Ren watched Kanae trying to call her friend. This was her third time trying to reach Kyoko. She left a message the first time letting the other girl know they saw what happened on TV and wanted to make sure she was okay. But Kanae kept calling not wanting to wait around for a response. Apparently, Kyoko was notorious for not realizing she missed calls.

Watching her shirt get ripped off like that was shocking. Anyone would be embarrassed about it. He wanted to check on her himself. He was planning to offer to give Kanae a ride over to wherever Kyoko was at the end of the workday. They still had a few hours left before they were off for the day.

Kyoko was off the stage with Max's coat around her shoulders. He had helped her walk off stage earlier, shielding her from prying eyes with his body. They were standing near the flag pole when a teacher came running over to see if she was okay.

"Ms. Mogami, are you alright? Were you hurt at all?" He asked as soon as he got close to her. His eyes looked her over for any sign of harm.

"I'm physically fine. But very embarrassed, and I'm afraid Max's coat isn't enough to cover me. My stomach is still showing," she said shyly. The coat covered her upper core but her stomach and lower back were still showing.

"Of course, we'll get you something right away!" The teacher told her looking around trying to think of what could be used.

"Why don't you use the cloak? It should be plenty big enough," said a voice from the last person she wanted to see right now. Kyoko tightened her arm around her stomach in preparation to deal with Sho. She turned to look at him and saw the mischevious look in his eye. "Look at this," he said holding her cloak and shirt out to her. There was a hook snagged in their collars attached to some rope. "Do you know how the flag rope got caught up in your clothes?"

Kyoko stood stunned for a moment as she processed what he was saying. A hook was stuck in her clothes. In the collar. Where Sho had slapped her on the back. He caused this incident. Kyoko's grudge demons started swirling around her ready to strike.

"You did this!" Max yelled from beside her leaping at Sho. He fisted his hands into Sho's clothes trying to get in his face. The only problem was Max was a short freshman. He only made it to about Sho's chin. Instead of looking menacing, he looked rather comical. Sho looked at him a little surprised but not threatened.

"Max! What do you think you are doing?!" The teacher yelled from behind Kyoko. "That is an officer of the law. You do not get physical with him. Let him go." The teacher walked up to stand beside Sho and Max. Max looked at him frustrated but let Sho go. Kyoko saw the brief smirk Sho showed.

"It's alright, teach. He's just worked up over having a friend being embarrassed. He just lashed out at the first person he could lay blame on. He's still young and doesn't have full control of his emotions," Sho told the teacher acting like a mature adult.

"Thank you for understanding, Officer Fuwa. Max," the teacher said turning to his student. "Apologize to Officer Fuwa for your outburst and for getting physical. He was kind enough to help us with our event today. Blaming him for the accident that happened to Ms. Mogami is unfair." Max looked at his teacher in disbelief. He bit his lip and closed his eyes for a brief moment before looking up at Sho.

"My apologies, Officer Fuwa," Max said looking him in the eye.

Sho smirked at the boy's spirit. "Don't worry about it. It's admirable to stick up for a woman in need," he said looking back at Kyoko. She was glowering at him doing everything in her power not to jump him herself. He unhooked the shirt and cloak from the hook holding the clothes out. "I believe these are yours?" He said knowingly.

Max snapped them out of his hands for her taking the big cloak and draping it over Kyoko's shoulders providing her more coverage. Wrapping the cloak around her was like wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. It really would be great to put on her couch.

Sho walked away after handing the clothes back. Kyoko glared at his back as he walked away. She would get her revenge for this. An idea was already brewing in her mind. He would regret this little stunt.

"Max, I'll look over your transgression towards the officer since he was willing to forgive you and because you're taking care of Ms. Mogami after such a terrible accident. But I never want to see such behavior from you again. Do you hear me?" The teacher said to Max.

"Yes, sir," Max responded. Kyoko could see the anger in his eyes. The teacher didn't comment on it, perhaps he didn't notice.

"Ms. Mogami, is there anything we can do for you? Do you need help getting home? A change of clothes perhaps? I'm sure we have spare gym clothes we can give you," the teacher offered her.

"Some gym clothes sound great. As much as I like this cloak, it's not convenient to be holding onto permanently," she told him.

"I'll find a female student to get you something immediately," he said right before walking off.

Max and Kyoko watched him walk away silently. Both of them were fuming over the incident. Kyoko was planning out how she was going to strike back. Max was raging at having to apologize to the man who caused the accident.

"He totally did that to you," Max finally said seething.

Kyoko looked over at Max surprised. She had been so absorbed in her planning she didn't notice Max's anger. "Yes, he did. But don't worry, I know how to get back at him," Kyoko told Max smiling.

Before Max could respond, another student came up to them carrying Kyoko's purse. "Miss, is this yours?" The young girl asked.

