WARNING: There is a small reference to drugs and alcohol, but nothing major. Still, read at your own risk. ^^

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing and nothing at all. All characters belong to Natsuki Takaya-san. ^^

Kyou: BAKA! You should have said that in the very first chapter!

Me: Kyou! 3 **hugs**

Kyou: **fear face** ACK! N-NOOO! Kagura no. 2!

Me: **turns away from Kyou** I-I'm not Kagura-chan . . . **cry, cry**

Yuki: **sigh** Why do you have to be so rude, you stupid cat?

Kyou: FEH! Damn Rat! What do you know about being nice?

Yuki: **calmly** Well, first off, you have to be a NICE PERSON. You are exactly the opposite.

Kyou: WHY YOU-? **stands up quickly, fighting stance** YOU WANNA GO?

Tohru: E-eh . . . K-Kyou-kun . . . p-please don't fight! ^^;;

Yuki: I agree. You give me a migraine with all your stupidity. We all know the result anyway.

Kyou: Fine! **plops back down** But don't think I've given up or anything! I WILL defeat you!

Tohru: **pat, pat me** G-Gomenasai. Kyou-kun can be mean sometimes, but he truly doesn't mean it! ^^

Me: R-ReallY? **looks up, hopeful**

Kyou: No! .

Me: Aw . . . **sadness**

Kisa: U-Um . . . Na-chan? **tug, tug my sleeve**

Me: **look at Kisa** Yes, Kisa-chan?

Kisa: Th-The story . . .

Me: **blink, blink** . . .story?

Hiro: **SLAP!** THE STORY YOU ARE WRITING, dammit! Are you really that forgetful? What do you want to do, exactly? Do you really think people will like you if you keep dragging this on? Don't you think it's long enough? What are you doing putting that cat and mouse in here? Do you think they're the main characters or something?

Me: N-no . . . y-yes . . . u-um . . . **confused** .

Hiro: **turns his back and crosses his arm, annoyed** Just Start it already!

Me: o-okay! No more messing around! Sorry for such the long act, everyone. I got carried away! ^^;; I'll go ahead and start now. =-]

~ 3 ~

{{The Tigress's Perspective}}

Standing in my room, I took one last long glance in the rectangular mirror. I had my school uniform on, as it was mandatory for school, but instead of having my hair just hang like usual, I had pulled the front strands on either side of my head back into a tiny braid. My eyes suddenly fell to my new golden necklace that fit perfectly around my neck - the gold-tiger that shone in the light rested right above my chest. I smiled, touching the tiger with my fingertips. I thought of Hiro, and of two nights before – my birthday when he had given it to me. It was the first gift he had ever given me that actually screamed 'a little more than friends'. I sure hoped it wasn't too good to be true.

"Kisa! You're gonna be late for school!" I heard mom sing from the downstairs.

I ran downstairs, slid my shoes on, and slipped my backpack onto my back. "Bye Mom!" I rang out, and then ran out the door, and down the street.

It wasn't long before I was almost on the school grounds, but never did quite get there on time.

I turned the corner, humming happily to myself, and thinking about seeing my friends after, what it seemed, such a long time. I hadn't seen them in a while, and I couldn't wait to talk to them. I was also excited at the thought of seeing Hiro at school . . . and maybe even finally telling him my feelings. . .

Then, all of the sudden, my thoughts were turned into surprise. A strong force was pulling on backpack from behind, pulling me back towards it and away from the direction I was going.

I turned around to see a broad, skinny man staring at me very strangely – somewhat hungrily. That really frightened me. And his smile. That snaky, creepy, eerie smile that dared to slither upon his lips the moment he saw me. That scared me the most.

His hair was pulled into a slick, black ponytail and his eyes were a weary green. Silver, rectangular sunglasses sat at the rim of his nose, and he wore tattoos on his bare arms. He looked to be in his late twenties, and reminded me of a buff biker with his leather vest, 'REBEL' t-shirt, holey jeans and combat boots – defiantly someone you didn't want to get into a fight with. In all, he was a daunting guy.

