Author's Note: My husband had some serious medical complications, so I'm sorry for the lack of updates darlings. I guess I forgot to post my temporary leave notice here before I left for over a month. Well, anyways... He's doing fine now and I'll try to get back in the swing of things...

I won't be doing review replies this time... I'm terribly sorry but I'm a bit overworked at the moment. I love all of you though.

Oh... and this is for Elf10444's birthday! =3 I would have given you an update yesterday darling, but I was busy. Forgive me!

Chapter Thirty-Four:
Threats

"You should have seen Syusuke!" Rachel, the Captain of the Harrix Vipers Non-Regulars, grinned, "He was amazing!"

"Thanks for helping me get out of here, Fangs," I called her by a nickname. "You too, guys." Ty and Vance had decided to take it upon themselves to make sure I got home in one piece. Well, the academy since it was what I called 'home'. That, and Ty had been with me ever since last night. Serenity was extremely happy with this, seeing as she knew he would be one of few I would trust to take absolute care of me.

"No problem. Sure you can walk?" Vance was gathering up the many gifts sent to me, mainly being flowers. I hated being an icon at this school sometimes.

"I think. If not, I'll tell you before I faint." I was careful not to think too hard, due to a dull throb in the side of my head.

"He completely annihilated Nikolai!" she sighed dreamily. "I wish you could have seen it. Nikolai's shins were bleeding pretty bad by the time they left. Syusuke either made him keep falling, or kept hitting his knees 'on accident'."

I chuckled, reminiscing over the familiar circumstances, "You know what's funny about that Rach?"

"What?" She snatched up another vase and placed it in a box filled with flowers and other random gifts.

"There's a huge similarity that I'm sure Syusuke did on purpose. When I played Nikolai after he gave me this," I traced the scar, "I decided I'd play dirty. Though, when we started our match he immediately began by launching a ball into my forehead. I began bleeding so much I couldn't see. They had to bandage me up so I could continue."

"Wow!" she snorted. "Where's the similarity, though?"

"Easy, I started playing dirty, but I wouldn't hit the ball at his face. I'm too good to do that. I aimed for his shins." We both began laughing, high-fiving one another, "Had him so banged up he fell over a few times."

"Go Kimmy!" She was grinning from ear-to-ear.

Meanwhile, Ty and Vance had huge sweat-drops as they edged away from us. "Sadists..."

KNOCK! KNOCK!

I stared at everyone in confusion, "Who else is supposed to come help us?"

Ty gave a playful grin, "No one!"

I suspected the worse the moment that silly grin came to his face, "Come in...?"

A nice, peachy hand emerged first, followed by brunette locks and smiling eyes. I let a soft sigh escape my lips as I see just who had come to help.

"Speak of the devil," I stood from the bed. "Syusuke, why are you here?"

"Ty asked us to help."

My head swiveled to stare at the blonde, whom shrugged innocently, "They seemed like the best options. Besides, everyone else is probably having their own fun." The way he said that made my blood freeze.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that and ask who you mean by 'asked us'," I let my gaze linger on Syusuke.

"NYA!" Kikumaru flew from nowhere, kissing my cheek- the one opposite of my injured side. "Kimmy-nee-san! You're alive!"

"Of course I am Eiji!" I ruffled his hair. "How'd you two get here?"

"We were dropped off by Patrik. He said he had business to attend to," Syusuke held his arm out. "I'll help you to the car."

"I can walk!" He allowed his smile to falter for a second, so I quickly nodded. "I mean, yeah okay! I'd love help Syu!"

"My car," Ty clicked the button to unlock it, pointing it out the third floor window to do so. "We'll meet you down there." With that, he grabbed a box.

Syusuke escorted me from the room, no matter I did not need help- in my mind at least- and towards Ty's car. Meanwhile, Kikumaru was smirking evilly.

"Fujiku always did know how to be persuading when he needs to!"

:{On The Line}:

Patrik and Aidan Francis
Third Person's P.O.V.

The boy before them had long, dark hair and obsidian, evil eyes. The mere visage he created with his overall facial expressions was enough to make most turn tail and run.

But not this set of twins. No, far from that actually. They were mad- no, beyond mad... they were pissed.

"You!" Patrik snarled, stopping Nikolai in his tracks. They were at the match of Ryoga Echizen versus Tiffany Martin- her first deciding match.

"Yeah, what do you want?" He recognized the two obviously. "Oh, you're two of Castille's cronies."

"No, we're two of her best friends." They approached, menacing glares etched on their faces. Nikolai backed away, though before he could go far his back met flush with another.

He turned as his shoulders were grabbed in a vice-like grip, holding the darker man's back to the taller figures front. Marcus had a strong hold on him and refused to let go, allowing the twins to approach their prey in a predatory stalk.

"What the hell do you guys want?!" Nikolai was getting angry... and scared? Three boys, one towering and two menacing, were ganging up on him. "What are you going to do, beat me up?" he chuckled. "That would bust all of you."

