It has been almost 2 years since I last updated, but finally ch 18 is up. This chapter was really long. I hope everyone enjoys it. I always say this, but I will try to update more readily given I have the time now and I've been thinking of this fic lately. Fingers crossed.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN KHR.

Dear diary,

I don't know who's going to die first, me or the rest of the student council.

You sat at the circular table in the student council room with the rest of the members as Sakamoto-senpai distributed the paperwork. Takagi-senpai chattered about, her pigtails bobbing as she enthusiastically relayed her day to the others. Sakamoto-senpai actively engaged in conversation with her, equally as energetic. Fujimoto-senpai focused on her work, occasionally humming in response to their stories. Sugiyama-senpai had a typical scowl on his face, his earphones shielding him from their conversation. Today was an ordinary day of after school activities, excluding the fact that the seat next to you was occupied by Kinoshita Riku.

Following your outburst in the hallway, the two of you had not been on good terms. He attempted to apologize to you the following week, but you ignored him. Instead of apologizing to you, he should have been apologizing to Sawada. Realizing you were dead set in your decision he stayed out of your way, or so you thought. As opposed to his usual behavior of conversing with the other members, he instead chose to converse with you. When words began to fall from his mouth, you glared at him, shifting your chair so that your back was facing him.

The other members silently glanced over, slight discomfort showing on their faces. Although they did not know your reason, the animosity you held for Kinoshita was evident. You weren't on the best of terms with any of the members, but the difference between your treatment of them and your treatment of Kinoshita was clear. If any of the other members talked to you, you would at the very least give one-word responses.

Kinoshita's mouth thinned into a flat line and his eyes bore into your back. With a sigh, he returned to his paperwork and did not try to pursue any more conversation.

The clock struck 5, indicating the end of council activities. The paperwork for the day had been mostly complete and the leftover portion would be finished tomorrow morning. You grabbed your bag and exited the room, heading towards the front gate. You could hear footsteps behind you belonging to none other than Kinoshita. Most days he would wait until you had already left before walking out or would rush out before you. You noticed this was common for him after you had refused to talk to him. His actions were strange, but you paid no mind to it. While you walked, you noticed the closing distance between the two of you but continued to ignore it. Finally, when you reached the front gate, he grabbed your arm causing you to jump at the sudden motion.

"What are you doing?" you hissed out, heart racing from shock.

"We need to talk." His voice was stern, and his expression was serious. "You keep giving me the cold shoulder whenever I try to talk to you. I understand that you don't like me, but I've tried apologizing to you. I don't know what more you want!"

You glared at him, harshly pushing his arm off of you. "I don't want nor need your apology. I dislike your attitude, so why should I have to pretend like I don't? All I want is for you to leave me alone."

He clicked his tongue. "Are you kidding me? All because I laughed at some dumb joke about Sawada?"

You clenched your teeth, screaming back at him. "You are unbelievable!"

The two of you were at each other's throats, screaming at the top of your lungs. The longer the argument continued, the more frustrated you felt. Your hand was clenched into a fist and your nails were digging into you palm. At this point you were struggling to not punch him straight in the face. Words definitely didn't seem to be getting through to him. Kinoshita was beginning to lose it too, you could tell. His face was completely red while he aggressively pushed himself towards you. You found yourself backed up against a wall with him pointing a finger at you, his voice growing louder. Instinctively you turned your head away, lifting your hands to distance him from you. You heard him yelp and could no longer feel his breath on your face.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked a familiar voice.

You sighed in relief to see Yamamoto, who had pulled Kinoshita back, his hand firmly gripped around the boy's shirt collar. Kinoshita growled up at him, only to pale when he saw the steely look in Yamamoto's eyes.

"It's nothing." he muttered, pulling his collar out of Yamamoto's hand and straightening it. "We just had a disagreement."

Yamamoto quirked a brow in response. "Really? You were screaming and had her backed up against a wall. Anyone passing by would assume the worst."

He glared back at you before clicking his tongue. "Yeah it's nothing. I'll see you tomorrow."

As you both watched his back slowly disappear down the road, Yamamoto worriedly look over at you. "What did you get yourself into this time?"

After the incident Yamamoto offered to walk you home. Unsure of whether Kinoshita would reappear, you didn't have any second thoughts on the offer. The two of you walked along the street, discussing the fight.

"He's part of the student council?" questioned Yamamoto, further disgusted by Kinoshita's behavior. "Are you going to be okay working with someone like that?"

"As long as I'm around other people I don't think he'll do anything. I don't know why he suddenly decided to explode today." you shrugged.

