A knock echoed throughout my house. It was soft, but I knew exactly who it was. The door opened and a man in a gray uniform walked in. His dark hair and eyes made him fit in with regular garbage men in Japan. I could see him on a small screen from one of the many security cameras I had set up months ago. Thankfully, the Hibari hadn't caught onto that yet.

"Miss."

"Back here." I called out.

He walked into a room right off the kitchen. The room itself was cold and meant to preserve meats and canned goods. However, I used the room for a completely different reason now. I was wiping up a table, making sure no traces of blood were left. Six bags tied with decorative ribbon sat on the floor. Each was tied with a different color ribbon. The man opened each bag to make sure the colors matched everything.

"You've done a splendid job, miss. You were able to take the head off cleanly."

"Thank you. To be honest, this is my first time doing this alone. I've only watched others and guidance."

"Shall I give you the proceeds?"

"Yes, but I'd like to have some sent to the Hibari household with a note."

"What should this note say?"

"Thank you for your contribution."

Before he took the bags and left, he put a bottle on the counter. It was a specific cleaner to completely get rid of any and all traces of blood that would be left behind. Each bag corresponded in a certain order. The torso had to be split in two since it's large and troublesome to transport. For women, there was always one less bag than the men. Some people, women specifically, had a disgusting collection of male privates. I still can't understand why they do it, but I'm not one to judge. I only care about getting my profit. I took the contents in the bottle and mixed it with water before wiping the entire room down.

A few days have passed. It seemed like whoever was doing the kidnappings were caught. In school, I saw Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto injured. They were either injured from the henchmen or dealt with the kidnapper themselves. I turned a page in my book. As long as I didn't stick my nose in their business, they wouldn't have a reason to stick their nose in mine. I wonder if the Hibari got my note yet. I've already noticed the increase in my bank account, so the money must either be on its way to the Hibari or already there. Part of me wanted to laugh in their faces, but I knew better.

"Shiori!" The three previously mentioned walked to my desk.

"Yes?"

"We just wanted to tell you the kidnappers have been caught."

"Really? That's nice. I can finally get deals on groceries without being hurt." I replied in a soft voice.

"We beat them into oblivion." Gokudera announced happily.

"I see. It must have been tough to have fought them."

"It was nothing. I'm stronger than those idiots." From his beaten up form, I couldn't believe he could have taken the kidnappers on all at once by himself.

"I'm glad you weren't hurt any more than you already are." I replied.

"It's no big deal. Scars are manly."

I gripped my book tighter. Manly? Did that make me manly? Would Xanxus see me as manly when he sees them? "Not everyone thinks scars are manly, Gokudera." I pointed out.

"Why?"

"Scars on men mean they're troublemakers that always get hurt which will get everyone around you hurt. At least, some people see it that way." He instantly took a step back. "Ah. I'm sorry, Gokudera. I'm not sure how they'll look on you, but they could make you manly."

"You think so?"

"You never know."

Gokudera was beaming with happiness. "Gokudera is shining." Yamamoto commented with a smile. We all knew something was wrong because Gokudera didn't even yell at Yamamoto. Tsuna dragged Gokudera back to their desks.

"Strange."

"Oh, c'mon, plain Jane. You can't see he has a crush on you?"

"No one asked you."

"I think you two would be cute. Someone quiet and innocent like you with someone dangerous just screams adorable and manga worthy."

I sighed heavily. "I'm not into him."

"That sucks for him. Let him down gently."

"What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Don't just reject him bluntly."

"That's all I know how to."

The guy just stared at me with disbelief. "Have you ever had someone confess to you?"

"No."

"Have you confessed to anyone?"

"No."

"Have you ever had a crush?"

"I…think so?"

His jaw dropped from disbelief before he turned around. "You know what, Shiori? Just do you. There's no one else like you."

"You think so?"

"I know so." I smiled and went back to my book. Yuko told me the same thing before. I'm glad everyone thought that way.

