I've returned. Wow, 6 months. Anyway, I'm back. I was dealing with a lot of stuff for those 6 months but I'm back now. And I haven't just written one chapter to post and then leave again. I've written until chapter 24.

Now, I make absolutely no promises of regular updates after chapter 24 since I'm moving to another country soon but I'll do my best.

I'm sorry for my absence, but here's chapter 21. I hope you like it!

"No…" Ayame whispered. She visibly tensed for a moment. It was so quick that Kyo nearly didn't notice.

The familiar shade of red sent images flashing through her head. The playground at recess in elementary school, wheezing on the ground, a swing still in motion above her. She couldn't breathe, she was panicking. She saw the classroom, everyone on one side of the desks, a barricade to block her from coming any closer. She saw the walk home, getting kicked down on the sidewalk. She saw the soullessness of the blue-grey eyes that burned holes in her with a single look.

Ayame's face paled and she started to sway in place.

"No…" She repeated, "Please no…"

"Aya?" Kyo asked, steadying her. He hadn't been able to see anything except the yellow of the school's dress. "Who is that?"

"No…"

All Ayame could say was no. She didn't want to believe that they were back in her life. She had endured it. She had escaped. She had survived. She wasn't ready for this. Not again.

Her head was light, and she felt like she might pass out. She was wobbling even more now. She could hear footsteps approaching and panicked, thinking that it was them. She made a move to hide behind Kyo, her faux-fearlessness and icy cold exterior immediately crumbling away. She was embarrassed by the fact that she was behaving in such a pathetic and weak manner. It was just a person from years ago.

But it wasn't. It wasn't just a person. It was them. And Ayame knew what they were capable of. She knew what it was like to have them around. She knew who and what they were. And she knew better than to mess with that.

The footsteps came closer and closer until they eventually revealed Haruhi. Ayame breathed a sigh in relief.

"Oh? You two are still here?" Haruhi asked, stopping when she was right in front of them.

"Yeah, we were on our way out when we heard someone." Kyo replied, sensing that Ayame would be unable to answer.

Haruhi looked over at Ayame in curiosity, "Senpai? Are you okay? You look a little spooked."

"Y-Yeah," Ayame managed, "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

Ayame gave a hesitant nod, looking down the hall toward where the redheaded person ran down. She felt herself pale even more before grabbing onto Kyo's arm, ready to topple over.

"Woah!" Haruhi quickly went to help Ayame up. Both her and Kyo hooked Ayame's arms around their shoulders.

"We'll help you to the car." Kyo said, taking a small step forward.

Slowly, they all moved down the stairs and outside where the limo was waiting. The driver rushed out to open the door and carefully, Ayame was placed on the seat. She was shaking and she limply fell into place.

"What happened?" Haruhi asked after Kyo closed the door after Ayame.

He shrugged, "No idea. I'm worried, though."

"Tell me if you need anything, okay?" Haruhi said to both Ayame and Kyo. She waved a goodbye and Kyo ran around the car. He waved back then climbed in.

The car ride was quiet and awkward. Kyo didn't know what to say and he didn't know how to ask Ayame what the problem was. When he looked over, she was still tense and hugging her arms to her chest. It was the worst he'd ever seen her. He thought her fear of her friends leaving was bad? This was way worse.

She looked so vulnerable. All her defenses had been wiped away and she was raw. She was like an egg whose shell had broken and their insides were pouring out. It terrified him to see his sister in such a state. He never thought he'd see the day where the feared Ayame Satou was in fear.

Kyo knew better than to try to pry answers out of her and he knew asking was just a dead end. So he didn't ask. He stayed quiet and tried to figure it out on his own. He could always find out the answers from her later when she's ready to talk about it.

He knew it had something to do with that person they saw running away in the halls. That's where it had all started. Maybe he could check in the classroom tomorrow morning before or after classes and see if they're there.

Kyo was deep enough in thought that he hadn't noticed Ayame cease shaking. She had finally calmed down but was still biting her lip. She was biting so hard she felt it split and start to bleed. The taste knocked her out of the thoughts and she licked her lips, trying to wipe it away. It brought her focus away from the red-haired mystery and she was thankful for it.

When she was sure her lip was okay, she decided to sleep until she arrived at her house. All the shaking and internal panicking at tired her out and soon, she was out cold.

Kyo looked over as he heard something knock against the window and smiled softly as he saw his sleeping sister. He shrugged off his jacket and placed it on her.

"Don't be scared, Sis," He said gently.

Ayame bolted upright and gasped. She looked around in a panic and felt her heartbeat calm considerably when she realised she was in her room.

Wait… How did I get here?

