My eyes widen.

Kuruno-kun's eyes are wide. Her eyes scan over the people who were clearly on the offencive. Nobody who was has been freed from their friends' restraining holds. Not even me, and I wouldn't have dreampt of hitting Kuruno-kun.

Mei-chan gasps, eyes having locked with Ami-chan's. The redhead doesn't look as if she regrets her action.

Kuruno-kun has figured it out upon seeing the childhood friends' silent exchange.

"Ami you bitch!" Kuruno-kun snarls, jumping onto the redhead punching her. Ami-chan!

"Get OFF OF HER!" Mei-chan tackles Kuruno-kun. Only to get a slap from Kuruno-kun. Rin is trying to control the situation.

I feel someone else take hold of me. I roll my eyes. Sho has me in his grasp so I can't aid Mei and Ami, who are trying to get a fuming Kuruno-kun off of each other. I turn to Momo, the Minishiba.

"Get him. Get Sei'. I don't care what kind of bullcrap you have to spew. Get Sei' here NOW!" I command.

"Hai! I'm on it Ryugazaki-senpai." Momo retreats, running toward the exit to get his big brother.

"She doesn't DESERVE to be a senpai, she deserves to be IN PRISON FOR MANSLAUGHTER!" Kuruno-kun shouts.

"NEVER SAY THAT AGAIN YOU LIAR!" Ami-chan shoves Kuruno-kun off of her.

"Fuck you! It WAS her FAULT!" Kuruno-kun's lip is swollen but she isn't relenting, she takes a fistfull of Ami-chan's cherry red hair and yanks at it. Ami shrieks in pain. Mei-chan seizes Kuruno-kun's bingo wing of that arm and sinks her claw like gold nails into the sharp girl's skin. There's no blood though. Clearly Mei-chan filed her claws recently.

"NO it wasn't!" Ami-chan takes hold of the hand that has her hair, twisting it, causing herself pain but also resulting in Kuruno-kun to release her hold on Ami-chan's hair.

"YES IT WAS!" Kuruno-kun straddles Ami-chan and slaps her and slaps her and slaps her. Mei-chan dives at Kuruno, seizing her hair. The sharp girl shouts in pain.

"STOP HURTING US YOU BITCH!" Mei-chan shouts.

"YOU GUYS STARTED IT!"

"No." Sousuke states, voice a new one to the mix. He had been silent during the whole fight, whilst some egged them on, like bored third years and stupid first years and others tried to get them to stop like Hika'-chan and Rin or were holding people back like Sho, Nito' and Kaito. "By bringing up those who have passed, thus opening wounds you clearly knew about makes you the one who started it."

The girls continue to shout in pain and hit eachother.

Kuruno-kun's pulling Mei-chan backward by her tufty amber mane, both hands tangled in Mei's hair. Meanwhile, Ami-chan's on the sharp girl's back; covering Kuruno-kun's eyes with her hands.

"STOP!" Rin shouts over the shrieking girls. Ami-chan topples off of Kuruno-kun's back, hitting her own and moaning in pain. Kuruno-kun is still tugging at Mei-chan's hair. Mei's screaming for her brothers to help her.

"Matsumi Shizuka died of internal injuries after being in a hit and run." a new voice states.

"SEI!" I exclaim.

"And Aoi jumped into the ocean after her friend toppled of of that narrow cliffside path and saved her from drowning. She did NOT cause her friend's death." he adds.

"And YOU are." Kuruno-kun glares at Sei'-san.

"Mikoshiba Seiijuro, former Captain, resident in Graduates House and a loyal big brother, now where's Mei?" he looks at his younger brother Momo.

"Over here Nii-chan." Momo pulls on Sei'-san's cuff, pulling him through the crowd.

"Mei! Ami!" the oldest of the Micoshiba siblings shoves through the crowd, followed by Momo. The two brothers ignore Kuruno-kun and try and see if their sisters are okay.

"Ami? Are you going to be alright? Shall I gie you a piggy back Might-As-Well-Be-Shiba?" Momo helps the redhead sit up.

"There's no way you would be able to lift me Minishiba." Ami-chan smiles dotingly at the fearful Momo.

Mei-chan is massaging her head and hissing in pain. She's bound to be sore.

"I didn't get it as bad as Ami, Sei you should give her a piggy back, she was right. Momo won't be able to lift her." Mei-chan gets help from Momo and I to stop her rom lunging at Kuruno-kun again.

Hinata runs back inside, panting furiously.

"Damn! I missed it! ...Teach was in a meeting off-campus! I'm sorry Captain." Hinata says.

"It's fine." Rin nods to Hinata.

"Holy crap! Mei! Ami! Are you okay." Hinata gasps.

