It never occurred to her just how maddening the ticking of the clock could be. It felt like her heart was about to stop with each passing second. She was in her last class of the day but for the life of her Tsukushi could not bring herself to focus on anything her teacher was saying. Her eyes were glued to the clock, watching the dial that ticked on by, letting her know the time and what was to come. It was just yesterday when Tsukasa announced he wanted her to meet his mother and once school let out she would be going to his house and finally come face to face with the woman who already decided she wasn't good enough to date her son. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous, hell she was down right terrified. She would have preferred more than a days notice about meeting such an important person. But deep down she knew if she had been allowed to prepare she probably would have been overcome by her nerves and chickened out. He knew this and that was probably the main reason why he gave her such a short notice.

Sometimes it scared her how well he knew her. Especially now when she thinks about how she was only just learning things about him. He could read her like a book but for a year she had been unable to pick up on any of the signs of him lying to her. Was she really just that easy of a person to read or was he someone more complex than she gave him credit for? She wasn't sure what the answer was but she did know one thing, if she continued to sit her thinking about such things she was going to scream. Never once in all her seventeen years did she ever remember class going by so slow. Her time spent in the seat felt like an eternity had passed. Couldn't the teacher finish his lecture already? Didn't he know that she had somewhere very important to be today? Meeting the one person who could very well end her relationship with Tsukasa with a snap of her fingers.

From the corner of her eye she looked at Yuuki who was being a good student and paying attention to their teacher. Something she really should be doing, they had exams coming up but even if she did try and listen to their teacher nothing would have stayed with her. Her mind was too filled with the thoughts of the Domyouji family and just what kind of power they had. They had power and money and connections all over the world and if his mother really didn't like her, she wouldn't be at all shocked if found her and her family dropped off on some island. That thought terrified her. She and Yuuki had researched just what kind of woman Tsukasa's mother was and by what they read she was an extremely talented businesswoman but she was not known for her kindness. Or for having any sort of emotion for that matter. All the articles that came up commented on her ability to eliminate a problem with ease and always managed to get her way. Tsukushi had nightmares all night after she read that.

The only thing that was keeping her in her seat and not off creating a new identity was the words Tsukasa said to her. He promised he would protect her. He would go against his mother and if he couldn't win he would leave everything behind and come into her world. Her cheeks heated up as she remembered his sweet words as she held the Saturn necklace that hung around her neck with great care. It wouldn't be easy for someone like Tsukasa to leave behind a life of luxury and enter her world that was filled with hardships. But she knew that he meant it when he told her that. He was willing to do anything possible in order to keep dating her and she needed to do the same. She was still scared out of her mind but so long as he was by her side she could face against his scary mother and anyone else.

"But does that include Tsukasa himself?" she sighed, the nervous feeling gone and in its place was one of dread. It had only been a couple of days since his secret had been revealed and while she wasn't thrilled that he had lied to her for so long she had gotten over it and they had continued on in their relationship as they did before she knew the truth. Kind of. Now that she knew he was Domyouji he was constantly taking her to fancy and expensive restaurants and shops and insisted on paying for everything. He pretty much had too, there was no way in the world would she ever be able to afford his lifestyle. But that wasn't the main thing that was bothering her. He was still lying. She just didn't know what it was that he was keeping from her. She knew it had something to do with his school but what it was she didn't even have the slightest idea. She and Yuuki had speculated that there was a fan club full of crazy girls after him that he was too embarrassed to talk about but once Tsukushi thought who Tsukasa really was she knew that couldn't be it. If there really was such a thing, full of crazy fan girls or not, he would be bragging none stop about it and how awesome he was to have such a club that was made to worship him.

It had to be something really big he was hiding because every time she brought up his school he would try and divert her attention to another topic. She loved Tsukasa with all her heart but knowing that he was still keeping things from her hurt. Was it because he didn't trust her? Was it something that only rich people were allowed to know about? Did it have something to do with him personally? She had so many questions and no answers.

