The halls of Chuubu Shin High School echoed with the sound of the 
quick, rhythmic slapping of hard-soled shoes against the tiled floor.  Moemi 
swallowed, trying to keep moisture in her already dry throat and pushed 
herself harder.  She had to find Asako.  Where could she have gone?

	Coming to an intersection, Moemi skidded to a halt, almost running into 
a locker.  She gasped for breath and peered down one hall, then the other.  
Blinking, she looked to the floor... wet footprints and droplets of water 
continued to the right.  Moemi turned and followed the trail.

	Hearing a sob, Moemi broke into a run again, following the sound to the 
end of the hallway.  Her chest tightened as she reached the end of the trail 
of watery footprints.

	Asako sat in a corner, hugging her knees to her chin.  Tears streamed 
down her already wet cheeks as she stared blankly into the distance.  A 
small, cold puddle accumulated around and under her, but she didn't seem to 
care.  Her tangled, short hair was in disarray, partially obscuring her eyes.  
Another sob wracked her body.

	Moemi stopped.  Now what?

* * * * *

                               Heart Heart High
                              Created by NeoPuu

     Episode 33: Nasty, Nasty Decisions!  What to Choose, What to Choose?
                                 By Ardweden

* * * * *

	"Asako?" Moemi asked softly.  There was no response.  She hesitantly 
put a hand on the naked girl's shoulder.  "Are you all right?"

	Asako screamed and jumped up, eyes wild.  She backed further into the 
corner, pressing against the wall.  Her fingers curled and uncurled as the 
tears continued to pour down.

	"No," Moemi half-whispered, reaching out to her friend.  She drew her 
into a hug.  Asako stiffened for a moment, then collapsed against her, crying 
into her shoulder, shuddering and shaking.  Making soothing noises, Moemi 
smoothed Asako's wet, tangled hair.  A small, mostly-ignored part of her 
commented on how her school uniform was more than a little wet.  "It'll be 
okay," Moemi said.  "I promise.  Everything will be okay."  She bit her lip 
in worry; she'd never, ever seen Asako so vulnerable before.

	"Oh God," Asako murmured into Moemi's shoulder.  She took a deep, 
shuddering breath.  Moemi tightened her grip.  The crying slowed until it was 
almost to the point of stopping, and there was silence.  Asako pulled away 
and looked into Moemi's face, recognition dawning in her eyes.  "Moemi?!"

	A lump formed in Moemi's throat.  "Yes?"

	"Get away from me!" Asako screamed as she wrenched herself free.

	Moemi stepped forward.  "Asako..."

	"No!"  She was crying again, trembling, retreating back into her 
corner.  "Stay away!"

	Wincing, Moemi let her outstretched hand drop.  It wasn't like she 
could blame Asako.  What with all that happened...  Moemi's head snapped up 
as her eyes widened.  There was the sound of distant footsteps and laughter.  
She glanced over her shoulder.  School was out, but that didn't mean the 
halls were empty.  And Asako was in no condition to be seen.

	"Come on."  Moemi grabbed Asako's wrist and dragged the smaller girl to 
an empty classroom.

	"Let go let go let go!" Asako demanded, her voice cracking.  Moemi 
swung her around and did just that, slamming the door behind them.  The other 
girl stumbled a bit before she regained her footing, then whirled around and 
scowled at Moemi.

	"Look, Asako."  Moemi swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in her 
throat.  "I just want to help."

	"I don't need your help!"  Asako pounded her fist on a desk.  "Haven't 
you done enough already?!"

	Moemi cringed.  "But..."

	"No!  Leave.  Me.  Alone!" Asako cried, punctuating each word with 
another punch to the desk.  "I don't want your help!  You always did hide 
from everything, only showing up to make things worse, and I--"

	"Shut up!" Moemi snapped.  Asako stopped mid-tirade, her mouth hanging 
slightly open.  Moemi blinked in surprise at her own words and pressed 
onward.  "Right now I'm the only one that can help you, Asako.  I mean, look 
at yourself.  You're in no condition to be seen by anyone!  What are you 
going to do, wait until someone finds you here?  Try to sneak out and back to 
the locker room?"  Asako shivered, made uncomfortably aware of her state of 
dress.  She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.  Moemi bit her lip.  
Asako looked so afraid... she sighed.  "I thought so.  Wait here.  I'll get 
you a towel and clothes."

