Chapter 4

Two Fights and One Armageddon

Five boys. Each one of them was larger than her in some way, whether by height or body mass, and each one had fire burning in their eyes. Currently, they were surrounding her in a half-circle, and her back was against one of the walls outside an Academy building. She had no chance of running or winning in a fight; not with her wound. And unfortunately, she had told Youta and Kaito to stay off-campus that day until they had fallen out of suspicion. That meant no help from the men she hired to be her body guards; truly a great plan on her part.

Wonderful job, Rin, she thought as she eyed the boys around her. You screwed yourself over for something as stupid as your stubborn pride.

Rin threw away her internal scolding and made eye contact with each of the boys in turn, daring them to make a move. None of them stepped forward, but they were cracking their knuckles in an effort to look menacing. It was a pretty pitiful, and didn't have the desired effect. Rin tried her best to not look as annoyed as she felt so they thought they were actually frightening her. Perhaps she could talk her way out of this one. She was about to instigate a conversation when the boy in front of her stepped forward and distinguished himself as the leader of the merry gang. It made sense, really: he was the only one with some level of competence.

"Fukumoto Rinsuke," he said darkly in greeting.

Moto Akihiro. His father a successful businessman in the utility industry. His mother deceased.

"That is what you are going by nowadays, right?"

Rin just narrowed her eyes. He's following in his father's footsteps and taking business-associated classes. Physical ability is average, but his arrogance is far above the normal level. Everyone by now knows how proud he is of being in Class B.

When Rin didn't respond, Akihiro smirked.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Rin didn't even twitch.

The other four are Class C's, only known for being Akihiro's cronies. Inconsequential.

Akihiro was getting irritated at her silence, but for the time being he seemed to try his best not to show it.

"I'm so glad we have the chance to catch up," he continued. "You were in such a hurry yesterday; where did you run off to?"

If I hit each of them quickly, I might be able to finish it without reopening my wounds. At the first sign of rebellion, they'll probably just run. Then again, it might be wise not to aggravate them, considering their reason for chasing me. And unfortunately they aren't all physically incompetent.

Too late. Since Rin had been ignoring Akihiro, he lost control of the anger he was holding back. He took a step forward, pulled his fist back, and punched with all his might. Rin didn't drop her gaze, even as his fist came closer. She knew it was too late for her to dodge unless she wanted to start something, so it was better to just let it come. Then, his hand passed her, and made contact with the wall. She didn't let the relief she felt show on her face.

"You answer me when I'm talking to you," Akihiro hissed, his face only inches from hers. Rin let a small gap of silence persist before she spoke.

"I find small talk a waste of time," she replied. "Why don't you skip to the part I care about?"

Akihiro bared his teeth like a mad dog, and he trembled with what Rin thought at first to be rage, but soon realized it was laughter when he tipped his head back and howled with it. Rin raised an eyebrow in question as the other boys joined in, probably not really knowing what was so funny. She waited for them to quiet down.

Akihiro eventually wiped his eyes to rid himself of the tears that filled them from his apparent amusement, and then he spoke.

"You are so full of a guilty conscience over all of those people you killed that you want us to just begin your punishment right away? At least you can claim that you aren't a coward."

Rin's blank stare immediately turned into molten and she straightened to come closer to Akihiro's height.

"I was not the one who designed the product," she hissed. "You can blame me for whatever the hell you want, but do not fool yourself into believing that hurting me will bring justice to my father's actions. He didn't give a damn about your mother, and he sure as hell doesn't give a damn about me. So stop acting like a child and bring your anger down upon the man who deserves it."

She finished her statement by crossing her arms defiantly over her chest. So much for getting out of this one with words, she thought. I royally threw that option out the window. But, I'd say that was well deserved on his part.

Akihiro seemed taken aback by her sudden burst of passion, but didn't let it fluster him for long. He, too, returned her glare and stood taller to intimidate her.

"You better watch your mouth," he growled under his breath so only she could hear. Rin smirked.

