A/N: Hello again, long time no see, huh? Originally I'd planned to release this chapter around Halloween but as usual, life got in the way. The last year has been quite hectic and busy for me and sadly I've found very little time to write. I graduated from school on October and immediately got a job, having worked physically and mentally demanding days from there on. Thankfully I finally found the time to finish and proofread this chapter and I hope this makes up for my lack of updates. Think of this as an early Christmas present from me to all of you :)

As usual I'd like to thank everyone whose left a review - I read through them to cheer me up on bad days - as well as all the support you have given me. This story alone has gained nearly 9k views and there's already over 100 people following this, not to mention over 80 favorites. I can't even tell how much that means to me, so thank you! ^^

Anyway, I hope we'll see each other again next year! Maybe as a New Year's resolution I should promise to update more frequently, otherwise this story will drag on for years... ^^'

Chapter 10.

What am I doing here again?

The thought crossed Ritsu's mind for what seemed to be the hundredth time that evening as he walked nervously around the large grand hall of Ouran High School, having already circled the massive hall four times during the evening. Compared to the rest of the students he felt underdressed and greatly inferior as he took in their luxurious outfits and costumes while he himself hadn't really put that much thought into his clothing, having merely pulled on a black hoodie and a pair of old jeans. The large hood was pulled over his head to hide his brightly colored hair and he'd put on a pair of sunglasses to cover his eyes.

He knew he wasn't fooling anyone with his getup; just like those celebrities that walked around in large clothes, hats and sunglasses hoping no one would recognize them. He certainly didn't feel like a traditional celebrity – everyone seemed to be more popular than him, imagine that – yet despite his notorious reputation all eyes seemed to be on him whenever he walked by the other students even though Ritsu wanted nothing more than to just disappear into the crowd. Then again he never quite managed to blend in anyway.

Why am I here?

The question repeated itself in Ritsu's mind as he briefly stopped by one of the many tables to grab something to eat before continuing his voyage around the hall. Biting into the ridiculously small hors d'oeuvres he'd managed to grab from the table, he casually tried to pinpoint certain people from amongst the masses of students. To answer his own question, he was here on his father's business, having been given the task of persuading a member of another yakuza family to convince their family to join forces with the Kasanoda syndicate, i.e. working for them. The person in question, Shotaru Mikana, was unsurprisingly avoiding him.

Being the heir to the Kasanoda syndicate, Ritsu was quite well aware of the situation his family was in at the moment. For two generations and counting his family had been the largest and superior syndicate in the area but as of recent events their position had been threatened. The solution was to recruit more people into the syndicate to give them an advantage in numbers as well as an even larger area they controlled, and Ritsu's father had been very specific on which smaller families he wanted to join their syndicate. Having been given more responsibilities towards his syndicate, Ritsu was to talk them – i.e. threaten them – into joining and if he couldn't succeed his father would send another messenger. Ritsu hoped it wouldn't come to that; the last time his father sent a 'messenger' to do his bidding, three members of another syndicate ended up in the hospital. He suspected his reputation as the Walking Blizzard would probably ensure a preferably outcome to the 'negotiation', however.

For once Ritsu was glad he was so feared by his fellow students; all he needed to do was demand a person to switch alliances and they'd agree to it straight away. No small talk, no threats and most definitely no violence. It sounded like the perfect plan, now all he needed to do was find the darn punk.

Peering through the crowd, he tried to recognize this Shotaru Mikana from the picture he'd been given – the boy was a second year student he'd never encountered before, not quite a big name amongst the school's yakuza – and after confirming yet again that he wasn't in the mass of students mingling by the walls or tables, he switched his focus to the middle of the giant hall that was acting as the dance floor. He seriously doubted he'd find the yakuza dancing but it wouldn't hurt to look. He was quickly getting irritated looking for the young yakuza and decided he'd head straight home after he'd confronted him.

These sort of events aren't really my thing…

The costumes made it difficult to recognize any of the dancers as they waltzed in a large circle, everyone looking way different compared to their usual school uniforms. Ritsu was convinced that at least half of the people dancing were new faces to him and he wondered how he hadn't seen them before. Maybe he'd just never paid this much attention to others before. He had yet to spot Shotaru Mikana but it wasn't like he was expecting to find him there anyway. Still, Ritsu remained a couple of meters away from the outermost dancing couples and continued his search.

His eyes idly scanned over the students before halting as he came across that specific shade of dark brown hair. He could only see glimpses of her as other dancing couples covered his line of vision but there was no mistaking it was Kawamura. She was dressed in a flowing black dress with long black gloves and a black veil, the motion of the waltz giving the illusion that her dress itself was alive. Her long locks of dark brown hair were slightly curled and a part of her hair had been tied up. The look on her face was quite serene and she seemed to be enjoying her dance with her tall partner.

For a moment Ritsu could only stare at her until his face started getting uncomfortably warm and he had to turn his attention somewhere else. His eyes ended up focused on her partner and he immediately recognized the tall, black haired third year. It was Takashi Morinosuka from class 3-A; supposedly unbeatable in kendo and for some ungodly reason a member of the Host Club even though the man's looks made him near unapproachable. For someone as mean looking as Ritsu, he found himself suppress a shiver by just one glance at the tall host. Ritsu watched as he effortlessly guided his partner amongst the other students all the while never faltering from the tempo of the music and keeping his posture. Ritsu felt a twitch in his eye and his insides start to tangle and boil as he continued surveying the couple from afar.

Always the socially awkward teen, Ritsu had next to none experience in dancing as very few had ever dared to even touch him. He'd never really cared for dancing but now he wished he wasn't such a hopeless klutz when it came to moving his feet in the same tempo with music. If even people like Morinosuka could get a dance partner, why couldn't he?

The song came to an end and he watched as the third year escorted his partner off the dance floor and without even thinking Ritsu had moved with them through the crowd gathered around the dance floor, keeping his eyes glued to the couple. Somewhere in the back of his mind Ritsu briefly acknowledged feeling like a stalker but he quickly dismissed the thought, trying to convince himself that it wasn't what it seemed to be.

It's not like that at all! I'm just… Curious? Confused? Arg, I don't know… But I'm definitely not stalking!

To be honest Ritsu had no idea what compelled him to follow them but at the moment he really didn't want to delve further into it. That was an awkward topic left to deal with for a later time.

He watched as the couple exchanged their bows and curtsies, his eyes focusing on Kawamura as he watched her say something to the tall host, a brilliant smile on her face.

How can a mere smile light up an entire room?

Feeling his insides start to boil once again by just observing her interactions with Morinosuka made him want to walk up to her and ask her to dance, if only to have her smile for him in a similar way. Fortunately his brain was still functioning somewhat, reminding him he couldn't actually dance and thus preventing him from embarrassing himself in front of the entire school.

Forcing his eyes away, he quickly turned around and headed back to the outer portion of the ring circling the dancers, mentally ordering himself to focus on the matter at hand. All he had to do was find that good for nothing coward of a boy and then he could finally leave. His mood had turned from irritated to near stern and he cared little for keeping up appearances anymore; his change in temperament having an immediate reaction as students raced to get out of his way.

Deciding to go around the hall counterclockwise instead of the other, it didn't take long for him to spot his target. Clearly the young yakuza had tried to outwit him by constantly moving in the same direction as him. In no mood for formalities or pointless small talk he called out to the minor yakuza.

"Mikana!" he barked out not even twenty feet away from him, his voice simultaneously freezing everyone else in the near proximity mid-step. The look on Mikana's face was nothing short of pure terror as he stared at Ritsu anxiously.

