Kouichi's P.O.V

I sighed as I began my past to Fuji.

"Sakura was first girl I loved. She was a foot shorter and a grade lower than me so I hadn't really noticed her a first. The first time I really met her was on a beautiful, spring afternoon in The Grand Sakura Park. It was gorgeous. Sun was shining and the flowers were blooming. It was pretty late into the afternoon so no one was around. So of course, I was surprised when suddenly, this petite girl with shoulder wave length, black hair and caramel brown eyes jumped in front of me. I screamed for her to get out of the way but she just smiled innocently and stood there as I swerved around her and right into a tree. As I laid on my back, dizzy and confused, she came over with a pack of ice and plunked it down on my face. She smiled and apologized but said the weirdest thing. 'I knew you wouldn't hurt me. Your so nice Kouichi-Senpai!' I had looked at her like she was crazy and took my skateboard and left. I didn't see her until a week later. She bumped into me at the library and that was where we hit it off. We found we were both into shoujo manga and we began recommending some to each other. Soon, we found we had other things in common like our favorite foods and movies. We went to Otaku and Comic Conventions together, or small places like the mall or the movies. Things were really hard at home so whenever I met up with her, I felt like I could do anything. She was the best thing to ever happen to me at that time. Finally, I realized that I had fallen for her. I had decided to tell her and asked her to meet me at the library. Where we first really met. They had done innovations on the old library so now it was really beautiful. It was the perfect place to confess my first love. Or what had felt like love. When I told her, she told me that she didn't feel the same. When she said that, I thought my world was falling apart. But what she said next made me want to die. She told me that...that our friendship was based on a dare. I should've known. Sakura and her friends were the preps of my school. They had dared her to stand in front of me and see if I would crash. I'd claimed that I was the best skateboarder and they wanted to upload to YouTube my wipe out. Apparently their boyfriend didn't like me and wanted to stop my 'claim of fame'. I guess he was jealous. Anyways, what they uploaded instead was my 'wicked' crash into a tree and I became 'four-eyed Tony' as in you know, Tony Hawk. She felt bad and decided to befriend me. But even to that day, she didn't like me and thought I was a rich and snobby nerd. Even if I had shown her my best sides, she had her mind fixed on a nerdy me and not the real me. You think I would've known because she always wore some kind of head wear to cover her face when she went somewhere with me and she never let me come to her house. But I was too excited about a 'real' friend to notice. I stumbled into the street ready to commit suicide, I was so depressed. But I guess she had a softer heart than she thought because I stepped in front of a cola truck desperate to throw away my life, when suddenly she pushed me back to the side walk and stood there. She looked back at me and smiled sadly. She spoke softly but I heard what she said. She told me that she hopes that her saving me from herself will get rid of all the offenses she committed as my 'friend'. She hoped that I would forgive her one day and that even though she wasn't the best friend ever, she knew that there'd be at least one person who would make me as happy as she seemed to make me. She gave one last innocent smile, the same smile she gave to me the first time we met and stood firm. I lunged forward trying to save her, no matter even if she had been a horrible friend, I still cared about her. But I was too late as the truck collided with her and she died on the impact. I wasn't the same after that. Not because everyone at school hated me or because I became a loner, it's because I lost the first friend and love that I ever had. My parents divorced after that. My dad couldn't take my rebellious behavior or my mom's attitude anymore and just left us. Most of our staff quit too. They didn't want their reputation ruined because they worked for me. i had no one. The gardener that was my friend, he stayed. But I guess in revenge, Sakura's family had him killed. I was so upset. I wanted to sue but mom held me back saying we shouldn't waste our money on an 'old guy who can't even do his job right'. That was the time that I hated my mother and I didn't want anything to do with her anymore. I shut myself away from her. I was gonna sue but she took all my money that I got as 'pity money' from my father and locked it away from me in my inheritance money in the bank. I guess she knew I use it for Kenshin, the gardener, and hid it so I couldn't use it. At least till I found a wifey. Ugh. But yea...that's the story of...of Sakura..." I explained to Fuji and put my head down.