"On top of that being physically impossible, I don't think I quite have the desire to bother myself with such frivolities."

Akihiro's eyes widened in momentary shock before they narrowed in anger.

"Why you…"

He didn't even bother to finish with that statement, just reached forward and shoved Rin against the wall. She flinched as a sharp jolt of pain shot out from her wound, but otherwise did her best to keep her blank stare. She steeled herself for whatever was about to come, but before Akihiro could act…

"Rinsuke?"

Everyone, including Rin, was surprised at the sudden voice. Akihiro stepped back and turned around; the rest of the boys parted so they could see who interrupted them. It was Haruhi.

"Is there a problem?" Haruhi asked in his usual monotone. Rin immediately put on the friendly persona that Haruhi knew her by.

"Fujioka-san!" she cried happily. "I didn't think I'd see you today, how are you?"

Haruhi glanced at the boys suspiciously and answered with a simple, "Fine I guess. What about you?"

Rin smiled, easily discerning the hidden question in that. 'Are these boys the ones that were chasing you?'

"I'm doing quite well, thanks," she replied; ignoring Haruhi's meaning entirely. "Akihiro and I were just discussing times to get together. He needs help with one of his classes, and I offered my services."

Akihiro's posse looked around at each other in utter confusion, but at least their leader had the sense to go with the excuse.

"Yeah," he said and looked back at Rin. "So does tomorrow after school sound good to you?"

Rinsuke hesitated and shook her head. "Not tomorrow. Maybe Thursday?"

Akihiro narrowed his eyes so only Rin could see, but he nodded. "Yeah, sounds good."

Rinsuke smiled. "Great, so I'll see you then."

With that, she stepped around him and latched onto Haruhi's arm.

"Walk me to my car, Fujioka-san," she said a little too cheerfully. Haruhi seemed just about as confused as the others, but didn't resist.

"Alright," he said, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at the other boys. Rinsuke wasn't sure what he saw, but it probably wasn't pleasant. She pulled him along so they were soon out of sight of Akihiro.

They walked arm-in-arm toward the front of the school, however before they reached the gate, Rin pulled Haruhi over to the side of the walkway where they wouldn't be heard.

"You have no idea what wonderful timing you have," she sighed with genuine relief. "Thanks for showing up when you did."

Haruhi nodded slowly. "You're welcome…"

He paused, and looked to the side, probably deciding whether or not he should ask about what was really going on. As he did this, something about his face caught Rin's attention. She studied him closely for a moment and her eyes widened in shock. Suddenly, it made sense.

As Rin had been talking to Haruhi yesterday she had noticed something off about him. Of course, she didn't think anything about it because she was distracted by the excruciating pain in her side, but now she saw it clearly. She was almost embarrassed that she hadn't noticed it sooner.

"Haruhi," she began slowly and smiled. "Would you mind me asking what you're doing as a host in a host club?"

Haruhi seemed startled by the question, but shrugged.

"It's nothing, really, I just accidentally broke some important artifact or whatever and I started working with them to pay my debt off."

Rin raised an eyebrow inquisitively and asked, "And they let you do this despite the fact that you're a girl?"

Haruhi paused, even more startled than before, but she gave a slight laugh.

"So you figured it out. I guess you caught me."

Rin smiled. "It's fine, really, I was just curious." She paused for a moment. "I didn't think girls were allowed to wear male's uniforms."

Haruhi shrugged again. "I've never gotten any trouble from the teachers."

A conspiratorial spark lit in Rin's eyes. "Thank you, Haruhi," she said. "I believe I have some business with the Chairman to clear up." She bowed. "It was good to see you."

"Uh, you too," Haruhi agreed and mirrored the bow, even more confused than before. Rin could tell the host was still troubled by what she had just witnessed, but she wasn't about to answer any questions about it. Before she turned to go to Yuzuru's office, she realized she couldn't just get the uniform without some form of warning to Ootori; that would just be rude.

"Haruhi, would you mind if I ask a favor of you?"

