Author's Note:

Sorry for the delayed post. It's been months since I've been able to work on fanfiction stuff because of Uni :(

So, I've finally got the chance to update my stories.

Anyways, for all Natsume fans, this chapter is a treat to you all! its all in his POV for this chapter, and the plot finally starts to develop in this chapter.

Hope you guys like :D

ENJOY! XD

Natsume's POV

It had only been five minutes after the warning bell, and I was barely getting past the school entrance. I knew I was already late, so I didn't even bother rushing through the school.

I'll get there when I get there.

Three weeks have passed since I've started school in this city, and I've been on campus -what, three days? -and that's if I included today. Well, it's not like I was complaining anyways. Getting home rested for two- almost three weeks gave me enough time to find a few jobs.

I sighed noticing I've reached my destination. Without hesitating, I grabbed the door handle and twisted it down, pulling the door along with it.

"And he appears," the teacher's voice stopped me at the door, "welcome back Hyuuga. I'm still in the process of calling attendance, so take your seat and we can get things going."

I tipped my head down instead of saying anything and looked around the room for an empty seat. As I'm doing so, I noticed the stares and whispers between the people.

He actually came back?... I thought he left this school... blah blah blah... I'm sure that's what was running through their minds.

Whatever.

I saw the same back table empty so I walked towards it.

After removing my backpack and placing it on top of my desk, I slid into the seat.

From back here I could see pretty much everyone and it's stupidly obvious that most of the people were still staring and saying shit.

I glanced to the left side of the room and immediately noticed 'miss-stares-a-lot' Sakura. She blinked twice seeing that I've caught her staring. Surprisingly she didn't turn away or pretend she was looking somewhere else. Instead, she closed her eyes and smiled.

What-? Is that a way of saying 'hi' secretly or something? I raised a brow and looked down at my hands on the desk. With my left index finger, I slightly raised it to signal a 'suppose-to-be' hello. She smiled again from my action and turned around to face the front of the class.

After what happened last Friday, I'm actually surprised she can still smile at me. Not only did she look after Youichi while I worked that night, but also protected him, putting herself in danger to cover him.

I guess I could say she won a bit of respect from me. It's the least I could do.

Not only that, but Youichi was quite fond of her for some reason. Don't know why-? He just was.

I covered my mouth with the side of my right hand since I felt a smirk creeping up on my lips.

Throughout the next few classes, I didn't really pay much attention.

My mind kept wandering off.

I looked down letting out a stress related sigh. There's something that has been bugging me since yesterday.

To think I should have learned a lesson or two from my previous homes...

God I feel stupid every time this happens.

Flashback

Sunday

I couldn't sleep...

I tossed and turned all night for the past two nights. I swear I hadn't gotten any sleep since Friday! I've been too freakin' edgy ever since the whole parking lot event with Sakura.

...NO sleep what's so ever!

I grabbed the blanket and threw it aside as I sat up. I glanced at the red alarm clock on the floor next to my bed and noticed the blinking red numbers reading 4:55am.

"This sucks." I rubbed my sore eyes while swinging my legs over to the side of the bed.

Today I had work at my second job washing boats over by the pier.

So instead of going for the usual jeans and a shirt, I grabbed a pair of black and white board shorts and a black spandex short-sleeve shirt.

After showering and changing into my clothes, I pushed away the idea of putting on my contacts.

My eyes felt swollen because of the lack of sleep.

'I'll just put them on before I leave' or so I thought.

I walked into the living room/kitchen and did notice the improvements. For the past week and a half I've been spending most of my free time painting and repairing the apartment to at least a semi-decent home.

I might as well right? -we were going to be living here for a while.

So I filled in the holes in the walls, tightened the hinges on doors and cabinets, and last but not least started the painting.

The apartment walls went from an ugly worn out blue to a solid clean white. And the cabinets in the kitchen went from a pealed out yellow to plain black.

This has had me busy for the whole time I've been out of school.

I opened the top drawer in the kitchen and took out a screw driver. Next I grabbed a bag full of the new knobs I would be switching the old ones with from the counter, and focused on doing that for the time being.

Half ways done, I checked the time and it was around six-ish, so figured I might as well get the mail before heading out.

I put everything away along with the discarded knobs and grabbed my keys.

The hallways were empty and also pretty quiet. Hardly any lighting in here- oh and the walls along with the flooring are disgustingly old. This place looks like its deteriorating. In short, the place is just flat ugly.