It was dark but the light in the hall was on so Ayame assumed it wasn't too late. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and took deep breaths. She had had another nightmare. She was having those a lot lately and it was really getting bad.

The door swung open quietly with barely a creak and Kyo walked in, a tray of food in his hands.

"Oh? You're awake?" He said, setting down the tray on Ayame's desk. He walked over and took a seat next to her, awkwardly looking at his hands. Ayame sighed.

"Nightmare?"

Ayame told him yes through another sigh.

"Tell me about it?"

Ayame shook her head.

"Will you tell me who that person was?"

Ayame remained still and silent.

She probably should tell him but she couldn't bring herself to. She couldn't just say the simple words. Say that they were her vicious bully for a majority of elementary school. She couldn't move her mouth to answer. She felt so weak, so pathetic. She hated it.

"It's okay…" Kyo whispered, "Take your time, I understand."

They sat in silence for a good five minutes before Ayame broke through it. She got up and walked over to her bookshelf and picked something out. She hugged it close to her chest before making her way back to her brother.

"I hate it." She blurted, "Just read this."

"What is it?" Kyo asked, taking the notebook in his hands and turning it over to get the key off the back.

"It's who that person is." Ayame answered as Kyo unlocked it with a click.

Kyo opened it up and flipped to the first page of words. He hadn't known how much Ayame drew until he was halfway through the book. He looked up at Ayame questioningly.

"I was in elementary school and didn't have any friends." Ayame shrugged, grimacing at a particularly gore-y picture she had drawn. Was she really that dark? She was now a little more concerned for her mental wellbeing.

Kyo snorted at the expression she had made then turned his gaze back to the book in his lap. Messy handwriting was scribbled along the thin lines in blue ink. A couple words were misspelled and some didn't even fit on the lines at all, causing them to overlap slightly with the line next to them. Kyo found it adorable and smiled a bit at the initial image of it.

Ayame took a seat at the desk to pick at the food her brother had brought for her while she waited for him to finish reading. She was surprised at her actions. Never in her life had she allowed anyone to look in her notebooks. Yet here she was letting her step-brother read it and know why she was so scared.

She looked over and saw Kyo reading, biting his lip as his eyes scanned the page. Just seeing the notebook brought memories back.

Being on the swings is fun. It's like flying. It feels like you're in the sky, surrounded by the blue above. The wind in your hair and the feeling for freedom as you swing back and forth, going higher and higher with each push of your legs. You never want to come down and you wish you could just jump off the swing and take off.

Ayame was as high as you could possibly go. She felt amazing. She felt like a bird soaring and she could feel a certain special happiness bubbling inside her and she laughed. A few people were crowded around her, amazed at how high up she was. Some thought she might even snap the swing and leave the school behind for freedom. Some were just amazed that she managed to get that high in the first place.

A few whispered to each other and a redheaded figure broke through the crowd to the front. She scowled at the sight and turned on her heel to leave.

"Why does she get all the attention?" She grabbed a kickball and positioned herself so that she could make it look like an accident. And, with all her strength, she kicked.

Ayame was grinning like a fool, not noticing the growing crowd of first graders. She was lost in her own world, happiness pumping through her veins and sending a nice tingle through her. Then, suddenly, she was falling. She screamed, panicking.

And with a loud thud, she hit the ground. Her face hurt, her back hurt, and her arm felt like it was shattered. And she couldn't breathe. She was wheezing, desperate for oxygen but she couldn't get it. All the wind had been knocked out of her on impact and her body was temporarily traumatized and wouldn't cooperate.

Tears were spilling from her eyes because of both her panic and the pain in her arm. She opened her eyes and saw the bright blue sky and a swing still in motion above her. She could hear a few shouts and felt herself being lifted off the ground. She was wobbly and held onto her arm, sobs escaping her lips. Her teacher bent down to look at her eye to eye.

"Come on, I'm taking you to the nurse." They said urgently and Ayame was led away. The redhead stood at the sides, fake concern plastered on their face. But Ayame could see it. Ayame could see the near invisible smirk on her lips, the triumph in her eyes.

Ayame winced at the memory.

She had returned the next day with a cast on her arm. She wasn't expecting anyone to care, to see if she was okay, to ask about the cast. And good thing, too. Because no one did.

She sat in silence in class. Everyone avoided her eyes and she didn't know why. Did something happen after she left yesterday? Why did everyone seem to dislike her now?

By the time lunch rolled around, everyone had begun forming a large crowd. When Ayame went to join them, they all screamed at her to go away. Ayame was shocked. She looked at a boy with teal droopy eyes who was her sort-of friend. She gave him a heartbroken and confused look. He just shrugged and turned to another boy with green droopy eyes and began talking.