"Oh, K-kasanoda, hey there. I didn't see you there," the older yakuza stuttered out, his comment causing Ritsu to roll his eyes behind his sunglasses.

Yeah right, he's been running away from me all night…

Nodding towards the nearest exit he silently encouraged him to start walking.

"We need to talk," was all he said before purposely taking off his sunglasses and focusing his eyes back to the yakuza, effectively succeeding getting his message through when Mikana stiffly started making his way to the exit.

He followed close by, mentally sighing in relief that he'd finally found his 'target'. He knew their conversation wouldn't take long and once that was over he could finally go home.

I'm sure as hell never attending a ball ever again; the old man can go himself the next time he wants to talk about business things! These social events are nothing but trouble…

/ / / / / / /

"So, how did that Mikana boy reply, Ritsu? Were you successfully able to convince his family to do business with us?"

Ritsu gave his father a less than amused expression but eventually nodded, focusing his eyes on the far right corner of his father's office as he sat slouched in front of the current head of the family.

"Yeah, he said he'd try to talk his uncle into allying with us."

His father let out a slightly frustrated sigh and gave him a stern look, which Ritsu could see with the corner of his eye; it seemed this discussion was far from over.

"Trying isn't good enough, you'll have to talk to him again once school returns to normal. I've gotten word that some of the families allied with us have been approached by our rival syndicates. The situation is very delicate at the moment, as I'm sure you know Ritsu. We can't afford to lose any allies, great or small, otherwise our rivals might crush us into nothingness. There's always someone trying to destroy us and claim our turf."

Ritsu felt himself cringe slightly by his father's words, having once again been reminded about the darker outcome of the future should everything go badly wrong on their part. Squeezing his hands into tight fists, he turned to face his father.

"I know, you don't have to keep reminding me about it," he replied hastily before getting back on his feet and making a beeline towards the door. As he opened it, he briefly stopped to make one last promise to his father. "I'll talk with all of our alliances in my class and set things straight," he stated before exiting the room.

Feeling agitated, he made his way straight to his room, wishing none of his fellas would bother him for the rest of the evening, having enough things to deal with as it was. It had been a long, exhausting day for him and he could literally feel himself start to deflate as he slowly lowered himself onto the floor to lie down. Lifting his right arm above his face, he let it fall on his eyes as he just continued to lie on the hard, wooden floor. Somehow the old floor seemed to be the only solid and stable thing in his life right now.

"I can't believe what I promised to the old man, must've been the stress talking," he grumbled to himself in a barely audible voice, silently cursing himself for even suggesting such a thing. It wasn't like he was the head yet, his father was, and as so things like confirming alliances wasn't technically his responsibility. He immediately regretted the thought though, as he knew this had everything to do with him.

He was Ritsu Kasanoda; third generation yakuza and future head of the Kasanoda Syndicate. It was in his own best interest to sort out this struggle for dominance should he ever want to inherit such a position. All his life he'd been trained to become the next head and he couldn't afford to let his syndicate down at a moment like this; not when everything he'd grown up believing in was being taken away from him.

Who'd thought that my future would look this grim? If we're truly losing allies it won't be long until our rivals come for us. It'll be a war…

Frowning upon the revelation, his line of thought was fortunately cut by Tetsuya who'd brought him his dinner, which Ritsu accepted somewhat reluctantly. He wasn't all that hungry but he figured the food would take his mind off of things, if only for a moment.

Picking up his chopsticks he absentmindedly wondered whether everything in his life revolved around the yakuza. Lately it'd only seemed to be threats this and power that. Was there honestly nothing else out there for him than the yakuza?

A brief imagine of her flowing dark brown hair and glimmering purplish eyes flashed in front of his eyes as she turned to face him, offering him a warm smile as she mouthed out his name. Ritsu…

The light clattering of his chopsticks falling on the floor was enough to snap him back to reality as he realized his fingers had suddenly gone numb and unable to hold onto the two wooden sticks. He stared at his hand in utter shock, his fingers twitching ever so slightly.

…

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

/ / / / / / /

"Miss Kawamura, could I have a word with you before class?"

Elena looked up from the contents of her bag to meet her teacher's stern gaze and momentarily ditched her efforts in finding her history book, giving a quick nod to indicate she'd heard him.

"Of course," she replied feeling slightly apprehensive, not knowing what her teacher had in mind.

"Follow me. Oh, and take your bag with you if you may," her teacher instructed her as he began to lead her outside the classroom while ordering the other students to ready themselves for class.

Elena followed him nervously, noting the looks she was getting from the other students and fighting the urge to squirm out of discomfort. She tempted a quick glance towards Mariko but the girl seemed to be as confused and surprised about the situation as she was. Turning her attention back to her teacher's back, she followed him into the hallway and closed the door behind her.

"Your immediate attendance at the headmaster's office is required," her teacher began much to Elena's surprise and gave her a piece of paper, which she hesitantly accepted. "This is your pardon from my class," he told her matter-of-factly, eyeing her expectantly, as if wondering why she wasn't already on her way.

She merely stood there and looked at him as though he'd grown a second head. Her eyes briefly fell onto the slip of paper she held in her hands, then rose back up to meet the teacher's.

"…I don't understand. Why would the headmaster want to see me? I'm supposed to be in class now," she spoke more to herself as her brain tried to reach a conclusion on why this was happening. Dozens of different scenarios buffeted her mind and she instantly felt nervous, her fingers firmly gripping her school bag as she merely stared at her teacher.

Why is this happening? Is it because I did something wrong? Maybe I didn't dance good enough yesterday or I ate too sloppily. Or maybe that stupid yakuza spread some lie about me…

"Unfortunately I know as little on the matter as you, the headmaster only told me to tell you to visit his office before classes start for the morning. I suggest you don't keep him waiting any longer." With that, her teacher re-entered the classroom, leaving Elena alone in the hallway.

After a moment of staring at the door Elena slowly turned to her right and began making her way towards the principal's office. She didn't seem to get a say on the matter and reluctantly succumbed to her fate, numerous thoughts spinning around her head. She honestly couldn't think of anything that terrible she'd done to get herself sent to the principal's office and hanging to the thought like a lifeline, she tried to stay optimistic no matter how nerve-wracking the situation seemed to be.

The grand hallways echoed loudly with every step she took on her heeled shoes, and for a second she debated whether or not she should take them off just to make her trip to the headmaster's office more bearable. Her nerves were killing her and she just wanted to get this over with and return to her classroom.

Finally arriving to her destination, she hesitantly raised her hand to knock on the large wooden doors of Principal Shou's office and after receiving an 'enter', she slowly turned the handle and stepped inside. Mr. Shou was sitting on a comfortable looking chair behind his grand desk, numerous papers scattered in front of him as he briefly raised his gaze to look at Elena before beckoning her forward.

"Ah, Miss Kawamura, please, take a seat," he instructed while clearing the papers away from his desk and placing them into a drawer.

Elena did as she was told and made her way to the single chair in front of his desk and very consciously tried to sit down as elegantly as possible, placing her hands on her lap as she smoothed down her dress. For a moment she merely stared at her hands before finally summoning enough courage to look at her headmaster.

Mr. Shou seemed to notice her state of mind and gave her a neutral smile.

"So tell me, how have you liked studying at our school so far, Miss Kawamura?" he inquired, his question so unexpected that it caught Elena off guard.

"Oh, just fine, thank you," she replied reservedly, trying to will her brain into coming up with something more to say. "Ouran's been… different from any other school I've ever gone to so you could say I'm still adjusting."

"Yes, I understand; our school is one of a kind," he replied while nodding his head. "And how have your studies been going in your opinion?"