And what's hard to believe is that we've lived in worse.

I shook my head as I walked down the stairs to the lobby.

Nobody in the lobby either. So I took my time and looked down the narrow isle that had all the metal boxes aligning the wall.

The numbers go by room number so I start heading towards the four-hundreds.

404...405...406...

I used the same key to my room to open the corresponding mail box. About four letters and a few adds were in the mail.

I didn't bother checking what they were; I simply grabbed my mail, closed my mail box, and turned to leave.

There's nothing in the mail to worry about just yet. Persona's letter doesn't come in until the first of the month-

I stopped cutting my thoughts short when I noticed the entrance door swing open, followed by a man in his late thirties carrying a cardboard box.

... Silence lingered…

I know I'm staring, but why is he staring? My eyes widened when I heard him gasp and take a step back.

What's going on? Why was he scared all of a sudden?

I looked behind me to see if there's something or someone that might be causing this. But there was no one.

"Los-los... tus ojos!" The man yelled at me.

I had no clue what the man was saying.

It wasn't until he pointed at his eyes that I caught on.

Shit! Even I let out a gasp realizing it. I tilted my head back and looked up at the ceiling since the lobby ceiling was a big mirror. In between the cracks and chipped pieces of glass, I saw them. My red eyes looking right back at me, not only that but for some reason they looked as if they were glowing.

What the hell-? I flinched as I heard something hit the ground.

The man had dropped the box in his hands.

"Ojos del demonio!" He staggered back and pressed up against the wall behind him. "Ala chingada!"

All I could do was stare as the man made a break away towards the entrance.

I let out a sigh. Dammit! Can't believe it... Fuck! I forgot to put my contacts on!

Am I really this fuckin' stupid or something!

I glanced up at the mirror again in denial. There's no avoiding it, the proof is looking right back at me!

I clenched my teeth and walked over towards the box the man dropped. A few of the things inside had fallen out, so I knelt down and recollected everything. After closing the box, I placed it up against the wall hoping he finds it here whenever he decides to come back.

I stood up and headed up the stairs, back to my room.

No one's ever really run away like that before. Usually they just stared or thought I was a freak or something... but this? Are they really glowing-? I'm pretty sure my eyes looked like they were glowing.

I'm in so much fuckin' denial; I didn't want to admit I was scared.

Once I reached my apartment room, I dropped off the mail and the keys on the kitchen counter before going straight to the bathroom. I leaned over the sink to get a closer look at my eyes.

...I don't know...they did look different -like they aren't a deep crimson color anymore. They're lighter? Is that what's giving them shine?

Or maybe it could be the lack of sleep or swelling that's making them look this way?

Hmmm, "Don't know..." I sighed opening the medicine cabinet and grabbing my usual contact case.

After putting both lenses on, my eyes didn't look as bad anymore. The swelling was still there and all, but the redness got covered.

Well that's good at least.

The only thing left to hope was... that no one believes a man running around screaming about a kid with red eyes.

Or should I say 'demon' eyes?

I don't know...

End of Flashback

I don't think I'd doubt the fact that they would run if they were to see my true eye color. A few might stick around and call me names.

I've seen most of it happen in our first couple homes. It wasn't until our fourth move that Persona sent me a case of contact lenses.

Was it because he felt sorry for me? I hated thinking that, but sadly I'll admit he helped me.

With that set of contact lenses, I was able to blend in with the crowd, get jobs, and attract less attention.

So ever since then, I never forgot to put on my contacts until yesterday.

I let out a sigh, how can I forget to put my contacts on? I only did a simple thing like go get the mail and back around six in the morning so I didn't expect anyone to be at the lobby.

'Los ojos del demonio!' I shut my eyes tight hearing that man's words echo in my head.

Shit, the guy even dropped everything he was holding and made a run for it.

I'm pretty sure he said my eyes had something to do with that of a demon's.

I haven't felt this guilty gut feeling for a while.

...God... this sucks!

Throughout the next few classes, the rumors about 'the new guy being gone for so long' got worse. And by that I mean STUPID. People were so desperate for something new! I mean some people were saying I ended up in a fuckin' coma! Others said I wussed out and disappeared. Dumb shit like that man. This was so pointless. This whole school was connected with gossip and assumption. I've never felt this out of place before. Usually I steered clear and tried to keep the 'nobody' act. That's how it's always been, but now...? It's as if everyone was pointing the damn spotlight at me!