	"Okay," Asako said quietly.  Moemi nodded and looked sadly at her 
friend, then stepped out the door and closed it behind her with a soft click.

* * * * *

	"You want me to *what*?"  Saikyo dropped the noodles she was eating 
into her cup of ramen and stared at her mother in shock.

	"Come to the country with me."  Mrs. Hiruma calmly put down her cup of 
tea and studied her daughter from across the table.  "Surely you don't enjoy 
living in these peasant conditions.  With your father... away, I'm afraid we 
don't have the resources to continue living here.  Your grandparents are 
willing to put us up until I can get us back on our feet, financially."

	"But... but Mother!  I can't!"

	"Why not?  You can continue living just as you did before you ran away 
back at my parents' home, instead of staying in this little hovel."  Mrs. 
Hiruma sniffed disdainfully, and Saikyo clenched her seat.  She realized what 
she was doing and loosened her grip.  Why was she getting angry?  "And..."  
Mrs. Hiruma looked into Saikyo's eyes.  "I want my little girl back."

	"I can't go with you, Mother," Saikyo protested.  "Because... 
because..."  Because she couldn't let them win, because she was just 
beginning to regain her lost power, because she had her pride and didn't 
*want* to leave.  But the words stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say 
anything because of the way her mom was watching her.  She knew best, she 
always supported her, and she wanted her back...

	Kenichi cleared his throat, and the two females looked up at him.  
"Saikyo's obviously having trouble deciding, Aunt Maya," he said, laying a 
hand on Mrs. Hiruma's shoulder.  "Maybe you should give her more time?"

	The woman in question sighed.  "Yes, that may be best."  She stood 
gracefully and faced Kenichi.  "You've always been so good to us."  Turning 
back to her daughter, she said, "I'll be back in about a week, Saikyo-chan.  
Please have your decision ready by then."  With that, Maya Hiruma swept out 
the door.  Kenichi nodded at Saikyo and started leaving as well.

	"Wait."

	Kenichi turned back and raised an eyebrow.  "Hmm?"

	"I..."  Saikyo hesitated.  "Thank you."

	He chuckled.  "I can't go and abandon my favorite cousin, now can I?  
You're simply too precious.  Now be a good girl and enjoy your Voltage Force 
V."  With that, he left.

	"Why that..." Saikyo fumed.  "Patronizing me in such a way.  How dare 
he!"  She snapped her chopsticks in half and watched the closed door for a 
few minutes, going over the recent conversation in her head.  "How dare he."  
She paused and looked up at the clock.  "Oh no.  I missed the first fifteen 
minutes!" she cried, jumping from her seat and running to her small, black 
and white television set.

* * * * *

	Yuki sighed as she turned the doorknob.  She pushed it in and entered, 
smelling the dinner that was cooking just around the corner.  She would 
normally be salivating at the thought, but for some reason she wasn't feeling 
very hungry.  Sitting on the floor, she took off her shoes and yawned.

	"Wow, I'm tired."  Actually, sleep didn't sound like such a bad idea.  
Then she wouldn't have to think about... that.  Yes, sleep was a very very 
good idea.  She wearily pushed herself to her feet and started trudging up 
the stairs.

	"Oh, Yuki-chan!" a voice called from the kitchen.

	"Yes, Mom?" Yuki responded, stopping in mid-trudge.

	"You're finally home."  The figure of her mother appeared at the bottom 
of the stairs.  She was wiping her hands on her apron.  "How was school 
today?"

	"It was... busy."  Yuki winced.  It was more than busy, but she didn't 
want her mom knowing that.  She had enough to do, what with keeping the house 
running and everything.  Yuki didn't want to tack on another problem.  She 
could handle this herself.

	"Long day, hmm?"  Her mom studied Yuki, a concerned look on her face.  
"Well, I needed some help in the kitchen, but if you're too tired..."

	"No, no!  That's okay."  Yuki laughed uneasily.  "I'll help.  What do 
you want me to do?"

