Gakushu and Aki walked to school together hand in hand. It was peaceful and nice considering there wasn't a single person around to both of their surprises. Maybe everyone else rose early or slept in or took another route all together. Aki found it unusual that Gakushu was fine walking to school with her instead of giving her a ride like he sometimes did in his limousine. Although, they were dating and have been for a little while now; maybe Asano just wanted to spend time with her without the company of his chauffeur.

"Hey Aki?" Asano asked in a soft tone, making her turn to him. "Are you happy with me?"

She blinked, taken aback by his question.

"Huh? Of course I'm happy with you, Shu. Why do you ask?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line, tightening his hold on her hand.

"Because, I'm me. I mean, I'm not the ideal boyfriend. I'm often busy with Student Council work or studying and I lack the skill of showing proper affection...I'm still learning."

She chuckled, stopping in her tracks which caused Asano to stop as well.

"Don't fret so much, love. You may not be an ideal boyfriend, but you've been an amazing boyfriend so far...except for that time when you didn't believe me about the zodiacs," she pouted at the memory. "At least you're trying," she finishes, looking into his usually intimating violet eyes.

Asano smiled at her and she pulled him into a hug which he happily returned. Unbeknownst to them, the big five were approaching them. They pulled apart and the big five took that as their opportunity to call Asano over and invite him to walk with them. They had never seen Asano of all people walking to school and seeing him with a girl was shocking. And she wasn't just any girl, she was the girl that was usually seen hanging around Karma the so called delinquent. They'd be lying if they said they weren't curious.

Gakushu narrowed his gaze at them, but then stopped himself. He found it insensitive that they were asking him such a thing when he was with his girlfriend, but he hadn't actually told them about her. It wasn't any of their business.

"I'll have to decline. I'm walking with my girlfriend today," he simply states.

"You should go walk with them, I'll be fine," she says, softly poking his arm, not wanting to keep him from hanging out with his usual group.

He shoots her a quizzical look, but decides not to question her. He leaned down and pecked her cheek before walking off with the big five and their burning questions.

When she could no longer see them, Aki continued walking to school, taking in the scenery around her. Since she decided to wear her hair down today, her ash maybe tresses danced in the breeze that occasionally brushed past her.

She felt her phone start to vibrate in her pocket so she grabbed it and answered the call.

"Hey Karms, what's up?"

There was a brief silence before Karma decided to answer.

"Nagi and I aren't coming to school today so could you get our work for us?"

"Again? What's going on with you two?" she asked him worridley.

"Don't freak out…but," she heard him sigh dejectedly on the other end before continuing. "Nagisa let the dog out for a bit yesterday and Akito came by and dognapped him. Nagisa thinks he's been stalking us…" Karma went on to say, but it became harder and harder for Aki to focus on his voice. Karma's voice was only heard as soft murmurs as a familiar figure came into view ahead of her. She stopped in her tracks and her breathing picked up noticeably.

Karma noticed her lack of input.

"Aki?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

For some reason, that time she heard him clearly. Yet her focus was still fully trained on the figure in front of her, causing her immense fear. She felt trapped, even though she was free to take off running in the opposite direction. But what good would that do? She was sure that he would manage to catch her and if he did, who knows what would happen then.

"He's here…" she chokes out quietly.

"What?! Run! Get the hell out of there!" Karma urges her. Aki, however, found it hard to move. All that she could manage to do was focus on her breathing. If she stayed there then that would lower the risk of her being in serious danger she thought. But what was the right thing to do? What was the right thing to think? When it came to Akito, her thoughts were jumbled, scattered. That's exactly what he wanted.

Akito stalked closer to her, a sinister smirk playing on his face, sending a shiver down her spine. It was no longer warm around her and she found it harder to breathe with the heavy tension surrounding the area. The air was filled with a familiar chill that threatened to wrap its coils around her and never let go, instead pulling her back into the depths of hell and into the hands of its "God."

