WARNING/DISCLAIMER: this chapter contains mild swearing and mentions/acts of violence. It also touches on mental illness, which I hope is scientifically correct. Reader's discretion is advised.

XV

Instinctively, Tadase let go of Amu's hand and stepped in front of her protectively, holding an arm in an attempt to shield her. His first thought was to get away from Amu's property. Tadase didn't want to get any of Amu's family involved if he didn't have to. At least not until Amu expressed that she wanted her parents to know. Saaya smirked at Amu, but her expression softened slightly as she met eyes with Tadase. Tadase scowled at Saaya in return. She had taken this way too far and didn't deserve to be treated lightly.

His fight or flight instincts remind him that this could be a good getaway for Amu. As long as Saaya had her eyes on Tadase, Amu could run and, best case scenario, escape into her house and be safe for the night. Worst case scenario, she, or they, could at least get away from the house before Saaya tried to hurt her again. He chewed his lip, eventually forcing his scowl into a small smile directed towards Saaya, not before glancing back at Amu with a look that hopefully said something like 'when you see an opportunity, run.'

"Saaya! What a lovely time to see you!" He said in a somewhat forced, sugar-coated peppy voice. "I was just walking Amu-chan home. I ran into her and it was pouring rain. I hope you weren't caught in the storm for too long too! Wouldn't want you getting sick! You may be an ex-girlfriend but you still have a right to be cared for."

Saaya softened more, rubbing her nape. It was hard to tell, but there seemed to be a slight pinkish hue on her cheeks as she took in Tadase's words for a moment. Tadase inwardly cringed at how bad his acting was yet how good it was working. He quickly made a glance back at Amu, who somehow looked…bothered for some reason. He shook his head and focused on Saaya, who had just opened her mouth to speak.

"R-really? You still care about me Tadase?" a small smile started forming on her highly glossed up lips. "I- Don't worry. I wasn't out in the rain for long. It's so nice of you to care about everyone's well being like this, Tadase!"

Amu gagged behind Tadase. This was not a Saaya she ever wanted, nor needed, to see. It was gross and disturbing. Regardless, Amu had a feeling that Tadase knew what he was doing; this was probably the only way he could think of a way to distract Saaya so Amu could safely escape. And, somehow, it was working wonders. Saaya was enthralled that Tadase was actually being nice to her.

Tadase continued with his way too sugarcoated and happy chit chat with Saaya, and Amu slowly started seeing Saaya lose her guard as she practically melted like putty in front of Tadase. As annoying as it was, for some reason, to hear Tadase being abnormally nice to another person, more specifically and especially, his ex, she was glad Tadase was trying to help. She reached forward to tug on the back of Tadase's sweater, trying to signal that she was gonna bolt. Then, after a few more seconds, she ran back towards her house, then swiftly jumped her fence and ran as fast as she could.

She probably could have just run into her house but she really didn't want to bother her parents. Even if it was partly a bother to them since it had likely been around 30 minutes since she left by now, and it was getting pretty late.

Tadase took note of the direction she ran in, in case he needed to go and bring her back. By the time Saaya had realized what was actually happening, Amu was far past either of their eye length. Tadase subtly pumped his fist, noticing Saaya's eyes go from soft to a full-blown glare. She clenched her fists angrily.

"That bitch!" she shrieked, stomping her foot. She looked at Tadase. "And you! How dare you toy with my feelings Hotori Tadase! I will make you mine again! Just as soon as I get rid of this whore!"

Before Tadase could even try to stop Saaya, she ran after Amu at full speed. From her pocket, she withdrew something that shined in the light of the street lamps. Tadase belatedly realized it was a knife. A good old fashioned butterfly knife to be exact. Probably the same one she attacked Amu with just days prior. Amu was in trouble.

Tadase hurried after the two of them, hoping to catch up with Amu before Saaya did, trying to take as many shortcuts as possible. He jumped over hedges, flew past streetlights at a speed he didn't even realize he could go and almost even tried to steal a bike someone left outside their house. Almost.