"Hm?" Haruhi had turned to leave but faced Rin once again at her call. "What is it?"

A smile almost as malicious as Kyoya's crossed Rin's features, and Haruhi's eyes widened a bit as she wondered where that had come from. Rin had always seemed so cheerful…

"Tell Ootori-san he'll get his uniform back tomorrow instead of what we earlier discussed."

Haruhi's apprehension turned again into confusion.

"He'll understand when you tell him," Rin assured, her bubbly attitude back in place, and her smile now a friendly one.

"Alright," Haruhi nodded. "I'll tell him."

"Arigato!" Rin said with a wave and then spun on her heel. She walked swiftly to the Chairman's office, excited about finally getting rid of that stupid dress. It was getting annoying having to change when she arrived at the Academy and then again before she left. Granted, she could take her car instead of her bike, but that went against every fiber of her being. If she wore a boy's uniform, she wouldn't have to deal with changing at the most inconvenient times of the day. And besides, the dresses were both hideous and uncomfortable. She'd take a pair of slacks over those any day.

She didn't run into any students that she knew, and therefore had no interruptions as she moved through the nearly empty hallways of Ouran. She reached the Chairman's office in a fairly decent amount of time, but before she knocked she took a deep breath. He was always so impossible to deal with; it was obvious where Tamaki got his supposed "charm." She needed to clear her mind a bit before she tried to confront him.

Just as she was about to reach up and knock, the door opened of its own accord and Rin found herself looking into a pair of eyes that glinted like cold topaz in the setting sun. She froze in shock, held speechless for a long moment with the jolt of seeing eyes that mirrored her own staring back at her. The spell was broken as soon as the man in front of her smiled. The gesture did not seem to spread across his face.

"Hello, Rinsuke," he said with what she swore was disdain.

She dropped her hand to her side and clenched her fists.

What the hell is he doing here?

She did her best to force her negative thoughts out of her mind and smile.

"Father," she nodded curtly. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Before he could answer, the door widened as Yuzuru stepped out to see why his guest had paused in the doorway.

"Oh, Rinsuke," he said when he noticed her, "I had not been informed of your visit, what a lovely surprise. What can I do for you?"

Rin smiled sweetly, glad that the Chairman was there so she didn't have to keep speaking with Ryuunosuke. "I merely have some things I'd like to discuss with you. Nothing too major."

"Of course," Yuzuru said, "would you like your father to be present?"

"No," Rinsuke said quickly, but caught herself by widening her smile. "It is unnecessary. I know he is a busy man and really the matters I am preoccupied with are quite trivial. I wouldn't want to waste your time," she directed the last part toward Ryuunosuke, whose near-black hair was casting a shadow over his eyes.

He stared down at her with disapproval and irritation at her slip-up, but knew the matter could not be attended to in the current situation. So, he turned to Yuzuru with a smile and held out his hand; Yuzuru grasped it firmly.

"It was good to see you, my friend. I hope everything turns in your favor."

Yuzuru returned his smile. "I am certain it will, and I wish the same for you."

Rin tried not to roll her eyes at the dramatic farewell, and she completely avoided looking at Ryuunosuke as he passed her and left the school grounds. She waited until she was sure he couldn't overhear them before she looked up at Yuzuru. However, it was the Chairman who spoke first. He stepped aside and held his hand toward the interior of the office.

"Please, come in."

Rinsuke sniffed and stalked into the room stiffly. Anyone who called Ryuunosuke friend was no acquaintance of hers. She'd rather get through with this quickly, but she knew that was unlikely. So, she sat down on one of the lush couches, but did not lean back comfortably. She sat upright with her hands folded in her lap and waited for Yuzuru to be seated as well. He sank back into the cushion and crossed his legs, one hand holding a glass of wine that came from absolutely nowhere, and the other resting along the back of the couch.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked with the same sickeningly sweet smile as Tamaki before he held his glass to his lips.

