-Catgirl-of-Bavaria-: I thought I'd put the next chapter up too, just cause I've neglected this story since September…I actually haven't written on it for a while, either, but I am eager to get back into it and go where I wanna go with it. Hopefully I'll get a few fans along the way!

This chapter was a ton of fun to write, I got to play with Uo-chan's character, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Poor Minagi, I just won't give her a break! Lol…I did give her a wonderful wardrobe to work with though, and I highly envy her for it.

Thank you to Shojo Beat for it's info on Shibuya and Harajuka, briefly mentioned in here, and permanent fixtures in my mental list of 'Places to go before I die'.

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Chapter 4- When You Want Us

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Lumber. Fresh lumber and cardboard. That's what her new room smelt like.

The smell had kept her up nearly all night the previous night, the night before school. And it, among other things, would probably keep her up again that night.

Minagi sighed at the thought of more sleep deprivation, closing her emerald eyes that had been fixed for quite a while previous to the ceiling above her pillow. Her hands lay folded between her head and her pillow, her long locks of deep brown playing in waves over her bed and her pillows, having been long since freed from the hair tie that restrained it earlier.

This house was very new, it having only been built a couple of weeks prior to Minagi's arrival in the town. So, the smell of lumber and even of paint was still residing in the house with her and her mother, despite attempts to vent the aroma by opening several windows in the house. Minagi comforted herself telling herself it wouldn't last, it would be gone soon, or that or she may get used to it; Though the latter seemed fairly unlikely, as she furrowed her brow at a fresh whiff of the scent. The cardboard could be helped, though, all she needed to do was pull herself out of her lazy and distraught stupor and unpack everything. Unfortunately, she had used all her industrial motivation on completing her homework, which now lay in a heap at the foot of her bed. It was sloppily done, and at times illegible with her constantly changing handwriting, but it was finished.

She peered out of the window, noticing it was now dusk. She'd spent hours holed up in this room of lumber and cardboard smells, keeping her brain on the track of homework, and anything else that didn't bring the Sohmas or the other girls to mind. She had eventually changed out of her school uniform, switching into a loose button up black shirt that was lightly adorned with red lace at the hem and the sleeves that reached the middle of her upper arm. Paired with that, was a black layered skirt, with its own set of red lace at its hem. To finish off the outfit, were her favorite pair of black knee high socks that sported a red ribbon lacing around the top, tied off in a perfect bow to the sides.

She smiled at this outfit, it was one of her favorites. When she'd lived in downtown Tokyo, she'd visited the shopping districts Shibuya and Harajuka almost regularly, and had consequently become very inspired by the "Gothic Lolita" style of dress. Both by seeing many another girl walking around the place dressed as such, or looking in one of the plentiful shops in the district that offered the style. Nearly everything she now owned in garment form was Gothic Lolita. She'd even taught herself to sew such things, since she had been away from places to buy the garments for a few years now, Tokyo being one of the many places that she and her mother had moved in and then out of.

Out of the deepening darkness came a grumble that Minagi recognized as her stomach's request for food. And knowing her stomach, it wouldn't stay this patient for long. She had skipped lunch, after all.

After she'd fled from her "friends", or "all-too-persistent-acquaintances," as she preferred to call them, she settled on waiting outside the classroom for the next block of classes-which thank Buddha was shorter than the morning block- to begin. As soon as she'd fortified her mental and social isolation walls in her seat, she watched as the rest of her class filed in from the break. She'd pretended to be sleeping, putting her head in her arms as Momiji and Haru made themselves present. Sneaking a peek at the boys, she saw Haru give Momiji a look before they even walked in. Momiji had nodded regretfully, and slowly, almost non-energetically trotted to his seat in front of her. Minagi remembered expecting him to throw himself into conversation with her, to call her out of her "slumber", to look at her with concern filled brown eyes, and energetically ask her what had happened. To be his own, hyper self.

But he sat down, facing the front, with out a word. He had picked up his pencil and flipped to a fresh page in his notebook. He had completely ignored her. Minagi recalled that feeling she had, the feeling of great relief as her head collapsed back into it's fortitude of darkness. She lifted her head finally, as the sensei's voice filtered in with the last of the students. No one had their eyes on her. Except a boy that was next to her.