I waited to see what she would see but I didn't hear anything. I looked up and saw her with her face in her hands. Confused, I took her hands from her face gently and saw her face was streaked with tears. "F-Fuji? Are you ok?" I asked softly. She cried even more and started to hiccup. "It's *hic* just s-so *hic* sad!" She exclaimed. I laughed quietly and smiled at her understanding. "Thanks for listening. You know, you're the first person I've ever told that story since she died..." I said laying back against the smooth vines surrounding my balcony. Fuji wiped her eyes and looked at me. "How *hic* long has it been *hic* since she died *hic*" She muttered and then held her breath, trying to get rid of her hiccups. I laughed at the funny face she was making. "Well if I remember correctly, tomorrow is first year since she died..." She looked at me confused. "Wait! Wait! This happened a year ago?! How come I didn't hear about this?!" I shrugged. Sakura didn't exactly belong to a very rich or important family so I guess it didn't make to the news." I said nonchalantly like it was nothing. She sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. "Well you don't have to worry about me betraying you! I know for a fact that we are real friends! Right?" She asked. I looked at her and smiled cheerfully. "Of course! Always!" I declared loudly, standing up and raising a victory fist. She laughed and cheered with me.

Finally, we fell back down onto the bench in laughter. This is it. I have to tell her. The truth about her precious 'Yoshi-Chan'. I sighed. I really hoped this wouldn't mess up anything. If it does. God bye first real friendship and hello loser ville. Again. But she had to know! That's what a real friend would do right? I was about to tell her when her phone rang. She looked at it and gasped in delight. "It's Yoshi! He wants me to meet him at the surf shack! Sorry to end this so short but you understand right? Don't worry! I'll make it up by taking you to the next Otakon ok?" She jumped up excited. I laughed at her excitement and nodded. "Ok ok fine whatever. I'll see you later right?" I asked leading her out. She nodded and gave me a hug. "Thanks Kouichi-Kun! I'll see you!" She exclaimed and rushed out the door. I laughed but then stopped. Oh shoot. I forgot to tell her. I slapped my head. What is with me?! I sighed. I guess I could...follow her? T-To make sure she's alright! Ok! Stop having a conversation with yourself and go! I ran out the door and glimpsed her running down the street. She's headed towards the beach? Oh yea! Yoshi works at a surf shack! I ran after her and quickly took a shortcut to the beach where I wouldn't bump into her. I arrived there a few minutes before her and spotted Yoshi. Was he talking to someone? I looked closer and noticed it was the girl from the other day. The one that went to my school. Koizumi Momoko was it? I got closer. It seemed things were getting a bit dense. Suddenly, he grabbed her and took out a knife. I was going to stop him but then i realized Fuji wouldn't see him being a jerk. I'll just have to wait. I could faintly make out what they were saying. "You'll give me all your money right?!" He threatened her. "Y-Yoshi-Chan?! W-What are you saying?!" Koizumi-San gasped out. He smirked and held the knife closer so that if she moved, the knife would cut her. She must have realized this and stopped struggling. "Yoshi-Chan why?!" She asked. He laughed evilly. "Because! I wanna be rich! All I had to do is trick you gullible ladies out of your money! If you don't give me all your families money then after I kill you, I'll kill your family as well!" "L-Ladies?! You mean there are others?" She questioned. "Of course fool!" He exclaimed and turned around so that he could kick open the door behind them. When he did, a room was revealed and I heard her gasp. I peeked around the surfboard that decorated the shack and held in my breath. In the room was four other girls as I recognized that came to my mother's dinner parties. Kita Moriko of the gaming business, Tanaka Natsuko of the food business, Kobayashi Nobuko of the medicine business, and Wakahisa Reiko of the fashion business. All of them were very important heiresses. With Koizumi Momoko of the book business and Tsukino Fuji of the business industry, he could easily become a billionaire. I was flustered and irritated. Using their hearts to get their money. What a jerk! I turned my attention back to Koizumi-San and Yoshi as she started to sweat with fear. "Ar-are they dead?!" She asked quietly. He smirked and tightened his grip on her so that she was turning red. "Of course not you ninny. They agreed to give me all their money. They wrote checks and signed a contract which you'll do soon enough! Or else..." He muttered in her ear. She wheezed for breath and the color flushed out of her face. "Ok Ok! Spare me! I'll give you the Koizumi Fortune! Just please don't kill me! O-Or my family!" She cried out. Yoshi smirked. "That's what I thought." He said, pulling a contract and pen out of his pocket, watched her sign, and then knocked her out. I cringed as I watched her fall to floor, unconscious. He laughed and stuck the contract in his other pocket. I heard a crinkle and knew there were other contracts.

