A/N: This college life is really stressful. I haven't updated in months and I'm drowning in my own work. Sorry for taking so long! This chapter was a little hard to write but I think I got it down. And it's okay to chuckle for any upcoming nostalgia moments for you Kodocha fans out there!

I don't own Kodocha or any of its related contents.

'Thoughts'
"Speech"
"Flashback/Dream"

Crimson Ties

-O-

Chapter 4: It Might Hurt

-O-

"You make a bad call and the unthinkable happens. It's
not like we do it on purpose. It's not like we want to
hurt anyone. But sometimes, we do."
-Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

-O-

You know those days where you THINK you have this fantastic idea but in the end it ends up being the worst thing you could have possibly done? Yeah, well I'm currently regretting one of my grand "ideas" at this moment.

You see, I thought that if I made a bet with the devil (that I knew I would WIN), we would all be able to get by just fine, but that isn't the case unfortunately. If anything, I probably made things worse and now everyone is going to blame me for it. Curse me and my stupid ideas! Gah!

I should probably explain what my amazing (ha, yeah right!) idea was huh?

Let's back track this! Going back to a week ago!

A week ago

"He hasn't stopped glaring over here since you walked into class." A very frightened Shota said as he fumbled with his fingers. I rolled my eyes, looking out of the corner of my eye at the perverted jerk who, like Shota said, was glaring at me.

It takes a lot of me to resist the urge to turn around and flip him off. I sighed, pulling my phone out to text my best friend and tell her about the daily Hayama drama.

Haha Hayama drama! Man! I'm good!

"Doesn't it… scare you? At all?" The terrified boy asked.

"Nope!" I said with a smile on my face and loud enough for Hayama to know that I was referring to his supposedly 'death' glare.

"Wow Sana." He said, "You're so brave."

I giggled at his cheesy comment. "Thanks Shota! But I know better than to be scared of-" I pointed back at the blonde haired pervert with my thumb, "that back there."

Again, I said it loud enough so he could hear me. I wanted to make sure he heard me so he knew I was being as serious as he was. Stupid jerk.

Study hall went on without much of a ruckus. THANK GOD. If things were like this from now on, I would seriously think twice about leaving Hayama and his perverted ways to be.

"What the hell is your problem!"

I turned quickly at the sound of Mami's voice practically screeching. And when I turned around, all I could see was the perverted jerk standing over Mami with this intense and dark look clouding his eyes. Oh no. That was not good. Not good at all!

"Want to say that again?" His voice was dangerous and low. I knew that voice. He used that on me when he threw me into the lockers! To hell if he thought I would let him throw Mami into some lockers!

"You're nothing but a demon you asshole!" I flinched at the choice of her words. Sure, I called Hayama a demon and asshole but the way she said it was a little different than how I intended to say it.

My heart started to race as I saw his eyes silt a bit. Oh no. This was not good! Hayama was going to do something! He was going to hurt her! This was not good!

"I would shut up if I were you, Suzuki. Unless you want a repeat of last time."

I saw Mami's eyes change from anger to absolute fear. My eyes bulged as his snarky smirk came back.

Wait, he said a repeat. A repeat of what, exactly?

"You're the devil on earth!" She yelled as she backed away from him, her eyes full of terror. His eyes narrowed at her, again and this time, I knew Hayama wasn't going to let this one go.

I could see him raise his arm. No. He wasn't going too. He couldn't possibly think to actually… hit her?

My eyes bulged when I saw Mami not moving. Was she crazy!? Hayama was about to hit her and she was just standing there!

I got up from my desk and started making my way towards Mami and Hayama, feeling anger rise from the pit of my stomach. I swear this guy was going to make me have an aneurysm or whatever the hell that thing was called!

I saw him clutch back his fist. I swear my face went pale because Hayama was about to hit Mami and she wasn't doing anything about it.

RUN MAMI! RUN!

And his fist did connect and there was a sickening crack. But it wasn't with Mami's face (THANK GOD!)! Instead, his fist connected with the wall next to her face. I could see her eyes bulging and filled with fright. She let out a small cry and Hayama stepped away from her, taking out his now bruised hand (I'm pretty sure it was bruised because you don't get out of that without it being bruised!) from the wall.

He walked away from her but not before turning towards me and sending me this glare.

Oh! So now he wanted to shift his anger on me! How childish!

