Not a single student had uttered a word about her pregnancy for a couple of days. They muttered a few words about it every now and then, but it wasn't anywhere close to how unbearable it was before. One could say her life was going perfectly, that is, until school ended.

After last period, her perfect day turned into one of her most nerve wrecking. As she was gathering up her things and getting ready to leave, Mayu came over to her desk and told her to stay after. She had been a bit stunned but not as much as Uo, Hana, and Kyo had been. Kyo didn't express his shock as Hana and Uo did; he just left to go to the dojo where he chose to vent his worry and anger privately. Yuki would have acted like Uo and Hana; he would have confronted her, but he wasn't in the room; he had left early due to a student council meeting.

The two of her friends that were left in the classroom approached her desk instantly with concern planted across their faces. Tohru glanced at them, still continuing to pack up her belongings indifferently. She was used to Mayu requesting her to stay after. At least once a month, Mayu would discuss her grades with her, so it really wasn't a surprise to her. It saddened her a bit to realize she wasn't doing as well in class as she had hoped she was. After all, Yuki had been helping her out a lot more than usual lately, but it would seem, he was just wasting his time when he tutored her and helped her with her homework since she was still nearly failing. She never told anyone about these meetings with Mayu though; she didn't want her friends to fret over her grades more than they normally did.

"Why would she want you to stay after?" Uo wondered aloud.

"Umm… I don't know…" Tohru replied which was partially true since she wasn't completely sure that her grades were what Mayu wanted to talk about.

"Maybe we should stay after with you to make sure nothing happens…" Hana stated.

"Ah! No, no, no! I couldn't ask you to stay behind for me! I'll be fine by myself!"

Uo and Hana stared at her uneasily. Tohru wasn't exactly a person who could make decisions easily or even make up her mind by herself so they usually helped her see the positive ends and bad sides to situations, but if they weren't there and Mayu asked her something of that sort, Tohru would be in there for hours. Tohru was persistent and wouldn't listen to their reasoning though. She didn't want them to take time out of their schedules to stay with her. Besides, Mayu most likely wanted to talk to her alone so even if they did stay after, they wouldn't be able to assist her. It wasn't like Mayu would allow her to step out into the hall every minute to consult with them.

"Really! I'll be fine! I'm sure it's nothing!" Tohru said to reassure herself more than her friends.

Tohru smiled and walked with her friends to the door, gently ushering them out with a grin. They reluctantly left after Tohru gave them another soft shove. The door shut behind them, and Tohru was left alone in the room with a silent Mayu. Tohru turned around and walked over to Mayu's desk. She waited silently for Mayu to speak, but she didn't. Tohru blinked, and just waited for a few minutes figuring that Mayu probably needed a minute or two to get ready, but Mayu just stood up and began wiping the chalkboard off. Tohru's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Mayu had told her to stay after, right?

Tohru stood in front of Mayu's desk, staring around the room aimlessly. Failing a test or having bad grades seemed to be a reasonable explanation for this meeting, but when Mayu remained silent, Tohru was left baffled. She rocked herself back and forth, shifting her weight from her heels to her toes as she waited for an explanation. Clutching her school bag in her hands, she watched Mayu clean the chalkboard. There was still no conversation between them. Tohru was about to speak and offer to help clean when the door slid open. To her surprise, Tohru saw the principal enter. Tohru smiled politely and bowed to him, but he didn't acknowledge her. He strode right over to Mayu.

"Is this Tohru Honda?"

Mayu turned towards him and nodded. After setting down the board erasers, she brushed the dust off her hands, and faced Tohru. She gestured the brunette to take a seat in the chair she had pulled out earlier before sitting down herself. Tohru obeyed and sat down, her large brown eyes staring at the two adults. Could it be that she was doing so poorly in school that they're going to kick her out? Tohru gripped her bag tightly, hoping that wasn't the case. If she couldn't go to school anymore, that would be bad. If she couldn't graduate, she'd be disappointing her mom. She had managed to space out in front of them. Mayu had to say her name ten times before she responded.

"Ah! Yes?" Tohru cried, hoping she hadn't been zoned out for too long.

"I asked you 'do you know why you're here today?'" the principal restated.

"Ah… Um… Er, I don't know…" Tohru whispered, not wanting to admit that she thought she was going to be expelled for failing too many tests.

"No ideas at all?"

Tohru shook her head, praying that she was wrong. Why wouldn't they end her misery and just tell her already? She cocked her head to the side, staring at them in attempt to convey her desperation for an answer to them. She was bad at guessing. In fact she was terrible at it; her guessing abilities were one of the reasons she did so poorly on tests. The other factor, of course, was she wasn't exactly what one would consider smart. Tohru chewed her bottom lip, waiting for their response that would helpfully answer her plea for a clear explanation of why she was in this room after school with the two of them.

