Barriers

had always been the target for bullying for as long as she could remember. It was no different in Hyoutei, unfortunately. One couldn't fathom that in a prestigious school such as Hyoutei, students were as childish as this.

Being bullied was a norm, and they never did seem to stop, since had never been the one who held grudges. But there were times where they went so far, the minute she got home, her entire cheerful façade broke, and all she could do was sob into her pillow.

Even the option of telling her parents was out of the question. They were always too busy for her. Too busy for anything she had to say to them. It was almost like they were strangers.

Did everyone really detest her so much?

She wouldn't complain. Even if she wanted to, there was no one there for her. Her only real friend was Ootori Choutarou, but she didn't want to be a bother to him. Not when he was always so nice to everyone.

It only served to make the poor boy worried about her, but she always smiled and told him she was alright. That only made Ootori more worried.

Hurtful letters and fake rubber lizards in her locker became something frequent. Getting locked up in a room for a few hours had already become usual. Randomly being pushed to unpopular boys in school was common. Stationery missing from her pencil box every once in a while was nothing strange. Though you'd think rich kids had more to life to do than to steal things, but go figure. It happened every so often, knew exactly when to watch out.

Then, that fateful day arrived. The day wherein her classmates had simply been too bored, they needed to find some form of amusement. The first person they thought about? .

"Hey, !" came a voice, which immediately caused her to tense up and make herself more aware of her surroundings. People calling her name had never been a good thing.

turned around, finding herself face-to-face with a person she wasn't quite familiar with. "You are…?"

"Matsumoto Miyako, your classmate! I've noticed you've been rather…distant from the rest of the class," She paused, studying 's confused expression. "…Anyway, I want to be your friend."

wasn't so sure why that sentence made her brighten up a little, but she gave the girl one of her cheerful smiles. "Thank you," was what she quietly whispered under her breath.

*******

Throughout the rest of the day, had spent it with her newfound friend, be it recess, in between lessons… It felt wonderful to have a friend.

After school, Matsumoto had brought to a room, far down the corridor – the music room.

"It's my favorite place in this whole school," Matsumoto had said, smiling at her, before her smile changed into a small frown. Snapping her fingers, she continued, "Wait right here for me. I'll be right back. I forgot to get something!"

With that, Matsumoto left the room hurriedly, slamming the door shut behind her. It was only then that sensed something amiss. Her intuition proved her right when she heard something go 'click' from outside.

Hastily making her way to the door, she tried to turn the knob.

The door just wouldn't open.

Panicking, she pounded on the door with all her might, but alas, to no avail. felt weak and helpless. Why did they always have to do such cruel things to her? Pretending to be her friend, to give her hope, and then crush it right before her eyes. That was the worst thing they could ever do. It simply wasn't fair…

Before she knew it, tears had already made their way down her face.

*******

He couldn't have been there at a better time, he thought. Unintentionally overhearing a conversation, and now trapped in the same room as a girl who seemed to always get bullied by others. Now he was trapped inside as well.

Great. Just great.

Shishido Ryou cursed his luck. Why did he decide to sleep in the music room, of all the rooms in Hyoutei? Sure, it was the most deserted, but, he was the innocent party here!

Muffled sniffles soon resounded in the room, and that was precisely when Shishido was snapped out of his reverie. He hated it when girls cried, since it brought this sense of guilt to him even if he wasn't the one who caused it.

Deciding it was best to go talk to her to try cheering her up, he walked up towards her. "Hey…"

It probably wasn't the thing to say when someone was crying, but Shishido wasn't bothering with the thinking. He watched as she lifted her head to face him, trying to wipe away her tears. "Are you…okay?" Such a stupid question, really. Very smooth, he thought, resisting the urge to mentally whack himself. Hard.

"I-I'm fine," replied, her voice barely a whisper.

Shishido raised an eyebrow, not buying what she just said. He took a few steps closer, and it was only then Shishido realized just how much she was trembling, as well as realizing just how much he wanted for to protect her. She really looked like she needed someone to depend on.

As if sub-consciously, he knelt down and pulled into a light embrace. It caused the girl to stiffen slightly.

"You're a lot stronger than that," Shishido muttered, still refusing to let go of her. "You've put up with so much, so don't let this get you down."

Uncharacteristic of him, yes, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't really think right now.

The only sign of response from was the slight nodding of her head, and albeit reluctantly, Shishido let go. He had always preferred the tomboyish types, but was different. She had stirred some sort of protective instinct in Shishido, even if he barely knew her.

After wiping away her tears, looked up, and for the first time, she truly saw the face of the person in the room with her. "S-Shishido-senpai?"

As if in an instant, she could feel her cheeks heating up, and she was pretty sure they were rather red by now. lowered her head, hiding it, before mumbling a simple 'thank you'.

Feeling a little bashful, Shishido lowered his cap. "It's not a problem at all."

It was about half an hour later that they heard the door open. They had been lucky that there had been people outside. Hardly anyone really came to the music room.

"Thank you so much," bowed politely to the senpai that let them out. Shishido gave that same guy a small nod, before walking off.

Unbeknownst to anyone, he had given one last glance in 's direction before leaving.

Except for maybe Oshitari Yuushi, who happened to be there at the perfect time.

