“Mom!,” he whined, stretching out his pudgy little arms as if wanting to be carried.

 Sakura Rukawa let out an exasperated sigh before she took time off from ranting onto her cellphone…The stock market could get so frustrating these days… That was one problem. She looked down at her son’s pleading eyes…And here was another.

 She didn’t know which was easier to handle though…

 “Kaede, honey,” she said crouching down at the little boy. “You know how I’d love to bring you to the office with me…”

 “So why won’t you?”

 Yeah. Why won’t she? The little guy had a point. Sakura wracked her brain for a valid answer. “It’s because…” she said trailing off while holding her chin.

 Six-and-a-half year old Kaede Rukawa crossed his arms impatiently in front of him, his little eyes cold and determined. This was the Ask-Them-Till-You-Crack-Them Maneuver he’d learned from some of his pals way back. And for the past few minutes, he had his mother in a fix.

 Little Kaede smirked. Yes, he’d also learned that smirking always helped in situations like these. Never fails to intimidate the enemy.  “So why won’t you, huh?”

 “Well, its because…” Sakura’s eyes lit up triumphantly. “It’s because we have this rule that doesn’t allow children inside!” she sighed with relief.

 “That’s not true,” Kaede said, unconvinced. “That’s a silly rule.”

 Sensing the slight wavering in his son’s voice, she pressed on. “Oh, you bet its true. They even have this little room where they keep all the naughty little boys locked up inside,” she said with a mischievous smile, unfolding her cellphone. Now, back to business –

 “Crap.” The boy said smugly. “You make the rules, so why don’t you change them.”

 Sakura’s forehead wrinkled. Was this really a six year old boy talking? She looked down at the smirking face of her son…So much like her gentle Kazuma but then…

 Kaede’s smirk grew nastier.

 He saw it. His mother’s jaw had dropped ever so slightly. It was obvious that he had her cornered once again. He was going to have his way this time. Oh sweet success…

 Sakura had had enough of her son’s smart-alecky remarks. She knew getting angry was like admitting defeat, but she had to teach her son the meaning of the word ‘submission’… She was about to let out an angry retort when a voice from heaven interrupted her.

 “Sakura!” came her bestfriend’s voice as she hurriedly crossed the room. Sakura smiled. She’d never felt so happy to hear from her.

 Purposely ignoring her son’s glare, she walked over to Satomi to give her a hug. “What took you so long?” she asked with relief. Then she drew her friend closer. “Kaede’s being a real pain already,” she added in a hushed whisper.

 “I heard that!”

 Satomi laughed out loud. It was obvious that the mother-and-son tandem were into one of their heated disputes. Or was about to be.

 “Well, don’t worry. I’m all set. We can go now.”

 Sakura beamed.

 Kaede panicked.

 His mother had brought him to Aunt Satomi’s house. And she and Aunt Satomi will be leaving. That only meant one thing…

 Kaede paled. He felt his stomach do a 360-degree flip before relinquishing into the throes of a deadly 600-feet free fall drop…Oh, the horror of it all.

 Quick! Quick! While he still had a chance!…Concentrating with all his might, Kaede broke into a hysterical fit, crying his lungs out for better effect.

 The sound of the boy’s whining broke the two women’s animated conversation. Sakura rushed over to her son, giving the boy a comforting hug. “There, there, honey.” She got out a tissue to wipe away the boy’s drool and tears. Getting his much desired attention, the boy calmed down a bit. “You won’t be leaving now?”

 Sakura sighed. “Kaede,” she said gently. “How many times do I have to tell you that we’re going to an important business meeting and you can’t – .”

 Kaede won’t have any of it. He wailed out once again with all his might. Sakura reached out to comfort the boy, but realizing that her attempts were futile, raised her hand in surrender.

 “I wanna come with you, Mommy!” he howled desperately. “You just can’t go and leave me here with - !”

 “Hey, there, Scardy Cat.”

 Kaede’s next bought of tears was stuck in his throat, almost choking him. His eyes almost bulged out of their sockets in fear. His efforts had been too late. Everything he’d done… They were all in vain.

It was here. The source of all his nightmares…The reason he hated living… It was out to get him…to torment him… to make his life a living   hell –

“Well, hello, there Angel!” Sakura cried.

