Episode 3

Hana's P.O.V

I stood with Nao. Me and her went to school together. Nao was looking at something, and was slowly putting the book into her pocket. I had done the same, and was now starting to feel guilty. We both turned to leave and froze as we both saw Tsuchi. He was looking at us and then at the ground. We both looked down to see the two books we had tried to run off with. He sighed and motioned for us to follow him. But instead of following like Nao, I picked the book up and ran.

Emiko's P.O.V

Tsuchi never showed up for class. We were worried. And when Ayumi came in, we all knew something wasn't right. She turned to us.

"Tsuchiya-Kun is being suspended. He got into a fight with Ishikawa." she said and I looked at her in shock.

"That's the same teacher Hana has." I said as I sat up. Ayumi nodded, but didn't say anything else.

"By the way, Grandpa says we can't do anything with Ryo yet. He has to come to us." she said and I sighed. It was frustrating. Ryo had let his friends attack his sister, and now we couldn't do anything to him at all.

We all went looking for him. When we did find him, he was at the arcade again. He was arguing with Hayato and Ryu.

"Boys, stop. If he wants to let it happen, then let him. He obviously has a reason." I said and Tsuchi looked at me. It was obvious that he was expecting me to go along with them. But I knew he had a reason and I was wanting to find out what it was.

"Tsuchi, you can tell us anything. We are friends right?" I asked and he turned away from us.

"We will still be here for you, and if you decide to tell us then that's fine. We won't give up on you." I said as he started to walk off. I saw him stop for a second and knew that he had heard me. Hayato turned to me.

"Why did you stop me?" he asked and I sighed as I ran my hand through my hair.

"He is already having a bad time. You going off on him isn't' going to help it. There is more to this than what we are being told. Just give it time and let him be on his own." I said and Hayato sighed in anger. Hyuuga, Take and Ryu were standing behind me as I had put myself right in their way and stopped Hayato from making a fool of himself.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have to go meet up with Rei and Ayumi." I said and turned to leave, but stopped as Take stepped in front of me. He looked happy about something.

"What?" I asked and he blushed and looked down. I smiled at him and pushed him over to Hayato.

"Go hang out. I'll meet you all later." I said and he nodded. He almost reminded me of a puppy.

Me, Rei and Ayumi were sitting at the table in Ayumi's moms Ramen Shop. Rei was texting on her phone and was ignoring us. Which wasn't anything new for her. She zoned out when she was talking to other people.

"Hey isn't that Tsuchi?" asked Ayumi as she pointed out the window. I looked over and saw him. He was alone with his mom and was yelling at her.

"Just leave me alone!" he spat and turned and walked off. As soon as he was gone, we both saw his mother collapse into tears.

"This kid is starting to piss me off." Ayumi said as she sat there and stared at the poor woman, who was sobbing on the side of the road. I nodded my agreement.

I walking around aimlessly the next day. I knew that Grandpa would be mad that I was skipping. But I didn't feel like going to school and dealing with all the crap that the boys could cook up. As I walked I ran right into someone. Just as I looked up to apologize, I froze. My cousin Ryo stood there in all his criminal glory. The glare I was receiving was harsh. I got up and began to back up. Unlike Ayumi, I could never win a fight against him.

"Aww, are you scared of me?" he asked as he walked forward. Suddenly I was grabbed from behind and held in place.

"Well if you are, then this will be even better for me. You, Ayumi and Rei left me to fend for myself. And I want my revenge." he said as he advanced on me. I had once chance to get away, and I knew that I had to take it. Just as this thought came through, he punched me hard in the face. I fell to the ground and he kicked me a few times, then motioned for his men to hold me again. I threw my arms back, hitting the men that held me in the face. The moment they let go, I turned and ran. He followed behind me, shooting his gun at me. How he even got a gun is still a mystery to me. But the real problem was that his last shot hit me right in the shoulder. I nearly fell down thanks to all the pain shooting through my arm. But I forced myself to keep running. I knew that Ayumi was as the school and I had to get there before he could catch me again.

Hayato's P.O.V

The class was in full swing. Emiko hadn't shown up, but I knew that she was merely skipping. Ayumi was the one teaching, and Yankumi was sitting at a desk doing something. I was ignoring her and looking around the room. But something caught my eye. Emiko was running. She came bursting into the room just as a hand reached out and yanked her back by her hair. I noticed something shiny fall into her hand, then realized it was a set of brass knuckles as she slammed her fist into his face. She was let go, and she practically vaulted over the desks. Ayumi had turned and was now staring at the man. She turned to look Emiko over.

"He jumped you?" she asked and Emiko growled and nodded. She then leaned against the wall. Ayumi threw her a shirt from her bag, then she turned to the now standing man.

"Hello Cousin. Picking on the weaker ones now?" she asked and he scoffed.

"Your lucky I didn't kill her. Cause that was my intent." he spat and Ayumi rolled her eyes. Ayumi turned to me and my friends.

"Move out of the way." she commanded, and I decided that I would follow that order. Something in her eyes told me that I needed to get out of the way. We walked over to Emiko, who yanked out her phone and threw it to Take.

"Call the number that says Uncle Kei. Tell him where I am." she said and then sighed as she slid down the wall into a sitting position.

When their uncle arrived, Ayumi had Ryo backed against the wall. The gun was on the floor out of his reach. He had a broken wrist and a black eye. He was glaring at her. Behind their uncle was Rei, who came running over to Emiko. I turned as I heard Ayumi speak.

"You can still be helped Cousin. We were kids when we made that promise. We were in no position to help anyone. We couldn't even help ourselves. Im not asking you to forgive us, but at least go talk to Grandpa." she told him and he scoffed. But I could see that he was softening. Suddenly he lunged, and sent her flying. She crashed into the rest of the class and landed hard on the desks. Ryo then turned and ran out of the classroom. She sat up and sighed.

"Maybe we shouldn't have made such a promise." Rei said as she helped her cousin off the desk and looked in Ryo's direction.

The next day, Hana came into the room. She looked sad and made a beeline for Emiko, who was sitting on the floor, her head on my leg. Somehow she had started using me as a pillow. Not that I minded any. I was starting to feel something for her. But I didn't have a clue what I was feeling. She dropped down and bowed.

"Gomen. Its my fault that Tsuchiya-Kun is being expelled." she said and I realized that she was crying. Emiko took her head off my leg.

"Explain." she stated and Hana launched into a whole story. By the end, I could see that Emiko was mad. But she didn't lash out at her. Instead she pointed to the door.

"Turn yourself in. And then explain to Grandpa." she said and put her head on my leg again. Hana slowly stood and made her way out of the room. Emiko sighed, she cursed and took out her phone.

"Grandpa. Hana has something to confess. Take it easy on her. I think she is simply rebelling. Shes been so good until now." she said and then hung up. With in minutes she was asleep on my leg.