A/N I do not own the manga or the anime and most of the script in the chapter isn't original

"Yesterday, our class rabbit died. It seems it ate something it shouldn't have."

"I bet it was you guys. I saw three girls yesterday hovering around the rabbit cage."

"That was because Mei-chan…She said it'd eat anything, so we should feed it something."

"We said we didn't want to, but she forced us."

"No, it wasn't me… I didn't do anything. Why are you all doing this?"

…

8 Years Later

Tachibana Mei was not a morning person.

You could tell if you saw her wake up in the morning; sluggish, dark circles underneath her eyes, struggling to stay awake.

Only no one actually knew because there was no one to watch, no friends to wake up with for sleepovers, no boyfriends staying the night, none of that. All of her life was spent alone.

Tachibana Mei was an enigma that no one bothered to understand until that day.

000

"I put up a wind chime. Feels summery, doesn't it?" Her mom said as a ringing sounded.

"Yeah, but isn't it kind of late for that?" Mei picked at her food.

"It's never too late," She said. "'Nothing starts until you begin'."

"What?" Mei said.

"A quote from a song." As if it was obvious.

"Uh-huh, sure." Mei said softly. The cat rubbed against her legs and purred softly.

"Oh right. You need breakfast too."

000

Zipping up her skirt and grabbing her iPod, Mei head out the door, her mother checking herself in the mirror as she left.

"I'll see you later." Mei shouted.

"Be careful!" Her mom shouted back. She hummed softly to herself, her husband's picture lying neatly on the desk.

000

Classical music lifts away the world and Mei doesn't see the soda can on the side of the road.

She doesn't see the telephone poles or the street signs.

She doesn't see the group of girls giggling behind her back at the train station.

No, she doesn't see a thing.

000

Toumei Public High School

"Tachibana." A random group of girls walked up to her, hands on their hips with dirty smiles.

"How many years have you been single?" Mei stares and she walks away.

"She ignored us!" One said and laughed.

"Well, you can't ask rude questions like that."

"Well, it's obviously been 16 years." And they burst into laughter.

"Lame!"

000

I haven't had a friend, let alone a boyfriend, for 16 years. And I plan to keep on beating my record.

I have been in a few groups who called themselves my friends.

But I realized something. When I have so-called friends, I only get hurt.

..She thinks of the rabbit back in kindergarten…

…

I don't need them.

000

"Man, I can't believe what happened yesterday!" Some guy said. "I get wind Seino's full of cute chicks with big tits, so I was super excited to check them out, but they all go after you!"

"Did they?" The other guy said.

"Don't act all oblivious! Even the cutest one had the hots for you." He pouted. "Don't underestimate my vision." He said.

"Sorry, man." He laughed lightly.

"So? Did you get her number?" He asked.

"Nope."

"What? How? Why?!" He shouted in surprise.

He shrugged "It's not like I had to."

"Dude, she so wanted you to ask her for her number." He said slightly annoyed. "What a waste."

"You think so?" He said obliviously. "She looked just like other girls to me."

His friend sighed. "The school's most popular guy really is different from the rest of us. The universally admired, universally kind, Kurosawa Yamato-kun." He said with a sneer.

"Do I detect sarcasm?" Yamato asked with a smile.

"Don't tell me all girls look the same to you."

Yamato chuckled. "Of course not. But they're all equal in my eyes-"

"Yamato!" Heavy breasts flopped up and down as a girl ran towards him. "Good morning!" She greeted happily.

"Asamicchi!" His friend shouted and reached out to hug her as she ran into the arms of none other than Kurosawa Yamato.

"Where were you last night?" Asamacchi asked him. "I called you last night but you didn't answer."

"I went to dinner with some girls from Seino High." He said gently.

"What? You should've invited me!" She said and pouted.

"Sorry. I promise I will next time."

"You mean it?" She said excitedly. "We should all go to karaoke together sometime, too."

Yamato gently smiled down on her. "Sure."

"See you later!" and she ran away.

"What are you doing?" He asked his friend who still had his arms up as if waiting for a hug from Asamicchi.

His arms flopped to his side and he angrily bit out, "Are you trying to take Asamicchi from me, too?"

"What?" Yamato blinked.

"Asamicchi's seriously my angel! Especially her boobs are awesome." He said as lewd thoughts filled his mind.

"That's all you look at, Kenji" He said disappointedly and shook his head.

