BATMAN3!:)

zero tried to reach his hand out to her but he grabbed at nothing,the second the dust cleared ichi and zero jumped to their feet because kieko yumi and mika were no longer standing there, both of there eyes widened "where did she go?"ichi yelled "who cares?" rokka asked nonchalantly. ichi glared at her the boys frantically searched, how weird there was no crack on the floor zero thought. son and forte walked by again "oh is this a game i love games, what are we looking for?" son screamed "we can't find kieko!"ichi and zero yelled at once, "then i win because i already found her!" son yelled with joy. the boy stared at son "where is she!?"zero yelled (batman reference) "we just saw her at the kimono stand"forte group rushed over to the stand only to find all three of the girls standing in the center facing a woman about looked like she just got of collage but judging by her voice was about 30 years old(kind of like 'special A'). kieko was scolding the woman as she and the twins cuddled her; "you could of at least let me tell my friends, instead of running at me like that" kieko said(ok i know that sounds kind of weird but almost all animes have at least one character who runs like that, at least once) "awww...but that would have been no fun, besides this way we have you all to ourselves, isn't that right girls?"the woman said. the twins nodded in agreement and continued to cuddle kieko. "kieko!"the boys said in unison, kieko shifted her eyes in the direction of them and said "gomen, mika and yumi's mom wanted to speak to me but she was in such a hurry i didn't get to say anything"kieko apologised, the woman stood up and faced the boys,"sumimasen, i just had to see yumi's design and mika's stitch work on kieko, but i think you can agree kieko looks adorable in it!" she said,"so you're the twin's' mother?"ichi asked. "yep!"she said with a smile, a few moments later the whole group was haveing a nice conversation with each other inside the booth,kieko still stood next to the twins and was still talking to there mom, whom had introduced her self as the twins stood one at each side of kieko,yumi looked over to a group of guys,two guys were smileing smugly and gestering to kieko, she didn't like they started talking louder and more adible. she glared at them she could hear their disgusting conversation. "what would you do to the one in the black kimono?" one of the boys asked. she absolutely hated anyone who was cursed to talk with such a lack of common decency."you mean the one with the flowers on it?"another boy asked. yumi snapped her attention to keiko's kimono,it was black, and had flowers on it, were those sickos talking about kieko? sweet, innocent, introverted kieko? "how disgusting" she thought,"how dare they" she thought,yumi knew she couldn't make a scene though, she was afraid she might make kieko upset, that was the last thing she wanted. but she couldn't help the hatred in her eyes from showing, no matter how she put it she hated them for saying stuff like tried to mask her hateful eyes as she turned to kieko, "mika and i are going to go look around while you're talking with mom okay?"yumi forced,making herself sound rather bland as she said it, kieko looked over to her side and gave yumi her consent with a light grabbed mika's unsuspecting hand and pulled her from the scene. zero looked over at them what were they doing? they almost never left kieko's side unless they had to.

he couldn't help but stare, letting curiosity get the best of him zero spoke up "i'll go with them"he said, ichi looked over at him while rokka hung on to him like a leach,"i'll go too" he said, "no i think you should stay here keep kieko out of trouble" zero said in a voice that seemed a bit too serious. "sure" ichi said, as zero caught up with the girl he made a slight attempt to hear what they were talking about before running up to join them;"you heared them to, mika. i know you did, but i for one can't stand here and let them continue, and i know you won't either"yumi stated. mika scowled at the ground " *uck them and there stupid perverted attitudes ,what are we going to do? talking about kieko the way they were, what can we do?"mika asked roughly, yumi looked her sister in the eye "we'll just have to find out the hard way"yumi replied lightly,trying to make a joke but sounding to 's eyes widened, why didn't they tell him?he'd help in a heartbeat,zero ran up to them"why didn't you tell me!"he yelled with frustration, "because it's not your problem" yumi said bitterly. " it is if it has to do with kieko, i told you that i would protect her" he snapped, "don't talk like you're some kind of hero, let's be honest here, you're not taking care of kieko, you are taking care of the crystal pearl. to you she's nothing more than a capsule that provided you with a place to live" mikai barked zero grew pale,but as much as the words stung him he still stood there, "i said i'll protect kieko" he said under his breath,the three remained silent, yumi looked over her shoulder to see of all people, andrew he was standing next to the two guys that were talking so rudely about kieko, he was talking to them. "you know talking about girls like that will only make them hate you"andrew said smugly "yeah what have you got to show for it?"one of the boys said promptly. "how about this, who ever can get the most goldfish out of the fish game (i don't know what it's called) geets to take her on a date through the haunted house" andrew said promptly mika and yumi immediately made there way over to the booth were the three boys stood with zero tagging along not far behind. "let us join,"the two said in unison "me aswell"zero said not far behind them.*ten minutes later* "I win"andrew smiled lightly, "how did I end up with the least?" zero pouted."well at least mka got second, i only got one more then you"yumi said plainly,"well we don't need to worry about kieko any more those perverted losers ran with their tails between their legs"mika stated put his hands in his pockets and smirked."wow we really wouldn't of done it if, andrew hadn't said that"zero thought to himself. but before zero could even consider thanking him, kieko and the others had made their way to them "oh, hey i see you met up with andrew" kieko said obliviously."i believe it's time for me to claim my prize" andrew said smugly, he then grabbed one of kieko's hands and pulled it so that she came towards him. before she could react he locked his arms together behind her back, he then pressed his lips on to her cheek, he then whispered in to her ear, "will you accompany me to the haunted house?"he asked in a seductive gasped for air as her face grew a dark shade of red,she pulled her hands close to her chest then pushed him away with all her might. as she pushed she lost her balance and fell to the floor, her face was pure disbelief, was this happening? like really happening? she couldn't tell, but she couldn't control her words either. "get off of me" she heard herself say, "you're a lying scumbag"she spat. kieko couldn't control her mouth, it was like a dream, or a scene from one of those overly dramatic T.V. shows. she was so confused with her feelings that she felt helpless in her own body,just watching her self take over unconsciously, then she remembered hoshi and how many time she had let her near him, "that pathetic pervert"she thought "how dare he come near my friends how dare he come near my FAMILY?" she thought