"I've come to inform you that I need a new uniform," Rin stated bluntly. The Chairman nearly spewed his wine over the room. He nonchalantly coughed a few times after he swallowed and then looked at her with another smile.

"Rinsuke, darling, you know I love it when beautiful maidens such as yourself come to visit me, but I do believe I am a bit higher on the totem pole than that request."

"You're the Chairman, I wanted to be sure my request is clear."

Yuzuru leaned back and raised his brow inquisitively. "So then you do not trust my staff to get the job done?"

"I don't trust anyone, I thought I'd already informed you of that."

Yuzuru just looked at her inquisitively, and Rin sighed.

"Please just get me a new uniform, preferably by tomorrow."

Yuzuru's eyes traveled the length of her body and she felt the need to shrink away even though she knew nothing would come of his… eccentricities. She was quite glad that these dresses covered so much of her body, otherwise she'd have an overwhelming need to punch the Chairman. Every time she saw him.

"Your uniform does not seem to be in bad shape," he said, confirming her suspicions that he wasn't being as lecherous as he had seemed. "Might I ask why you are requesting a new one?"

Rinsuke took a deep breath, well aware of what his reaction would probably be to her next statement.

"It is uncomfortable, and unsuitable to my mode of transportation. I require a male's uniform."

Yuzuru practically shattered with that – quite literally. He remained still for a long moment before he launched into one of his rants, uncrossing his legs and pulling out a rose in his free hand.

"Oh, my poor darling, how saddened I am by that request! To hide your feminine beauty behind the thick folds of men's fabric – I simply cannot allow it! One as fair as yourself cannot-"

"You let Haruhi wear one," Rin interrupted coolly. "This isn't so much of a request as a demand. I'll just make another male student buy one for me if you don't do it yourself."

Yuzuru stopped sparkling and pouted slightly. "I have no idea where you get that from, you know it's rather rude to interrupt someone when they're speaking."

Rinsuke gave him a look that said, does it look like I care?

"Alright," Yuzuru resigned and lifted the rose to his nose thoughtfully. "I'll have the uniform here for you in the morning before the day begins."

Rinsuke nodded her thanks and said, "I expect you'll put the cost on Ryuunosuke's tab along with everything else."

"Of course."

Rinsuke lifted her chin slightly. "Then, unless you have anything else to discuss with me Chairman, I will be going now."

Yuzuru regarded her with careful eyes. At first, she thought that perhaps he did indeed have something on his mind, but then his serious frown cracked into an overly-joyous smile.

"There is nothing at the moment I can think of, darling, except for one thing. You know I don't like you to call me by my title, it's so impersonal. Please just think of me as your Uncle."

Rin narrowed her eyes, easily catching the way he avoided what was on his mind. She sighed and stood from her seat.

"I'll be calling you that as soon as you can prove to me that computational fluid dynamics simulation is a waste of time."

Yuzuru looked as though he had no idea what she was talking about, which was rather the point. Rinsuke smirked.

"That is what I thought. Now, Chairman, it was good to see you. I'm glad I was able to catch you while you had time, and I do look forward to our next meeting." She walked to the door, but before she opened it she said, "I don't suppose that if I asked you, you'd tell me what Ryuunosuke was doing here, would you?"

Yuzuru's seriousness returned. If he noticed the way she called her father by his first name, he didn't say anything of it. "That, my dear, is something you'll have to take up with him yourself."

Rin didn't bother to answer. She wasn't in the least surprised. Instead, she curtseyed and managed a polite farewell before she left the Chairman to his own devices. She walked quickly down the halls toward the dressing rooms, angry thoughts swirling around in her head.

What had Ryuunosuke been doing talking to her principle behind her back? Any business he had in her school surely he should take to her first. If he proposed something that would affect her in any way and she heard about it, she suspected it would be fairly difficult to tell him apart from a still-smoldering forest fire. Of course, she'd be the first suspect because for some undeterminable reason he had already left all his funds to her should something happen to him. She'd just use the money to buy off the jury or whatever. That's what Ryuunosuke did, anyway. Dirty money bought dirty deeds.