"Well, I did have a lot of catching up to do when I first transferred here but I'd say there going pretty well. I'm not the best in my classes but I think I'm doing okay."

The headmaster nodded his head throughout her self-assessment, his mouth set in a firm line, his actions making Elena feel nervous once more. Mr. Shou couldn't have only wanted to talk to her about how she was doing; she'd already attended Ouran for several weeks and was hardly that new anymore. She found herself glancing at the clock.

"Mr. Shou, I don't mean to sound rude but was there something else you wanted to discuss with me? I should really be getting back to class…" she inquired hesitantly, the later sentence just barely above a whisper as she waited anxiously for a reply.

"Oh, yes, indeed I have. Don't worry, this won't take long," Mr. Shou stated as he opened one of his drawers and took out a stack of papers, quickly going through them before picking out a few of them. Placing the rest of the stack back into the drawer, he held out the remaining papers to Elena.

She accepted them curiously, her eyes momentarily dropping down to look at the topmost paper. It seemed to be some sort of readymade form, the blanks already been filled by someone. She spotted her name but before she could read through the form, her attention switched back to her principal as he cleared his throat.

"As you may remember from your first day here at Ouran, we briefly discussed about how the different classes – classes A, B, C and D – are divided by," he began slowly, his statement sounding more like a question to which Elena nodded just to be sure.

Of course she remembered that day; he'd all but told her to do well or get placed in the same class as all the yakuza were in. If that wasn't enough to motivate someone, she didn't know what was. Of course the principal himself hadn't told her about the students of class D but she'd quickly found out through her new classmates.

"Excellent! Then you understand our reasoning of placing you in a different class. Your new timetable and transfer documents are included in those papers you just received. Your first lesson has already begun but if you hurry you should still be able to make it. They'll be waiting for you, I'm sure."

"…Excuse me?"

Elena was glad she was already sitting down, otherwise she would have probably fallen down from shear shock. She stared at the man in front of her thoroughly confused as she tried to piece together what he was telling her. She was switching classes? How was that even possible? Had she actually done so well on her tests? Didn't she have a say in this? What if she didn't want to switch? What would Mariko say? What would her new classmates be like?

"It's like I discussed with you on your first day; should you're grades change drastically, you'll be moved into another class better suited for your gifts and by doing so, we're making sure that all students are in an equally skilled class," Mr. Shou explained to her once again so slowly that even a small child would've understood him. "I can assure you that you aren't the first student that we've placed in a different class and you're probably not going to be that last. Some of the students yo-yo between two classes from time to time. But I'm sure that won't be an issue with your new class as I'm sure you'll fit right in."

She listened to his diplomatic answer with anticipation; her mind racing with dozens of questions about her new situation. She fought to keep her mouth shut as to not blurt out anything inappropriate to the headmaster, biting her tongue to the point her eyes nearly began to water.

Unbeknownst to many people, Elena was actually quite bright when it came to interpreting hidden meanings behind a person's words. Dealing with her stepfather for a year had drastically altered the way she now listened to people, picking up the unspoken. It was obvious she didn't have a say in this and that things had already been decided for her. She wasn't expected to ask questions, merely accept her situation and handle herself like a proper lady.

"Oh, of course," she murmured after noticing she hadn't actually indicated that she'd understood him in any way. She was slightly surprised how calm and collected her voice sounded, subconsciously acknowledging the fact that this was simply how things were and there was nothing she could do or say to change it.

This school's really getting to me, isn't it?

The headmaster gave her a neutral smile, his eyes momentarily shifting to the door as a mute gesture for her to leave. She immediately stood up from her seat and gave him a small bow as she excused herself, thanking for his time. Turning around, her focus was momentarily drawn to the papers in her hands as she began reading through the topmost one, simultaneously making her way back towards the hallway. Her steady gate was quickly brought to a halt as her eyes landed on words that left her feeling stunned.

"But this can't be…"

Shocked, she quickly turned around and almost started making her way back to the headmaster when he regarded her with a tight-lipped smile.

"Yes, Miss Kawamura? Was there something on your mind?"

She faltered for a moment, second-guessing whether she should say anything or not. Her eyes fell back to the papers and after a moment she shook her head.

"…No, sir. I was just wondering… where my first class was."

"You'll find that information on your new timetable," Mr. Shou replied with practiced patience, giving her one last diplomatic smile before turning his focus back to his previous work. "Have a pleasant day, Miss Kawamura."

Turning hastily, she all but ran to the doors and exited his office, shutting the door with a noticeable 'thud' as she pulled it closed behind her with more force than was probably needed. Without thinking she hurriedly began making her way away from the headmaster's office, walking so swiftly it was more like running as she put some much needed distance between herself and Mr. Shou. Her heavy breathing and rapid footfalls seemed to echo through the empty halls embarrassingly loudly and she finally stopped her hasty retreat to catch her breath as well as pull her thoughts together.

What on earth had happened? Was this even real? It must've been a dream; things like this just didn't happen!

She momentarily thought of pinching herself just to be sure this wasn't a creation of her subconscious, yet she just couldn't bring her fingers to her arm no matter how tempted she was to try it. Somewhere in the back of her foggy mind she'd already realized this couldn't be a simple dream; this was the real thing.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she dropped her eyes back to the papers she'd received, tilting them slightly to read through them one more time. She caught a glimpse of her new timetable, absently noting that she still had the exact same classes as before, just in different timeslots. None of the lessons were shared with another class; the fact not really surprising her.

Her first class for the day was apparently homeroom and after that she had history, mathematics and English; subjects she would've had that day anyway. She let out a sigh of relief; at least she had all the right books with her. Lightly biting her lip, she stared at the papers while wondering what she should do. Classes were already halfway through and she hesitated whether or not she should disrupt the lesson. For a brief second she thought about going home for the day but almost immediately dismissed the thought, remembering the headmaster implying that her new teacher expected her to show up. There was no way she could talk the nurse into letting her go home early.

Feeling cornered, she let out an irritated huff as she began making her way to class, making quick work of the two flats of stairs as she realized she'd already been absent for far too long, all but racing across the school's halls even though she would've much rather hightailed somewhere far away. Mixed emotions ran through her mind; fear, excitement, shock, annoyance. She gritted her teeth together, suddenly feeling quite pathetic and childish.

Come on, pull yourself together! It's not the first time you've been 'the new girl' and it probably won't be the last. At least you're only changing classes this time, not schools…

Feeling slightly more confident in herself, she stopped abruptly by one of the doors on the east wing of the school's first floor, noting she'd found her classroom. She raised her hand, preparing to knock on the wooden door when suddenly the events of this morning finally hit her hard and she was frozen in place; her newly found confidence shattering just like that.

Damn this school… Just… damn it all.

She felt like crying as she took in a shaky breath of air and let her hand fall to the door.

/ / / / / / /

Ritsu sat slouched in his seat, his chin supported by his hand as he stared emptily in front of him at nothing in particular while their class representative flipped through a few slides that Ritsu faintly remembered had something to do with the Halloween events and such. His lack of interest in the subject seemed to be the general mindset in his class; not even the class rep seemed to be that keen on the matter. It was probably because of some mandatory reason that they were even wasting time with it in the first place.

The slideshow came to an end and their teacher took charge of the lesson, starting to go over some even more unnecessary matters; their scores on the midterms for example. It was an unspoken rule in the school that yakuza were to be placed in class D, no matter how they performed. From the twenty or so students in his class, there were only three that were considered too dumb for even class C, the rest being or at least having some sort of connections to the yakuza. Their score average tended to be quite low due to the general attitude of 'whatever', aside from maybe the few non-yakuza students who wanted nothing more than to advance to another class. Ritsu was probably one of the few yakuza who actually studied once and awhile and usually passed his exams. His father was also quite adamant that he should concentrate on his studies and represent his family well. Ritsu could still remember the time he'd failed an exam back in middle school; he'd never forget the scolding he'd gotten.