Summer vacation was coming up soon. Everyone was excited for it. For me, however, it was a time I hated. I couldn't wear what I wanted in public. I had to keep covered or else everyone will stare. "Plain Jane, go to the beach with me!" I was getting ready to leave and this idiot decided to yell to the entire class.

"Like hell she will!" Gokudera stomped over and clenched the shirt of the guy who was laughing.

"Do you think she'd go with you?" He taunted.

Gokudera looked at me. "Go to the beach with me."

"No."

The guy laughed. "See? She'll go to the beach with me."

"No."

"Huh?" He questioned.

"I'm not going anywhere with anyone. Why don't you two go together since you both like the beach?" The two were instantly depressed.

"I just wanted to see what you look like in a bikini."

"And this is why I'll never go to a beach with people like you. I hate people staring at me. Now, if you excuse me. I need to go home where I'll be alone." I turned my back on them and left. I sighed heavily, hanging my head low. "That offer was really tempting, but with those two idiots, I'd drown myself." I left school and went home. Inside, I was welcomed by an empty house like usual. "I'm home. I can finally concentrate on you, Kanade."

Tsuna has never seen Gokudera so depressed. Everyone knew he had a crush on Shiori. It was cute and something Yamamoto and Reborn teased him about. "Hey, Tsuna, why do you think Shiori won't go to the beach?" Yamamoto asked.

"She doesn't like people staring at her."

"Why would they stare? Everyone else is in their bathing suits." Despite Yamamoto being not so smart most of the time, he did have a point. Why would people stare at Shiori?

"Body issues." Reborn appeared out of thin air like always.

"She has a nice body. Why does she hide it?" Yamamoto asked.

"Yamamoto, some people don't like the way their bodies look and will cover themselves up to avoid any compliments." Reborn explained.

"Why do you think she has body issues?" Tsuna asked.

"I don't know. There could be many reasons."

"I really want to know why. I'll ask her tomorrow." Reborn knew Yamamoto was a goner. That boy was so oblivious to everything. Ignorance is bliss as they say. Gokudera walked back to them. Most of the students already left.

"I'm sorry Shiori didn't accept your invite." Tsuna said.

"I'm going to ask her tomorrow."

"She doesn't want to go to the beach." Reborn said.

Gokudera shook his head. "I'm going to ask her to be my girlfriend."

"What?!" The two teens shouted.

"If she accepts, she'll have to go to the beach with me."

"Can we join?" Yamamoto asked.

"No!"

Reborn was wrong. It wasn't just Yamamoto going to be hurt tomorrow, but Gokudera will join him as well. "Tomorrow will be interesting." He commented.

The next day, we were allowed to do basically whatever we wanted since it was the final few days of school. I was planning on shooting with my club after lunch. We were going to have some advanced targets to shoot at which excited me. It was about time too. I was getting bored of the regular large targets.

"Shiori."

I looked up and saw Gokudera. "Yes?"

"Can we go for a walk?"

"Sure."

I followed Gokudera outside to one of the cherry blossom trees. I gripped my book with nervousness. I was unsure of what he'd want to talk about. He'd probably want to ask specifically why I don't want to go to the beach with him. "I…I…" He was stuttering.

"What is it?" I asked. He was acting really weird.

His face was getting red. "I think you're pretty." He said quietly. My face instantly turned red. "No! You're beautiful!"

"What are you talking about?" I questioned.

"Dammit! I want you to be my girlfriend! I won't let anyone get away with hurting you. I'll protect you with my life." Gokudera yelled with a red face.

My eyes widened. He thought I was cute? "I'm…cute to you?"

"You're the cutest girl I've ever laid my eyes on and I lived in Italy most of my life."

I took a step back. "Cute? Me?" I noticed how everyone was watching. The girls were all gushing and some of the guys blushed while the rest waited for my answer. This was too much for me. My breathing started to go awry. I didn't handle these things well.