And I sure as hell wasn't going to let him get away with almost hitting my friend! I scowled at him while I ran towards Mami. He broke out of our glaring contest and headed out the door with his stupid pose trailing behind him.

Mami was heaving heavily and tears were streaming down her face. I bit down on my lip and dug my nails into the palms of my hands as Hisea rubbed her back to calm her down. Shota came over and started rubbing her arm, looking over at me with these eyes that basically said "still not scared of him?"

At that moment, all I could feel was absolute anger for this bastard! To think he was going to hit poor Mami! I don't care if he didn't ACTUALLY hit her, the attempt was still there!

I put my hand on her knee and gave her a nod as I formed all these plans of possible ways for me to castrate Hayama so the one thing he was 'supposedly' good at would be taken away from him!

-O-

The aftermath with Hayama and Mami had passed by and people were really hush hush about it. Apparently, Hayama was in a real bad mood from the moment he got to school (which is why he threatened Mami, though it's absolutely NO EXCUSE!) and hadn't been seen since then. Even his little pose of followers had no idea where he was.

I overheard them talking about how he was just seething with anger and something must have happened last night for him to be so upset.

Which, obviously, sparked my curiosity. I tried to eavesdrop some more, trying to hear exactly what Hayama was doing and what must have gone wrong but of course, I couldn't hear a thing.

Stupid, sneaky, little devils.

And of course, while I tried my best to listen in on the conversation, I just HAD to get interrupted and almost blow my cover!

"Sana?"

I turned almost immediately, putting a finger to my lips and shushing whoever was sneaking up on me. And I went wide eyed because the person who snuck up on me was the one person who always told me NOT to continue this crazy mission of mine.

"Hiro!?" I squeaked, trying to be as discreet as I could.

"What are you doing?" I looked back at Hayama's minions and noticed that they were gone. I sighed roughly, thinking that my chance was taken away.

"Uh, nothing! Nothing at all!" I gave him my famous Sana smile and began to walk away before looking back at him, noticing the confused stare he gave me.

"Honestly, nothing was going on." I reassured him.

"Uh, okay?" I grinned at him and waved before finally walking away and heading to lunch. He just shook his head and smiled, turning the opposite way and walking to what I thought was also lunch.

Hiro and I have this weird friendship I guess you can say? We don't exactly talk much (which is weird cause' I talk WAY TOO MUCH) and we don't really see eye to eye on things (like Hayama!) but he's not that bad of a guy and when we do have a conversation, were very civil about things.

Like, we'll have a conversation about the weather or what we did in class the other day. Okay, I know. Totally boring but hey! Give me a break. I'm a girl on a mission here and he is against that mission! I know he means well but I got things I need to get accomplished. And he's crazy if he thinks I'm just going to let Hayama walk all over me!

But, Akimoto Hiro was a very good looking guy. Blah. Last thing I need is to get involved! Last time that happened, things didn't turn out so well. And it ruined something great with someone that I cared a lot about. Stupid emotions and feelings.

I made my way to the lunch room and looked for my friends, hoping that Mami was alright from earlier today. Annoyance hit me when I thought about that jerk and how he almost punched one of my new friends. I didn't care what kind of mood he was in; he wasn't getting away from hurting my friends.

"Sana! Over here!"

Tsuyoshi and Aya were calling out to me at our usual table and I gave them my usual Sana grin. They made room for me and I sat down right next to them, not noticing that Shota was also sitting there.

"H-hi Sana!"

"Hi Shota!" I grinned at him as I stole Tsuyoshi's peaches and Shota's chicken leg.

"Hungry Sana-chan?" Aya asked.

HELL YEAH IM HUNGRY! I HAVEN'T ATE ALL DAY!

I blushed slightly as I dived right into my friend's lunches. "Erm, yeah!"

Curse my stupid, endless stomach!

"Here."

Next thing I know, I see a plate of the school's daily lunch in front of me and I can feel my mouth watering. I look up to thank my hero and I see Hiro sit down next to me, which honestly, surprised me.

He bought me lunch? Where'd that come from?

"Uh, thanks?" I thank him with a small, confused smile in which he returned with a smile of his own.

"You're welcome." He pulled out his own lunch and began to eat.