"Not true!" He shouted. "Asamicchi's more than boobs! Asamicchi is-"His back collided onto something and he stopped.

On all fours, Tachibana Mei was on the ground.

"Sorry, sorry." Kenji quickly apologized.

With a glare she turned back, her eyes dark.

"Hey it was an accident…" She got up before he finished and walked away.

There was a beat of silence as she thudded away.

"She's such a weirdo." Kenji said.

"Who is she?" Yamato asked.

"You don't know?" He said. "That's Tachibana Mei. She's in my class. She's always like that, she never talks. I bet no one's ever heard her voice but I don't know what her deal is. She's not my type anyway."

But Yamato was faraway, his gaze still following the girl who was walking away.

"She's kind of interesting."

000

"What's the point of these morning assemblies?" Kenji groaned.

Two girls scurried up the footsteps and cupped the bottom of their skirts to keep others from looking up them.

"OOH!" He shouted when he saw the girls. "You girls are looking scandalous!" He ran up the steps to reach the girls.

"Hey stop that!"

"You little pervert!"

"If you want to hide them, don't have your skirts so short."

"Hey don't be a jerk." Yamato said followed by a group of girls.

"I'm giving them advice! It's even hotter when you try to hide 'em." Kenji tutted. "You'll give guys the wrong idea and make them think you want it."

"You're the only pervert here!" One of the girls shouted.

"You sound like an old man." The other one said.

"Anyway, Yamato-kun, you went to dinner with girls from Seino, didn't you?" A random girl asked. "Was it a mixer?"

"Nah, we just grabbed something to eat." He said scratching the back of his head

"But that's not fair. You should go out with us." Another girl said.

"Yeah, I will. Soon."

Kenji stared at them, irritated.

"Alright!" One girl shouted.

"It's a promise!"

A girl then began waking up the stairs that caught Kenji's eye. "Eh? You don't see a knee length skirt everyday" Kenji said. "That's pretty scandalous too." And a lewd blush covered his cheeks as he walked up the steps to pull on her skirt.

"Let's see who's wearing it..." He tugged and she stopped.

Tachibana Mei.

"Huh? Oh, it's you." He said, disappointed.

"Hey, Nakanishi, what are you doing?" Yamato said as he reached Kenji.

A bell rung in the distance.

Her leg swung and she though thought of home and the sky and her classical music that kept her from the world and that soda can she never noticed on the side of the road and the girls giggling behind her back- and she roundhouse kicked the man who was behind her.

He fell to the bottom of the stairs in a heap and the girls began to talk loudly in high pitched voices.

"Yamato!"

"Are you okay?"

"What a bitch!"

Tachibana Mei looked down on them from the top of the stairs.

"Everyone always says it's 'an accident'" She bit out angrily. "…So why does it keep happening? Leave me alone you asshole! I hope you die!"

And Yamato stared at her retreating figure.

"She's so mean."

"Nakanishi's the one who did it. "

"Yamato, are you okay?"

He stared.

Then broke into laughter.

"Ow!" He said but kept laughing.

"Did you hit your head?" Kenji muttered.

But Yamato only thought, Tachibana Mei

000

A group of girls glared at Mei as she left the class.

"What's her problem?"

"Who does she think she is?"

000

Tachibana Mei opened her locker. Tacks fell out along with a note and she picked it up. It read 'How dare you kick and innocent guy! Apologize, bitch!' She stared distantly at the paper.

"Tachibana-san." A voice faintly called.

"Tachibana Mei-san." She finally heard him and turned around.

Kurosawa Yamato was walking towards her with a hand up that was covered in scrapes. The hand he landed on.

"Hey!" He said and she grimaced at the sight of his hand.

"What do you want?" Mei asked.

He waved his hand. "I'd like to apologize." Yamato said gently.

"Apologize?" She said as more of a statement then a question. "What for?"

He sighed. "Because it was my friend who upset you. Kenji Nakanishi, the guy who pulled your skirt, is my friend. He told me you're in his class."

She shrugged. "News to me. I don't talk to anyone in class." She said and set her shoes down to place her feet in.

"He's pretty girl-crazy, but he doesn't mean any harm. I guess it was still pretty unpleasant though."

She said nothing.

"Tachibana-san, I'm sorry." He told her. Mei looked at him in quiet wonder.

'I'm sorry.'