randomly the memory of first time she talked to him took over her thoughts.[flash back] it was three years ago,, she had only just agreed to become friends with the twins the year before, her mind was still cluttered with the memory of pure fear. she remembered all off the details from that day, everything from the food she had eaten for lunch,a tuna sandwich, to the exact seat she sat in, second row to the left by the window, she remembered because tuna was her favorite type of sandwich, and the seat she sat in was by the window, she loved being able to look out at the trees and forget everything from where she was to the accident that took her world by storm. it was after school and she was staring at the outside world, pondering to herself if she could wait out the 3 o'clock she knew in the back of her head the beating was inevitable, she heard distant footsteps but paid them no mind. suddenly a voice interrupted her thoughts, but it wasn't the usual voice of the teacher telling her to go home it was a new voice, a voice her age. it took her awhile to decipher the words that came from the voice. "lonely?" it asked,it took her an longer while to relize that the conversation was directed to she turned her head to see the person dareing enough to talk to her she felt a phase of discompert cross her mind because she had just placed the voice to it's name and face. andrew rushing, a foreign exchange student who had come from america, whose intentions were never his studies. he was the smooth talking, womanizing flirt of class B-3. she hated guys like him, she despised them in fact. she just stared at him blankly, caught in thought but clearly not paying any attention the the event taking place. "i said are you lonely" andrew repeated. the repetition of the words brought her back. "what? you think i would rather talk to you? if you weren't related you'd hit on your sister" kieko snapped, kieko remembered how she let anything that came to mind slip from her mouth without any thought "snappy aren't we?but sadly enough i don't have a sister" he teased "i don't need your company"she said under her breath "relax i'm not gonna try anything on you" he chuckled. kieko forced herself to stand up she lightly quivered as she grabbed her books because she knew after she did this she would rush the fate of pain, "i'm going home now, go away" she slowly made her way to the door "they scare you don't they?" she immediately stopped in her tracks, but she said nothing. "those bullies downstairs? yeah...i know about them. so does the whole school,it's become some what of a game really.'who can hurt kieko the most?'you just let them do that to you?" he asked kieko clenched her fist "it's not like i have a choice"she quickly replied "let me help you...i'll keep you safe from them"he said "at what cost? i get to be added to your little whore collection?"kieko said accusingly "no, i told you before i promise to treat you better then them. i only want to be considered a friend" several minutes later kieko emerged from the building."thats good we were starting to worry you were a no show" one of the usual bullies said, she grasped her own hands to keep from flinching, suddenly the door behind her opened, it was walked up to her side, the two walked down the path way. the bullies avoided kieko after that,why? she had no idea but she never questioned that. but she held no to his promise; that she was different, that she was better and he wouldn't do something like that, and she believed him. the twins did not approve of her friendship with him, but she was too blinded by the words to see what was happening. he… was…lying.. to ..her.[end of flashback]