A sudden knock on the classroom's door pulled Ritsu back from his thoughts as he joined the rest of his classmates by glancing at the door, wondering who the person knocking was. He couldn't think of anyone having business with their class other than the headmaster but he usually preferred to appoint the teachers with the duty of sending one of them into his office. Ritsu briefly let his eyes wander around the classroom, noting that everyone should have been present. The only one who didn't seem surprised was their teacher as she made her way to the door.

"Ah, finally. I was beginning to think whether she'd show up at all," she spoke, her eyes darting to her wristwatch. "She sure took her time, though."

Briskly turning the handle, she swung the door open and greeted the person with an uneven smile; a habit all of class D could identify as her being somewhat irritated.

"How good of you to finally join us. You must have had much to discuss with the headmaster to arrive so late during the lesson," the teacher remarked pointedly, her tone of voice similar to whenever someone arrived late to her class.

"I'm awfully sorry about that, I guess I got slightly disorientated on the way here," a shaky, frail voice replied but before she could continue, the teacher raised her hand up, indicating she wasn't in the mood for explanations.

"There's no need for explanations, just make sure you won't make it a habit. I can't stand tardiness. Please, come in and introduce yourself to the others," she instructed, her hand moving to gesture to the empty space beside her desk. "But before that you could give me your transfer-form since you already have it out."

There was a slight ruffle of papers being flipped through before the girl handed out the correct one. She stepped inside the classroom tensely, the teacher closing the door the moment she had entered. The girl's long dark brown hair swayed lightly as she walked next to the teacher's desk, the familiar shade causing Ritsu to straiten up in his seat as he took a double take on the girl.

It couldn't be.

Kawamura?!

He could literally feel his jaw drop as he watched her turn to face the students, her large purplish eyes seemingly darting from one face to another, skillfully avoiding eye contact. Even from his desk in the back of the classroom Ritsu could still see the way she held onto her schoolbag, her knuckles practically white and body tense, as if expecting someone to attack her at any moment. He could hear the things his classmates were whispering, generally wondering who she was and how she'd ended up in their class; she didn't seem like someone who'd fail their exams.

Thoughts along the same line bombed Ritsu's mind as well. He remembered she had been in class C prior to this and she'd seemed intelligent enough if their few short conversations were anything to go by. She definitely wasn't yakuza; most, if not all of his female classmates had been brought up to act tough and to handle themselves amongst their male counterparts. Kawamura hadn't exactly displayed any of the typical characteristics he was used to and watching her now struggling to even introduce herself to the class only confirmed his assumption. Who knew, maybe she just froze whenever in an exam.

She licked her lips nervously before opening her mouth yet when nothing came out she clamped it shut once more. Ritsu could tell their teacher was beginning to get annoyed as she stomped to stand behind her desk, clearing her throat purposely and giving her new student a less than patient expression.

"My name's Elena Kawamura," she finally stated forcefully, her gaze now pinned on the wall in the back of the classroom. She seemed unsure whether she should say anything else and after a quick glance towards their teacher, she merely turned her focus back to the wall while the teacher took over for her.

"Miss Kawamura has transferred from class C and will be your new classmate from now on," she stated matter-of-factly before gesturing to an empty desk smack in the middle of the classroom. "That will be your desk from now on, please take a seat so we can continue with the lesson."

Ritsu watched intently as she made her way to the vacant desk and noiselessly pulled the chair from under the desk, straightening the back of her dress before taking a seat. He could see she wasn't as tense as before anymore as she literally deflated upon touching her chair, her eyes staring unfocusedly in front of her.

She hasn't even glanced this way once…

The small realization hit him harder than it usually did. He'd grown accustomed to people avoiding him and not meeting his eyes throughout most of his life but for some reason her unwillingness to look at him bothered Ritsu. Maybe it was because they knew each other on some level yet she hadn't acknowledged him at all, treating him as though he was a stranger. She'd briefly glanced at nearly everyone else in his class whom he knew were most likely completely new faces for her, so with that logic she should've looked at him as well. Heck, if not anything else his bright hair color always drew in looks.

So why wasn't she looking at him?

…!

And more importantly, why did he even care? Why did the stupid thought bother him?

/ / / / / / /

The bell of the clock tower boomed in a fairly loud yet low tone, the sound indicating the end of the morning's lessons. Tired sighs and incoherent groans instantly filled the class of 1-D as students began packing their bags and rising from their seats, slowly dragging themselves out of the classroom. Elena let out a deep sigh as she began packing her things, taking her time in doing so as she purposely wondered whether she should place the history book next to her English textbook or not. Sneaking a glance behind her, she noted nearly all of her fellow classmates had already exited the room and she lingered with her leave for a moment longer until she was the last one aside from the teacher, and after receiving a quizzing look from her history teacher, she finally made her way out the door; anxiously gazing around the busy corridors.

She hoped no one had seen her exit the room, linking her to class D. She knew she couldn't hide her transfer for long, especially in a school like Ouran. She just wished she could explain her situation to her friends before they got the wrong idea about her current predicament. Now if she could only figure out how she'd gotten into this situation to begin with. Throughout the morning she'd pondered on possible reasons resulting to her transfer, considering everything from sabotaged test scores to embarrassingly poor etiquette at the ball. She'd racked through her brain as she tried to think back through the entirety of her stay here in Japan, wondering if she'd accidently said or done anything to offend someone. She decided that the few yakuza she'd had run-ins with didn't count; they couldn't possibly have anything to do with this unless her poor behavior – i.e. self-defense – somehow impacted her grades. Speaking of grades, she was fairly certain she had passed her midterms with decent enough scores, even managing to feel like a genius within her new class if the overall performance of said class during the history lesson was anything to go by. She felt that she'd be more surprised if they passed the finals rather than failing.

Momentarily shaking the troubling thoughts out of her head, she entered the school cafeteria and quickly picked up the first plate of food from the numerous serving tables before heading towards the table Mariko and the others usually liked to sit by. Spotting the large round table, she noticed Mariko waving at her, smiling pleasantly as she encouraged for her to join them, apparently having saved a seat for her. Elena quickly made her way over and set down her tray of food, gratefully taking her place beside Mariko.

"Hey Elena! Where were you? You never came back to class, we were getting worried," Mariko immediately inquired, picking through her salad as she set her eyes on Elena.

Trying to act casual, Elena picked up her glass of spring water and took a sip, quietly debating with herself whether she should tell the truth or not.

"The headmaster wanted to see me before classes," she finally blurted out as she set down her glass.

"Oh. What did he want to see you about?"

She hesitated for a moment.

"Well, my studies, I guess. Apparently I hadn't done all that well on my midterms."

Mariko nodded, letting out a disgruntled sigh.

"Tell me about it; we've had a few conversations regarding my grades as well," she replied almost miserably before letting the discontent drip away as her expression changed to a fairly neutral one as she began tucking into her salad once more. "You must've had a lot to talk about; you completely missed our morning lessons."

"Um, yeah, about that…" Elena began, suddenly feeling rather self-conscious as all eyes were on her. Letting out a deflating sigh, she turned her eyes to her own plate of food and began poking at a piece of chicken with her fork. "I sort of got placed in another class."

"…You what?!"

Elena flinched slightly as she turned her head to catch Mariko's astonished gaze, a piece of lettuce falling back onto her plate as she held her fork over the plate, completely paralyzed for the moment. She raised her hands in front of her, trying to calm the girl down.

