4/12

Class for the day had just ended. Ann Takamaki stretched at her desk before getting up to head out. As she stood, she turned and saw the dark haired delinquent behind her.

"Heading home Takamaki-san?" The boy asked. His smile felt so inviting, she was drawn into answering.

"Not yet. Gonna visit a friend first." She curtly replied.

He gave an affirming nod. "Have fun." He rose from his desk and grabbed his bag. It seemed to be bulging, as if something was inside of it.

Curiosity got the best of her. "Umm why's your bag so full?" The question came off as random and a bit weird.

Caught off guard, a look of surprise crossed the boy's face for a split second before returning to his usual smile. "Haven't you heard the rumors?" He leaned in a bit closer, his voice changing to a whisper. "I'm in the elephant tusk business." He smirked.

Ann was caught off guard for a moment. A second passed before she busted out laughing. "Pfft! That's funny. Alright then, keep your secrets." Her face was radiating with a bright smile.

The transfer student, looking pleased with himself went to leave before turning back. "Just wanted to say, you shouldn't believe everything you hear. I mean they're called rumors for a reason. No way it can all be true." As he walked out the door, she barely made out the last of his words. "Maybe you should find the truth yourself."

Takamaki stood in the classroom for another minute. 'That...was weird.' She thought. 'What did he mean by that? Is he just an optimistic person? Or was that to make me feel better?'

Glancing around the classroom, she could see a few students already whispering.

"Are the transfer and Takamaki friends?"

"Knowing her, they're more than that."

"Wait does that mean she's cheating on Kamoshida?"

With that, her smile faded and she headed out of the classroom. "I need to find Shiho and unwind a bit. Maybe I'll catch her before practice."

Her stroll down the hall gave her a moment to think. Every time she looked at him, things seemed off. He was very kind to her during what little interactions they had. It just felt odd that he didn't give off this dangerous aura. 'Maybe he was saying the rumors about him weren't true...but his record was leaked? That's pretty damning evidence.'

On her way down the stairs, more rumors began to pop up.

"Did you hear? Sakamoto is asking out Suzui-san?"

"No way! That's a lie."

"Yea he called her out and wanted to talk in private."

"Man he's gonna get shot down."

The blonde girl paused. 'Ryuji and Shiho? Those two haven't talked in forever. No way that's true.' Amamiya's parting words echoed in her head. "I'll ask her myself."


As she approached the gym, she noticed a blonde head of hair over by the vending machines. 'Found ya.'

Getting closer, she saw Ryuji being his loud obnoxious self and Shiho leaning against the vending machines. She looked terrible, a mix of scared and upset.

Takamaki's anger flared. She hastened her pace and quickly marched into the alcove. "Sakamoto! What are you doing with Shiho!" The girl demanded.

Shiho looked past Ryuji to see Ann. Her face showed immediate relief. "Ann."

"Takamaki." The blonde punk seemed intimidated by her presence. He started to stammer out his answer. "Just askin' some questions." He insisted. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about Kamoshida would ya?"

A thought of doubt crossed her mind but didn't show on her face. 'Does he believe those rumors too? Does he think I'm in bed with Kamoshida.' Her anger flared up more, giving off a wave of intimidation. Even Suzui looked a bit unsettled. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Back pedaling a bit to create some distance, Sakamoto barely got his answer out. "Jus...Just if any of those rumors are true or not."

Repeating the words she heard earlier. "Well don't believe everything you hear!" Realizing what she said, she changed direction to Shiho. "And don't bother Shiho before practice. Especially with a big match coming up!"

Ryuji seemed to get ticked off by that. He was done rolling over and getting bitched at. "Fine I'm goin'." He muttered something under his breath before heading out.

Ann walked over to put her arms around Shiho, making sure she was okay.

Before Ryuji could leave, the girl in the white sweatshirt called out desperately. "Umm Sakamoto...Even if what you heard was true...everyone already knows." She swallowed hard, struggling to get out the last bit. "There's nothing you could do."

Ann moved her over to the benches, trying to calm her down. She hated seeing her best friend like this. Looking up, she gave Sakamoto one final glare to get him to leave.

"Its okay Shiho." Ann paused for a moment. "Umm what did you mean by everybody knows?"

Suzui shivered at the thought. "I haven't been sleeping well lately. Just a lot of things on my mind. Like nationals and being on the starting line up." She gave a weak smile. "No need to worry Ann. Volleyball is all I have so I've been trying to put my all into it."

The blonde sat their for a moment holding her best friend. "If...if you ever want to talk about it I'm always he-" Her phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, Takamaki stiffened. A nervousness shook her. It was the last person she wanted to talk to right now.

Shiho looked up. "Are you going to get that?" She asked as she finished recollecting herself.