"Well, lately, I've been hearing some bad things about you… Do you know about this?"

"Bad things?" Tohru repeated the word, getting more confused by the minute. Were those 'bad things' also known as her grades? Were her test scores so bad now that Mayu had told the principal about them? Tohru swallowed nervously and shook her head. Giving her a response that was more like a riddle (to her) didn't help her come closer to figuring out what they meant at all. Solving riddles was another thing she had no talent in. She needed a straightforward and blunt reply, and that didn't seem like something they were willing to give at the moment.

Mayu sighed, knowing Tohru would never figure out they were talking about if they didn't tell her directly, "We've been hearing people say that you're pregnant."

"And as ridiculous as this may sound, I need to hear your denial before I can let you go," the principal added.

Tohru fidgeted in her seat nervously. She faced downwards, twisting the strap of her backpack around her fingers. She knew they were staring at her, waiting for her to tell them she wasn't pregnant, but she couldn't lie. She didn't want to lie to them, and she wasn't brave enough to tell them she was pregnant yet. Tohru began to tremble out of anxiety, nearly dropping her backpack. A minute or two later, she was finally able to meet their gazes. By now, she was sure they already knew they wouldn't be receiving the denial they had been expecting from her. She lifted her head slowly, whispering in a voice that they could barely hear, "I am pregnant…"

"WHAT?!" the principal shouted as he abruptly stood up, knocking over his chair in the process.

Tohru laughed nervously, trying to calm her nerves with joy, but it wasn't working very well. She just appeared to be a bumbling idiot at the moment, laughing like that after such a serious statement. The principal was obviously furious at what she had just said, but Mayu didn't show any emotion other than pure shock. Tohru had always been the student everyone thought still believed that storks dropped babies off at a married couple's doorstep, but here was Mayu's most innocent and naïve student telling them that she was pregnant. Mayu couldn't believe it.

"I am pregnant…" Tohru repeated a bit louder.

The principal's face hardened into a stern glare. Tohru bit her bottom lip, turning her head back down towards her lap. She could vaguely hear the principal scream several incoherent phrases, and she partially heard him declare he couldn't allow a pregnant girl to continue attending his school. When she heard the latter statement, Tohru flinched. Tohru was too scared to give him her full attention. Tohru didn't want to believe her ears. She couldn't get expelled! Tohru had almost forgotten that she was here until Mayu touched her arm.

"Honda-san, do you know who the father is?"

Tohru nodded. She knew who the father is, but she wasn't sure he would want her to tell them who he was. Still, she couldn't lie to them, even if he'd be mad at her later. She bit her lip, a feeble attempt to keep his name inside, but when Mayu asked her the dreaded question (who?), her mouth opened on its own, and his name slid out. Tohru clasped her hand over her mouth when she realized what she had just said. The principal stopped pacing around and yelling when he heard Yuki's name. He raised his eyebrows at her as if he didn't believe what he had just heard. Mayu stared at her with wide eyes. Both of them left Tohru feeling uncomfortable, but what else could they do? Yuki was the student council president and top of his class; students like that didn't impregnate girls, did they?

---

Yuki muttered another curse as he bent over to pick up the papers he had dropped for the tenth time on his journey to his classroom. Why did he have to be the one who gave these to Mayu? He had been the only one working at today's student council meeting. Kimi had ditched the meeting to meet some guy on a date, Machi hadn't come because she was sick, Manabe had been sleeping most of the time, and Naohito had been yelling at Manabe during the whole meeting. With Manabe's snores and Naohito's rants, Yuki was surprised when he actually finished the task of planning the class trip, but now, he was just pissed since he had to deliver them to Mayu.

He finally arrived at his destination and was about to open to the door when he saw Tohru in there. Yuki stood outside the room, staring through the window with confusion in his eyes. Why was she in there? She was huddled in her seat, looking terribly frightened as the red-faced principal waved his arms around in fury. Mayu was sitting behind her desk, shaking her head. From his spot outside, Yuki could vaguely make out what the principal was venting. Yuki hated how frightened Tohru appeared to be. She looked ready to cry, and he was having a difficult time trying to figure out what she had done that was bad enough to make the principal this mad. Well whatever it was that she did, he didn't care. All he knew was that she didn't deserve this type of treatment. As casually as he could, he opened the door and stepped inside the room.

"Well speak of the devil," the principal muttered.

"I have the class trip plans here…" Yuki said calmly holding up the packet of papers, ignoring the principal's comment.

"Thank you, you can set them here…" Mayu responded, pointing to her desk.