Rinsuke shook her head with irritation. Thinking about it wouldn't help, especially not at the current moment. She could feel her anger rising every moment she said his name in her head. So, she thought of more pressing matters, such as the need to buy parts. She had taken a mental list of all the parts she needed, and already guessed that she wouldn't be able to buy all of them. Instead, she would just buy the most important, and save the others for a later time. Perhaps she could take them from another one of her bikes, although she didn't particularly enjoy that option. She could also salvage them from a junkyard, if the need should arise. But, no matter how desperate she was, Ryuunosuke's money would remain untouched outside of school necessities. She didn't need him or his millions. Or billions. Whatever; she didn't care enough to keep track.

She dressed as quickly as she could into her usual T-shirt and jeans and hung her uniform dress in the locker where it belonged. Of course, soon it would be back in the hands of the boys who gave it to her in the first place. A small smirk formed on her face, one that she tried her best to keep down. She hadn't had much interaction with Kyoya until recently, but she knew very well how much of a prodigy everyone thought he was. She was very happy to tear someone a peg down, even if it was only a simple refusal to follow through with the terms they had agreed on.

Rinsuke shut her locker and left Ouran promptly. She didn't see Akihiro or anyone else for that matter, so she was off-campus in no time at all. Her trip to buy parts didn't last long, and unfortunately wasn't as fruitful as she would have liked. It seemed that prices had raised recently, so she was only able to buy about seventy-five percent of the items she thought she would, and she had already anticipated not being able to buy them all. It was disappointing, but a setback she'd be able to handle easily. Over the weekend when she took a break from practice she would go out to a junkyard and see if she could find anything useful. If that failed, she had an old bike she probably wasn't going to use much in the future.

By the time she returned home it was nearly dinner, although she hadn't sat down with her father at the appointed time since… she didn't even remember when. He had given up trying to get her to do so a long time ago. For some reason, though, as she neared her garage, she had a feeling tonight would be a little different. That reason, specifically, was the fact that Ryuunosuke seemed to be conversing with Youta and Kaito in the garage. She would have turned right back around if her father hadn't looked up and waved at her. She figured she had already done enough to incur his wrath and she might as well try not to get on his nerves.

She pulled up to the garage with much less of a flourish than she had the previous day, mostly because Ryuunosuke was easily annoyed by "flamboyant displays of useless skill." He'd said that to her once when she won her first gold medal and had proudly worn it home. It had taken a great deal of effort for her not to punch him even at that young age, but she quickly learned not to show off in front of him in any way, shape, or form.

As soon as she removed her helmet she wished that she had decided to sleep at the school, or stay there until midnight, whichever worked the best to keep her out of his presence. Youta and Kaito disappeared when Ryuunosuke motioned for them to do so, leaving him and his daughter alone. Rinsuke smiled as she got off of the bike.

"Hello father," she said as politely as she could manage.

Ryuunosuke stared her down with hard eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "If only you could act so well around others and at least give the illusion of respect."

Respect is earned, she thought icily. And whatever you were talking to Yuzuru about was probably a stab in the back anyway.

"I have nothing but the utmost respect for you," she lied expertly, but her father knew her too well to fall for that.

"Do not speak to me like I am the child," he snapped. Rin barely refrained from rolling her eyes and walked around him to get to her tools, bringing along the bag of new parts she had bought.

"I don't believe I was," she said. Her father followed her to the tool box.

"Your attitude is helping no one in this situation, and making me look a fool."

Perhaps that's because you are one, she growled to herself. He often did seem like one to her.

"What you did today must never happen again," her father continued darkly. "I grow tired of your continuous rebellions and blatant disregard for who I am."

And who are you? My father? If you were my father you would have showed up before it looked like I'd make you a pretty penny.

Rinsuke set down the tools she had picked up and looked at him blankly. "I haven't done anything to hurt your reputation, if that's what you're worried about. I assure you that you've done well enough on your own."

