"N-No...No way... I-It's her...It's them..." Ayame's lower lip trembled as she recalled what they did to her.

"It's them...the girls who hurt Ayame... Unforgivable..." Yamaguchi clenched his hands in anger after he saw the girl next to him shaking. Although it's the first time he met them, he could already tell that they are up to no good.

"Fancy seeing you back here" the black haired girl said with fake smile "I thought you ran away. But-oh! Yeah, you can't run away from everything...from your sin"

The girls behind her snickered and nodded in agreement.

He was about to retort back but Ayame placed a hand on his arm and whispered "Please don't. T-This is...my fight..."

As much as he hated it, he has no choice but to back off. For now.

She breathed shakily and stood in front of the girl.

"Hello, Akame-san" she said almost blankly, though he could see her hands and knees shaking "Kiruka-san, Taijin-san, and..." her eyes had a hurt and betrayed expression when she looked at the pigtailed haired girl on the further right "...Yuriko-san. It's been a while"

"The feeling is mutual, Mizuki-chan" Yuriko smiled at her.

"Is she the one who betrayed her? I can't be sure but... based from how Ayame reacted when she saw her, she must be it..." he thought "How can she smile so naturally after what she did? I hate it, damn it"

"Exactly" Akame smirked as she took a step forward "Why are you here, I wonder? And..." she glanced at the freckled teen behind her "Who is that lanky guy? A friend?"

"Please don't involve him with this" she tried to harden her voice, but the shakiness is almost obvious "And don't call him lanky, Akame-san"

"Why? Afraid that-oh..." her smirk grew wider as she realized something "You didn't tell him, I see...Oh, this is so good~"

Yamaguchi didn't like it. He didn't like the way they are treating her. He saw Ayame's violet eyes widen as her hands trembled and she kept biting her lower lip. He was about to grab her hand and leave when Akame called him.

"Hey, Mizuki's friend, did you know? This girl is not as nice as you thought she would be" she started.

"Please stop..." Ayame whispered shakily. Irritated, he grabbed her hand and turned his back on them, only to find that two of the girls blocked his path.

"Damn it..."

"Where are you two going? It's rude to leave when someone's still talking, you know?" Yuriko said disapprovingly.

"Sorry but we're in the middle of our errand right now" Yamaguchi answered.

"Eh~...I don't care though" the ringleader waved her hand as she ignored his reason "Hey, let me ask you, pizza face, is she you're friend?"

"Pizza face... good thing I'm used to the usual insults about my face..." he internally sighed "What's your problem with it?"

"How rude" Kiruka shook her head upon hearing his response "Is that how you country bumpkins talk to other people?"

"Aside that he's rude, he looks pretty pathetic" Taijin added with a snicker "And his freckles are so lame-"

SLAP

"Don't insult him" the violet eyed girl warned them in a low voice. A look of surprise crossed their faces as Taijin's left cheek was marked red after she was slapped.

"A-Ayame..." the freckled teen stammered as her actions shocked him "I-It's okay...I-I'm used to it..."

"Why you-" the slapped girl snarled and was about to get her revenge when he stepped in front of her and grabbed her wrist. She made a tsk sound and stepped back upon seeing the cold stare from the boy.

"Oh? What is this?" Akame was quick to recover from her surprise and replaced it with a smirk "You're fighting back now? Impressive change, Mizuki. And you now have your own back up, huh? Interesting"

"But..." Yuriko stepped forward and dug something from her bag "I'm pretty sure this doesn't change"

She quickly pulled something black from her bag and threw it to the violet eyed girl. She caught it by instinct and nearly threw up upon realizing what she's holding.

A black pistol.

Ayame's vision started to blur as images started forming in her mind. Her breathing turned shaky as she quickly dropped the gun and hugged herself. She couldn't scream but she desperately wanted to.

"Let go of her!!"

"Shut the hell up!! I-I-I'll kill th-this girl!! D-Don't go any closer!!"

"M-Mom...D-Dad...I'm scared..."

"Dear...Aya-chan might..."

CRASH

"Dad!!"

"Why you bastard-!!"

"Someone call the police!!"

"He has a gun!!"

"Dad, no!!"

"Ayame!" Yamaguchi grabbed her shoulders and she hid her face on his chest, her body trembling badly after holding the gun. She slumped down on the floor and he wrapped his arms around her shaking form. He couldn't hear what she's whispering shakily but he could feel the hot tears soaking his shirt. He glared at the girls "Why do you have a gun with you? You can't just show it around in public!"

"Oh, this?" Yuriko picked the gun she dropped "Don't worry. It's only a toy gun, not the real thing. But, that girl really can't tell the difference between a real one and a fake. One look at a gun and she'll start puking and shivering like a sick dog"

"It's amazing she didn't throw up this time" Kiruka noted "Last time I showed her my brother's toy gun, she threw up in the classroom. It was a mess, really"

"Well, either way, I miss seeing her in this pathetic state" Akame laughed, followed by the girls.

He gritted his teeth as her state pained him "Why the heck are you bullying her?! She didn't do anything wrong!!"

"Didn't do anything wrong? Don't make me laugh" the black haired girl lowered her face to meet his eyes "You didn't know, right? She didn't tell you anything?"