We all kind of gawked at his strange behavior and he just shrugged us off. I turned to look at Tsuyoshi or Aya or Shota to give me an explanation to this sudden behavior but they all just shrugged their shoulders at me.

"Does anyone know when the next soccer match is?"

And with that question, the ice is broken. Everyone started chatting and I silently ate my food that Hiro, erm, got for me. Weirdo.

I totally avoided any forms of conversations as I totally gobbled my entire lunch. I didn't normally like school lunch, but this one wasn't too bad! Honestly, I could be in the worst mood but food always helped! I always felt better after a good brunch!

Kami, I sound like such a fat ass.

"Enjoying your food a little too much?"

I almost choked. "Wh-what?"

"You just got a lot… happier after eating." I gave him this incredulous look. He gave a nervous laugh.

"Sorry, I just noticed you were a little down earlier when we talked and now you have this happy grin on your face."

"Well, food does always make me really happy." I took another bite of my sandwich, trying not to get weirded out even more by this conversation.

"There are other ways to be really happy, Sana."

Okay, this was really starting to freak me out. Hiro and I didn't do this. We didn't hang out at lunch. We didn't share food or talk. We didn't just make casual conversation. The farthest a conversation between us ever went was up to the next homework assignment. What was he up too?

"But I'm already a generally happy person." I countered, because I really was. I liked being happy. I was overly happy. I just haven't really shown it much since I've been here.

"I'd beg to differ on that. You look pissed most of the time."

I scowled. "Yeah, because there's a freakin pervert at this school that thinks he can up me!"

"See, not happy there." He pointed out to me. I couldn't help but laugh. Okay yeah, that was actually funny and refreshing.

"Touche." Then we both laughed and I felt like I was back at home, in Nagoya with Fuka, Yuta, and Naozumi.

So maybe I gave Hiro too much grief. He wasn't all that bad, at all. I actually liked him. And he was really easy to have a conversation with.

After all, it wasn't his fault I was a little bitter at how things have panned out in the last year. I mean, all these guys are great people and even if it's not the friends I grew up with, I can still have fun with them. So I guess the attitude can change a bit.

"But really, at my old school, I was known for having such an energetic, bubbly personality." I said as I stabbed my fork into my fruit cup.

"I don't doubt that." Hiro chuckled. "You're feisty Sana, that's for sure." I pinked a little at his comment.

Feisty was one way of putting it I guess. Naozumi had also said I was feisty.

"Bubbly, not so much though." I frowned at the green eyed boy.

"Like I said, you look mad most of the time." He pointed out, backing away from me a little.

"There are moments where you are cheerful though." This time, Tsuyoshi spoke with his gentle smile. I smiled back at him and laughed, knowing he was only trying to defend me.

"And kind too!" Shota and Aya both injected while I blushed a little at their comments. I gave them a sweet smile, thanking them.

"But, she's mostly rampant all the time." I glared over at Hiro, who was now ticking me off. What did he mean rampant!? Okay, so I was a little bitter! Give a girl a break!

"I'm sitting right here!" I growled in annoyance but I think he found it funny because he laughed. Stupid jerk!

Everyone at the table laughed and lunch continued. Once the lunch bell went off, we all threw away our food and headed to class. I have this habit of just talking my head off you know? And sometimes, while I talk, I tend to look around. And while I was looking around, I locked eyes with something I did NOT want to see.

Hayama was currently lip locked with yet another girl, his hand lost in her skirt and the other holding her hair back. I cringed at the sheer nastiness of this scene. He was practically melted into this girl as he devoured her face.

Why was it always me? First, I caught him having sex. The second time, I heard him cajoling another girl. And now, I witnessed him getting steamy with another one. Honestly, does God just want to see me suffer?

I looked back to see if he was done and the first thing I meet up with is furious gold. He was glaring at me AGAIN! Just like in class! Ugh! The nerve! I didn't even do anything this time!

I turned away, for good this time and kept walking. I was in such a good mood too!

"Sana?"

Oh yeah. I was with my friends.

"Hmm?"

"You're doing it again." I look at him, confused with what he meant. Doing what again?

"What?"

"The pissed off look." He pointed out.

Oh.

"Honestly, if you want people to think you're bubbly and not just feisty, you're going to have to get rid of such an ugly look."

Oh no he didn't! I glared at Hiro and punched him on his arm, to which he winced slightly.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"THAT was for insulting me!"

