Haru continued to act weird. Or, at least, he was acting weird for himself. At several points in the day, he came in to observe (Y/n), Bastien in hand. In fact, she didn't think he ever put the infant down since his father had come to visit. Haru didn't say a word when he went to see her either, merely entering her room to touch her forehead or scrutinize her before leaving. The brunette also joined Yamato in chastising her about eating, forcing her to sit down and eat an entire meal. No one knew what was up with him.

As the (h/c) haired girl sprawled herself out on her bed, trying to come up with an answer to his strange behavior, Shota appeared. The red-haired male bit down on his lip, wondering just how to approach her. Ultimately, he didn't get the time to think of how to since she sat up and stared at him. In response, he tried to give her a big smile in hopes of earning the same back, but, as always, she wanted nothing to do with him. He gave a rough exhale, taking a seat next to her as he worked out his next words.

"We haven't gotten to speak a lot recently," he murmured, "I realize you're not at all content with the situation, but I was hoping you'd come around. I-I noticed you already forgave Akari and you've even been talking with Rei - which, I don't know why you would want to talk with the likes of him, b-but I do understand - "

"Just say what you want."

"Oh. It's just...I've been waiting for my turn to spend some time with you, but it didn't seem like you ever planned on speaking to me. So, I figured I would take the initiative to solve our misunderstandings. I-I've even brought a present."

(Y/n) gazed down as the redhead pushed forward a neatly wrapped box. Nervously, he smiled and shrugged, waiting for her to open it. With a sigh, she decided to play along, unfurling the ribbon and taking the lid off. Inside was a very beautiful and intricately detailed key attached to a necklace chain. Hesitantly, she glanced from the object to him, watching him soften a bit. He then reached forward to help fasten it around her neck, giving a satisfied smile at the way it looked on her.

"It unlocks something in this house," he proudly informed her, "I figured you must be very bored trapped here, but, if you had something to look forward to, it would help, would it? So, I'm giving you the goal of finding out where the lock is. And, if you find it, you'll get a reward. Isn't that fun?"

The younger girl held up the key to her eye, inspecting it closely. Shota seemed very pleased about that, putting his hands together in delight. He noticed she'd been feeling cramped lately, so he hoped the little game would lift her spirits. She was curious by nature, too, so, hopefully, she might enjoy it, too. The red-haired male blushed as he pictured her rushing around the house like she was on a treasure hunt. It was going to be so cute.

"So, it's a game?" the girl questioned, earning an enthusiastic nod from him.

"That's right! It's a game just for you. I promise the prize is something you'd actually want, too. Actually, if you want, I can give you little hints about where the lock - "

A clank sounded out. It was probably barely noticeable, even to the dogs, but, to Shota, it rang louder than anything he'd ever heard before. His eyes trailed shakily to the ground, the male biting down on his lip. She threw it. She threw his gift - which he had painstakingly created just for her - on the ground like it was worthless trash. Balling his heartache and frustration inside, the male picked up, hoping it was just an accident. Though, when she would have had to purposefully undone the hook of the necklace, that wasn't even a possibility. He was delusional, but, all the same, he handed it back to her affectionately.

"Don't you get it?" she mumbled lowly, accepting the necklace only to hold it out in front of her, "I'm sick of you. You and your games are disgusting. I want nothing to do with either."

Shota flinched when she released the key once more, sending it plummeting to the floor again. Though the sound was the same, it rang even louder to him. Horrified, the male looked to her for an explanation. He wanted to know why she hated him. She was sick of him? That wasn't enough. Shota needed to know what he could do to fix it; how he could be her favorite again. That was the whole point of the game. Why didn't she want to play? He tensed up.

"B-But I said I'd give you a reward. I gave you a present, I offered you some fun...I don't understand. Why do you suddenly hate me?"

"Most recently, it's the fact you broke into my house. Don't deny it either. Takuya confessed."

"T-Takuya?" Shota trembled, trying to figure out a way to relieve her anger, "Well...you know him. He'd say anything to get your approval, so - "

"Trying to pin the blame on him? That's just typical of you. These are the kinds of games I'm talking about, you know. Like you think I'm an idiot."

"No! No, I'd never think that! The house...I only went to the house because you were clearly in a horrible situation! You were trying to eat a rotten apple and you kept passing out, but you never said why. I was concerned! That's all. I wasn't trying to pry or - "

"Except you were. You broke into my house to find information about me all on your own. If I didn't want to tell you, that was the next logical step? What made you think doing that would ever help you earn my trust?"

"I-I just wanted to help."

Shota trembled as she gave up talking to him, the male tearing up as she fled downstairs. She left him confused and hurt, wondering just how he was going to dig himself out of that mess. The house was just one thing she was upset about. He'd also been the one to help organize the whole abduction. And he'd gone and made Motoko stab Narahashi. Even if he had legitimate reasons for those things, she wasn't even willing to listen. Just what would she do if she learned he had Narahashi's father attacked, too?

