Haruhi was grateful for the arrival of the teacher, not really sure what to think about what had just occurred in the classroom. Zaina, her one companion in not succumbing to the appeal of "taboo love" was suddenly taking part in the skits?

There has to be something I'm missing in all this. There's no way she'd just jump aboard like that and to that extent? That's way too much in just one sitting. Even they were shocked by it! She frowned, staring at the blank sheet in her notebook. She glanced at Zaina, hoping to see some inkling of insight on what was running through her mind. Any clue at all would be great right about now! She sighed at the ever sober faced friend. Remind me to never play any bets against her. She joked, hoping to lighten her own mood before picking up her pencil. There's no use in worrying now. She usually has a reason for everything...just like another certain someone we all know. I'll only find out once she tells me. With those thoughts, she threw herself into the lesson for the day.


As the bell for lunch rang through the halls of Ouran, Zaina stood from her seat with her gym bag in hand. She had not thought much about the little scene from this morning, all of it a planned reaction in hopes to stop them from further partaking in such improvisations. The fact that anyone found the subject matter so fascinating was one thing she never would understand and she was perfectly fine with that. Turning to her friends, she noticed all of them were staring at her.

"Is there a problem?" She cocked a brow at them, unsure of what could be the reason.

"No, no problem." Kaoru was the first to speak up, stepping closer to Zaina on the right as Hikaru stepped closer to her left.

"We're just...searching." Hikaru added, the two carefully taking stock of the once again stoned face bodyguard they knew.

"Searching what exactly?

"The tie between you now and the different you we've come to see." They say in unison as they leaned in closer to her face to see if there was even a flicker of something. What that something was, they were not certain. It was simply something that would tie the different sides of her that they witnessed this weekend and from this morning to the Zaina that was normally around.

"There's no real visible tie." Rin spoke up from behind the twins. "I think, they're just here in different scenarios. She was off duty then so to see her not as strict isn't all that far fetched of a concept, though it really does seem like it would be with how strict she is." She giggled softly as Zaina shook her head.

"Well, I'll leave you to on that. I've got to head out now, enjoy your lunch." She gave a slight bow before slipping away from between the two. Hikaru looked over to Kaoru who wore an identical expression to him. The two had purposely gotten into her personal space to see how she would react. Though majority of the girls became weak kneed around them, she was completely unfazed by it. No matter how close they got to her, she still went along with the usual.

"Have fun with your friend, invite them to lunch with us sometime." Rin and Haruhi waved to her before turning to the oddly silent troublesome duo.

"She really has moved on from this morning's little play it seems." Rin hummed aloud to herself, looking over at Zaina's now vacant seat. "I had no idea she would play along at all, let alone like that!" She frowned a little as they made their way down the halls.

"That really was surprising," Haruhi agreed. "I don't get why she would something like that! I hope she hasn't abandoned me." She mumbled the last part as she hung her head at the possibility.

"Or maybe you simply need to come to terms with the fact that deep down you actually enjoy it just like everyone else." Hikaru grinned on her left and Kaoru boxed her with an identical grin on her right.

"If someone like Zaina even plays along with us, that means you're only denying the truth that's deep down inside of you." Kaoru said with a lilt in his tone.

"There's no 'deep down fact' of me enjoying the weird act you three like to put on and I'm certain Zaina feels the same way." Haruhi sternly responded, looking both twins in the eyes to make sure they understood she was not wavering in her resolve at all. "There's bound to be a reason behind her actions and I'm positive her being interested is not it."

"Oh, is that a challenge?" The twins smirked. "We'll just have to find out for ourselves. Don't you agree?" They turned to Rin who had been silent this entire time. The young heiress smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

"I think we should definitely find out for ourselves. She's never been so proactive in her responses and like Haruhi said, there is always a reason. We'll just have to see if she'll react again." The innocent smile on her face was far from the truth, filling Haruhi with dred at what the trio was cooking up in their minds.

No, no, I don't want to know at all! She reminded herself as she placed a hand on the door handle as a sudden wave of exhaustion came crashing down on her. Pulling the door open, she led them into the cafeteria to their usual seats.


Zaina arrived earlier than usual to the court, changed into a her usual plan t-shirt and shorts with her possessions safely stowed in the locker room. Tightening her ponytail, she directed her gaze to the further hoop. Gritting her teeth, she swallowed the thoughts that plagued her and began to execute running drills instead of grabbing a basketball. She knew Takashi would not be here until later, it gave her the time to work on herself.

I should've been more aware. I should've ran faster. It was my fault. She repeated the words in her mind as she ran back and forth, up and down the court. Any slip up has a cost. She repeated the lessons that had been drilled into her since the day she had started training to be a bodyguard. Unless the cost is worth losing, don't screw up. The scars were symbols to remind her of her accomplishments and failures. They were medals and shackles that she bore and would forever carry with her. I've grown soft. In my top form I would've been able to catch such a thing. Spending time playing sports, I should be keeping up with my training. She scolded herself, the voice of her instructor shouting in her mind as she pushed herself to keep running until she was content with changing the activity.

Takashi watched silently from the bleachers, mesmerized and concerned as she lept backwards and pushed of her hands to land further back only to push off the ground as soon as her foot made contact. There was obvious power behind the strike, it was intended to knock her opponent winded to the ground. Sweat trickled down down her face as her shirt clung to her fit form. Her chest rose and fell with every heavy breathe she took as she glared at her invisible partener. It was obvious she had been at this for quite a while, but he had no idea why she was pushing herself. He opened his mouth to call out to her, but stopped as she broke her stance to stand straight. She had said nothing and made bo gestures of turning towards him. All she did was stand there, staring at her arms. The pain that was etched on her face was undeniable and hurt almost as much as the vacant expression he had witnessed from time to time.