Knock Knock

A soft knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts and caught the attention of everyone from her class. The principal walked in, strangely he looked a little nervous. "Is Tsukushi Makino here?" he asked, his voice quivering slightly.

She felt every eye of her classmates land on her once he asked for her. Slowly she nodded and stood up. Once she got the silent approval from her teacher she gathered her stuff and left the classroom. Yuuki offered her a smile and thumbs up, silently wishing her good luck. Both girls had an idea about why she was being called out of class. "But I thought Tsukasa said he would pick me up after class." She thought to herself as she walked out of the school and spotted a black Mercedes that was parked in front. By now most of the school was looking at her and she never felt more embarrassed in her entire life. "He probably got to impatient. Honestly I'm amazed he lasted this long." Her boyfriend was not known for his patience so she was really impressed he had waited this long to pick her up.

"Miss Makino," once she entered the car she was met with a middle-aged man, dressed in a brown suit and a serious look on his face. "My name is Nishida and I've been ordered to escort you."

She nodded, her voice lost to her. She knew she was getting picked up and had a feeling it would be in an expensive car but sitting with this strange man made her feel nervous. Tsukasa never mentioned there would be anyone else in the car. She automatically assumed he would be with her the whole way. Did something happen? Was he too busy preparing to get her? Did his mother get to him? She had even more questions now.

The ride was silent; she kept her gaze on the window the whole time, trying to see where they were headed and to avoid from looking at the man that sat across from her. He kept looking at her, almost as if he was studying her. She wouldn't be that surprised if he took out a pad and pen and started taking notes. His behavior unnerved her and made her feel anxious. Something was going on. She could feel it in her gut. "Um, excuse me. But where are we going?" she finally asked, bringing her attention onto the older man but he gave her no reply. She gulped but tried again. "I thought Tsukasa wanted me to meet his mother at their house?" she fished for answers, hoping he would give her some kind of clue as to where they were headed. She had only been to Tsukasa's house once and that was when she had been tricked into working for his birthday. But that one time left an imprint in not only her mind but on her heart. She had all but fled the place with tears in her eyes but she had been able to make out every detail of the neighbor she had been in and where they were now was nowhere near the Domyouji mansion. She knew the location hadn't been moved, he would have told her if that happened. That only meant one thing. "You work for Tsukasa's mother, don't you?"

Mr. Nishida's stoic face didn't change but his eyes shined briefly, showing her a glimpse of the emotions he was trying to keep from her. "That is correct. Kaede Domyouji is indeed my superior and she feels that if you are to continue dating her son than you should know exactly who it is you're romantically involved with."

You think she would be happy about this. From what he was saying his mother was going to allow her and Tsukasa to keep seeing each other but it was how he said it that scared her. She needed to know exactly who she was with? "What does that even mean?" there was so much more to his words than he was letting on, but before she could ask him anything more the car door opened. She hadn't even been aware they had stopped. A white-gloved hand was held out for her to take and with some hesitant she took it. She stepped out, back into the cold winter weather and was standing out in the very front of Eitoku Academy. She gulped, her heart felt heavy at her being there.

"Miss Makino," Nishida came to stand beside her. "Please follow me and be sure to stick close."

"Stick close?" he made it sound like they were going on a jungle safari hunt instead of walking the halls of a high school. She had been on this campus twice and that was when she was touring the school and taking the entrance exam. From one look at the students she knew that she would never ever willing go to this kind of school and had purposely failed the exams. Taking another look around the campus and the students who all judged her and walked around like they were better than her only affirmed that she made the right choice. Even if this was Tsukasa's school she could never stomach going to a school like this, where beauty and wealth came before everything else.

"Hey look, what's that commoner doing here?"

"She's being escorted by some guard."

"You think she's a new transfer?"

"As if, look at her clothes. She has to be dirt poor."

"How dare she step foot inside our school."

"Peasants like her don't belong here."

"The F4 will deal with her."