Haru had been looking at her, his face expressionless, his eyes as calm as a lake and just as blue. He was unreadable as he stared at her through white hair. Minagi had cut off the staring contest by turning back to her notes, determined to wait out the day buried in studies and lectures that were provided by the sensei.

Minagi sat up as her stomach gave another pestering growl, the first sign of her impatient appetite. The room around her was now fairly dark, so she turned on the lamp that sat on a box next to her bed. The bronze light illuminated the room dimly, but it was enough for her to navigate around the surrounding and opposing boxes that she'd someday get unpacked.

Guiding herself around more boxes in the hallway, she found the stairwell, and sauntered down, in aims of her kitchen. It had been equipped with a stove top when they moved in, along with a refrigerator.

Both Minagi and her stomach gave a low and disgruntled growl upon finding that the fridge was still empty. She shut the door to the cold box, realizing that it was entirely logical for the thing to be empty, what with her mother being at work all day, and her being at school all day; neither of them could have gone to the store for food whilst distracted with such domestic obligations. She found some boxes lying around, and mused briefly that there wouldn't likely be anything worth eating in them. Upon investigating of a few, she found that she was right in assuming this; one only had some crackers among all of their pots and pans, the other somehow contained books that would belong in their "library".

Her mother's voice carried to her as Minagi carried the box of books to the stairs.

"Hey, Mina-chan, could you go to the store and get some food for tonight?" Her mother requested upon emerging from the top of the stairwell. "I'd do it myself, but I have a splitting headache…" She further explained.

"Sure," Minagi fought her stomach for audibility in the dim and open front room. Her mother, leaning over the banister, brushed her light brown hair out of her face with a tired smile to her daughter, and retreated back to her room.

"Uh, anything in particular?" Minagi called as she slipped on her leather combat boots.

"Anything in noodle form is fine with me!" Her mother called down, oddly muffled as if she had her face inches from her pillow. Which was probably the case, as Minagi knew how attached her mother was to her pillows when she had such a headache.

Minagi pulled on a long, lacy jacket that completed the lolita style of her outfit and would keep her warm in the chill of the early autumn evening. Stepping out of the front door, sure to have a map of the area in her hand, she set out on the journey to find the nearest convenience store. Her mother had already marked the location of the house on the map, and with the aid of a phone book, was able to locate such things as Minagi's new school, the nearest and most interesting-looking restaurants, and of course the convenience store that Minagi was headed for.

She enjoyed the last bit of light that haloed the city, as the street lamps provided more of guidance to her. The red-orange light of the sky to the west blended expertly and beautifully with the oncoming deep blues from the east. Minagi smiled to herself at the quietness of it all. Everyone was inside their own houses, sitting down with their own families to their own dinners. No one noticed the new girl dressed as if she'd just popped in from Shibuya, reading a map to find a convenience store for food. She was finally alone.

She came to a corner and finally took out the folded map from her laced pocket, smoothing it on her legs and squinting through the dim light of the lamp above at the thin lines that traced neatly around the paper, forming streets and train tracks and something of houses, all in replica of the area. She located her house with ease, it being a thick red, Sharpie-ink square. The convenience store, was a fair few blocks away from that red square, labeled in a black Sharpie-ink dot. The girl traced her path thus far to a corner that wasn't too far from the dot, to an intersection that found itself lined with businesses, shops and even a few apartment buildings. Just another street up would find her in more urban surroundings and with in sight of her destination.

She packed the map away, careful not to crinkle it too much, as she and her mother would still need it's guidance for at least a little while longer. She began up the street, mentally following the remaining path on the map. Sure enough, she found the little shop on the next block, and a bit more urban of a surrounding. The journey there had, of all things, been a gradual transformation from suburb to mildly urban. This place definitely looked a drastic change from her new neighborhood, which was clean and new and full of perfect families. It was a new neighborhood populated by the well off, a category that Minagi felt all too much a part of, with her mother in a high end job that handed her transfers and promotions all the time. Minagi wouldn't even be surprised if one day she came home to news that they were moving to some beautiful foreign country, though she didn't want to tempt that fate.