She probably could have held back that last bit. She really should have. But lately, she found she didn't exactly want to. Why should she treat him as her father when he so clearly wasn't?

And apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Ryuunosuke grabbed onto her shoulder and spun her so she was facing him fully. His grip was like iron, and he didn't let go.

"Watch your tongue," he snapped, reminding her very much of how Akihiro had acted earlier that day.

Rin gritted her teeth to hold back another scathing remark and simply looked away. Whatever words she thought she wanted to say to him would only turn back to bite her eventually. She had to keep telling herself that. Ryuunosuke dropped his hand to his side, but did not back away.

"If you are done, I'd very much like to get to the real reason of my wanting to speak with you."

Rin chanced glancing back at him with surprise. She had thought he just wanted to regain some of his broken pride by scolding her – what more could he possibly have to say? Perhaps it had something to do with his conversation with Yuzuru…

"Why did you order your hound dogs to stay here today?" he asked.

Rin's surprise melted into irritation. They weren't hound dogs they were people. She turned back to her tools and sifted through the ones she didn't need. She considered telling a lie, but then remembered her father had spoken with the two in question already. They probably told him the truth, so she couldn't make anything up without further angering her father.

"I told Youta and Kaito to stay here because they let themselves be seen by students at Ouran who started to ask questions about them. It would not be wise for them to be on campus until they are no longer held in suspicion."

Ryuunosuke crossed his arms. "And why would anyone be asking questions about them?"

"Have you seen what they're wearing?" she remarked sarcastically.

Rin grabbed hold of a few different-sized wrenches and turned to where her bike was sitting. Ryuunosuke just looked at her and waited for a serious answer. She sighed.

"Because I was chased by a group of boys and had to hide in a room occupied by a club. Said club's members thought Youta and Kaito were the ones who had chased me."

Her father contemplated this for a moment, his eyes narrowing in anger.

"You were being chased," he stated. "By whom?"

Rin shrugged as she knelt down and started tinkering with the bike. "Spoiled rich kids. I don't know every single student that goes there, you know."

Her father didn't seem to believe her. He repeated more firmly, "Who were they?"

"Why do you care?" Rin snapped suddenly, her control pushed past the point of breaking. She hated when he started interfering in her affairs – she could handle herself. This was a problem that had lasted a long time. Ryuunosuke always wanted to dig himself into her problems so he could help her but he either made it worse or did nothing at all to alleviate the situation. If he did help in any way, it was certainly not welcome. Still, he seemed adamant in meddling in her own concerns.

"I am your father, Rin," Ryuunosuke hissed. "And it is my duty to protect-"

"Is that what it is? Your duty?" Rinsuke dropped her tools, balled her hands into fists, and her father was stunned into momentary silence. She stood to look at him on even ground and continued before he regained his wits enough to speak. "Is that what I am to you? Just something you have to take care of because of a mistake in your past? Am I just another broken engine to be fixed?"

Her father made a quick recovery and straightened so that he towered over her. "Rinsuke, you are deviating from the point at hand-"

"I don't give a damn if I'm deviating from anything," she interrupted, furious. He was the one avoiding the consequences of what he was doing, and their earlier conversation really had no point to it anyway. "It's obvious you don't think of me as your child, so why even bother? Wouldn't it be easier for you to just wash your hands of me and be done with it?"

By then her father was practically fuming. He took a step forward. "Hoshino Rinsuke-!"

"Don't you 'Hoshino Rinsuke' me, damn it!" she shouted at him for the first time in years. "My name is Fukumoto." She paused a split second before she continued, "I never asked for a father, you know. I never needed one. I got along just fine without one!"

"Yes, well you have one, don't you?" Ryuunosuke raised his voice, eyes now swirling with anger. He stepped forward again to close the distance between him and his daughter. "I'm not asking you to like me, Rinsuke, but you will not treat me as one of your rivals in competition. Your tantrums degrade you."