She felt her anger rise with every comment they made about her but that last one caught her attention. "F4." That was the number of Tsukasa's old apartment when he was pretending to be someone else. "Is it a coincident?" she didn't like this. Every step she took was making her nervous. Her mouth had gone dry, making it hard to swallow and it felt like she was going to choke on her own tongue. This man, Nishida, was taking her to where Tsukasa was and to reveal to her the last secret that he was hiding. The only question was, did she want to know? She hated this. She hated being lied to and being used as some pawn. Both Tsukasa and his mother were using their power to do the two things she hated the most. Tsukasa was still lying to her and just like last time his mother was using her by showing her the thing he was hiding. She really hated this. All she wanted to do was turn around and run, run from this stuck up school and whatever secrets that were being kept there. She knew deep in her heart that whatever he was hiding from her it was something she wouldn't like. She tried fooling herself that it wouldn't be bad but as she walked through the halls she knew what a idiot she was for acting so foolish. The feeling of dread that filled her heart with each step she took made her want to throw up.

They came upon a group of students that all stood in a circle, chanting and cheering and were focused on what was happening in the very middle. This was their stop. "Master Tsukasa is at the center." Nishida told her, stepping back and ushering her to go on.

She didn't want to. She really didn't want to. She looked at him, silently pleading to not make her do this. She knew whatever was beyond the group of students would break her but once more he ushered her to go on. Biting her lip she forced herself to move, pushing past students that sneered at her.

"You stupid fool!"

She could hear Tsukasa's voice. It sounded like it always does, powerful and commanding and it had her heart skipping. Even when he wasn't with her he was still giving her the courage to go on.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?"

She giggled softly as she pushed past two boys. He really would never change. Always screaming at people and acting like a commanding officer.

"I have somewhere important to be today and you scuffed up my shoes."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at how childish he was being. She knew this meeting with her and his mother was important to him but that was no reason to make such a big deal about a pair of scuffed up shoes. It wasn't like he couldn't afford to buy new ones. She would be sure to scold him for acting so stupid at school. Was that the big secret? Did he want to keep hidden that he acted like a hotshot at school? He kept the fact that he was rich from her because of her rant about rich people and in that rant she also said how she hated it when they acted like they were better than everyone else. So was that it? Did he not want her to find out that at school he acted like the rich spoiled brat he really was? She snorted, he really was simple. Even when he was pretending to be a commoner she had grown used to his bratty attitude and actually found it kind of cute. Not that she would ever tell him that. But if this was what he was hiding from her then she would tell him he had nothing to worry about. And if that is true than maybe that also meant his mother had accepted that she was dating her son too. Hope filled her heart as she skipped past the rest of the group and pushed her way to the very front. "Tsukasa..." whatever she was about to say died on the tip of her tongue. As well as the hope she had been feeling.

"I'm so sorry!" a girl with short brown hair cried as she sat on her knees, her hands gripping the edge of her skirt.

Tsukasa sneered at the sight of her crying form. Every wail she let out had his anger rising. "Do you really think saying sorry and crying will fix this? I have to be somewhere extremely important and now you expect me to show up with scuffed up shoes. Are you trying to make a clown out of me?" he yelled, a spark of amusement shined in his eyes at the girl and everyone around them flinched.

If he had been paying attention he would have noticed the lone figure that remained still in the crowd.

"Tsukasa, the correct term is fool. Not clown." Soujirou softly corrected his best friend, making sure to keep out of his reach. He knew when his old friend got like this it was best to stay as far away as possible to avoid getting hit.

"Forget it, he's not listening." Akira told his friend. There was no point in wasting their breath on the guy when he got like this. "Tsukasa's pretty riled up. This meeting with his mother and Tsukushi must really be making him nervous." It was certainly a rare sight to see the guy who is confident in everything he does behavior in such a manner. "So, what do you think Rui?" he asked but he received no answer. He looked over at his old childhood friend to see that he was staring out into the crowd, his violet eyes wide. He followed his gaze and felt his own eyes widen. "Oh no." he whispered, catching Soujirou attention and heard his friend's own gasp at the sight. All three boys looked liked the wind had been knocked out of them before turning back to stare at their friend that had yet to notice they had an unexpected guest.

