"Yes, Mistress?" , He asked kneeling. Ugh. That is so annoying! I hate it.

"Stop calling me that, Yoh-kun. That makes me sound old" , I said.

"I apologize, Nagasaki-sama."

I huffed and replied, "Okay. Did she send you here? You know, to help me with work?"

"Yes, Nagasaki-sama."

"Okay, then. Let's start now. School is ending and we better hurry to leave."

"Yes, Nagasaki-sama."

"Maybe you should call me something else. That's not my mother's."

"Of course, Mizutani-sama."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I started walking down the dark halls of the school. It was quiet and eerie. I decided to stay late at night here to finish up some details on the festivals. When I walked, you would be able to hear the click clacks of the echoing shoes. It really creeped me out, but I kept walking. When I turned the corner, I saw the exit. Yes! Made it. I walked to the lockers and pulled out my shoes. I took off my school shoes and slipped my shoes on. I exited the school with my backpack in hand. It was quite dark out, but I didn't mind. I walked until I exited the gate. I stopped halfway from getting a feeling of someone watching me. I shook it off and kept walking. Now I was out of school now.

Now, I was near the Hayashima Park. For some reason, I felt somebody watching me again. So, I stopped and looked around. Nothing was there, but to make sure. I walked quietly, but I was fast-walking. When I was near the big apartment a hand from the darkness pulled me towards the darkness along with it. I was a weakling, but I'm sure I would be able to scramble out of his grasp.

I struggled against the tight hold and tried returning to the light. When I was struggling I heard my name being called.

"YUKIKO!"

"YUKIKO!"

It was Kenta-kun! Overfilled with joy, I decided to struggle harder only to make his grasp grow tighter on me. When I closed my eyes, the grasp loosened. I opened my eyes and saw Kenta-kun holding me tight in his arms. I hugged him back.

"Don't be so happy yet."

Kenta-kun and I looked towards the voice to see several people blocking our path. I saw Kenta-kun grit his teeth and mutter something under his breath.

"So. You guys belong to the tiger clan." , Kenta-kun said.

The man stopped and glared at Kenta-kun, "How do you know?"

Kenta pointed to the tiger crest on the bat. "Right there."

The man grumbled and just continued walking forwards. Kenta-kun looked around. I didn't want to get hurt. Or see Kenta-kun getting hurt. I tugged on his sleeve and cried out, "Kenta-kun. Please. Let's just not fight. I don't want to see you get hurt."

I saw a grin forming on his mouth as he spoke to me, "It's okay. Don't you trust me?"

"I-I do! B-but-". He cut me off.

He smiled gently at me and said, "Then trust in me that I'll get you to safety."

I nodded. And he shoved me to the ladder of the building. I looked at him and he made a face that meant "climb 'till you reach the top". I really didn't want to leave him at all. But, I trusted him. I nodded and climbed the ladder. I heard shouts, but continued climbing. Then, somebody grabbed at my ankle, making me shrill. Tugging me back down on the cement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Don't let the girl escape! I'll handle him. Ha ha" ,He grinned sheepishly. He squeezed the bat around his fingers and pulled it up. He brought it down to hit me, but I dodged it. He did it several times and kept missing. 'I am getting tired of this game, 'I thought to myself. So, I jumped up used my right leg. I spun and kicked the bat out of his hands. He was shocked as I grinned happily to myself. He grunted and pulled a fist to my face, stopping midway he pulled his leg out and slide it against the concrete. I jumped up and dodged the actions when I heard a yelp.

I turned my face and saw a man yanking on Yukiko's ankle. She struggled to hold on, but fell on the cement. She landed on her back and got up. She bent down and coughed. I stared at her when a fist connected to my cheek. I spat out the blood and did an uppercut with a jab. Then I did a side kick along with a round kick. He fell back into the wall and I handled the rest of the other men.

While I was taking them down, I ran to Yukiko's side and did a cross to the man's cheek bones. He flew a little off the ground and I continued to take them on while Yukiko was hiding behind my back.

"Bloody Prince."

I looked at the person who said my nick name and glared at him. He approached with caution and smiled. I stepped back. Ready for a fight to approach. He still had blood in his mouth.

He spluttered out, "So. You're the mysterious Bloody Prince? I recognize that red hair of yours. Nobody has hair like that. Also you're fighting skills as well."

I kept quiet. "So. Who are you working for Bloody Prince? Never mind. Don't tell me. Unless you want your precious little girl to get hurt."

My eyes snapped open and darted towards Yukiko. The guy on the floor had gotten up and had her in a headlock with a razor on her smooth white neck. I glared at the guy and he pressed the razor closer to her skin.

She let out a groan of pain as he tightened his grip on her. My fists clenched and my teeth gritted. "Fine." , I said.

He smiled happily and nodded his head. Then I spoke when I saw the man let Yukiko go and throw her to the floor. He grabbed the knife up to me now. "I work for... None of your damn business!" , I shouted. I grabbed the razor around my neck and gripped it. Red rivers of blood were running down my arm, but I didn't care. I'll deal with the pain later.

I jerked my head forward and smacked my forehead on the man in front and behind me. They stumbled back, surprised. The razor dropped to the floor. Pushing myself up on my elbows, I shoved the next guys off of me. There was now a blade lunging for me. I braced myself and threw an arm up to deflect the blow. I felt something like an icy arc along the skin below my elbow. Then the ice turned into searing heat, and I saw more flashes of red.

Gritting my teeth at the new blossoming pain, I reached up with my other hand and grabbed his wrist yanking him down with me. I reached for the blade and closed my hands around it. I rolled on my back, slowly drawing my knees up and pressured my thumb against the point of the blade. I pushed myself off the floor and into a spin, the blade in my hand, I came to an abrupt stop and sunk the blade in his throat.