	Mrs. Yoshikawa eyed her daughter, then nodded.  "All right.  Come with 
me."  She led Yuki into the kitchen.  "I need you to scrub these carrots.  
You know how."  She indicated a small pile of carrots and faucet with one 
hand.

	"Okay, Mom," Yuki nodded.  She picked up a carrot and thrust it into 
the running water.  Her mother patted her on the back, then went back to 
preparing the rest of the meal.

	Yuki turned to the task at hand.  It wasn't so bad, really.  She paid 
close attention to the carrots, making sure they were free from dirt and 
grime.  Her sleepiness was dispelled, so she continued working, scrubbing the 
carrots until they almost shone.  She rather liked the feel of the cool water 
as it washed over her hands, the sound of it rushing out of the faucet...

	She blinked.  Her hands were trembling.  The sound of the water... it 
was like a shower.  And the feel.  Was this what Asako felt when Gai... when 
he...  Yuki shook her head and glanced from side to side.  She sighed with 
relief.  Her mom wasn't around.  Setting down the carrot she had been 
cleaning, she dried her hands and walked to the television set and turned it 
on, making sure the volume was low.

	Maybe she could lose herself in whatever was on and forget all about 
it.  Yuki browsed through the channels, when one program in particular caught 
her eye.  It was Doki Doki Kokoro!  Well, it was a rerun, but she didn't know 
they showed it in the evenings.  Must be growing in popularity.

	Almost smiling, Yuki sat at the kitchen table, watching closely as Aoi 
and Okami fought over Tobuko.  Poor, poor Tobuko.  Yuki'd often wondered what 
would happen if she was stuck in a triangle like that.  Sure, she'd choose 
Okami, because he was a nicer person all around, but Aoi did have his good 
points.  It must be very difficult.  In fact, the movie was supposed to deal 
with just that.

	A movie, Yuki realized, that she had tickets for.  She reached into her 
pocket and pulled out two thick slips of paper, rereading them slowly.  They 
were for the premiere, all right.  It was a good thing Gai had gotten them -- 
her eyes widened, slowly filling with tears.

	Gai.

	She blinked and clenched her fists, causing the paper to bend in 
unnatural ways.  "No," she said softly, looking at the crumpled tickets.  "I 
can't go.  I can't!  It's wrong!"  She threw them onto the table and buried 
her head in her hands.  It was wrong, so wrong.  What he did was wrong.  She 
heard a distant ringing.

	"Yuki-chan!" a female voice called from the staircase, "Telephone!"

	Yuki started and hastily turned off the television set.  She touched 
her cheeks and found them wet.  Scrambling to the already running water, she 
splashed some onto her face and dried it off as quickly as she could.  
"Coming!" she yelled back, putting as much of her usual cheerfulness into her 
voice as she could.  She ran over to the foyer and snatched the phone from 
her mother, who held it at an arm's length.  Her mom looked at her curiously, 
then shrugged and walked back to the kitchen.

	Heart pounding, Yuki raised the receiver to her face.  It could be Gai.  
She took a few deep breaths.  "Getting nervous isn't going to help things," 
she murmured to herself.  Might as well get it over with.  "Hello?"

	"Hi, Yuki?  This is Gina."

	"Oh, Gina!"  Yuki sighed with relief.  "Look, I'm really really sorry I 
wasn't around for lunch today, but I--"

	"It's okay," Gina said, cutting Yuki off.  "I'm not calling about that.  
Well, I sorta am.  You've been kind of avoiding Takeshi recently, and I'm 
getting a little worried.  He doesn't know why."

	"Takeshi," Yuki breathed, sitting on the stairs with a thud.  She 
tangled her fingers in the phone cord.  "I'm not really worried about 
Takeshi."

	"You're not?"  There was surprise in Gina's voice.

	"No.  I'm not."  Funny, she was crying again.  "I'm not."

	"Yuki?  What's wrong?" Gina asked, conveying a world of worry.

	"Gai.  He- he..."

	"Do you know what happened to him?  He came home today, looking like 
he'd seen a ghost, and just ran to his room and locked himself in it without 
saying anything to anybody."