"I'm sorry. It was an accident! I swear!" the young girl cried as a new set of tears fell from her eyes. Her entire body was shaking. She looked like a helpless animal that had been cornered and knew it was about to be devoured.

Tsukasa scoffed. "That's what you say." He was getting fed up with all her crying and wished he had something to make stop. It was giving him a headache. "I've had enough of your whimpering. I'm sure you know what to expect in your locker tomorrow morning," with a quick glance at his watch he frowned when he saw the time. School was about to end and now because of this girl he would need to change his shoes and he still needed to pick up Tsukushi. "Of course, since I'm in such a good mood today I may let you off easy if you lick off the damage you did to my shoes." He wasn't surprised to see the girl's shoulder slump in defeat and for the crowd around them to start laughing. This sight made his annoyance grow and his hands itch to hit something. Everyone around him really was nothing more than weaklings. "Well, come on. Hurry it up!" he barked, wanting to get this over with. This girl needed to be taught what her place in the world was and he needed to get a move on if he was going to keep his promise to Tsukushi. If he hadn't been at school he would have allowed a smile to appear on his face at the thought of her. He was so excited to officially introduce her to his family as his girlfriend. And once that was done he would go public with their relationship, which would allow them to be so much more open about their dates. He felt like a little kid on Christmas that knew everything he wanted was sitting perfectly right under the tree. But now because of this stupid girl he was going to be late and ruin his perfect plan. "Listen, I don't have all day. Either do this or I'll make sure your punishment will be far worse." He snorted at the fear shinning in her eyes and frowned at how easily she was giving in. She got down on all fours and proceeded to inch closer and closer to his shoe. Once he saw her tongue stick out he kicked her away. "Fool, as if I would ever allow the tongue of some low class peasant to touch me." He smirked, running his hand through his hair. He looked at the girl's fallen form, she seemed to have already accepted this would be her fate and had given in. She wouldn't even last a day after being red-tagged. He almost felt pity for her but she knew exactly what she was getting into when she entered this school. This was his kingdom and he had to be sure to remind his subjects that he was the king and his word was law. "I suggest you start packing up all your belongings. Someone as pathetic as you won't ever-" he never got a chance to finish his sentence as he felt a foot make contact with his cheek, sending him flying and had him crashing down, hard, face first to the cold ground of his school's hallway.

The entire area around them was encased in dead silence. No one even blinked, to shocked by what they just witnessed. The only ones that moved were the remaining F4 members and that was because they knew what was about to happen and had to get themselves ready to stop a war.

Tsukasa felt his anger boil over. How dare someone kick his precious face. Now he was going to have to delay his meeting with Tsukushi and his mother even more. "I don't know who it is you think you are, but once I get done with you, you won't have any kind of future." He said, standing back up on his feet with full confidences. He would teach whoever had kicked him what hell really was. But once he saw just who it was that attacked him any confidence he felt disappeared and in its place was cold dread. "Tsukushi..."

The anger that had been boiling inside Tsukasa was still raging inside her. Just watching that entire thing had made her so sick to her stomach she was amazed she didn't throw up on the spot. She stood before him, panting and shaking from holding herself back. She wanted to do so much more than just kick him. After watching him kick that poor girl away like she was nothing more than garbage made something inside her snap. How could he do such a thing? How can he treat another human being in such a cruel manner? Her brown eyes flashed with rage and tears but she held it all back. Now was not the time to start crying.

