Soft warmth covered her body and she sank further into it. It felt like a pile of fresh soft snow against her aching body. She felt clammy, but it didn't seem to matter to her. She just enjoyed the soft warmth of the covers. She enjoyed the safety and comfort of being home in her own bed.

She realized she had been crying again. She wiped her tears roughly with the back of her hand. It was silly of her to let this affect her. She already knew why she had been crying. It was the same dream rewinding each time it ended through her screams. It would then play over again as she managed to fall back into the land of sleep. Each time it would come back. She knew that. She could almost imagine the hands as she was awake. His cold, hard body; even the scent of his strong cologne. All of it. It was just a dream though. The vividness she remembered though was what frightened her.

"Sayuki..." A soft voice whispered from her doorway.

"Ryu?" She blinked away her new formed tears and slowly rolled over. Her brother's concerned face peeked through the doorway. The only light came from the same tiny crack in the door he peered through. She instinctively felt sick from it and remembered the smell of a cigarette. It turned her stomach. Was the darkness still manifesting her night terror?

"Yeah?" Sayuki asked weakly. Her voice felt weak and it hurt to speak slightly. Her throat felt raw. Had she screamed that loudly throughout the night? Was that why Ryu had come to her door? She hated herself for worrying him.

"Dad wants you to get up and go to school." His words dragged on cautiously, but she let out a sigh. He hadn't heard her then. She forced a smile and simply nodded. She was glad he couldn't really see her. He slowly began to close the door. He then popped his head back in. "I'll be outside waiting for you."

"Okay."

As soon as she had washed away all her sweat she got dressed hurriedly. It wasn't long before she was rushing through the door to the sun. She felt safer outside and in the light. She skipped meeting her parents too. She knew that would have even made the sun not help wash away her sadness.

Sayuki joined her brother by his side and they began walking in silence. She didn't feel much up to talking; she could hardly even breathe. The images that were burned in her mind kept flashing in her mind. Nothing she did or thought about could extinguish them. The more she thought about it, the more real it became. She not only could see them now, just like right after she would wake up, she could feel his touch... the way his tongue ran down... Her body tightened up.

"We're here." Ryu's voice broke her from her trauma. She hadn't realized how tightly her body was glued together, trying to hold back her shaking. She has unconsciously crossed her arms and held them tightly with the other. Even now she didn't want to dare let go. She was afraid she would shatter into tiny pieces.

"Thanks..." She drifted and inhaled. She looked at Ryu whose eyes were filled with concern. She slowly let go of her sleeves and dropped her arms. Her first survival of the day. She smiled weakly and forced it to grow before she turned to look at the looming school.

"What really happened! You can tell me!" Ryu's words were urgent as he grabbed her by both arms and slightly shook her. Her brows wrinkled in confusion.

"I'm just cold Ryu, I swear..." Sayuki lied perfectly. She was both ashamed and elated by it. She almost believed herself by her tone. The images helped to remind her that she was a big liar.

"Oh yeah." He still looked baffled, whether it was from disbelief or her sudden certainty within herself, she didn't know. He nodded though, and peeled off his jacket with swift movements. He handed it to her with one hand. She shook her head but he held it out insistently.

"You're going to be late," Sayuki pointed out as she took his jacket from his hand. He shrugged as she slipped on the big jacket. She felt incredibly safe in the jacket. It was too long for her short arms and torso but it was warm and she snuggled in it.

"If you need anything, just call me." He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small pink device. Her cell phone. She was confused as to why he had it but she took it when he held it out.

"I will. Just hurry to school." Sayuki insisted as she put the phone into her skirt pocket. He nodded solemnly and left Sayuki in front of the school. She felt guilty watching his shrunken cold back.

She thought of her two comrads and put on a brave smile as she forgot her little brother. She took another deep breath and took a small, slow step forward. Her courage grew with each step. She refused to let the nightmares get to her. She thought of Sakura. She wouldn't let them, so neither would she. She made her way inside the school.

No one stopped her, called out to her, or anything. The eyes were obviously there and watching her every move. It felt like every single set of eyes in the school were glued onto her. It wasn't just her usual paranoia either. She had caught several of them looking at her. Some of them wouldn't even look away while others had the courtesy and shame to do so. She didn't like it. It made her feel like something bigger was going to happen.

She had expected more. It had been her whole grade practically who had seen the fight with Karin and Sakura. By now Sakura was linked to Sayuki and vice versa. Something Sakura did, Sayuki had been a part of. Even Gaara was linked to them, just because they were victims of Karin's group. Rumours spread quickly here too, just like any other school. So why was it so quiet around her? Whispers were shared, but she could never hear a thing. It only made her more nervous. By now she had learned to expect the worse.

It was at lunch when she heard the news. She wasn't sure if it had been meant to be hidden from her ears, but she began to think it was. Why else would no one rub it in her face? The only reason she had heard it was because of chance. It was a simple case of being in the right spot at the right time. Now where else would she have been to hear this but the girl's bathroom.

She waited silently in the stall as two girls had entered. She hadn't meant to be stuck in there; she just didn't want to face them where there were no witnesses. For all she knew, they were waiting to get her all alone. The two girls were furiously gossiping though as they fixed their makeup. Sayuki was peeking through the stall door crack as they did so.

As she listened her throat felt like it was being squeezed tighter and tighter with each work spoken. She leaned against the stall now, not concerned about the unhygienic mess it was. She put one arm up and covered up the word "freak slut" carved into the wall with her name below it. This didn't bother her though. It was kind of sad how they had done it so carefully just to mock her.

"...in the office." Sayuki couldn't wait any longer as she heard these last three words from the girl's mouth. Frantically she threw open the door and flew out of the bathroom. She slammed into someone and apologized as she scampered and slipped down the hall. It all made sense now. She had been so tortured and paranoid by the dreams and everyone that she hadn't even noticed. There had been five missing faces all morning.

She ran harder than she ever had. She dodged many people with each step. She finally came to a skidding stop in front of the door. She breathed heavily as she stepped in.

"How can I help you?"