Chapter 3 Takao shook herself awake. As she rolled onto her side, she winced and flipped over. "Damn arm," she groaned. Groggily pulling herself out of bed, Takao reached up and touched the bandages still wrapped tight around her upper arm. Her body protested as she dragged herself back into the bathroom.

"Ugh." Takao's nose crinkled as the unique, metallic smell of blood again met her nose. Sighing, she pulled out an air freshener from the cabinet and set it on the sink. She got cleaned up, remembering in detail the events of last night. A few goosebumps ran down her arms. Shaking herself, Takao returned to her room and got dressed for school. She paused at the bathroom one more time before leaving for school. Gingerly unwrapping the bandages, Takao was relieved that the cuts had already begun to heal, and she discarded the bandages, applied a few band-aids, and washed her hands before heading downstairs.

Grabbing a few pieces of toast and a bottle of water, Takao made her way out to the garage, where she kept her car. As she backed out and headed for school, the cold began to make her arm throb. Groaning, she cranked up the heat and hoped it wouldn't hurt all day.

Gunzou's morning hadn't been that unusual. While he had slept in a bit, since he didn't have any early classes, he wasn't too concerned. He was concerned about Takao, since he hadn't heard from her all morning. As he eased his truck into his spot, Gunzou checked his phone again. Nothing.

Haven't heard from you yet. Ya okay? After checking on her, Gunzou mad his way towards the lounge, where he could relax and work on last minute homework before the day started. A few minutes later, a response came. Yeah sorry. Was tired this morning. Love you. Gunzou breathed a sigh of relief. He responded quickly, then, shooting an eye at the clock, stood to find his first class. After a few minutes, he'd made his way down to where her first class was. Scanning the sea of people turned up a crop of blue hair, and Gunzou hurried over to her.

"Hey Takao," He poked her ribs. With a squeak, she turned to face him.

"Hey dear. How are you?" Takao reached up and kissed him, before crushing her boyfriend in a hug. She nuzzled Gunzou's cheek briefly before slipping her hand into his and leading him towards his first class.

"Tired, but otherwise fine. You?"

"Same," Takao said. She weighed her options, but couldn't bring herself to bring up what she had done the night before. After dropping Gunzou off, Takao made her way towards her media class. She was thankful for the emptier hallways, but no sooner had she slid her headphones on, they were pulled off amid a bout of laughter. "What the-?"

"Miss me?" A flash of green and a flash of yellow had her dazed for a moment, before focusing on the two girls who stood alongside her, matching her pace.

Takao shivered. "A-oh h-hey Kirishima, Haruna." She nodded to each. "What brings you here?" Takao's mind began racing. She knew they had plenty of time before the bell, which had Takao cursing the school's decision to allow ten minutes between classes rather than five.

"We need to ask you something," Haruna said softly. For once, there was no tone or arrogance or indifference in her voice.

"Concerning the school council." Kirishima elaborated.

Takao's heart sank. The student council was run by the two's younger sister Hiei, who despite being the youngest of the four, had more power due to her position. Hiei and her minions, sisters confident Myoukou, quiet and stoic Nachi, hotheaded Ashigara, and lazy yet sharp Haguro ran the school with very little in terms of opposition. While their rules usually didn't affect her too much, there had been a few things that had annoyed Takao, such as the break times, school trip cutbacks, and tech restrictions.

"Okay. What about Kongou? Can't she help?"

"That's the problem," Haruna answered. "Kongou is on their side."

Takao frowned. "Side for what?" The two sisters obviously knew something Takao didn't.

Haruna locked eyes with Kirishima and slid over to whisper in her ear. "How much do we tell her now? It's kinda open here." Kirishima nodded while shooting a glance at both Takao and the hallway around them.

"Uh, guys?" Takao attempted to regain their attention. "I do need to get to my class, and I'm sure you two do as well."

The sisters turned to her. "Uh, yeah. Right. Okay." Kirishima pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, pulled a pen out of Haruna's hair, and scrawled two numbers down before handing the note to Takao. "Text both of us when you get to class. As for what's going on, the short answer is what could be called abuse of power. Long answer is one we'll give you after school. Find me by the parking lot next to the weight room."

Takao nodded. "Okay. I-I'll be there." She was trying to keep her voice level, and could feel her face going red.

"Good. Don't be late cuz we have to be somewhere after class." Kirishima and Haruna waved before they hurried off to wherever.

Takao shook her head. "I need a drink. What the heck just happened? And what Did I just get myself into?" As she sank into the chair behind her computer a few moments later, a realisation struck her. Those two were nice to me. They talked to me no more or less even terms. That's new. They must be desperate. She pulled out the note Kirishima had handed her. Entering the two numbers, she fired off a quick text to the pair before turning to focus whatever it was her teacher was trying to explain.