"that bastard …

that g*d damned lying bastard.." kieko thought to herself. kieko got to her feet and didn't even give him the satisfaction of looking her in the eye."oh, com'on kieko you know i was kidding"he said trying to defend himself "you lied...and i fell for it. thats all there is to this story" she said "how does this story end then?"he asked kieko looked down "with the mistake of calling you my friend, thats where it ends"she finished, she then started to walk away"'you're scared aren't you? with out me you'll just have to live the way you did… in fear" he called out. kieko stopped in her tracks he was right. the only thing that stood between the life she was living and the life she had now, was that he made the bullies go away, she didn't have to live in fear after that day. she stayed completely still, what would she say? what would she do?."what the hell is she doing?"zero asked himself"she should be telling him off by now, but she's just standing there"he thought. kieko looked like she was about to say something but she was cut off "no shes not scared, we won't let her be" mika said zero glanced over to them, thats right he had promised that as well. "we won't let anything bad happen to her, so whatever it is that she's scared of she won't have to be any more" zero followed with."thank you"kieko said under her breath the group then walked away. "what would your parents say? kieko!?" he yelled, she ignored him, she didn't need him,she didn't want him or his lies. *about twenty minutes later* zero was concerned he had no idea what had just happened, why was she scared? what did he lie about? would she be okay? his eyes softened as he watched her lightly hold the wind smiles… thats all he saw and he hated it. but he had to forget about it he had no choice,upsetting her now was not something he could bring himself to do right whatever it was he knew for sure if he saw him talking to her again, he'd let him have decided to keep his mind off it, worrying would not do any watched her smile at the green wind chime that read hope, love and smiles. kieko loved this small wind chime, the light baby green was illuminated by the lantern lights from above. kieko alway loved that word;hope, she never understood why, maybe it was the way it sounded? maybe it was the meaning behind it, she had no idea but either way she bought it and she loved it. not very long afterwards rokka fell asleep and go took her let the girls drag her to almost every stand there was, kieko didn't mind too much but she was starting to get hungry. "hey kieko its a cotton candy stand, want any?" asked one of the girls suddenly. "sure i guess" she stated "wait i thought you hated sweets" ichi said. "well, for the most part, but i guess this is the exception"she replied.

the four found a place to sit under a few cherry blossom trees, after all thats what hanami was basicly about. as the six sat and ate zero couldn't help but feel curious and eventually lost the battle between him and his questions, he then asked "kieko...andrew said what would your parents say what did he mean by that?" the whole group looked at him as if he set up a bomb. "i don't know to be honest… my parent were gone way before i met him"she replied without looking at him. "where are are your parents?" he asked obviously, the group let there face fall into shock, not even ichi expected zero to ask such an insensitive question but still, he was curious as tensed up, "well… they're gone, but i see them as much as i can when i get the chance." she answered. the twins stared at her silently in response she took a bite of the cotton candy. zero and ichi let their bodies relax,"so there not dead? thats a relief...i guess, but then where are they? and why don't they live with kieko?"ichi asked the teens finished their food they headed to the school, the haunted house line wa a lot shorter than how it wa from before when they first got there. when the four finally got to the front of the line the usher who was a kid from their class, he st right in front of zero in fact."im sorry but to go in you need a least six people" he said kieko slightly tilted her head to the side "why are you packing so many people in at once?" she asked "well we have to get as many people in before the festival ends in about twenty minutes" he replied "IS THERE A GROUP OF TWO IN THE LINE?" he yelled to the crowd behind them "hey fo chan that's us!" said a voice from the sea of people. almost instantly son a forte popped up in the front."oh, hi again! this is just uncanny now!" son said loudly, forte eyed the twins, mika looked at him then at kieko she then sighed "we won't bite" she said sounding annoyed. as the six entered the building zero couldn't help but notice that he was feeling rather irritated for no real reason. as they slowly walked through the maze of decorations, kieko notice her self feeling uneasy but she just brushed it aside she was in a haunted house after all.

