Chapter 3: Old foes and shadows from the past

~June's POV~ After Kyouko and I had finished our dorm rooms, we headed back into the school to find our lockers.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my locker next to Kyouko's, hers was all the way down the hall.

Just as I was finishing putting my things in my new locker, someone tapped me on my shoulder.

I turned around to see Erin and some girl.

I smiled at Erin. "Hey, Erin. Who is this?" I said.

"Well, June, I would like you to meet my roommate," Erin said before she gestured to the girl standing next to her. "This is Sonia Nevermind. Sonia, this is my sister, June Takahashi."

Sonia had long blonde hair and grayish-blue eyes. She smiled sweetly at me.

"Hello! I am Sonia Nevermind! You must be June! It's nice to meet you." Sonia said before she shook my hand. I shook back.

"Yeah, that's me." I said before Sonia stopped shaking my hand.

"You'll never believe how cool Sonia is! Guess what?" Erin said.

"What?" I asked.

"Sonia's a princess! June, she's royalty!" Erin said. My eyes widened.

"Really???" I asked. Sonia nodded.

"Yes! I am the Ultimate Princess, Sonia Nevermind!" Sonia said.

"So... You're actually a PRINCESS?!" I gaped. Sonia nodded.

Wow... Who knew this school had so much famous people and royalty here?!

Suddenly, Kyouko appeared beside me. "Ah. I see you have met Sonia." She said. I nodded.

"Is... Is she really a princess???" I whispered to Kyouko. Kyouko nodded.

"Yes, she most certainly is." Kyouko said. My eyes widened again.

"Wow..." I mumbled.

Suddenly, the bell rang.

"Uh oh... We only have five minutes to get to class...!" Erin said. Then, we all took out our schedules and looked at them.

"Who has first period History with Mr. Satoshi?" I asked.

Sonia raised her hand. "I do!" She said.

Erin sighed. "Sorry, I don't. I have first period English with Ms. Winters."

"I have first period Science with Mrs. Nelson." Kyouko said.

Well, it seems I have first period with only Sonia.

"Well, we all better get to class or we're going to be late." I said.

Sonia nodded. "Yes, we better be going. Bye everyone!" She said.

We all said bye to one another before we all took off in separate directions to find our classrooms.

However, Sonia and I were together for Mr. Satoshi's class, so we just walked together.

We were about halfway there (according to the school map, of course) when we suddenly met up with a familiar face.

It was Makoto.

"Hey, June! You've met Sonia?" Makoto said. I nodded.

"Yep. I did, just now." I said. Makoto nodded.

"Cool," He said. Then he just shuffled around awkwardly. "So... June... What's your first period?"

"History with Mr. Satoshi." I said.

"Really? Me too!" Makoto said. I raised my eyebrows.
"Really? Wow. Sonia too. In fact, that's where we were headed." I said.

"Hm. Mind if I walk with you?" Makoto said.

"No, go right ahead!" Sonia said. I nodded.

Makoto smiled before we all began walking together to Mr. Satoshi's class.

"So, June, are you excited for the new year?" Makoto said.

"Yeah, I guess. I've definitely never been to a school like this." I said.

"Oh, well you will definitely enjoy it! The people here are very nice!" Sonia said.

"Well, most of them are anyway." Makoto said.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Well, some of them are stuck up..." Sonia pointed out.

Makoto nodded. "Exactly. Some of the people here are stuck up and arrogant and only care about themselves."

"Really? Do you know anyone like that?" I asked.

"Actually, yes. I do." Makoto said.

"Who?" I asked.

"Well, there's one guy. I wonder if you know him." Makoto said.

"Oh, I probably don't. But what's his name?" I said.

"His name?" Makoto said. "Well, his name is--"

Makoto's sentence was suddenly cut short when I slammed straight into someone.

Really??? AGAIN??? This is the second time today...!

I landed flat on my back (again) and heard ringing in my ears (AGAIN).

I heard Makoto and Sonia gasp.

I also heard someone else.

"Ugh... Watch where you're going!" Someone snapped.

I rubbed my head before I stood up and met the gaze of some guy. He had blonde hair, aqua colored eyes, and he wore glasses.

He seemed... Familiar somehow... Where had I seen this guy before...?

The guy rubbed his head before he glared at me. "Can't you watch where you're going?! Honestly..." He snapped. My eyes widened.

"Uck, well, excuse you! You're NOT the only one who got slammed into ya' know...!" I snapped back.

Hey, if he was gonna be mean to me, I was gonna give him a taste of his own medicine.

The rules to me are simple: if you're nice to me, I'm nice to you. Obviously, this guy doesn't live by those rules...

"And this is who I was just talking about, actually." Makoto said.

"Wait, Makoto, you know this guy?" I said.

Makoto sighed. "Yes, yes I know him."

The guy who I bumped into just stared at Makoto. "Hold it, Naegi. You know this runt?" The guy said, obviously referring to me.

"RUNT"?! Oh no he didn't...

"She's not a runt. She so happens to be my friend." Makoto said.

Wait... We're friends now??? Well, if so, that was quick...

"Honestly, Naegi, you're already bad enough yourself, why do you hang around street rats like these?" The guy said. I wanted to slap him.

I've known this guy for about a minute or two and I already hate him.

