R&R, everybody!

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

I hadn't slept passed noon in ages. I didn't like sleeping that much, as it felt like wasting half the day; but after all that happened the night before, I felt justified. I awoke to my cellphone going off. Haruhi was ringing.

"Hello?"

"Judy, do you mind if I come over?" She sounded normal.

"Sure. Where are you?"

"I'm at your door." I heard a knock.

I hung up the phone and opened the door. "Seems like someone must have talked to you recently, then."

"If you mean, Kyoya, then yes, he did. I understand that you feel the need to have us call first, but I don't know more than that. Kyoya suggested I come visit you today as you might not be feeling well. What's this all about?" She was calm, as always. In fact, she sounded almost completely unconcerned.

"Well, I didn't go to work, as you see. I feel fine now, but I wasn't on the top of my game this morning." I don't think I should tell her everything. I don't want to burden her too much.

"I don't think it was your game that was off. I think you were either very sick, which is unlikely since you seem fine now; or something happened to deeply trouble you. I doubt much could keep you from work otherwise. So, what happened last night that caused Kyoya to send me over here?"

I take it back. Haruhi is just as observant as she wants to be when she's concerned about someone. "It wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Kyoya and I had a minor disagreement that we resolved."

"Kyoya wouldn't have sent me over for something so petty, and he certainly wouldn't have wanted my input. Don't try to hide behind half truths." Darn it.

"I don't know if you're aware, but a member of faculty has approached me more than once." I really didn't want to tell her this.

"Tamaki mentioned something about being worried about you and his piano teacher." The gears in Haruhi's head started spinning.

"His teacher has threatened me more than once." This is humiliating.

"So, Sato is a pervert. Did he try something last night?"

Her persistence is a little unnerving. "Haruhi, I really don't want to talk about this."

"Why not? The best way to get passed this is to discuss it."

"Do you know how shameful this is for me? Do you know how degrading it is? I may be able to fend off an attacker, especially one as weak as Sato; It doesn't erase the dirty feeling, the shame, or the humiliation." Oh, God, help me.

"Judy, has this same thing happened to you before Sato tried? Did someone else harass you?" I knew why she was doing this, and I was trying not to resent her for it; but I couldn't cordon off all my feelings. I had wanted Kyoya to keep it quiet. Why couldn't he keep this to himself?

"A long time ago. It's not worth mentioning now."

"Judy, I may not be a practicing lawer yet, but you need to tell me everything. If we let this go unchallenged, Sato will continue to dog you and any woman he sets his sights on." She was so blunt and kind. Haruhi Fujioka was an enigma, an enigma that I could appreciate.

"The week of teacher inservice, Sato asked me out. When I told him no, he followed me around the rest of the day anyway. He sat next to me for every meeting and meal. At the end of the week, I told him that I don't date coworkers. He told me that he didn't care and that he would win. Though, I was uncomfortable around him, I didn't think too much about it. He seemed almost harmless."

"That doesn't seem much more than annoying, if you ask me."

"That's what I said, too. It wasn't until the day of the concert that he tried anything more." I had to stop. I couldn't actually say what he had tried to do that afternoon. Heck, I didn't even want to repeat the lewd comments that Kyoya and Tamaki had witnessed.

"What happened? Judy, I need to know in order to help." She had been working in the kitchen, preparing the food she had brought over. She stopped to look at me hard.

"You can't tell Tamaki. Do you promise? If he knows, he would hate taking lessons. Sato is the best pianist in Japan, and Tamaki can learn from him." I don't know why I was praising Sato. Maybe, it was my attempt to put off the rest of the conversation.

"Tamaki has money that floats around him in a full rainbow. He can take lessons from whoever he wants. He could fly out every week to learn from Lang Lang if he wanted, so don't try to hide this behind concern for your friends. Besides, Tamaki is not one to align himself with such men." I set my jaw at her. "I promise not to tell Tamaki unless the situation warrants it as necessary."