EVERYBODY knows EVERYBODY here. Fucking Pleasantville status!

I quickly dropped off my backpack in my locker and headed towards the school entrance. It's already the beginning of lunch, so I had to make sure to get Youichi home before it was over.

It didn't take long to get Youichi home this time. I even had enough time to make sure he had everything he might need at home before locking up.

All in all, I ended up with ten minutes to spare when I reached the school.

Right when I was about to pull the front door to the main building, I felt someone grab my shoulder.

Not this again, I roll my eyes and let go of the door handle.

"Hey..." The voice was that of a guy.

I looked over my shoulder to see the blond guy who tried to pick a fight with me.

I turned around and crossed my arms. "Ah the jealous one- what do you want." I purposely stated.

He in return lets out a sigh. "Look man, I just wanted to apologize about acting up on you. You see, I had this thing planned for Sakura that day -and the way she-"

"Spare me the details," I cut him off, "I don't care."

Fuck him -who does he think he is? What- he expects me to have a friendly conversation with him after what happened and accept a stupid pointless apology that I know I wouldn't give a SHIT about?

No thanks.

"She put you up to this didn't she?" I asked.

He glared at me before answering, "Yeah whatever, you caught me," he shrugged, "she said she wouldn't say a word to me until I apologized to you."

...I see, so I was right, "Alright, just as much as I wouldn't give a shit about your sorry ass apology. I'll gamble it with you." I smirked.

He tilts his head a bit confused, "...alright, I'm listening."

I took a step closer, "It's a simple bet really. And it'll be over in less than ten seconds..." I let the silence linger.

I didn't know where the hell I was going with this.

"What's the bet, Hyuuga?"

I tried not to laugh at his seriousness, "Alright here goes, if I can go and stand at the center of the lobby for ten seconds without Sakura rushing out to me, then I will personally tell her myself that you apologized blah blah blah... but if she DOES come up to me within those ten seconds, I will seriously fuckin' deny any apology from you. No matter how many times I have to lie or not even give a fuck," I turned to grab the door handle, "So how 'bout it? Simple right?" I smirked over my shoulder.

If he felt confident about Sakura being this so called 'girl of his' or whatever, he should-

"Deal."

I chuckled, "Right on man, alright stand here and watch through the glass door while I count down the seconds for you to see. I'm not bullshitting you alright."

And with that, I pulled the door open and walked over to the center of the lobby and face the blond guy. I gave him thumbs up letting him know I'm starting the countdown.

The first five seconds I counted them in my head. After I reached five, I moved my mouth clear enough for him to be able to tell what number I was on.

...six...seven...eight, I closed my eye. Sakura better fuckin' show, nine-

"Nurse wants to see you," I glanced to my left to see Sakura stop next to me, "Took you long enough," She huffed crossing her arms, "Uhmm she told me to come find you."

I swear if it wasn't for this bet going on, I would have thought I was actually happy to see her.

"Alright? just...walk with me for a bit." I guided her ahead of me so I can get my last look at Nogi? -I think that's his name.

The blond had his arms crossed while smirking at me.

I returned the smirk and raised my right hand to flip him off as I walked away. I followed after Sakura, and started to wonder why I did what I did just now. Which... I still don't know. Maybe a small act of revenge? Or maybe the fact that I knew where his weak point was?

Whatever... I don't care-

"So..." Sakura glanced over her shoulder, "how've you been?" She nervously asked.

I looked down at the floor and responded a short dead answer; "Don't worry about it..." my answer blocked the attempt of a conversation. So the only thing I had left to focus on was the floor and the curious glances from people as we walked passed them.

"Okay, we're here." Sakura stopped and turned around to face me.

I reached for the door handle and pulled it open to let Sakura in first and followed after.

"Ah nice to see you back in school Hyuuga," the nurse stood up from her desk, "I had to see for myself after Mikan came and told me the news."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but glance over at Sakura standing right next to me. I smirked seeing how exposed she felt by the look on her face.

"Happy to be back in school right?" The nurse got my attention.

I took a step back, "Can I leave now?"

The nurse gave me a confused look but nods her head in return, "Sure, come see me if you feel anything out of the ordinary okay."

Out of the ordinary? Wait- did she have to phrase it like that? I couldn't help but think about what happened yesterday.

I mentally face-palmed myself. There was NO WAY in hell I was telling her.

"I'll keep that in mind." I answered as I turned to leave and pushed the door open. The door didn't shut behind me so I didn't have to look back to know Sakura followed me.

