I loved how you were so protective of me.

"Natsuki!" I lunged out at her as she was passing by.

"Oi! I thought you were supposed to leave to your dad's two days ago?"

She didn't turn me away like I was afraid she would. Instead, she turned towards me and gently returned the embrace. I rested my head on her shoulder as I fought off the coming tears.

"I don't want to go Natsuki, I don't want to go, please," I begged and gripped tighter onto her worn leather jacket. She sighed before she looked around and took my hand leading me to her home.

When she closed the door behind her she turned to me with a questioning pout. "Explain."

I grinned, "Does Natsuki want me to explain what to do in her bedroom?"

She blushed, "idiot, that's not what I'm talking about."

"Is Natsuki upset to see me," I pouted spewing half false half true tears.

She flushed, "What? No! I'm glad to see you…It's just—" She paused and was staring intently at something on my face. I instantly brought my hand to what she was looking at and internally winced when I touched upon the still sensitive skin.

She growled and glared at me, "what did he do this time?"

I looked away and sat on her bed looking for the words I wanted to say.

"Shizuru," she walked up to me, the anger still evident in her tone.

I knew she would be angry and I knew she would try and do something stupid if she found out what happened.

"Shizuru," she pushed me back straddling over me, holding my collar in her fists, softly glaring into my eyes, "what happened?"

I looked away unable to hold her heavy gaze when a brief thought came to me and I chuckled.

"What the hell is so funny?" She gripped tighter onto my blouse. You just won this staring contest. "Nothing. It…, you shouldn't worry. It was just like last time—"

"Bull shit! Last time you were grounded and he had all your tea taken away you didn't come home with a bruise 363 days early!"

"Ara, Natsuki is keeping count?" I smirked.

"Don't change the subject Shizuru!" She glared at me as I turned away, "look at me," she whispered, "tell me, please."

"I, I got a call last night from my mother's doctor. He said, he said she was doing very poorly even though she was fine when I left. I went to look for my father to ask him if we could come back to check in on her, he was drunk with some strange lady," I shuddered at the memory, most disturbing thing I had ever seen. Moisture began to escape my eyes, "Well anyway he was angry and he yelled and cursed and swore… I had never seen him so angry." The tears stopped as I broke eye contact with her again, "he grabbed me by my hair and dragged me to my room. He slapped me and said that next time it would be much worse." I felt her tense up on top of me; I knew what she was worried about, "no, he didn't do 'that'." She still refused to release the breathe she was holding, her emeralds burning into the side of my face.

"I'm going to kill him," she tried to stand and leave but I grabbed her and pulled her back.

"No, don't. He's not like my mother; you're not just talking about local law enforcement. He has bodyguards and a growing military and political pull with God himself. Please," I begged as I felt her struggling to go and complete this insane mission, "please just stay with me, please," I sobbed into her shoulder, "just stay with me."

"Alright," she whispered and lay down next to me. She brushed my tears away with her thumb. I leaned forward and met her lips with mine. It was soft and loving as she moved her lips against mine. She broke away from the kiss and leaned back looking me in the eye. She smiled and wrapped her arms around me. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep still tangled in her warm embrace.

I sighed as I slipped on my Viola face and shrugged on the coat. Viola was my mother's maiden name, but no one here knows that. I stepped out of my temporary quarters and strode down the corridor to the courtyard where they were waiting for me. The elite squad, they were the best of the best and led personally by Viola.

"Deni-han."

"Yes General." He stepped forward from the line of soldiers.

"When we meet up with the rebels I would like you to take point."

"Hai."

"Higurashi-han, Tokiha-han."

"General," they stepped forward.

"Secure the cable car once we get there. Make sure you black the windows, I don't want them knowing what's inside."

___________________________________________________________________________________

I loved how you could only cry in front of me.

I stood there, pacing back and forth, restless. I peered out around the corner to where the park and the rising sun lay in waiting, but still she was nowhere to be found. I kicked myself for being so damn impatient, and God forbid, needy. If it was one thing I couldn't stand it was being in great need of something, and even worse, of someone.

"Where are you?" I asked the nobody that was present, "Where are you?"

She was always at our spot, at the same time every day without fail. Even if it was just to say hi before she got dragged off to some rich boring ass meeting. She should have been waiting for me before I even got there since I had been running late.

I had been expecting to hear her sweet lyrical voice reprimanding me in some kind of cruel tease for being late, but she wasn't there. Could something have happened to her? Worry began to twist in my chest as I continued my vigilance from the alleyway.