He began to laugh and I could feel my cheeks getting hot. I grumbled an insult under my breath, but gave him a small smile after, joining him in his laughing fest.

Hiro was being weird today, but I enjoyed his weirdness. He was easy to talk too, not that I had a problem talking to people. But he was just one of those people who made it easy to have a conversation with. I still don't understand when he decided to cross that line of acquaintances, but I'm happy he did!

-O-

Sixth period was unusually odd. And by odd, I mean Hayama was extremely odd. All day he had just been burning holes into me with his evil eyes and skipping out on our classes (well the ones we had together at least).

Hiro wasn't in class (THANK GOD or else the tension between those two would be extremely awkward not to mention, I'm still DYING to find out what happened between those two) because he was called out for school representative stuff and we had another study hall period, which gave me time to watch this pervert.

He was strangely calm.

Which was really weird, like really weird because usually, his little pose would be crowded around him, picking on the people around them or he would be lip locking with some random girl or he wouldn't even be here.

So seeing him with his earphones plugged into his ears, eyes closed, and leaning back against his chair was odd. And not in odd like mismatching socks, but odd as in I wasn't hungry because I'm ALWAYS hungry.

He wasn't even glaring at me like he had been all day.

Kami, how bipolar can someone get?

"If you're going to keep staring, I will hit you."

Wait, what?

"What?"

Hayama's blazing golden eyes opened and he stared me down with those vicious eyes of his. I shuddered a bit, feeling a sudden icy chill run down my entire body (because spine is just too cliché.)

"Annoying bitch."

WHAT THE HELL did he just say to me?

Did he just call me what I think he called me?

I glared at him, biting down on my lip. I could feel my fingernails digging into the palms of my hands. He was SO not getting away with this!

"What did you just say to me?" I so graciously asked him.

"What? Are you deaf now too? Or are you just that stupid?" He didn't even give me that stupid, perverted smirk. Yeah, something was definitely wrong with this idiot and he was taking it out on me!

"What the hell is your problem?!" I stood up, knocking the chair over with the force of my anger.

I furrowed my eyes at him just waiting for his stupid comeback which I knew would involve another insult! I knew we got the class' attention because people stopped talking and it was completely silent, except for the obvious breathing.

"You're my problem. Just the sight of you pisses me off."

I scoffed, smirking. That was the best had? Ha! What a joke!

"Is that why you've been glaring holes into my back all day? Because if you wanna talk staring problems, I think you should fix yours first." I smirked in triumphed because I could see his eyes get narrower at each word I spoke.

And to add to my quick victory, I could hear people gasping in the background.

Sana 1, Hayama 0.

"You want to talk problems, how about we get to that annoying, whiney voice of yours."

Pathetic! Even my grandma could come up with a better insult than that!

"How about that disgusting habit you have of sticking your hands where they don't belong?"

He wanted to go at this and now we shall! Two can play at this game, baka!

"At least I'm getting some. I bet you haven't even been kissed yet." He retorted, his eyes still cold on mine.

The nerve of the guy! Questioning something that was none of his business! I gritted my teeth as I felt my cheeks turn bright pink.

"That is NONE of your business! AND I too have, you baka!"

Annnnnnnd there was that stupid smirk of his! Out of everything, this would be it!

"I don't take orders from virgins, especially ones who haven't been kissed before."

"Screw you Hayama!" I yelled, wanting nothing but to wring his neck!

"Oh trust me, all the time."

Ew, ew, EW. When did this argument turn perverted!

"You're so UGH!" I crossed my arms in front of my chest, stomping my foot on the floor rather harshly.

"I don't understand how people tolerate someone as bad as you!"

Honestly! If I ran this school! He would have been kicked out a LONG time ago!

"I already told you, Kurata. I rule this place. Everything done here is done because I've allowed it." Oh, so he thinks he's God now? The nerve of the asshole!

"If I really wanted too, I could have you out of here in the next 5 minutes."

He was threatening me now? Ha! As if I'd be scared of something so petty as a threat!

"Ha! You think I'm scared of your threats! I've told you millions of times, Hayama! You can't get rid of me that easy!" He sneered at me, not happy with my response at all.

What did he think was going to happen! He should have known better by now! But of course, as all boys are, he was a MAJOR idiot!