As he neared closer to Saaya, he tried to slow Saaya down by kicking a rock in front of her feet. She stumbled slightly, just enough for Tadase to pull ahead. Amu had stopped, panting at the entrance of the nearby park. She'd made it pretty far, thankfully. Saaya let out another annoyed shriek as she neared Amu, also panting heavily. Tadase skidded in front of Amu protectively as Saaya screeched to a stop several feet away from the two of them.

"So I see you guys aren't fighting anymore," Saaya growled. "Or did you fool me again into thinking you were fighting?"

"What does it matter?" Tadase asked, his shoulders tense. "Who are you to tell me who I can and can't hang out with? You never complained about me hanging with Mashiro-san, so why Amu-chan?" he took a few breaths to ease his bubbling anger. "How did you find Amu-chan's house in the first place? Are you a stalker or something?"

Saaya shrugged casually, waving the butterfly knife around. "I have my ways, Tadase. Let's just say God led me here."

"God? More like Satan." Amu mumbled, gently moving Tadase's arm to stand next to him

"Did you say something?" Saaya questioned through clenched teeth.

Amu shrugged nonchalantly, sending her best glare at Saaya. "Did I? Maybe. Maybe not. Now, what do you want?"

"Just to…talk," Saaya said, but Amu could tell by the blatant knife in Saaya's hand that she didn't just want to talk. "I noticed Tadase let you borrow his jacket. Why is that?"

"Because I was cold and it was a gentleman thing to do?" Amu responded like it was obvious, which it was in her opinion. Even if the jacket was soaking wet.

"And why was Tadase holding you?" Saaya asked.

How long had she been following us for? Amu thought but took a breath. "I'm afraid of thunder. Got a problem with that?"

As if on cue, a clap of thunder went off in the distance, causing Amu to jump and grip onto the corner of Tadase's jacket, which he had put back on. The umbrella he had was gone after he dropped it to run after Saaya and Amu so now no one was safe from the rain.

Saaya narrowed her eyes. "So why does your childish fear of thunder equal Tadase holding you?"

Tadase scoffed. "I was trying to comfort her. How long were you following us for in the first place? Isn't your house in the opposite direction from both of ours? This is an evasion of privacy, Saaya. Why don't you just lay-off?"

"Lay-off? Lay-off?" Saaya seethed and, from the glow of a street light just behind her, Tadase saw her fist clench the knife harder. "Are you telling me to lay-off?" Saaya took several deep breathes. Suddenly, she started talking to herself. "Yes, I know I can't lay off. Not until that bitch stops hanging around with my boyfriend! No, I won't give up. Tadase's mine!"

Amu blinked in surprise at this sudden self-conversation. Saaya was distracted by herself. For some reason, Amu felt a twang of concern for Saaya. She was talking to herself. Was she okay? Amu wondered if Saaya needed a therapist. She took a breath, knowing she might regret asking this.

"Yamabuki-san…are you okay?"

"Me? Am I okay?" Saaya returned her attention to Amu. "Do I look okay? Why would I be okay when you're trying to steal my boyfriend?"

Tadase sighed in exasperation. "Saaya, how many times do I need to tell you? You're not my girlfriend anymore! We broke up ages ago!"

"Plus he told me he had his eyes on someone else," Amu said probably too confidently. "Why are you so bothered by me being friends with Tadase-kun? Nothing is going on between us."

"And did he tell you who that other person is?" Saaya asked, crossing her arms.

Amu shrugged. "I didn't ask. Why do I need to know who he likes? I might not even know them. Anyways, even if he likes someone else, why do you care? Is it because you still love him?"

Saaya looked away. Amu could assume by her sudden change in attitude that she was blushing "N-no…"

Now it was Amu's turn to cross her arms. "Oh? So when you were trying to stab me with a knife before and said 'Of course I still love him' you were lying?"

Saaya shifted from foot to foot. She rubbed her arm nervously. "That was…uh…" her expression went from shock to embarrassment, and then back to menacing. "W-well it's not like I was the one who broke up with him! Don't turn this on me!"

"I only broke up with you because I wasn't ready for that kind of relationship yet." Tadase pointed out. "Things were going too fast and I was uncomfortable."

Saaya faltered again. "B-but…I just wanted to…all my other friends had been bragging…"

Amu shook her head. "Yamabuki-san. Just because all your friends are doing something, doesn't mean you have to, too. It just shows you don't actually care about it and only want to do it to seem cool."