Taking advantage of Kaede’s abrupt silence, she motioned for the little girl to come. She obediently did, wrapping little her arms around her Aunt Sakura’s neck while the woman fondly kissed her rosy cheeks. All the while she kept the unwavering evil look in her eyes as she sized up the cowering little boy.

Not sensing the undercurrents between the two children, Sakura went on. “And so how have you been doing in school?”

Forgetting the poor excuse of a boy in front of her, she set her eyes on her beautiful Aunt Sakura. “Oh, same as ever. School had been totally boring and the teacher was so pathetic and kept on baby-talking.”

Sakura laughed. “She did, huh?”

“Oh, yes, then we had this little experiment and she did everything wrong…” the little girl said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “It really took me a hard time keeping my face straight when I went on to explain to her this thing called the Law of Thermodynamics and what it really meant,” she said smugly. “Obviously, she didn’t understand a thing. She’s such a wuss,” she said finally, shaking her head in dismay.

By this time, both women were laughing their heads silly at the little girl’s intellectual outburst. Satomi came over to where Sakura and her little girl stood. “How come you never told me that before, honey?”

Angel frowned. “Well you never asked, mommy. But then I did tell you some of my other experiments and how I got those awards in science, math, and reading.”

All this from a little girl in first grade…

Satomi smiled proudly. “Oh, yes you did, honey. And I’m just so proud of you,” she said kissing the little girl’s cheek.

“Thank you, mother.”

Sakura joined in. “And hey, include your Aunt Sakura in. She’s also very proud of you,” she said, kissing the girl’s other cheek.

Angel beamed as both women showered her with undivided attention and recognition. Finally, people who appreciate intellect at its finest…

She stared back smugly at the boy as he gaped at them, his drool sliding out of his open mouth. Ewww! She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Kaede has had enough of the two women praising the little haughty girl. It was obvious that they had completely forgotten that he was still there, standing just a few feet away. He huffed, well he wasn’t just going to stand there and let the little brat get all the attention.

He took in one big gulp of air and opened his mouth to let it all out… but that glare she was just giving him… It made all the hairs on his body stand up. And it was scarier than all his trips to the dentist, combined. He shuddered, letting all the pent-up air out quietly in one raspy defeated sigh.

“Whiner,” the little girl said accusingly, her eyes narrowing at his failed attempts.

Noticing Kaede’s silence since the little girl had arrived, Sakura finally walked over to her son then smiled. “Well, now, young man…Since you’ve been pinning for little Angel’s company all this time…” she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Your Aunt Satomi and I will be on our way now,” she said getting to her feet and walking towards the door.

‘Wait, woman, you’ve got it all wrong!’ he felt like calling after his mother’s departing back. He got to his feet and bolted for the door but Angel beat him to it. She stood there on his path, adamantly refusing to let him pass. “Going somewhere?”

He stepped back, afraid of even being within an arm’s length from her.

Before stepping out of the room, the two women bade their children goodbye. “Bye, honey. Have fun with Angel,” Sakura said blowing Kaede a kiss. “I promise to be back by 6 o’clock.”

Satomi turned to Angel, “Honey, take care of Kaede while were gone, ok?”

Angel smiled innocently like the responsible little girl that she was. “Yes, mother. You have my word that my…friend over here,” she stared evilly at the cowering boy, “will never regret that he had spent the afternoon with me.”

 Kaede whimpered, about to make one last appeal for help. Angel saw it coming and silenced him with a murderous look.

 Satomi smiled. “Oh, I’m sure you will.” Both women finally stepped out of the room and closed the door behind them.

 Silence.

 He was alone now…with her.

 No mother or father to help him out… This was her house, after all, and he was basically wading in dangerous territories… hers in particular.

 He gulped. If he was lucky, he’d get to live through adulthood… But then again…the look she gave him made him think twice.

 “Soooo,” Angel drawled, inching closer to him. “How have you been doing Kaedi?” she asked, pronouncing each word with a slur that sent shivers down his spine.

 His eyebrows met despite the obvious shaking of his knees. “Its KAEDE to you.”