Ann waved her hands in front of her. "Oh no. Its probably just my part time job. I can call them back later." Her smile quickly faded.

The two sat in silence for a moment. A few more seconds passed before the dark haired girl stood up. "I have to get to practice now. See ya later." She lightly waved as she made her way to the gymnasium.

Ann snapped out of her stuper to stand up and wave goodbye. "Good luck!" She sat back on the bench. 'I don't want her to worry but I can't tell her. It would only upset her more.'

She let out a sigh and read her new message.

"What!" She exclaimed before quickly clamming up. In a lower whisper. "Going over to his place...but...I can't...but Shiho." Ann nearly broke down figuring out what to do. 'I mean I can put it off a little while longer with modeling but...' The situation was feeling hopeless.


4/13

It was the day of the Volleyball Rally. Ann sat in the gym watching as the teachers played a game against the male volleyball team.

"This is such a waste of time..." She muttered to herself. "Everyone knows Kamoshida is going to win. Why do we even have to be here?"

Looking around the area, some students were really into it, cheering loudly in support. Others sat on the side quietly talking or messing around on their phones.

Feeling someone gaze at her, she looked over to the back wall. Ryuji was staring at her but quickly turned his head away when she took notice. 'What does he want?' She wondered. 'Probly pissed about yesterday. And why is he with the transfer student? I guess two delinquents getting along is normal. But are they really? Ryuji wouldn't hurt a fly...and the new kid seems...nice? I can't get a read on him.' She shook her head in frustration in went back to the game.

Kamoshida seemed to notice her looking away and quickly spiked the ball at Mishima, a weaker member of the team. The ball collided with his face and sent him flying backward, knocking him off his feet.

Everyone stopped cheering. The room grew silent as Kamoshida ran over to check if he was okay. "Could someone take him to the nurse's office?" A reserve member of the volleyball team helped carry the boy out of the gym.

'That bastard totally did that on purpose.' Ann thought as she looked a bit closer at the bruises on Mishima being carried away. 'Those seem really similar to Shiho's...' She started to realize what practice was like.

"Kamoshida is so caring. Stopping to take care of one of the team."

"He's such a good coach!"

"I wonder who will take his place?"

The gym teacher scanned the audience. He noticed a tired looking boy sitting next to Sakamoto. "You! Transfer student. Why don't you hop up and show us what you got?" Kamoshida goaded.

"Why him?" Ann muttered. "He looks like he barely had a wink of sleep. Ugh this is just gonna embarrass him."

Amamiya stood up and whispered something to Ryuji before throwing off his jacket. "Okay I'll play." The dark haired boy got up and started to stretch.

Suddenly the entire gym was drawn into the match. Everyone wanted to see the delinquent transfer student get defeated by the Olympic Gold Medalist.

The volleyball team looked at him and gave him the basic amount of instruction on what to do. Ren simply nodded and got into position.

Takamaki watched as the boy who sat behind her in class was about to be humiliated by the teacher she hated the most.

A small volley started off as the teachers sent over the ball. The ball never went to Amamiya. In fact, the boy's eyes weren't even on the ball, they were locked on Kamoshida. It looked like male players were able to set up a nice return but Kamoshida rushed the net and spiked the ball down in front of the new kid. The teachers scored a point.

All the students started to cheer...except Ann. She looked confused. Ren didn't seem worried or intimidated by the ball almost hitting him. In fact, he didn't even try to move or dodge.

Ren smirked and gave a cocky smile toward Kamoshida. The coach seemed to get pissed by the taunt. "Make sure to give me the ball again. We can end this."

Another volley began and like last time, this spike was directed at Amamiya. Though, it seemed he moved forward just enough to bump the ball back up. This set a nice play for another member of the team to return. Caught off guard, the teachers had the ball spiked on their side.

The look on Kamoshida's face showed rage. The fact that someone was able to return one of his spikes was unheard of.

'That was amazing! Did he use to play volleyball?' Ann had different possibilities run through her head. Watching Kamoshida get frustrated was a great sensation. She started cheering subconsciously.

Another volley and Kamoshida was out for blood. Ren didn't have to move much to get in the way of the ball. His quick reflexes were what gave him an edge.

The match came to an end shortly after. The teachers ended up winning by not spiking it at Amamiya and taking advantage of the tired out volleyball team. Though to everyone watching, it wasn't a victory. Kamoshida, the "King" of Shujin was bested at his own game by some delinquent.

Rumors immediately started to spread that a former Olympic Medalist would never go all out on children. To this, it helped the gym teacher save a bit of face.

Ann snapped out of the trance of watching the game only to notice that Ryuji had disappeared. "Where did he go? Not cheering for his friend?"