"Okay, we-well, I'm sorry too." She shyly stammered out. "S-Sorry for accidently kicking you."

He chuckled and she looked confused.

"Sorry." He said smiling. "I can't believe you roundhouse kicked me out of nowhere!"

Mei blushed and looked down. "Oh, sorry." He said when catching her expression. "Seriously."

She turned around. "Can I go now?" Mei asked.

"You're pretty fun." Was all he said and Mei froze.

"F-Fun? Fun to pick on?"

"No, not at all." He said assuredly. "It's more like, I think it'd be fun to get to know you."

She slightly turned her head. "I don't understand." She said quietly.

He scratched the back of his head nervously. "What I mean is…How do I put this…"

"I don't care." She said before he could finish and walked off.

He was left, again, to watch her walk away.

000

She headed out when-

"Hey-"

"-Ah! N-Now what?" She said nervously.

"Let's be friends." Yamato said and stepped closer to her.

"What?" She looked up at him, still shaken.

"Let's be friends." He said. Mei blinked.

"Here." Yamato said. "Let's trade." He said and held out his phone. Why would I try phones with him? She thought.

"I don't want to." she said.

"I mean our numbers not the phones." He said gently.

Her face went read and she stammered out. "I-I don't want to do that either."

"Oh." He said disappointed. "Well, take this." He handed her a piece of paper with his name and number. "Contact me anytime."

She grabbed the paper and went digging in her skirt pocket.

"When I kicked you, I hurt your hand, didn't I? Here." She handed him a band aid.

"Thank you." he said with a surprised expression.

"Goodbye." Was all she said and she walked away.

"Mei!" She stopped and turned around. He held up the package of band aids and waved. "Thank you." And she lightly blushed.

"See you later." He said and she ran away.

000

That freaked me out. I haven't talked at school in a long time. He even gave me his number…

An image of his face appeared in her head. There really are people who can smile like that... She blushed and gasped, shaking away the image of a certain handsome man.

"A-As if I'd ever call him…"

000

Bakery Farm

"The chocolate Danishes are done." The manager held out a tray and walked them to Mei.

"Chocolate Danishes, fresh out of the oven!" Ogawa shouted. "Please buy one if you'd like!"

A man was glancing at Mei as she set out the food. He gazed discretely at the slender backs of her legs and the gentle curve of her neck, taking in as much as he could before the manager was blocking his view.

"Mei-chan." She said.

"Yes." She turned with the tray of food.

"Do you have a fever? Your face is red." She exclaimed only making her blush more.

"Oh, n-no, it's not, and I don't have a fever." She handed her the tray and headed to the register.

She closed her eyes with a sigh, the blush gently receding.

"Excuse me." A deep voice broke her out of her reverie. "I'll take these." He handed her a whole tray of various sweets and savory goods. But she had long ago learned not to judge a customer's eating habits.

"Oh, of course." She said gently. "Shall I pack all the sweets together?" She asked.

"No, please pack them separately." He answered automatically, as he watched her. "Could you include some wet wipes?" He asked.

"Of course." She said as she began packing the items.

He watched her as she worked, his gaze drifted from her lips to the top of her uniform shirt where her chest met the collar and he vaguely wondered what was beneath it.

Mei caught his odd look. "Um, out of 2,000 yen, your change is 950." She pressed her hand into his to give him all the coins. He drank in her pale delicate hand.

"Hey um... Oh it's correct. Thank you." He packed the change into his suits pocket and headed out with a discrete smile she barely caught. Mei looked off confused.

"Thank you very much!" Ogawa said as he left.

"Mei-chan, could you help me here?" the manager said and broke Mei out of her reverie.

"Uh, yes ma'am!"

000

Her mom chopped food as Mei entered through the door.

She turned around hearing her footsteps. "Mei, what do you say when you get home?" Her mom said chidingly.

"I'm home." Was her quiet reply.

000

She read the paper over and over again memorizing the numbers and the handwriting.

I shouldn't think about pointless things. He'd only betray me in the end.

She shut her eyes to keep out the image of his number, his handwriting, and flopped the paper onto the bed.

All week he had called her and waved, like any nice guy would do. But you see, it gets kind of old when you never respond.

"Mei!" He waved.

"Hey!" he called.

"Mei, what's up?"

And she never replied, only walking by.

"Mei!"

"Don't call me by my first name."

"Why haven't you called? I've been waiting."