Yamamoto stared at you incredulously. "You can't think of anything you did that might have set him off? You're not the most agreeable person around."

You rolled your eyes. "I barely did anything. He's the one who did something and then got mad that I didn't accept his apology."

"Well what did he do?"

You bit your lip, hesitant to answer. You knew Yamamoto would understand, but if he told Sawada you know he'd urge you to settle the bad blood. Sawada may have been able to shrug off the snide comments, but that only fueled you. If he wasn't going to get angry, you would do so in his stead.

"He made fun of Sawada." you grumbled out, frustrated upon just recalling the incident. "Then he had the audacity to act like apologizing to me would make it all better. If he thinks it's fun to mock other people, I want no part of it."

Yamamoto nodded knowingly. "I still don't think it's safe for you to walk around alone knowing what he did today. I can pick you up from the council room and walk you home after practice ends. He won't try anything if he knows I'm there."

You scrunched up your face at Yamamoto always trying to go out of his way to play hero. On one hand you were grateful because you don't know what would have happened if he hadn't shown up today. Yet on the other hand you hated the thought of being a burden.

Noticing the disgruntled expression on your face, his tone of voice became more lighthearted. "I'm not doing it for you, it's for his sake. If I hadn't pulled him away, you would've killed him."

You snorted, playfully elbowing him. "Shut up."

As he came to a stop at your front gate, you wished him a good night and headed inside.

Yamamoto has always done more than necessary and always insists it's no big deal. He's a good friend, so it's no wonder I always feel like I'm only taking from him. Hopefully Kinoshita learned his lesson and stays away.

From that day onward, Yamamoto would always be readily awaiting your exit from the student council room. As soon as the clock struck 5 and someone slid open the door, there he was leaning against the wall adjacent to the door. It confused you that he somehow managed to be perfectly on time every day yet showed no signs of fatigue.

One day you squinted your eyes up to observe the small droplets of sweat forming at his hairline. "So, you do you run here right away after practice?" you questioned.

He hastily wiped off his forehead and laughed. His breathing was stable and the only indication of him rushing to get here was the sweat. That was the most disheveled you had seen Yamamoto and after that day you noticed he never appeared sweaty again.

He always goes out of his way to make sure I don't feel bad about accepting his help.

A week had passed by and Kinoshita made no effort to approach you, let alone acknowledge you. You assumed he was now equally as uninterested in reconciling with you as you were with him. On that day, Yamamoto had come to walk you home, but now there really was no reason for him to wait around.

"Kinoshita isn't bothering me anymore, so you don't have to pick me up anymore Yamamoto."

"You never know. He might try something again when he sees that I'm not around." he countered.

"How about I meet you at the baseball field instead?" you suggested. "I know you've been sneaking off early from practice to walk me home. Baseball practice goes on for another hour."

He chuckled. "I was hoping you wouldn't find out."

"You're underestimating my network of information as a member of the student council. Besides the one thing I didn't want was to be an inconvenience to you. If you insist on walking me home, I'm going to insist on waiting for you until practice is over."

"Okay then I'll see you on the field tomorrow." he smiled back.

The next day you walked out to the field where the baseball team was practicing. During middle school you had occasionally watched games with the others, but you had never stopped by to watch practice. Unsurprisingly, a small crowd of girls were huddled on the benches for the spectators, whispers and hushed giggles buzzing amongst them.

You took a seat on the opposite edge of the bleachers. A few of the girls noticed you, their eyes glancing in your direction. However, the arrival of a new batter quickly took over their attention. You looked up to see Yamamoto at bat. His eyes met with yours, throwing you a quick smile before sharply hitting the ball across the field. The group squealed out in delight, causing you to jump. You pulled out your earphones from your bag and quickly inserted them into your ears.

Yamamoto has always had his fair share of fans. The girls fawning over him was nothing new, but if I have to hear another squeal, I'll probably kill someone.

As the practice continued, you pulled out your homework and began working on it. With student council activities, time was limited, and you had figured completing work would be time well spent. When practice had finally come to an end, the players headed for the locker room. Absorbed in your work, you hadn't realized Yamamoto had already finished changing and was heading towards you until a dark shadow covered your page.

Your head jolted up. "Oh, you're done."

"Yup." he replied. "You get a lot done?" he asked, gesturing toward your book.

You shrugged, closing the book and stuffing it into your bag. "I still have some more to do when I get home."

With your bag in one hand, you prepared to get up.

"Really? You were so focused on your work, I figured you finished everything." he responded, extending a hand. "You didn't watch any of the practice."

You furrowed your brows, placing your hand into his as he pulled you up from your seat. "I watched you though, isn't that enough? I didn't come here to watch a bunch of random people run after a ball."