"Hey Hyuuga, wait up." She lightly jogged over to catch up to me.

I stopped and sighed, "What?"

"I forgot to mention this earlier," she looked down at the floor confused on whether to tell me or not, "well you see..."

"Just say it," I interrupted her.

In response to me pressuring her, she slightly got startled.

"Right," she replied glancing up at me to meet my gaze.

Man, is it that terrifying to look at me? It doesn't seem like that with the rest of the school.

She took a deep breath, "You know the whole thing that happened last Friday? The whole getting caught in the middle of the-"

What is she stupid? "Yeah," I stop her from mentioning the incident out loud.

"Well you see, Narum- I mean my dad got everything out of me. The whole story -oh but except one thing."

I raised a brow. Isn't that what I told her to do in the first place? What's with all the suspense?

"He wanted to know who the person with me was at the time, but I told him I didn't know." She bit her bottom lip nervously.

So strangely she decided to cover for me? Is that what she was trying to say? Not only that, but if she did do that then she probably got herself in even more trouble.

"What I'm trying to say is, my dad might go looking for you at the market where he last saw you, or ask people around there. He doesn't know you work there, don't get me wrong. But I'm just saying since I think he wants to look more into the situation."

I see. I glanced down and considered the change of events, "Alright I'll keep that in mind."

She took a step back as I walked past her.

This time I didn't hear the light sound of her footsteps following me as I headed for the cafeteria. A few steps into the lunchroom and I noticed I had gotten the attention of the nearby tables. Again with all the staring, I started to regret ever walking in here in the first place.

I turned to leave the way I came from, but practically walked into an older man's chest. I lift my gaze from the floor and onto the man's face.

"What do ya know, just the guy I need to talk to before practice." The coach spoke up as he gripped my right shoulder and led me towards the back of the lunch room. "So tell me; you're doing alright now right uhmm... uhh," he snapped his fingers as he tried to think up my name, "...Natsumi?" He asked not sounding too sure.

"It's Natsume." I corrected him.

He nodded in return, "Close enough," he patted my shoulder rather harshly, "So anyways Natsume did you get the green light from the nurse about your injury?"

I shrugged, "Pretty much." I answered basically without a second thought.

"Yes! -good to hear," he paused as he cleared his throat before continuing, "Alright, the reason why I'm asking is because I'm wondering if you'd be interested in sticking around for today's football practice."

Not this bullshit again, I opened my mouth about to protest, but he signaled me to let him finish what he had to say.

"I'm not forcing you to play if that's what you're iffy about. Just- you know, have a see and feel of the game and let me know if you're interested." He released my shoulder and reached out for a handshake.

I looked at his hand, "You make it sound as if I have a choice, but I know that's not the case is it?" I grabbed his hand and took up the offer, "One thing's for sure, I won't join the team but if showing up today means getting you off my back then I just wanna get this over with."

I don't work until six anyways, I'm sure it'll be over by then.

Instead of going to the south bound field of the school where the basketball and baseball courts were, I headed towards the football stadium on the east side.

I didn't have any football gear or uniform of any sort, so I showed up wearing the usual P.E outfit. I finally managed to buy the shirt this time since I really didn't have enough to buy it before.

I looked down at the field as I walked down the main stairs and stopped because of what I noticed.

You're kidding me right? The whole football team -both J.V and Varsity were wearing their regular P.E outfit.

I stepped off the stairs and walked past the tracks that circled the field. Both teams were running the same drill.

The coach saw me approaching a few steps away so he met me halfway.

"Good you made it," he stepped aside for me to walk past him, "you're up for some running and drills right? I didn't want to risk you getting hurt on the first day, so I made it touch-football for today's practice."

How generous? I nodded as I took a seat on the single row bench on the field.

"One last thing before you join," The coach asked as he sat his clipboard down next to me.

I was in the middle of checking my black Converse, so I glanced up for a second.

"How bad is your eye sight? Do you think you can go without your glasses while on the field?"

Damn, I forgot about this part. Either I could lie and tell him I'm completely screwed without my glasses and risk getting them broken, or...

Without helping it, I took off my glasses and hand them over to him, "They're just my reading glasses," I lied, "I'm fine without them."

He slipped them into his right front pocket, "Alright then, well go join in on some drills and in the last hour we'll have a small game and see how you do there."

Is he kidding me? I thought I told him I wasn't joining. Oh well, whatever.

