Ayano's POV:-

"Ohh, my aching everything ..."
That was not exaggeration , my entire body felt ...bad ...Reeeeally bad. I dragged myself out of bed and headed to the bathroom after taking my necessary clothes ,locked the door , striped out of my shredded, burned and ripped training clothes and began my morning routine, successfully stretching incredibly strained muscles.
'Great , how am I gonna do missions like this . Well, on the bright side , I finally managed to do the technique without burning my hands . Few more days and I can stop wearing gloves . Man , I feel so tired ...wait a sec...'
I finished changing into my uniform and wearing my gloves ( never before have I been so grateful to be living in a house full of boys . Nobody questions my fashion choices) and I was walking out the door when the question hit me.
" How'd I end up in my bed? Didn't I collapse in the training grounds again ?..."
"Again? Just how often do you pass out...huh, princess?"
That voice ...No. I ran back into my room.
"KAZUMA , WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?"
Said man was seated on My Bed and flipping through My iPod .
"Quite a song-collection ,princess...Green day , Bridgit Mendler,Daughtry ...hmm...variety is good ."
I am too tired for this.
"What do you want ? And don't say 'my iPod ' cause I want that."
"I want you to stop."
I looked at him in confusion.
"Stop what?"
"Over-training yourself."
"What?..."
How did...ah...wha...
"Well...ummm...that's none of your business ."
I said turning away . Wait a sec.
"Hey ...Did you bring me back here?"
"Leaving you passed out in the woods wouldn't be very dutiful of me."
He said , facing me with a small smirk . I crossed my arms . Something's not right . We've been talking and he hasn't said anything that makes me want to kill him...painfully. That's strange.
"Oh, and since when were you dutiful ? you slacker. And what were you doing in the forest anyway ?...much less the kannagi training grounds ."
"You weren't in your room...so I went hunting and found you practising a technique which was Clearly far above your capacity ..."
Alright , what the heck.
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? I'M STRO..."
The next second , my legs gave away as a shock wave passed through my body 'sh*t , not now'. I closed my eyes bracing for impact ...and found myself engulfed in a pair of strong arms . Sweat formed on my forehead as I tired to stay conscious.
"See...you're too drained to even stand."
"Don't look...down...on ...me. ...I can...I'm ...fine"
I began to struggle...but his grip was too tight ...and too comfortable .
"Ayano..."
Something in his voice my me freeze . Not in fear , but surprise . He sounded so...worried and...guilty?
"Why...why did you ...try ...to find me?"
I felt his grip tighten . It hurt a bit but I didn't say anything . I couldn't see his face as it was buried in my hair and mine was in the crook of his neck . I was glad cause I was pretty positive that I was blushing like a maniac. He let out a small sigh.
"A dream ...Bernhart ...he killed you..."
My eyes widened and my arms unconsciously found its way around him .
"...you're last words were 'liar'."
"Never..."
Kazuma seemed surprised.
"...I would never ...say ...that . I told you ...already ... I never asked you...to protect me.. I don't want you to...I...I..want you to ..lean on me . I...I will definitely ...become strong enough ..."
"Don't ..."
"Huh..?"
"Don't strain yourself . Take it slow . I don't want you to end up being incapacitated due to exhaustion ..."
"Oh ..., I get it. You're scared ..that...I'll kick ...your butt ."
A chuckle escaped him and he whispered in my ear.
"...terrified."
A shiver passed through my body and a gasp escaped my mouth . I could feel him smirk against my neck . 'Too close, Too close'. I unwrapped my arms from around him and began to push him off. He lifted his head and I lowered my head ,refusing to make eye contact .
"I...I have...I ...have to get to school ."
"Ayano ..."
I made the mistake of looking up. The second I made the mistake I was trapped.
He was looking at me with such clear eyes. I couldn't understand the emotion in them ...but I liked it . I didn't look away , but...neither did he. I could have sworn the distance between us was closing , but at that moment , I could only see his eyes and my eyes reflected in them .
"NEE-SAN , BREAKFAST'S READY!"
We both froze , both eyes widened , though admittedly , mine more that his . I shot backwards landing on my butt ...which Hurt like Crazy . My mouth slammed shut while his half-open mouth slowly closed shut .
"Umm..I ...well...uh ..I better go ."
I said getting up , forcing strength into my weak legs , fully aware that whatever happened right then will be ignored just like every other time ...something ...happens .

'..then you don't know me very well,...princess'

NO.Now is Not the time to be remembering the stupid dream I had during the school trip.
"Don't forget to tell Jugo that you're skipping school today ..."
"Yea...WAIT ,WHAT?WHY?"
He looked up at me with a small smirk .
"Unless you want me to take off your fashion accessories ..."
He said pointing at my gloves.
"...in front of Ren . Poor kid would be horrified ."
I almost freaked but , then crossed my arms and gave him a triumphant look.
"Nice try, but Ren is the only person in the world You would never hurt in Any way ."
And then I turned away ...only to stumble and shout ...
"I'M OKAY!"
...before continuing to walk . I heard him sigh behind me before appearing right in front of me and placing both his hands on my shoulders and pushing me back . I heard Ren's voice again .
"NEE-SAN , JUGO-SAMA SAID TO INVITE NII-SAN FOR BREAKFAST TOO."
"How'd they know you were here?"
"How could they not ? With all your yelling."
"SORRY REN , YOUR BROTHER'S NOT INTERESTE...*hmph*"
He put his hand over my mouth .
"I'LL BE THERE IN A WHILE."
He replied before turning to face me glaring at him. He simply smirked ...again.
"Oh , my. I'm sooo scared."
He is so dead .
I opened my mouth and bit his hand , which he quickly retracted , and leaped back .
"Ow...what are you ? A dog?"
"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A ...WOAH..."
My legs hit my bed resulting in me landing back first on to my bed , which under normal circumstances would have been pretty comfy , but with the number of bruises I had right then...painful...Very painful . The area around my spine in particular was Very sensitive at the time. Tears began to form and I clamped my mouth with both my hands to keep from screaming , momentarily forgetting the annoying contractor in front of me looking at me with wide eyes. I looked up at him and quickly shouted.
"I'm fine."
His eyes narrowed .
"No, you're not."
I looked him straight in the eye , blinking away the tears and refusing to show even the slightest hint of weakness. I wasn't changing my mind...
...but neither was he changing his.
Goal: get to school. Obstacle: annoying contractor.
No breakfast for me today , I guess.
With a quick swing I kicked him away from me before grabbing my bag and shot for the door. But the wind surrounded me and slammed me to the door . It cushioned the impact but I couldn't stop the scream of pain that escaped my lips . The bag was snatched from my hand and I felt rough fingers at my neck before blacking out. I last thing I heard was a pained husky voice say...

"so stubborn..."