"I suppose so. Practice might not be as interesting to watch as an actual game, but if you watched you might enjoy it." he suggested.

You rolled your eyes. "Or I could keep studying and occasionally look up to see if you're anywhere on the field, so you know I'm giving you my full support."

He let out a small snort. "I'm fine with that compromise then."

The two of you continued talking until you reached the front gate of your house and bid each other farewell.

The following day you repeated your schedule, heading to the field directly after student council activities were completed. You noticed the same group of girls bunched together, their whispers coming to a pause as you neared. All heads simultaneously turned to you, all eyes scanning you from top to bottom. You inquisitively raised a brow at them as they simply looked away and returned to their conversation. Shrugging your shoulders, you took a seat in the spot from yesterday. You pulled out your books and earphones, perfectly mirroring your actions from the previous day. However, as promised, you made sure to occasionally glance up from your studies to watch Yamamoto, who always made sure to throw a small smile your way.

Immediately after practice had finished, the players filed into the locker room and the group of girls were eyeing you once again. One of the girls stood up from her seat, marching towards you. You heard her feet tapping against the metal floor as she made her way over. Her arms were crossed over her chest, a haughty smile on her face. She gave you a once over, obviously unimpressed with what she saw.

"So, a lot of us noticed that you left practice yesterday with Takeshi-kun." She started.

You refrained from rolling your eyes and letting out a sigh, certain you knew what these girls were going to insinuate.

No one had any questions about this in middle school. Why is it suddenly a problem now? Are you only allowed to be near the opposite gender if you're dating or related?

"You haven't been coming here since practice first started, so I thought I'd lay down the ground rules." She obnoxiously waved her hand and pushed her index finger into your face. "Number one, as part of the fan club we believe that Takeshi-kun should be shared. No one is allowed to date him."

You bit your lip to stifle a groan.

Why are fan clubs so obnoxious? I'm not even part of the fan club and I have to adhere to their rules? Even if I were dating Yamamoto (god forbid) who are they to intervene. Just because they think he should be everyone's, doesn't mean he actually is. It's his life.

She lifted another finger. "Number two, you're not allowed to monopolize his time. This goes hand in hand with number one, but a lot of individuals seem to believe if they're not dating him, then any extra amount of time they spend with him shouldn't be a problem."

She narrowed her eyes and lifted another finger up. "And number three, if you don't follow either of the two rules, you'll have to be sorted out."

You pushed her hand to the side, away from your face. A disdainful frown lay on your lips as you began packing you bag. "Well I'm not quite sure how you could so egregiously misinterpret my relationship with Yamamoto, but after hearing all of your rules I can only imagine that any female who enters a 10-foot proximity of him must be suspicious in your eyes."

She scoffed, glancing over at the rest of the girls who were attentively watching. "Oh, trust me, the only reason any of us were concerned was because you two looked close. But now I realize that Takeshi-kun's taste couldn't possibly be this bad.

You let out a breath of air, putting on your best smile. "I'd say his taste is perfectly fine seeing as he chooses to ignore all of you every practice."

Her face flushed red and she grit her teeth. "Say what you will but remember rule three. If you don't watch yourself, we'll make sure you do."

"I could not care less." You responded, pushing past her. You walked down the bleachers to Yamamoto who held a hand up to wave.

"Any trouble?" he inquired, noticing the scowl on your face.

You shook your head. "I'll tell you later." You muttered, gesturing towards the exit. "We need to get out of here."

He nodded, glancing over at his fan club before looking back to you. "Okay."

When you thought you were out of earshot, you let out a loud groan. "Did you know your fans just get worse every year? I thought their obsession was bad enough in middle school, but now they're just overboard."

"Did they do something to you?" he asked, his expression serious.

"Aside from kill my brain cells with their inane theories and rules, no. They're just so entitled. Doesn't it bother you that they think they have a say in everything you do?"

His face softened as he released a sigh. "Not really. I'm going to do what I want regardless of what they think. It's only a problem if they start to bother other people."

"Well as long as you don't mind, I guess it's fine."

"Kobayashi Michiko." spoke the same girl who had told you off just one week ago. You were seated on the bleachers waiting for Yamamoto to finish changing when she had approached you. Following your first encounter, she had kept her distance, only occasionally glimpsing in your direction during practice. You still had no idea what her name was, but you assumed she was the president of the fan club hence her need to publicly speak on their behalf.

"Congrats, you learned my name." you replied in monotone, your eyes glued to your book.

"Yes, we also learned that you're a part of the student council."

I wouldn't call it a successful investigation if all of the information is easily accessible to the public.