This part of town was significantly older and a little worse for wares. Not to say that it was exactly bad, but it had more "character" than the streets that Minagi had seen come before it on her journey. A bit of that character was actually on the side of the convenience store in an alleyway, in the form of graffiti. Minagi gazed at the stylized kanji, only half trying to read it as she passed.

The light drastically changed as she stepped inside the small establishment, making Minagi go temporarily blind. She blinked at her surroundings as the music of the place met her ears, the type of old music that her mother would be likely to listen to. She directed herself in some direction, now on a quest to find fixings that would prove easy to create at home. The girl was in a lazy mood, thus something simple would be her cup of tea.

Or cup of instant veggie ramen, as she picked up a package of the stuff and contemplated its benefits. It's quick and easy, though she'd have to boil water. That meant fishing the ideal pot out of a box, and the ten minutes it'd take to reach boiling point. Then there was just an extra utensil to clean up afterwards.

Ten minutes, plus the walk home first. And Minagi's stomach wanted food now.

She wondered off, finding a simple package of soba noodles for her mother, along with some sauce that she knew complimented the noodles very well. Eventually, with more impatient nudgings from her belly, she decided on that pack of ramen, and grabbed the juiciest looking pear she could find in the produce section for the road.

The girl checked out, and setting the light and non-existent burden of the bag into the crook of an arm, she began into her pear as her eyes found themselves momentarily blind again, this time being for the darkness that heinously contrasted the inner lights of the store. In her brief second of blindness, however, she had managed to step right into something, that something being a taller, more solid older female.

Minagi stumbled back with the impact, managing not to fall flat on her backside. Her eyes met with the new victim of her clumsiness, that tall, bleach-toped girl, dressed all in dark clothing, with a white face mask covering her mouth and nose. Her eyes were just visible, reflecting light in little spots of gleam. Those eyes held every bit of threatening aura that they could muster.

"You wanna look where you're going, stupid girl?" the girl spat behind her mask. Minagi then noticed that the girl wasn't alone, but had two companions with her, both looking just as menacing and hostile as their spokeswoman.

"I-I'm sorry, I was just…" Minagi stammered, not knowing what it was she was trying to say.

"I haven't seen you before…" One of the girl's friends said. "You in territory you shouldn't be in?"

"Huh?" Minagi stared, dumbfounded, as the little group began to encircle her, for whatever a group of only three could do so.

"She sure is pretty, but she ain't so bright, eh, girls?" the leader snickered to her friends. "Look at her, all dolled up like that and only going to a supermarket…" She grabbed the plastic bag from Minagi, as if initiating a game of keep-away.

"Hey! What are you…" Minagi exclaimed, taking hold of the bag before it left her grasp completely.

"Seriously, with clothes like that, someone'd think that you were goin' on a date or somethin'!" the third girl said with a sarcastic air.

"Yeah, bet you get straight A's and you're mommy and daddy's little girl, too!" the leader cooed, giving the bag another tug. The mask on her face shifted as her mouth behind it twisted into a smirk. It suddenly shifted back, that heinous smile gone. "I hate stupid girls like this little bitch." She said, more to her friends than Minagi.

Minagi was growing tired of the situation now, even though these girls seemed a little more hostile than her last bullies. Something told her that they actually had the guts and the power to back up their talk. She'd heard of these types, these were Yankees, girl gang members. Her memory took her briefly back to a few hours before, when the girl called Uotani was accused as being such. She wondered, was Uo really a Yankee?

She pushed that thought from her mind. What the heck did she care?

"I'm sorry I ran into you like that, but I'd really just like to get home." Minagi calmly growled. "Can't you just forget it?"

The Yankees broke into laughter. Not ordinary laughter but cruel laughter, mocking laughter.

"Forget about it? Man, you've got a lot to learn about these streets, don't you, bitch?" the leader sadistically grinning behind that mask of hers. She gave a swift, almost invisible signal to the other two, and they quickly latched onto the young Minagi's arms, dragging her into that graffiti alleyway.