The answer to that was simple: she would hate him forever. (Y/n) would never fall in love with him and she'd certainly never tell him all the mysteries surrounding her, but, more than that, she wouldn't even look at him anymore. Shota began to cry out of frustration. Just what was he meant to do? If she kept acting like that to him, that meant one of the others would win, and, if things kept going as they were then, Rei would win. And, if Rei won...No, Shota couldn't let that happen. He just couldn't.

Downstairs, (Y/n) should have known she would run into someone. Unfortunately, it just so happened to be Haru who, after taking one look at her, rushed back with a plate full of green vegetables. Though she attempted to act as though she hadn't seen him, he merely walked around so she had no choice but to acknowledge him. Then, the male shoved the plate in her arms. He didn't say anything, but the fact that he was glancing from the plate to her mouth gave away his desires.

"Oh," she chuckled, "Thank you so much. But I'm not really hungry yet, so I'll just put these to the side for later. Is that - "

Haru wasn't listening to her at all. On the contrary, he went and shoved one of the leafy greens in her mouth, almost scaring himself when, in response, she was quick to spit it out in a hurry. She watched as he frowned and snatched the plate from her, hurriedly walking towards her no matter how much she tried to back away. To his credit, he tried very hard to corner her into eating the vegetables. It was just that she hated them with a fiery passion, resisting at every turn.

"Stop running," he huffed, attempting to pin her down instead, "I'll get Yamato if you don't stop."

"Why would he care?!" the girl growled, pushing the male away as he tried pressing a piece of kale to her lips, "I'm eating my meals like he wants! No one ever said I had to eat these plants!"

"I said so. Eat."

Haru wasn't messing around, calling in Yamato when she kept running away. And even though she was absolutely certain the older male wouldn't care about it, on the contrary, he quickly held her in place. His excuse was that she was eating too many sweets to be healthy, encouraging her to just put up with it. Though, that meant very little to her when neither one of the males had even eaten a vegetable without coercion. Unless he was distracted, Haru even refused to eat his dinner if a carrot so much as touched the plate. The hypocrisy was ridiculous.

With Yamato's "help", Haru was able to force feed her the whole plate, leaving her completely exhausted. Although, it seemed he wasn't done yet, rushing back to press a cup of tea to her lips. That was another thing she hated, kicking her feet at him in protest. This time, to force her to take it, the male squeezed her nose shut, effectively suffocating her. The look in his eyes told her he wasn't going to stop until she drank everything. Even so, she was stubborn, forced to inhale the tea and later cough it up. Haru got another cup, determined to have her drink it. In the end, he got exactly what she wanted.

"You're the worst," the (h/c) haired girl choked out, lying exhausted on the ground.

Of course, Haru didn't care. Apparently still full of energy, he grabbed onto her ankle and attempted to pull her to the other side of the house. Thankfully, Yamato spared her that indignity, picking her up and following after the younger male, mostly because of his constant pestering. Neither one expected him to lead them to the gym room. Yamato didn't even think Haru knew he had that room. He wasn't exactly an athlete.

A chill ran up the (h/c) haired girl's spine as she observed the room. The room was completely filled with all kinds of amenities like treadmills, stationary bikes, weights, and more. She slowly looked over at Haru who merely pointed at the machines, confirming her suspicions. (Y/n) wasn't lazy, per se, but she didn't believe in wasting energy when there was nothing to gain from it. What was Haru trying to say, anyway? That her freeloading was getting a bit obvious? She blushed.

"You can't make me workout," the girl huffed, feeling about as petulant as Haru.

The brunette disagreed. Worse still, though Yamato wasn't 100% clear on the younger male's motives, he refused to let her escape. He probably agreed; that she should workout to keep herself healthy. It didn't matter how much she glared at him or how much she tried to push him away from the door. He wasn't budging, letting Haru go ahead and force her to the treadmill. Reluctantly, she stepped on it, muttering another few words of stubbornness.

Ultimately, fighting the both of them over working out wasn't worth the energy it took. In the end, she was going to be exhausted either way. With a long sigh, she began to walk on the lowest setting, giving a glare to Yamato as if to ask if that was enough. He only nodded in approval, to which she rolled her eyes at. All the same, if all she had to do was walk a bit, she guess she didn't mind that much.

Still, it didn't help that Haru was staring at her the entire time. It also didn't help that he got bored, quick to reach his hand out and mess with the settings. Before she even realized what he was doing, she was forced into a run, but he didn't seem satisfied. Though she reached out to stop him, with a focused face, he slapped her hand away and kept upping the speed. Either he wasn't listening to her or just outright ignoring her, both of which made her start yelling at him. That didn't last long though.

Forced into a sprint, the (h/c) haired girl threw her head back, giving a groan. She hated running. Nevermind the fact that Narahashi was one of the fastest runners in the country. That had nothing to do with her. Running was about the only thing he could beat her at, both in speed and endurance. She was more suited to watch him. And, sure, she had always admired how fast he was, but that didn't mean she wanted to be like him. She hated running.