I stood up and headed over to the last row of the group.

For every drill or sprint that we did for the next hour and a half, I made sure I came in fifth to last or somewhere around there. I knew if I mixed in with the faster crew, I'd probably gain some unwanted attention. Not like it helped much though, I guess the coach had said something about my speed to a few of the players, so they were expecting me to be 'some glorious' type of player or something. Well, that's what I'm assuming since every time it was my turn to run, throw, or run a play, they expected me to do it perfect on my first go.

...There's no way that's happening. Especially when even I-myself was trying to fuck up on purpose. God, there is no point to this.

Aside from that, the whole time I've been getting teamed up with my 'best friend' Ruka. Apparently he wanted to keep me close at the moment. I'm thinking this whole time he's been observing me, or maybe he's just teaming up with me to make me look like a jackass trying to catch his insane passes. I had to admit, the kid had one hell of an arm. We had only been using half of the field, and yet he's been throwing passes past the mid-line. Once he started passing the ball like that, I didn't even bother running past that line. I would just turn back and get back in line.

The coach blew the whistle making us gather up. As we huddled up, I noticed how at the same time the cheerleaders gathered up at the audience bleachers.

"Alright change of plans everyone," The coach dropped two boxes in the middle of our circle, "I was planning of just going with shirts versus skins, but seeing how the cheerleaders finished with their practice early, I have no choice but to make this flag-football." He pulled the top box open and grabbed a hand full of red flag belts and started handing them out.

I ended up getting a yellow flag and also being teamed up with Nogi in the last second. He even traded flags with some other blond kid with shaggy dull hair.

I was about to turn and leave when the coach stopped me.

"Yo Natsume, come here." He crossed his arms.

I adjusted the belt around my waist as I waited to hear what he had to say, "Yeah?"

"How are you managing out there? Anything hurtin' on ya?"

I glanced up, "No, I'm fine."

"Oh really?" He took a step closer, "Then I'd like to know why you're trying so hard to blend in with the average players in there."

I held his stare and didn't respond. I never agreed to give it my all or whatever; I just simply agreed to show up to this crap and get it over with.

He let out a sigh, "I didn't say anything since we were only using half the field for drills, but now the whole field is open for play. Pick either one of the wide receiver spots and see if you can complete Ruka's passes."

By the time I had reached the lineup everybody was already in their positions.

"Hey, Natsume!" I noticed it was Nogi yelling, "Get right wing WR!" He smiled and pointed at the open position.

I swear this all felt like I was getting set up.

I took my position as wide receiver and fought off the thought of truly participating.

The first couple plays went smooth; Nogi didn't try any of his fancy passes and kept the game close by. It wasn't until we were down by two touchdowns that made him jog up to me.

"Get ready to go long alright, this is my favorite part," he smiled and patted my shoulder, "Try to keep up."

I shrugged his hand off, "Oh we'll see." I challenged back before walking back to my position.

I guess he left me no choice. He accepted my bet blindfolded earlier, so I might as well meet him half ways.

The whole field went quiet as we all waited for the ball to get hiked. I had a feeling like everyone knew what's coming except me.

I looked over my left shoulder and over at Nogi as he called out the play. He caught my glance and I watched as the ball landed in his hands. Nogi didn't bother to see if he could make any close passes. Without hesitating he whipped his right arm back and launched the football down my wing.

As soon as I knew where the ball was heading, I made a break-away between two of the defense. I sprinted down the sideline with both of the defenders chasing me, but quickly falling behind.

The ball was starting to catch up to me by the time I was thirty yards away from the touchdown zone. I reached my right hand up at the same time I crossed the twenty yard line. The ball slapped down hard on my opened palm. But before it could bounce, I shoved it hard into my chest and grab it with both my arms as I slipped. My Converse had no grip when it came to running on grass, so I knew the moment I stopped running it would be the end of the play.

I tried keeping my balance as my feet glided to a stop.

In the end, I had no choice but to tuck and roll to stop myself from landing wrong. I rolled to a stop right before reaching the ten yard line. After all that, there was still no touchdown.

I left the ball on the ground as I stood up and rubbed my right palm.

I wondered how far a pass it was. We started at thirty yards at the other end, so if I crossed the fifty yard line and reached past twenty on this side, then that means-

"THAT'S IT RIGHT THERE BOY! I knew you had it in you!" I looked over my shoulder to see the coach running onto the field.