"Yes, thank you," Kyoko said taking her things back. She reached in to grab a water when her hand brushed against her vibrating phone. She answered without checking the caller ID and was shocked at the voice on the other end.

"You finally picked up! I've been calling you for the last half hour trying to make sure you're okay. I saw what happened on TV," Kanae said aggressively. Kyoko smiled at the concern in her friend's voice as she assured her that she was alright, just embarrassed.

Kyoko spent the afternoon interviewing students about the school event. She learned about their set up process, how much fun they had with everything, and what their challenges were. She was wearing a gym shirt. A student had brought it over to her while she was on the phone with Kanae.

Kyoko could have gone home right away. No one would blame her, but she had work to do. Max wanted to stay with her to make sure Sho didn't try anything more, but his classmates needed his help. Before leaving her side, he demanded to exchange phone numbers so she could call him in case Sho pulled any more stunts.

She was touched by his concern. Just this morning he had been giving her the cold shoulder. Now, he was trying to protect her. Since breaking through his defenses earlier during the confrontation with West, Max was acting like an entirely different kid. He was very thoughtful and kind.

It was almost time for guests to leave so Kyoko made her way to the school gates. The school would close the gates to visitors and the students would have a dance to celebrate the end of the festival.

Kyoko wasn't sure how she was feeling about this next part. When she was on the phone with Kanae, her friend demanded that she would be picked up by her and Ren. The two of them had talked it over while Kanae was trying to reach her. They both believed it wasn't a good idea for her to take public transportation right after being exposed on TV. It made her too easy a target.

She didn't mind being picked up by Kanae, she liked that part. But since Kanae couldn't drive any more than Kyoko could, Ren was helping out. Sure, her week with him ended well, but that didn't mean she wanted to see him so soon. She didn't want him seeing her like this. She didn't mind Kanae; she was another girl after all. But Ren was a respectable gentleman. Her cheeks tinged pink as she thought about how he saw her exposed on TV.

"Kyoko, were you okay the rest of the day?" Max said walking up to her. When Kyoko told him she was getting a ride home, he was obstinate about waiting with her until her friends arrived. It was adorable how protective he was being of her, and she appreciated it. She was able to relax a little with him nearby to keep an eye out.

The truth was she was stressed since the incident. She didn't know where Sho went and was afraid of him popping out suddenly for the rest of the day. But Max knew the truth of what happened and was on guard for her. It lifted some of the pressure she'd been feeling.

"I was fine, Max," she told him trying not to worry him. "I finished the day without incident and got some good interviews done." He looked at her disbelievingly. "What?" She asked at his look.

"You lost your strength earlier today and then went through that horrible event. Isn't that a lot of stress for someone…in your condition," he said hesitantly. He was trying not to say she was pregnant since she'd asked him to keep it a secret but couldn't stop himself from asking about her health.

"I've made sure to drink lots of water. There's been no problems," she said trying to reassure him. He still didn't look like he believed her even though she was telling the truth. She had been physically fine.

Ren's car pulled up as Max was eyeing her trying to gauge if she was being honest or not. The car barely stopped before Kanae jumped out to run over to Kyoko. "Are you sure you're okay?" Her friend asked looking into her eyes grabbing her shoulders. Seeing the face of her best friend flooded her body with relief. The tears from the embarrassment she'd been holding back were threatening to drop. She didn't want to cry in front of Max. He was worried enough about her.

"I'm fine," Kyoko told her friend. The look on Kanae's face told her she didn't believe the lie.

"You're the young man who reacted to the situation quickly, aren't you?" Ren said to Max. His voice pulled her attention from Kanae. She hadn't noticed him get out of the car. He was standing next to Max giving him an approving look. "It was quick thinking. Thank you for taking care of one of my partners," Ren said holding his hand out to Max.

Max shook his hand looking embarrassed. Kyoko doubted he'd ever been treated like an equal by adults. "I-it was nothing," he stammered to Ren.

"I should get you both home now," Ren said turning to Kanae and Kyoko to move them along.

"Right," Kyoko said taken in by his gentlemanly manner. "Max, I'll be going now. Thanks for everything today," she said waving goodbye as she got into Ren's car. Both women got in the back seat so they could easily chat while Ren drove.

It's a little short but I think this is a good spot to stop for now.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Ours was pretty chill. We're waiting to do a full Christmas next month. Since my daughter's not even two yet she doesn't know the difference.

I didn't experience any trouble this past week like I thought I might. So I think I'll be good next week too. I shouldn't have any problem posting next Friday.

Thanks for all your comments! Everyone was really fired up at what Sho did. It was fun reading your reactions. To answer the question on everyone's mind: she does not have a bump yet. In story, it's only been one day since her doctor's appointment when she found out she's 10 weeks along. Women usually don't start showing until 12-16 weeks. Size and genetics play factors in when it happens.

Thanks for reading!

-Besma0003

PS: This chapter wasn't proofread. Hopefully, there aren't any major mistakes.