"Yeah, really?" Marcus sneered, showing emotion for once. "Cameras are off. My dad owns this stadium and most of the sporting places in the area."

The darker of the four boys could not hide his gulp, though he tried. Patrik and Aidan shared a devious smirk, getting closer to him upon realizing his fear. Nikolai believed they could smell it with the way they circled him.

"We'll have you know..." Patrik began in a drawl.

"If you ever hurt Kimmy again..."

"We'll destroy you both legally..."

"And physically." This time it was not a twin to finish the sentence. Someone unexpected entered from the parking lot, stepping between the twins and closer to the captured boy.

"Ryo?" the three that knew him asked in shock.

"I may not be able to have her to myself, but I can protect her. You ever hurt Kimmy Elissa Castille again and I'll dismember you," Ryo launched forward, punching Nikolai so hard in the eye that he fell to the ground and out of Marcus' grip with a shaking hand to the wound.

"You'll pay for that! I'll sue! I have amazing lawyers!" he was screaming out of rage and pain.

The twins flung their arms around Ryo's shoulders and glared towards Nikolai, smirks on their fiendish faces, "Yeah, really? Our family is made of lawyers and judges. We'd like to see you get a case where our family wasn't in the courtroom, or ruling it, seeing as the case would be in this jurisdiction."

The younger, obviously angrier boy was at a loss. He knew he was defeated, so he scurried to his feet and ran off with his metaphorical tail between his legs, "I won't touch that stupid bitch ever again! That harlot isn't worth my time!" He disappeared, leaving the four in relative silence.

"Wow, Ryo..."

"That was great!" Aidan finished. "Where'd you come from?"

"I was going to come pick up Serenity and a few others, on behalf of Ty since he's tending to Kimmy," Ryo sighed sadly. "Is the match done?" People began flooding from the stadium. "That's a yes."

"We won't tell if you won't," Patrik winked.

The four put their hands in and nod, heading their separate ways and never to speak of the encounter with Nikolai Davis again.

:{On The Line}:

I was comfortably back in my room when the door busted open. Tiffany ran in, grinning like a madman.

"Let me guess..." I trailed off, allowing her to finish what she was so desperate to get out.

"I WON!" Her voice nearly broke the sound barrier.

"Tiff! Not so loud!" I clutched my throbbing head. She grabbed her mouth quickly to try and stifle her excitement, but the damage had been done.

"Sorry Kimmy! I forgot. But I beat Ryoga! It was tough and I'm about to fall over, but I had to come tell you!" She fell onto the couch. "I'm going to sleep here now."

A laugh passed my throat, "Alright, that's fine. Congrats, now you just have to beat one more."

Aylin...

"Don't remind me!" She placed a pillow over her head. "Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy."

Serenity entered the room just as she dozed off, shaking her head with a somber smile on her pale face, "I take it that Ty made sure you were safe before he left?"

"Yeah, he's doing something really strange right now," I furrowed my brow and arranged some of the flowers around the apartment-like dorm room.

"What's that?" She helped arrange flowers as well, considering the mass amount that burdened our living space.

"He's hanging out with Syusuke and Eiji."

She stopped and stared, "Really?"

"Yeah, strange isn't it?" I shook my head, trying to rid it of the dull ache that persisted from Tiffany's shouting. "But hey, whatever he has in his mind only he knows."

"True," she agreed, deciding to end that particular topic there. "Hey Kimmy, who gave you these? They're extremely specific on the arrangement."

I stepped next to her and surveyed the huge bouquet, placed in a crystalline vase of different shades of clear blues, "I don't know. Is there a card?"

"Yeah, there is," she moved aside some of the exotic lilies and daisies, all white, with a single white rose in the middle of the arrangement, and found a card. Her eyes skimmed it quickly. "Don't be alarmed. It only has a few words."

"Humor me," I took another vase and put it near the laptop.

"It says 'In hopes of an Angel healing this Angel' and then there's a name," she hesitated and my brow rose, turning to face her at the hesistation.

"Go ahead, who sent it?" I smiled at the words. It was sweet, but the idea made me think of one person.

"Alright..." she sighed. "'Ryo Takahashi'."

The name was like a burning arrow, one that pierced straight through me. I forced a tiny smile, "Should have known. It's beautiful."

"Kimmy," she said, reaching for me. I stepped away before her hands could find me. "Now." With that, I entered her warm embrace and wanted to cry, though I stifled any tears before they surfaced. She did not say any comforting words, merely because she knew they were not what I wanted to hear at this moment. "How about we all try to sleep? It's been a long day."

I nodded warily, hurrying off to take a shower, burdened by the scalding water on my head and the troubling thoughts circling through my mind. I climbed onto the top bunk the moment I left the bathroom, fully-clothed and further burdened, and turned the fan on the ceiling above me, "Good night. And thank you. Loves."

She had moved the flowers onto the coffee table, a horrible but sweet reminder, "Loves back. Your welcome and goodnight. Go to sleep."

I obliged at her command, drifting into a restless, though undisturbed sleep.