It was pitch black and Yomi was running for her life. She heard evil hisses all around her. They were trying to stop her from escaping. However, she kept on running until...

CRASH!!!

She crashed through a glass wall. Because it was too dark, she did not realize that there was a glass wall in front of her. The shattered class cut her skin and clothes. Some of them were even in her hair. She quickly grasped her head as it was throbbing with pain. The pain was so bad that she felt that as if her head was going to split open. As she bit her lip for trying to withstand the pain, an evil voice echoed through the darkness. A man's voice.

"You'll obey my command, Yomi. Unless you want to feel regret."

The voice repeated again and again...

(")(+_+)(")

"Hey look, she's finally moving."

"Thank God, she's okay."

"She really got us worried."

All of the familiar whispers had finally prompt Yomi to wake up. As soon as her eyelids fluttered open, her eyes were blinded by the bright light of the infirmary. She rubbed her eyes for a while and came face to face with Mikan.

"Yomi-chaaaan~" she cried. Before she can hug Yomi, Natsume quickly caught her by her collar and that choked her.

"Is that how you say hello to an injured person?" he said coldly. His cold tone stopped Mikan from making anymore harsh movements. Ruka and Hotaru were standing beside them.

"Injured? Am I?" Yomi quickly felt her forehead. Sure enough, there was a bandage there. "How did I get here anyway?"

Yomi's face drained of colour as all eyes on Inchou. He shifted uncomfortably before he began.

"I was walking back from the teachers' office when I heard loud shattering glass from somewhere nearby. I quickly ran towards the source of the sound. When I saw Yomi sprawled on the hard ground with shards of broken glass, I was horrified. Luckily Natsume and the gang were nearby so we immediately take you to the infirmary for help since you're badly injured."

Everyone stood in silence after Inchou finished his explanations. 

"Thank you, Inchou. Thank you, everyone."

Before Inchou can answer, the doctor came in and checked on Yomi's condition.

"Good news," he announced. "Your friend here is finally good to go. Apart from minimal scratches and a bruise on your forehead, everything else is okay. However, you need your rest so you are excused for tomorrow's class. But you need to come to class on the day after tomorrow." The doctor bowed and left the room after Yomi thanked him.

"Can we leave the infirmary now? I'm hungry." Yomi demanded.

Then everyone bursted laughing.

(")(*o*)(")

As Yomi was combing her hair, she heard a knocking sound. 

"Who is it?" She asked but there was no reply.

"I guess it's just my imagination." 

She tried to shrug it off but the knocking continued.

"Who is it?" She asked again but this time, there was an edge in her voice. "Whoever or whatver you are, I want you to stop it!"

However, the knocking continued. Only this time, it was getting louder. She was getting annoyed but she was also feeling quite scared. There was someone or something out there that wanted to harm her. She listened carefully to the knocking sound and she finally realized something. The sound did not come from the door. It came from the window. She whirled around and she almost fainted as she came face to face with two fiery crimson eyes.

"Natsume!!! Could you just stop doing that? You almost killed me!!" Yomi cried in disgust as she tried to kick Natsume. However, none of her kicks managed to hit Natsume as he was too swift in evading them.

"That's all you have to say after I'm being so kind enough to check up on you after what you've been through today?" He added sarcastically. "I can feel your overwhelming gratitude." Yomi immediately stopped kicking Natsume when he said that. Suddenly she remembered about her ordeal with the ESP and the temperature around them gradually dropped. 

"If the air is getting colder, I know that something's wrong with you." Natsume commented, his voice quivering with concern. "What actually happened, Yomi?"

Yomi realised that she couldn't possibly lie to Natsume  so she told him everything that she could remember about her encounter with the ESP. Natsume listened to her with a grim expression on his face. His worst fears had finally came true: the ESP began to target Yomi for his personal gain. 

"Damn!" Natsume commented after Yomi finished her story. "I can't believe that damn ESP would finally began his move. But it's kinda expected of him though. You better be careful from now on, Yomi." 