zero's anger was building up, and he just couldn't take it any more, as soon as the path lead them into a classroom he lost it"what the hell is wrong with you kieko!?" he yelled "what?" kieko asked confusedly the group then turned to him. "why do you have to be so defenceless? why do we have to take the rat for you all the time?!he screamed "it's not like i asked you to" she replied sharply. "thats not an excuse! me and ichi take care of you 24/7 and all you do is sit on your ass all day maybe talking to us once every what? half a day? not even thanking us! i might add!" he screamed."you are such a JERK!"yelled kieko "i don't need to take this crap!"zero yelled "calm down"Ichii begged "you know what Ichii? NO!i am sick and tired of dealing with this stupid girl, WHAT HAS SHE EVER DONE FOR US ICHII? HUH? WHAT?!"zero said "zero stop this now you've gone too far"yelled yumi"leave her alone YOU ASS!"screamed mika "and another thing all of you,EVERY SINGLE ONE YOU! always take her side,EVEN WHEN SHES DEAD WRONG!"zero cried every body in the room went quiet "how can you be so cruel?"kieko asked bitterly "how can you be so freaking annoying! god no wonder you parents left you!"zero taunted, kieko couldn't even look him in the eye,how could he say something like that?she trembled with anger, why did he say that of any thing that was the worst thing he could have said, "why?Why!?WHY!? why did he chose my parents of all people to insult?"she walked up to him without saying a word,she still avoided his eye contact by hiding behind her bangs"are you ready to apologize?" zero asked arrogantly kieko still said nothing, "ANSWER ME!"yelled zero kieko finally made her way over to him still staring at the ground kieko stood still "don't you dare act like you knew them,you have no right to talk about my parents like that or in any other way, i don't care what you say to me… but you better leave them out of this!"kieko said in the most bitter anger filled voice she looked ever so slightly up at him her banges covered most of her face only leading zeros gaze fall on one eye,one eye thats all that it took,when zero looked in to that one eye he realized all that he had just done, everything he had just said,it was killing kieko on the inside,zero reached out for her slowly, hoping that by some miracle she'd forgive him,no he didnt even need that all he needed was to apologize "kie..."he started but was was interrupted by kieko's hand making harsh contact with his face, he had been hit by kieko several times before but never,never has it hurt so much,he could feel every ounce of hatred behind that slap, it stung,kieko put all her force in that,and surely zero was hurt "it wasn't my fault, i couldn't do anything to stop them from leaving me,no one could"she thought to herself,tears started to stream down her face,zero was so stunned by his actions the fact that he was so angry he let himself hurt kieko what had gotten into him?keiko was so upset she ran out of the room,but she kept running after that,she ran and ran through the otherwise empty hall way,lightly crying to herself,the tears slowly blurred her vision,but that didn't stop her. kieko made her way to the stairs,only to be stopped by the sound of cloth ripping, it was her sleeve that was caught on the railing, but she didn't care. she quickly unhooked it and bolted out the back doors,as soon as she got out she collapsed to the ground, she let the tears flow down her face. she quickly sat up and shoved her headphones in her ears,she then turned the volume up, she then leaned her back against the wall and hoped that no one would find her.

"what the hell is f*cking wrong with you zero?!" mika yelled "her parents are dead you idiot!"yumi cried,zero tensed up "but she said they were still alive!" he yelled back "NO! she said that they're gone, but she sees them as much as she can when she gets the chance"yumi yelled "and that implieds they are still alive!"zero screamed back at them "thats not true, it means she visits there grave often. and i would understand if she said something that made them sound alive, it's probably because it's too hard to accept the fact that there dead, maybe to her pretending that they're still out there keeps her feeling sane, maybe she's scared to admit it, to say there dead. because that would mean she'll never see them again, and that they no longer exist, that really is scary" son said calmly,forte looked at her with concern. zero's eyes widened, " DAMN IT!" he yelled. "we need to go find her" ichi said. the two bolted out of the room, but didn't get far before they bumped in to two people hiding under sheets in the hall. as all four fell to the floor the sheets fell from the two, as zero and ichi looked in front of them to see there lifelong rivals, Nanase and Yakumo. "what are you guys doing here?"ichi said angrily, "what are we doing here? what are you doing here ichi!?" yakumo echoed. "WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" zero yelled in frustration nanase put on a face that let everyone know that he was thinking, "wait a minute if zero and ichi are here that means the crystal pearl is too!, yakumo your tracker wasn't broken after all!"he shouted "ha! i told you nanase! this baby has been in the family for generations!" yakumo replied. "it doesn't look like the gem was swallowed so it must be some wear in the school!" nanase said eagerly. "thats right, if yakumo and nanase found out who knows what they'll do to kieko!" ichi thought to himself. "enough talk!i'm ready to settle the score ichi!so come on lets go" yakumo teased "well,if you insist!"ichi then turned to zero "are you ready to fight?"he asked "aw yeah im always ready!" zero told him. zero jumped to his feet and used his destruction magic to throw a fireball piston at nanase, but thinking quickly nanase used his curse card magic to slow down time, and as the fireballs came close to him he pretended to do the matix thing where the bullets fly over the guys head in slow then yakumo came running down the hall, "here i come ichi!" he yelled he through his weapon/fan at him but ichi used his barrier to deflect it, making it explode right back in there face, all of the dirt and dust immediately kicked up causing a smokescreen to cover the entire area.