"Thank you." That's a relief. I don't want anyone else to know. "I went on stage to sing and was dismissed because I had no pianist. Sato grabbed my hand and practically pulled me offstage. I tried to shake him, but he pulled me into an alcove. I don't know what he was going to do, I just remember him caging me against a wall and him saying that there was nothing I could do and he always got what he wanted. I broke free of him and ran into Kyoya by chance." Thank God.

"He assaulted you on campus?!" Haruhi didn't look like her innocence was shattered by the revelation. She only looked more determined to ring the whole truth out of me. I wonder what she's had to go through.

"Yes. I gave him a taste of what was going to happen if he tried it again, but it certainly didn't intimidate him enough. After rehearsal, he made some overtly sensual comments and made a poor attempt at subtle innuendo. I've heard stuff like that before, but never has a man been so brazen around other people."

"Who else was there?"

"Kyoya and Tamaki. They escorted me out before Sato could say anything worse."

Haruhi was preparing rice balls and staring off into space. "What else happened that day?"

"Why would Sato try something else after being put in his place by both the guys and me?" I still didn't understand why he would keep trying.

"Because he obviously didn't learn his lesson the week before and before you sang. What else?"

"After the performance that night, I went to get some water for us three. Sato caught me at the water cooler and asked me to go out to 'celebrate.' He also ran his hand up my arm." I shivered at the memory. I knew it wasn't enough to convict him.

"So, he's kept his distance up until now, has he? I wonder why he waited a month before attempting you again." Haruhi place a fourth rice ball on a tray and began to prepare tea.

"When you put it like that, it makes my skin crawl. 'Attempting me' makes me sound like a mountain of allure, which I'm not. It makes me feel dirty, like I tempted him…I didn't. I didn't. Did I?" I could feel bile rise in my throat, as I tried to recall anything I may have done to tempt Sato, as I remembered his hands on me the night before, as I remembered every word. I ran to the lavatory and threw up. I threw up the memories of the last month and a half, of what drove me from the States. Why can't I be left in peace?! What have I done to these men? NOTHING!

I heard footsteps behind me as I washed my face and rinsed my mouth. "Judy? Are you alright?" This time, Haruhi was truly concerned.

I looked at her in the mirror. "I'm fine."

"Judy, why did Kyoya send me over today?"

"I went for a walk. Sato must have staked out my normal walking route. I don't know why he would have been around at two in the morning, but he was." I chuckled at my own stupidity. "I tried to run, but he grabbed my hair. He was going to take me on the sidewalk. It felt like his hands were everywhere. They weren't, though. He was very methodical, like he had practiced or taken women against their wills already." I felt my gag reflex try to start. I filled my rinsing cup with water and drank. "I waited for him to think I had given in so that he would let his guard down. When he released my hair, I used my head as a club and rammed the bottom of his jaw. Then I dropped him with my stun gun."

"So, you dropped him. I'm rather surprised Kyoya hadn't put security on you before last night."

"So, you're used to him being high-handed, then? The fact is, apparently, I've had a bodyguard since the day we all met, but the fellow decided that I could handle myself last night." Repeating that final fact gave me a small sense of pride. I can take care of myself.

"Sounds like Kyoya. He doesn't like people to be aware of his presence. His security detail and private police are the most covert and discretionary in the world. Can you handle a rice ball? I doubt you've eaten."

The last thing I wanted was food, but I knew the best thing for me was to eat. "Thank you."

We ate in silence, lost in our own thoughts. I surprised myself with how hungry I really was. I ate two rice balls, nearly a full cluster of grapes, and drank two cups of tea. Well, that's trauma for you.

"Do you know where Sato is now?"

"No. I hope I tased him really good and that he's still lying out there." Where'd all this animosity come from?

"Well, I doubt he's still in the park. My guess is that Kyoya's guards took him for medical care."

"Medical care. Why?" That's the last thing that guy deserves.

"One can never be certain with the Ohtoris." She waved her hand at the thought. "I think it's time to discuss strategy."