Yuki walked over, keeping his eyes on Tohru the entire time. Tohru looked back at him with fear-filled eyes. She seemed to be reaching out to him for help, begging him to take her away from here, or maybe he was just imagining things. He set the papers down on the corner of Mayu's desk, then Yuki glanced at the principal who had had his eyes glued on him since he had walked though the door. He didn't know why he was staring at him like that, but it was starting to scare him a bit. It sort of reminded him of a fan girl's stare, but the principal wasn't gay, was he?

"Are you alright Tohru?"

There it was, the accidental slip of his tongue. This was bad, he had just called Tohru by her first name in front of his teachers, and this was the worst time to do so apparently. The principal eyed him, anger glinting in his eyes along with suspicion. He was acting like a detective who had just found the greatest clue. He extended his finger towards Yuki questioningly. In return, Yuki faced him with a blank expression, his eyebrows raised. Why was he looking at him like that? Was there some sort of rule that said he couldn't call Tohru by her first name?

"Since when have you become so familiar with Honda-san here?"

"What does that matter? Are my friends really of your concern? Why are you making her cry?" Yuki asked, unintentionally yelling at the principal.

Mayu peered at Yuki, wondering if she had really heard those words come out of his mouth. Even the principal, who hardly talked to him, seemed surprised at Yuki's personality change. Yuki knew he shouldn't be talking back to the principal; he knew that, and yet, he couldn't help himself. He knew that he was usually calm and collected, and this was a side of him not many people at school have seen, but Tohru seemed to be good at bringing out this side of him. Seeing Tohru in tears and knowing the principal had something to do with it, made him angry. People that made Tohru cry just irritated him more than anything else.

"You do not speak to your principal in that manner."

"I'm sorry, but you shouldn't speak in a manner that makes your students feel like crying," Yuki replied nonchalantly.

"Yuki-kun… Um… I'm okay…" Tohru whispered to him.

She had just basically lied, but she didn't want him to get in trouble on her account. That wouldn't be right. He had done more than enough for her. She couldn't help it if she was going to get thrown out of school because she was pregnant, but she didn't want Yuki joining her because he was quarrelling with the principal. Yuki glanced at her. He didn't believe her at all. Her lie had been too obvious. Besides, by now, he knew what she looked like when she was about to cry. Because he had certain feelings towards her, he found himself staring at her often, and he knew her expressions very well.

"Why are you here?" Yuki asked her curiously.

"I umm… Well you see…" Tohru stuttered nervously.

"Tohru claims she's pregnant and that you're the father of her unborn child," the principal explained.

Yuki blinked at him, a bit startled by what he had just said. At least that explained why Tohru looked so frightened earlier. What he didn't understand now was why she had just jumped up with a horrified look across her face. Her arms were outstretched and her eyes were at least three times larger than they usually were. Tohru opened her mouth, searching for the words that could justify what the principal had just said. Did he have to be so frank about it? She sat herself down when she noticed the principal and Mayu giving her an odd look again. She'd have to apologize to him later if he was really upset about her telling them that he was the father. Yuki continued to look at her for a brief moment before deciding to answer the principal.

"So?" Yuki asked.

"What do you mean so? I can't allow a pregnant student to continue coming here," the principal stated angrily.

Hearing that, Yuki looked at Tohru once again, "Did you tell them about why you had to get pregnant?"

"Wah… No… Not yet… I forgot…" Tohru confessed softly.

The principal and Mayu both turned their attention back to Tohru with surprised faces that showed interest. They had heard Tohru was pregnant, and from that, they assumed her story would be like every other teenage mother story: she got drunk at some party, had sex, and got pregnant, but they didn't expect her to 'have' to get pregnant. In fact, they had never heard of a case where someone had to get pregnant before. Tohru looked down at her feet, feeling uncomfortable with their eyes glued on her. She was speechless. Being the center of attention wasn't something she liked.

"I… Um… Well… You see…" Tohru stammered.

"It's a medical condition," Yuki offered.

Tohru nodded in agreement. She wished she could be as calm as Yuki always was. She was slapping herself mentally for forgetting this very important factor of her pregnancy. If she had been more relaxed and at ease, she wouldn't have wasted half an hour just to be reprimanded. She could have saved herself from all of the yelling and scolding if she had remembered that, but now Mayu and the principal were looking at her and Yuki skeptically. Not sure how she could make them believe that they were telling the truth, Tohru simpered weakly at them.

"I've never heard of a condition of that sort before?"

"I'm not lying. You can call Hatori or Shigure if you don't believe me. Sensei, you are acquainted with them, I heard," Yuki said.

"Eh? You know Hatori-san and Shigure-san?"

"This conversation isn't about me!" Mayu suddenly snapped with a red face.