The coach along with both teams ran up to me cheering amazed.

"Nogi, OVER HERE!" The coach yelled seeing how Nogi was the last one to join in, "This right here! This guy is the missing piece you've been looking for." He boasted as he grabbed my shoulder and shook me.

"So are you joining?" A few of the players started bombarding me with the same question.

I shook my head and took a step back, "No," dammit, this is why I hate taking part in any of these type of things, "I won't join."

Everyone started looking at each other confused.

"Hey then why did you come out to play for the day?" One of the players couldn't help but ask.

I pointed my left thumb over at the coach, "So he could leave me alone about trying it out."

This time Nogi stepped into the group, "So you're not going to join?"

I raised a brow a bit surprised, "No, I won't join." I repeated myself.

"You won't... or you can't?" Nogi rephrased.

I closed my eyes for a few seconds, "I'm leaving." I unstrapped the belt buckle and handed it to the coach.

"Wait- what, why? Practice ain't over yet." The coach asked as he stared at the flag belt in front of him.

The coach wasn't the only one that was curious to hear what was so important as to why I had to leave, but the whole team too.

Instead of answering like everyone expected, I pushed the flag belt into the coach's grip, "My glasses." I reminded him.

He looked at my open hand in front of him, "Sad to see you go kid," he reached into his front pocket and took out my glasses, "we'll be here if you change your mind. Homecoming game next week's Friday if you're interested later on."

Next week's Friday? That's- dammit what was supposed to be important of that day again?

... Don't know.

I slipped my glasses on and walked away from the group. For some reason I walked away feeling weird -or actually weirder than 'usual'.

I looked over my shoulder as I stepped onto the track. The guys seemed to be standing around and talking to the coach. Not really sure what they're saying but-

All of a sudden I heard cheering and clapping from the football stands, causing me to look in the direction of all the noise.

I slowly scanned within the up roared cheerleaders trying to get my attention. There was the loud over reacting ones like the green haired chick, forgot her name- and don't care. And then there were the rest, which just cheered and smiled. Uhmm normal I guess. And the very last one, which happened to be Sakura, sitting down, glancing between her feet and me.

I narrow my eyes. She's been doing this for a while now. I really don't get it. First, she seemed to have a serious staring problem. That bugged me then, and now I'm getting bugged because she's suddenly looking anywhere else but me?

I shook my head. I'm thinking too much into it and I'm fuckin' stupid for actually considering the thought.

I reached the stairs to the stadium entrance and quickly ran up the steps.

It didn't take long for me to reach the locker rooms, change, and head home. I might be a little late for work by doing this, but I had to make sure Youichi was doing okay.

I checked my watch as I turned the key to my door. It's almost five, so I still had some time.

"Youichi, I'm home." I glanced around the living room as I dropped off my stuff on the kitchen table.

Where is this kid?- I don't see him. I walked into the living room and looked around the couches to make sure he's not hiding around them.

He's not there either. I crossed my arms and walked into the narrow hallway. His room is the first door on the left. I checked there, and he wasn't there either. Next was my room on the right a little further down.

I pushed the door to my room open and no sign of him there either.

I felt a sudden jolt of panic course down my neck and chest.

Why wasn't he here? He's never stepped outside of the apartment without me. I left my room and returned to the living room and kitchen.

Maybe he was hiding? Slim chances of that, but anything is better than thinking he's out on the streets somewhere.

I stood still and listened quietly for any hints of Youichi.

After a few seconds of focusing, my ears picked up the sound of short yet strong intakes of breaths. I slowly started walking in the direction they were coming from.

I ended up standing in front of the kitchen sink and looking down at the cabinet doors underneath.

"Youichi?" I knelt down about to peek in through the doors, when suddenly two hands from behind gripped my neck.

By instinct, I grabbed onto the wrists of the attacker and tried to pray their grip off. In return, the person switched his grip from my neck, to holding me in a head lock. My glasses got knocked off and landed in the sink. I tried pushing back, but the attacker shoves me to fall over the sink.

As much as I tried to look over my shoulder, it was obvious this person didn't want me to see how they looked. Judging by strength and flat chest, it was a man. Skin pigment… pale white. He was taller than me. The top of my head hit his chin when I pushed back.

In less than three seconds I was able to come up with faint features.

His arm lock around my neck was only getting tighter, and I was looking for any way to loosen his grip.

I pulled at his arms with my right hand while I felt around the counter top with my left.