	"Well, he- he--"  Yuki choked on a sob.  The tears were streaming down 
her cheeks.  She tried wiping them away in vain.

	"Are you all right?  Do you want me to come over?"  Yuki couldn't bring 
herself to answer.  "Yuki?"

	"No!  No.  It's okay, really.  I'll be okay."  Yuki wiped her eyes 
again, forcing herself to calm down.

	"You sure?  I can ask Maman for time off tonight and be right over, if 
you want."

	"I'll be fine.  See you at school tomorrow, okay?  Bye."  Yuki hung up 
the phone and stared at it for a few seconds, then sniffled and made her way 
up the stairs.  Sleep seemed like an awfully good idea.

* * * * *

	"Um.  About earlier, Asako," Moemi began.

	Asako waved her off.  "It's fine.  I'm glad you helped me out; I needed 
my clothes."  She grinned and spooned some ice cream into her mouth.  "Mmm.  
Ice cream always does a good job of cheering me up."

	Moemi smiled slightly and poked at her own sundae.  "Yeah.  But what I 
was talking about..."

	"Oh?"  Asako leaned forward, careful not to get any dessert on her 
clothes.  "I already said it's fine."

	"Yes, but that isn't..." Moemi trailed off.  She sat in silence, her eyes 
locked on Asako's jaw.

	Asako paused, spoon halfway to her mouth.  "Moemi-chan? What's wrong?"

	Moemi blinked.  "I was just... wondering.  About, you know.  Your 
scar."

	"This?"  Asako touched the makeup-covered scar on her face gingerly.  
"It was an accident.  Happened a while ago."  She smiled reassuringly.  
"Don't worry about it.  Anyway, you were saying?"

	Moemi looked down at her ice cream.  "I just wanted to say that... 
well, that I'm sorry."

	There was silence.  Moemi flinched, waiting for the harsh reply.  She 
shouldn't have brought it up.  Now Asako would hate her forever.

	"Sorry?  For what?"  Asako slowly ate another spoonful of ice cream.

	"About what happened a couple days ago.  After practice."  Moemi 
fidgeted nervously.  "With the tea."

	"It's okay, Moemi-chan."  Moemi slowly looked back at Asako, who smiled 
with nothing but kindness in her eyes.  "I'm sure you had a good reason for 
it, right?  You only wanted what's best, right?"

	"Yes," Moemi replied.

	Asako smiled more widely.  "Well, then it's okay.  But you shouldn't do 
that.  It's bad.  I really don't need them.  Really.  See?"

	Moemi nodded a little too quickly.  "Okay, Asako.  I'm sure it was just 
a mistake," she agreed.  "And I'm sure Shiro- oop."  Her hands flew to her 
mouth.

	"Shiro," Asako repeated quietly, her eyes narrowing the tiniest bit.  
She blinked and checked her watch.  "Oh, shoot.  I have to be home for 
dinner."  Asako stood.  "Thanks for the ice cream, Moemi-chan!"  She grabbed 
her bookbag and ran out the door.

	"Um.  You're welcome."  Moemi sighed at the half-eaten sundaes.  "I 
guess."

* * * * *

	Gina stared at the closed door.  This was it.  She had to find out what 
was going on around here.  Gai had been unresponsive throughout dinner, even 
when she made the crack about Shiro still being better than him.  He had just 
shrugged, asked to be excused, and returned to his room.  She had to get to 
the bottom of this.  Now.

	Then why was she so afraid?

	"It's now or never," Gina told herself.  She raised her hand and 
knocked.

	"What?" was the response.

	Gina frowned.  Her brother's voice sounded so... flat.  "It's your 
loving sister," she said cheerfully.

	No response.  Gina shifted from one foot to the other.  She was about 
to knock again when she heard Gai from within the room.  "Come in."

	Opening the door and peeking inside, Gina spotted her brother lying on 
his bed, looking up at the ceiling.  "Hey, Sis."  He waved listlessly.

	"Hey."  The female twin walked in and sat on the end of Gai's bed.  She 
nudged his foot, willing him to say something, anything.

	He didn't.

	Gina watched her brother for a few minutes, then sighed.  "Yuki sounded 
kind of upset over the phone," she began, hoping that would get some sort of 
reaction.

