"Kei-!" Hitomi forced the words back down as she saw how Atobe returned Marc's backhand. Marc was the right hand to Kenji, and as such had proved himself to be a worthy opponent.

Even Atobe was beginning to acknowledge his strength.

"If you've got enough energy to be that dastardly, then clearly we should kick it up a notch!" Atobe provoked, attacking back with a strong return.

The entire warehouse was on edge, watching with anticipation to see who would win the half hour long rally. Hitomi realized that her school motto had embodied Atobe Keigo's life all along: ability far outranked emotion, and Atobe's ability far exceeded anything in that warehouse.

Hitomi turned to Kamiko, finding the younger girl much more into the game, and the Echizen was going so far as to give Atobe pointers!

"Go King-chan! You know exactly what movements to counter just look harder!"

"Kamiko!"

Hitomi was quick to scold. She hadn't meant for Atobe to have a match with someone like Marc, or anyone of Kenji's caliber.

"But Mi-chan, look at King-chan go!"

How Hitomi was able to break up the match before it concluded, she'll never know. Someone had run in talking about police, and after that it was a panic. Everyone had scurried except for the two on the court. It wasn't until Hitomi had grasped Atobe's racquet that he had seemed to step out of his trance like state. Even Marc was consumed, and by then Kamiko had taken both Hitomi and Atobe to an exit that evaded the authorities.

"What was he even thinking..." Hitomi asked herself as she trudged into the studio building. In the corner of her eye Atobe's limousine drove off. Hitomi assumed it was to pick up the heir himself.

Despite everything that had happened, Hitomi was grateful she was still able to act. Production was coming along nicely, and her coworkers and the crew were beginning to acknowledge her talent. Missing school was starting to become a common occurrence, and before her teachers could call her father to ask Hitomi had intercepted, explaining the situation to them with a laugh and a lie about how her father was supporting her dream.

Hyotei took this chance to support her as an opportunity to place her name on the walls. A famous alumni would heighten their superior status.

Hitomi set her script aside and took a deep breath, watching the bustling crew hurry to fix the last finishing touches on actors or the set before they began to film for the day.

Whatever Atobe had been thinking that night, Hitomi thought, she would have to ask about it later. Her leg had healed up within two weeks, the first week she had insisted on going onto the set to resume shooting. She didn't want to lose her opportunity or give anyone the chance to replace her role, and as a result had been staying out so late in order to catch up with her scenes that her father noticed her disappearance. It was then that he had snapped.

She shuddered to think of the fight. Having Kamiko help her climb out of her window had been so freeing, and she didn't know where she had the courage to even yell back or defend herself this time. All she could think about was how her friends were there to help her, and they would be there for her when she wanted to reach out. Despite Kamiko basically blackmailing Hiromi into submission, Hitomi realized she didn't fight any longer about it because a part of her truly wanted to just be gone from her father's home. A part of her wanted to be saved by someone else, and she had finally come to terms with being okay with that.

"And that's a wrap! Thank you for your hard work!" The director called the night, snapping Hitomi out of her thoughts as she waited patiently to help take her makeup off. She had been given the role of a girl who had undergone a terrible accident, disfiguring her and leaving her insecure. Her character's insecurity would fuel her bitterness and her thirst for revenge on those who had wronged her. It was a character arc on how she must realize that her disfigurement is not what makes her a monster, but her actions.

Hitomi had never known a challenge like this, and felt unprepared to play a person that portrayed her father's anger and abuse. It was releasing that pent up rage inside of her that made her better. She didn't even know how angry she had been until she stood up to her father, refusing to back down and even managing to defend herself from a few of his attacks.

She stood up out of the makeup chair and grabbed her things after saying thanks. She had zoned out the entire time in that chair, and they had told her she was done at least two times before she finally heard.

The limousine driver arrived at precisely the time Hitomi stated, and she felt as pensive as ever on that car ride to her temporary place of residence. Did Atobe's parents know of her occupying one of their rooms? Had they done a background check on her and know exactly what was going on?

She frowned. Did Kamiko have this much trouble her first night with Fuji?

"But she was nervous for an entirely different reason..." Hitomi seemed to explain to herself. Hitomi didn't want to intrude, and didn't want any more people to know of her problems. Kamiko didn't want to intrude in her crush's home. They were entirely different. "Entirely... Different."

Her eyes grew wide as the heavy metal gates gracefully swung open. The Atobe mansion was intimidatingly large, as an Atobe estate should be.

"There's no way Kamiko was more nervous than me right now." Hitomi frowned at the rapid beating of her heart. She took a deep, calming breath and closed her eyes. The next time she opened them would be when she heard the car door opening.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters/plot/etc., of the PoT manga/anime.