Chapter 3

"I-I—" Kouji stuttered. He looked like he was at a loss of words.

I just stared back at him. If he knew why those idiot mean guys were going to come, why didn't he tell us? It feels like he defied the group's trust and just let them beat us up.

"I meant to tell you."

"But?"

"Well I had more ahead than I could handle."

"What? Kouji, I know you're strong. That doesn't sound like you," I said

"I know it doesn't. I've been 'distracted' lately," Kouji said. "A lame excuse as that is. Lately there is someone and something on my mind. Can't pinpoint it though…"

I looked at him funny then looked back at my books and continued my story and my point of view how this happened. That big fat cut on Kouji's neck looks horrible and painful. Let's see… where was I last? Oh blast, Kouji came in so I can't remember where I was, oh yeah! Now I remember.

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I went into my house with the most caution.

"Who's the boy?" my mom asked, looking out the window.

"Oh no one."

"You know you're not supposed to be interested in boys at your age. Just focus on school," my mom said, stirring soup on the stove.

"Yes, mom," I said, subdued.

"Why is he still standing outside?" my mom said, looking out the window again, stirring.

"What?"

"Ahh!" I thought. My mind was in a rut. Why does he have to stand outside my house like some sort of puppy? I'm getting real annoyed now. Its one thing to like someone but it's another to stalk them home and invade your privacy. I ran outside, exasperated.

"Hayaki, please, go home. I don't appreciate you following me everywhere. I'll be your friend, okay?"

"But I want to be your girlfriend!"

"G-girlfriend! What are you thinking?" I screamed in my head.

"I have to go. Bye," I said quickly and shut the gate behind me.

I sighed with relief and ran upstairs to my room to finish homework. Everything was fine until the next morning. It was the usual until I walked into my first class. There was a bundle of gifts all over my desk. I was upset. I ran to see who the card was from. It said, "Enjoy the gifts. Lots and lots of love, Hayaki." I was really embarrassed. I looked around with terrible shock as the girls in my class whispered at me. It was like camp all over again. All the girls whispering and pointing at me. I threw them into my backpack before the teacher came in. I listened in class and as it ended, there were a few girls who bumped into me on purpose. It made me sad and dejected. What have I done? I didn't do anything wrong. And there was Hayaki, waiting for me outside. He caught up to me.

"Leave me alone Hayaki. I really can't understand what you're doing. If you want me to like you, you don't throw a pile of boxes all over my desk," I said, not even looking at his face.

"Oh come on Izumi, I bought you things you'd like!"

"How do you know I'd even like them? You don't even know me!"

"That's not true. I know that the hair clip in your hair is from your mother and that you like Italy. You're a sweet girl."

"Wait… how did you know this was from my mom?" I asked, forming a scared fist.

"I just know."

"Hayaki, you're really scaring me now. Please, just leave me alone," I said, running into class. I accidentally ran into Mai as she dropped two textbooks on the ground. I hope she cooled off by now.

"Mai, I'm so sorry!"

Mai didn't say anything as she picked up her books looking as if it was my complete fault that they were on the ground. Then Sayoko walked up with her.

"Izumi, we're sorry, but we can't hang out with you anymore," Sayoko said as the two walked away from me. My eyes were burning with tears wanting to come out. I would not cry in school. I walked hurriedly to my next class. Why were all my friends abandoning me? Why did I have to undergo girls being mean to me? Was it my attitude? I thought I was past this. I sat in class and answered the teacher's questions. A few other girls looked at me as if I had pepper spray to squirt on them. I looked down at my binder. What in the heck was going on? Everything was normal yesterday… until Oda Hayaki entered my life. Just what exactly has been going on since he has "noticed" me? The bell rang for break as I looked for any of my remaining friends. I couldn't find Takuya, Junpei, or Kouji. Where were they?

"Takuya, thank goodness, I've been looking for you!" I said, catching up to him and putting my hand on his arm.

He looked at me. "What is it you need?"

"I need a little cheering up. My friends just… it's like they stabbed in the back. All of a sudden they won't talk to me anymore," I garbled as a tear came out of my eye. I got even madder since I promised myself in class that I wouldn't cry. I looked away. Takuya got in front of me.

"Izumi… I know it's hard for you to make friends but please don't cry."

"I'm trying not to!"

"Just because you're my friend I'll give you this. You'd better not tell the other girls or I'll come get you," he said in an entertaining tone. He gave me a hug. "Feel better okay? Ignore those girls," he said, running off to another class. I stood still in awe. Takuya had never done that for me before.

"He's not such a knucklehead after all," I thought happily and the bell rang for the next class. It was my class with Sayoko and Mai too. I wiped my eye ran to class since I was so busy talking to Takuya and thinking about the hug. As I made it to class in the nick of time, there were barely any seats left. Only two, to be exact. One was by Sayoko and the other was next to the girl that pushed me in the hall after my first class. I walked up to Sayoko and sat next to her. The two were writing on paper and ignoring me. Mai passed me a note. "You can't sit here," it said. "Why not?" I whispered loudly. I felt like tearing again.