 Angel waved her hand indifferently, “Whatever.” She grabbed his wrist quickly and proceeded on dragging him out the room. “Come with me.”

 He stared dumbly at the back of her head. She’d probably take him to one of those torture rooms he’s heard so much about. He shivered, pulling his hand away quickly as if burned.

 “What the - ?” the little girl said, annoyed. She had a real fun afternoon planned for them and she hated disobedience and petty distractions, especially if it came from him.

 “C’mon, I wanna show you something - ,” she said, in exasperation.

 “No. I’m not going out of this room,” Kaede said stubbornly, planting his feet firmly on the ground. Who knows what she’ll do once she’s had her way… He shuddered at the thought.

 Angel rolled her eyes then sighed with resignation. This boy was really testing her patience…She stomped behind him and grabbed his shoulders, giving them a jerky push.

 “Hey!”

 “Stop struggling, will ya?” she shook her head. “Sheesh! You’re such a coward…”

 There was no use struggling anyway, the girl was like three times stronger. She was inhuman… And only God knows why.

 He slumped against her hands, resigned to his fate.

 I am doomed…doomed I tell you!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 17 year old Kaede woke up with a start. Another stupid dream…

 He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. He looked at his nightstand and the brand new alarm clock which had rang a long time ago…now, smashed to bits. He had set it to 6 o’clock and judging from the time he had fallen asleep again, it would probably be 8 o’clock by now.

 He groaned. It was the first day of school after spring break and this…He’d be lucky if he could even get a decent breakfast in the cafeteria.

 Ruffling his hair in irritation, he swung his leg by the side of his bed.

 If not for what had happened a few nights ago, he wouldn’t be late coming back to his apartment in Kanagawa, and thus, wouldn’t be late for the first day of school. He and his parents had to spend a few more days at the house of his father’s business colleague. His mother had insisted so. She said, it was the least they could do to comfort the poor couple after their daughter had runaway. Besides, it’s always best to help family…Well, soon to be family, that is…

 Kaede bristled.

 ‘This is all your fault…’ he thought, narrowing his eyes at the small framed picture by his bedside table. His future father-in-law had slipped it into his hand before they left, insisting that he should keep it until he and his daughter could finally meet in person. He didn’t know why he hadn’t thrown or burned it away though he once had a strong urge to do so.

 The violet-eyed girl in the photograph simply smiled up at him.

 And it irritated him all the more.

 He stared intently into the eyes of the enemy… The girl was trouble…In fact, even if they hadn’t even met yet, after 10 years of being apart, she was already giving him problems.

 “You’ve had fun playing with my mind back then haven’t you?” he asked her picture evilly, after remembering that accursed dream about their childhood which had plagued him since that fateful day at their mansion. “Well, I’m going to play with yours soon enough…” he vowed.

 Remembering that he only had a few minutes to bathe, cycle to school, and eat breakfast, Kaede grabbed his towel and headed for the door. With one last scowl, he starred back at her picture.

 Someday, when they found her…He was going to make her pay for making his life miserable.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 She stood there, confused like a lost child. Well…because that’s exactly what she was... Lost.

 The brown-eyed girl shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

 ‘Let’s see…this must be the cafeteria…’ she thought as she went through the wide double doors. The smell of freshly cooked breakfast wafted up her nose and it made her stomach grumble all the more.

 Well, she better get something to eat if she didn’t want to pass out on her first day of school.

 The new girl tentatively took a few steps inside the busy dinning area. She wasn’t used to this kind of crowd – the Shohoku high crowd… Her previous school’s crowd had been quieter and more downplayed. This kind of noisy and rowdy groups of people always made her nervous. And queasy, she thought as her stomach churned in protest.

 She ran her hand through her wavy brown hair and smoothened out her short skirt, tugging viciously at its hem. When she looked down, she frowned at the ample display of flesh. Hers in particular.

 The borrowed skirt from her cousin had been obviously too short for her. Pulling one last time and making sure that the skirt was stretched to its limits, she started walking down the crowded aisle, dodging people from her left and right, intent on making a beeline for the food counter.

 She had almost reached it when a shrill sound had stopped her abruptly on her tracks.