"Shiori." I looked into Gokudera's eyes. "I love you." I didn't know what to say, but my body knew what to do even though it probably wasn't the best thing. I took my book and hit him in the head before running off.

When Gokudera and Shiori left the room, everyone ran to the window. "It's time." Tsuna said with dread.

"Oh, this is so exciting." Kyoko said.

Tsuna wish it could be him asking Kyoko, but decided it was best not to in front of the entire school. In fact, in almost every classroom that faced the entrance, everyone was watching. It was tradition for a guy to ask a girl who he really liked under the cherry blossom tree.

"Do you think she'll accept?" Yamamoto asked Tsuna.

"There's no way in hell she'll accept." The two turned to the guy that sat in front of Shiori.

"You never know." Yamamoto said.

"I know Shiori pretty well by now."

People opened the windows to hear Gokudera's declaration of love. Everyone stayed as quiet as possible. "No! You're beautiful!" The girls all gasped quietly. "Dammit! I want you to be my girlfriend!" Everyone could hear that crystal clear.

"So, this is what she looks like when confessed to." Shiori's classroom neighbor said with amusement.

"Huh?" Tsuna and Yamamoto questioned.

"No one has ever confessed to Shiori and she's never confessed to anyone."

Everyone looked to see what Shiori's answer would be. Even Reborn was enjoying the show beside Tsuna. Shiori's face turned completely red. "Cute." The entire class muttered. Shiori pointed to herself and questioned something. Gokudera said something that made her take a step back.

"Prepare to console him, Tsuna." Reborn said.

"Oh no." Tsuna muttered.

"Shiori." Some students were leaning out the window. It was something she noticed and began to panic. "I love you." The girls all gushed loudly. "He said it!" Almost everyone shouted. That's when Shiori took her book and with a spin, hit Gokudera before running.

The two ran down to get Gokudera. Reborn saw Shiori running by. "Shiori!" Yamamoto stopped her.

"Yamamoto, no!" Tsuna yelled, knowing what Yamamoto was going to do.

"What is it?" She asked. It was obvious to everyone but Yamamoto she was not in the best mood.

"Why won't you go to the beach? Do you have body issues?" She didn't even say anything before hitting Yamamoto into the lockers with her book and running. "She's strong."

They ran to Gokudera who was sitting at the tree, smoking a cigarette. "Gokudera!"

"What?"

"Are you okay?" Tsuna asked.

"No. My heart hurts and my head hurts just as much."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

Yamamoto laughed. "She hit me into the lockers with her book just now. I feel your pain." Gokudera couldn't even yell at him for the comment.

"It'll be alright, Gokudera. She's never been confessed to before. You're probably the first person to say they like her." Reborn consolidated Gokudera.

"Really? I'm the first?"

"The guy that sits in front of her said so. She hasn't confessed to anyone either. She's new to this."

Gokudera stared at Reborn. "Do you think I have a chance?"

"Probably not, but you never know." Reborn didn't want to make Gokudera feel even worse than he already feels.

Gokudera stood up. "That's it! I won't stop until she says yes."

Tsuna looked at Reborn. "This is your fault."

"I'm aware, Tsuna." Gokudera ran to the classroom to find Shiori, but she wasn't there.

"I'm sorry about what happened." The guy that sat in front of Shiori said.

"Where is she?" Gokudera asked.

"She's probably at the shooting range." He replied nonchalantly.

"Got it!"

Gokudera and company went to where Shiori was. They all stopped before showing themselves and watched her. She was completely focused. She let go of the arrow and made a bullseye. The three fell, scaring Shiori. "W-what are you three doing here?" She stuttered out.

Gokudera stood up. "I won't stop until you say yes."

"No."

"Please!"

"No! I'll never go out with you."

"Why not? Is there someone else?" They saw how her cheeks turned pink and her eyes darted away from them. "Who is it? I'll prove I'm stronger."