"It's not what you think, just hear me out," she hurriedly blurted out, trying to explain her situation even though she had a hard time understanding it herself. "My grades just weren't enough to stay in class C so I was placed in class D," she noted how Mariko's eyes widened in shock and almost screamed out "but it's only temporary! I'll get my grades back to normal and be back in class C in no time." The latter statement was meant to convince her ex-classmates around the table but in the end she couldn't help but think she merely said it to convince herself.

There was a heavy silence around the table and Elena stared nervously from one face to another, waiting for someone to say something. The overall atmosphere was tense and it made her that much more nervous as watched Mariko finally beginning to recover from her shock.

"Oh," she began, pausing for a moment before shaking her head in confusion. "I'm sorry Elena, it's just that, well, I was sure you'd do better than most of the people in our class. How could you get even worse grades than me, for heaven's sake? You seemed to study so hard," she rambled on before giving her an uncertain glance.

Elena mentally sighed in relief as the tension from before slowly subsided although an air of caution still remained.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because of the language; back in England I was never tested in Japanese, only in English. It's either that or I failed flower arranging."

The tiniest of smirks formed on her friend's face.

"Yeah, maybe it's the flowers. You didn't really seem too talented on that front," she mused in a good manner, causing the overall mood to lighten up.

Elena felt herself smile despite herself. Leave it to Mariko to make her feel better by telling her she sucked at something.

Lunch was carried on normally with the girls picking through their food and idly chatting about various things such as the ball and the latest gossip around school. Elena contributed her part in their conversation with her usual small remarks but generally let the others do the talking. She let herself revel in the small moment with everyone around the table before ultimately she had to part ways with them; the fact saddening her more than ever before. She hadn't really realized how much her classmates had grown on her before today; sure there were days she wished she didn't have to deal with them and their snobby lifestyles but after only one morning of being surrounded by mostly complete strangers, she found she would rather listen to them complain about 'rich people stuff' than be alone.

She huffed mentally, feeling both annoyed and pathetic. This school had changed her and it certainly wasn't for the better.

Lunch seemed to end sooner than before and as they made their way out of the cafeteria Mariko lightly jerked on Elena's sleeve, pulling her to a stop just as they made it to the hallway. She gave her a concerned expression, keeping her hand on Elena's sleeve.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked quietly as if afraid of being heard by a yakuza.

Elena thought about her reply for a split second too long before setting a forced smile on her face.

"Yeah, I'll manage, don't worry. I'll be back in class with all of you in no time at all."

"You better be, otherwise who else would have the patience to help me with my history?" Mariko joked before turning around and making her way to the rest of her friends.

"You know I'd still help you even though we're not in the same class," Elena remarked, her comment causing Mariko to stop and briefly turn back to glance at her.

"It's not that simple, Elena," she stated with a small, neutral smile before turning and making her way to class, leaving Elena to stare after her dumbfounded.

It's not that simple, huh? Not in this school, apparently…

/ / / / / / /

The school day was finally coming to an end as the clock ticked on, the second hand completing yet another round around it's never ending journey around the face of the small clock positioned on the classroom wall. Ever so often Elena's eye's drifted away from her English assignment to glance at the time, anxious for the lesson to end. She'd decided to go see the headmaster before returning home, planning to demand to see her scores on her midterms. She was beginning to suspect that this was all just some kind of sick prank the teachers were pulling on her because throughout the day she'd noticed that class D wasn't exactly on par with her in an intellectual level. Not that she was a genius herself by any stretch of the imagination but she still felt that it shouldn't have been her to get kicked down a class.

As the bell finally rang she wasted no time in packing her things and exiting the classroom, both in a hurry to see the headmaster and generally get as far away from her new classmates as possible. She semi-ran to the headmaster's office and knocked on the massive wooden double doors, holding her breath as she waited for any sort of reply. To her surprise the headmaster himself answered the door, opening the one on the left with a questioning expression on his face.

"Miss Kawamura," he acknowledged with a nod before focusing his gaze on her. "I'm sorry but whatever you have on your mind has to wait until tomorrow, I was just about to leave," he apologized with another political smile, already beginning to close his office door.

"This won't take long, Mr. Shou, I just really need to see my test scores. I think there's been a mistake," Elena hurriedly explained before he managed to close the door, her comment causing him to pause his actions for a moment and regard her with a long stare.

"I assure you, there hasn't been any mistakes on the matter, Miss Kawamura."

"But that can't be possible!" she nearly yelled out in frustration before glancing away in shame, momentarily having forgotten her manners in front of the headmaster. "It's just that I noticed that all of my grades should be much worse from before to get placed in class D. I know I wasn't the smartest in my old class but clearly I'm good enough to stay in class C."

The headmaster let out a heavy sigh and turned, leaving the door open as he made his way back to his desk to gather his briefcase and jacket, casually pulling it on as he stared outside his large window.

"I'm afraid there's nothing to discuss on the matter, as I already stated before. Academic success is only one half of determining your class, the other being your lineage. In your case combining the two places you in class D," he stated before turning back to face her. "I assume you understand what this means. The transfer will be permanent, no matter how your grades improve. And as I've stated multiple times before, there's nothing to discuss on the matter." He made is way out of his office, stepping aside Elena to close the door. "Now I really must be going. Goodbye, Miss Kawamura."

Elena stared at the headmaster's office doors in shock, Mr. Shou's words having frozen her in place. She faintly registered the headmaster's footsteps as he made his way farther and farther away until the empty hallways fell quite. Elena could feel beginning to turn lightheaded and she noticed she'd been holding her breath for far too long. Forcing herself to inhale a lungful of air in order not to pass out, she slowly tore her eyes away from the door and began turning around, her eyes settling on the quite corridor in front of her.

Nothing to discuss? What did he mean? And my lineage; just how could that contribute to anything?

A horrible thought came across her mind and she dismissed it a split second too late, the thought already having taken root in her brain as she subconsciously tried to piece things together.

"Oh god…!"

She had to be wrong. It just couldn't be true! There had to be an explanation for all of this. She just got bad grades. She failed her tests. Yeah, that had to be it.

Even so, could it be true?

Without thinking she burst into an all-out run, sprinting through the long empty corridors of Ouran, somehow managing not to trip over the helm of her dress as she made her way to an exit, hopping down the stairs without slowing down. Through her haze of near frantic adamancy she briefly marveled on her ability to navigate through the school in such a state of mind before dismissing it as she reached an exit, this one leading to the school's garden if her memory served her correctly. Bolting to her right once outside, she began heading towards the main entrance by circling the building, storming past neatly trimmed hedges and rose bushes until she was finally free from the vegetation. Once at her destination, she continued her way out of the gates and turned left, pushing past a few younger children walking in the other direction. Her lungs were burning and her legs felt heavy but she pushed on nevertheless, adrenaline fueling her body to perform past her breaking point until her breakneck speed had withered into a helpless, tired jog as she stumbled forward, now only a few houses away from her final destination.

"What the he-… Young Mistress!"

"Young Mistress! What's going on?"

She all but collapsed out of fatigue upon reaching the gate, a pair of solid arms catching her before she could hit the hard asphalt. Men were shouting around her and she could hear their quick-paced footfalls as a dozen of her father's men came running outside the gates. She tried to catch her breath, gasping out broken words.

"Iss…is…ittrrr," she panted out to no one in particular, her eyes starting to blur as she tried to focus them on anything but her eyelids felt overwhelmingly heavy. The men were all shouting again but no one had seemed to hear her question. She tried again, hoping they'd just answer her damn question. "Is it…they…we…the same…"

The men's shouts began blurring into one steady mass of noise in which she couldn't tell words or voices apart. Her body felt heavy yet light at the same moment; was someone carrying her?