"Hey, let go of me!" Minagi struggled against her captors, finding that the darkness was no aid to her. Streetlight just barely filtered in, along with the light of the rising silver moon. Normally Minagi would have admired that silver orb, but there were obviously more trying matters at hand. "Dammit, get your hands off me!!" She managed to half-shout.

Outlined in the moonlight, she saw the leader of the trio, cracking her knuckles threateningly.

"Man, it's been a while since I got to spoil such a pretty face. I've been so bored lately!" She grinned to her partners as the last joints offered their pops to the night. She drew her now clenched fist to her shoulder, taking precise aim. Minagi was still coping with the fact that the aim was her face. She struggled a little more, to no avail.

Of all the times in the world to be alone. Sheesh.

Arisa sighed at the thought of three more hours of working that night. She hated the closing shift. Hated it with a bloody passion. She had homework waiting at home! It was never going to do itself, even with all the wishing in the world that she had to offer.

The cash register closed with an all-too-cheerful sounding series of mechanical dinging, the gears working with each other to bring the money drawer into safety. With a cheerful smile, she handed the woman before her the change that she'd fetched and sent her on her way.

"Thanks, come again." Arisa moved through the motion of politeness, like a well-trained robot, which was sometimes what she felt like. At least when she was a Yankee she didn't have to be so damn polite. Not that she was planning to go back to that life anytime at all, but still, was a little freedom too much to ask?

The shifts changed, and Arisa now found herself stocking shelves, halfheartedly digging things out of boxes and neatly stacking the food stuffs neatly into their places on the shelves. Yes, it was a boring job, a mind numbing job, but it still put food on her plate and helped go towards college. Which she would have to start thinking about frighteningly soon, being a third year high school student. Then there'd been that one night that hadn't been so monotonous, that one night that happened almost a year ago, she'd met Kureno. That night still was fresh in her mind, it never really left. It was as if it had happened just the other day. Then the day not too long afterwards, when she'd eaten Tororo Soba with him.

Then, there was nothing. A long gap of nothing so much as a visit from him. She scowled at the fact that she hadn't seen him in so long, scowled at the fact that maybe it was all just some sort of freak meeting. He said he'd been happy when he'd seen her as well, but if that was true, why didn't he at least make an effort to show up once in a while? Even if for only a few seconds for a smile and a wave? That was all Arisa wanted, she just wanted to see him again. However, if he wanted to treat her to more Tororo soba, that would be welcomed with open arms, too.

Arisa went to fetch the next box of product off of the cart of new supplies, these menacing thoughts still swirling in her head. Something though, caught her eye, before she'd even reached the cart.

A girl with wavy dark hair and lacy gothic clothes was headed out the exit, one bag in tow. Without much insight, Uo would have thought that it was her friend Hanajima visiting her store, but no, the hair was dark, but not black, and the skirt this girl was wearing had red lace. Hana had restricted herself to black, period. Not to mention, this girl didn't seek a hello from her as she passed, didn't even seem to know she was there.

"Wait…" Arisa realized who exactly that girl was. A smirk spread across her face. "That little…"

Arisa started after Minagi, before turning to one of her co-workers. No way was Arisa letting the younger girl get away without any explanation again!

"Yo, I'm taking my break now, cover me." She didn't wait for objection as she tore her apron off, and sped through the store after the girl who had already disappeared through the exit. Great, if she didn't hurry, she'd probably lose her.

Arisa wove through the final obstacle of the cashier line, weaving around discarded buggies that she made a note to sort out later.

She paused upon exiting, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, trying to make an educated guess as to where the girl went. Before her thoughts had any chance of giving her advice, however, a voice caught her attention.

"…All dolled up like that and only going to the supermarket," Then the crinkle of plastic.

Uotani dodged behind the wall of the entrance, catching sight of the Yankee girls, towering over the gothic Minagi. The first one had snatched at the shopping bag at her arm.

"Hey! What are you…"

"Seriously, with clothes like that, someone'd think that you were goin' on a date or somethin'!"