Beginning to leave for the day, Ann saw Shiho before she headed to practice. A new injury seemed to appear since the previous day.

"Hey Shiho! How's it going?" Ann waved as she approached her best friend.

Surprised, Suzui looked in her direction. Her eyes were filled with pain and she seemed upset, barely holding herself together. "Oh Ann" She glanced away. "It's good to see you."

Trying to stay positive and lighten the mood, Takamaki started to talk about the rally. "I saw you during the rally. You were great! You just keep getting better and better. This years team will definitely make national!"

A tiny smile crossed her face. "Thank you. I've been getting so much praise lately. Hopefully I can live up to your expectations."

"I mean of course you can! Your great!" Ann hugged her friend lightly. "Who else has been saying good things? If you don't mind me asking."

Oh Sakamoto-san stopped by again earlier" Suzui's eyes lit up a bit. "He told me I was "friggin' awesome" and if I needed anything, just ask."

Takamaki was shocked that Ryuji was so nice. They were all friends before but just drifted off. 'Maybe the rumors are true and he does like her...' She turned to the dark haired girl. "Well good. At least he has some common sense. I mean everyone should already know that though." She stuck out her tongue to tease.

Shiho giggled. "He can be surprisingly nice. It's kinda like middle school again." Her joy quickly faded as she knew it was time to get going. "Well...its time for practice. I guess I'll see you around."

"Yea message me later and we can talk." The dark haired girl began to walk away as Ann called out one more time. 'Oh and Shiho, stay strong!"

Ann turned to walk away as she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Mishima was running away frightened as the transfer student walked slowly behind him out of the far end of the hallway.

Mishima darted past her as if scared for his life. The blonde was confused on what had happened.

As the student approached, she went to let him have it. "So you really are a-"

She got cut off by the transfer student. "One of the few I still wanted to see. Are you free after this? I was thinking of grabbing some crepes and could use someone to talk to. Would you be interested?" He said with a confident smile on his face.

Ann was taken aback by this. "Ugh I really don't get you!" She exclaimed in frustration. "Fine! Where were you thinking?" She looked annoyed but happy at the same time. 'Damnit using my weakness for sweets against me!'

He seemed to light up at that. "I know a place by the Shibuya Underground Walkway. I'll be ready to go in five minutes if you want to wait by the school gate?"

"Umm sure. Just be quick." She paused getting serious. "And if this is some joke where you keep me waiting, I swear I'll never forgive you!"

He chuckled. "Wouldn't dream of it Takamaki-san." Waving goodbye, the dark haired boy headed in the direction of the gym.

Ann waited outside. "I wonder what he had to do..." She thought as she began messing with her hair, trying to straighten it so it would look good. 'Why do I feel so nervous? Is this a date? Did he just ask me on a date and I accepted? Wait wait wait! What?! No way.' Her brain seemed to go haywire for a second, nearly short-circuiting.

As she waited, Ann noticed a girl with fluffy hair in a gym uniform outside moving soil. She seemed to be struggling a bit. After a minute, the girl managed to get the bags of soil on the cart. It then took another minute for her to gather enough strength to push the heavy cart. As Ann was thinking about offering to help, Ren walked outside.

"Sorry, did you wait long?" He asked.

"Oh no. Just a couple minutes."

"Good." He smiled as he turned and saw the gardener. "One more minute then."

Immediately he went over and began talking to the auburn haired girl. He started pushing the cart and took it to the shed around the back to be stored. The fluffy haired girl directed him on where to go and seemed incredibly grateful.

Just as quick as he was gone, he was back. "Okay now I'm ready."

Ann let out a sigh. 'Ugh I really don't get him...'


The train ride to Shibuya was quiet. The two didn't talk much. Ann would look at him with side glances. Sometimes their eyes would meet and she would immediately avert her gaze. He would chuckle which would annoy her even more. Despite that, she seemed to be having fun. It at least help her take her mind off of things.

After purchasing their crepes, the two sat down and began eating. The strawberry flavor was quite delicious. Ann had hers with extra cream. 'Yum! These are always so good.'

Amamiya looked up from his treat towards Takamaki. "So I bet you're wondering why I invited you out here..." The boy started. He took off his glassed and set them on the table next to him.

This was the first time Ann looked the dark haired boy in the eyes. They were a mysterious void of dark grey that seemed to draw you in. He actually looked hot without them. "Umm yea...I have a couple ideas..." She barely muttered out, a bit flustered at the way her mind was racing.

His signature smirk crossed his face. "Oh really. And what would those be?" He teased.

She fidgeted. "I mean..." All nervous, she decided to just blurt out and say it. "You asked me out here for a date right? You like me right?" She stammered at the end, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Ren sat their blank faced for a moment before letting out a hearty laugh. "Well I do like you Takamaki-san but not the way you're thinking. I was going to ask about Kamoshida."

