Yasuo furiously shoved books into his locker. He had heard that Aiko would be going out with Ichiro Taisen later that night.

"He's only been here a day and already he's..." Yasuo threw his math notebook in his locker, then realized he needed it. He wasn't even sure what he was so upset about. It wasn't like he and Aiko were anything to each other except classmates.

Yasuo removed his abused math notebook, then slammed his locker shut and turned to head towards class. He had only gone a few feet when he spotted Aiko walking arm in arm with Ichiro. Yasuo watched as Ichiro bent close and whispered something in Aiko's ear, making her laugh and smile up at him. For a second, Yasuo realized what he was so upset about, then pushed the thought out of his head as he saw Aiko glance at him.

As Yasuo turned away, he heard her call out his name. He didn't bother to answer as he hastily pushed his way through the crowd and disappeared among the other students.

Aiko watched him disappear and let her hand drop back to her side. She'd been waving like mad to get Yasuo's attention. She had wanted to ask him to be her chemistry partner for that week's lab. In the second that their eyes had met, she thought she saw a shadow cross Yasuo's face. Was he upset about something?

"Is something wrong?" Ichiro asked. "You look troubled."

"Oh, it's nothing." Aiko smiled sweetly at Ichiro. "I was just thinking about what to wear tonight."

"You could arrive dressed in rags and you'd still be lovely." Ichiro said as he kissed her forehead.

Aiko blushed for a moment, then let her thoughts turn back to Yasuo. She hoped there wasn't anything wrong.

¤ ¤ ¤

At 7:00, Aiko stood in the ballroom of Shidarezakura, an upscale hotel that the Taisen family owned. It had been difficult for her to convince her father to let her leave the house. But when she had informed him that she'd be attending a party for the Taisen family, he had practically shoved her out the door. With his business card in hand, of course.

In the ballroom, chairs and tables were arranged around a polished square dance floor. Waiters scurried between the chairs and tables and skirted the dance floor carrying trays of elegant dishes. On stage, a band played music lively enough to dance to. Several couples were on the dance floor smiling and laughing as they danced.

Next to her, Ichiro smiled earnestly as he surveyed the room. Squeezing Aiko's hand, he turned to speak to her.

"Shidarezakura is one of the most beautiful hotels you'll ever see," Ichiro said proudly. "My father has worked very hard to make sure that every detail of this hotel is perfect. Everything, right down to the colors chosen for the napkins, are chosen to promote a certain kind of mood."

"It's definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen," Aiko replied as she surveyed the room. "There are so many people here."

"They're mostly business associates and clients of my father," Ichiro said. "When you're as successful as my father is, most of your attention is focused on staying on top of the game and ahead of your competitors. This is one of the ways my father does that."

Aiko nodded, understanding the things Ichiro wasn't saying. Her father was successful in his own right, but not on the scale of Kazuma Taisen. If her father was barely around, she wondered what it must be like for Ichiro.

"But enough about that," Ichiro was saying as he brought her hand to his lips. "Would you care to dance?"

Heat crept into Aiko's cheeks as she managed to croak out something that Ichiro interpreted as a yes. While weaving their way to the dance floor, Ichiro was stopped by several men who seemed eager to talk to him. They crowded in around him, asking questions about his health, his new school and his father's health. Ichiro smiled pleasantly, but was irritated at the interruption.

While waiting patiently, Aiko felt a strange electricity in the air. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and every inch of her body quivered in anticipation of something. But what?

Rubbing her arms, she tried to take a deep breath and relax. It was probably just her nerves. All the excitement of being part of a Taisen Family party must be getting to her. She decided it would be best for her to take a moment to compose herself.

"Ichiro," Aiko lightly touched Ichiro's armed. "Would you please excuse me for a moment? I need to...freshen up."

Ichiro turned to look at her, and noticed something was wrong. Concerned, he ignored the group of men trying to ingratiate themselves with him.

"Are you all right, Aiko?" Ichiro took both of her hands in his and peered at her closely. "You look a little pale."

"I'm fine," smiling weakly, she took a step back. "I'll be back soon. I just need to freshen up a bit."

Ichiro eyed her for a moment longer, then finally nodded and kissed her fingertips, bringing back some color to Aiko's cheeks.

"Hurry back," he said and turned once again to face his father's associates.

With her fingers still tingling, Aiko frantically made her way to the bathroom. Unfortunately, it was crowded with women chattering, reapplying make-up and catching up with each other's lives. Desperate to be alone, Aiko wandered out into the open foyer that led to the ballroom.

It was considerably less crowded out here. There was a cool night breeze blowing, but it didn't do much to calm Aiko's nerves. She could still feel the electricity in the air.

"Misaki," a voice whispered in Aiko's ear. Aiko whirled around and faced nothing. The electricity in the air got stronger, and she could feel it crawling up and down her back.

Taking a step back, she turned to head back into the ballroom.

Standing in her way was a figure wearing a black hooded cape. Aiko looked around the foyer and discovered it suddenly empty.

"I shall never let another have you." The figure reached up and pulled the hood back, revealing dark hair that shimmered under the lights of the foyer.

It's the psycho Ayane... thought Aiko. What do I do?

"I don't know what you're talking about, lady," Aiko said. "But I'm getting tired of explaining to you that I'm not this 'Misaki' person."

Standing with her feet shoulder-width apart, Aiko clenched her fists at her sides. The wind picked up and her hair began blowing in the wind. Ayane sneered wickedly.

"You are Misaki," Ayane said. "I can't let anyone else have you."

Ayane charged as Aiko braced herself.

¤ ¤ ¤

Yasuo sat up suddenly, knocking his textbook and notebook off his lap and onto the floor.

"Yasuo, are you okay?" Yasuo's father, Hayashi, folded down the edge of the newspaper he had been reading to look at Yasuo.

"Aiko..." Yasuo stood up and grabbed his jacket, then headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Hayashi put down his paper and went after his son.

"Aiko's in trouble, dad," Yasuo didn't know why exactly, but he felt that he needed to get to her as soon as possible. "I have to help her."

"But, how do you know? Come on, Yasuo. Sit down. She's probably fine." Hayashi had begun to sweat slightly. "Come on. It's almost time for that show you wanted to see. What was it called again?"

Yasuo shook his head and reached for the door knob. Hayashi's hand on his shoulder stopped him. Yasuo cast a glance back at his dad.

"Son. Don't go." Hayashi stared at the ground, avoiding eye contact with Yasuo.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I can't explain why, but...I know Aiko needs me. I'm sorry." Yasuo opened the door and stepped out into the night. "I'll be back soon!"

As the door clicked shut, Hayashi continued staring at the ground, tears brimming in his eyes. Lifting his head, Hayashi turned and picked up a framed photograph from an end table.

"Tokiko," Hayashi sighed, wiping his tears from his eyes. "I guess it's time to tell him, huh?"

Hayashi put down the photograph of his dead wife and went into his bedroom. A while later he emerged wearing a headband with a strange circular shaped crest on it. In his hand, he carried a heavy silver pendant with a similar crest.

Picking up the photo again, Hayashi blew a kiss to the smiling woman it had captured.

"My love," he said. "I know you can hear me up there, so please, watch over our son until I can get to him."

With that, Hayashi set down the photo again and left the house. Determined to catch up with his son.