"Oh! Sorry…" Tohru apologized, even though she had nothing to do with Mayu's now red face. She didn't even really understand why Mayu was red in the face; she didn't even suspect it to be a blush. Her first assumption was that Mayu's face was dark out of anger like the principal's face had been, but Yuki, on the other hand, knew more about Hatori and Mayu's relationship and smiled a bit at her reaction. The principal was oblivious like Tohru, but at least Tohru was aware of who Hatori and Shigure were. He was a bit annoyed to be the only one left out of this conversation.

"Back to this condition of yours… I do need some medical forms proving this is true… So if this Hatori or Shigure can bring these documents, please call them, would you?" the principal asked though gritted teeth.

Yuki nodded, "I'll call Hatori. Shigure would do more harm then good."

"You got that right…" Mayu muttered under her breath.

"Eh? Did you say something?" Tohru asked.

"Nothing," Mayu replied curtly.

Tohru blinked, showing her confusion. She peered up at Yuki for some sort of explanation, but he could only lift his shoulders and drop them slightly in a shrug. He knew about her and Hatori, but he didn't know a thing about Mayu's past relationship with Shigure. Yuki wasn't about to ask her about it either. The way he saw it, he had enough reasons explaining why he didn't exactly adore Shigure. One of his reasons had to be the cause of Mayu's ill-feelings towards Shigure. He walked over to the door where the phone was hanging on the wall beside it. After dialing Hatori's phone number, he stepped out of the classroom, sliding the door shut behind him before explaining to Hatori what he needed from him.

Hatori agreed to come, saying he'd arrive at the school within a few minutes. He came as he said he would, and it took the doctor another half an hour and a call to Tohru's obstetrician to convince the principal that they weren't making this up even with the medical papers in Hatori's hands. The principal reluctantly gave in since he seemed to be the only one who was against keeping Tohru in school. Mayu had given in before Hatori came, though she never really believed Tohru should be kicked out.

Afterwards, everyone was tired and more than ready to go home. Hatori volunteered to drive home Tohru, who had a grin on that dominated her face, Yuki, who was feeling a mix of irritation and complete exhaustion, and Mayu, who was too embarrassed and startled to accept his offer. Tohru offered a polite bow to the principal and Mayu before she left whilst Hatori only gave Mayu a farewell, and Yuki muttered a half hearted goodbye to them. Mayu smiled at them, and the principal responded with a curt grunt. He was upset to have lost this battle.

. Tohru followed Yuki and Hatori out the door. She gathered up her courage and quickened her pace so she could thank Yuki. It was odd how hard it was getting to just speak to him lately even though she had been living with him for quite a while now. Recently, she wasn't sure why, but when he was around, blushes always seemed to find their way onto her cheeks no matter how hard she fought to keep her face from turning red. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get out a word, Uo and Hana attacked her with questions.

"Tohru, are you okay?!" Uo shouted as she nearly suffocating Tohru in a tight embrace.

"I sensed some strange waves from you," Hana added.

"You're not hurt are you?"

Tohru blinked a couple of times, clearly bewildered by their appearance. She thought they had left long ago, but with Uo holding her so close, Tohru couldn't even open her mouth to comment. Uo and Hana had been lurking around the classroom, out in the hallways and outside the school, staring into the room through various windows. They had been too worried about Tohru to leave her alone. Uo and Hana had been standing in the courtyard with their ears pressed against the window for most of the meeting, but they weren't able to hear much. They were just surprised that no one had spotted them.

"I'm… fine," Tohru replied after Uo released her.

It took her a few minutes to convince Uo and Hana that she was alright, and even then they still insisted on going home with her just to make sure. Hatori ended up driving the four teenagers to Shigure's house, but he left before Shigure knew he had even been there. Tohru didn't have the chance to talk to Yuki until Uo and Hana went home which was well after dinner time. Even then, he was up in his room, and Tohru had to pace around for a moment before she was calm enough to knock on his door. Yuki stared at the door for a moment before opening it. He found Tohru bent over in a bow standing before his door.

"To-"

"Thank you so much Yuki-kun. You helped me out a lot today. If you weren't there, I would be expelled by now," Tohru whispered to him.

She was beyond grateful that he had come into the classroom when he had. Without him, the principal and Mayu probably wouldn't have even heard about her condition. If he hadn't been there, she probably would be expelled already. She owed him. He had saved her schooling career. There were no words to express her gratitude. Thanks to him, she could hopefully keep her promise to her mother and graduate (that is if she managed to pass all of her classes).

"There's no need to thank me… I'm just glad I was able to help," Yuki smiled at her.

With those couple of lines, her once horrible day didn't seem so bad anymore.

Real late update! I've just been in a BLAH mood for a while... Sowwie! -spaz- I think this chapter was alright... well review please?