J~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Judy, open the door." I did. He was the picture of calm, but I could sense the tension behind his demeanor. I sat on the couch after handing him his coffee. He sat next to me. I'd never liked it when people sat close to me, but at that moment it was comforting.

"Are you alright, Judy?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" In my attempt to reassure him, I'm sure I came across as emotionally dead.

"I have a feeling something happened after I left." He hadn't touched his beverage yet. Instead, he was noting the changes to my apartment. I saw him glance at the baseball bat near his hand and the new vase on the counter.

K~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I went for a walk to sort my thoughts. That's all." She shrugged and curled up in a blanket.

"Why would you take a walk at three in the morning?" I really can't understand her.

"Like I said, I needed to sort my thoughts. Moving helps to organize my mind."

She looks so lifeless. Who did this?

"Judy, I know what happened."

Her eyes were downcast. "You do? I wish you didn't." That surprised me. Why wouldn't she want me to know? She's fiercely independent, but don't all women want protection?

"I need to be honest with you, Judy. The night of the concert, I saw your face when Sato came out of the side door. I know he tried something. It doesn't take a genius to know that he wants you, especially after that horrible conversation after we performed."

"I figured you knew, Kyoya. Sato isn't exactly subtle in his overtures." She leaned her head on the back of the couch and breathed deeply.

I steeled my resolve. "Was it he who attacked you tonight?"

Her eyes flew open and she sat ramrod straight. "How did you know that? Wait. Never mind. Of course, you'd know." She trained her eyes out the window.

I leaned toward her. "Judy, when I saw his behavior toward you, I upped security on your hall at the school and assigned one of my security detail to you. I have already put a second man on you."

J~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You what?!" Oh, he's gone too far. "Who gave you the right to monitor me?"

"I didn't want anything to happen to you after we met. I was responsible for getting you the position at Ouran. I felt it my duty to make sure you were safe from certain hazards that accompany the job." Arrogant!

"'Hazards' accompany any job. I'm fully capable of dealing with them without being babysat. I got the job on my own merits." I stood and stared out the window, hands behind my back. The next sentences were crucial, and I wanted him to understand me fully, so I kept my voice even. "If you were part of the hiring process, you saw and recognized those merits and gave me a chance based on them. That's were it ends. No man can lay claim to me. No man has the right…I am no man's captive."

Stupid tears! When will they stop? I wiped the obnoxious saline drop from my eye and sat back down.

K~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I want you to know that I respect your independence, Judy." Why do I feel my resolve cracking a little? "You are your own person. I just didn't want to see you hurt. Based on the report my men gave me, you are capable of defending yourself. Sato is relentless, though. Being tazed won't deter him, and I'm certain the fractured jaw will only make him angry. Please, accept my help. Please, let my men keep an eye on you. If Sato retaliates, and he will, he will do so with more force. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he has assaulted you physically more than once, and, I think, each time his tactics have escalated." Her face hardened. "Did you tell him where you live, Judy?"

"I fractured his jaw…" She looked a little awed by the tidbit and rubbed her face in…Sympathy? She snapped out of her thoughts with, "No! No one at work knows where I live. The only people privy to that information are Haruhi, the guys, and you; and all of you found out through coercion." We did barge into her apartment and demand lunch like a group of ravenous wolves.

"So, Sato, has taken interest to obsession already. I'm not too surprised by that. Not many women have refused him, and I think you're the first woman to not give in after a couple of attempts. It probably rankles him that he can't have what he wants. He will come again." Judy's eyes glazed over at what I said.

J~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obsession, stalking…I can't handle that, not again. "How can you be sure?"

"Because he knows where you are. I believe he knew you were awake, knew when you left your apartment, and was biding his time in the park. Next time, Sato will come directly here." And, so, it begins anew. How can I stop this? What did I do to deserve this? What did I do wrong this time? "Judy, promise me you won't open your door after nightfall."

"I can't make that kind of promise. I will need to leave my home at night sometimes. There will be people who come to visit me. You, for instance, came twice tonight." I gave him a small smile, and he gave me a radiant grin in return. Man, his smile is like the sunset, a final splash of light wreathed by shadow.

"Then, please, make sure that you only open to people who have notified you of their arrival. I promise to always call or text before I come at night. Haruhi always does that, and I'll inform the club to do the same. Is that satisfactory?"

"Kyoya, please, don't worry." I really didn't want him to worry about me. I had done this before and could do it again. Even if I don't want to have to relive the nightmare, I can't take anyone down with me.

Dear Readers, I think this story has taken a more dramatic turn. Hope that everyone is okay with that. I'm writing based on some experience, nothing too horrifying, and I wanted to let everyone know that these issues are real and do happen. On a lighter note, I'm trying to write a story based on what single, twenty-somethings really face, both male and female. If you have any thoughts on this, don't hesitate to R&R AND message me.;) I want everyone to be able to relate, not just me. My plan is to not make this an excruciatingly long story and to keep it within a single story arc. Let's hope for the best in that vein because I don't want to be a willy-nilly authoress.