She glared at him, her hand twitched to slap him but she continued to hold herself back. Instead she ignored his advances to talk with her, turning her head at the sight of him and walked over to the fallen girl. "Are you ok?" she crouched down, looking her over for any injuries that may have come when she was kicked away. The girl looked up at her, tears streaming down her face and disbelief shining in her eyes. "Come on, let me help you up." Tsukushi held out her hand for the girl, offering her a gentle smile. She had just been through a lot and it was obvious that she needed a friend. The tears that fell from the girl's eyes began to increase but with them came the look of hope. With a shaking hand she reached out to Tsukushi's offered hand and held it tight, fearing that she might let go and leave her behind. But that wasn't the case. The two girls stood up and walked through the group of students that let them go without any trouble. After what they just witnessed no one wanted to mess with Tsukushi or do something that could anger Tsukasa.

Tsukushi felt the stares of every student and teacher that they passed but she didn't let that bother her. With a glance to her side she saw that Mr. Nishida was walking with them, his face just as expressionless as always. It wasn't until they entrance of the school did the girl that she was holding onto seem to finally relax. "Would it be all right if we took her home?" she knew the man was only ordered to escort her but she couldn't just leave the girl alone. After what she just witnessed she was worried about what might be done to her if they left her to go home by herself.

Mr. Nishida nodded, surprisingly very corporative. "Yes, that should be fine. I'll have them bring the car around." He stepped off to the side, bringing out his phone to contact the driver.

Tsukushi nodded her head in thanks but felt nervous watching the man go. As strange as it was to say she felt exposed without the man. She knew exactly why he was here and had a feeling he was calling someone else besides the driver and she knew exactly who that someone else was. Probably to give an update on what just happened. Tsukasa's mother really knew how to put on a show. She felt bitter towards the woman, she was indeed powerful but that didn't give her the right to use Tsukushi like she was some pawn in a game of chess. But as much as she disliked the woman most of her anger and resentment was focused on her son. "Tsukasa…" she gripped the Saturn necklace, eyes shut tight as her mind flashed her images of what she just saw. "How could you…?" she knew he liked to be in charge and order people around but to go that far. He acted like he was some kind of dictator. And why was it that no one was stopping him? His friends, classmates, even the teachers all of them just stood there and let it happen.

"Um…excuse me." Tsukushi was taken from her mental rant and brought back to reality. She turned to see the girl looking at her with a concerned expression. "Are you alright?" she asked, her voice timid.

Her heart went out to this girl. She just went through one of the worst cases of bullying that Tsukushi had ever seen in her life and yet there she was, asking if she was all right. There really must be something wrong with her. "Yeah, I'm ok." She smiled, reminding herself that there were much more important things to worry about at this time. Like helping this girl get out of this place safe and sound. "How about you?" she quickly looked over her small frame and was pleased there weren't any injuries, mostly just dirt on her uniform. A nod was all she got but she would take it. "Well I'm glad. I'm Tsukushi Makino by the way." She held out her hand for the girl to take.

"I'm Makiko Endou," she shook her hand and for the first time today smiled. "Thank you so much for helping me. You were really amazing."

Tsukushi felt a little embarrassed by such high praises. "I wouldn't go that far. What amazes me is that no one was stopping it. I mean even the teachers just stood by and watched. What kind of school is this?" she looked back at the big campus. It was a school that had been built for all the rich children in Japan to help them get the best education possible and enjoy their youth before they went on to take over their family's corporation. They had the best teachers, chefs, uniforms, buildings and more that money could buy. You'd think such an elite place would be a paradise but it was all a ruse. Hidden behind the beauty was a world being tainted by the ugliness that was in the hearts of the students. The students who didn't care if one of their classmates got abused right in front of their eyes.

"It's actually not that surprising," Makiko explained, her eyes sadden as she looked at her school. "The F4 are the four richest guys in the entire school. One word from them could have this entire place shut down and all the teachers out of work permanently. Everyone is too scared to say anything and usually when someone is red tagged they don't last for long."

Tsukushi felt her anger growing with every word this girl was saying. How could such a place exist? A place that was built to help children develop and turn into upright human beings had become some sort of living hell. "What do you mean by red tagged?"