 ‘Was that a catcall she’d just heard…?’ she thought, trailing off, narrowing her eyes as she turned towards the direction where it came from. ‘…and was it directed at her no less…?’

 She bristled, reminded of her hatred for pompous jerks.

 Catcalling was no way to treat a proper lady! I’ll show him…or them…

 Well, whoever was trying to piss her off so early in the morning, and at the hungry state that she was in, was going to pay. Dearly.

 Seeing the girl with the short, short skirt purposely stomp towards their direction, eyes blazing, Takamiya of the Sakuragi gundan panicked. “Oi, guys! Hide me!” he exclaimed trying to fit himself underneath the table.

 Youhei chuckled. “Well, you deserve some roughening up, don’t you think?” he asked, eyeing the enraged girl approaching their table with an amused smile. Well, their fat friend did need someone to teach him a lesson or two about not getting female attention through rude means such as catcalling.

 Almost reaching their table, the brown-eyed girl bellowed at them, “Hey, what’s your problem?!”

 All five members of the Sakuragi gundan looked up, including the ringleader himself, Hanamichi Sakuragi. “Ne?” He turned to his friend hiding underneath the table. “Is she after you, Takamiya?”

 Youhei answered for the frightened fellow, “Yup,” He turned to look back at the girl, now just a few feet away. “I think he finds the young miss over there quite – hey!” He abruptly stood up, eyes widening at the impending mishap. “Look out!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nothing really wakes me up like a cup of pure black coffee…Kaede thought as he absent-mindedly walked down the aisle of the school cafeteria. Now that he was back to school and that threat from his father regarding his grades was like a noose around his neck, he had promised to turn over a new leaf.

 No more failing grades for Kaede Rukawa this year…No more detention….And no more trips to the principal’s office... Easier said than done of course. But he had to start with something.

 And in order to accomplish that…First thing’s first…He had to keep himself awake long enough to listen throughout class…And that meant drinking strong black coffee. Lots of it.

 His morning had started out horribly, he thought, scowling at the dream he had about her which had almost made him late for first period…And everything had continued to escalate from bad to worse.

 He frowned, when he remembered Sakuragi abusing his long battered eardrums with his unpleasant ranting after he’d ran him over with his precious fuchsia bike. The redhead had no right to complain. That piece of metal was probably more expensive than his sorry ass.

 Because of spring break, most of his fan girls had obviously missed him…And they hadn’t had the decency to hide it.

 Imagine his surprise when he discovered that his fan club – which had now officially included a male chapter – had gathered in full force by the school gates, waiting to welcome him. As a direct consequence of this, he had taken a few minutes more to get to class just by trying to outwit them.

 And there was that instant when he opened his locker and almost drowned in fan mail.

 Today was totally screwed. What more could possibly go wrong?

 He had instantly felt sorry he’d asked that, when, from the corner of his eye, he saw the three dumbest stooges from his unofficial fan club purposely striding towards him. See, he had set a limit. One confrontation per day. And during this morning alone, he had gone way beyond that limit.

 It was best to avoid them, if he valued his life and his clean uniform.

 Increasing his pace and not caring anymore with whom he bumped into along the way, he set his sites on the cafeteria exit…If only his feet could take him there faster…

 “Hey! Look out!”

 Suddenly, before he could even react, the little whirlwind, composed mainly of wavy brown hair, came charging into his path. At the rate he was going, his reflexes had failed to stop him. They collided with the force of a 10-wheeler truck, sending his large cup of hot scalding coffee flying into the air... SPLASH! It landed in a strategic position in front of the girl’s pristine white uniform.

 For moment, they both stood there, watching as the liquid seeped into her blouse, making this big ugly stain in front of her bre – oh, he meant her chest. “Yeeoouuch!!!” she hollered when her brain cells recovered. Kaede watched with amusement as she shook the dark liquid off while frantically trying to fan herself in the process. Well, he couldn’t blame the girl, the coffee was scalding hot…

 He looked down at the big mess in front of her uniform then at the nice clean paper towel on his left hand…What the heck…He admitted he lacked virtues in the morals department but it wouldn’t take a preacher in ethics to force him to do what he did next.