*******

"It seems like Shishido has a girl he likes now," Oshitari said, a guileful look plastered on his face. This immediately caused the rest of the Hyoutei regulars around him to turn.

"What? Shishido? Who does he like? What class?" Mukahi threw several questions at Oshitari, curious. It wasn't every day Shishido fell for a girl. Well, technically, no one fell for people every day, but this was news to him.

As bad as it was to pry into other people's affairs, even Ootori couldn't help but feel curious. However, Oshitari merely smirked, not saying anything else, much to Mukahi's disappointment.

"Yuushi, tell us!" Mukahi whined, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Tell us who Shishido–"

"Who I what?"

Mukahi stiffened at the sound of the voice. "Who you… uh… have for a teacher? Anyway, it's none of your business!"

"You're talking about me and saying it's none of my business?"

Oh, Mukahi could've countered in so many ways, but Atobe chose that exact time to show up and cut into their conversation. Lovely.

"Mukahi, Shishido! Shut up and do your warm-ups. Ore-sama will not tolerate idle chatting during practice," Atobe folded his arms, making his point. The two didn't argue any further.

*******

The sun was setting by the time practice was over. Shishido casually slung his bag around his shoulder, about to take his leave. Only, a smooth, deep voice interrupted that.

" . Second year. She's in the same class as Ootori, it seems."

"What do you want, Oshitari?" Shishido scowled.

"I thought you might like to know, that's all," Oshitari gave the capped boy a small wave, before walking off.

, huh…

*******

It was two days later that Shishido spotted her at her locker, seemingly throwing away paper. It took him a good two minutes to actually decide to approach her.

"What's with all that paper?" He asked, trying to sound not-so-interested.

The sudden voice startled , making her jump. "S-Shishido-senpai! What are you doing here?"

"I just happened to pass by," An obvious lie, but as naïve as was, she bought it.

He managed to catch what was on one of the papers. 'You're not needed here.' A simple four words, yet they were words so hurtful. To think had been putting up with such things for so long. It must've been really horrible for her, and he sympathized.

Shishido knew she would've gone through a lot, but he just never knew how much. Whatever the case, the bullying was excessive. It was like they went out of their way to make her life difficult for her.

He longed to be able to protect her and be by her side when she was feeling down.

"Hey, , I was wondering if you could meet me after school near the tall sakura tree near the tennis courts..."

"Eh? Me?" blinked twice, unable to process exactly what Shishido was saying to her. When it finally got to her, she hastily replied, "A-Ah, I'll meet you there."

"Great. See you later."

Shishido turned around and headed for class, leaving standing there in a daze, watching his retreating figure slowly disappear in the mass of students.

*******

Time never liked to cooperate with anyone. When you're having fun, time passes in a blink of the eye, and when you're not, it does the opposite. As if to mock you, it seems to slow down whenever you're looking forward to something, too.

This was exactly what was happening right now. Shishido didn't like it one bit.

It was only after ten whole dreadful minutes that the bell decided to go. About time, Shishido thought, before hurriedly standing up and leaving the class. Briskly walking to the sakura tree, he was trying to think up things to say to her. Asking her to meet him was a rash decision on his part, and he wanted to make sure he didn't sound stupid in front of her. Anything to protect his pride.

As luck would have it, wasn't there yet. That gave him extra time to think. He sat beside the tree, pondering.

So deep in thought, he barely realized the person standing next to him, panting.

"Shishido-senpai… I'm sorry I took so long…"

He shook his head, giving the girl a small smile. immediately felt relieved and let out a soft sigh. "What did you want to see me for?"

"About those pieces of paper in your locker…"

"Ah, you saw? Don't worry about it! It's really nothing," 's eyes became distant. "I'm used to it already anyway…"

Hearing that from her made Shishido's heart cringe. To be used to such harsh bullying must be horrid. How immature could the people in their school be?

"I'll protect you," Came a curt response.

That statement made blink, before her face turned a deep shade of red. Never in her life would she expect anyone to say such a thing to her, and she really couldn't help but blush.

"You'll let me, right?" Shishido's voice faded slightly, still unsure whether or not she would accept this confession of his. It was true. He had already fallen for her when he saw her so defenseless. He wanted to be the barrier to shield her from all the pain she went through. Shishido wanted to be the one who put a stop to the bullying, or at least ease her suffering.

What he wasn't so sure of, however, was how he was going to go about doing that. Still, his statement held true.

Slowly, placed both her hands on Shishido's, smiling.

"Thank you."

knew for sure that Shishido was different from the rest. Little did Shishido know, by merely saying that to her, he had already eased her pain.

*******

Behind a few bushes and trees, Oshitari, Mukahi and Ootori stood there, watching their every move.

"I don't think we should be doing this, senpai…" Ootori mumbled, looking downwards so as to not invade other people's privacies.

"I give them three months," Mukahi abruptly declared.

"I'd think of it more as six," Oshitari replied, his gaze still not leaving the two.

Ootori let out a helpless sigh, before looking back up at Shishido-senpai and . So the person Shishido-senpai fell for was his own classmate. He had to admit, they really did look good together. It also made him feel better that the two of them were his friends, and that added to his support of their relationship. He would definitely wish them happiness.

"I think that they would last for a very long time, senpai-tachi…"

##########

December 11, 2007
Written and Edited by: Aoku