"Yeah, bet you get straight A's and you're mommy and daddy's little girl, too!" Uotani flinched, annoyed. Had she been this unbearable when she was in that life? "I hate stupid girls like this little bitch."

"I'm sorry I ran into you like that, but I'd really just like to get home." Minagi calmly growled. "Can't you just forget it?"

Uotani flinched again at the girls' laughter. That was the wrong thing to do in Minagi's situation. Then again, was there a right way? Uo herself had always responded by beating the crap out of her rivals. That sometimes didn't pay off well either.

"Forget about it? Man, you've got a lot to learn about these streets, don't you, bitch?" Uotani's attention snapped, here aqua eyes narrowed. She knew exactly where this was going, she'd seen it so many times.

"Hey, let go of me!" Minagi's cry sent her adrenaline in a crash course through her body. She sprinted out of hiding, following silently to the edge of the alleyway, peeking in to see the outlines of the girls, just the way she imagined them to be. Minagi shouted again, this time cussing at the girls. Arisa had to hand it to her, she hadn't seen anyone stick up for themselves like that, let alone a seemingly shy and introverted girl such as Minagi. Not to mention that the girl was even new to the area; talk about frightening, having a run-in with such bored and hostile Yankees on your first night!

"Man, it's been a while since I got to spoil such a pretty face. I've been so bored lately!"

Uotani sighed, recalling almost the exact words coming from her own mouth long ago. The leader's fist pulled back, giving Arisa the cue she was waiting for.

Minagi watched that fist pull back as far as it would, and shut her eyes, ready for the impact. Well, as ready as she'd ever be, anyway. She heard the sound of a fist cutting through the air, but in the brief milliseconds that passed, nothing collided with her face. Her eyes snapped open, even only after two or so seconds.

She didn't see that Yankee girl anymore. Rather, she saw a different Yankee girl. Said different Yankee girl was now staring her assailant down, a hand wrapped around the latter's wrist, holding her fist just inches from her own stomach.

"Heh. You talk big. Your punch was waaay too slow." Arisa drug out the "way" in a matter of taunting.

"What the Hell? What's a working girl like you have anything to say about it!" The leader girl shouted into Arisa's face, trying to call her fist back. "Dammit, you're a pretty girl too, aren't you? A good little working girl, bet you're just as perfect as her!" The leader sneered at the former Yankee, finally taking back her captive fist.

Minagi watched, stunned as Arisa dodged one punch to the head from the leader, only to plant a punch of her own, almost too swiftly for Minagi's amateur eyes to see, to the other girl's stomach. With a grunt, the victim of Uo's punch whirled around again, in a wild attempt to land a harsh punch again to Arisa's face. Arisa just managed to block it with her forearm, before coming into the girl's stomach again, this time with her knee. Even as the Yankee buckled over, Uotani didn't give her a chance to recover, and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, pinning her roughly against the alley wall. Somewhere in the fight, the girl's paper nurse's mask had fallen off, now draping around her neck and Arisa's tightened fingers.

"You don't know a damned thing about me or this chick," Arisa hissed at the other girl, finding that she wasn't near anything of a good fight. Just a big-talking bully. "So don't act like you do!" Her grip tightened, getting a small gasp from her opponent.

The other Yankees finally came to their senses upon seeing that Arisa held more power than she seemed to, and came to aid their friend, going for each of Arisa's arms.

"Uo-chan!" Minagi cried, knowing immediately what her arms' newfound freedom meant.

Sure enough, Arisa was now the captive one, the girls' leader was wiping off her chin and rounding on the blonde. Arisa didn't struggle, to Minagi's horror, or perhaps intrigue; somehow she could tell that Arisa would survive this, no matter the fact that she was being held back.

Arisa glanced slyly over her shoulder. Minagi had just said "Uo-chan." Like she was her friend. She inwardly laughed. She knew the kid wasn't so set on being friendless. Her attention turned to more pressing matters, her "Impending doom." Yeah, that's what she'd let the Yankees keep believing, just until the head girl took just a couple of steps towards her…

"Hold on. I've heard of you." The fellow blonde told Arisa, pausing just a few steps in front of her. "You're that Uotani bitch. Word is you went straight a few years back!"