Saaya glowered at Amu. There seemed to be two sides to Saaya currently, and it was slightly concerning. "You know what, Hinamori Amu. I've had enough of you. I don't need someone like you telling me what I can and can't do! I'm tired of this!" She stomped her foot. "Let's…let's make a bargain."

Amu blinked and tilted her head back slightly in confusion. "What? A bargain?"

Saaya cocked the knife, holding it towards Amu. Amu recognized it as the knife Saaya attacked her with a few days prior. "Yep. I bargain a duel…to the death. The last person standing gets Tadase."

Amu took a wary step back. She was starting to wonder if Saaya was schizophrenic or bipolar. "W-what do you mean? Come on, Yamabuki-san. C-can't we just do something a little…friendlier? Like talking it out?"

Tadase was on edge. He stepped forward again protectively. "Yeah, Saaya. Isn't this going a bit too far? Amu-chan doesn't deserve this… Calm down, please."

"Doesn't deserve this?" Saaya directed her attention to Tadase, pointing the knife in his direction now as well. "Don't you see, Tadase? She stole you from me! She deserves it more than anyone!"

From behind Tadase, Amu had pulled out her cellphone. She had just dialled the number and pressed call when she was tackled to the ground. Her phone went flying and landed on the cement with a concerning crack. She fell to the ground with a less concerning thud, though her arm took the brunt of the force. She hissed in pain and clutched her arm as she tried to get up.

Her arm stung. She could almost feel her stitches snapping. Of course, she had to catch her fall on her injured arm. Not to mention her cut up hands. Tadase stood in shock as Amu slowly pulled herself up to a sitting position.

"Well, well. Looks like I've already won." she gave an impish, triumphant smile.

"Not so fast, Yamabuki Saaya," Amu said, standing up with the help of Tadase, who had hurried to help her after getting over his initial shock.

"H-hey! That's not fair! Tadase's helping you!" Saaya exclaimed, her smile faltering.

Amu looked at Tadase, who moved away from her. She steadied herself on her feet. Luckily, she hadn't hurt her legs in the fall; it only was her arm and hands that had caused her difficulties standing up. She shot a glare at Saaya, hoping to convince Saaya that she was well enough to stand on both feet. Well, it was true. She was well enough to stand on both feet. Her arm, though, was killing her. She panted heavily, her hair a mussed-up mess of pink as it showered over her face. She was determined to get through this without too much of a fight.

Miraculously, Amu's phone wasn't as damaged as it could have been, sitting several feet away from where Amu and Saaya were facing off. When it was tossed out of Amu's hand, she had just managed to press the call button. The call had gone through, and the person on the other line was in a slightly confused panic.

In the time when Amu pulled out her phone, she was a little panicked about who to call. She could have called the police, but she was too afraid. Instead, she had called the only other person who's number she knew who could help. Her new friend Yamamoto Lulu de Morecerf.

Presently, a very distressed Lulu was sitting on her bed with the phone flush against her ear, trying to hear the muffled noises and voices of the events unfolding. When she had gotten the call from Amu she was excited that she had gotten in contact with her so quickly. Her excitement slowly diminished, however, when she realized she could hear her ex-friend's voice.

There was no way right? Just before that, she had heard Amu shriek. There was some unintelligible shouting as well. Why would Yamabuki Saaya and Amu be in the same area…yelling at each other?

Lulu stood up, turning her phone to speaker so she could still hear if something else happened. She really hoped Amu was okay. She hated to admit to being friends with Saaya sometimes because she'd always known something was up with the girl. Sometimes she'd be sweet and tolerable, sometimes she'd be a huge bully, yelling and forcing people to give her want she wanted. At multiple points, Lulu had considered paying for Saaya to go to a therapist.

She dug through her closet frantically for something more appropriate to wear than pyjamas. Normally, she'd be looking for the perfect outfit that matched and everything, but this time, as she was in a hurry, she pulled out the first pair of jeans and sweater she could find. She threw the clothing on in what was probably record time for her. Then, she grabbed the phone, still in speaker mode, and snuck towards the front room of her house to pull on a rain jacket and boots.