Ayame's eyes widened and she tightened her grip on his shirt "D-Don't tell him...please...don't tell him..."

"That girl..." she gave a sly smirk "...is a murderer"

She lost it.

The images of dead corpses clouded her mind as she lunged at the girl with a pained scream and they both toppled down to the floor. Her violet eyes were filled with tears as she panted heavily on top of the poker faced girl.

"Why did you tell him?" her voice was so broken and she was shaking "I-I was planning on telling him...but...but..."

"Hey, come on now, I helped you with it. I just told him in your place" she smiled innocently "There's nothing wrong helping someone out, right?"

"And, Mizuki-chan, you're making a scene here. Didn't you learn anything from your old school about proper manners?" Yuriko piped in.

She didn't dare look back at the freckled teen. She was afraid what he'll say now that he learned about her past. She recalled his words but...it was quickly washed away by her fears and doubts.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arm and pulled her into his chest. She remembered this warmth and looked up...and saw the anger on Yamaguchi's face. Fear started to crawl down her spine as she feared for those resentful words to escape his lips.

"I'm sorry for hiding it to you, Tadashi-kun..."

"Why are you doing this to her?!" he tightened his hold on her "Do you find it fun tormenting her? Is that it?!"

"Wha-" the girls were shocked, not expecting his reaction to be like this "Whoa, whoa, didn't you just hear what we just said? That girl-"

"I know..." his face darkened "I heard it and you don't have to say it twice to me"

"Then, why are you even defending her?"

"Because...whatever she's hiding or what she did, my feelings for her will never change. She's still my girlfriend"

She listened to his heartbeat and she calmed down upon hearing his words. She wanted to cry again, not because she's afraid, but because his feelings didn't change and he still accepted her.

Though, she was embarrassed that he boldly told them that she is his girlfriend.

"Tsk, you lanky, lame-"

Ayame had enough of her bullying and her rotten attitude. She slapped Akame with so much force that sent her knocked down on the floor. She then punched Kiruka and Taijin on the stomach before the two could land a hit on her.

"You bitch-" Taijin growled but she suddenly shuddered when she saw the look on the girl's tear stained violet eyes.

Silent anger.

A glare that could almost match the once delinquent Haruka Kazumi, her mother.

"M-Mizuki-chan...let's talk about-this, okay? W-We're friends, right?" Yuriko slowly stepped in fear as her violet eyes unnerved her.

"Friends...I used to think that we're friends...but...you betrayed my thoughts... I was afraid to have friends again after that...I didn't want to trust anyone because of you...but... meeting with Tadashi-kun and Tsukishima-kun...made me change little by little...I gained friends...precious friends...I slowly learned to trust Tadashi-kun... he gave me courage...and accepted me..."

"Not anymore"

She punched her square on the face that sent her falling backwards, blood gushing down her nose.

"M-My nose! I-It's bleeding!" she gasped in horror upon seeing the blood on her fingers.

"I-I can't believe she would do something like this..." Kiruka weakly sat up.

They heard footsteps coming closer to the scene. It was Shimizu and Yachi, followed by two guards.

"Sir, it's these girls making a scene. Please see to it they are properly punished for their actions" the third year manager said.

"Shimizu-senpai" Yamaguchi said. Ayame stepped back from the girls and slightly looked away, her face dark.

"W-Wait!! Why us?! It is this girl who assaulted us!! She's the one you're supposed to punish!" Akame pointed an accusing finger to the violet eyed girl.

"Stop lying, miss" the first guard said as Shimizu showed them her phone with a voice record of the scene "She has a recording and the store has a camera footage of what happened as evidences. We're asking you to come with us peacefully"

The girls grumbled as they were dragged by the guards outside. Shimizu sighed in relief.

"Are you two all right?"

"I-I'm fine but..." he looked at the girl on his side. She looked up at him with a tired face, a small smile on her lips.

"I'm all right, Shimizu-san" she replied "Ano...how did you know about our situation?"

"We heard Yamaguchi calling your name. You two were taking too long so we got worried and we saw from the cashier's monitor those four girls blocking you. I recorded the scene and called the guard" she explained calmly.

"Shimizu-san, Hitoka-chan...you guys heard about...what they said, right? That I'm-"

The two girls hugged her, much to her surprise.

"It doesn't matter" the third year softly told her "You're still our friend and volleyball member"

"That's right, Ayame-chan" Yachi hugged her tighter "You're still the kind Ayame we know"

The violet eyed girl hugged them back, grateful for their acceptance. She looked at the freckled teen and he smiled at her in an assuring manner. She smiled back and broke the hug.

"Thank you for saving us" Ayame and Yamaguchi bowed gratefully to the two "Sorry for delaying the errand"

"It's all right" Yachi assured them "Let's finish it together, okay?"

They nodded. They started walking back to the counter with the groceries. She whispered "Thank you, Tadashi-kun, for still accepting me"

He whispered back, their fingers slightly brushing each other "Of course. Whatever you're hiding, I still accept you and my feelings won't change"

"Soon...I...I'll tell you everything..."

"Don't push yourself if you can't...but...I will listen to it..."

"Thank you..."

"Oh, by the way" Shimizu has a sly smirk on her face as she faced the two first years "You two are already boyfriend and girlfriend, right?"

"EEEEEEH?!"