"You went to Namimori Middle School with Takeshi-kun, where you had been in the same class for all the three years. You were class representative for all three years as well. In fact, your little group managed to make it all the way to Namimori High School together."

"Are you planning on getting to the point anytime soon?" you asked. "Your voice is making it hard to concentrate."

Her face twitched, but she ignored the retort and continued. "After extensive research, we've deemed that you're not an imminent threat so long as you maintain your current position with Takeshi-kun. The two of you aren't even in the same class and only spend lunch together, surrounded by your other friends."

"You waited a whole week to tell me that?" you stared incredulously.

"Yes, I don't see the problem with that. We've observed you and took time to come to our conclusion. You should be thankful we're giving you the benefit of the doubt and take this opportunity to distance yourself accordingly. If you do happen to cross the line, we will deal with you."

You rolled your eyes. "Well if I'm not a threat, then there's no reason to distance myself."

Besides if Yamamoto is as great as the idolize him to be, why would they assume he'd stay single forever. Do they plan on threatening any girl who comes near him? Give me a break.

"Fine, have it your way." She conceded. "Just remember we warned you. We will be watching."

You frowned watching her walk away. "Psychotic." You muttered under your breath.

After the conversation with the president of the Yamamoto fan club, none of the girls had bothered you. They did continue to awkwardly stare at you during practice and you could have sworn you had seen a handful of familiar faces loitering around your classroom. Their behavior was eerie, but until they physically did anything you would just have to tolerate the strangeness.

Walking to school, you noted how much more humid it was outside. Time passed much more quickly than you had realized with summer vacation coming up. It had been about a month and a half since you first began watching baseball practices. You still didn't see any appeal in the game but seeing a more serious side to the usually relaxed Yamamoto was fascinating.

Today was a rare occasion because there was no paperwork nor any activities waiting for you at school. The school year consisted of four quarters, each occurring every three months, where the student council's work would be put to review for the week. That meant for four weeks a year you would were given a vacation from student council.

With your temporary freedom, you planned to spend as much time as you could with your academics. You were far from falling behind, but the amount of time spent on student council left you little time to move onto more advanced topics. You already informed Yamamoto that you wouldn't be coming to practice for the week to prioritize studying, leaving your evenings free.

As you walked into the classroom, eagerly anticipating your afterschool study session, you noticed Sawada hunched over his textbook. He scratched his head, scribbling onto the page with mild frustration. Seated next to him was Sasagawa, peering over his arm to see the textbook.

"Does this look right, Kyoko-chan?" he asked her, his eyebrows furrowed. She tilted her head to read his answer.

You approached the two, sitting in the chair at the desk in front of Sawada. "What are you guys up to?" you asked.

"We're just reviewing some problems. I had a bit of trouble with them yesterday so Kyoko-chan is helping me go over them." explained Sawada.

You blinked at him, a slight furrow in your brows. "You know if you need help you can always ask me Sawada. I did tutor you for three years."

He smiled, shaking his head. "You've been really busy with student council, so I didn't want to bother you. Kyoko-chan and I have been studying together which has been working out well."

They've been studying together? How long has that been a thing? And do they always meet before class starts to go over problems?

"Oh…Well okay." you replied. "What about the problem you just did?"

You glanced at the textbook lying flat on the table, attempting to check his work. Scanning through the numbers you spotted a mistake. Before you could point it out, Sasagawa tapped her finger onto the page, explaining the incorrect calculation to Sawada. He nodded his head to her words with his eyes fixed on her movements. When she looked up at him to confirm he had understood, his cheeks flushed, and he warmly smiled back. You rolled your eyes, scoffing at the interaction.

As the teacher entered the classroom, Sasagawa went back to her seat. You examined Sawada's eyes, still glued to Sasagawa. You grimaced as a sinking feeling hit your stomach, which you attempted to ignore.

"Sawada, I'm free from student council for the week so if you want to study together after school we can."

He snapped out of his daze. "Don't worry about it. I don't want to inconvenience you Kobayashi, especially if this week is your free week. Besides, Kyoko-chan and I have managed pretty well."

"Oh…It's not an inconvenience though." you muttered, turning towards the board as the teacher began the lesson.

I mean it was completely fine that Sawada didn't want me to tutor him. I'd probably just get in the way of him and his quality Sasagawa time.

Once school had ended, you headed for the library to start studying. After finding a seat, you began emptying your bag and laying your books out on the table. Flipping through the math book, you grew irate while recalling the incident from earlier in the day. The strange feeling in your stomach appeared once again as your lips shrunk into a thin line.