The closer that he got to her, she noticed that there was someone behind him. She couldn't make out who it was but it wasn't until Akito stopped right in front of her that Shigure emerged from behind him. Akito simply plucked the phone out of her hand and hung up the phone, silencing Karma's requests that she flee.

He dropped her phone onto the ground and stepped on it, the glass crunched under his shoe.

"It's been far too long, my dear~" he cooed, reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. At this she stepped back.

"Hey Aki!" Shigure greeted from behind Akito as if this were a friendly meet up.

She only glanced at him briefly before turning her attention back to Akito.

"What do you two want…?" she asked tentatively.

"Absolutely nothing~ I just like to check on you every now and then~ With how you left me and all, I can't help but be concerned for you~" he said innocently.

She narrowed her gaze at him. "With the way you treated me, I had no choice but to run. Don't you understand the pain that the others around you experience?!" she yelled, being fed up with him entirely, trying not to let her fear guide her any longer in this moment.

He raised an eyebrow and then his hand. Before she could blink again, his hand collided with her face and her head jerked in the opposite direction. She blinked back the tears brimming in her eyes. He would've left a visible red mark if not for her dark complexion, but it still stung. She took another step back, eager to get some distance between them, but her attempt was futile.

"I see that you've forgotten not to raise your voice at me…" he said before lowering his head next to her ear. "I know you've told a few others about our family~ And after I specifically ordered you not to~ What are you trying to accomplish by doing that, huh~?" she tensed, staying silent while staring at Shigure who had a sickly sweet smile dancing on his face.

Akito stepped back next to Shigure once more with a scowl on his face. "You're the human I hate the most…" he gritted his teeth before leaving.

Even after he left, she was afraid to move, but little by little she loosened up and began to walk the other way. The encounter with Akito and Shigure left Aki tearful so instead of going to school, she found herself walking towards Karma's apartment.

In no time, Aki was standing in front of Karma's door. She banged on it and within minutes, it flew open. Karma grabbed her arm and pulled her inside and into his embrace while closing the door behind her.

"Aki? Aki!" Nagisa exclaimed, having appeared behind karma. He ran up to the two and looked Aki over closely. "What did he do?!"

"Nothing, nothing," she sighed. "He just doesn't want us to forget...the collar that he has around our necks...the control he has over us...this is pure torment," she choked out exasperatedly, walking towards the living room. "Tonight...let's carry out my plan tonight."

Karma and Nagisa didn't say a word, they only looked at her. Their expressions were blank and she wondered if they even heard her until Karma spoke up.

"You don't think it's too soon?"

"Well...a little...but this can't go on," she turned to Nagisa. "I-I thought of a different plan similar to the one I proposed before. This one might just work."

Nagisa was hesitant to go through with any plan to take care of Akito, but the memories of his time with him and being used in general flooded his mind. That's not who Nagisa was; he wouldn't let people continue to have power over how he felt. Something needed to happen.

"Let's hear it," Nagisa spoke.

Aki smiled. "Alright, so tonight you'll go to the Sohma estate, find Akito and pretend that you're going back to him, but you have to make it believable. Assuming that he'll believe you and let you stay, when the time is right, I'll sneak into the room and hug you so that you can transform. Then it'll be up to you to bite Akito."

"Like he'll just let me," Nagisa scoffed. "This is risky…"

"I'll hold him down as long as I can!" Aki assures. "I just really want this to be over for the both of us…"

Nagisa honestly didn't need anymore convincing. After Kota's disappearance, he didn't feel safe in the slightest. Next time, it could be him that's taken and Nagisa didn't want to let it get to that point. Aki texted Asano, telling him what happened and that she wouldn't be at school for that reason. They continued to plan and during that time, she didn't get a reply.

An hour later, the trio heard a knock at the door. Karma raised an eyebrow as he got up and approached the door. He opened it without any hesitation, ready to take on anything if need be, but he was only met with the strawberry blonde whom he found a nuisance. He smirked.

"It's not like you to skip class~"