"Hey, kid. Wanna come with me?" He said playfully, yet his voice held a certain persuasion to it – one that tried so hard to convince me.

"I-I can't." I replied softly, looking away and trying my best to be brave. "I have to get to school, sir. So if you would just let go, I could-" I broke off, trying to pull away - run away from him - with all my might, but I just couldn't. He was too strong for me to do anything.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, little missy." This time, threat entered his voice as he suddenly grabbed my shoulder, stripped off my backpack, and threw it aside.

"H-Hey! Wh-what are you –" My words stopped and my eyes widened when he pushed my back against the nearby stone wall, and blocked my escape by planting himself in front of me with both arms stretched out and palms pressed against the wall on either side of me. I winced as pain shot up my back and left arm from the sudden action that had been taken to keep me from running away. I held the injured arm with the other as it throbbed and ached and felt like a hundred tiny daggers were piercing it on the inside. I momentarily wondered if it had been strained, or perhaps even broken.

The man locked his sickening eerie-green eyes with mine, and a sly smile crept up onto his face. I hated the way he stared at me, but for an unknown reason, this time I could not look away. The only thoughts that I could accumulate at the moment was that I had to get away!, but there was no possible escape. If I tried to duck under one of his arms and dash off, he'd grab a hold of me before I even began to take the first step.

"Now you don't have a choice, little girl." He told me, apparently proud at his fast movements and quick wit at trapping me. He suddenly leaned in closer to me, as if to kiss me.

"N-No . . .L-Let me go!" I shouted, hoping someone would hear, or notice, and do something to help. But no one was around. The street and road were bare of people and cars. Everyone was either at their job, at school, or at home. What had I been thinking?

I immediately recognized the sound of thunder as it boomed above. The sky became grey and cloudy. A slight rain began to pour suddenly. And I dreaded every moment of it, even though I wasn't one to dislike the rain. The situation I was in made it hard to like anything. The whole time I felt so weak and pathetic . . . so fragile. This whole period of time, I had felt like I had when I was being bullied at school. I couldn't do anything – nothing to stop it. Nothing to save me. No escape. Only trepidation.

I squeezed my eyes shut and bowed my head, not knowing what to do, and not prepared for this man to kiss me. A pervert, I thought, He was a pervert! How had I not noticed before, with his strange eyes and smile? Was I that naïve, or simply that thick?

The man chuckled, a sound that ran chills down my spine. "Go on. Try to defy me." He prompted, seeming to enjoy my resistance. I could feel his breath upon my face – it smelled of alcohol and cigarettes – something I didn't particularly like.

He tilted my chin with his hand so that I no longer had my head bowed, and faced him once again. His grip on my chin tightened so that my head would stay in place and so I would no longer be able to turn it away. "Refuse me all you like," He whispered in my ear with humor and pleasure, "But I'm gonna have you, sweetheart. And you're gonna cooperate with me whether you like it or not."

A tear slipped my eye at that exact moment, and slid down my cheek. I opened my eyes to find myself teary-eyed and crying. Tears . . . I thought. Tears . . . for who? For myself? For . . . Hiro? A visual of Hiro flashed before my eyes, and I could feel my heart begin to ache. Hiro . . . what am I going to do? This wasn't what I wanted . . . I didn't want this! I didn't want . . . this man to be my first kiss. I wanted you . . I wanted . . . you to be my first kiss, Hiro-chan. But . . . But now . . .

My eyes began to blur from all the warm tears forming in my eyes and the rain that was now pouring down more rapidly. My left arm lay limb in my hand. Whether it be broken or not, I still could not tell.

I could only see a faint image of the man in front of me, not being able to make out his features or position anymore. However, I could feel his breathing getting closer and closer to my lips. I could hear and feel my heart's pace fasten out of anxiety with every second his breathing neared.

Bbmp.

One.

Bbmp.

Two.

Bbmp.

Three.

And that's precisely when it happened.

Haha!~ Suspense! I love it, don't you? Now she's REALLY late for school! XD See what happens next in Chapter 4! ^^