Saaya scowled at Amu. Rather than try to run and attack her, she threw her knife as if it were a kunai. It was aimed for Amu's leg so that there was no way she could stand back up again without bleeding out and causing more pain. Part of her head was telling her she was going too far. The rest, though, was telling that part to shut up and let it do all the work. The 'voices' as Saaya called them, gave her a massive headache when they did that. Though by now, she had gotten used to it. Saaya's breath hitched, however, when the knife hit Tadase instead of Amu.

As soon as Tadase saw the knife coming, he pushed Amu out of the way and jumped in front of it to take the blow for her. He hissed in pain as soon as the knife made contact and tried to pull it out, but was in too much pain to focus. Tadase heard what sounded like two separate voices call out his name. One was definitely Amu, but surprisingly, the other was Saaya.

Amu nearly screamed as her first-ever friend, dare she say her current best friend, seethed in pain on the concrete, clutching his leg as a blade stuck about halfway out of his pants and skin. She looked down, watching in order as pain that spread across his face. She was about to crouch to check on him when she noticed Saaya walk up to him and crouch to pull the knife out of his leg. Tadase yelped in pain again as Saaya looked at Tadase apologetically, even going as far as mouthing "I'm sorry," to him.

She hadn't meant to hurt Tadase at all. She stood up and Amu watched her expression change faster than she had ever seen on anyone. Her sympathetic, concerned look at Tadase had completely changed in barely a millisecond. Now she was giving Amu the most loathing glare she'd ever seen. She walked up to Amu and pointed the now bloody knife at her. It sickened Amu to see Tadase's blood currently dripping off of the tip and landing on the cement underneath them.

"You! This is your fault!" She spat out venomously, bringing the knife closer to Amu's chin. "See, if you hadn't met Tadase, I wouldn't have accidentally crippled him! None of this would have happened!"

Amu tried not to show fear. Instead, she tried for a sneer. "How is it my fault? I'm not the one wielding a knife! And it's not like I told Tadase to jump in front of me!"

"Yeah well…" Saaya seemed perplexed at Amu's words for a second, staring at the knife in her hands as if she only just realized she was wielding it. Her face hardened again as quickly as it had before. "S-shut up, bitch!"

Despite the 'insult' being a little dry and overused, Tadase still defended Amu. He leaned on his elbow. "D-don't…call Amu-chan a bitch! She's a lot more capable than you are at things, Saaya. Like right now. She wants to resort to just talking instead of using violence."

Saaya sighed lightly, her face once again softening as she brought her attention back to the fallen Tadase. "Tadase, please stay out of this. I don't want you to get hurt again. This is between me and Hinamori."

Tadase just shook his head as Amu knelt to help him. Saaya was probably still a little mad at herself for hurting Tadase, so Amu took it as an opportunity to cover up Tadase's leg as best as she could with the limited time she probably had before Saaya snapped again. She took a handkerchief out of her jacket pocket and wrapped it around Tadase's leg tightly. Tadase bit his lip.

"Idiot. Why did you do that?" Amu asked, trying to keep herself from crying. She had to stay strong. For Tadase's sake and for the sake of not letting Saaya see her weakness. "Look what happened to you."

Tadase let out a dry laugh. "I'm fine. I promise. Just keep your ground."

She finished knotting it and looked at Tadase. Suddenly, without properly noticing until she was already several feet off the ground, she realized she was…flying? She didn't feel any pain, so obviously Saaya hadn't kicked her or anything. No…she was grabbed, being carried by someone who could jump really high. She already had an idea as to who it could be but she still risked looking up to see who had grabbed her. As expected, she saw a familiar mess indigo hair.

"I…kuto?" she stammered incredulously as she stared at the male in astonishment.

"I'm honoured you remember my name." he teased before pursing his lips into a thin line. "You better thank me. That chick nearly broke your spine with her foot."

Ikuto set Amu down on a thick tree branch as he landed. She went to hug the trunk but winched when her injured arm came into contact with the rough bark, throwing her off guard. Ikuto gave her a wary look and steadied Amu with his hands.