I let it go and the man choked blood. The blood spluttering to my face. Then he fell to the ground. I looked at all the men who were knocked out. Then I turned my attention towards Yukiko. She was holding the bat and looked at me with fear.

Shit. I'm in a shit-hole now. "Yukiko. Put the bat down and let me explain." ,I said calmly. She didn't say anything and walked towards me.

When I heard a sound behind me I turned around face to face with one of the guys on the ground. Off guard he was about to knock me out when something prevented him from doing so. I looked at Yukiko to see her holding the bat at the guys head. She dropped it and sank to her knees.

I walked towards the man and checked his pulse. He was still alive. I saw Yukiko shaking slightly a lot. I went to her and grabbed hold of her. I embraced her and whispered softly, "It's okay. He's not dead." She nodded her head and started crying.

**************
20 Minutes Later

"Here." , I said handing her mineral water.

She took it in her hands and clenched the water. "Who are you?", She asked calmly.

I opened the mineral water in my hands and drank it. Then I answered, "Someone you shouldn't have associated with."

"So you're a criminal." , She said bluntly.

I half choked on my water and coughed out, "I-I guess you could say that."

"Oh".

We sat in silence until she spoke up, "Are you okay?" She looked at my wound and I stared at it.

"Yep." , I said. I shook my numb arm and looked away. "You shouldn't bother with someone like me at all."

I got up to leave when something tugged at my shirt. I looked at Yukiko and she grabbed my hand. "I'm not going to leave you alone, looking like a sick person. Besides, I live with you."

"Man, when did you get so attached to me?" , I asked smiling.

Emotions flickered across her face. Affection. Happiness. Worry. Hurt. I looked away and looked down. I saw tint pink on her cheeks grow redder. As I stared at her, her eyes met mine and we stayed there looking at each other with.... affection?

Then before I knew it, my face grew hot. I looked away and pretended to look at the stars. "Yeah. Why were you out here at night?" , I asked.

"Oh. About that. I decided to stay a little longer to get the posters finished by tomorrow." , she said looking at the stars.

"Well.... We. Better hurry back home" , I said putting the finished bottle into the recycle bin. She nodded and did the same. We walked in silence to my apartment room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The silence was overbearing. It wasn't comforting or silent. It was more like tension in the air. I'm not really surprised that Kenta-kun may be a spy for the government or the I don't know gang, but Kenta-kun is Kenta-kun. Now all those connections make sense. The way he always has bruises and always bleeds on his forehead. Or the bandages on him. I looked down in front of Kenta-kun and saw that there was blood dripping on the floor from his arm.

I wanted to help him, but something in the back of my head would stop me from going near him as if he was dangerous. When I wanted to ask him if he was alright again, my voice would stop before I would be able to say anything. I kept walking behind Kenta-kun. Then he stopped, making me bump right into his back. I looked up and saw his face looking at me. I blushed and asked, "What is it?"

He grabbed my hand and pulled me beside him. Then he said, "I don't know if they would grab you away from me without me noticing." I smiled and gripped his hands. His hands were larger than mines were. They were big, soft, and warm. I had this urge to put his hand on my face, but I knew I would embarrass myself. So I held myself back. The warmth emanating from his hand made me warm, I wanted to hide in his palm forever and never leave. I shivered as the breeze of the cold night chilled me.

I'm guessing Kenta-kun saw me shiver, because he wrapped his jacket around me and held my hand again. I felt my face brimming with sweat and hotness. I shook my head and the breeze soothed my heat away. I glanced at Kenta-kun and saw him blushing to. I smiled, thinking 'I'm not the only one.'

We came to an abrupt halt in front of the room and Kenta searched in his pocket for the keys. I heard it jingle from his pocket to the lock and open the door. I walked inside and put the jacket on the chair. I looked at Kenta-kun and saw he wore a white button up shirt with a collar. His few buttons were undone to show off some masculinity from his chest. When he looked at me I hurriedly turned my head.

"Yukiko.... Are you hurt?" , He asked me.

I shook my head.

"Then... Are you sick?"

I shook my head again and asked, "Why?"

"Oh. You're face is red."

I touched my face and felt it burning up. When Kenta-kun pulled on my shoulders to face him, he touched his forehead to mine. My face got hotter and sweat started dripping down. He let go and went into the kitchen. Then a while later, after I have taken a shower and put my sleepwear on. I sat on the futon with the new bag I had gotten from Mi-chan at her house. It had everything. A notebook, mechanical pencil, and more! I grabbed the key chain with a cute bunny and a bow perched on its head. The bunny was white and very fluffy. I grabbed the other key chain and examined it. It had a black bunny and one white ear. It was very fluffy too.

When I felt a tap on my shoulder, I jerked my head up and saw Kenta-kun handing me some hot tea. I grabbed it and took a sip. It was green tea. Very strong. I just drunk it without thinking about it and finished it. When I handed it back, our fingers brushed against each other. I felt this electric charge that seemed to scare me. I pulled my hand back fast and started fixing my key chains.

I heard the shower head go on. I sighed and laid on my back. What's wrong with me? Why does my heart pound when I hear the shower running? When I heard the shower go off and about another minute, I heard the door open, I peaked at him. I saw his hair in a different way that made him look boyish. Water dripped down the tips of his hair. He wore sweatpants and was shirtless. He had the towel in his hand and he brushed it along his hair to wipe off the droplets of water. When he stared at me, I quickly looked away blushing.

When a couple of minutes passed it became very dark. Now, I realize that he was asleep. I quickly went into my blanket and closed my eyes. I calmed down my heart and fell into a dreamless sleep.