So here Zaki was. Here Zaki was, in Windermere, getting her education. Of course she would graduate as the most popular girl in school. Soon after, she would marry and live happily ever after in a white castle with many servants to wait on her, hand and foot.

Yeah right. That sort of thing only happened in fairy tales. And Zaki was not a fairy tale princess. There were modern-day fairy tale princesses here, but that did not make her one by association. Most of them wouldn't even give her the time of day; this she was certain of.

She held her schedule in front of her, reading it over once more.

Japanese. Okay, I speak the language 'n all. Don't know why I have to take it, but ah well.

Western Philosophy. European philosophy isn't what I asked for. I wanted a course on the people that didn't live on the other side of the planet.

Physical Training. Bleh, stupid requirements. Hope I never have to take this stupid class again...

Geometry. Math isn't too bad, I guess. Could be worse.

Music Appreciation. What in the world is this? Did they just draw a random class from a hat and slap it on my schedule?

The wait in line, Zaki soon decided, had not been worth it. But she was nothing, if not adaptable.

Sighing, she trudged down the hall and towards the Murochi Residential Hall; she soon reached her room (no roommate... yay?) and headed into the lair of the damned. And classes started tomorrow. Fun. Oh well, she'd have to go sometime or another.

When was a barnyard not a barnyard?

When it was a cafeteria, of course!

There were no plastic eating implements to be seen. Nor was there any styrofoam; china and silverware sat in for these staples of the lunchroom. She considered asking if they'd give one chopsticks upon request, but changed her mind. Nothing, save for the occasional scuffmark, rested on the floor, and someone had even gone through the trouble of draping bright white tablecloths on each and every table. And those curtains... When had any school she had ever gone to used curtains?

No amount of window-dressing would make it different from the other schools. Of course, she knew how out-of-place she looked; half-spiked dark pink hair, a mask, and a predilection to staying the hell away from the others tended to have that effect. They stared when she wasn't looking, and sometimes even when she was.

At least they feared her. That was better than the other possibility.

Imagine that. An entire table to herself. Zaki briefly wondered what would happen if she decided to sit at an occupied table. Would they walk away, very quickly, with that apprehension in their eyes? It could prove to be interesting, but she didn't care to try.

Wow. Breakfast actually looked quite nice. Smelled good, too. Quite Western, but not everyone appreciated a good Japanese breakfast. Some, even within Japan, objected to the idea of eating rice and miso soup and fish for breakfast. None of that here; instead, there was buttered toast and English muffins and bacon and eggs and orange juice. She liked a good Western breakfast, too.

But how was she going to do this? She couldn't take off her mask in front of all these people. They would stare. They wouldn't be afraid of her anymore; she would become a victim.

Wait, she could ask for a take-out box or something like that; since this place looked like a restaurant, rather than a cafeteria, maybe they'd have those around, as not to waste food and, therefore, money.

She stiffened as she felt a soft tap on her shoulder. Startled, she turned her head to get a good look at whoever had done that.

A girl stood behind her. This came to no surprise, but what did was the look on her face. She didn't seem scared. Not like the other girls here. Somewhat nervous, yes, but she merely looked curious, her head tilted to the side slightly.

This girl wouldn't have been called remarkable under any circumstances. Short black hair, brown eyes, of average height, only the tiniest bit of makeup, dressed in Windermere's uniform... Nothing really stood out about her, except for a silver earring in each ear. Her gaze expected her to say something, she felt. Well then.

"What do you want?" Zaki demanded.

The girl paled. "Hi, I was wondering if you were new here, since I haven't seen you before, and though I'm new here, and don't take offense at this, but you tend to stand out... Not that it's a bad thing, in fact, I'd say it's good, and you seem to dress creatively... Where did you get those clothes? They look good on you..."

The words poured forth like a torrent, but drizzled off into nothing. Only one word could possibly describe Zaki's reaction to this.

"...what?"

"Oh, I must've confused you... I tend to go on like this, sorry..."

"I asked what do you want," Zaki repeated.

"What do I want? Really nothing. I just wanted to say hi. What's your name?"

The outcast looked down for a moment. "Aoi. Aoi Himezaki. But you can call me Zaki if you want."

"Zaki?" The girl sounded confused.

"It's... It's an old nickname of mine." Whew, managed to dodge my way out of that one.

"Oh, okay." She shrugged, a bit apathetic.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Miya. Miya Hamaguchi. I'm studying... psychology," she replied, leaning close to Zaki. "What are you going to study? Are you going to college?"

She was not used to this line of questioning. Especially from a random girl. "Haven't decided yet."

"Oh, okay." Miya smiled. "Can I sit with you?"

Dammit, I need to get out of here fast... "I gotta go now," the masked girl announced, standing up. She took her plate and silverware and dashed out of the cafeteria.

"Huh? What was that all about?" Miya murmured to herself.

How was she to know that Zaki didn't know how to deal with people normally?

Okay. It's all okay now. No more pressure. No more answering stupid questions. No more wasting time.

I take off the mask, now within the safe confines of the room. Great, now I can eat. And no one can see me.

Miya wasn't a brat, was she? I don't think so. Just... too many questions. Too inquisitive.

I was right. I really don't belong here.

Look outside. Look at those trees. Look at those trees, dammit. They're too good for you, Zaki. They're too nice. The grass out there is too green. The building has been cleaned too recently. The bed has too many pillows, and is too soft. The girls are too normal. They don't give a damn about low-society chicks like you. You are below them. You'll never make any friends here. Dammit, even when you're approached by someone, you flip out for no good reason. You stupid bitch. And look at this. This breakfast - even after it's half-cold - is too good for you. Look at it. It's too good for you. It's on china, dammit. You think china is cheap? You think you belong here? Lemme tell you something. You don't. You'll never belong to a place like this. You're straying from your roots. You don't belong anywhere but the alleys. That's your home. You fucking think you're so much better than your old friends, don't you? You probably don't keep in contact with them.