A knife, a fork, -anything!

Instead, my hand came in contact with one of Youichi's sprawled out color pencils. I gripped the pencil tight with the harp point facing down and swung it back as hard as I could.

The pencil pierced the left side of his thigh which caused him to hiss out in pain. Swiftly, his right arm pulled away from my neck.

I thought he had loosened his grip, but I was wrong.

My eyes widened as I heard the sound of gun being cocked back on the side of my head. His left hand gripped a fist load of my hair and pulled my head back.

"Clever little FUCK aren't you!" He sounded as if his mouth was covered by something. It was a deep voice so I was right about it being a guy.

My eyes never left the gun on the side of my head, "What do you-" I began to ask, but he cut me off by shoving the gun roughly onto the side of my head.

"I can easily put a bullet in your head or shoot a whole clip under the sink." The gun left my head and was now pointing at Youichi's direction. "Say another word and I'll choose for you!"

His command shook me. I would choose the bullet in my head ten times more than the other option. I slowly raised my hands up defenseless letting him know I wouldn't resist anymore.

"That's what I thought." He yanked my hair harder making me stumble a few steps back. "On the floor." He demanded as he kicked the back of my right knee.

I collapsed a little too hard making me wince.

"Chest down and don't you dare look back. The moment you do, I'll blow three holes in that cabinet." I could hear him wagging the gun around.

I waited on the floor with my sight glued on Youichi. No matter what happened, I didn't want Youichi to see anything.

The man placed one knee on my back keeping me pinned down. He let go of my hair for a second before gripping it again and pulling my face off the floor.

He turned my head so my left ear was facing him.

I felt something cold touch the lobe of my ear before feeling a massive amount of pain spike my ear and down my neck and left arm. I clenched my teeth and fist trying to suppress the burning feeling on my ear.

He let go of my hair letting me head drop to the floor.

After a few seconds I felt him grip my hair again and yank my head back up, but now he was looking at my right ear.

Fuck, this ear too?

Instead of the lobe, he slipped something cold along the side of my ear. This one was a tube-cuff.

I clenched my teeth harder knowing this one was going to hurt more than the first.

I shut my eyes tight as I felt the blade on the cuff slice along the whole side of my ear. The pain was instant, but so was the attacker. He didn't wait for the pain to pass as he hauled me up by the hair. I struggled to get on my knees, so I grabbed onto his gripping hand unknowingly.

He spoke to me as he dragged me forward towards the sink, "These should keep you tamed during the first stage."

First stage? What's he talking about? And what does he mean by tamed? My thoughts suddenly got interrupted when I felt his hands roughly tug on both my ears.

He was making sure the piercings were secured. He let's go of my ears and completely left me alone.

"Two minutes without moving." He commanded as I could hear his footsteps getting distant.

I stood frozen where he left me. I didn't dare look back. My body didn't move until five minutes later.

The attacker was long gone and I still felt like he was watching me.

With blood trailing down my neck and collar bone area, I knelt down slowly, "Youichi?" My voice came out in short rasped breaths.

He slowly opened the cabinet doors and looked at me with swollen red eyes.

My heart sank further knowing he understood what had happened.

I helped him out of the cabinet and pulled him into a hug. As much as I tried to seem composed, I still felt my body shaking from the adrenaline leaving my body.

This was a whole other level of anxiety. Usually the violence and dread was outside of our four walls. I always found our home to be an escape from the world.

…But now? What am I left to expect, my own home wasn't safe anymore.

I ended up being late to work by twenty minutes. The manager wasn't happy, but seeing as how my ears were beet red swollen; he let it slide just this once by letting me make up the twenty minutes after my shift.

I didn't dare leave Youichi at home like I had planned. Which brings the issue about what am I gonna do tomorrow when he gets out of school. More or so, I'm probably going to ditch my phys. Ed class tomorrow and look for a daycare.

Work was going by slower than usual; I was two hours in and stocking up the back when the manager called me up to the front via intercom.

I wondered why he would call me all of a sudden as I approached the front.

As I spotted the manager, I noticed he was talking to someone who looked mysterious. The tall male figure had shoulder length blond hair, lean, and wore a black trench coat with black slacks. I wondered whether this guy was a cop, or a detective.

"Natsume, come on over." My manager waved me over to get closer, "This is detective Narumi , and he's wondering about last Friday's incident in the parking lot. You were just getting off the clock when that took place, so I gave him your name. Take a break, and tell him if you know anything."

