Chapter thirteen

Even Hayami had to wince as he looked at the broken figure in front of him. If Kino had proven anything with her little stunt, it was not to mess with her. Even he was a bit scared of her now, seeing the damage she had caused. Whoever had taught her taught her well.

Even Kino looked uncomfortable beside him, and she was constantly flexing her fingers and fidgeting nervously. She obviously hadn't intended to do so much. Her head was bowed slightly, and her shoulders were hunched. He fought off the urge to pull her to him; they were in public.

Alessandro had yet to regain consciousness, and most were glad for that. He would be in quite a bit of pain when he did. Kino had, in no particular order, broken his collarbone, nose, and arm in three different places, as well as bruised half of his face. Not to mention his ego. It was a bit amusing, Hayami thought, watching her beat the crap out of him like that. It was priceless when he ended up in a corner crying.

It hadn't been Kino's choice to go and see the idiot before them. Iga had promptly forced her to go and "see what she had caused", which was basically just a way to guilt her a bit more. Although Hayami felt that Kino was less guilty than she was upset.

After a moment, she turned on her heel and walked off, her eyes still watching the floor. He waited a few seconds, before following. To his surprise, he found Kino up against a wall with Freeda and Shiro blocking off any hope of escape. What was going on?

Kino backed away a bit more, trying to blend in with the wall. It was impossible, however, as the steel gray of the metal and her blue jumpsuit was just too much of a contrast. She didn't notice Hayami standing near-by, watching with interest. Her two friends eyed her carefully, before Freeda leaned in closely, their noses nearly touching.

"I love you." The older woman stated, and Kino could've sworn she paled a shade.

"Y-you're not going to kiss me, are you?" she questioned shakily, watching for any sign of a chance to dart off. No luck, however.

There was a pause, before Freeda and Shiro both burst into loud shrills of laughter, their voices echoing around the small group. Kino managed a strangled, forced laugh as well as she watched them carefully. One sign of any inappropriate movements and she was gone. That privilege was reserved specifically for Hayami.

The two women calmed down and Freeda smiled. "Thank you. For what you did. I… I don't think I had the courage to do something like that…"

Shiro chuckled. "Albeit it was a bit overkill…"

Freeda laughed again. "True, true."

Kino managed a smile for her friends. "It's okay, Freeda. Really. He had it coming."

Freeda smiled warmly. "Still, I really wish I could find some way to thank you…"

Shiro clucked her tongue, thinking, and tapped her foot. Her hat, which was usually plastered to her head, was currently balanced on her index finger and spinning around as she played with it like a Frisbee. She smiled then, and snapped her fingers, dropping her hat in the process.

"Hey, have you guys got your dresses picked out already?"

Freeda nodded happily, while Kino gave a blank stare.

"Dresses?"

"You know, for the ball." The blank stare continued. "Which is tomorrow."

Kino suddenly gasped and looked as though she was just about to faint. "I-I forgot! And it's already so late…"

She stole a glance at her watch. It read well past eleven. She gasped once more before crushing her face into her hands pitifully. Freeda and Shiro thought she might start sobbing, but instead the young woman simply shook her head and grumbled, "What am I going to do?"

Her voice was muffled, but the two women got the idea. Freeda looked at her. "Well, what about your black dress?"

Kino shook her head. "That one barely fits me as it is. And I doubt it would fit this occasion."

Freeda thought about it, before grabbing her by the arm and yanking her in the direction of her room. "Come on. Let's see what we can do?"

Hayami simply blinked as he watched them run off.

"Freeda, I really don't think this is going to work!"

"Shiro, nobody asked you!"

"Watch it!"

The two bickered back and forth, glaring at each other as they literally tore apart Freeda's closet looking for a dress that would fit Kino. She had something for everything; dances, dates, work, more dates, workouts, and everything in between. Freeda tossed another dress aside, before realizing she hadn't heard from Kino in quite a while. Turning around, all she found was a pile of clothes.

"Kino?" Shiro called.

And arm popped out of the pile, and a muffled cry of "Help!" emerged. Both girl gave tiny shrieks and moved to pull their friend out. Kino gasped as the laundry was removed and practically fell over. "Jesus Christ, Freeda! How many dresses do you have?"

Freeda muttered an apology sheepishly, patting the smaller girl on the back softly. Then Shiro shrieked and latched onto one of Freeda's arms. Both of her friends gave her concerned glances.

"What?"

Shiro was gaping wide-eyed at the pile of clothes. "I think something moved."

Hayami yawned and glanced at his watch. It was pretty late, and Kino wasn't back yet. It worried him a bit, but he shrugged it off. She was with Freeda and Shiro, who, while he seriously questioned their sanity, were still fairly trustworthy. But either way, it was boring just sitting in their room. (Kino had been right when she had suggested they move in together. It was harder to keep it a secret now, but definitely worth it if he got be with her every night.) Usually, when he was alone with no one to talk to, he thought. He thought a lot. Which was to say, he thought more than he should have.

Most of his thoughts ended up moving back to Kino, of course, but occasionally he managed one that had nothing to do with Kino. Such as turning the Granpus into a grapefruit. But crazy thoughts like these were nothing new to him, and he knew that he could not turn the Granpus into a grapefruit, and so moved back to his thoughts about Kino.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day for both of them. Of course, for Kino, it would probably be easier. After all, she seemed to fit into social situations. He didn't, however, which made this incredibly nerve-wracking. Not that he would admit he was nervous. Either way, it would be big. Very big.

He glanced at the door as it swung open, revealing a very tired Kino. She staggered over and then flopped onto the bed, facedown.

"Are you alright?" he questioned, chuckling as she grunted.

"They're trying to kill me," She stated, her voice muffled by the bed. He rolled his eyes and sat down next to her. It was going to be a long night.

Author's notes: I'm a dead author, aren't I? Yes, yes, I haven't updated in forever. I'm sorry. And yes, this chapter is shorter than the others. I'm sorry about that too. Forgive me? Please?

Oh, yes, and to my Imouto: See? I promised, and I delivered! Now send me the next chapter of WJ! Hee.

Please Review. It makes me feel special.

Graywords-girl♥