The girl glanced down at the sides of the treadmill, about to jump up off of the ridiculously fast-moving machine. Haru, however, was quick to hover his foot on one side of it, preventing her from hopping up. Cursing at him, she, instead, hopped to the other side with both feet, earning a "tch" from him. Yamato just stared as he worked out himself, wondering why they were goofing off. All the same, she was quick to escape from the treadmill. No doubt, if she stayed on it, Haru would make her run until she died.

Of course, just because she had escaped one machine didn't mean she could escape from exercising as a whole. The younger brunette just pushed her to another one and then another one and then a fourth. It continued like that until he glanced down at his watch and shrugged. All of a sudden, he was no longer interested in watching her. The brunette just left like that. What, did she bore him or something?

"What is up with him?!" (Y/n) snapped, collapsing on the floor as she took deep breaths.

"It couldn't have been that bad," Yamato scoffed, "Aren't you used to working out? I mean, for competitions, you would have had to."

"Have you seen me in a recent competition?"

"Well, no, actually," A pause as he contemplated that. "How come?"

The girl huffed and stood up, giving a groan at how sweaty she'd become. Haru was probably going to come pester her yet again to take a shower, so she might as well have just done it. Interestingly enough, as she came out of her bathroom, fully dressed and clean, Yamato was waiting for her. Despite the fact no one was supposed to enter without her permission, she found more and more people sneaking in. She sighed.

For Yamato, it was clear what he wanted, and, truth be told, it was definitely more tame compared to the others. She handed him the towel and let him dry her hair for her. As had become a habit for him, he started brushing out her hair, too, very focused on pinning it up to look nice and pretty. Kiana cared very little about that though. She'd all but forgotten (Y/n) existed, hopping up on the bed to lay down with her as some sort of apology. Of course, the younger girl was well aware the husky would never have come to see her if Yamato wasn't there.

"She likes you better than she likes me," the girl huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, "I don't know why I expected anything else."

"Maybe I feed her better," A pause. "I-I didn't mean it like that. It's not your fault - "

"I mean, you're right. She's one disloyal dog, forgetting all about her master."

"Actually...I've been meaning to ask. Was she a gift from someone? It's hard to tell for sure but she seems like she's got a pedigree. This kind of dog would have to be really expensive. So..."

"You could put it like that, I guess. Obviously, I didn't have the means to take care of her, so I had some help. I bet you could guess who."

Yamato narrowed his eyes and leaned back on the bed. When she put it like that, it was obvious it was Narahashi. It was always him. He might not have been super wealthy but his family was above average when it came to income and quite a bit more when it came to status. So, it might have cost him quite a lot but it would have been relatively easy to get the (h/c) haired girl a dog like Kiana. It would have been even easier to help take care of the animal, too. Suddenly, he choked on air, feeling himself get even more pissed off at the bluenette.

"I'm sorry? He gave you a dog and helped you feed and take care of it, but he didn't help feed and take care of you?"

"You make him out to sound evil," she laughed, giving a small shrug, "It's not like that."

"How isn't it?! What idiot gives someone a dog in the first place when they don't have the time or resources to take care of it?! Let alone a purebred?! He couldn't have spent that money on - oh, I don't know - making sure you didn't pass out in the middle of school?!"

"No. He couldn't have."

"And why not?!"

"I wouldn't let him. That's why," A pause. "You guys probably think he gets all my love and attention. And, well, I guess that's kind of true, but he doesn't get to know as much as you think he does. I keep him out of it."

"So, he thought the next best thing was a dog?"

"I asked for Kiana. He helped. That's all there is to it."

"B-But...why would you want a dog? Why not food? Why not - "

"C'mon. You love dogs. You should already know why I'd want one."

Yamato bit down on his bottom lip. He still didn't understand. About her wanting the dog, maybe he got that, but when it came to all the stuff about Narahashi being just as in the dark as they were...He wasn't sure about that. The bluenette clearly knew intimate details about her, probably because they'd known each other since they were tiny. But she was saying he didn't know that much about her? Yamato wondered if she was lying in some vain attempt to get everyone to stop wanting him dead.

"Kiana doesn't know any tricks," the girl cooed at the pet, "She's a very lazy, very stupid dog."

"She knows 'sit'. She also knows to follow me when I click my tongue."

"Only because you taught her. She'd never listen to me. Huh? Huh, you dumb doggy?"

"I mean," the brunette paused, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "I could teach you. You just have to know how to connect with them is all. It's not all that hard."

"Yeah? Maybe I'll take you up on that sometime."

Yamato gave a bashful smile. She might have been really stubborn about eating or about following orders, but, deep down, she was a simple person. If he was kind to her, she was kind to him. Of course, the opposite was true, too, but that was to be expected. She wasn't just going to sit there and take it when someone else started a fight. He admired that.