	"You were talking with Yuki?"  Gai shot up from his bed and grabbed his 
sister by the shoulders.  "What did she say?"

	"Um.  Nothing much," Gina said, taken aback by the frantic look in her 
brother's eyes.  "She mentioned you, then broke down."  Gai cringed, then 
seemed to deflate, collapsing in on himself.

	"Oh."  He let go of Gina and went back to lying on the bed, rolling 
over and putting his face in his pillow this time.

	"What's going on?  This isn't like you."  Gai didn't move.  "Hey!"  
Gina poked him in the side, and he squirmed.  "Pay attention to me."

	"None of your business," Gai's muffled voice replied.

	Gina scowled and folded her arms.  "Well, you're my brother, and Yuki's 
my friend, and *something's* not right.  I'm making it my business."  

	"Whatever."  Gai rolled onto his side.

	"Stop that!"  Gina ground her teeth in frustration.  She tried 
softening her tone.  "I'm sorry.  But... can you tell me what's wrong?  I'm 
worried.  'Sides," she smiled, "we can talk about anything.  Right?"

	Gai sat up and studied his sister for a few minutes.  "Fine," he 
finally said.  "You want to know what happened?  Okay."

	Gina grinned and sat back.  She gestured.  "Go on."

	"Well, after practice was cancelled, I was putting away the equipment," 
Gai continued.  "I had to drop the balls and nets off in the locker room.  I 
didn't think anyone was around.  But when I was down there, I heard running 
water... and it was Asako."  He paused.

	His sister nodded encouragingly.  "And then?"

	"I- I didn't mean to watch her, or anything.  I tried to leave, to turn 
away.  But, well... she has this *scar*.  Have you ever seen it?  I... I had 
no idea.  And then she saw me there, and asked me to leave, please, but I 
needed to know, so I reached out, and I accidentally grabbed her towel..."  
Gai winced.  That sounded really bad.  "Anyway," he plowed on, "she screamed 
and ran off, and Yuki must have heard her, because she came in..."  He 
shuddered and stopped.

	"It's okay."  Gina put her hand on Gai's knee.  "I'm listening."

	"Well."  Gai turned his attention to the blankets.  "Well, she looked 
scared.  Of me."  His eyes glistened, and he squeezed them shut.  "I tried to 
explain that it wasn't what it looked like!  But... but she..."  His voice 
was barely above a whisper.  "She pushed me away and ran."

	"Oh God."  Gina enveloped her brother with a hug.  "What a mess.  What 
an awful mess."

	"Yeah."  He was shaking, Gina dimly noted.  He was trying so hard not 
to cry.  Gai pulled himself away.  "So, what do I do?"

	Gina mulled it over.  "I guess that the only thing you really can do is 
apologize to Asako.  And talk to Yuki."

	"Yuki?  But I can't!  I mean, she probably hates me, and doesn't want 
to even see me, and how can I face her--"

	"I don't know.  But you have to.  Or things won't get better.  You know 
that, don't you?"

	Gai nodded in defeat.  "Yeah.  I'll talk to her."

	"Tell ya what.  I'll talk to Yuki and make sure she'll at least hear 
what you have to say.  That sound good?"

	"Thanks, Sis," Gai said with a weak smile.  "I- I really appreciate 
it."

	Gina smiled back.  "Hey, what's family for?"

* * * * *

	"Here you go."  Asako set a tray down in front of her mother.  "Yumemi-
san made Western-style spaghetti."

	"You're so sweet," the thin woman said softly.  She breathed as deeply 
as she could, taking in the aroma of the food.  "It smells delicious."  
Carefully twirling the noodles around, she lifted her fork to her mouth, 
chewed, and swallowed.  "This is good.  Natsumi-san outdid herself this 
time," she commented with a smile.

	Asako beamed and nodded, sitting down and picking up her own fork.  
"Yeah.  She's a really good cook."

	"Yes."  Ms. Minagawa ate a bit more, then dabbed at her mouth with a 
napkin.  "It tastes just like the spaghetti I had in--"  She fell into a fit 
of coughing.