Please, just tell me if it's true! Please…

Her silent begging went unnoticed by the men as her senses began leaving her and darkness overtook her.

/ / / / / / /

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!"

Ryouichi stormed in through the massive wooden gates to his home, his eyes blazing with anger as he grabbed ahold of the nearest person he noticed by the man's shirt collar, dragging him closer to give the man a menacing glare. He'd been interrupted smack in the middle of a highly important business meeting by one of the more horrifying phone calls he'd ever received, rushing out of the meeting without as little as an apology.

"It's the Young Mistress, Ryouichi-sama! She's collapsed!"

He gritted his teeth together thinking about what might have happened to his daughter, causing his grip on his subordinate's shirt to tighten. The man let out a shaking gasp of air, snapping Ryouichi from his train of thought. He gave the lackey a pointed glare.

"Don't make me repeat myself!" he yelled at the man currently in his tight hold.

"We don't know, Ryouichi-sama! She came running back from school and nearly collapsed at the gate! She passed out a moment later!" the poor man tried to explain the situation to the best of his capabilities, shaking from head to toe despite his large build. Their master could be terrifying but he'd never seemed this pissed off before.

Ryouichi let his lackey go with a push, his eyes moving to another man he knew had been on gate duty that day.

"Was she followed? Were we under attack?" he demanded to know and the man rapidly shook his head.

"No, sir. No one was following her and after scanning the closest blocks we couldn't find a single suspicious person on the streets."

"Good. Where is she now?"

"We've taken her to her room to rest, Ryouichi-sama," Kemuri answered, the young man having just entered the courtyard after exiting the house. "Aside from a few cuts and her obvious fatigue, she seems to be unharmed."

Ryouichi regarded his men for a few seconds before wordlessly entering the house and making a beeline towards his daughter's room. Kemuri followed him, waiting silently for further orders. Stopping outside Elena's room, Ryouichi glanced at Kemuri.

"Did you have a doctor examine her?"

"No, sir. She didn't seem to be in any life-threatening situation so we saw best to wait for your arrival. Dr. Fujima is on standby, though, and should trouble arise he'll be here shortly."

Ryouichi nodded; his family had worked years with the doctor and he knew Fujima wouldn't hesitate to leave even in the middle of surgery to aid his family. Such dependable people were hard to come by these days.

He slid the paper door aside after calling out his daughter's name to alert her of his arrival just in case she had woken up, then entered her room. Elena was lying on her bed with a blanket covering her still unconscious form, her chest steadily rising and falling with every breath she took. Ryouichi made his way beside her and leaned down on his knees, his eyes examining her sleeping face. Her hair was tousled and slightly tangled, a few small cuts scattered around her face. What little make-up she wore was also ruined; her mascara having smudged the skin around her eyes. Despite her unconsciousness, her rest still seemed troubled as her eyes twitched from time to time; her mouth pressed into a tight line.

Ryouichi frowned, not liking his daughter's appearance. He'd have to figure out the cause of her distress and make sure something like this didn't happen again.

Resting a hand on her shoulder, he gave it a light shake, intending to wake her up. He'd have to see if she needed to be seen by a doctor as much as he needed to know what troubled her.

"Elena, wake up," he spoke sternly, trying to force his alertness into her with another harder shake.

His daughter groaned lightly before her eyes slowly began to open, blinking numerous times as if to focus better. She turned her head and upon seeing him her eyes widened.

"Dad?" she spoke, voice uncertain as if not believing her eyes. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

Ryouichi felt a pang of guilt upon hearing his daughter's words. He hadn't been able to spend as much time with her as he'd like to have during her stay here with him and he felt terrible about that. Still, he couldn't put his duties as the head of the family on hold, not even for his own selfish reasons.

He offered her a small smile. "I got a call informing you'd lost consciousness and came straight home. Are you feeling alright? Tell me what happened."

She diverted her gaze, turning to look at something in the opposite direction.

"I'm okay," she murmured quietly, her bland answer irritating him.

He gave her a hard look – similar to the one he gave his men when he wanted answers – and rose back to his feet, crossing his arms in front of him as he made his demand.

"Tell me what happened, Elena! You came running home and collapsed; you definitely weren't fine before!"

There was a long moment of silence as he watched his daughter push herself into a sitting position with a semi-irritated huff, her now clear eyes meeting his without hesitation. It seemed he'd managed to irritate her, her current display of anger reminding him of her petty temper tantrums when she was younger.

"What happened? The absolute worst school day of my life, that's what!" she fired back clearly frustrated, her sudden outburst almost causing Ryouichi to flinch. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears and Ryouichi felt his expression melt instantly. He'd never been able to stand to see her upset. He sighed, deciding to approach the matter more fatherly than he'd ever done during the last years as head of the family.

"Do you want to talk about it? I know high school can get a bit rough sometimes."

Elena blinked rapidly as if trying to force her watering eyes back to normal before she shifted her gaze away again.

"I… I learned that I got bad marks on my midterms," she started hesitantly before continuing, "so I got placed in a class that… matched my skills better."

Ryouichi nodded, suddenly understanding better. So his daughter was upset about performing poorly and suffering the consequences, was she? He himself had done pretty well in school back in the day and he'd been quite strict on Elena once she'd started school to always do her best.

"I see. You'll just have to study harder next time then, won't you? That is if you want to return to your old class."

His words seemed to hit a cord on her as she snapped her head back to face him.

"It's not that simple! I… I got the impression I wouldn't be given another opportunity to switch classes."

"And why wouldn't you? Just get your grades back to normal and you'll be transferred back to your old class."

Elena sighed, giving him a slightly distressed expression.

"Apparently grades aren't the only thing determining your class at Ouran, there's also your lineage. That's why I needed to get home as soon as possible; I wanted to ask if it was true…" she elaborated, her eyes dropping down to her hands as she ended her sentence.

Lineage? What the hell do they mean with that? Name? Money? Status?

Ryouichi felt himself start to get irritated again. Was his daughter being discriminated because they thought he didn't have enough money? Was it because he'd enrolled her with her mother's surname? He knew he should've just registered her as a Yuugure to avoid any confusion. He couldn't stand having his family belittled by anyone; he'd worked hard these last years to rebuild his family's reputation and stature.

"Those hypocrites; the Yuugure have generations worth of wealth and stature, we're not just some overnight millionaires without any background. I'm going to have a long conversation with that headmaster of yours about treating us like scum!" he declared, his hand already going to grab his cell phone but his daughter's words stopped him right in his tracks.

"That's not the point, dad. What matters is your connections and apparently having any to the yakuza is the only thing that matters!" she stated briskly before staring him straight in the eye. "That's why I needed to know! Do we have connections to the yakuza?"

/ / / / / / /

Elena held her breath, anxious and nervous to hear her father's reply. Deep down she'd realized there couldn't be any other explanation for her transfer because there was no way she had done so poorly on her exams. Despite this she sincerely hopped her suspicions were wrong; there was no way her father could've been involved with criminal organizations!

Still, there's always the possibility…

She mentally shook her head, willing the thought out of her mind. She wouldn't believe it, she couldn't. This was her father she was talking about; the same loving man who'd helped raise her with her mother for the first eight years of her life. The same man who'd offered her a chance to stay with him when things back at England were beginning to get too much for her.

Then she thought about the things she'd witnessed while in Japan; the suspicious men he worked with, the caution they took whenever outside the walls of their home, the way her father was treated. The way they treated her…

She forced herself to keep her eyes level to her father's, still not able to breathe as she waited for him to respond.