"Orimoto Izumi, stop talking to your friends. For today, I'll move you so you can concentrate on the lesson, not gossip. Go sit next to Tsukamoto Keiko," my teacher said. I sighed with deepest remorse. I looked at the girl. It was the same one that knocked into me in the hall just a few minutes ago. Why did I have to sit next to a girl who pushed me? I sat next to her as she gave me a large frown. I tried to ignore it and looked at the board and took notes. Keiko started kicking my chair. It got really irritating. As soon as the bell rang, I walked out and waited for my two friends. At least they used to be. What was the matter with them?

"Mai, Sayoko, you guys are my friends. Why aren't you talking to me? Why are you all of a sudden abandoning me? Is that what a friend does?" I said in outburst.

Mai didn't speak. Sayoko finally did after an uncomfortable two minutes. "Izumi—" she stuttered.

"Please, you guys. This isn't funny."

"There are… people talking. We don't want to get sucked in with you," Sayoko said with a sad face and walked off with Mai. I used to walk with them. Watching them walk away from me was enough to make me cry again. But I wouldn't. I was stronger than that. All of a sudden Hayaki tapped me from behind.

"What do you want, you jerk," I gnarled.

"Well I just wanted to say hi," Hayaki said, startled.

I looked at his piercing brown eyes. They were good enough to make any girls swoon for him. But not me. Now it came to me. This was why certain girls were giving me looks today. I remembered how girls in the halls would talk of Hayaki and his wonderful basketball skills and wanting to be the lucky one for him.

"You!" I snarled angrily. "Please! Leave me alone. You're not doing anything but damaging me!" I opened my backpack. "Here are your gifts. Thank you for the thought but I don't want them," I said and walked down the hall. I could hear Hayaki following me from behind. God, he is so stubborn! What is his problem?

"Stop following me!" I yelled.

"Izumi wait! I just wanted you to have this hair clip, it'll go with the one you're wearing," he said as he put the hair clip in my hair.

"Don't touch me with your greasy hands," I said quietly.

Hayaki held up a mirror. Why in the world would a boy carry a mirror in his pocket? "See! It looks nice, doesn't it?" he said with a smile.

I admit it did. It was a white hair clip dotted with small crystals.

"Hayaki thank you," I sighed. "You have an odd way of showing your affections," I said, just standing with him in the halls.

"I really like you Izumi, it's just I get nervous."

I looked at him with the eyes of a stranger but didn't gaze at him with the eyes of all the other girls. "Well Izumi, I'd better get going," he said, as he held my hand. I retrieved it as if he were invading my space and looked the other way. Just then I saw Kouji and Junpei walking. They saw me. Hayaki ran off with three other girls as Kouji and Junpei walked up to me.

"Oh no!" I said, trying to look as if I did nothing.

"It looks like you have connections with that Oda Hayaki. I thought he scared you," Junpei said.

"He keeps following me!" I responded in a cry of help.

"Then why do you keep responding back to him?"

"I have no choice! He's not really that bad, it's just he's kind of weird."

"Well it looks like you have a liking for him,"

"I don't! I really don't!"

"Your actions are different than what you say," Junpei said. I wish I could make him understand. He just walked off to class before I could open my mouth to say anything.

Kouji walked up to me while looking around to see that no one was nearby. "Listen to me Izumi, for your sake, be careful!" he told me. He was near my face as if we were two spies meeting in secret. "I don't know how this happened. You were getting along with everyone so well. All of a sudden it's like you're shunned. Even I don't get it. But I'll try to help you the best I can."

"Kouji, thank you," I said. "Why is everyone acting so different?"

"Well, I don't know exactly yet. You should be careful around that Oda Hayaki. The girls are always talking about you and Hayaki as if something was terribly wrong."

"I haven't done a thing but be myself!"

"Yes, Izumi, and that's great that you have. Don't change yourself. You are great the way you are. And we have to get to class," Kouji said, walking into class.

I followed.

I sat next to him in our mathematics class. Usually I'd sit with Mai and Sayoko but since they "abandoned" me, I can't. I saw them walk in together and walked in. I stood up from my seat.

"Izumi, where are you going?" Kouji whispered to me while writing down notes.

I didn't answer back. I walked straight up to my friends. At least I thought they were.

"Guys, we've been friends all this year! I don't want to loose you guys. Friendship means a lot to me," I said with a sympathetic tone.

They didn't answer me. They looked straight through me. I didn't want to lose my friends but if they were to treat me like rubbish then I guess I'd better just stay with the real friends I made, the ones from the Digital World. Takuya, Kouji, Kouichi, Junpei, and Tomoki.