Becoming too impatient I stepped out onto the main street walking aimlessly toward a foggy goal that was somewhere buried in my head. I needed to put my worries to rest; I needed proof that she was ok. If anything had happened to her because I was late there would be no way for me to forgive myself.

I started walking faster as all the possibilities of what may have happened buzzed through my head. She was jumped, no, no, maybe she couldn't sneak out, yeah that's it! No wait, that's not much better! Now I was running. The buildings progressively became newer, the streets cleaner, the cars nicer, as I hurried down the street. The buildings began to thin and more and more houses appeared until all the taller buildings were gone. And I ran faster.

I could see her large mansion of a home at the far end of the block. There were large trucks parked around the house as people in blue jump suits were moving about her yard. A knot formed in my stomach as I watched them load chairs, desks, tables, and what was that….her bed! That was her bed! What are they doing? I wanted to scream.

But none of the cars were in the driveway. Only the maids seemed to be in attendance dealing with…sympathetic neighbors? Distributing, what was that in their hands, casserole dishes?! What the hell is going on?

I stopped running once I reached the other side of the narrow street, the knot in my chest refusing to go away. Sympathy and casseroles never went well together. I looked over my shoulder where a bicycle was abandoned on its owner's front lawn. I stared at it for a while as the gears in my head started turning. Whatever my mind came up with it made me upset, and all I understood at the moment was that I needed to see her.

I ran up to one of her maids and stopped her. "Where is the lady of this house?" I demanded. I noticed her eyes were a little swollen and her cheeks were tear stained. The maid looked back at me and gave me a sad smile. She was the only one that was always kind to me whenever Shizuru had snuck me over. I was even suspicious that she helped Shizuru runaway.

"The lady is attending a funeral." Who's funeral? I wanted to ask her but I was too scared of the answer. "Where," came out instead. She pointed a shaky finger down the street, "it's a bit far on foot, just go straight." I grabbed the bicycle from the neighbor's lawn and sped off in the direction she was pointing.

By the time I got there the sun was burning high in the sky and I was sweating beneath my leather jacket. It didn't stop me though, at this point nothing could.

I spotted a mass of men and woman wearing black in the center of a grassy field littered with tombstones. I got as close as I dared, hiding behind a nearby tree. A majority of the people in attendance wore black suits with white earpieces running up from their collar, their eyes masked by black shades. These weren't the usual law enforcement that Shizuru and I were used to dealing with, so who were they?

Just beyond the wall of suits I immediately recognized her flow of light brown hair that curled around her shoulders. She stood stiff in a silky black dress that revealed her bare back and high heels that were sinking into the rich earth. Standing next to her, in a white suite none-the-less, was a tall man with the same colored hair as hers if not a bit grey on the sides. He placed his arm around her and gave her waist a gentle squeeze. I instantly growled.

I guess I did it too loud because he turned his head at the sound. Soon I found myself being stared down by cruel red eyes, a slight smile beneath his chestnut goatee. "Looks like graveyards do collect rats." His voice sounded nothing like hers, but I knew who he was, and that made me hate him even more.

She turned her head to look back at what her father was talking about. Then she saw me, now standing in the open, next to the tree. Her eyes were sad, miserable, and pleading, but for what I did not know. She didn't say a word, her face completely still save the single tear that fell down her cheek.

He looked between the two of us and laughed, "Is this the trash that you're mother had problems cleaning up?" He grabbed her wrist, I saw her flinch from the strength of his hold, "Come on Shi-chan, we have to go before we miss the flight." He started to walk away pulling her in tow.

I was in utter shock. How dare he hold her like that! What did he mean by plane flight? "Shizuru…" I whispered. She didn't stop. "SHIZURU!!" I screamed out, fighting the tears that were forcing their way into my eyes. She cringed in her father's hold, "Shizuru!!" I tried again.

She yanked her arm free and turned while slipping out of her heels. She ran to me and I to her. The guards created a wall between her and I. One of them ripping her off the floor and hoisting her over his shoulder. While the rest fought and shoved me off I kicked and clawed at them. I reached my hand out to her outstretched one but we were too far apart. "Shizuru!!"

"Natsuki!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She cried back.

I twisted against the firm hold of their hands that soon became my bed sheets before I fell off of my small bed and hit the floor hard. I stared up dazed at my ceiling; my feet still up on the bed. I pressed my hand to my cheek and found that it came back moist with tears I didn't even know I was shedding.

"Kuga!" The door burst open revealing a panic stricken Nao, "we have an emergency, these idiots are moving faster than we anticipated." I jumped up to my feet quickly getting dressed and following after her.