Her father merely stared at her as if he wasn't sure whether he'd actually heard her right the first time. After a long drawn out moment his look of slight confusion molded into an amused grin and he let out a chuckle.

"Yakuza, huh?" he mused as he ran a hand through his hair, his eyes closing for a few seconds. "Connections to the yakuza," he repeated, seemingly more to himself than Elena before turning his focus back to her as he opened his eyes to give her a stern expression. "My dear girl, we are yakuza; have been for generations. Of course we would have connections."

Elena felt her heart stop.

What had her father just said? He couldn't have been serious, could he? There was just no way, it couldn't have been true!

She stared at him for what seemed to be hours, her body tense and momentarily paralyzed by shock. Her father frowned at her, a look of near disappointment written on his face.

"Don't tell me you didn't know? I figured it was rather obvious," he stated blandly before his eyes widened a bit after noticing Elena's frozen state. "What? You can't be serious! I knew you weren't all that observant but it couldn't have been that hard to figure out," he wondered out loud and made to place a hand on her head.

His movement snapped her somewhat back from her stunned state and she reacted without even thinking, diving out of the way of her father's reach, landing on her side on the bed, pulling the blanket over her head.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed at him from under the blanket, pressing her eyes closed as if hiding from the world.

"Elena?" she heard his father utter in confusion. "It's all right, I-" She felt his hand press against her shoulder and she immediately flinched away.

"No! Stay away! Don't touch me!" she screamed from the top of her lungs, too distressed to think straight. "Just go away and leave me alone!"

"Ryouichi-sama? What happened to the Young Mistress? Should I call for a doctor?" Elena could faintly hear Kemuri's voice through her panic hazed mind. She couldn't even find the willpower to scowl mentally in her current state; it figured the man would be the one who'd cause her even more malaise.

"No, it's fine Kemuri, she isn't hurt. At least, not physically."

Elena inched further away until she was on the farthest side on her bed, hands still clinging onto her blanket as if it was her only protection against the outside world. She could feel a lump start to form in her throat and she squeezed her eyes even tighter, trying to will away the inevitable. She could hear faint murmuring behind her just as the first hushed weeps escaped her mouth.

"Please," she pleaded in a shaky voice, not caring whether she interrupted the men, hoping to get her point across before she burst into a fit of pathetic cries. "Just go away and leave me alone…"

"Elena…"

"If I may, Ryouichi-sama, but it seems the Young Mistress needs some time to calm down."

Silence only followed as the two men turned and walked to her door, closing it behind them as it was slid shut with a small thud. It was as if her control was as paper thin as the walls around her room and something inside her broke upon hearing the small noise, finally letting loose the floodgates as she started to shake uncontrollably, tears stinging her eyes. In all her pathetic-ness she was at least glad that the others had at least given her the illusion of privacy within her own room even though the walls really didn't muffle out sound.

She cried silently into her covers under the protection of her blanket, losing track of time as she waited for all her pent-up frustration, anger, confusion, shook and disbelief pour out of her body in the form of tears until she just wasn't able to cry anymore. She slowly peeled out of her makeshift cocoon, shifting to sit upright in her bed while rubbing her sore eyes. Her eyes stung and her head hurt in the aftermath of it all and she suddenly felt angry with herself for her stupid-ness.

How couldn't have she realized her family were yakuza? The signs had been, as her father pointed out, obvious that even an idiot should've figured it out on their own. For living with her stepfather for nearly a year and secretly priding herself for being able to hear the unspoken behind his words, she clearly couldn't interpret all the subtle and sometimes less than subtle clues she'd been bombarded with since she first set foot on this country. To be fair she'd never lived outside Europe and despite her heritage, she wasn't that familiar with Asian culture and had simply thought that what she'd seen and experienced at her father's was considered normal in Japan, especially amongst the richer.

After her parents got divorced she remembered her mother always working hard to earn a decent enough living to provide for the both of them, making sure they wouldn't spend too much in case of a rainy day. Elena remembered being confused for the first few years, wondering why she couldn't have new toys whenever she wanted or why they didn't go out to eat. Despite having to save in a lot of unnecessary things, they'd still been able to live in quite nice apartments and thinking back now she had a feeling that her father had probably aided them throughout all this time.

Thinking of her mother sparked questions in her mind; had she known about her husband's connections to the yakuza when they were married? Had she only figured it out when her husband had to move back to his home country? Had it been the reason they ended up divorcing?

Elena thought about what she would've done in such a situation and she guessed breaking up after years of lies was a given. Still, she couldn't help but remember how fondly her mother always talked about her father whenever Elena had brought him up. She always had a dreamy look in her eyes and the corners of her mouth would turn up as if remembering something silly.

'Your father was the love of my life, Elena dear, and even though the relationship ended, you never really stop loving that person. Should I ever experience love again, I doubt it would feel exactly the same but if it were even remotely similar, I'd be content.'

And now she had a new husband with whom she seemed content with, just as she'd hoped for.

Elena wondered how her father had felt about the news, should her mother's words about not being able to stop loving a person be correct. She remembered her younger self dreaming of her parents getting back together and being a loving family once more; what were the odds of her parents hoping for the same thing?

Father must've felt so alone after hearing mother remarried… I wonder if that's why he wrote to me originally, because he didn't want to be alone?

The wind blew softly across the garden and in through her open window, sending a few loose strands of her hair floating with the breeze. The gentle gush of air carried the scent of moist earth and cultivated flowers, the mix of pleasant smells relaxing her somewhat. With her emotions now in check she thought back on everything that had happened throughout the day and frowned; she'd acted immaturely and unfairly to many people, especially her father. It wasn't his fault she couldn't figure out things sooner, although she did partially blame him for his choice of profession.

She sighed deeply, closing her eyes for a few long seconds.

I guess I owe an apology, not just to him but everyone else who had to take care of me when I collapsed…

She pushed the blanket off of her and slid out of her bed, walking down to her small bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. She suspected she looked god-awful after all that crying and cringed slightly at her reflection; her make-up was in a disarray, the tears having given her bloodshot, panda eyes. Her hair was slightly matted and tangled and there were a few cuts on her face. She briefly remembered running through the school's garden and suspected that a rose bush had nicked her.

Oh no, I completely forgot to change out of my school uniform! Ugh, that stupid dress is probably ruined, yet again.

She took a step back, mentally preparing to access the damage done to her yellow uniform, only to find herself wearing nothing but the white cotton top, bra and panties she usually wore under the dress. She stared at her reflection for a moment, feeling a little confused.

That's strange, I don't remember taking my uniform off… So that must mean that-

Her face twisted uncontrollably as morbid embarrassment hit her like a brick wall and she did the only thing she could think of; she screamed.

/ / / / / / /

Kemuri sat by the porch in the courtyard, his hand toying with his gun as he slowly spun it around in his right hand while his left arm was propped up against his left thigh, his hand supporting his chin as he waited patiently for his master's daughter to calm down and perhaps seek him out should she require anything. Knowing women he wasn't sure if she'd even calm down during the afternoon or evening, especially if her temper rivaled anything close to her father's. She was also, of course, a teenage girl; it was more than likely that she wouldn't let the matter go for another few days. He sighed mentally; he was in for a long wait.

Ryouichi-sama had left shortly after his daughter had started acting difficult, saying he needed to get back to his meeting with another yakuza head. If Elena wanted anything at all they were expected to comply without a word. The yakuza head was obviously trying to make his daughter feel better with the order but Kemuri suspected they probably wouldn't need to go out of their way to fulfill her every whim since the Young Mistress wasn't such a demanding person when it came to others doing things for her to begin with. He wasn't sure whether her being upset made a difference to the matter.