"You're going to regret-"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm going to 'regret saying that' am I right?" I waved him off as the smirk on my face grew.

Oh ho ho! The annoyed look on his face right now was just CLASSIC! If only Fuka could see! She'd be so proud of me!

"Come on Hayama. Give me something new and refreshing. I've been hearing the same empty threats since I've been here!"

And at that, class 'ohhhhs'. And he looked royally pissed.

He got up and for a second, I thought he was going to charge at me with the crazy, psycho look in his eyes, but instead, he just stood there.

Why was he just standing there?

"You're dead to me." He said, his eyes wild with this dark, eerie feeling. His tone was deadly and honestly, very frightening. I was never scared of this pervert, but his eyes just knew how to send shivers down my spine.

He walked out the door, again, and I just stood there, recapping his words over and over in my mind. How does someone say something like that? You're dead to me? Who says that? Who in their right mind would say something so, so, so, I don't know!

Oh. Right. Gang leaders can.

But seriously! His eyes were just vicious! Whatever story he had behind that perverted, stone cold get up obviously was so messed up that it turned him into whatever the hell he was.

If it wasn't for Hiro coming in and shaking me out of my constant thoughts, I think I could have stood there all class period, just staring at the door.

He asked me what happened with Hayama but I just waved him off, telling him not to worry about it because it was just another silly argument we had on the daily. He was persistent in getting me to ask him, that was for sure, but honestly, what do I say?

Hey Hiro! I just wanted to let you know that Hayama said I'm dead to him! Whatever that means!

Like, no. Besides, I wouldn't give Hiro any info until he spilled first!

Class ended and I was stuck with after school clean up duties, which FREAKIN sucked. Bah! If there was something I hated almost as much as I hated math, it was clean up duties. Those were always such a pain the butt! Not to mention, I never got it with my friends!

Luckily, this time around, Nakao Shota was also assigned after school clean up duties, SO I WASN'T ALONE. THANK KAMI!

"Hey, Shota?"

If there was anybody who would give me the details about Hiro and Hayama or just Hayama in general, it would be Nakao Shota. I felt a little bad about using him, but hey! A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do for some info. NOT INVOLVING ANY SEXUAL PERFORMANCES!

"Yes Sana?" He turned towards me and stopped sweeping the floor. Was he blushing?

"What happened between Hayama and Hiro?" He tensed immediately and gripped the broom tightly.

"Wha-what do you mean?" He chucked nervously and turned away from me.

Oh he was definitely hiding something! And I was GOING to find out!

"What do I mean? I mean, that annoying, tense air between Hayama and Hiro. That glare that Hiro gives Hayama. The bitterness in Hiro's voice when he talks about Hayama. That's what I mean."

"Umm..."

"Come now, Shota. Don't you think I deserve an explanation here? Hiro's trying soooooo hard to keep me away from Hayama but for what reason? Because he's a jerk and sexual molestor? Nah uh, there' GOT to be more than that!" I argued. He sort of gulped.

"Sana..." He looked guilty.

Does that mean he's going to tell me? I really do hope he does! because that would be really refreshing and I could start getting answers. Then, I could probably move onto Tsuyoshi since he seems like he's good friends with Hayama. Well, was.

"Pleaseeeee Shota?" I pouted my lip, and he blushed.

Ha! Men were so gullible!

"I'm not really allowed to say, Sana."

Well, Shota wasn't as gullible as I thought. Guess that means I'll have to pull out the big guns! I sighed, pursing my lips together.

"Alright then. I guess, I guess I'll just have to live without knowing anything. And, I'll continue fighting Hayama blindly since I know nothing about him."

I exasperated, slumping against the window. I pouted out my lip and oggled my eyes a bit, trying to make him feel more guilty than he already was. I crossed my fingers and prayed that he would fall victim to my puppy dog eyes!

I heard him sigh. That was a good sign right?

"Hayama did something terrible to Hiro last year."

Even I could have told you that. Come on, Shota! Give me something better!

"Well, obviously." He pinked a little, probably embarrassed by my comment.

"Umm, well… Hayama hurt someone Hiro cared a lot for." He mumbled really quick and turned away.

WAIT. I couldn't just go off of that! I need more! GIVE ME MORE, SHOTA.

"Who was it?"

He squealed when I popped up in front of him. He took a few steps back and gulped, trying to get away from me. YEAH RIGHT. Like I would let him do that!

