Woah, chapter 11! I'm so glad I've come thus far, and it's all thanks to...drumrolllll...YOU! XD Haha. A bout of happiness just hit me like a truck doing a hundred on the freeway. Haha. I'm glad to be roadkill, if joy is responsible for squashing me flat like a pancake on the highway of ecstasy.

Every time I post a chapter, I always want to make it different from everything I've seen before, and have characters do something no other two-dimensional, fictional personas have ever attempted in the history of fanfiction. I really want you guys to review, tell me what you want to see happen, and I'll do my best to put things together. If you've got a good suggestion, share it! XD My mom always taught me to share!

I own everything that I own, and nothing that I don't. XD

Chapter 11!

A couple of things happened when I returned to school, the bags under my eyes hinting at the lack of sleep I had the night before. It was rather eventful for a Tuesday, and my weary mind had a hard time keeping track of it all. The first abnormality that took place was how intently people were studying me. It felt like I was being watched by a rainbow of sorts, as my schoolmates' eyes; sky blue, sea green, misty grey, fiery amber; all settled on me, and the emotions each gaze held were as varied as the colours I saw. As I entered my classroom, I heard the whispers. Ah, scrap the whispers; the comments and insults were being hurled right at me as I walked in.

"I heard Yuuichi carried her home yesterday!"

"That's not possible!"

"That vixen! The nerve of her to steal from Sakura!"

"She doesn't deserve Yuuichi, neither should she have such stunning parents. Gosh. Why do the plain ones get all the good things?"

It was right about then that I snapped. The affronts ticked me off to the point of no return, and I decided to say my piece. I realised that when regrets occur when things go unsaid, and I certainly did not want to regret dealing with any more aspersion than I should.

"ENOUGH!" I hollered, and felt my body tremble with fury, though my voice was only slightly strained as I fought to keep my cool. "If you have something to say, say it to my face. Yes, Yuuichi carried me home yesterday. It's possible, because he's relatively strong, and I do not weigh as much as the average elephant. No, I did not steal him from Sakura, because he has not acknowledged that he is her property. Yes I am plain, yes I don't deserve Yuuichi, and about my parents, I had no say in that."

Silence wrapped around the class, and all the shell-shocked students gaped at my blatant audacity. My luck was down at that point in time though, and I wondered if I would regret saying something as bold as that while I was greatly outnumbered by other students, and circumstantial evidence of Yuuichi carrying me home was not on my side. One of Sakura's close companions picked up on my sudden stroke of hesitation, and decided to shred the flimsy shield I had attempted to construct.

"We were talking about you. Not to you. You didn't have to say anything. You shouldn't have, because, really, none of us care what you think."

"Etsu-chan, she's right, you know?" Heads turned to see Sakura saunter through the doorway, halting only an inch away from my desk. "I don't care very much for your feelings. But it's good that you still have your wits. That makes it so much more exciting for me to toy with you."

Her nails were poised above my shoulder, and I grimaced in the thought that they would sink into my flesh yet again. This time, however, they hovered over my left cheek, ready to land a stinging smack on the expanse of my pale skin. I wondered what I had done in my previous lifetimes that warranted such outright injustice. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I attempted to run, but the table behind me made any chance of escape impossible. My eyes squeezed shut as I saw her arm retract a little, then garner speed to strike me hard.

But the burning sensation of a slap never came.

"Akane Sakura, don't you dare."

I peeked out from my eyelids, relaxing the muscles that made them close so tightly a second ago. There was a tanned wrist in front of my face, which led to a large hand that was grasping firmly onto Sakura's slim arm, rendering her incapable of any further movement. My eyes trailed up that tanned arm to the body that it belonged to, and its irate owner had placed himself in front of me, effectively shielding me from physical attacks, if any. His mouth was nearly invisible, having formed a grim line across his angry face. I wasn't accustomed to seeing such a furious look on Hikaru, and I certainly didn't want to bear witness to it any longer.

"Your father may be the one donating new supplies for the basketball team, but that doesn't give you the authority to slap anyone," Hikaru continued in a terse voice, "remember; I still have evidence against you. Don't make me use it. Etsuko, let's go."

His left hand latched onto mine and he hauled me out of the classroom, taking gigantic strides like a furious, provoked bear. I wanted to tell him to stop, because it hurt; especially my ankle from the previous day's events; but I had never even caught a glimpse of Hikaru being this angry before, and I wasn't about to add fuel to the fire. He finally stopped when we reached a corridor of the school that only lead to after-school clubs, right next to the stairs that lead to the roof, so the area was deserted. I could predict what was about to come next. Hikaru had always taken my parent's stance on concealing my identity, and had chided me whenever I had near slips back in America.