"That's my name, don't you spoil it." Arisa retorted slyly.

"Heh, just like that Kyoko bitch, what was it, the Red Butterfly?" The blonde Yankee took a couple more steps towards Uotani. "So what, you gonna go marry some preppy prick like she did?" She leaned forward slightly as if she was cooing to a little baby, staring Arisa straight in the eyes.

Big mistake.

Arisa's foot shot straight into the girl's chin, knocking her head sickeningly backward with a deep grunt from the Yankee. The same foot then found sure footing in the girl's stomach, knocking the wind out of her, knocking her back into the wall behind her.

"Don't you ever talk about Kyoko-san and Katsuya-san that way, you stupid bitch!" Arisa's voice had found threatening volumes, Minagi's eyes widened as she watched Arisa lean out of the other girls' grasp as she yelled. Arisa felt her throat go a little scratchy. When was the last time she'd shouted like that? Then again, when was the last time someone had insulted the woman who to Arisa was so much more than just a friend's mother to her.?

She felt a bit more anger still in her system and decided to take it out on the lackeys on both her arms, whipping them both around, the girls letting go voluntarily, out of pure fear and self-preservation. Arisa raised her fists, ready for whatever it came down to. She'd always fight for Kyoko and Katsuya Honda, even though she knew if Kyoko was there she'd just tell her not to fight for her sake. That was just the kind of person Kyoko was. It actually made the fight for her honor all the more accomplishing, if that wasn't confusing enough for her.

None of the three girls made any move, but merely glared, the leader rubbing her chin. Arisa took pride in the fact that her chin would probably hurt even more in the morning, and for a fair few days afterward and hopefully it would even turn purple. Serves her right, talking about Tohru's parents like that!

Arisa lowered her hands, but still held that threatening aqua gaze at the Yankees that proved to be her underlings.

"Don't let me catch you guys again, or you'll hurt a Hell of a lot more. And leave this chick alone, or it goes double." Arisa motioned to Minagi. "You got that!" Her voice threatened over the girls, who merely slunk out of the alleyway, each contributing their own look of loathing to the former Yankee.

In just seconds, the world was quiet again.

"Yo," Arisa turned cheerfully with her signature peace sign at the ready.

"Uh…Hi. Thanks, for all that, I mean." Minagi shyly told the girl, replacing her bag of ramen and soba on her arm. She noted that she'd lost track of hear pear after only one bite, after being grabbed by those girls. Great, now her stomach would be complaining all the way home. She began that walk home, stepping out of the dark alley and into the moon and street light.

"Hey." Arisa's voice followed her, to her dismay. She paused only out of politeness. Curse that stupid politeness!

"What was up with you today?" Arisa stood next to Minagi now, sorting out the blonde bangs that had been disturbed in the small brawl with the other Yankees. "Why'd you run?"

Minagi peered at the silver bathed concrete. It had come to this, after all. She'd hoped it wouldn't, but seriously, that had been a lost cause from the beginning, she knew.

"He was upset when you left." Arisa continued at Minagi's silence. "That Momiji kid was."

Minagi felt the blood rush to her face. Why bring him into this?

"Hatsuharu was a little odd too, but that may not be such news to me, that kid's an enigma, just like the rest of 'em…The Sohmas, I mean." Arisa pulled out her pony-tail loop, re-sorting her blonde locks. She decided now to be quiet and wait for the other's response.

Minagi said nothing still, wondering if she should, or if Arisa would try to stop her if she just ran home.

"You're new, I know that. But why the Hell don't you want to be with anyone?" Arisa asked Minagi, in what sounded like an honest voice that was trying to understand. Suddenly, after a few more seconds, Arisa broke into suppressed laughter.

"What are you…?" Minagi blushed, wondering what on earth would be so funny in this situation.

"You…You remind me of Hana-chan!" Arisa said through laughter and joyful tears. Minagi stared, wide eyed at her "friend". Hana-chan? How on Earth…

"C'mon, let's walk," Arisa grabbed Minagi's shoulder and guided her down the street that luckily led to Minagi's house. "Hana-chan, when she first came here, she was just like you. She didn't want to be with anyone, 'cause she's had some trouble in the past, she was afraid to hurt anyone near her." Arisa was now surprisingly somber, reflecting on her friend's sad and frightening past.

