I still haven't gotten an internship yet."

They walked into the building. Their pledge class was already there, along with many of the fraternity brothers.

"About time!" Rio approached the two girls. "Come on, we're making bets on who will score higher, Aoi or Takano."

"You're supposed to be my big," Tamaki raised an eyebrow. "We shouldn't be gambling."

Rio pushed the two towards the lockers so they could put away their things. "And you shouldn't be drinking either but you definitely won't remember the party tonight."

The girls laughed. They continued joking and shoved their things inside a small locker. Rio suggested they keep their phones in there, as many of the brothers didn't like it when pledges were looking at them during activities. Tamaki complied and didn't even notice the other messages from Kiba. She was too busy finally enjoying herself.

That night, she was drunk out of her mind and escorted back to her dorm by Rio. The minute she entered her room, she flopped onto her bed and knocked out.

The next day, she woke up to more messages from Kiba.

He had been asking of her whereabouts, wondering if she had made it home safely from the party.

Sorry, I got caught up and my phone died. I'm fine! Rio took me home.

She quickly washed up and got ready to go shopping with Natsumi. She ran out of her building to meet at the bus stop. As first years, they didn't have cars so they relied on the shuttle system the university provided. Luckily, it was quite reliable and took students to the main shopping centers in town.

"You won't believe what happened last night," Natsumi grinned as she approached her.

"What?"

"Apparently, Takano got super drunk and he tried to kiss Rio."

"Oh my god," Tamaki covered her mouth with her hands. "That's so gross. He's a pledge!"

"And that's your big," the blonde pointed out. "Has she not talked to you about it?"

"No, I honestly slept the entire day. I haven't texted her yet." Tamaki looked down at her phone as she felt it vibrate.

Ok.

Her head stared at the screen. It was strange for Kiba to respond that way; normally he'd be more worried, or he'd ask how she was doing the night after. She shrugged it off as she continued her conversation with Natsumi. She'd worry about it later.

Right now, she just wanted to get be mindless with Natsumi.

Their conversations grew shorter and she barely saw Kiba. Only two more weeks of pledging and she just wanted it to be over and done with. They had one final project coming up and she had to balance it with her regular courses as well. It was crazy to think that her first year was ending, but she felt like she had accomplished so much in the last few weeks.

She had settled on living in an apartment with Hinata, Sakura, and Ino the next year. They had already applied and gotten approved.

Tamaki was so much closer to her pledge class now, and since the party with the fraternity, she found out how great everybody was and was excited to be a part of their organization.

She was sitting in her dorm, watching a Youtube video of a beauty guru's daily routine. In front of her were the little products that Natsumi had helped her pick out. She was still pretty new at the eyeshadow, but she was starting to get a hang of the foundation and contour routine. A knock on the door surprised her. It was only 8AM and she didn't have class for another hour.

Crossing over the clothes that were scattered on the floor, she opened the door to see Kiba standing outside.

"Oh, hey!" she smiled brightly. "It's so early, what're you doing here? I thought classes start in the afternoon for you on Wednesdays."

"Yeah, hey," he kept a straight face, looking sideways. "I just thought I'd stop by. I had a feeling you hadn't left for class yet."

"Nah, I'm still getting ready." She opened the door wider for him and walked back to her desk.

"Whoa, is that make up?"

"Yeah, Natsumi kind've roped me into it. I'm just testing it out though," she swiveled her desk chair to face him. "What's up? I'm surprised you got out of bed before noon."

"Well," his eyes shifted again. He was uncomfortable and having trouble looking straight at her. "It's just been a while since we got to hang out."

"I know," she sighed. "But just two more weeks and I won't be a pledge anymore. I promise, things will go back to the way it used to be."

"Will it?" he raised an eyebrow. "Should it?"

She blinked at his tone - it sounded passive aggressive. "What?"

"You said things will go back to the way it used to be, but is that really for the best?" he looked at her seriously. He wasn't smiling and he stood rigidly in front of her.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" her eyes panicked as her voice grew higher.

"Tamaki, you were so busy pledging this semester, I barely saw you. And every time we were together, you just complained about pledging. You spent all your free time with your fraternity and you didn't even bother checking in with me."

"I know, we talked about this before I started," she looked up at him, gripping the desk. "And I'm sorry, but it just took a toll on me. Once it's over, I'll-"

"Once it's over, we'll go back to where we were," he frowned. "That's great. That's just fucking great. But what happens if it gets busy again? You said yourself that Rio spent all her time with you. What happens when you decide to pick up a little?"

"W-well, it'll be pretty tiring, but..."

"And what happens if you just take it out on me again? Are you going to wait two fucking days before you apologize again?"

"Kiba," her vision was getting cloudy from her tears welling up. "I said I was sorry."

"You did." His jaw went hard. "But you didn't try to fix anything. I'm tired of being the one to call all the shots. Your idea of effort is just having fun with me. Whenever anything bad happens, I have to fix it because you're too scared to say anything."

Her eyes darted away, knowing how accurate his words were.

"And you still can't say anything," his voice cracked slightly. He lowered his head. "You made a lot of progress with this whole pledging thing, Tamaki. I'm happy for you, but this whole thing made me realized how messed up we are. It's not healthy to keep going on like this. I can't handle being the one to always fix and compromise and solve all our problems. It's too much.

I don't know if you've noticed, but it's not our relationship that's changed. It's you. And no, I'm not blaming it on the pledging thing. Even before that. Something about you changed. It's like you're scared of everything and everyone. I care about you and I want to protect you, but there's something wrong with it. There's something wrong with me always having to talk and think for you. I think... I think we should break up."

Her hands moved to wrap her arms around herself. Tears were streaming down her face. A million things were running through her mind, but she couldn't bring herself to say a single one of them.

He didn't dare look at her. He took one last sigh, "I'm sorry."

She didn't look up. Hearing the door slam was all she needed.