"I-I can't tell you."

I dropped my head and sighed, pulling at my face. What was it going to take to get some answers around here!?

"I'm sorry, Sana." He apologized, truly looking sorry. "Hiro will tell you when the time is right. Honesty, he is still not over it."

I gave him this kind of knowing look because even though I didn't know what Hayama did but hurt someone he cared a lot for, I knew that pain he felt. And it wasn't the best feeling in the world. It sucked. It truly sucked.

"But, he's getting over it and Hiro, well, he likes you. He thinks you're a good person. And I think you are too. Nobody just stands up to Hayama like you did, especially for someone you didn't even know."

Shota gave me a smile. Ugh, he got all cheesy on me that I had no choice BUT to smile back at him. But, it was still very sweet. That really meant a lot to me.

"Alright you cheese head! I won't poke for anymore answers!" I slapped his shoulder with a smile on my face. He stumbled a bit and I laughed at his nervous chuckle.

We continued on and finished out chores. Shota and I were walking towards our lockers to change our shoes when we heard footsteps. We both looked back to see Hisea running towards us, soaking wet I might add.

"SANA!"

I went wide eyed as she came up to us with red, puffy eyes and her hair and school uniform completely wet. What in the world was going on?

"Hisea? What's going on-"

"It's Mami! They have her! Come on!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards her. I looked back at Shota who was just giving me this worried look. I mouthed to him to call for backup, which meant Tsuyoshi, Aya, and possibly Hiro. He nodded and ran off the other way.

"Hisea! What's going on!" I said as I turned back towards Hisea, who was gripping onto my head very tightly. We were running down the school hallway towards the swimming pool.

Well, that explained why she was wet.

"It's Hayama! They have Mami!"

As soon as she said the perverts name, the only thing I could think of was their argument from this morning. I went wide eyed with horror as I thought of all the things a person like him could do. So instead of Hisea pulling me, I sped up ahead of her and pulled her.

Hayama was going to PAY if he hurt Mami. I swear to Kami, I would castrate him if he did anything to her! I glared at the doors in front of me as we stopped in front of the entrance to the pool. Hisea pushed the doors open frantically and rushed in. I followed right behind her and we climbed down the stairs really quick.

I went wide eyed again at the sight in front of me.

Hayama was standing there, a stupid smirk etched on that stupid face of his. His little gang of cronies surrounded him and there was poor Mami, HER FREAKIN' HANDS TIED UP INSIDE THE POOL WITH TWO OF HIS GOONS AT EACH SIDE OF HER. ARE YOU SHITTING ME RIGHT NOW.

She was crying and biting down on her lip as they-

They were drowning her.

They were seriously pushing her head under water right now. They were pushing her under and then bringing her back up. They were- They were purposely doing this.

I couldn't believe it. I stood there, perfectly still for a few seconds. I couldn't believe what Hayama was doing. I heard he did some pretty messed up things, but this-this was just going too far. I tightened my fist as my anger rose to a new level.

This was beyond okay. I was going to kill Hayama.

"Let her go, you assholes!"

All eyes turned towards me and I went head on with Hayama. He smirked at me with that stupid, asshole smirk of his. His eyes were wild and down right evil. He was seriously getting a kick out of this. Who the hell gets kicks out of drowning someone!?

Oh right. Gang leaders.

"Look who finally decided to join us." He said as he motioned for his stupid monkeys to push her under again.

I gritted my teeth as I growled. This bastard was going to pay.

"STOP!" I shouted as I ran towards Mami. His stupid followers ran after me and I stopped. They went into tackle me and I just rolled my eyes. Figures. They were as stupid as their idiot leader.

I moved quickly to the side and watched the fools slip on the puddles of water and land with a loud 'thunk.' I turned towards the assholes who were holding Mami. They brought her back up and she began coughing.

"Sana! Help me!" She cried out to me.

"LET HER GO!" Hayama dropped his smirk and sneered at me, with this vicious scowl.

"I told you, Kurata. I told you you were playing a very dangerous game here." He scoffed as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah, me. Not Mami!" I yelled back at him, wanting nothing but to wring his neck right now.

"Well, she wasn't being very nice. What did you call me? A monster, demon, the devil?" He narrowed his eyes at her and I at him. "You should be nice to someone who can do these kinds of things to you."