"Red tagged is what happens to someone who angers the F4. Domyouji-sama is the leader of the group and he's usually the one who determines who gets tagged. Actually he's the one came up with the idea," Makiko hadn't noticed but hidden behind Tsukushi's angry expression a flicker of sadness and shame flashed in her brown eyes. "Once a red tag appears in your locker you become free game for the entire school to torment you until you resign from the school."

"And the teachers allow this!" Tsukushi felt disgusted that such a thing was going on. How the hell could this kind of bullying be allowed? "As teachers it's their job to ensure the safety and happiness of their students. They shouldn't just roll over and ignore such a crime just because they might get fired."

"I knew a commoner like yourself wouldn't understand the true beauty of what the F4 are doing."

A new voice joined them. Tsukushi looked on and glared at the three girls that were all smirking at her. "Can I help you?" she didn't like how they were looking at her. Her gut was telling her they were up to no good.

"That's Asai and her friends. They're the biggest fans of the F4 and usually bully girls who get to close to them." Makiko informed her.

"Geez, just what is wrong with this school? Has no one seen an anti-bully video here?" Tsukushi could only shake her head. At her school two times a semester they would gather everyone into the auditorium to watch videos about bullying and the consequences. But by what was happening here it would appear that none of them had even heard of such things. Rich kids really did live by different rules.

"I must say I'm shocked that the guards even allowed someone like you to set one foot on campus. A commoner as pitiful as yourself doesn't deserve to even breath the same air as us." Asai grinned, letting them all know that she was enjoying every second of mocking the girl. "We'll probably have to burn our clothes from today just because of close in contact we were to a poor person." She added while her two friends laughed in the background.

Tsukushi felt her anger rising. These three girls were a prime example of why she hated rich people so much. Always acting like they were better than everyone else just because they had money. So what if they did? That doesn't give them the right to treat other people like dirt. Her anger had taken over, shutting out her rational side and having her body move before she could even think twice about the consequences. Needless to say all five girls were shocked when she slapped Asai right across the face, leaving a giant red mark. Tsukushi knew she shouldn't have done that. These girls had money and power and everything she didn't, but as she stood there looking at the three girls all wearing designer shoes, accessories, and makeup she found that she didn't care what happened. She was glad she did it.

Asai was dumbstruck. Never in her entire life had anyone ever put a hand on her. Not her parents or the servants or even the kids at school. She has been treated like a princess from the moment she was born. But just now another girl her age had struck her and looked at her with cold eyes, a look she wasn't used to receiving. It made her feel scared and timid on the inside and that was something she did not like. "You bitch," she cupped her swollen cheek in one hand, glaring with all her might. "How dare you touch me with your filthy hands. You're nothing but a low-class peasant who will never amount to anything in life. You're poor and ugly and I hope you rot in the gutter with the rest of the trash."

Tsukushi was slightly taken back by the girl's sudden outburst. It told her all she needed to know about this girl, someone who was probably fed with a golden spoon and wore diamond-encrusted diapers as a baby. "Congratulations, you have an opinion I care nothing about." The anger she felt was still there but her body now felt heavy from keeping everything in. There was so much more rage and emotion she wanted to release but she couldn't. Not yet at least. She wouldn't allow herself to be exposed anymore. Hearing the car pull up behind her she turned her back to the girl, already forgetting her and their meeting from her memory. "Come on, Makiko." She signaled for her new friend to follow her. Right now she wanted to get as far away from this place and the people in it as fast as she could.

Asai watched Tsukushi go; her own rage was building up. The anger and humiliation she felt were overpowering it had her seeing red. Her mind shut down, allowing her body to act on instinct with only one purpose in mind, to get even with this girl who had the nerve to publicly embarrass her. Reaching out she forcing grabbed for her friend's bad, pushing the girl down to the ground as she yanked out a pair of scissors that had been used earlier to trim the girls bang's by one of the emergency beauticians on campus. She ran with the scissors in hand, ignoring the cries of her friends but took pleasure in seeing the shocked and fearful look on Tsukushi's face when she turned around and saw what was coming at her.