"Aw man, when's she gonna come out? It's already been over two hours," Kohaku complained a few feet away from him, the amber haired boy lying on his stomach as he supported his head with both of his arms. "She can't stay mad in her room forever, can she?"

Kemuri gave him a deadpan look, not at all surprised that the younger man would run out of patience. To be honest he'd lasted longer than Kemuri had initially thought but nevertheless as soon as he began whining Kemuri's own patience was tested.

"You, Kohaku, have obviously never had a relationship with a woman before," he simply stated, all the while continuing to spin his gun in his hand.

"Hey! What do you mean by that? How's that got anything to do with this? I thought that big sis was just tired after collapsing before."

Kemuri stared at his younger companion for a split second before letting out a slightly exhausted sigh, the gun in his hand finally coming to a stop as he placed it back into its holder, deciding it wasn't as entertaining as he'd imagined.

"You're really out of it, you know. If it'd been about that, she would've been fine by the time Ryouichi-sama left," he commented, carefully considering his next words. "No, she's acting like this because she only just found out she's been living with yakuza. Apparently she isn't that perceptive and the information overwhelmed her."

"What? You can't be serious?" Kohaku stared at him in disbelief, having pushed himself off the floor. "That's all? We've been waiting around for her for two hours all because she doesn't know how to feel? Aw man, why do girls have to be so complex? You'd think it was the end of the world or something…"

Kemuri secretly agreed with him on the last part, though he'd never admit it out loud. There were some days he wished their leader would've much rather had a son; having a young woman around the house was something most of the men hadn't experienced in a long time. To be blunt, it was weird. Still, he'd much rather babysit a pretty girl he could easily rile up than having to deal with another testosterone filled punk. They already had enough of those, he thought idly as he glanced at Kohaku.

"You'll never get a girlfriend, you know that?" he felt the need to state, silently hoping he'd be able to cause a humorous reaction from him.

Kohaku was just about to take the bate when suddenly their conversation was interrupted by a high-pitched scream, immediately causing them both to jump to their feet as the echo rang throughout the courtyard. There was no mistaking who the scream had belonged to and without even a word they were already running for her room, quickly making their way through the house and reaching her door in no time. Kohaku all but tore the sliding paper screen aside and barged in before Kemuri could stop him.

Oh crap!

"What's the matter big sis? Are you under attack? Don't worry, we're here to-"

Kemuri braced himself as another loud shriek struck their eardrums, the piercing sound making him cringe. How could such a petite girl make such a loud noise? That aside, there was only so little time to explain themselves before she would-

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE GET OUT RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR I'LL KICK YOU WERE IT HURTS HOW DARE YOU EVEN COME IN HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE GET OUT ALREADY!"

… Do that.

He let out a long sigh that lingered on exasperated; great, so she had inherited her father's temper – and in spades, it seemed.

How lovely…

He made to look at their young mistress but upon seeing her immediately diverted his eyes. He began to realize the reason for her initial screaming. Unfortunately Kohaku didn't seem to possess the same sense of discreet manners Kemuri had been brought up by and he had to drag the amber haired man back outside the room; the other blushing furiously and stammering something beyond understandable.

"Apologizes, Young Mistress. We shall wait in the hallway while you redress yourself."

With that he promptly shut her paper screen door and let go of Kohaku whom he'd all but carried out of their mistress' room, the boy dropping to the floor with a loud thud. Waiting for the young woman to dress, he settled on explaining all the commotion to a few other men who'd come to investigate why their leader's daughter was screaming.

"Hey, what's with the kid?" one of them ask, referring to Kohaku who had still to recover from seeing his young mistress in a state of semi-undress.

"I suspect he's finally reaching puberty," Kemuri offered semi-lightheartedly, leaving it at that.

They waited for five minutes or so before the paper screen finally slid aside, revealing the flustered purple-eyed girl. She shot them both what he suspected were meant to be menacing looks but her timid manor of not meeting their eyes left the act feeling rather bland. She lingered by the door, obviously not intending to let them enter her room.

"So," she spoke, glancing at him with an expecting gaze, "first of all, would you care to explain why I wasn't wearing anything except my underwear when I woke up?" Kemuri immediately picked up her stressed tone of voice, indicating he had to approach the subject very carefully if he wanted to keep her from exploding again.

"Your dress was a mess so I took it off," he told her bluntly, smirking upon seeing her face go through a range of emotions before settling on a mixture of humiliation and anger.

"YOU WHAT?!"

He couldn't help himself.

"It was dirty, it had to be washed. You weren't awake during the time in order to do it yourself so I took it off for you."

Her face reddened instantly upon hearing his words and she rushed back inside her room, slamming the screen closed.

"Ahh you damn PERVERT!" she yelled from inside her room, her reaction making him almost chuckle. She was so easy to rile up.

He spared a glance at Kohaku who had finally began to snap back to reality, probably due to the way Elena-sama apparently only communicated by screaming. The younger man literally spread himself across the floor as he bowed lower than Kemuri though ever was possible, begging for forgiveness from his 'big sis'.

"Please, I'm begging you, big sis, please forgive my actions! I swear I'll never burst into your room ever again! I'll make myself forget what I saw! Please, just have mercy and don't tell the boss!"

Kemuri rolled his eyes.

The screen door parted slightly as she peeked out to stare at Kohaku with a skeptical eye but before long her expression relaxed slightly as she let out a half-sigh, half-huff.

"Oh get back on your feet Kohaku, you're making me feel uncomfortable. I'll forgive you but only this once…" she grumbled, her eyes pinned to a floorboard.

Kohaku turned his eager gaze towards the girl, obviously slightly dumbfounded by her decision.

"You will? Just like that? Even though I saw you in nothing but your underwear?"

Kemuri smacked his hand across the top of the younger man's head.

"Just leave it at that Kohaku before she changes her mind."

Shifting his gaze towards the young woman in front of him, he found her eying him nervously. He quirked his brow, wordlessly inquiring what she had on her mind. She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before finally relenting.

"Is my father still here?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid he had to leave for a meeting. He did however give us orders to tend to your every need. Is there something you want, perhaps?"

She gave him a scowl. "Oh, I guess I sort of expected him to return to…work. As for me, I don't want anything. You two can take the rest of the day off if you want." She paused for a moment, her eyes shifting between his and Kohaku's before she bowed slightly, much to Kemuri's displeasure. "I'd also like to apologize for my earlier behavior, not just to you two but everyone else as well. I acted recklessly and without thinking. I'm sorry."

Kemuri sighed out of frustration, crossing his arms as he listened to her apology, noting Kohaku's surprised expression.

"There's nothing to apologize for, Young Mistress. Like I've already told you before, the Lady of the house doesn't need to apologize for her actions."

"But I want to! I wasn't raised to be rude and ungrateful. Besides, if I'm the Lady of this house then what I say goes, right? I'm apologizing and that's that."

He was just about to counter her argument but Kohaku managed to react faster than him, already talking before he could even open his mouth.

"Big sis has a point, you know. Anyway, I'm okay with it as long as I'm forgiven; I don't want to have my eyes ripped out…"

"You shouldn't let anyone mention this to Ryouichi-sama, then. He might just gouge them out himself," Kemuri stated, smirking slightly at the horrified expression Kohaku shot at him.

"Uh, don't even joke about such a thing, you're making me feel uncomfortable again… And for the last time call me Elena!"

A/N: Well, what a twist, huh? Yeah, most of you already guessed that Elena's family has something to do with the yakuza; if only poor Elena could be as observant as you guys :) We'll have to wait and see how all of this effects Elena.