Author's note: Takes place in Vol 1. Constructive criticism always welcome!

That first week, Kyoko missed Sho so badly she could hardly breathe. She was still angry with him, so furious she couldn't see straight, but her treacherous heart missed him anyway.

But then again, she'd been missing him for a very long time. For the past several months, Sho hadn't been staying at the apartment more than one night a week, and even then, he got in late and left early. Kyoko ground her teeth when she remembered what excuses she had made for him, the lying, lazy, cruel...

No, no. Kyoko clamped down on the anger that threatened to rise from her like a banshee. She'd never get to sleep if she started that again.

When had Sho stopped being her friend and became that monster who so callously used her like a pair of disposable chopsticks?

Kyoko turned over on her pallet, pummeling her pillow into shape. Sho's betrayal had brought some honesty to her past memories of him. She'd always been half in love with him, even as a child. Of course, he'd been her only playmate for as long as she could remember. But even then he'd been selfish.

Not always though. There were times when he had been her friend. Even as late as last month, she'd wanted to see the new Harry Potter movie. Sho had made fun of her, but the night of the movie, he showed up beside her, dressed in a ball cap, a bad wig, and sunglasses. His condition of seeing the movie with her was her silence, which she had gladly given. She'd been so happy to have him sitting beside her that she barely remembered the movie.

Kyoko's throat tightened and she sat straight up in bed, the blankets pooling around her waist. No. No, she couldn't do this anymore. She wouldn't. If she remembered the few times Sho had been kind, she would become That Stupid Girl again. She would abandon her plan for revenge, beg Shotaro to take her back, and the cycle would repeat itself. Kyoko inhaled a deep breath. Never again. She would focus on her anger, focus on her plans, and when she had beaten Shotaro, when he was begging to be noticed by her, to have her back in his life, she would smile sweetly, toss her hair back and say: "NOT A CHANCE, YOU SMUG SON OF A-"

"Kyoko-chan? Are you okay?" Okamisan's querulous voice drifted up the stairs of the Darumaya.

Kyoko clamped her hands over her mouth, realizing she'd been shouting that last part of her fantasy out loud.

"Ah, yes, ma'am! Just... just a bad dream is all."

The next morning, she stood in front of the LME agency and took a deep breath. "No going back now," she said and marched through the doors.