She cried out as I gritted my teeth. "This is just cruel!"

"I know. I can be a very… cruel person."

He was at the edge of the pool and I was on the other side of him. The only way I could have gotten to Mami was if I jumped in and took her myself. But then I had to deal with the two guys holding her.

Oh screw it! I jumped right in, not really knowing how to deal with those two guys. Water hit me fast and suddenly, I was right under water. I opened my eyes and saw three blurry figures in front of me. I closed my eyes really quick though because that chlorine really did burn. I swam back up and as soon as I hit the air, I took a deep breath. I wiped at my face and looked ahead to see Hayama staring at me, kind of shocked with my actions. Good. The bastard better know I'm being serious. His two monkeys were just kinda staring at me and didn't know what to do.

The water was at my waist, which was perfect because that meant I had room to move. I walked over towards them and they let Mami go and came towards me.

And just like the other idiots, they tried to tackle me too. I just dove right under them and swam between them to come up to Mami. She yelled slightly as I grabbed onto her shirt. She flinched and stepped away as I came up from under water.

"Mami! It's okay! It's me." I grabbed her shoulders as she looked at me with fear. Her eyes were bloodshot red and puffy from crying. She was so frightened she was shaking. I grabbed her and pushed her towards the ledge, not that far from Hayama.

I untied Mami's rope and then helped her out of the pool. I followed after her and heaved myself up on the ledge. I was dripping wet now, my white t shirt totally see through. My skirt felt heavy as water dripped from it. I was on all fours as I heaved. I looked over at Mami who was coughing. Hisea came running over and grabbed Mami.

"This was your fault. If you just stayed out of my way, your friend wouldn't be in this situation."

I ignored him as I watched as Hisea padded on Mami's back. Mami kept coughing and coughing and the anger in me was swelling. My eyes went hard and I could feel the fire in the pit of my stomach. I gripped my knuckles as Hisea started brushing Mami's hair out of her face. Mami was deathly pale and then she started having another coughing fit and this time, water came out. She was spitting out water.

That was it. I started trembling. My body hold the anger in me anymore. I got up slowly as I was turning towards Hayama, who was smirking at me. How could he possibly be smirking when he almost killed her!? Who in their right mind would do something so cruel!?

"Oh? You're shaking. Are you finally scared?" I could hear him mocking me with his stupid condescending tone. That bastard.

"I'm trembling because I'm angry." I turned towards him sharply and watched him with irritation and frustration building in me. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to murder him. I wanted to put him through the pain he put Mami in, he put every girl out there in. I wanted to do so many things, but I couldn't. I just couldn't.

"And that's suppose to scare me?"

I walked up to him slowly, my eyes dead locked on his. I just felt murderous. I felt my stomach churn with fire. My head was spinning and everything was just so much. Hayama and his threats. Hayama choking me. Hayama having sex with girls. Hayama hurting Hiro. Hayama hurting Mami. Hayama trying to drown Mami. Hayama TRYING to drown Mami just to get back at me.

And that didn't sit well with me. Not at all.

So I did the one thing I probably shouldn't have done. i raised my hand and swiped it across his stupid, perverted, cheetah face.

I slapped him.

You could hear the echo of the slap go throughout the pool gym and everyone stared, wide eyed. (Well, I think they did.) I didn't care though. Even though my hand was stinging and bright red, he deserved that slap.

I could hear both Hisea and Mami gasping and I just stood there. His head was turned the other way and his eyes were hidden under the mess of his bangs. We both stood in silence for a while before he slowly looked back at me.

And the burning, golden eyes I was met with pierced right through my very soul.

A/N: Annnnnnnnnnnd I'm done here! Sorry, I left ya'll with a cliffhanger! I have been trying so hard to get these chapters out but with college, it has been very stressful. Luckily, I'm finished now and I have a month break. (HALLELUJAH) I hope you all enjoyed. And if you've read Kodocha or watched the anime, then I'm pretty sure you recognize the scene from above. And I'm pretty sure that the dialogue is somewhat similar.

What can I say? Haha I just loved the anime/manga so much! I really do wish it was more popular though. (sigh) ANYWAY, I hope you all enjoyed it and please feel free to leave me a little review! Tell me what you think!

So until next time!
-Dark Waffle