School was more often common and familiar than not, though it did feel different from the past years. The curriculum was slightly more difficult, and her free time much more limited. Of course, there were good things, too. For one, Asuna turned out to be in her math class. They tried to sit together as much as possible, and Yuuki found herself looking forward to seeing her as she woke up, bleary-eyed, in the morning. They talked about anything and everything, but quietly, so the teacher wouldn't notice. Yuuki learned a lot about her neighbor. Asuna wanted to be a doctor. She was good at academics, but not all classes interested her. Often, other classmates would ask her for help studying, and she never turned them away. She was kind, almost too kind.

You would never be able to tell from just watching that she was as troubled - if not more so - than those around her. But Yuuki noticed. Sometimes she caught Asuna daydreaming when she passed by and managed to catch a glimpse of her in other classes. Her face was slowly crumbling like the pastries at their local bakery. Yuuki knew why. Every night that Asuna's boyfriend (of which Yuuki was now certain he was) came to her apartment, she would fall asleep alone, crying softly and silently. Yuuki would fall asleep eventually, staring out into the cool darkness until every sound died away except the ambient chirps of the crickets outside. This was how she learned just how annoyingly weak the chestnut haired girl was. Always, Asuna would be the one to back down if she had an argument with her boyfriend. She was just so suppressed, and Yuuki would grit her teeth every time, listening quietly, although her thoughts were anything but silent.

Part of her knew why Asuna didn't try to speak up and voice her thoughts. If she angered her boyfriend, she might be subjected to physical abuse. No matter how much they argued, it hadn't resulted in violence yet, thankfully. But words hurt. They have a way of sticking beneath your skin and binding you in freezing, pained silence. Yuuki could tell that Asuna was hurting; it was something the purple haired girl understood far too well.

When she saw her in the mornings after that, she never mentioned anything. Yuuki kept her mouth shut not out of cowardice or indifference, but the feeling that it wasn't her place to intrude. Asuna chose to commit to a relationship with her boyfriend, if she couldn't end it when their feelings had died out, there was no one else to blame. Sometimes, when the arguments got bad enough, Yuuki did want to run over to the neighboring apartment and help, or at least do something to stop the raised voices and the precariously restrained anger from continuing further.

Tonight was one of those nights. She sat on her bed, leaning against the headboard. Every muscle in her body was tense.

"All that I've done for you, and see how ungrateful you are! The only reason you can go to school here, the only way you can run off and do whatever you want away from your parents is me! Who do you think pays for this? Who do you think protects you from those parents of yours? Huh?"

"...You..."

"But you won't even kiss me anymore! You keep away in your own peaceful fairy tale world. Did you think I wouldn't notice how you pretend I don't exist?"

This time, Yuuki could feel something building up in the air. Something crackling and intense. It warmed the cool room around her, but it was stuffy and suffocating. But then Yuuki heard Asuna's voice ring out, soft but clear, for the first time.

"I'm glad you've done this for me, but at what price? I will not become a slave to you, and you need to understand that."

A loud crack resounded, startling Yuuki.

"You're just an sniveling, ungrateful wretch! That's all you are. I don't have time to waste on you."

Yuuki scrambled out of bed and rushed out of her apartment. Once she was outside, she froze. A tall, blond man stormed past, his eyes glittering with anger like dying coals. She watched him until he disappeared down the stairs. Then she ran to the neighboring apartment room. She turned the cold, metal door handle, and it gave way to her. Frantically, Yuuki searched in the dim light until she found a familiar form curled up on the couch, face covered by her arms.

"Asuna!" She walked over and kneeled by the figure. Asuna shifted, but didn't answer. She didn't seem to be surprised that Yuuki had barged into her home uninvited. Yuuki was silent for a moment, noticing the shaking of Asuna's clenched fists. After a short pause, she spoke tentatively, "Are you alright? I...Heard something from your apartment and I was worried. Please tell me if you're hurt."

Asuna looked up then, and Yuuki saw the turmoil that she had only heard up until then, written on her face. Chestnut hair framed her tear-streaked face. Her usually clear, brown eyes were full of anguish. Yuuki reached out to touch a large, reddening welt on her face, but stopped when she saw Asuna flinch away.

The purple haired girl felt her heart clench. It hurt to see the taller girl so broken. She had been putting on a strong face far too long. Yuuki finally understood why Asuna was smoking the first time she saw her. That was how she coped with her troubles.

"Asuna, it's going to bruise. I'll get you some ice." She got up, and quickly returned with an ice pack. Yuuki kneeled by Asuna, gently pressing the ice to her cheek. The chestnut haired girl didn't flinch away this time. Yuuki felt thin arms snake around her back and suddenly she was being pulled to Asuna. In turn, she wrapped her arms around the girl, embracing her in hopes that it would provide her with some comfort. The ice pack fell to the floor.

They stayed like this for a while, Asuna's fingers clutched tightly to Yuuki's shirt. Her shuddering gasps, muffled in the purple haired girl's shoulder, were the only sound in the cold room. All the tension from before had been diffused, and eventually, Asuna's gasps disappeared too. Both of their bodies were still, but Yuuki could feel the steady beat of the other girl's heart against her chest.

Yuuki pulled back a bit, beginning to feel awkward, but Asuna's grip only tightened further. Yuuki's eyes softened, and she felt her lips curl up into a slight smile. "The ice is going to melt, you know."

"I don't care." Asuna answered immediately. Those were the first words she had uttered to Yuuki that night.

"Doesn't it hurt, though? Where...He hit you..."

"It's nothing. Besides, I feel numb sometimes, and feeling something is better than nothing at all."

"...You could change it."

Asuna retracted enough to meet Yuuki's eyes. Those brown orbs were so deep and full of things that not even Yuuki understood.

"I can't do that. I know you heard what he said, and it's true. I need him to protect me from my parents. They're kind of...overbearing."

"Do you love him?" Yuuki asked.

Asuna's gaze flicked across the other girl's features, trying to decide what to say. After a minute, she answered, "No." It didn't sound like a lie.

"Then you don't have to be with him. If you need anything, you can ask me or any of your other friends. It's not healthy to keep dating that guy. Someday he'll hurt you and..."

"Yeah...I know I'm not strong, and maybe I never will be. That's one of the reasons I admire you. You're always so collected and confident."

"That's not true, I'm not a strong person at all," Yuuki laughed. "But anyway, I'm not asking you to break up with him right away and never talk to him again. Just...do your best to keep yourself safe."

Asuna sighed. "Alright. I can...I can do that."

"Hmm...Can you stand up?"

"Huh?"

"It's late, we should both get to bed. I just want to make sure you're okay before I leave."

"Oh, ah...My legs...They gave out," Asuna laughed sheepishly.

Yuuki grinned. "That's okay." She held out a hand to help her up. Slowly, they made their way to Asuna's bedroom, where she climbed into bed. With her eyes closed, she was so serene that she almost looked like an angel, deathly still and covered with white. No, that was negative thinking, Yuuki thought with a shiver. Asuna was going to be fine.

Yuuki flicked off the lights and turned to leave.

"Yuuki, wait."

The purple haired girl paused. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to say...Thanks. Not many people would do the same thing as you."

Yuuki gave her a quiet nod, and left the apartment.

A/N: I WROTE A LONG CHAPTER (Long considering I usually write short chapters)! Sorry that I updated pretty late. I wanted this chapter to be well written, so I kept going back and revising it. Some parts are still awkward sounding, but I couldn't quite figure out how to fix them while still conveying what I wanted to.