Soon, I heard Fuji's familiar laugh and quickly hid behind a palm tree decoration. I watched her sprint up to the shack and call to Yoshi. "Oh Yoshi-Chan! I'm so happy I could see you! Today at the park was hectic." She announced. You could clearly tell she was on cloud nine. He came out of the shack from the side door and embraced her. "Fuji!" He exclaimed. "You're as beautiful as always!" I winced. He was definitely lying but you'd think he was sincere. "Hey we got new decorations for the shack! Wanna see?" He asked, cheerfully. She laughed and nodded. "Always the decorations, Yoshi" He laughed with her and led her in side. Swiftly, I went back to hiding behind the surfboard decoration and watched them. He pulled out a surfboard and she gaped in awe. "Wow Yoshi-Chan! This is legit! With flames and everything!" He smiled at her enthusiasm. "I'm glad you liked it! I thought of you as I ordered it!" He gushed. She blushed and looked at him, shyly. "Aw. You're so sweet, Yoshi-Chan." She said softly. He smiled, rested the board against the wall, and pulled her closer. He took one of her hands, and with the other, he gently took her chin. I recoiled as I watched them share a small but heartfelt kiss. Soon, they drew back for breath. When she looked back at him, she was in pure bliss. He laughed quietly an then led her to the few chairs at the front of the shack and sat her down. Then, he sat down next to her and his eyes twinkled. "Hey if you're not too busy, would you like to hang out with me and watch the shack?" He asked. She nodded with pleasure. He smiled. I seethed with anger. Can't she see he's playing her?! I remembered my mother telling me once that when a girl was in love, she couldn't see one's flaws. I sighed silently. Before long, after all their cuddling and lovey-lovey talk, his eyes popped back to reality. "Oh yea! I forgot! I forgot! The shack manager is throwing a party at the water park for the staff, and we're allowed to bring a guest! Would you like to come?" He asked and she nodded. His eyes were sparkling as he grabbed a paper and another pen from his pocket. I gasped noiselessly as I realized it was the pocket where the last contract was. Fuji's contract. Please let her notice. He laid the paper down and she glanced at it, confused. "What's this?" She asked, picking up the paper. He grabbed it back and laughed. "Don't worry, Fuji! This just the safety contract, stating that if you get hurt, it's not their responsibility." He explained. She looked at little surprised but was too happy to check to see if he was right. She took the pen and quickly signed her name. While she was doing this, I watched Yoshi get up and grab the new surfboard decoration. He quietly sneaked up to her and looked ready to bash her with it. I couldn't let an innocent girl get hurt by the guy she loved, much less Fuji. I swiftly entered the opening in the shack door.