"Amu, I know we only met like 2 hours ago but I kinda owe you your life, so would you mind explaining what's going on?" He asked, examining Amu thoroughly. "Why does it seem like that crazy lady is trying to kill you, and why is Tadase on the ground rolling in pain? And why are you also in pain?"

Amu shook her head, rubbing her arm. "It's a long story."

"Well, we've got some time to spare. The crazy bitch probably still doesn't realize what happened yet, or where you went, so spill."

With a reluctant sigh, Amu stumbled through a long run-on sentence about what happened the first day of school up until that moment. She explained that Saaya used to be Tadase's ex, which ended up being pointless since Ikuto already knew, and just chose not to say her name. She explained meeting Tadase on the first day and how he was being nice to her because she was a new student, but then eventually they became friends. Then she explained about Saaya and her first attack. Ikuto already seemed to be pissed. She finished the story in a flurry of words as she summarized that night's events.

"So basically this sick bitch is jealous that Tadase is happier with you than he was with her and thinks the only way to solve this is to kill you?" Ikuto summarized in an unconventional way

Amu chewed her lip. She took a breath as she tried to explain her next thoughts. "I don't think she means to go this far… I noticed that whenever Tadase said anything, or whenever I out-logic her, she seems confused. She also talked to herself quite frequently."

Ikuto shrugged. "She was like that when she was dating Tadase too. She'd go from 0 to 100 real quick. Zero being mushy and lovey-dovey, 100 being an obsessive, violent bitch." he paused, eying Amu carefully. "You're okay, right, Amu?"

Amu nodded. "My arm hurts again but it's nothing. I just hope Tadase-kun is okay…"

"Well, you covered his wound didn't you?" Ikuto inquired. When Amu nodded, he continued. "He should be fine until he gets proper treatment then."

Amu chewed her lip once again. "By the way…can we go back down? I'm getting a little lightheaded up here… I'm not used to height…"

Ikuto snorted in amusement but nodded. "Yeah, grab on."

Amu stared at Ikuto in utter confusion despite Ikuto's request being quite straight forward. "Pardon?"

"My neck. Grab it. Unless you've changed your mind. I kinda need to jump off the tree in order to…you know, to get you down."

Amu clicked her tongue, looking away as she began to get flustered. "I-I wasn't sure what you meant."

Ikuto rolled his eyes. "Just grab on or I'll leave you up here."

Amu nodded and followed Ikuto's instructions, somehow annoyed by how he treated her like a child. She awkwardly wrapped her arms around Ikuto's neck. Ikuto tugged her body closer, much to her embarrassment.

"Hold on tight," Ikuto added, but without warning, jumped down to the ground.

Amu squealed in fear as they plummeted toward the ground. Miraculously, they land perfectly on the ground right in front of Saaya. Saaya's face went through various expressions as Ikuto landed and Amu moved away from him, rubbing her arm nervously. First, shock about what had just happened, and then confusion, and lastly, the most confusing expression of the trio, triumph.

"Well, well," she said, smirking smugly. "Looks like I don't have anything to worry about. You already found someone else."

Tadase looked between Ikuto and Amu in shock. Tadase didn't even know Ikuto and Amu knew each other. Somehow, thinking of Amu and Ikuto together annoyed Tadase for some reason. Amu bit her lip, noticing Tadase's expression and shook her head frantically as she stammered out "N-no, no, no! Definitely not, I just met him!". Tadase somehow sighed in relief at Amu's instance. Ikuto came over and helped Tadase up, checking on the job Amu did on Tadase's wound with her handkerchief.

Abruptly, another person crashed the party. Literally. As she tried to skid her running to a stop, she slipped on the ground that was soaking wet and stumbled right into Saaya, sending her falling to the ground into a puddle of water. The remaining person standing was none other than Lulu, who panting breathlessly, not really paying attention to Saaya, who was having a mini tantrum about her hair and clothing, as she walked up to Amu and Tadase.

"Hi," Lulu said breathlessly, looking at Amu. "I got your call. You sounded like you were in trouble. It took me ages of running to find you." she turned her attention to Tadase and gasped loudly. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, Tadase-kun! what happened to you?!"

Tadase offered a smile, silently questioning Lulu's accent and choice of words. "Don't worry about it, Yamamoto-san."

