Warning: Kaname being Kaname...


Asagiri didn't know what to expect. She's never brought home a classmate so she wasn't sure how her family would react. "A friend?" Her mother gasped surprised. Her father wore the same expression -indifferent. Yatsumura bowed respectfully in greeting. Thankfully her parents didn't seem to mind and let them up to her room without much talking.

The blonde sat on her bed while Asagiri fidget standing in place. "Nice room."

"Um...Why did you want to come over?"

"To start our project." The younger girl gave a blank look that could be read as 'wasn't that obvious?' "What would you like the subject to be?"

"Anything is fine."

Someone knocked on the bedroom door. "I'm coming in." The raven haired girl jumped as it slowly opened. A young man walked in holding a small tray of snacks. He placed the tray down and smiled. "Mom said you have a friend over." He addressed his sister before turning towards the new face. "Thank you for being Aya's friend. I'm Kaname, Aya's brother."

"Yatsumura, Tsuyuno." She responded her unreadable expression never changing.

"Enjoy." There was a moment of silence as if he was waiting for a certain reaction from the fair haired girl. He walked out shutting the door behind him.

"What an impressive older brother."

"Eh?"

"His mask, I bet not everyone could see through it. What a surprising amount of hatred. Is he a good brother to you?"

"Um..." Amber eyes closed at the lack of communication and the room became silent. It was better to change the subject to the matter at hand.

"Speaking of masks...If you don't have any suggestions then how about a simple project on festival masks?"

"That sounds fine."

"Good. One of us can make the presentation report and the other the mask. What do you want responsibility for?"

"I'm fine with either."

The blonde frowned, a huge lack of communication and opinion. "Well what type of mask would you like to work on? Okame? Hyottoko? Kitsune? Oni?"

"Up to you."

"You know this is a part of your grade too." She huffed when the smaller girl flinched. "We should first get material. Since you're probably just going to agree with me a Papier-mâché mask will probably be the easiest to make. After we start that then we can decide what type of mask. Can I count on you to get the materials?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's meet up again after school tomorrow. I'll take my leave now." The short haired girl didn't wait for a conformation as she grabbed her bag and left.

Asagiri fell to her bed. Nothing happened but she was tired from it. She knew she should've interacted better with her partner. After all Yatsumura chose her to work with. She didn't want to make enemies with yet another person. "Today has been a long day..." But it wasn't over yet. It wasn't time for her brother's nightly visit. Her eyes fluttered closed. Maybe she could catch up on some rest first. It's not like eating before the visit made anything easier on her.

"I can't believe you have a friend. Really, what a shocker." Her eyes snapped opened. Afraid but not surprised to see her brother standing over her. How long was she asleep? He crawled on top of her. "Be a good sandbag for me." He practically cooed using the rope to tie her hands down. He couldn't have her arms getting in the way of his target. If she didn't struggle the rope wouldn't leave marks. Leave no evidence or else...

He jerked her to her feet. The first punch was always his favorite; his signature move so to speak- an upper cut to the stomach. A powerful punch that made her loose balance. She coughed, a bit of saliva escaping. If she had partaken in dinner she would have vomited. The victim curled up in a ball even though he wouldn't leave her alone with just one hit. "Stand." The boy commanded getting a sick pleasure watching her struggle. The raven haired female shook on her feet.

Kaname's fist landed on her stomach; a different place then before. "Up." He ordered once again. She wasn't able to move fast enough as she was pulled up. Each breath hurt to take. Tears gathered in her eyes but didn't fall. Drool dripped down the corner of her lips. Even if she didn't lack the energy to move the rope was still a reminder. The repeated use of the same rope frayed the material. After a few more uses he would have to purchase another.

He crawled on top of her but didn't rest his weight on her small form. She knew what came next. At least his punches were now over. Strong hands wrapped around her throat. "I love that face." Thirty seconds of air being completely cut off. Followed by ten seconds of allowed air, only to be cut off for a longer time then the first. Eventually she lost consciousness.

Kaname sighed in pleasurable relieve. With a smile and a light tuned hum he untied his sister. He made sure not to leave evidence behind as he double checked his work. "Night Aya." He left her bedroom the door clicking behind him.


School was over with a loud ring of a bell. Before Asagiri had placed all of her school work into her bag Yatsumura stood next to her. "You don't have cleaning duty today right? Let's go to your place and start working."

"Alright." The smaller girl could feel eyes on her as she glimpsed over at the redhead. With Yatsumura by her side they didn't bother with her. Of course they would strike the next time she was alone. However for now, she felt safe with her classmate near.