I've tutored him for years and now he suddenly thinks it would be an inconvenience? Especially when he finally understands the basics of the subject? That's ridiculous. Even if he just said that to spend more time with Sasagawa, it's not as if they're not already spending a bunch of time together. I've barely even seen Sawada outside of class since starting student council duties.

You slammed the book shut and threw all your supplies back into your bag. There was no way you were going to be able to focus on work with your current state of mind. You picked up your bag and left the library, unsure of where to go. It was only 4pm and even if you were to go home, what would you do? You really only spent time studying or with your friends. Neither seemed to be an option at the moment.

Instead, you decided to watch Yamamoto practice. After arriving at the baseball field, you took a seat in your usual spot. You observed the players, scouring through the crowd for Yamamoto. Baseball was not of any interest to you; specifically, the idea of watching unknown players hit and run after a ball seemed like a waste of time. When your eyes had found him, you noted the stern expression on his face. It always interested you how highly he regarded the sport. Baseball was one of the view occasions he didn't have his trademark smile plastered across his face. You quirked your head, analyzing his features for any change.

Another characteristic of Yamamoto's that never changed was his passion for baseball. The boy did try to throw himself off of a roof in middle school because he thought he wouldn't be able to play. I wonder what it's like to be so dedicated to something.

You sighed, contemplating your interests. You really didn't have any. You did enjoy studying, but the thought of studying brought about the image of Sawada and Sasagawa studying together. The heavy feeling arose in the pit of your stomach once again. Something about the idea unsettled you deeply. It was an uncomfortable feeling and you couldn't help but feel pathetic. You've known about his crush on her since middle school, but this was the first time you reacted in such a way. Shaking your head, you buried these feelings and decided to focus on the field in front of you.

When practice ended Yamamoto approached you, his lips quirked upward in confusion. "Did studying not go as planned?"

Your chin rested on your fists; your arms propped up on your knees. You tilted your head up at him, a slight frown on your face. "Not really."

He held out his hand, which you accepted, clasping it in your own as he pulled you up from your seat. The two of you walked away from the field and began heading home. As you both walked, Yamamoto noticed a slight difference in your mood. It wasn't unusual for you to be quiet, but he could sense something was off from earlier.

"So, did anything happen today?" he asked.

"Not in particular." you replied.

He stared at your face, reading your expression. "Really? I can't imagine you gave up studying to come watch 'a bunch of random people chase after a ball' for no reason." He held up air quotes, a joking tone coating his voice.

You huffed out a breath of air. "I just couldn't focus, it's nothing. Besides, I thought you'd be glad to see me pay attention for once."

He hummed. "I can't say I hated it, but even when you're there you always have a book in hand. I've never seen a day where you haven't been able to study."

"Well maybe I'm sick?" you shouted, exasperated. "This gross feeling in the pit of my stomach keeps coming and going and it makes it really hard to focus on anything when it feels like I'm going to throw up."

"Gross feeling?" he asked, concern on his face. "Have you taken any medicine? How long has this been going on?"

"No, I haven't." your voice growing more frustrated. "It's been inconsistent, but it started this morning. Ever since I saw Sawada this morning, I've just felt off."

Yamamoto's eyebrows furrowed together. "Did something happen between you and Tsuna?"

You groaned, pushing your face into your hands. "I offered to tutor him today, but he said he was studying with Sasagawa and that he didn't want to be a bother. It was so annoying, no wonder my stomach is upset."

He nodded his head, a knowing look on his face. "Have you talked to Tsuna about it?"

You stared incredulously. "Of course not! What am I going to say? Sawada, it's not a bother, I want to spend time with you. The whole thing gets on my nerves. I get that he has plans with Sasagawa, but we barely see each other despite being in the same class. Then he has the audacity to say he doesn't want to be a bother, as if I would've stayed friends with him after all these years if I thought he was a bother."

Yamamoto placed his hand on your head, letting out a deep breath. Your eyes began to water from frustration. "It's seriously annoying." You muttered, rubbing your eyes.

I shouldn't be feeling this way over Sawada.

Yamamoto pet your head, his gentle voice whispering, 'it's okay'.

It's not okay. Sawada and I are just friends. We're just friends. The last thing I should be doing is falling for him.

Honestly it was so hard to determine what direction I wanted to go with this chapter. The number of times I've switched up how things were going to go with this is innumerable. It was getting too long, so I had to end it and I just felt ending on a confession was the move. I can't help, but feel that the last bit feels a little too rushed though?

I would ideally like to finish the past in the next chapter, but it might extend to two more chapters depending on what direction I choose to go.

Anyways, let me know your thoughts. As always thank you to everyone who read, followed, favorited, or reviewed.