Ken's aunt and uncle were asleep when she got home, and she sighed in relief. She crept upstairs and froze when she saw the blue light under Yuuichi's door. Walking slowly, she edged past, avoiding the boards that creaked, and made it into her room. She closed the door gently and turned her light on so Hide would know to go home. She saw his figure turn away and watched through the window as he walked down her street and out of sight.
She was suddenly startled as the door creaked open and she turned to face her aunt.
"Yuuichi told me you came home," her aunt said, Yuuichi standing silently behind her.
Ken's eyes widened. She stayed silent.
"You act better than us and get better grades than Yuuichi, but it's not because you're studying. You go out partying and staying out later and cheating off someone else, all to spite us, and after all we do for you! We feed you, we house you, and this is how you repay us?" she snarled.
Smack.
Ken's head turned with the force of her aunt's slap. She stayed silent.
"That'll teach you to spite my family. I'll hurt you worse if you do it again," she threatened before turning. "Go to bed, Yuuichi," she said in a softer tone of voice. Then the two of them left Ken alone.
She sat on her bed for a second before getting up and going to the bathroom to see how much of a mark it left. The shape of a hand was clearly visible and filled it with red, and on the edges were parallel scratches that were leaking blood from where the nails had ripped in. Ken debated cleaning up but decided against it because she was tired. Instead, she brushed her teeth and laid down in bed, reliving the end of the good part of her night when she'd said goodbye to Hide. Then she closed her eyes.
She never thought back to the boy with purple hair.