as kieko sat at the wall and listened to her music, she contemplated her life, her shi*tty excuse for a life. she thought about her mom and her dad, she thought about the kids who wanted her dead, she also thought about how scared she was, the thing that she was most afraid of wasn't any demonic creature,it wasn't the dark or spiders or even loud noises, no it was something far more terrifying… her best friends. kieko was afraid of her best friends, she was afraid of the people who took care of her when she needed it, she was afraid of them, those few people who had the kindest hearts. she was afraid because she knew if they turned on her she would die inside, she would have nothing left and she would die, zero was her friend,at least she thought. she wondered if the twins would hate her too,she already lost two of her friends today, she saw no reason that they wouldn't go to,she was so afraid. suddenly the door next to her burst open with a loud thud. she wanted to look but she just couldn't bring herself to do so, so she just continued to cry and gasp for air she had no concern for whoever bust from those doors, none whatsoever. she then felt a hand on her shoulder shake her slightly, she half expected it to be zero, coming to apologise, but when she lifted her head she met eyes with an unfamiliar face, it was yakumo's. she slowly took her ear buds out because she saw his lips moving but all she heard was september by daughtry,and she doubted that he was singing that. "why are you crying?" the boy asked "i...i...i'm scared" she forced. "of what? that haunted house? that thing was a joke" said a boy with purple hair. "whats your name?" the boy asked "kieko" she replied "well kieko you're a major cutie if i do say so myself!" the boy said playfully"well,i'm nanase and that perv there is yakumo,why don't you tell us what happened"said nanase "i have these friends who said they'd protect me,but i ...i just don't know what went wrong. maybe i was rude,or maybe i was selfish… but he just blew up, then i over reacted and hit him, now i know he hates me,i didn't mean to do that but i just couldn't help it,now i'm scared that everyone will leave me, i just can't bare to look at them though, i'm afraid for them to say it,that they're leaving me"kieko said with tears in her eyes. nanase looked at her in confusion "well, i honestly doubts that anyone would be mad enough to convince the rest of your friends to leave you,and just by talking to you i can tell you only do what you find necessary, and if they do leave you then…"nanase was cut off by yakumo yelling "you can be our friend! we'll protect you!" "like hell she will"said a familiar voice

"zero?" kieko said in a slightly awkward voice, "don't listen to a word they're saying, they'll do anything to get the crystal pearl!" replied zero as he jumped from the second story window, kieko got these deer in headlight eyes, were they lying? so zero did hate her? and all of her friends would leave her? her eyes teared up, "ok we get the whole rivalry between us and all but when you take it to a level as to tell some random girl that we were lying to her when we said that she'll be ok after her friend was so rude to her, you've taken it a bit far"nanase said. zero's eyes widened he turned his heat to kieko "kieko about what happened back there i...i'm..."he started "that was you zero!? wow i knew you were a jerk but i never thought you'd make a girl cry over nothing" yakumo barked, ichi glared at him "this has nothing to do with you" ichi replied kieko stared for several moments, a loud buzzing sound relatively close to her went off, "the crystal pearl is near, the crystal pearl is near" it chimed in a familiar robotic swiftly turned her head to the direction of the sound,it was coming from yakumo's back pocket, he slowly pulled it out, making sure not to make a frighteningly fast movements, as it reached the side of his belt he slowly pointed it towards kieko, the beeping got faster. "so you're the girl who swallowed the crystal pearl" he said calmly "i thought that was just a rumour"said nanase. "very well,kieko how about you stay with us instead of these jerks? i promise we won't yell at you"yakumo said in a coaxing voice ichi's eyes grew almost angry but still not quite at that stage yet, he then stood up from his defencive position."fine then, if kieko wants to go with you we won't stop her"ichi said, zero looked at him. and within seconds the four boys were on either side of her standing there, staring, watching her every move. millions of thoughts buzzed in her mind, it was starting to hurt the echos of evry idea and posibility pounding against her skull, screaming for her attention. she couldn't handle that, he rvision strated to blur, "no"she told her self "not this time, i will stand past my frears, they will not take control i will."she thought she ceared her head, she took a deep breath, she gingerly put her earbuds in her ear, she turned the music up as loud as it would go, she started waliking, btu not twards any of the gys, twords the front of the building. "kieko, where are you going?" cried a distressed stopped in her tracks and took out one of her buds,she swiftly flipped her head to the side to look at him, "i'm going home, you coming?" she said in a matter of fact voice. zeros eyes lit up "you forgive me?" he asked "i remember hitting you, i should be asking for your forgiveness" she said in a melancholy voice "i'm sorry"he replied "you can't start a new chapter if you keep rereading the last, lets not dwell"she said softly.