I sat back at my desk with Kouji. I noticed he wasn't good with girls or people's feelings so I didn't expect him to say anything back to me as I sat down with a sad frown.

"Izumi, don't mind them," he told me, still writing with his pencil.

I smiled at him and looked at the board and paid full attention. My thoughts distracted me though. I needed friends who were female, not just male ones. I guess I lost them. We finished class and met with the guys after school. Nothing new. Well, except we took Tomoki home; his parents wanted him to be home early with his brother. We then walked and stayed at the park and had fun. I made a sand castle with Junpei. Right when we were finished and going to put the flag on the top, Takuya fell to the ground.

POW!

There were three creepy men standing as if they had the intent to hurt people. They were brawny and huge. I was scared as they lunged at my friends. Kouji held up a good fight with his moves, blocking their attacks. So did Kouichi. Junpei and I ran to the scene. I was scared as they all stood up in front of me. Takuya's cheek looked awful. I ran to him.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Izumi, stay safe and behind us," he said, pushing me behind him.

"You jerks!" Junpei yelled, about to punch one of them but missed. The guy used the side of his fist and hit his head. Hard.

"Junpei!" Takuya yelled out.

I was becoming more frightened by the second. Only Kouji stayed in front of me, protecting me while the other three were running around on guard. I stared at my four friends in awe. Junpei on the ground, his head most likely pounding with pain. Takuya with his bruise on his left cheek. Kouichi on defense, and Kouji in front of me.

At this point I am grateful for my friends. They, fighting for our cause and because we were friends, we would help each other out. At that moment, Kouji's neck was cut with a knife. I screamed.

He screamed, but not as loud as me, grunted, and writhed with pain.

The thugs ran off and left us alone. They seemed to retreat for no reason. We all ran to Kouji's side. We all darted to the nearest store to obtain a few bandages and medicine for our wounds. Kouji had his hand against his neck.

"God damn it, this hurts," he grumbled under his breath with the blood running and dripping onto his hand. I ran in the store and paid for the bandages and antiseptic and ran back to the group. I cleaned the wound for him although he cringed since the antiseptic burned and put the bandage around afterwards.

"Don't you think you should get that checked by medical professionals?" I asked, dotingly.

Kouichi walked up to his brother and looked at his neck. "No, he doesn't need to go. Those dumb brutes don't even know how to use a blade properly. It's not that deep and they missed both the jugular vein and his throat. They seem pretty stupid. It's more of a scratch but people tend to bleed more superfluously by the neck," Kouichi said reassuringly. "I should get you home to mom though."

"Well, Takuya, Junpei, I can't really put bandages for you, it's just bruises," I said, trying to be cheerful.

The group was not in any sort of mood to be happy. Well of course, since we all got trampled and harassed just a few minutes ago.

"Izumi, thanks for being supportive, but c'mon, we just got the crap beaten out of us! And for no damn reason! What the heck is this!" Junpei muttered under his breath.

Kouichi was the only one unharmed, though he was holding his knuckles. They looked like they hurt badly.

Kouji only sat down, hand on his neck, holding the wounded part. He was frowning and looked real steamed, ready to punch something. He didn't do anything though.

We walked home, scared, wary, and feeling horrible.

I felt the most horrible.

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… And we're back to where I started. I've been thinking about this situation and brooding for the past three days about this. How are the group and I to solve this? This is very frustrating. My own friends leave me, my Digital World friends all hurt for absolutely no reason. I hate it when I have friends in danger. They mean a lot to me, every single one, even if they do hurt me back. I don't even know who those dumb thugs who hurt us are. My head is beginning to hurt from thinking too much. I'm still here in the library, sitting with Kouji.

"Izumi!" he snapped. "Are you listening?"

"Wha…?" I asked, just barely getting out of my thinking zone. "What did you say?"

"I said, I think I saw some other people when those creep guys attacked us."

"Who?"

"Well I don't know, it was very quick and I didn't have time to be looking around when someone is about to hurt me with a knife. But I think I saw a glimpse of Oda Hayaki and three girls hiding behind bushes when we were in the park."

"Oda… Hayaki?" I was very surprised. I took that hairclip he gave me out of my hair and looked at it. What on earth was going on? What the heck was Hayaki doing? Trying to hurt me and my friends? I haven't done anything to provoke anyone!

"Kouji, I am so sorry," I said with remorse. Then the bell rang for class to start. Time to go to class.

"Let's go to class," Kouji motioned.

While walking with Kouji, I could remember Kouji, protecting me. It made me feel joyful and in high spirits. But then I remembered when Takuya gave me a comforting hug the other day when I was sad about my friends completely ditching me for stupid reasons. Now it hit me. I, Orimoto Izumi, was torn between two guys.

Kanbara Takuya and Minamoto Kouji.

End Chapter 3.