The walk was silent. It wasn't really uncomfortable either. That is till they reached their destination. The dark haired girl really didn't want her classmate to see her family again -especially her brother. It was unlikely that he would approach her but it really did make him more irritable the first time she was over.

The taller girl politely greeted her family. Yatsumura observed. Her father didn't look up from his paper to acknowledge the guest. The brother put on his pleasant mask and remained quiet. The mother offered a smile which she didn't feel the need to return. Asagiri ushered her into her bedroom.

"We have all the materials for the Papier-mâché. For the frame I was thinking about using foil over our face to make the base." Asagiri nodded to indicate she was listening. She ignored the blank stare her partner was giving her. Well, it wasn't as if the blonde expected the timid girl to voice out any ideas or anything.

"How about a hyottoko mask? It might take a bit more time because of the features. But it might improve our grades."

"How will we shape the mouth and high cheek bones?"

"More foil or just layer of Papier-mâché unless you have a better idea. The only problem I can see us having is trying to make the mask feel smooth. Well, let's just try. Hopefully we can improvise if we need to. Do you want to be the model or the maker? The model might be stuck unable to move till the mask dries."

The way she looked distressed gave the short haired girl her answer. Asagiri wasn't comfortable putting something over her face like that. Yatsumura ripped five pieces of foil all equal in size. The impression of the face was made, making folds and creases where they needed to be. While she did this the older girl prepared the paper and the glue.

She made two smooth punctures at the nostrils. At the mouth she also made another cut. The reason for this was for the person wearing it would be able to talk a bit clear with the opening. The smaller girl placed the bowl of soaked paper by the bed.

Asagiri removed the pillow from her bed and set down an old towel. The taller female settled down on her back with the foil on her face. Nervously she started placing the first piece of Papier-mâché down. The first strip that went across her nose and the black haired girl panicked. "Are you still alright?" The golden haired girl gave her a thumbs up making her calm down a bit. She flicked her wrist in a circle indicated for her to hurry.

The first layer was placed down and the timer was set. The timer was set for twenty minutes in which she wasn't allowed to move the fragile mask off her face. "Are you sure you're alright?" Her concern felt shockingly real to the blonde. Yatsumura nonchalantly waved. Why did it seem like her partner was use to asphyxiation?

A knock got their attentions. Her heart dropped at the sound of her brother's voice. He stepped in with a plate of cookies. Words weren't exchanged and the intrusion was over pretty quick. Even with a mask over her face she could see the tense atmosphere. The sigh of relieve didn't go unnoticed by the blonde once he left though. She reached out blindly her hand finding the top of her dark hair. At first the bashful girl didn't know how to react with her hand on her hand. After a few seconds she found herself accepting the touch. She didn't know why but it was gentle and comforting. Asagiri felt cared for...?

The timer went off ending whatever soft atmosphere that was between them. "I'll check to see if it's dry." She lightly touched the surface. All of the glue was dry enough. "I think it will be alright now." Slowly and carefully Yatsumura lifted the Papier-mâché off her face. She rubbed at her face enjoying fresh air against her skin. "Would you like a bath?"

"Did some get in my hair?"

"No, I don't think so but you'll probably feel a bit better afterwards."

She stretched raising her hands above her head. That did sound nice and her body was a bit stiff from the lack of movement. "Will you come in with me?"

"Eh, ah no." She studied the timid girl's body language. She opened her mouth to reply when someone approached the door again.

Kaname opened the door but didn't enter the threshold. "Mom wants to know if your friend wants to stay for dinner." He didn't look or sound happy with the idea. The long haired girl looked over at the fearless one.

"I would love too, thanks." She replied immediately with an impassive expression. She noticed the small twitch in his face once she accepted. Yatsumura thought that it felt a bit satisfying to see him upset. The door closed leaving the girls together.

Asagiri walked to her closet pulling out a pair of clean clothes. "Thank you. I'll be fast." The taller girl took the clothes gratefully. She spared one last look at her before walking towards the bath.

The abused girl stayed in her room falling to the bed with a huff. So Yatsumura would be joining them for dinner. "What kind of disaster will dinner be?" She whispered to herself asking something she shouldn't.

"Aya." The girl jumped at the call of her own name. Kaname walked in shutting the door behind him. She flinched but didn't make any other movements. "How much does that girl know?" He closed the gap between them making her shrink back into the bed.

"Nothing. I wouldn't tell her anything."

"Well, why not her house?"

"I don't know." Naturally she wanted to object to having her partner visit. Regardless she was too fearful to talk back even if the blonde had never hurt her. She didn't want to impose on someone else's family.

"When your little school project is over. You will keep your distance with that girl. Or else." He pointed a finger at her emphasizing the punishment.