 He thrust the paper towel in his left hand towards her – at the ugly stain in particular. When his hand came in contact with the front of her uniform, her eyes widened with outrage. “Pervert!!!” The force of her blow as it connected with his left cheek sent him staggering a few feet back.

 As the sound of the slap echoed throughout the dinning hall, everyone fell into a hushed silence…Heads turned towards the direction where the basketball star stood, holding his cheek,  his hand barely covering the stinging red mark. The girl who had so eagerly put it there stood in front of him, her brown eyes blazing. Tension escalated rapidly as the two engaged in a staring match. Neither refusing to back down.

 And at that moment, the cafeteria instantly came to life. All around them, fan girls cried out in fury. How dare that good-for-nothing bitch lay her filthy hand on their precious Rukawa-kun??? While the boys, the anti-Rukawa movement in particular, laughed and cheered on. It was nice to see a girl actually hurting the freak for a change, and not fussing over him like some mother hen.

 “Ike! Ike!” came Hanamichi Sakuragi’s voice as it surfaced above the audience’s uproar.

 Kaede frowned, ignoring the racket all around him.

 What was this crazy girl thinking? He was merely trying to…help. Seeing the dark liquid spread and completely wreak havoc on her uniform, he reached out for the second time, paper towel in hand. But the girl was quick to react. The moment she saw him advance towards her, she had instantly stepped back, completely oblivious to the dark puddle of coffee which had spread all around them.

 Stepping on a particularly slippery spot on the floor…. THUD! She fell flat on her butt. Fan girls laughed with evil glee while boys’ jaws dropped.

 Kaede himself was surprised underneath his stoic appearance, watching as the girl struggled to stand. He reached down and grasped her arm with a steadying hand. Once up, she slapped his hand away. “Don’t,” she said pointedly, as she rubbed the part of her arm where he held her. His grip seemed to have hurt more than the fall. Well, he hadn’t meant to hurt her…

 He took a step forward. She quickly took several steps back until…CRASH!

 She had toppled over a couple of chairs. Kaede winced. Ouch that gotta hurt…

 Rubbing her abused tailbone, the girl slowly got up. By this time, her eyes had gone from blazing to stark raving mad. The fan girls had quickly gathered around them, now on the alert as the enraged girl looked like she would attack anytime.

 Her eyes had narrowed into dangerous slits. “You big lump of – !”

 “Do aho.”

 She bristled. That does it.

 It was her first day in this weird school. She was lost. She was hungry. She was late for class. Her pristine white blouse was ruined. Hot coffee had scalded her. Her arm was bruised. Her backside hurt… All because of his stupidity…And he still had the guts to call her…names.

 Oh, the creep was going to get it alright.

 It was her turn to advance towards him. Fan girls tensed, barring their rabid fangs at her. Hands clenching at her sides, the brown-eyed girl walked swiftly towards the tall lumbering blockhead that was Kaede Rukawa, unaware of the fact that the hem of her skirt got caught at a table’s sharp edge, that is, until…RIP!

 The sickening ripping sound made her stop abruptly on her tracks. She didn’t need to look down to see what damage her skirt had obtained.

 It was too much. Please make it stop…

 ‘No! Don’t! Don’t!’ she silently pleaded. ‘Stop! Don’t cry now! You crybaby! Not in front of him!’

 Well, she’d managed to sniff down her tears but he saw it, alright, how her eyes watered and how her lips trembled.

 And he felt guilty as hell…He didn’t know why though…Everything wasn’t entirely his fault. She was so clumsy herself, but…

 Kaede reached out one last time. “I-I’m - .”

 “Stop.” She raised both her hands in front of her in an attempt to ward the jinxed young man off. “Don’t…” she said, shaking her head.

 “Just stay away from me.” With that said, she rushed out of the cafeteria.

 Kaede stared after her retreating back as the fan girls crowded and fussed around him. “Rukawa-kun, are you alright?” “Rukawa-kun, where does it hurt?” “That bitch is really gonna get it from us!” “Rukawa-kun, Rukawa-kun.” And so they droned on…

 Kaede touched the spot on his cheek where her hand had slapped him…then, shook his head in exasperation. He never knew so much clumsiness could exist in one person. He pitied the girl.

 Too bad about that short skirt too…It had looked rather…cute on her.

To be continued…