Ayame took it all in and left. She sat by herself for lunch. And soon, after days, the large group had split up. But still, no one had allowed her to sit with them. She didn't know why.

Ayame felt her frown deepen. She had learned later that the redheaded girl had begun spreading rumors after she had left. She had told everyone that Ayame had said nasty things about everyone. She said that Ayame had laughed at the boy with teal droopy eyes behind his back because his mother had died recently.

Year after year, the rumors got worse. In second grade, a rumor started that Ayame was into dark magic and that's why her hair was so dark. It dyed her hair blacker than night like her soul. And second graders were pretty gullible so it was easy for them to believe it. Ayame dyed her hair blue for the first time after that.

In third grade, Ayame was known as a freak. Blue hair? Who does that? Why does she wear all those bracelets? Why is her uniform like that? Why doesn't she wear the skirt? Why does her backpack have a hole in it? Why does she have a weird looking bruise on her cheek? On her arm? Why doesn't she talk? Why does she always read those weird books? Why does she talk to that tree on the playground? Why is she always staring at the sky? No one ever stopped thinking she was a freak. It followed her until she left.

In fourth grade, a rumor was spread that Ayame had cheated on all her final exams and bribed the teacher to make her pass. Another thing people believed since Ayame had been failing most of the year. They didn't know about the sleepless nights Ayame had endured to study to ensure she wouldn't fail.

In fifth grade, the red-haired girl said Ayame's dad was a mafia boss and that's why he never showed up to school for her. That's why she would sometimes show up with a new bruise. It terrified everyone and they avoided her, thinking she was dangerous. And how were they supposed to know the truth if Ayame kept it a tight secret who her dad really was? They'd only like her for her dad.

There wasn't a new rumor in sixth grade. No one wanted to be near her anymore anyway. Anyone who tried was pushed away immediately by Ayame's coldness and distant personality. They were chased away as a form of defense.

And rumors weren't where it stopped. The redheaded girl managed to torment Ayame physically, too. Every day on the walk home, Ayame would be followed. It was unfortunate that they lived in the same direction. She was beaten up, tripped, kicked, and verbally ridiculed on the way each time.

It was terrifying and Ayame, despite looking as if she didn't care about what happened, had grown terrified of the girl. Every day when she got home from school, she'd lock herself in her room and play guitar for hours. Every night, she would barely sleep scared of what the girl would do to her the next day.

Eventually, her father grew concerned. He demanded that she go to a different school for high school, a school away from whatever was going on to make her behave that way. Her mother had threatened to go to the school and talk to whoever was hurting her herself. But Ayame never spoke up about it. She kept it bottled it up, thinking about the daily threat,

"If you tell anyone, I'll ruin you."

Kyo snapped the book closed. He had finished already and he was angry. Ayame had never seen him so angry. It scared her. The look in his eyes was like an uncontrollable forest fire, ready to destroy and burn everything to the ground. Ayame was expecting a harsh tone when he looked ready to speak but was surprised when he sounded gentle.

"You never told anyone…" Kyo whispered, "Why…?"

Ayame was trembling.

"Why didn't you just tell someone and end it all?"

Ayame was quiet for a moment before answering, "Because it wouldn't have ended…"

"…What…?"

"She threatened me if I told anyone. And I know she would've come back to get me anyway. Everyone liked her and they would side with her no matter what. I had no safety…"

"Well we'll just have to stop her this time around."

Kyo got up and picked up his phone.

"What are you doing?!" Ayame asked, scared.

"I'm calling the hosts and-"

"Ayame! There's a boy here for you!" Her mom cut in, opening the door. Behind her was a familiar and calming tall figure.

"Takashi-senpai." Ayame breathed, "What…are you doing here?"

Mori just stepped into the room, nodding at Miki. Miki closed the door and Mori immediately rushed to Ayame's side.

"Senpai?" She was still surprised and looked up at him in confusion, waiting patiently for her answer.

"…Are you okay?" he asked.

"Did…did Haruhi tell you about what happened?" Kyo asked.

Mori nodded with a grunt.

'He came all this way to check up on me?' Ayame thought, a small blush spreading on her cheeks. She was beyond grateful and she actually felt like she wanted to hug him as means of thanks.

"Aya… Do you want to tell him about it?" Kyo asked, nudging her with the notebook.

Ayame looked at the notebook then at Mori. She could see the concern in his eyes and, despite all the trust issues she had about it, she knew she could trust him. She knew he would do nothing to hurt her.

"Yeah…"

Mori took the notebook from Kyo and, with one final look to Ayame for approval, began reading. His thoughts were usually hard to guess because his facial expressions never really changed, but in those thirty minutes it took for him to read it all, he was an open book.

