Amira leaned back in her chair, glancing at her friend, Hikaru Okamihime, who, like her was a Strain, and a target of the Black Class.

Just how sadistically twisted is the headmistress who holds this class? she wondered. It was tough enough to learn that she and Hikaru were both targets of the said class which was filled with assassins of every kind, one of them being the daughter of Koshi Mizuchi ( although Amira still had to figure out her identity among her classmates since she was using an alias ), but the fact that the headmistress, Meichi Yuri, was his sister definitely took the cake. She was as equally twisted as her brother, making Amira the target of the Black Class to torment her mentally and emotionally, and in retaliation for his death. The catch there was that Amira wasn't the only Strain to become a target of the Black Class; unlike the previous Black Classes that were organized where there was a single target, this year, there were two targets, the other named Hikaru Okamihime. The silver haired girl was a Strain with the instincts and nature of a wolf – and she could change into one as well.

Both girls were Strains who had managed to survive the brutality of the Gold Clan after becoming targets, Hikaru having been been kidnapped by them at the same time as Anna and Amira, although the latter two hadn't crossed paths with her at the time. She had been drugged and kept in a cage with some of the other " Wolf-Strains " that had been captured alongside her, and when her childhood friend, Saruhiko Fushimi, who was a member of HOMRA learned of her abduction and Anna's, he had wasted no time coming to save her.

When Amira freed the Strains imprisoned in the facility before she brought it down, Hikaru was one of those who had managed to escape once the doors were unlocked, while others had not been so lucky. Those who were too emotionally and physically broken to try and escape died without ever having a taste of the freedom that had been taken from them.

Hikaru glanced at the clock. One more hour to go before class was over.

One more hour before she saw Saruhiko.

The first time she had shown him her wolf form, Hikaru feared that he would turn her away and never look at her again.

But he hadn't.

He had been burning up with a fever, so Hikaru and Misaki had skipped school to come and see him. While Misaki made some soup that would help chase Saruhiko's inner chill away, Hikaru had wiped the sweat from his brow, and applied a warm compress to his forehead to try and bring his temperature down.

She'd caught Niki Fushimi's scent in the air as he arrived, and felt her hackles go up at the malice that reeked off of him. That man came in just as Hikaru was helping Saruhiko to his room, Misaki on his other side. The sadistic smile on his face at the sight of his son's/victim's friends made Hikaru shudder, and when he suggested setting both of them on fire to have a little fun, she knew that she was looking at the face of evil. Saruhiko had tried to get her and Misaki to leave as that man left to get some matches and a gallon of gasoline, but Hikaru and Misaki half carried him to his room where they barricaded themselves, and she made a rope out of the bed sheets that she immediately tossed out the window. They'd climbed out the window, only to find that Niki was waiting for them on the front lawn, intent on having his fun.

That was the last straw.

Teling Misaki to take Saruhiko to her house, she handed the former her keys, and just as that man advanced on them, she snapped and turned into a white wolf with silver sheened fur in front of those present. It was almost hilarious to see the look on that man's face upon realizing that the tables had turned on him, and she chased him back into the house where he locked the doors so Hikaru couldn't reach him.

Unable to face Saruhiko and Misaki, let alone see their expressions, Hikaru had turned and run, not returning to her apartment until later that evening. She had forgotten that she'd given Misaki the keys, and when she arrived, she was still a wolf. Snatching some clothes from her closet, Hikaru hurried into the bathroom where she changed back into her human form, and showered to remove the day's grime from her body, and changed into her clothes.

When Hikaru emerged from the bathroom, Saruhiko wasn't about to let her off.

" So you're a she-wolf? " Saruhiko came to stand in front of her, his blue eyes softening in a way that she had never seen with other people. He was still sick, but that didn't mean that he wasn't looking for answers.

Unable to meet his eyes, Hikaru looked away and nodded. " I'm sorry I didn't tell you.. "

Saruhiko caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, and tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his eyes. " Big deal, " he muttered. " You don't have to have strange powers to be a monster, and just because you're human doesn't mean that you're a saint. "

You're beautiful either way, Saruhiko thought. So beautiful…

Hikaru knew that she loved him back then, but his acceptance of her other form had made her love him even more…

Niki Fushimi obviously hadn't forgotten her for standing up to him, and defending his son, so he got even by tipping the Gold Clan off about her – for a price.

When she'd been kidnapped, Saruhiko Fushimi knew that he would do anything to get her back, and when he found her, he'd hugged her so tightly that she feared that her bones would break.

He hadn't wanted to let her go…