But I don't want to belong. I just want to be left in peace.

So says the criminal.

I've been wondering, as far back as I can remember, if it's possible to rise above one's background. Sure, lots of modern fairy tales have poor guys getting themselves more money than they could ever possibly need, but what about me? I've been a poor girl my whole life. I don't want to live in a gutter.

They say there's a way out of this maze, but I'm not sure about that. Even then, who says the prize ain't poisoned?

At least there are no sex-starved teenage boys here.

Hmmm? What's that on my pillow? I didn't notice that before...

I approach the bed and pick it up... An envelope. Great. This better not be some stupid chain letter.

Well, now. It isn't, from the looks of it. Let's see what it says...

"Zaki - Meet me by the big tree outside the gates at seven in the evening sharp. It's a good walk away from there, though, about half a kilometer. Come alone."

It's not signed. All right, then.

This better not be some stupid secret admirer.

Escaping the boundaries of Windermere proved itself to be an underwhelming task, to say the least. A step here, a hop there, a leap, and Zaki was free.

Next came the walk, and what a walk it was. It seemed to go on for nearly forever; her feet hurt from the exertion.

After a while, she saw the big tree that the note had referred to. Zaki leaned against it, folding her arms across her chest. Good, there we are. Now let's see what this is all about...

"So, Zaki, you finally decided to show up," a slow baritone called out. She glanced left and right, but couldn't see anyone.

"Whoever you are, show yourself," she growled, clenching her fists tightly against her sides. "Then we'll settle this."

The voice laughed. "Zaki, Zaki, Zaki. Whoever said this was a challenge?"

She heard a rustle, and from the other side of the tree stepped a man. He stood tall and strong, with piercing green eyes and dark hair. He wore short black boots, indigo jeans (at least they looked it, considering that it was a bit dark out), and a long leather coat that covered up nearly anything else he might have been wearing; he held a walking stick in one hand, letting it rest. He smiled lightly at her, amused.

Zaki sneered at this newcomer. "Who are you?"

He smirked. "That's no way to greet me, Zaki." He sketched a quick bow. "Yokai Etsuko, head of the Akuseizama. At your service."

One thought popped into Zaki's head. "I've never heard of you before in my life."

Yokai glared at her, seemingly wounded. "That's beyond the point."

"Then enlighten me. What is the point of this little visit?"

His smile returned. "Oh yes. I had that note delivered to you with a specific purpose in mind."

"Which would be?" she asked, skeptical.

"To put it simply... Think of it this way, Zaki. Haven't you ever wanted to make a name for yourself?"

...huh?

The question came out of nowhere, in her eyes. But she would do her best to answer. "I have made a name for myself. I am making a name for myself. There's nothing more to discuss," she answered, dismissing him with a wave of her arm.

But Yokai persisted. "So you really believe that?

"Of course. It's the truth."

He shook his head slowly, in mock pity. "You'll never be respected or feared by anyone, the way things are now. At least no one worth getting the respect of."

Zaki crossed her arms across her chest, narrowing her eyes. "Oh? And why is that?"

"Daigo Kazama," he simply said, as if it was all that needed to be said. "You know who Daigo is, of course. Daigo is the one who commands respect. Not you, Miss Himezaki. The soubanchou of Gedo. You're just the lowly leader of a girls' gang." He punctuated the statement with a light snort. "No one in this world is afraid of a girl."

So he goes out of the way to contact me... Just so he could tell me this shit?

"How dare you!" she shouted, letting herself fall into a battle mindset, ready to attack.

Yokai sighed softly, in a way Zaki thought was patronizing. "Hear me out, Zaki. But... It's not entirely impossible. If you help me, they will fear you. They will respect you. You'll command more power than Daigo could ever dream of."

"I want to get away from that life, Yokai."

"I know that. Ritsuko told me so. I also know that you want respect at any cost. Am I right?"

She refused to answer his question. But in her secret heart, she knew he was right.

"I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play here."

He grinned at her. "I suppose that's the disadvantage of not being known. Very well. I'll explain."

Katsumi heard the news from Ritsuko. Yokai would be here. In fact, he was here right now. So was Zaki. Though it seemed cordial enough, Katsumi knew that he wasn't here alone. From her vantage point, she could see a few boys hiding out in various places. Zaki probably can't see them, she thought. He doesn't trust her that much, I suppose.

She heard his explanation in its entirety. Something about Daigo Kazama. Something about how he practically owned the area. Something about how a little competition was healthy for business. Heh. Fucking crazy. Who'd this guy think he was?

If he was Akuseizama, then he probably had an ulterior motive. She knew of them. He probably intended to use Zaki as a pawn, to make sure she wouldn't interfere with him. He wanted to throw the balance off. He wanted power, and he wanted to rub it into Daigo's face.

Daigo doesn't know about this, I bet. They're mostly unheard of. Just rumors, that's all.

She didn't care, though. Zaki wouldn't go for this, not at all.

"I'll do it."

That was the only phrase that Katsumi really listened to. Zaki said it... That she'd do it.

She can't... She can't do it. She can't!

She wanted to shout. She wanted to tell Zaki that these people couldn't be trusted. But if she did, those boys back there... They had to be there for a reason. She didn't want to get Zaki into deep shit.

Zaki, don't! He's just using you! Change your mind!

She thought Zaki would be safe here, safe from the power games of rival gangs. But this incident proved her dead wrong. There was no such thing as safety. Maybe they wouldn't have tried if Zaki didn't live out in the middle of nowhere.

This is my fault. All my fault. I need to get her out of this.

Not today. Not tomorrow. But someday.