"What do you mean, Natsume?"

"Well," Natsume paused for awhile. "The ESP will be keeping his eyes on you. Not only you but all the people around you as well." Immediately Yomi's thoughts were on Inchou. She couldn't understand why but he was the first person that crossed into her mind.

WHACK!!!

"Ouch!!" Yomi winced in pain when Natsume hit her head. "What's that for?"

"Serves you right for tuning out from me," Natsume blew his fingers with an unapologetic smile on his face. "I know you're worried about everyone ESPECIALLY that partner of yours."

Yomi suddenly blushed in embarassment. Natsume didn't state anyone's name but both of them knew that they were talking about Inchou.

"Why would I be worried about him anyway?"

"Because he's your BELOVED partner." Natsume purposely emphasized the word "BELOVED", making Yomi blushed even more.

"You got the wrong idea, Natsu-"

"Lies," Natsume said flatly. "I can see it in your eyes, Yomi. I know that you have feelings towards him." 

"B... but..." Yomi stammered. "I'm... not... he's... just..."

 "Oh God, Yomi!" Natsume groaned. "Can you please stop denying your true feelings? I know that you LIKE him. Be honest with your heart!"

Seeing that Natsume was being spot-on with his statement, Yomi realised that it was no use for her to hold her feelings anymore.

"Okay! Fine! I admit! I really do like him! Inchou is a really nice guy. Despite I was being horrible to him, he still treated me nicely and always by my side. I really love him but..."

"But what?"

"But I don't want to hurt him," Yomi began to cry. At that moment, a downpour started. "What if something bad will happen to him? I always wanted him to be by my side but now I'm afraid that he'll get hurt because of me."

"Hey," Natsume put his arm around Yomi to calm her down. "I was like you once. At first I was afraid that Mikan could get hurt if she was near me. So I kinda distanced myself from her. However, I ended up hurting her instead. In the end, I always kept her by my side despite all those obstacles that came into our way. It was hard but we did survive." He paused to catch his breath. "Don't distance yourself from Inchou, Yomi. You wouldn't want him to worry about you again, right?

"Wait," Yomi was surprised. "What do you mean?"

"You really are a dummy like you used to be, Yomi. Get me a drink first, then I'll tell you"

Yomi quickly handed Natsume a glass of water. After he had finished his drink, only then he continued his story.

"When he saw you lying amidst the shards of broken glass, he was horrified. He tried to wake you up by calling your name several times but you didn't even stir. As he was calling your name, the four of us were nearby so we heard his cries for help. Thanks to Imai, we finally managed to take you to the infirmary. But all along the way to the infirmary and also when the doctors were treating your injuries, Inchou kept on apologizing to you and he also blamed himself because he believed he was a bad and irresponsible partner since he wasn't there to protect you. To be honest, that was the first time I've seen him in such state. He truly cares about you, Yomi. At one point, I could feel that he likes you... I mean, he loves you too."

"He is? I hope he'll confess to me about it one day." Yomi looked at Natsume and smiled. "Thanks, Natsume. You haven't changed at all since the last time we met."

"No big deal," Natsume returned a smile at her. "I'm still the same Natsume just like when we were kids back then."

Yomi looked up and noticed that the rain had stopped. "So, do you want to keep our real relationship a secret? I don't think that the others in the Academy know about us."

"Hmmm..." Natsume was deep in thought. "I think we better keep it a secret for now. When the time is right, only then we can reveal the truth. I don't want other people to take advantage of us just because we are related. Let this be our secret."

Natsume stood up and as he was about to climb the window, he turned back to face Yomi one last time.

"As for your romance with Inchou, I hereby approve of your love and I'll keep it as a secret too." He smiled and he vanished into the night.

Meanwhile... 

"ACHOO!!!"

Inchou sneezed so loud that his blanket flew off his bed. "That's funny," he commented as he picked up his flown blanket. "I didn't have a cold. Hmm... perhaps someone was talking about me? But who?"