For a moment time seemed to stand still as Asai stood over Tsukushi, panting heavily and enjoying the sight of the trail of blood that was dripping down her face. But what she enjoyed the most was the large chunk of hair that she had cut up that now lay by their feet. The once long brown hair was cut drastically short, nearly to her chin and was uneven and looked ridiculous when compared to the other side that was still long. But she wasn't satisfied. While she enjoyed having ruined her image she wanted to do more, make it so all her clothes were ripped up and her hair was in patches so that the entire world would see just how truly poor and ugly this girl who dared to defy her was.

Tsukushi felt like her heart was going to jump right out of her chest. She hadn't expected for Asai to suddenly come running at her with scissors. Though she figured she should consider herself lucky. The only real damage that had been done was a slight cut on her cheek. She didn't really care about her hair, well maybe a little, but too her it was just hair that would grow back with time. It wasn't something that she valued or treasured. Although she had a feeling if any of these girls suddenly had their haircut up like that they would probably breakdown. They valued their looks above all else and that made Tsukushi's stomach churn. All these damn rich people, acting like they could do whatever they wanted and not have to worry about picking up whatever mess they left behind. She was sick and tired of it all and if these girls wanted to fight than so would she.

It was easy to push the girl off her. She doubted she had ever even once participated in gym class. The two stared the other down, waiting to see who would break first and attack. Asai gave in easily and ran at Tsukushi again, scissors still in her hand but she didn't get far as a sudden hand reached out and took hold of her wrist. She spun around to tell who was ever stopping her to back off but her words died on her tongue when she saw Tsukasa standing over her, his deadly gaze making her tremble on the spot. The hold she had on the scissors dropped the moment she looked into his eyes, the rage and power that was in them made her whimper. His hold on her wrist was tight; she could already feel the bruises forming. "Get out of my sight this instant." He pushed her away with ease and the three girls didn't even dare to question him. They ran away as fast as they could.

Tsukasa watched the three girls go; silently memorizing who they were so he could punish them properly tomorrow. Turning away from them he looked at Tsukushi, his eyes gazing directly with her enraged ones. He felt his heart waver when he saw that look but he wouldn't give up. He almost lost her once but he had been able to get her back. It was something he was going to do again, he refused to lose her and he'd be damned if he let his mother control his life and keep him away from the only woman he's ever loved. He took a step forward, reaching out for her.

"Don't…" Tsukushi stopped him before he could even try anything. She knew exactly what he was going to say. He would give her the same speech as last time; tell her how much he loved her and how scared he was to lose her if she found out the truth. And like a fool she had gone along with everything he said and didn't bother trying to figure out the truth. She had remained blissfully ignorant, despite the fact she knew he was still hiding things from her, she allowed herself to be selfish and continue in her relationship. This had to be karma or something punishing her for putting herself first in life. Or maybe the universe was of telling her what a complete and total idiot she was. Either way, she's had enough. "Tsukasa, you lied to me. Even after I asked you to be completely honest with me you still continued to lie to me," she glared at him, hands clenched at her side to try and distract her from the real pain she was feeling. The last time he lied to her was because of a snide comment she made to him about his life that she had not known about. But this was different. He lied to her because he knew that if she ever found out she would leave him. "I could forgive you for lying to me about your lifestyle but this…" she felt her tears finally fall and hated that he had reduced her to a crying little girl. "This is something I can never forgive. I refuse to be with someone who gets enjoyment out of hurting others." Growing up in her poor upbringing had her see the world without any rose-colored glasses on and saw the people for who they really were. People can be very cruel and she's experienced many of bullies who targeted her because of how financially poor her family was. But at each and every turn she fought against them and vowed that she would never be with someone like that.

Tsukasa felt like he had just been punched in the stomach. The look she was giving him, the anger and disappointment mixed in with her tears was too much for him to bear. "Tsukushi…!"