"There's no one like that." She said nervously.

"Why won't you look at us?" Gokudera asked her.

"I'm not sure if I like that person. They make me feel things I haven't felt in years."

"I'll give that and more to you."

She sighed heavily. "You don't get it, do you? I guess I'll have to be blunt. The one I like…I love is a girl."

"What?!" They all shouted. "You're into girls?"

"I guess so." Shiori admitted shyly. It made her even cuter than before.

"Who is she?" Gokudera asked.

"She's someone that I met after a bad accident I had. She was the only one in the world that I can trust."

"Is she a student here?" Yamamoto asked.

Shiori shook her head. "You wouldn't know her. She lives in Kyoto."

"No way. It can't be." Gokudera collapsed onto his hands and knees.

"I'm sorry, Gokudera. No one can beat her."

"I never thought you'd like girls, Shiori." Yamamoto said cheerfully.

"When someone is your first for everything, it makes you fall even more for them."

Their faces turned beat red. "You two kiss?" Gokudera asked nervously.

"We've gone passed just kissing."

Reborn was just as surprised. He thought Dino would be on her mind, but it was a mystery girl. "Tsuna, ask what her name is." Reborn whispered.

"What's her name?" Tsuna asked, knowing Reborn had a gun pointed at him.

"Her name is Kanade. I'm actually going to visit her when vacation starts." She didn't even need to think about a name. This was real.

"I'm sorry, Shiori! I didn't know." Gokudera apologized profusely.

"It's alright. No one knows. Could you three keep it a secret? I'd rather not have the entire school question me. I might even get in trouble with Hibari and I don't want that."

"Your secret is safe with us."

That night, Reborn called Dino since he knew Shiori better. "Do you know someone named Kanade?"

"Where is this coming from?" Dino asked.

"Shiori mentioned her."

"Kanade is Shiori's best friend."

"She's real." Reborn said to the teens. Dino could hear three teenagers yell with surprise.

"It's over!" Gokudera slammed his head on the table.

"Where does Kanade live?" Reborn asked.

"Kyoto. Shiori went to visit her a few weeks ago. Why is everyone surprised?"

"Gokudera asked Shiori out."

"What?!" Dino instantly paled. Xanxus was staring at him from across the room. They were at a meeting that would be starting soon.

"It seems like Shiori doesn't swing towards the opposite sex." Reborn said.

"I see." Xanxus' eyes narrowed. "I have to go. I'm having a meeting soon."

Reborn looked at Gokudera. "I'm sorry, Gokudera. I tried to see if her testimony was false, but it's true."

Today was the last day of school. I decided to skip and see dad instead. It's not like I had any ties to anyone. Dad still lay completely still in the bed. His vitals were slowly diminishing. Shamal walked in to check on him. "Shamal?"

"What's up?"

"Do you think he's in any pain?" I asked quietly.

"No."

That was a relief. "Do you think he can hear everything going on?"

"I don't know. Some people who've been in comas say they hear everything, but some say the opposite."

Once he left, I took out Kanade's journal. "I'm scared." I said softly before beginning the first entry. It's been a few hours. So far, everything Kanade wrote was about what she went through and the voices in her head. Her demons always followed her no matter where she went. It slowly transitioned to her first day of middle school. I wanted to just skip to the end, but I couldn't. I needed to read everything. I took a small breather and looked at dad. He'd tell me to keep going even if it's hard for me. It's what he said when I was recovering. I had to learn how to walk again and he was there to catch me every time I fell. Everything hurt, but I had to keep going. I turned the page and read on. The next entry was about her stalking me. I felt uncomfortable reading about me, but it was exactly what I expected out of Kanade.

"I guess professional stalker can go under the list of what you are, Kanade. I always knew you followed me, but I didn't know the extent. Watching me from outside my window? Really? That's just creepy."

