"Suiren?"

The pink haired girl glanced up at her boyfriend as they walked home from school. Meeting his eyes, a flash of memory from their shared kiss struck her and she immediately looked down at her hands, twisting them together.

"A…ah?"

Kawasumi frowned and laid his hand on Suiren's shoulder, abruptly stopping her in her tracks. He watched as she turned slightly towards him and fidgeted, refusing to meet his eyes. She muttered words he did not catch, lowering her chin towards her chest and shaking her head slightly.

Something was clearly wrong, and Kawasumi was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"What's wrong? Why won't you look at me?" He demanded, an edge in his voice lending the question a more desperate tone.

Suiren shrank into herself and glanced up at Kawasumi from behind her bangs.

Say something… say anything!

She screamed at herself internally, but the words caught in her throat as her gaze went immediately to his lips. The memory came again – his hot breath mingling with hers, his arms like bands of steel around her.

Suiren's mouth opened as if to say something, but the words caught in her throat. Closing her eyes in frustration, she clenched her hands together.

Why can't I ever tell -

Before she could complete the thought, she felt Kawasumi's arms surround her as he bridged the space between them with a step. Tucking her close to his body, the quiet boy whispered,

"Let it go – relax"

Pressing her face into the soft fabric in front of her, the Suiren took a deep breath and willed her tears away. The frustration slowly drained from her, leaving behind a rare sense of serenity. Straightening, Suiren disentangled herself from her boyfriend's arms and shyly looked up at his face.

"It must be frustrating"

Kawasumi said, looking at Suiren with compassion. She nodded, her entire body seeming to slump in despair.

"We use… mediation in karate. It might help. I could – I could teach you."

Kawasumi blushed as Suiren perked up and looked at him in astonishment.

"You would be… my sensei?"

She smiled then giggled as Kawasumi's blush increased. Shaking his head at her amusement, the martial artist stepped closer and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Close your eyes" He commanded, and she instantly obliged.

"Take long, deep breaths" Kawasumi smiled as Suiren quickly fell into the proper mindset for meditation. He was impressed – it was not easy to slough off one's mental baggage. Certainly his first few tries at this had not been nearly as successful.

"Imagine your frustration as a dark cloud surrounding your body." He continued, keeping his voice even and quiet.

Suiren frowned and nodded, seeing in her mind's the form of herself covered with a black mist.

"Gather the mist into a ball. Will it into your hands"

The mist swirled and gathered in her palms, its darkness flickering with bright sparks. Suiren pulled every last breath of smoke from her body, concentrating on keeping it within the confines of her hands.

"Now close your hands. Visualize the ball shattering – falling away into a million pieces"

Suiren felt a sense of glee as she slammed her palms together, erasing the black ball from existence. She jumped as the physical noise of her hands coming together shook her out of the trance. Staring at her palms she realized the tension was gone.

"Amazing!"

Suiren gasped and looked up into Kawasumi's eyes, her face glowing with happiness.

"Thank you!"

Kawasumi blushed brightly at her smiling face and nodded, stepping back quickly.

"N-no problem"

He stuttered,

"Ah - We should go"

He reached out and took Suiren's hand, drawing her closer to him as he began walking again. Suiren felt only contentment as she gently swung their conjoined hands back and forth.

Walking into class the next morning, Aya and Yuri greeted their friend and remarked on her bright smile.

"Kawasumi-sensei taught me meditation"

Suiren smiled and thanked her boyfriend again in her mind; already she had used the technique twice. After living with frustration for so many years, the change was like the first ray of sunshine after a dark and stormy night.

Aya looked up as another student approached the three girls. She narrowed her eyes as she recognized the girl as a bully.

"Oh, Suiren-chan!"

The older student said with a cheerful smile plastered all over her face.

Suiren looked up and gave a small smile in return.

"Yes, sempai?"

Ami gestured with her hand and took a step towards the door of the classroom,

"Can I talk to you outside please?"

Suiren nodded and made to follow the taller girl. Ami watched the two leave, her eyes narrowing to slits.

Outside the classroom, Suiren found herself herded into a corner.

"Oh, Suiren-chan, I have a big problem that I need your help with!"

Ami pleaded, her words dripping with honey.

Suiren blinked,

"How… can I help?"

The senior student grinned maliciously, and pinned her arms on either side of flustered Suiren.

"I need a slave."

She whispered, staring deep into the now terrified student's eyes.

"Or perhaps you would rather have this …"

She held up her hand, now holding an item that caused her victim's face to go completely white.

"... Copied and distributed to everyone in the school. We wouldn't want …."

Suiren crumpled to the ground and missed the rest of Ami's rant. The sound of static drowned out all other noise as the bully finally gave up and walked away, holding the diary protectively in her hands.

Again… It's going to happen again.

Suiren spiraled into darkness, her fear consuming rational thought.

No! I won't… I can't… Not again!

Hyperventilating, she stood and shakily made her way to a supply closet – only a few steps away. Sliding down into a corner, she wrapped her arms around her legs in a fetal position.

It's never going to stop.

Silent tears fell from Suiren's eyes as she fell back into the memory.

-Flashback-

"You might as well give up – Ken is mine. He would never like a scrawny girl like you anyway"

A tall student laughed and pushed Suiren into the mud, kicking her when she protested with a cry.

"No one even likes you Suiren. That awful voice of yours gets on everyone's nerves!"

Suiren looked up in shock, the pain showing clearly on her face. Suiren was proud of her voice – as a soloist in the middle school choir she was often praised by teachers.

Realizing this was a sore subject, the bully gleefully continued on,

"Everyone just pretends that you are good, it's all a big joke. We laugh at you when you aren't around. Even teachers do it."

Sobbing, the middle school student scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could – away from the cruelty of school.

-END Flashback-

Shaking her head free from the memory, Suiren shuddered and fought to keep the darkness from overwhelming her.

"Gather the mist into a ball…"

Kawasumi's voice pierced through the haze of fear, and shocked the girl from her thoughts. Remembering the meditation techniques, Suiren took deep breaths and visualized her body. The dark miasma that appeared around the form caused her to recoil in horror.

It's too much! I can't…

Suiren's grasp on her meditative state wavered, and she felt the darkness eagerly consume her once again. Letting out a cry, she slumped backwards… and into the solid chest of her sempai.

Ka…Kawasumi-kun?

Although not physically present, a glowing image of Kawasumi embraced her and chased the encroaching shadows away. Finally able to relax, Suiren came back into herself and felt marginally better. The fear was still preset, but not as crippling as it had been moments before. As her senses slowly returned, Suiren became aware that someone was calling her name.

"Suiren!? Where are you! SUIREN!"

Opening the door, she peeked out and saw Kawasumi's face before he turned the corner. Panic was written all over it. Feeling a twinge of guilt, Suiren quickly chased after her boyfriend – she owed him that much for saving her.

For some reason I had trouble with this one. Hopefully it gets easier - we are approaching the main conflict of the story.

I realize it is a bit meandering - I am tempted to go back and re-write a bunch of chapters.