	"Mom!"  Asako was instantly at her mother's side.  Shiro, who was 
calmly eating off his own plate, ran to the sink and filled a glass of water.  
He handed it to the coughing woman, who drank from it.

	"Thank you, Shiro," she said gratefully.  The boy half-smiled in 
response.

	"Are you okay?" Asako asked.  "Do you need anything else?"

	"No, I'm fine," Ms. Minagawa assured her.  Asako looked at her 
uncertainly, then turned her attention back to her spaghetti.

	They ate in silence until Ms. Minagawa coughed.  She blinked, then 
coughed again.  "I should take my medication," she wheezed, using her chair 
for support as she got to her feet.

	"Want me to help you?" Asako stood as well.

	"No, I'll be fine."  Her mother gestured for Asako to sit down, and she 
did so.  "You two finish dinner without me."  She slowly made her way out the 
room.

	As soon as her mother was out of earshot, Asako scowled.  "Speaking of 
medication..."

	Shiro looked up from his food.  "What about it?"

	"I heard all about it.  You forced Moemi into slipping those pills into 
my tea, didn't you?"

	"I'm not hungry anymore," Shiro announced as he put his fork down and 
stood.  He made his way around the table and started walking away.

	"Hey!  Answer me," Asako ordered as she leapt from her seat and grabbed 
Shiro's arm.

	He didn't even turn around as he shook her off.  "You need them, 
Sister."

	"No I don't," Asako hissed.  Shiro continued on his way.  "And you have 
no right to call me 'Sister'."

	Shiro stopped in his tracks.  Without turning, he addressed her.  "What 
was that?" he asked, sounding as if he'd been through this time and time 
again.

	Asako smiled cruelly.  "That's right.  You were found on Mother's 
doorstep, weren't you?  Just some street baby she cared for out of pity."

	"You know that isn't true," Shiro replied, glancing over his shoulder.

	"Oh, you mean that story about your dead parents being friends of the 
family?  You were just told that so you'd feel better."  Asako noted with 
satisfaction that Shiro's hands were clenched into fists.  "Nobody needed to 
hide the truth from me."

	Shiro regarded Asako for a long moment.  "You still need them."  He put 
his hands in his pockets and shrugged, turning away.

	"I don't!" Asako almost yelled, before she caught herself.  "I don't," 
she repeated more quietly to Shiro's retreating back.  "Are you listening to 
me?  Hey!"  She ran up, preparing to hit him.  "Listen to me!"

	His elbow was in Asako's stomach before she could even blink, and she 
fell backwards onto the cold kitchen tile.  She looked up at her 'brother', 
who returned her gaze impassively, and said, "That's nothing.  You have no 
idea what kind of hell I went through today."

	"Does it matter?  You don't want my help anyway."  He shrugged and 
turned away.

	"You do know that I hate you," Asako spat, careful to keep her voice 
low.

	Shiro stopped in the doorway and looked over his shoulder.  For an 
instant, Asako thought she saw his eyes almost soften.  Almost.  "I wish I 
could say the same."  And then he was gone.

	Asako coughed and shakily got to her feet, then set about cleaning the 
table.

* * * * *

Next time, on Heart Heart High:

"You aren't even going to listen to me?"
"Why should I believe anything you're saying?"

Stay tuned for Episode 34:
Problems, Problems!  How Long Will Friendship Last?

* * * * *

Author's Notes:

I'm so, so sorry this took so long.  I do hope it's worth the wait, though.  
It was a difficult chapter to write, and Real Life wasn't exactly cooperating 
with me in my efforts.  But I still had fun. ^_^

Thanks to Puu, Ravi, Lawrence, John, and Phoebe for prereading.  Special 
thanks to Ravi, who stuck with me throughout the whole writing process and 
offered a horde of suggestions.  And thanks to Calculus' e-mail, for choosing 
the absolute perfect time to go down.  I had nothing to do with it.  Really.

As usual, any questions, comments, flames, and stuff about this chapter 
should be sent to ardweden@netscape.net

Heck, just e-mail to say hi.  I like e-mail.  But no spam.  I don't like 
spam. :P

Thanks for reading! ^_^

Ardweden