He looked even angrier than Kyo did. If you thought the fire in Kyo's eyes was like a forest fire, Mori's looked like the flames of Hell had risen and been put in his eyes. It was terrifying and even Kyo flinched back a bit when Mori finally looked up. The aura around Mori had shifted from a calming mood to Shadow King Kyouya angry.

"Senpai…" Ayame mumbled gently. She understood his anger but she didn't want him to be that way. She wanted to calm him down so she hesitantly took his hand in hers.

Mori immediately calmed and looked down at Ayame gently.

"…I'll protect you…" Mori announced. He ruffled her hair with his free hand and squeezed her hand assuringly. "…You're not alone anymore…"

Ayame walked into class the next morning. Although she was still scared, she knew that she had Mori and Kyo to help her out. Mori had dropped by her house that morning to give her a ride. When she had started shaking, he had rested her head on his shoulder. She calmed down after that.

Tamaki bounced over to her as usual and told her they had come up with another plan to catch the culprit.

"That's not necessary…" Ayame said, "I have something to tell everyone in the club room."

Tamaki pouted and complained for a bit about not getting to wear his Sherlock costume but finally let it go before following Ayame to her desk.

Mori, Kyo, and Kyouya were walking down the hall where Ayame had seen the return of the redhead. Kyo had recruited the help of Kyouya in order to find out who was a new student and who wasn't. They weren't all that sure of what the person's hair even looked like. But any new students with red hair had to be the person. Kyo hadn't seen the red hair yesterday but he was trying to go based off of what Ayame had said. They'd find them then come up with a plan to stop them afterwards.

Kyouya adjusted his glasses and looked into the different classrooms. He studied everyone in the room carefully.

"Did you see anyone?" Kyo asked. Kyouya shook his head then moved on to the next room. They were about to step inside when Mori turned, hearing someone calling for them in the distance. It was a girl in Kyouya's class.

"Did something happen?" Kyouya asked, closing the door to the classroom to talk to the girl.

"S-Someone posted another piece of Ayame's diary." she said through her pants.

"What?!" Kyo cried. Mori's aura shifted to his angry one and he immediately went running for Ayame's classroom.

"Take me to it." Kyo said to the girl, watching Mori run off. "Kyouya, stay here and wait for the redhead to return."

Kyouya nodded as Kyo quickly followed the girl to the hall outside Ayame's classroom. When they arrived they found a big print out of Ayame's rant about her step-brother. It was written back when Kyo was still just seen as an annoying presence in her life but the date was cut out so no one would know when it had been written. It had something written in red letters. 'Make sure you read this Kyo'

Kyo was about to just rip the banner off the wall and tear it to shreds but was stopped at the red words. He knew he shouldn't. It was a bad idea but he couldn't help himself. Kyouya's classmate stood still, awaiting Kyo's next move. Kyo was quickly reading what had been printed out and felt his heart shatter when he read 'I really hate him. God he's so annoying. He's worse than my dad. He thinks he's my brother but he'll never be my brother. I wish he'd just leave me alone. He never does. I don't think he realizes how much I mean it. His very presence makes me sick.'

Kyo, with a broken heart and enough anger to rival what Mori was probably feeling, he ripped it off the wall and did what he had initially intended to do. Rip it to shreds. Kyouya's classmate quickly stopped him, claiming the print out could be evidence and took the paper away from Kyo's shaking hands.

"Don't worry, Kyo…" she tried to comfort, "You guys'll find the culprit."

Kyo grit his teeth. Did Ayame really think that? Does she still think that? Doubt was running through his head. And while he knew he should just trust that Ayame's view on him had changed, the worry was still there.

Meanwhile in Ayame's class, Mori burst into the room to find Ayame sitting quietly in her seat, emitting an aura darker than Mori's own angry one. Everyone had deemed it best to just leave her alone except Tamaki who was trying to calm her down. She might have looked angry to the average person but to Mori, he knew. He could see the panic in her eyes. He quickly rushed to her side and took her hand.

Ayame moved. Tamaki relaxed a bit, knowing Mori would be able to help a lot more than he ever could. Ayame looked at Mori, a tear threatening to fall. Mori squeezed her hand gently, letting her know he'd always be there.

"What if-" Ayame started, her voice shaking, but was soon cut off by Mori pulling her into a tight protective embrace. Her eyes were wide and her heart was pounding and she knew why it was pounding but she refused to let herself be okay with it. She eventually closed her eyes and welcomed the hug at least.

"I don't know what they could've posted…"

"…It doesn't matter…" Mori said, equally quiet. Ayame pulled away. "…Because we'll always be by your side."

Alright, well, there's chapter 21! Hope you liked it!
Please review, I'd love to hear what you have to say!