All she could see and feel were the tiny shivering bodies of her baby siblings, sick and weak due to her negligence.

Never again, she swore to herself, balling her hands into fists she pushed her body to move once more. Her muscles screamed for her to stop, but she ignored it as she to her stance once more. She was capable of pushing herself and she would. The only thing important to her right now was building herself to her peak. Taking a few deep breaths, she forced her body to regulate itself once more when the sound of footsteps caught her attention. She turned to see Takashi make his way over to her in a few large strides. They stood there, staring at one another. Concern was obvious in his steady gaze, but she made no motion to ease it. In actuality, she was unable to keep it. She quickly dropped her gaze as she cleared her throat. "I didn't realize you were there, I'm sorry-." She froze at the weight that pressed on her head, the warmth of his palm threatening to break her mask she was already struggling to put in place.

"Don't," he murmured the words under his breath as he kept his hand lightly pressed on her head to keep her head down. "You don't need to cover up in front of me. Here we're just us, it's alright." He reminded her once again. "I'm here for you."

Zaina jerked her head up, his hand shifting slightly at the sudden motion as her stormy grey eyes met his clear slate ones. She grit her teeth as the acrid feeling of humiliation and embarrassment bubbled inside of her. How he always managed to find her in such faded and weary states was beyond her. The fact someone as strong as him would find her in such pathetic positions was only more embarrassment on what already filled her.

How can you look at me like that when I'm so weak? How can you just stand there watching me? She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push away the burning in the back of her throat. This unknown feeling, like drowning in lukewarm water, was foreign to her. "You...don't even know what it is."

"I don't, but do I need to know to be near you?" He replied coolly as always. "If so, then tell me."

"Why do you care for someone like me? I'm just a simple bodyguard, you shouldn't be so interested in me! How do you know where to be when I'm like this?" She snapped at him without thinking, it clear she was trying to push him out but he took it. His hand slid off the top of her head to cup her cheek as he forced her to look at him once more.

"I care...because I do. You're fighting harder than many people I know, standing up to fears that would normally eat people alive. You always put others in front of you and mask yourself, chasing perfection. It is lonely inside those blank walls, being what others expect of you." He mumbled, the words slipping from deep inside of him and falling from his lips. He was not foolish enough to say they went through the same things, but he knew the pained look all too well. He was running on broken legs to be the perfect son and perfect young gentleman. He needed to excel in everything and be true man to live up to his family name. He failed to be a proper socialite like the others, but he had to push himself to be present in situations that he had no interest in for the sake of the family name.

Zaina silently stared at him, his words slowly sinking deeper inside of her as she kicked herself for being a jerk to him. The empathy was clear in his eyes. He was trying in his own way to be more than just an heir with her as they had promised to be and she had rudely slapped him. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she placed her hand over his.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be lashing out at you. You're always there when I'm not used to having anyone." She honestly spoke up, squeezing the hand that held her face. "It's hard, being so vulnerable in front of someone...and yet here you are always showing me your weaknesses. It's not fair," she gave a small smile that dropped as soon as it came. "I...I was careless with the twins. They could be weak hearted like my mother and I didn't even notice they were so sick. How...how can I call myself a bodyguard when I can't even notice my own hurting?" She was not expecting an answer from him as they stood in silence as her words hung over them.

"It's difficult to notice when everyone is trying their best to look their best for the other. They did their best to not burden you and enjoy time with you just as much as you working endlessly in a career that can risk your safety." He finally spoke up, trying his best to ease the burden she was holding over herself. "They're safe and that's what matters."

They're safe…. She replayed the words in her mind as she dropped her gaze to the floor, the gentle voice of his slowly overlapping and muting the harsh shouts of her trainer. They're safe and that's what matters. Takashi watched her carefully as she silently processed his words, concerned that he may have overstepped his bounds or if he possibly had said something wrong or too bluntly as he always did. Unsure of what her silence meant, he opened his mouth to speak once more but froze in place. He watched at the corners of her mouth slowly twitch before curling up and growing into a genuine smile. It was warm and mesmerizing like the one he had seen at the zoo, but something about it was different. It was special.

"I forgot that, all my training had me focus on failures or success. Anything less than perfect was failure on my part. Thank you, Takashi." She turned to look at him once again, his cheeks burning a little. He quickly looked away, clenching his teeth as he reflexively tried to pull his hand from her face.

No, he stopped his hand as he properly cupped her cheek and forced himself to look at her once again. Giving a small shy smile of his own, he commited the smile of hers to his memory. No matter how blinding it seemed, it was beautiful and he wanted to etch it deep within himself. It was something more of hers that he was able to keep and he no longer cared at how selfish he was becoming with her.

"Want to play a game before we eat?" He turned to the big clock on the wall and carefully mulled over the request before giving a silent nod.

"Yeah, I'll go change." He quickly pulled away from her and forced himself to go change as she took a seat on the bleachers as she waited for him.

They're safe and that's what matters. She smiled at the words, her fingers grazing the cheek that suddenly felt a lot colder at the absence of his touch. Who knew I'd hear something like that said to someone like me. She chuckled a little at the thought, grabbing her water bottle to help refresh herself a little before he returned to the court.