Just as he slammed the board down, I was in front of Fuji, with my arms protecting her and myself. A loud crash rang through the shack as the board hit me, leaving my arms red with pain. Fuji jumped up and turned, noticing me with red arms and Yoshi with a broken board. "Kouichi-Kun?! What happened?! Yoshi-Chan, what are you doing?!" She cried out and held up my arm, gingerly, insisting to nurse it. Yoshi laughed loudly and grabbed Fuji, kicking me down. "Shut up you moron!" He shouted as he took out his pocket knife, and positioned it tightly across her neck. Fuji glanced down at the knife and her eyes grew wide. "Y-Yoshi...wh-what is this?" She asked softly, terrified. He snickered at her question as if it was obvious. "What do you think this is, numb skull?!" He stated. "I got you to sign over your family fortune to me so I wouldn't kill them." Her eyes grew wider as her mind accepted the fact that her childhood friend and love of her life, was threatening to kill her. A tear fell silently from her eye. "You can have my fortune, Yoshi." She said whispered, putting her head down, as she looked defeated. "But just tell me one thing...why?" Yoshi grinned a tiny smile as he heard her question. "Why? Because. I want to be rich! And I wasn't gonna able to do that in my position now. No way your grandmother would ever let us get married!" He said simply. "W-We could've eloped..." She mentioned quietly, not looking up. He glanced down at her and sighed. "You don't get it, do you? If we did that, you wouldn't get your money and I would be poorer than ever!" He said. "D-Did you ever really love me?" She asked. Yoshi laughed. "Love?" Then he stopped and spoke softly, loosening his grip on her. "Yes...once I did...in our freshman year. It was when my grandmother died and my father lost his job and my mother left. We were dirt poor but when I met you everyday in school, I didn't even feel the pain of my family falling apart. I didn't tell you, gathering up courage, and saving up money till I finally was able to to get you a really nice ring to give you so I could confess me feelings to you. Do you remember that?" He said tightening his grip again and cut the knife the knife slightly into her neck. She whimpered and I tried to get up, but my arms were bleeding, and my head was so dizzy, I could hardly sit up long enough to look at Fuji. "When I finally professed myself to you, you laughed declaring you couldn't possibly date a commoner like me. You didn't like me that way, I knew, but the way you called me a commoner, as if we hadn't been friends since we were five, as if i was just dog crap on your shoe, made me feel so low was the ground underneath. I went home with a broken heart, and in my pain, I ended up killing my beloved little brother in his sleep. After that, I vowed to make you feel just like I did. Dead. I felt dead inside and I intend to do that to you." He continued, smiling. Fuji looked up in horror. "Y-You killed Sho?!" She whispered, terrified. "Y-You loved Sho-" She said but was interrupted as Yoshi cut even deeper. "Which is why I intend to kill you too." He stated, laughing. I laid there in pain and anger thinking of Yoshi hurting Fuji just because she rejected him. Without them noticing, I got up slowly, shaking away my head ache. Swiftly, I grabbed Yoshi's hand before he could cut even deeper. "S-Stop..." I muttered, my arms wavering. Yoshi looked at my me, surprised, but smiled. "So what? You trying to be a hero, you wimp?" He laughed, mocking me. Suddenly, I felt the air got hotter and noticed that the heat was coming from Fuji, and I could swear I could see her aura as it got red. Swiftly, she elbowed Yoshi's stomach and he let go, recoiling in pain. The knife clattered to the floor as he held his stomach. I held the counter to support my shaking legs. Fuji snatched the knife and quickly cornered Yoshi, holding the knife to his neck. Yoshi's eyes grew wide and stopped holding his hurting stomach and held up his hands. "You can hurt me all you want but when you threaten Kouichi-Kun, I will be the one to hurt you! Got that?" She threatened. Yoshi was shocked but seemed a little proud. "Oh so Kouichi is so weak that he needs to be protected by a girl?" He asked, mockingly. She got madder and came closer so that the knife poked a hole in his neck, with a stream of blood gushing out slowly. He flinched in pain but said nothing. Suddenly, he grabbed the knife and turned Fuji around. He was so fast, she had no time to react. Without a word, he slashed at her. I think he meant to slash her neck open but her hair was so thick, he just cut her hair until it looked like a shaggy and badly-shaped boy cut. The air was silent as Fuji felt her hair fall around from behind her. Slowly she turned and saw all the fallen hair. Her eyes welled up with tears as she fell to the ground. Even Yoshi was surprised that he cut her hair, and cringed as he saw her hair fall. I guess he knew how important her hair was to her because he dropped the knife and didn't say anything. I came up to them and looked up at Yoshi. "Never. Hurt. Her. Again." I whispered with rage and then punched him in the face. That wouldn't have hurt him too bad but he was against a wall, so when his head made impact with the wall, he was knocked out. I opened the secret room to find all the girls had regained consciousness. They looked at me with gratefulness and then turned to Fuji. When they noticed all the hair on the floor and her new hair cut, they crowded around her, understanding with sympathy.

Soon, the cops came and took the unconscious Yoshi and the contracts which they could use against him in court. Only then, when everyone was gone and it was just me and Fuji, did she cry. She came up to me and laid her head there sobbing with pain. I pulled her into a warm hug and rested my head on hers, crying along with her. She hugged me back and we said nothing, wallowing in our sadness in silence.

Soon, she stopped and looked at me with red, puffy eyes, and smiled. "Thank you Kouichi-Kun...I would've died if you weren't there..." She said quietly. I smiled back at her and held a finger to her lips and hugged her again. As much as I liked the credit and appreciation, I knew that wasn't what she needed. She was alive and safe and that was all I needed to know.

Whoa ok so this chapter was super long. Sorry for that. I just got so caught up in that. But now that's done. I'll try to make it shorter or whatever. Thanks for reading and stay tuned because I'll be updating soon. Very soon.

~Jason Hibiki; KenAndJason