"Tantrums?" Rinsuke asked with disbelief, ready to fling in his face all of the things he put her through, but he interrupted.

"Yes, tantrums, Rinsuke. You childishly act out every time I come across you."

"And why the hell do you suppose that is?"

"Because you are a child, Rinsuke!"

Rin flinched and looked away. A child, yes. That was all he ever saw her as. If she wasn't a problem he created, then she was just a naïve little girl who couldn't do anything on her own.

Perhaps it was true. Perhaps she did act out selfishly, and perhaps she was more similar to the "spoiled rich kids" of Ouran than she thought. How was she supposed to learn when her father never paid any attention to her, and her mother was always out of the country? She had to raise herself; her managers never helped her do anything. Perhaps having a family just wasn't right for her. Perhaps living on her own was the better option.

"Youta and Kaito are under my contract," Rin said blankly, and turned to exit the garage. "They act on my orders, not yours. Close the garage when you leave."

She thought she heard her father say something. Perhaps he tried to get her to stop, perhaps he tried to follow her. She ignored him either way and walked over to her Yamaha. She put her helmet on, revved the engine, and spun "flamboyantly" out of the driveway. As soon as she was off of her father's property she pushed the bike to its top speeds, unheeding of the cars around her.

She blew through red lights, weaved in and out of traffic, and kept on going without any cop interference. She knew how to avoid them. She drove recklessly, ignoring any street signs or visual markers that might tell her where she was. She just drove. It was her bike and the road, and the limit as far as the horizon.

She didn't know how long she circled aimlessly around the city, but she had slowed down to a reasonable pace at some point. She thought at first it was because some sensible side of her brain took over and told her to slow down, but she soon realized it was another matter entirely. Her bike continued to slow even as she tried to accelerate, and with sudden worry she looked at the fuel gauge: empty.

The bike just kept slowing down, and as Rin glanced around her she realized that there weren't any stores or gas stations around. She was in some part of the city that looked new and spread-out and… and she was in a very, very rich neighborhood. That meant that if she wanted help, she would probably owe some insanely large amount of money or perhaps her first-born son. As she pulled over to the side of the road she cursed profusely and put down the bike stand. She pulled her helmet off and tried to distinguish anything that might tell her which rich neighborhood she was in. She couldn't see anything.

With an irritated sigh, Rin got off of her bike and stored her helmet under her seat. Then, she kicked up the bike stand and started rolling her bike to the nearest mansion. There was a black iron gate in front of the driveway with two stone pillars on either side, not really a surprise, and the mansion beyond that was fairly modern as opposed to her father's estate's traditional layout. She looked at the numbers on the side of one of the pillars and for some reason the arrangement seemed familiar, but she pushed the thought away.

All she needed was a gallon of gas and she would make it to the nearest gas station… wherever that was. She would also probably need some directions… and a map. Thinking back now, Rin realized that this neighborhood was like a maze and she probably had no chance of leaving it on her own. She sighed again and mentally punched herself as she reached out to hit a button on the pillar, below the numbers. The button had a speaker next to it that came to life a few moments after she buzzed.

"State your name, please," a voice cracked out unevenly.

Rin rubbed the back of her neck half-heartedly, hoping whoever lived here wasn't some self-loving prick.

"Um, I'm just a little lost," she said uncertainly, holding down the button. She wanted to avoid giving her name if at all possible. "I was driving through the neighborhood when my bike ran out of gas and… and do you have a map or anything that I could use?"

She released the button and the voice replied almost immediately, "Your name, please."

Rin sighed and debated if it was worth it to just move on to the next house. Then she realized that the next house was very far away, and would probably ask for the same thing anyway. She held down the button again and decided to give her mother's name.

"Fukumoto," she said simply. She let go of the button and waited.

"One moment, please."

There was a long pause in which Rin glanced around nervously. She had no way to contact anyone since she had left her phone in the garage, and the sun was already below the horizon. That meant she was stuck here in the hand of some rich person she didn't know… What if it was someone who knew her father? And what if they were among the ones who held a grudge against him? She supposed she probably would not see the light of day ever again… which, in hindsight, might not have been a bad thing.