Once more she stopped him before he could do anything. If she allowed him to speak, to try and explain himself, to tell her that he loves her, she knew that her determination would sway and she wouldn't be able to leave. But she needed to; she would leave this place that was only for the rich and go back to her world where she would forget about him. She had thrown her Saturn necklace at him, breaking the claps and tried not to cry more at the sudden exposure she felt around her now empty neck. "Just stay away from me." The car had finally pulled up behind her. Mr. Nishida stepping out to open the car door for the two girls, not even blinking at the sight before him. "I never want to see you again!" she cried, turning her back and running into the car. Makiko jumping in right behind and not long after they drove away, Tsukasa's cries for her echoed as he chased down the car but she refused to turn around. Instead she placed a hand over her mouth to try and drown out her cries. She knew she had done the right thing. She couldn't be with a guy who had lied to her every step of the way and bullied others just because he could. She knew that this was the only decision that would return her life to normal and make her happy. It was the right choice.

So why did it hurt so much?

Tsukushi had remained silent the whole ride, not even when Makiko was dropped off home had she spoken. All he strength was used up from crying and now all she wanted to do was go home, crawl into her bed, and hope everything would just disappear. But she knew she still had one more thing left to do. They had pulled up to her house; the neighbors all seemed shocked by such an expensive looking car parked on their block but she didn't care or worry about them or even what her family would say. "I'm sorry to ask this but would you mind waiting for a bit. There's something that I have to do." Her voice was raw and stung from all the crying she had done.

Mr. Nishida looked at the rearview mirror, staring at her tearstained face and shaking body. With a low sigh he nodded in agreement. "I can only wait for five minutes." He informed her. That was all he could give her without being late for his next appointment.

Tsukushi didn't say anything. She got out of the car, ignoring all the looks she questions she was getting and walked to her home. Her legs wobbled and she felt like she was in a daze, almost like she was on autopilot and just moving because she knew she had too. Only when she entered her room and reached into her closet to pull out a brown leather jacket did her mind finally snap back to attention and a fresh new wave of tears fell. "Why Tsukasa…why?!" she cried, falling to her knees and hugging the jacket to her chest. Why did he have to be a Domyouji? Why couldn't they have been born into the same type of world? Why did she have to fall so deeply in love with him? She loved him. She loved him with her entire being but she couldn't be with him. How could she be with someone like that? Someone who was so cold and heartless that he made a game out of bullying others and got the whole school to go along with it? How could someone be so cruel be so loving at the same time?

A loud honk reminded her of her time limit and despite the tears still falling she managed to pack away everything that served as a reminder of her relationship with Tsukasa. She would give it all back and forget about him. If she ever wanted to be happy in life she had to forget about him and their love.

~X~

After Tsukushi had left the school had been in an uproar about her and what she had done. Some had commented on her bravery while others had deemed her stupid. Most agreed she was a mixture. But they didn't talk about the girl for long. Anytime someone mentioned her Tsukasa would go on a rampage, shattering windows, destroying classrooms and sent seven people to the emergency room. Finally his three friends decided to take him out of school and out into town in hopes of getting him to cool off. It hadn't worked. He ended up attacking a guy whose girlfriend looked like Tsukushi from the back. It wasn't until after he assaulted a police officer that they all decided it was best to just take him home and leave him be.

Only they hadn't known what was waiting for them. While the three had decided to sit in the living room with Tsubaki in hopes of giving him time by himself to cool off. Tsukasa saw his old brown leather jacket sitting on his bed, neatly folded with a black and yellow walkie-talkie, a keychain and a bunch of photographs all carefully made into one pile. The sight of this broke his heart, the anger and rage he felt before was nothing compared to this. This sight was proof of his fears. Proof that Tsukushi really wanted nothing more to do with him. He let out a cry that sounded more like a wild animal than human and proceed to destroy his room, leaving not a trace of the one big and beautiful marble room that proudly showed off the expensive items. He was broken on the inside so his world on the outside might as well be broken too.