"Don't follow me around. And I never said I would call you." She muttered, annoyed.

"But I thought we could chat." He said.

"I hate talking on the phone!"

"What? Don't you talk to your friends?" He said surprised.

She stopped and whipped out her phone.

"I don't have friends."

Her phone screen was displayed and on it only two contacts- Home and the Bakery Farm.

"People always stab each other in the back, and school's full of jerks hunting for the next target. They assign roles like they're playing house and play nice, then shun those 'friends' the second it's not fun anymore. I don't want to be friends with those people." She said and put her phone down.

"Not everyone's like that!" He said sort of desperately.

She smiled lightly then turned away. "Yes, they are." He stared at her with something akin to disbelief.

"I don't need friends." She turned around and ran to her next class, leaving Yamato alone.

He stood there, his hands deep in his pockets when Asamicchi came.

"Yamato, there you are!"

Kenji walked besides her. "Why do you look so spaced out?"

"Do I?" He said and walked towards them. "I'm fine."

"Hey, let's go to karaoke!" Asamicchi said excitedly. "Like you promised."

He shrugged. "Sure, let's go."

"Yay!"

000

"Sorry for keeping you so late." Her manager apologized while cleaning some pans.

"Not at all. Good work today." Mei headed out of the bakery.

She walked home in her own world, only noticing the man from the bakery who often came. But this time they were alone. He gave her an odd smile and started to walk off in the same direction she was headed.

Mei gave a small glance noticing him behind her. She quickened her pace.

Streets ahead and he was gone. She adjusted her path and changed her route. Looking back again she almost screamed.

He was too close.

Her breath quickened as she walked faster. The convenience store lay ahead- a beacon of light, her hope.

The phone rang and rang. Mom, mom please answer.

She was tucked in between the aisles, the window blocked so he couldn't see her but he waited outside.

Maybe he happens to walk home the same way as me. But he's been standing there for a while and he keeps looking at me…

What if it isn't a coincidence and he's been following me? She swallowed.

Pick up, mom, please!

Then her eyes wandered to that little paper clenched in her hand, the little paper that had been in the back of her head all day no matter how much she tried to deny it.

000

"Yeah! Asamicchi rocks!" Kenji shouted.

"Here you go, Yamato." A girl handed him the microphone. "Thank you." He smiled.

Suddenly his phone buzzed. "Sorry one second." He checked for the number

"Who is it?" She said.

"It's a random number."

"Oh Yamato please sing! I have to go home soon! Besides, it's probably one of those telemarketers. I kind of recognize that number."

He looked at her smiling face. "I can do that." He clicked end call then grabbed the microphone.

"Yay, Yamato!"

"Woo, yeah!"

000

"The call you have made has been forwarded to a-"She dropped the phone. He wasn't answering.

He wasn't answering. He wasn't-

She clenched her fists.

"Ay!" She looked over really quickly. The cashier was looking kind of angrily at her. "If you're not going to buy anything then you gotta leave." She looked around desperately.

"O-Okay." She slowly got up, grabbing her stuff.

She opened the door slowly looking down, careful not to make eye contact. She began to walk away from him, quickly, when he coughed and quickly approached.

She froze for a split second. "Ahem." He made a deep cough. "Um, excuse me." Mei slowly stopped.

"Tachibana-san, may I call you Mei?" He asked as she turned around. There were in the dark now, most shops closed, only one open but the clerk not paying attention. She slowly nodded then began to walk again.

He coughed again then he was right beside her. "Excuse me, Mei-" He placed a hand on her shoulder and quickly, without thinking she slapped him across the face.

"Oh- Oh I'm so sorry sir!" She clapped a hand over her mouth and was about to run again when he grabbed her shoulders and clamped a hand over her mouth. She couldn't move, she couldn't scream. He was right behind her.

"Please," he whispered into her ear. "I need you to be quiet." But she didn't want to. She wanted to scream and kick and punch and beat him and-

"I know what you're thinking," He whispered into her ear. "And I'd suggest you don't anything too rash." Something cold pressed into the side of her neck and Mei whimpered- a knife.

"Now, please, I need you to cooperate." His voice husky in her ear. Mei squeezed her eyes shut as the blade pressed deeper into her skin and she nodded.

He breathed heavily and turned her around, backing them into a dark alley. She was quiet as he pressed her into the place where secrets were made.

She was quiet just as he wished.