"I know it's probably not the same for you, but something's holding you back." The former Yank looked at the younger girl, whose emerald eyes were actually following her story quite avidly. "I can tell." She smiled.

Minagi glanced back at the sidewalk. Somehow she didn't feel so on edge right now. This was probably the first time someone was talking to her like this, the first time someone seemed to relate. Except for maybe Haru earlier in the day, she thought regretfully, recalling that he seemed to have some sort of experience, according to him.

"So, you're new here, you don't want friends. I just want to know why, and so does the rest of the gang." Arisa folded her hands behind her head, walking with her elbows pointed to the starry sky. Minagi contemplated it, for once. "You don't have to tell me right now, but keep in mind, I don't like letting people isolate themselves. Just ask Hana-chan. I caught her before she had a chance to put up those damned walls... I ain't gonna leave you alone."

Minagi paused. She looked up, and somehow found them in front of her house. Apparently she'd navigated them both there, absent-mindedly. Shaking herself from the mystery, she focused on the task at hand. 'I ain't gonna leave you alone.' Those words echoed through her mind. She thought back to Hana-chan, another isolationist of the group.

"I…" Minagi began, not knowing where she was going with it. Her walls were falling, whatever walls there actually were standing to begin with. She was learning that she really was terrible at this isolation thing. Even Arisa Uotani, the former Yankee, the tough girl of the group was trying to understand what was bugging her. She had that sense of tough love about her.

"This is the third time I've moved." She put simply, suddenly becoming very interested in her front lawn. "It may not be my last."

"That's it?" Arisa asked blatantly, calling back Minagi's gaze. "You're just worried about having to move again, and leaving whatever friends you have?"

Minagi blushed deeply. This girl had read her far too well. She couldn't bring herself to say anything more, and settled on keeping that gaze on her perfect grass in her yard.

The silence was interrupted by Arisa again, this time in the form of giggling. Minagi thought briefly that giggling seemed strange, coming from this girl. Still, it seemed welcome.

"I just remembered, back in that alley," Arisa started, pulling that pesky curtain of bangs on the right side of her face out of her vision. Minagi stared at her again, admiring to herself how pretty her bleached hair looked in the silver light of the full moon. "You called me Uo-chan." She grinned at Minagi, who in return, blanched, realizing that was true.

"N-No, I didn't mean that…You…" Minagi stammered, at the receiving end of friendly teasing. For some reason she was enjoying it, somewhere deep in the part of her that she had tried to lock away for the past twelve hours.

"Whatever, Kuro-chan," Arisa set a hand on the younger's brunette head. "Keep denying it all you want, but…" She trailed off, her giggling being traded for a look of wise friendship.

"You really do have friends, a whole, freakish group of 'em." She smiled with a self directed joke at the girl. "When you want us, we'll be there."

Minagi felt the hand on her head ruffle up some of her hair as the taller girl turned back towards town. She stared at Arisa's back growing a little more distant, before the blonde turned again.

"Oh, and be nice to Momiji, will ya? As annoying as he is when he's bouncing off the wall, it's even more annoying when he's depressed." With that, Arisa continued off to return to work. Her smiling face faded as she remembered the two words that had come to haunt her very being: Closing, Shift.

Minagi glowered to herself. That Yank had cracked her open and read her like a book. It had been so easy. She really did suck at this.

Her head met the door with a thump as her quavering hand fumbled with her new house key, that refused to oblige her requests of letting her in. Finally after a few skirmishes with the plated piece of metal, she won the war, allowing her entrance to the front room. She peeled off her coat and boots in one quick movement, and set out for the kitchen.

She stared into the bubbling rage of the boiling water minutes later, that conversation with Uotani still fresh in her mind.

'When you want us, we'll be there.'

'You really do have friends.'

She turned off the stove coil with a sharp snap of the dial and poured the hot water into the bowl that contained her block of dehydrated ramen, silently cursing her failures of walls to eternal damnation the whole time.