12 High School

Three Days Later, a Monday...

Yukiko stared at her reflection in the mirror, utterly dismayed at the sight.

She was wearing the female school uniform for the high school that Yamamoto Ryunosuke goes to, and she didn't like it one bit.

For one, she had already graduated high school, so there was no point for her to go to high school again!

For another... the school uniform was really ugly!

Yukiko looked down in disgust at the brown-green pleated skirt and the brown sweater she wore. It looked as if someone had vomited on her. She made a face at herself in the mirror, hopeless to do anything else.

In fact, it was entirely her own fault.

Yukiko couldn't help but remember what had happened after she returned from the shopping trip with Aoi-san.

.....................

The old woman was entirely cheerful as she called the guards to help carry the many, many, many things she bought from the stores. When one guard asked to carry a bag that she held, the old madam smiled and slyly stopped him. "No, this one isn't mine."

The guard bowed respectfully before he went with the other guards to pile the things into the car. Yukiko, being curious, turned to Aoi-san. "Why guards?" And not your own members?

Yukiko's silent question obviously caught Aoi-san off-guard as she scrutinized the young girl's facial expression. As if finding what she had been looking for, she nodded while a small smile played at the ends of her lips. "It's too obvious. The government is cracking down on yakuza lately. Therefore, Haruhiru decided that it's best to just pay for guards."

Nodding, Yukiko turned back to the guards before deciding to assist them. She wanted to return to the family home as fast as possible- she still needed to catch up on her sleep.

Unfortunately, her sleep wouldn't come until later. Instead, Aoi-san had her take her entrance exams for her to enter high school.

Feeling rebellious, Yukiko decided that she would purposefully bomb the test.

Thus, after having read through the test once, she filled in the scantron sheet with the correct answers... in reverse order.

Snickering inwardly, she handed back the test to Aoi-san with an angelic smile.

............

Yukiko sighed and stomped her feet, but the carpet muffled the sound. She finally understood how Hana must have felt that night; the sound of shoes hitting wood was definitely more satisfying than carpet. Frowning at the ground, Yukiko stuck out her tongue and made a face. After having done that, she turned around, about ready to leave her room.

What she hadn't expected, however, was her fiancé waiting for her at the doorway.

"What were you doing?" On his face was his perpetual smiling expression, but his voice held obvious contempt.

Yukiko froze for about three seconds before her face bloomed into a smile. "I can see ghosts." She titled her head. "Seems like someone has killed many before."

Ryunosuke's smile hadn't dropped as he turned around, leaving behind the words, "Hurry up."

"Tch," Yukiko spat at him. He choose that moment to turn around, however, and Yukiko quickly went back to her smiling expression.

She laughed inwardly as she followed behind the boy. Maybe she truly needed to see a psychiatrist? She was obviously not normal, that was for sure.

Thinking back to her indifference and unfeeling nature of before, Yukiko couldn't help but wonder at the emotions she felt now.

Perhaps the only thing she needed was a change in scenery?

While wondering about her mental well-being, Yukiko suddenly felt a sharp pain in her right ear. She quickly took a sharp inhale of breath, but at the same time, she made sure that nothing appeared to be amiss if someone happened to look at her now.

She inconspicuously moved a piece of her hair behind her ear but used that action to feel whether or not her ear was hot.

It was.

'Fuck,' Yukiko cursed inwardly.

She had lost the hearing in her left ear after one of the 'fun' escapades her father had planned. That one had gone terribly wrong- she had unknowingly been wrapped up in a kidnapping.

One of the men that had kidnapped her had accidentally shot his gun at point-blank range next to her ear.

Of course, the man had shit aim, so he had hit the ground and the bullet ricocheted away, hitting one of his subordinates on his leg.

Yukiko had used that moment to subdue her attacker, but she had lost her hearing as an exchange.

Now, Yukiko had been experiencing pain in her right ear.

Letting out a soft breath of air, Yukiko wished that she could return to her room. She had pills that her family's personal doctor had given her. She didn't know what was in them, but she knew that it got rid of the pain lickety-split.

"What are you doing?" Ryunosuke looked at Yukiko as she stared at nothing. Once he noticed that she returned, he motioned towards the car that was before them. "Sit down."

Yukiko smiled and gestured towards the car. "After you."

Ryunosuke raised an eyebrow and entered the car, closing the door after him. Scoffing, Yukiko walked around the car and opened the other door, sitting down on the seat comfortably.

After the two of them sat down, the driver put the car in drive, and started navigating towards the school.

"So Yukiko[1] will be in the regular classes?" Ryunosuke smile was so large that even his eyes smiled. It took everything Yukiko had so that she didn't punch the guy in the mouth.

"Yes," she politely laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "And Ryunosuke[2] is in the special classes?"

"Yes."

The two glared daggers at each other through their polite smiles, and Yukiko couldn't help but glance at Ryunosuke's uniform.

He wore all neutrals from his tie to his shoes. His dark navy blue jacket matched with his navy blue pants, and an elaborate insignia adorned his left shoulder. His shoes were a polished black. Yukiko could only concede defeat. The man was gorgeous, especially with the way he casually sat down in the car.

Looking down at her own school uniform, Yukiko grumbled.

If she had to go to high school, then there was no way she'll wear an ugly school uniform. She glanced back at Ryunosuke's sleek navy blue, before she made up her mind.

Scoring first in the next exams would bump her up to the special classes, right?

Easy-peasy.

She turned her head to look at the scenery, her next steps in mind.