"I'm alright Hinata. Gimme a hand will you." she winks at the blond. He tries to avoid eye contact because he knows of Mei's reputation. Nonetheless she is his friend so he aids her with walking on the slippery floor whilst Momo stands behind her encase she falls.

"Stay here Aoi-chan. Someone needs to be there to keep Fubuki and Kaito out of a blood rage." she winks at me as she moves off of the wet poolside and leans on the wall in the hallway.

"Thanks, I'll be alright from here." Mei nods to Hinata.

"Mikoshiba-senpai, are you going to be alright with Ami-chan?" Sho asks with Kenta, Nito', Fubuki and Kaito nearby.

"I'll be fine thanks." Sei'-san smiles at them.

As he passes me by he stops.

"You didn't -san me Aoi." My eyes widen in alarm. I didn't use the honourifics! Crap!

"Don't worry, you could have stopped doing that about three months ago." he ruffles my hair as he passes. "You're clearly a dear friend to Ami and even more so to Mei." I smile at him as he carries my cherry haired roommate off.

"Thanks Hinata." she waves, jogging with Momo after Sei.

Leaving me, Fubuki and Kaito, the ones grief genuinely impacted to face Kuruno-kun without enough people to restrain Fubuki if he gets mad enough.

"You." Rin glares at Fubuki. He yelps, Rin and he may be friends, nowhere near as good of friends as they were last year but they're still friends.

"Over there." Rin points to the far bleachers, furthest away from where we are now.

"Hai." Fubuki hangs his head, feeling a nusiance. "Kai?"

Kaito looks to Rin as if to ask him for permission to join Fubuki on the bleachers. Rin nods and then glances at Nito'.

"Ai, go with him so he stil can't go anywhere."

"Hai Rin-senpai!" Nito' joins his friends.

Hinata, Sho and Kenta are the only guys here other than Rin that would be on my side of Kuruno-kun tries to pick a fight with me now.

"Kuruno-kun." I say.

"What. I won't take back what I said. It's all true!" Kuruno-kun snaps harshly.

"I don't care about what you think about how Shizu' died. You weren't there. You didn't know her. I knew her. She was my best friend and there is no way I' letting her dream slip away from me so if you're as hell-bent on racing me as you're making out to be hen bring it on." I state.

"Honestly." she flips her hair before putting on a swimming cap. "I doubted it when my boyfriend told me that you were dellusional. Clearly I owe him 100 yen and a little extra." she climbs onto the starting block.

"This race will be 100m. Whoever wins this race will gain he backstroke leg in the relay." Rin says.

"Hai." We nod, each putting on our goggles.

"In you go." he says. The two of us step off of the block and get in the pool.

"What is going on in here? Fubuki-kun?" My eyes widen. makoto's here!

"I'm over here Tachibana-san! She's about to race." Fubuki waves.

"Take your marks." Rin says. The two of us take hold of the bars in place to practise.

"GO!" Rin shouts.

I move through the water smoothly and as quickly as I can. The girls had been right earlier, with minimal effort I can destroy a PB but now I can't let my drive slip.

Faster and faster until I turn at the wall. I'm surprisingly ahead of Kuruno-kun by only a small margin. I move faster, smoother and let the thoughts of achieving my best friend's dream for her come to mind.

SMACK!

"That's our Aoi!" Fubuki exclaims.

"NEW PB!" Nito' enthuses.

"WE KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!" Kaito adds.

I get out of the pool and high five Rin beforeputting on a towel and heading to change out of my swimsuit. Man, it's hard work to race when you've seen your friends get hurt.

I head back to see Makoto and beckon him further into the poolhouse and hug him,finally letting the emotions get to me.

"Where were Mei-chan and Ami-chan?" I am asked.

"Medical room." I guess.

"NII-CHAANNN!"

"Definately the medical room." I nod. Momo too has gotten emotional.

"Any reason why?" he smiles.

"They got into a fight." I hang my head.

"Oh my God!" his eyes widen in horror.

"Defending me." I continue to cry.

"Please don't cry Aoi, it kills me seeing someone as beautiful as you in so much distress."

"Tch, Makoto." Rin sniggers.

"Hi Rin." Makoto smiles gently at Rin.

I open the door to the medical room.

"Bet'cha want to know why I hit Kuruno-kun." Ami-chan smiles sadly.

"Would be nice." I reply, coming into the room.

"Hi, Aoi's dork. Did she win?"

"I won." I nod.

"Good, no way we would have had a successful relay with her on the team." Mei-chan laughs.

"Please tell me why you hit her." I beg.

"Simple." Ami-chan closes her eyes. "I despise that bitch."