Her reddened face immediately faded at the name. "What do you wanna know? If the rumors are true? If I'm really sleeping with him?" Venom resonated through her words.

Remaining calm, Ren spoke in a soft voice. "I know you aren't the type to do something like that." He reached out his hand, palm up. "Could you hand me your phone? I have something I need to do."

His eyes looked so inviting. "Why my phone? What are you going to do?" She was confused. 'This guy make no sense!'

"I'm going to protect Suzui-san." He said very matter of fact.

"Protect her?!" An outburst of emotion erupted from her. People began looking over at the two. Ann sat down quickly, her cheeks reddening. "Protect her from what?" She whispered.

Amamiya let out a sigh. "From what I know, Kamoshida is abusing the volleyball team members. Physically and sexually." His gaze piercing.

"Wha...what!" Her emotions flaring up once more.

Ren continued. "He takes out his frustrations on them when things don't go his way." He looked downward toward the table. "I also know that he is trying to coerce you into having sex with him in exchange for Suzui-san's spot on the starting line up."

Ann stood up, no longer caring who was watching and grabbed the boy's collar. "How do you know that?!" She screamed in his face.

"Calm down." He looked her in the eyes. The pools of grey seemed to draw her in more, a sort of understanding between them.

She sat back down. "Explain. Now!"

"I can't tell you how I know but I'll tell you that if you agree to what I ask of you, Kamoshida won't bother you ever again starting this weekend." Ren stuck his hand back out. "Now let me see your phone. I need to send a message."

She sat their in thought for a minute, thinking over what was said. "And what you are going to do will protect Shiho?"

"If it doesn't, then I will submit to whatever punishment you deem necessary."

His eyes were wild. He was serious. He was dangerous. It was exciting. Ann unlocked her phone and handed it to him. "Here. Make it quick."

Immediately the boy opened the IM app. He found the contact labeled Kamoshida. The boy cringed slightly at some of the worded texts. He began typing and hit send. Ann took back her phone and read the message.

Ann: Hey! I'm free this Sunday! I was wondering if I could come by? I know you've been asking and I've been so busy lately. Be good and I'll even have a little surprise for you!

Takamaki was repulsed. "What did you just do!? Are you serious!" She was mad and ready to lash out at him.

Ren stood up and bowed. "I'm sorry but this was the only way I could think of. I know someone who can fix all of the school's issues with Kamoshida but they need until Saturday. I couldn't think of a way to hold him off until then." His voice filled with emotion and choked up. "If this doesn't work, I'll deal with it myself. Just please. Go along with it until Saturday. Don't actually go and visit him!"

Ann was still shaking in anger but seemed surprised by his amount of emotion and remorse. "This friend of yours...what will they do?" She remembered she was talking to the delinquent transfer student with a record. 'Is he going to have him killed or threatened?'

Ren stood up straight, clearing his throat. "You'll see." He said with a smirk.

"This better work or I'm gonna make you wish you were dead. Their are fates worse than death you know." Takamaki glared but slowly calming down.

"Don't worry. The plan is to take some pressure off of the volleyball team. Getting him to ease up on the abuse. That's why I included the behavior part in the message."

She sat back down. Her energy seemed to drain from her body as she calmed down. "This has been the weirdest date ever!" She exclaimed.

Amamiya took on a teasing tone. "So you did think of this as a date? Maybe next time I'll take you out to dinner or treat you to some coffee."

Her face reddened again. "You are so not funny." She turned her head but gave a wry smile.

"I have to go." He stood up and slid one thousand yen across the table. "I have some work to do. Go buy yourself another crepe. I know you want one." He smiled as he walked away.

Still bewildered, she called out to him. "Thanks. See ya tomorrow."

He turned back and gave a slight wave. "See ya in class." He headed towards the station.

She purchased another crepe and began to eat it. 'This is definitely the comfort food I needed after what just happened. He is so weird but how did he know all of that? I haven't even told Shiho...just who is he? I'll have to look into this later.' She thought over what just transpired. 'Please work out! I don't want Shiho to lose her spot but I don't want to visit him. Why are there no good options?' She hung her head, trying not to think of the scenario she found herself in.


Hello! Another chapter down. This was my most fun chapter yet. Ann is in an interesting position now. Her deadline is only 4 days away. What will happen to her? I almost wrote this chapter from Shiho's perspective but I think that may be the next chapter. I think the Kamoshida Arc will only have two more chapters. As much as I enjoy how much of a villain Kamoshida is, I hate when stories get stuck on the same arcs for an eternity. Also most fanfics start with this and I know people get tired of reading the same part over and over. Hope this change of pace is to your liking. Will hopefully update again within a week. See ya!