Yatsumura returned back to the bedroom. She was lightly wet with the smell of glue gone from her person. Golden eyes narrowed. She saw the way he towered over his sister even if his hands weren't touching her. "I'm done. You can take you bath now Ms. Asagiri."

"Yeah, thanks." The sibling grabbed her clothes and rushed out of her own bedroom leaving. That left the two of them together. The bold female turned and stared him in the eyes. She wasn't afraid.

"Hey brother, do you like our school project? It's worth a good percentage of our grade." Kaname frowned and glimpsed over at the mask. It was only the first layer after all.

"I'm sure you'll get a good grade on it." With the fake politeness mask on the older sibling excused himself. Yatsumura sighed and sat on the bed. She didn't really feel like doing any more work especially without her partner around. So all she did was wait.

Dinner was a bit awkward to say the least. The outsider didn't let it bother her. She remained silent and perfectly polite in front of others. The father only seemed to try and initiate conversation with his son. The mother was quiet speaking rarely when she could agree with her husband. She tried once to switch topics over to her daughter. Even asking if she would like to stay the night. That conversation fell quickly as the older man looked upset. She didn't even have to give an answer as the mother stayed silent for the rest of the meal.

"These vegetables are delicious." She complimented not sure if it would do any good. It didn't, her father didn't react to his wife being complemented.

"Oh really? I'm glad you like them. Eat some more Tsuyuno." With a bright smile -that was forced at this point of the meal- the older woman piled another helping on to her plate.

'This is what her family is like?'

With how tense this atmosphere was it was amazing that the dark haired girl managed to eat slowly. Anyone else would eat fast and get it over with as quickly as possible. Yatsumura ate at her classmates pace. The moment the timid girl was finished so was she. Both of them got up to wash their bowls. The second there where gone from the table conversation started again.

The taller female frowned. Without glimpsing back at the table she returned to the bedroom to get more work done.

"You know, I've assessed your living situation." The blonde started without looking up.

"Huh?" The smaller girl stopped working surprise written all over her face.

"Your brother does it, right?

"W-w-what are yo-?"

"Hurts you. The way he tried to interrupt us and watched over us. He's the one hurting you, trying to control you." She didn't pause in her speech listing all the close and theories she had thought of. "There is a faint scent of vomit coming from your bed. If you're being hit till you vomit he's hitting you in your torso. That would also explain why you didn't want to bath with me. You don't want anyone to see the marks on your body. You're also extremely withdrawn to a degree I've never seen before. That could really only be caused by a traumatic upbringing. I think your parents may know. Your father doesn't even seem to acknowledge your existence. He seemed only interested in your brother's life. You mother is oblivious...?" Yatsumura paused a bit, thinking. "Or perhaps it's more accurate to say she's playing dumb? Something like that?" Her mother did seem like she was pushing for her to stay. Why? Was it more a 'benefit' because she's not stopping the abuse in the house?

"..." There was complete silence between them and Asagiri felt the need to quickly change the conversation. But nothing came out of her mouth.

"You're going to end up dead." Yatsumura continued.

"Would that be a bad thing?"

"Do you want to die?"

"Every day."

The light haired girl couldn't reply right away. What would be the wisest thing to do right now? "Do...Do you want me to stay the night with you?" The long haired girl looked up surprised that their eyes met. After all that happened today she didn't think her partner would take her up on her mother's offer. "I'll protect you at least for tonight." The shy female bit into her bottom lip and nodded trying not to cry.

A night free of pain. A night of feeling safe. A night of not being lonely. Asagiri was extremely grateful. Once she calmed a bit she crawled into bed surprised when the other girl just sat at her desk.

"You're not coming to bed?"

"I'll stay up to make sure you're safe. Besides, I actually have a hard time sleeping at night..." The blonde trailed off shocked that she revealed that much about herself. Thankfully the issue wasn't pressed.

"You're going to stare at me all night?"

"How else will I know that you are safe?" Still she felt unsure and unease at being stared at all night. It didn't stop the victim from rolling over and falling asleep rather quickly. A light twinge of jealously hit the blonde at how well she slept. Through figured it was only because her body needed it to heal.

The creek of a floor board from outside the room got her attention. She could see the shadow of feet from under the door's crack. Her eyes narrowed and her frowned deepened. Reaching into her bag she pulled out her cell. Scrolling through her contact -it was a small list- she found Shioi's number. She sent a quick text.

'I need your help.'

She put the phone back knowing she wasn't going to get a reply tonight. Her eyes landed back on the sleeping girl. Her breathing was normal and she looked like she was in peace. A yawned slipped passed her lips.

"Maybe if I meddle into your problems I can forget my own even if it's only for a little bit."


A/N: I like Shioi's original face. I find her freckles rather cute.