The next day, I was messaged by Kazuma. He wanted me over to visit Kanade's grave with him. So, I got a train ticket and got onto the train. I had nothing else to do. On the train, I decided to read the rest of the journal. Opening the journal, I began where I left off. I only had a few more entries left.

'It's almost here. The day is almost here where I can finally be free.' I knew when she wrote this. It was two days after we both confirmed our idea to jump together. 'Though, I'm unsure about Shiori. She doesn't like pain. What if she suffers instead of having an instant death? The thought scares me. It makes me want to puke. I don't want her to experience that.' Even though Kanade was seen as a punk, she had a heart of gold. She was just afraid of getting hurt if someone got too close. I was the exact same as her. Even now I can't get close to people without being suspicious. The next two entries were about giving her things away. 'I'm going to be selfish during the last couple of seconds I'm alive. I'm going to protect Shiori. I can't imagine a future without her even when I'm gone. She deserves to live. There's a reason she survived Tokyo. I want her to live. No. I need her to live.' My eyes widened with surprise. Kanade wanted me alive? Kazuma was right after all. 'I know she wants to die, but she can't die yet. If she does end up dying, she'll get her wish, but I'll try to prevent it as much as possible.'

I went to the next entry, my heart beating erratically. 'I'm sorry, Kazuma. I know you'd object if I told you what Shiori and I were going to do. You loved me just as much as Shiori did. You helped me a lot, more than you think. During the times I cried, you made me cry tears of laughter. During the times I hurt, you kissed it all away. You made me second guess my decision. You're a coward in nature and generally weak. You need to work on that before world walks all over you like a doormat. Don't let anyone tell you you're worthless either. I'm the only one who can say that. I know you'll be mad at me and Shiori. If she lives, don't be mad at her. If she survives it's not her fault. She wanted to die just as much as me, but I can't make myself to allow her to die. I have two requests. Can you visit me every once in a while? I always thought no one would visit me when I died. It'll be nice. My second request; if Shiori lives, can you give this to her? She's really fragile like a glass flower. She needs to know why I'm doing what I'll do.' Kazuma must have been mentally broken from Kanade's death. He loved her. I looked out the window. I was an hour away from Kyoto.

"Get over with it, Shiori." I muttered to myself.

'I'm mostly sorry to you, Shiori. I was always a selfish person. I know you'll be mad. I know you'll be sad. You could have died during the Tokyo incident, but you didn't. You lived and I eventually found you. The voices went away when I was around you. Even the pain I felt went away. Just your presence healed me. I'm thankful for everything you've done for me, even the things you don't know about. I feel horrible, but my wish is for you to live. If you can help me, you can help others who are like us. You make those who have no one feel like there is someone just by your presence. Plus, there are so many things you haven't experienced yet. I know you'd tell me the same thing, but I'm more stubborn than you. We both know it. I just don't want you to die. That's why I'm going to hold you protectively in my arms. It'll be a dream come true if you live. I hope Kazuma gave this to you. I hope this will help you. How are you doing by the way? How old are you? Do you have a boyfriend or a husband? I can imagine you with someone rough like me but quieter. Don't date Kazuma. Do you have kids? Did you name your daughter after me? Don't actually do that. I hope you didn't. If you did, I'm honored! Have you faced the incident yet? I hope you have and if not, hopefully, you'll do it soon. How's that weird woman that stalks you? She gave me tips on how to stalk you by the way. It helped. Have you made any cool friends? They better not be cooler than me. I hope you're happy even if it's just for a moment. Can you visit me too? It'll be like old times. You can tell me everything and I still won't respond. By the way, turn the page. There's something for you.'

"What did you do now?" My shaky hand turned the page. On the page was a sketch. 'For my world, my savior, and most importantly, my best friend. Thank you for everything.' It was a sketch of me smiling. Kanade drew this for me. I looked at the other page and saw a note. 'I always loved your smile. That's why I decided to draw you when I saw you smile for the first time.'