Wait, wait, wait... Hold it... DID HE JUST CALL ME A STREET RAT?! Oh HELL NAW...

Then I took a step forward toward the guy.

"Um, EXCUSE ME? Look, I don't know who the hell you are, but where do you come off calling me a STREET RAT?! I am many things, but a street rat is NOT one of them!!!" I shouted.

"Ugh, and who do you think you are?!" The guy snapped.

"My name is June Takahashi, and I am NOT a freaking street rat!!!" I shouted at him. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"Wait... What did you just say your name was...?" He said quietly. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I said, my name is June Takahashi. What are you, deaf???" I snapped.

Then, they guy's eyes widened even farther.

"June...? Is it really you...? After all these years...?" The guy asked.

What? He's acting like he knows me...! Well, I definitely DON'T know him...!

"Um... Do I know you from somewhere...?" I asked.

The guy just stared at me a bit before he took a deep breath. "When you were younger, you were best friends with a boy named Byakuya Togami. Correct?" He said. My eyes widened at the name.

Byakuya Togami. I haven't heard that name in at least five years... But why is this guy bringing THAT NAME up???

"Y-Yeah... But not anymore... How do you know about that...?" I said.

"Come on, tell me you remember me, Junie." The guy said.

My eyes widened as I gasped at the name he just called he just called me.

Because... The only person who ever called my that name was...

"Byakuya...?" I said. The second the name left my lips it felt all too familiar, too familiar for my liking.

He smirked. "Hello, June. It appears we meet again, after all these years."

"Byakuya... Byakuya Togami???" I said.

"Yes, yes... That's my name, don't wear it out." He said in an irritated tone of voice.

I gasped again.

Suddenly, Makoto spoke up. "Wait... June, you know Byakuya?!" He said.

I sighed. "Unfortunately." I said.

Makoto looked at Byakuya. "Byakuya?"

Byakuya nodded. "Yes, Naegi. I do know June. We've known each other for years. Ever since the second grade, in fact." He said.

"Ugh... I thought I was rid of you when you moved away in the seventh grade..." I grumbled.

When Byakuya and I were in the seventh grade, Byakuya moved away to a different town that was about an hour away from mine. After that, I was sure I'd never see him again, and I was glad. And I did NEVER see him again... Well, that is, until now.

"Well, June, the feeling is mutual." Byakuya snapped at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Wow... You two knew each other since the second grade???" Makoto said. I nodded.

"Yep..." I said in a pissed off tone. Because I was very much pissed off.

I mean, what the HELL is Byakuya Togami doing here at this school?!?!

Well... He is extremely wealthy... He's always been... I guess that's how he got in here...

Well, shit...

"Wait, you go here?!" I said.

"Yes, I do go here. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here right now...!" Byakuya said in an obvious tone. "And I see you go here as well?"

"Now I do." I said.

"Unfortunately so... Just, stay out of my way for the entire year, and we should be fine. Okay?" Byakuya snapped.

"The feeling is mutual," I snapped back. "I can't believe a douchebag like you got into a school like this."

Byakuya glared at me. "Excuse me? What did you just call me?"

I glared back. "What? Did you not hear me the first time? I called you a douchebag, because you are one!" I said.

Sonia just gasped nervously before she stepped slightly away from us.

Byakuya looked really heated at about know.

I then looked at my wrist watch and saw the time. The bell would ring in one minute.

"Makoto, Sonia, let's go." I said. Then I began to walk away, Makoto and Sonia following behind.

Suddenly, Byakuya spoke up. "Hey, June. You never did tell me how your mother died."

The second I heard those words, I froze in my tracks. I didn't move a muscle. Makoto and Sonia stopped with me.

My mother... How she died... I felt tears sting my eyes just thinking about my mother.

Byakuya continued. "Well, now I think I know how," He said. "She probably killed herself just so she could get away from you. If I were in her shoes, I know I would."

Tears threatened to escape my eyes. Then, without another word, I whipped around and marched back over to Byakuya.

"Cancer." I muttered quietly, but loudly enough for Byakuya to hear.

Byakuya grew silent for a moment. "Come again?" He asked.

"Cancer," I said once again. Tears ran down my cheeks. "My mother died of cancer, Byakuya."

Then, everything grew silent. No one made a sound.

Suddenly, my sadness turned to anger. I felt so angry, that before I knew what I was doing, my hand had made contact with Byakuya's cheek. I had slapped him.

Byakuya stumbled a bit from my hard slap. His jaw dropped a bit and he just looked up at me with his eyes wide.

I then got real close to his face. "Don't you EVER bring up my mother EVER AGAIN." I said darkly before I backed away and left him.

"Come on, Makoto, Sonia, we're leaving." I said. Makoto and Sonia just stood there for a second in shock of what happened before they snapped out of it and followed me down the hall.

And, with no time to spare, we just barely made it to class on time. By now I had wiped my tears away so no one could tell I had cried.

Byakuya Togami is back in my life once again...

I HATE Byakuya Togami more than anything. And what he said about my mother... I mean, I had hated him before, but that's NOTHING compared to how much I REALLY HATE him now...

NO ONE EVER brings up my mother... Well, at least not in front of me.

And, now that Byakuya Togami is back in my life, I will now make it my personal mission to ensure he NEVER GETS IN MY WAY.

Because he won't, not this time.