'Something is off today' Nishikata thought to himself. He looked to his left to see Takagi wearing the average smile that she did everyday. Despite her happy appearance, Takagi was very clearly trying to hide something. All morning she hadn't teased Nishikata even once, and he was beginning to notice.

Nishikata looked down at his feet before saying, "Is something wrong Takagi-san?" Even when tasked with asking such a simple question, it seemed as though Nishikata was about to explode with embarrassment.

"Hmmm?" She looked at him, "Oh, don't worry about me. I am fine!" She gave him a genuine smile and then continued to walk towards the school.

'Well, nothing seems to be off after all.' But something still nagged at him as he finished the root to school. Only when they came within sight of the building did Nishikata remember that he needed to prepare for a world of teasing, not just from Takagi. Ever since the summer festival, Kimura and Takao have increased their efforts to annoy him about his relationship with Takagi.

It could get even worse than it is now if the rest of the school finds out about it too. 'School started only a few days ago, so there are still plenty of chances for someone to find out about it,' he thought to himself before looking towards his hand, 'still, I don't regret it.' His face turned red as he realized what he had just thought. Luckily for him, Takagi did not notice. She once again seemed to be thinking about something.

As they made their way into class, Nishikata couldn't help but notice that the no teasing streak has persisted throughout the entirety of the morning.

The day continued as normal, but the feeling that something was wrong kept with Nishikata the entire time. Sometimes he would steal a glance at Takagi, only to see her sitting normally in her desk. They would still talk, sometimes, but it was often a very minimal conversation.

After school Takagi made her way outside the classroom. When Nishikata got up to try and follow her out, he was stopped by Nakai.

"Great job man! You finally got her!" Nakai said with a big thumbs up.

Nishikata gave him a confused look before moving on through the packed hallway towards Takagi. Just before he yelled out, he realized that he could not say her name in the hallway without everyone getting the wrong idea. So, he instead opted to just follow her through the packed children. Then, he was stopped again by a kid he didn't know.

"Nice man, I wish I could be famous like that!"

Confused but unwavered, Nishikata kept winding through the hall before getting stopped again. And again. And again. All of the boy's were just saying the same thing and congratulating him, along with the occasional pat on the back or thumbs up.

Finally, he made it to the school's entrance only to be stopped yet again, this time by Kimura and Takao. "So much for 'it not being like that,' it's going to be pretty hard to deny that this was a date Nishikata." Takao explained.

"Huh? What do you mean?" He said before getting himself together again, "Sorry guys, I have to go now." Nishikata pushed the two boys out of the way and continued his way out of the school.

"Finally!" He muttered to himself. 'I have to find her and see what's wrong.' Nishikata started to run as fast as he could along the normal path that he and Takagi took home. Despite how tired he felt, Nishikata kept his pace all the way until he finally found Takagi's bike just to the side of the road. 'Wait, her bike shouldn't just be in the middle of nowhere like that.'

"Takagi-san," he shouted out, "Are you there Takagi-san?" Then, he heard something as he approached her bike. When he turned the corner, his fears were confirmed.

Takagi was sitting there, crying softly on the ground with several scratches and bruises.

Hope you all enjoyed it, and sorry that this was originally all in code for a few days!