Amu rolled her eyes. "Well, I will worry about it! You literally just got-"

Ikuto gave Amu a look that said "Shut up," and Amu stopped short and cleared her throat. "A-anyways. I'm surprised you came, Lulu. I just panicked and didn't know who to call…"

Saaya, who was now on her feet again, cleared her throat loudly. She kept sounding more and more livid. Especially whenever she was being ignored. "Sorry for interrupting your gab session but…I'm still here."

Amu sighed and turned around to look at Saaya. She tried not to laugh at how funny Saaya looked soaking wet and covered in mud. She was already being soaked before from the rain that was still falling but it was somehow more comedic with her dirt ridden face, hair, and clothing. She spotted the knife on the ground from when Lulu ran into Saaya and slowly but subtly moved closer to Saaya to kick it away from her. Ikuto walked up to it and picked it up gingerly, closing it and putting it in his pocket.

"I'll have this confiscated," he said with a mischievous grin.

As Amu continued to approach Saaya, she tripped her up again and the redhead landed in the same puddle of water and screamed again. In retrospect, Amu wondered how no one in the neighbourhood had heard all this commotion? It was probably only 8 pm on a weekday. With Saaya on the ground once more, Amu pressed her foot against Saaya's abdomen.

"Oh, how the tables have turned," Amu said, imitating Saaya's triumphant tone from earlier. "Looks like I won. Now, how about you make like a bee and buzz off. And while you're at it, quit bugging us. Can't a guy and a girl just be friends?"

Amu shook her head, snorting at her unintentional pun and slowly released her foot from Saaya's chest and put her hands on her hips, watching Saaya stand up looking a little defeated. Saaya seemed to be debating something mentally.

"You can leave now," Amu said after a second. "Unless you want me to call the cops and report a stabbing?"

Ikuto scoffed and shrugged. "I'd do it anyway."

Amu shot Ikuto a look. Saaya crossed her arms and huffed. She was at a loss for words. Her head hurt again. She opened her mouth to say something, but Amu retrieved her shattered cellphone and wiggled it, going on about jail or something. Saaya was already over this entire thing. She needed to go home, take a shower, and think. The voices were yelling at her again. Finally, she sighed, or rather, huffed in defeat and stomped away with her hands slightly raised in surrender.

Amu sighed in relief. Soon after, however, she fell to the ground in exhaustion. Tadase, who was silently watching Amu's confidence outburst in astonishment, gasped and called her name when she fell. He looked to Ikuto, who immediately helped him get to her. When they got to her side, Tadase had Ikuto awkwardly lower him down so he was sitting with his injured leg outstretched.

"Amu-chan? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, his hands fluttering around Amu's body, wanting to make sure nothing was hurt, but too afraid to actually touch her.

"You're concerned for me?" Amu asked incredulously. "You're more hurt than I am right now, Tadase-kun!"

"But you're still hurt too," Tadase said with a weak smile in his own attempt to reassure Amu that he was fine. Amu could hear the worry in his voice, though. "I just hope you didn't fall because you lost too much blood or anything…"

"No, no." Amu shook her head. "All the pressure and stress just came at me at once after Yamabuki-san just left. We should get a better look at your wound though… Ikuto, I saw you look him over. How does he look?"

"We need to go to the hospital," he said. "Obviously. You should get your wounds checked while we're there. But more importantly, I don't want the cut to get infected."

Amu nodded and managed to get to her feet. She and Ikuto helped Tadase up. Ikuto wrapped Tadase's arm around his neck and held his stepbrother's arm to help support him. Amu wanted to help as well, but Ikuto assured he had it covered. Amu just fell into step on the other side of Tadase, having to coax Lulu into moving before they all headed back to the hospital for the second time in less than a week.

A/N: So this chapter...I've edited it a lot but I'm still not happy with it. Some of the wording is meh but I've worked on it for too long to edit it more. I hope I got the symptoms of Schizophrenia correct. I'm not trying to make fun of the disease. I just figured Saaya has to have a more..mental reason for her rash actions. If we get to explaining her reasoning, I'll definitely do more research on what it's like to have this mental illness.