"Etsuko, what the hell happened yesterday?" His voice was terse and demanded a response from me. "Did Yuuichi really carry you home?"

"Yes, he did, but it's because -"

"So you actually admit it!" His arms folded across his broad chest in contempt. "I saw it with my own two eyes yesterday; you were clinging on to him like he was your only lifeline."

"Hikaru, could you please calm down so I can explain -"

"You don't need to explain anything. I went to your house yesterday to ask you what had happened, only to discover that you had moved a week ago without telling me a thing. And then," his voice suddenly seemed a tad louder than before, "I come to school today and hear from everybody else that YUUICHI brought you home! IN HIS ARMS!"

I could only bite my lip in response, because it was true that I hadn't told Hikaru about my move to the condominium.

"You're living alone now, but you seem to be awfully comfortable letting a guy with raging hormones into your apartment! You barely know him!" Hikaru glared at me, and then seethed. "I don't want you to be around him, or talk to him anymore."

"Hikaru, I know you're concerned for me, but Yuuichi hasn't done a thing –"

"What makes you think he won't? Or, even worse, he could piece the puzzle together and realise who you are!"

"I don't see why that's such a cause for concern!" My previous encounters with Yuuichi were more than enough to assure me that he could keep a secret.

"Oh? So now you love him so much you actually WANT to tell him who you are? THAT YOUR MOM AND DAD ARE MOGAMI KYOKO AND TSURUGA REN?"

His voice echoed in the empty hallway as I stared at him wide-eyed. Hikaru had never been like this before. I didn't know the person standing in front of me.

"Hikaru, what the hell's gotten into you?"

"I don't trust Yuuichi!"

"Well, I do," I paused as Hikaru turned to me with pure shock in his eyes. "And MY identity is MY business, so whether I do tell him is none of YOURS!"

"IF NOT FOR HIM, YOU WOULDN'T BE IN THIS MESS WITH SAKURA!"

"IF NOT FOR HIM, WE WOULD BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION IN THE HOSPITAL!"

I snapped for the second time that day. None of this was Yuuichi's fault, and Hikaru had no right to blame him for anything that had occurred between me and Sakura. In fact, I was grateful to Yuuichi for helping me countless times on so many different occasions. I couldn't understand why Hikaru was so fuming mad, but it would only be much later on that I would find out why. My retort made him effectively shut up as I tried to explain how I had lost my balance and showed him my ankle, but Hikaru didn't stop looking dazed and distracted. His gaze clouded over and he detached himself from whatever I said, and just numbly walked off when I mentioned how Yuuichi carried me out of school. Was Hikaru sick today? Had he perhaps lost a match yesterday? I shrugged and decided to roam the hallways before heading back to class.

...

The class was eerily quiet when I stepped back into it, even though I had prepared myself to ignore the taunts that I imagined would come. Nobody said anything as I made my way to my desk, and I sat down a little amazed at the whole scene. I saw Sakura turn to glare at me, her smooth face marred by a malicious expression, but some frightening aura had engulfed the room like a tidal wave, making Sakura flinch and avert her eyes. Even I felt the chill, and shivered in terror. Glancing up, I realised that Yuuichi had shot an extremely menacing look her way, his blue eyes frozen over like a lake in some insanely harsh winter. Realising that I was looking at him, Yuuichi turned his gaze on me, and the coldness in his eyes melted almost instantly and he managed a slight grin before turning back to look out the window. I was still rather perplexed as Itsuki-sensei walked in and began teaching us mathematics, and the whole day seemed to be getting increasingly confounding.

School had almost ended when a senior brought a note to class.

"Sensei, sorry for the interruption, but Kaichou would like to speak to Etsuko in the student council room. It's rather urgent."

My teacher nodded her approval and I rose from my desk, making my way to see Kaichou. I wondered what she could be calling me for, but I assumed that it would be some administrative issues that I still had to settle since I came into Youdai. My fingers twisted the metallic door knob clockwise, and I pushed the door open, only to find Kaichou behind her desk with her arms crossed, and a very grumpy Hikaru seated in front of her.

"You wanted to see me, Kaichou?"

"Yes," she nodded her head slowly, "Etsu, lock the door."

I did as I was told, still unsure about what was going on.

"I was patrolling the hallways this morning before school started," she began, and motioned for me to sit down. "And I need to talk to you both about something I heard when I made my rounds outside the after-school clubs."

...

JENG JENG JENG! XD

Yay the plot is starting to unfold! Lol i'm sorry it took so long. I think my next post will be even later, seeing as how my national exams start in one week, but I promise you guys it shouldn't take longer than a month. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! *Flings digital cookies to everyone*