Just as she was about to give up and move on to the next house, the voice spoke again.

"Welcome, Miss Fukumoto. Please come in, and bring your bike with you."

Rin blinked in surprise, but also a bit of fear flared up in her stomach. If she walked into that gate no one would be able to help her should anything happen. Kaito and Youta probably had no idea where she was. Would she be just another story on the news?

She had to make her decision quickly, because the doors to the gate began to slide open slowly. Rin cast a nervous glance over her shoulder, but she couldn't see a thing.

Walking into a strange home in the dead of night, no gas in my vehicle, no phone, and no one around to hear if I scream? Horror movie material; definitely horror movie material.

Still, what choice did she have? It was that or walk all the way home with a very big chance of getting mugged and/or raped. She'd take her chances in a home where she could at least find a kitchen knife to defend herself with.

So, without further ado, she pushed her bike forward and entered the grounds of her highly-likely doom. She walked up the long driveway, glancing at the dark bushes that line either side. As far as she could tell there were no assassins waiting for her to let her guard down, but still she didn't relax. It took a bit of effort for her to reach the top of the sloped driveway. The front door opened before she reached the front step. Inside the frame was a man, the butler she assumed. The light coming from inside the house cast a shadow over him so she couldn't see his features or really anything aside from his silhouette. He directed her to simply park the bike in front. She did so and then climbed the steps to the front door.

The butler stepped aside and motioned for her to proceed him, which she obliged to do. As her eyes adjusted to the bright light she tried her best not to stare at the large foyer or the modern art placed handsomely around the receiving room. The part of her that told her to turn and run seemed to go away as she followed the butler through the house. It was really a gorgeous layout, and Rin was reminded that this could be hers. This was her life. Even now, years after she met her father, she had a hard time believing it. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she didn't want her father's money; she simply wouldn't know what to do with it.

Since the butler was in front of her and couldn't see her, Rin chanced glancing around her in awe. She was used to the elegant, older design of her father's home, but something this new was very different. It was like every movie she could think of in which one of the main characters had loads of money. Sometimes the houses on TV seemed so surreal, but this house was exactly like those, right down to the plants and various trinkets scattered around for decoration. It was strange to think that there really were people that rich in this world.

The butler led her quietly to what she assumed was a living room. The couches were white and the tables were black with glass tops. The television was huge, and of course it was a flat screen. Rinsuke almost didn't want to believe such a spacious place existed, and that wasn't to mention how high-tech everything seemed to be. However, her amazement was cut quite short as the little part in her brain that told her to run away started shouting at her to run the hell away.

The trigger for this reaction was none other than the apparent master of the house who was sitting with his legs crossed on one of the couches facing the hallway she had just come from. Her eyes widened as said person smiled at her venomously. She immediately realized that this wasn't a horror movie. No, it was worse than that, it was a living nightmare. Or possibly Armageddon.

The boy in front of her stood and bowed in greeting, his concrete eyes looking sharply at her through his glasses.

"It is a pleasure to have you," he straightened and his kind smile melted into a smirk. "Miss Rinsuke."

A/N: Dun dun DUUUUNNNN. Rin is officially screwed, but we knew that from the beginning, didn't we? Well, I am ashamed to say that this chapter came out way later than I intended, which is definitely the fault of Life. Also school. BUT I GRADUATE IN LIKE A WEEK SO YAY! As soon as summer hits, it will be me and my beloved computer. All day every day. Unless I'm working. But you guys probably don't care about that so I'm moving on to more important things like: I have no idea how I did with Yuzuru's character. I tried to make him a little flamboyant but also serious, and I feel like I didn't do it even a little bit of justice. So if you have any suggestions for that, I would love you forever. Also feel free to comment, ask questions, or draw me a bear in the review box. Anything is good. And thank you all for reading!

-KC