My manager didn't waste time on leaving us alone. I stood next to the detective who seemed to be glancing at my ears curiously.

"Son, those look like their hurting you," the detective commented as he leaned closer to get a better look, "Why don't you take them off?"

I gently grabbed onto the red crimson sphere that hung on my left lobe, "You think I didn't try?" I mumbled to myself but loud enough for him to hear.

I changed the subject, "So what is it you want me to answer."

"Right," He led me to the closest bench next to the exit which happened to be where Youichi was sitting.

"So do you know this little boy?" He motioned towards Youichi.

I nodded, "Yeah, he's my bother." I paused, "Why?"

He cleared his throat, "Well, the night of the incident my daughter happened to be here. My wife was the one who spotted her and a young man around her age with a younger boy as well. Based off of the descriptions my wife provided me with, you and your brother happen to match the profiling. Now tell me, how did you two manage to get involved?"

I crossed my arms, "You make it sound like my intention was to get involved."

He raised a brow, "That wasn't my intention. I-"

"I know." I cut him off, "I just happened to help one of the customers on my way out. I was off the clock, but I still helped. So on the way to her car, two cars pulled up and shot at each other," I shrugged, "We're not really in the best side of the city. It's highly expected around these areas, so I don't know why you're wasting your time with a pointless scene such as this one."

He remained silent as he jotted down everything I said.

"Natsume, is it?" He asked as he glanced up from his note pad.

I nodded.

"How old are you?" He wrote down my name.

"I'm sixteen." I answered.

He was taken aback with my answer, "Wait- your still in high school. My daughter is your age and I wouldn't let her have a job. Why are you working so young?"

I let out a sigh, "I know, I know. My birthday is at the end of the month, so I'm not that young. I don't want to say that I have to provide for myself, but my 'guardian' hardly makes enough for rent."

"So you're working part time to help out your parent?" He asked as he wrote down the last part of my speech.

"Uhmm guardian, but yeah." I glanced at Youichi and the paper he was drawing on.

"What's this?" I reached for the paper at the same time Youichi was about to hand it to me.

I couldn't stop myself from gasping as I figured out what he had drawn.

The doodle was sloppy, but it was clear enough for me to notice a tall, lean figure with black ruffled hair, along with what seemed like a white mask.

"This- this can't be…" My voice trailed off as I remembered the features I had come up with based off of my own assumptions when the attacker tried holding me down.

Youichi saw him? My eyes widened with the realization.

"Something wrong, Natsume?" The detective tried getting a look at the drawing.

I acted on impulse and crushed the drawing in my hands, "It's nothing."

"You say it's nothing, but you totally mean the opposite, don't you?" He placed his pen down and looked at me with a serious expression, "Is there something I should know?"

I shoved the drawing in my back pocket, "It's nothing relating to your questions or to the reason why you're here, so drop it."

He sat up straight and glared at me, "First of all, you don't tell me what my job is. I know what I have to ask. And second, I'm asking because you lost all your composure the moment you saw the drawing." He paused and glanced at Youichi, "Based on what I know so far about you, it must have been one hell of a drawing to crack you the way I just witnessed."

I unexpectedly let out a chuckle, "Cops are so nosy. So what- are you going to force me to tell you?"

He shook his head, "I actually could, but I won't. I'll mind my own business this time and just focus on the particular case I approached you for."

Is that so? I raised a brow, surprised that he wasn't going to push any farther, "Well alright, if anything comes to mind about the parking lot shooting, I'll let you know." I got up from my seat and he followed suit.

"Thank you Natsume for your time and if anything like you said," he swiftly slid a business card across the table, "give me a call."

I grabbed the card and took out my wallet, "Yeah, I'll call." I placed the card in a slot and put my wallet away.

I got back to work and the detective went ahead and questioned a few of the other employees.

Youichi's drawing kept haunting me. Whether I wanted to accept the fact or not, Youichi had a solid vision of the guy who broke into our home.

I also wasn't comfortable with the reason as too why he broke into our apartment in the first place. He attacked me, threatened us, and the entire emotional trauma just to force ear piercings on me.

I'll be tamed for now huh? I wondered what he meant by that.

Chapter 4 finished!

Super glad the story is starting to make progress. I hope you guys like it so far :D

I know I didn't have any NatsumexMikan moments in this chapter, but I'll add in a few for next chapter.

Don't forget to REVIEW or message XD

Thanks for reading ^ ^