Aiko stayed the night with Emma under Daichi's excuse that there had been a tournament at the Dojo and Aiko was asked to participate in it at the last minute. She had done well and gotten through to the finals so some of the girls had planned the sleepover party.

Daichi warned her that her father wasn't very happy with her mindlessness in mixing up the details between the dinner with friends and a martial arts tournament, but as he was still away he would have to deal with any punishment when he returned. Daichi assured her he had done his best to soften the whole situation, but it was a little beyond even him.

A nice amount of the swelling had gone down by midday, and, using the tournament as an excuse, they would probably be able to get away with the rest without making anybody too suspicious.

Emma had stressed a lot that morning and even cried a little. She knew there was nothing she could do to make Baji change his mind, but she swore she would make all the effort she could once he had calmed down.

"Do you think Baji's here?" Aiko asked Emma after taking one more look at herself, fully adorned in Emma's clothes, in the full-length mirror. Daichi had arrived with a driver to collect her and she'd already kept him waiting long enough.

"He might be, but he'll probably want to keep his distance," she replied. "I think you should let him."

"You know I can't do that."

"Baji can be really stubborn. If you push him when he's not ready, you might make the situation worse."

Aiko didn't argue. Emma knew Baji as well as she might know a big brother, and from what Aiko had seen she was probably right. But, despite Emma's warning, Aiko went straight to her room and called Baji as soon as she got home.

She wasn't surprised when he didn't answer, nor when he left it to ring through to voicemail later that night. She tried calling two or three times each day until the next weekend when she went to the dojo on her usual visit.

Baji was nowhere to be seen.

"How is he?" Aiko asked Emma after her session had finished.

"You know Baji," she said with a soft smile. "He's angry."

Emma said she'd tried everything to get him to speak with Aiko. Screaming, shouting and just plain begging, and each attempt had been met with increasing aggression. Mikey seconded Emma's explanation saying he'd tried the same, but Baji could be a hard-headed fool when he wanted to be.

"We could always hold him down and beat some sense into him if you want," Draken added.

He'd been quietly playing poker with Daichi, who had become his weekend rival after he'd taught him how to play and found he had quite a good knack for the game.

It almost seemed that Baji wouldn't arrive when the extra two hours they'd tricked their driver into giving them, in hope that Baji would show, was almost over; when in he walked with Chifuyu.

Baji stopped in his place on seeing Aiko sitting on the sofa with Emma and Mikey. He nodded a greeting, presumably to Mikey and turned to talk to some other boys who were sitting on the gym mats.

Aiko stood before allowing the thought that he had just completely ignored her to settle in her mind.

Emma gripped Aiko's arm and whispered, "He's not ready."

But Aiko shrugged, struggling to give any response except a faltered 'I can't' to which Emma nodded. Despite what the possible consequences were, she would probably have done the same thing.

"Hey," Aiko said, stopping in front of Baji and Chifuyu.

Chifuyu smiled, although it looked sadder than anything else and gave a light response, Baji acted as if she hadn't even spoken.

Her heart plummeted at the realisation that Emma probably was right, or at least she hoped that was all it was. Either he just wasn't ready as Emma had suggested, or he really didn't want anything to do with her ever again.

What do I do? she panicked, for the first time afraid to approach Baji in case he completely rejected her. Being ignored she could just about handle, for the time being, but to be pushed away would be too much. Confused, but controlled by instinct as she usually was, Aiko stepped forward and grabbed hold of Chifuyu, pulling him into a tight embrace. "I've missed you so much. Why haven't you kept in touch?"

Chifuyu squirmed under Aiko's grip. "Err ... I ... "

"It's fine," Aiko said, pulling away to look Chifuyu in the eye. "I'm not upset ... at all. I know you've been worried, and ..."

Chifuyu's brow drew in tightly as the fact that she was addressing Baji dawned on him. His eyes flicked to Baji quickly who was also watching from under dipped eyebrows.

"You don't need to worry," Aiko continued rambling. "Because I'm fine. I've only been sad from not hearing from you." From the corner of her eye, she noticed Baji's movement as he started to walk away. "Please don't ignore me," she shouted, turning to Baji then.

Baji turned, his gaze slowly taking in Aiko's face before it dropped to her neckline. A pained expression covered his face for a moment and then he turned back to the exit.

"Wait," she said, leaping the short space between them and grabbing hold of his arm.

"Leave me alone, Aiko."

"Please." Aiko's voice strained that time. "What you're doing now hurts more than what happened that day."

Baji let out a deep breath and rubbed his hand roughly on his brow.

Was he composing himself or preparing what to say? She wasn't sure until his hand dropped and he looked straight at her with blank eyes, devoid of the usual sparkle they held.

"Emma's your friend so I can't tell you not to see her. But stop calling me and don't try to speak to me if you see me, or I'll make sure Daichi doesn't bring you back again." And after a small tug to release his arm from her grip, he walked away.

Aiko took in several deep breaths to restrain herself and a quick look around the dojo. Most of the people were minding their own business or at least appearing to. Only the group she'd been sitting with were openly watching.

"Why is he doing this?" she asked Daichi as she sat back down by Emma. Both Mikey and Draken had left to follow Baji outside.

"You didn't see how you were that night," he said. There was clear anger in his voice although he tried his best to contain it. "Do you know what could have happened if the other guys hadn't shown up?"

"But they did and everything worked out fine."

"Being drugged and beaten by some boys is not fine. How you looked, was not fine," he said, gesturing to her face. "Maybe you enjoy being reckless, but some of us are more responsible than that."

"But it wasn't his fault."

"We know the gang was targeting Toman members," Emma added. "So, I'm pretty sure that's not how Baji feels."

"But it wasn't." Finally, the sobs broke free as the weight of the situation bore down on her. If Baji was blaming himself then he might be a lot more serious than she was hoping.

"Look, I know it wasn't his fault," Daichi said as their driver rode them back home. Aiko had stopped crying under Emma's comfort, but she had remained in the same miserable state, simply staring quietly into nowhere. "But I get why he feels the way he does. Maybe give him some time."

But time wasn't on her side. Her father would be home within two weeks and he had already sworn to punish her. With no school for the next 2 months, she had no idea when she would manage to see  Baji again if he did change his mind.

Aiko called him every night, and every night her calls were left unanswered until her father returned and confiscated her room phone as well as anything else he thought she might enjoy. He even threatened to remove her star lights except it would require a worker to do the job and he didn't have the time to arrange it.

Any visits to the dojo were cancelled as were all other visits anywhere. Even visiting Daichi was out of bounds on account of Daichi being too soft on her and allowing her to corrupt him with her charms.

Ha, Aiko mocked. If only he knew I had nothing to do with it. Daichi's been corrupted by the same charms I've fallen for.

But protesting or trying to challenge her father in any way, was useless. Until school restarted she was her father's captive. At least I have the August 3rd festival to look forward to, something that gave her the smallest hope. She would see Daichi and Yui and was even looking forward to seeing Ichika. Who knows, maybe I'll get a chance to sneak away then.