Kouta watched down the hallway, wondering how Kaede and Yuka's talk was going. Nana came up beside him and wrapped her arm around his.

?I hope Kaede can talk Yuka into staying,? Nana said in a worried tone.

?Me too,? Kouta said.

?What do you think they are doing in there?? Mayu asked as she came up beside Nana.

Just then Yuka's door exploded into the hallway, spilling Yuka and Kaede out as they grappled with each other. Kaede got to her feet first, and grabbing the back of Yuka's shirt. She tried to fling Yuka back into the room. Yuka resisted, her shirt pulled half over her head and ripped. Kaede tried forcing Yuka to the floor with the grip on her shirt. Yuka shrugged out of her shirt and punched Kaede in the stomach. Kaede let out an 'oof', then kneed Yuka in the chest. As Yuka fell back, Kaede dove on her. They rolled on the floor, arms flailing as they slapped and punched each other.

?Ohh shit!? Kouta cried, and ran to break them up.

Kouta got close enough to grab Yuka, who now was on top, and tried to pull her off Kaede. Yuka shoved him to the side, then a vector pushed him back down the hall, knocking him down. Both glared at him and yelled, ?Stay out of it!? Yuka balled a fist to hit Kaede, Kaede got her foot onto Yuka's stomach and kicked her back into her room. Kaede no more than got to her feet when Yuka sprang back out and punched her hard, knocking her back down.

?Please, STOP IT!? Mayu cried.

?Ohh! Kaede, please don't kill Yuka!? Nana cried.

Kaede kicked Yuka's feet from under her. Yuka fell to sit, Kaede grabbed a handful of hair and drove Yuka's head into the floor. Her own shirt hanging off her in tatters, Kaede looked up and snapped, ?I'm not going to kill her, but ....?

Kaede's words were cut off as Yuka twisted around and kicked Kaede in the side. Yuka used a swath of Kaede's shirt to pull herself up. Kaede used her grip on Yuka's hair to force her back down, ripping the remains of her shirt away.

Kouta watched helplessly as they punched, kicked, and slapped each other with a ferocity he could only gape at. Yuka knocked Kaede into a wall face first and dove on her. Yuka quickly grabbed Kaede from behind by her bra straps and with a scream, flung her into Mayu's door, which snapped her bra. Kaede hit the door and crashed through. Kaede then shot back out to grab Yuka's bra straps right above the cups and flung Yuka into a wall, which broke Yuka's bra straps. Before Yuka could recover, Kaede dropped and rammed into Yuka's stomach with her shoulder and drove her into the remains of Mayu's door, which burst inward as they disappeared from sight.

?Wow,? Kouta said as he blushed.

?Kouta, stop them!? Mayu cried.

?What's going on?? Jonathan asked as he and Yuki came up behind them. From Mayu's room the sound of furniture being smashed sounded. A small table leg tumbled into the hall.

Nana turned and said, ?Yuka and Kaede are fighting, someone has to stop them!?

Jonathan looked at the broken debris in the hallway and asked, ?Is Kaede using her vectors??

?No, it doesn't look like it,? Nana admitted.

Giving a shrug, Jonathan said, ?Then let them work it out for themselves. Get some bandages, aspirin and wound cream ready, it looks like they will need it.?

?Don't tell me you're not even going to try to stop this,? Kouta said in a gasp.

Jonathan chuckled and said, ?Boy, you've got a lot to learn. Get into the middle of that, and you will get hurt. This is their argument, let them finish it.? Seeing Mayu scowl up at him, Jonathan added, ?Once they work it out, they'll be fine.?

>>>

Topless, with only the waistband of her skirt left, and bleeding from her nose and the corner of her mouth, Kaede sat on Yuka, holding Yuka's arms out by the wrists as she panted heavily. Under her, Yuka, also topless and having only shreds of her skirt left, lay bleeding from the corners of her mouth, nose and one ear. Yuka's ragged breaths panted in time with Kaede's.

?Are .... you ... done .... yet?? Kaede asked in between breaths.

Too tired to fight any longer, Yuka panted out, ?Why .... why do you .... want me to stay.... so bad??

?Kouta loves you... he wants you to stay .... that's why,? Kaede said in her own tired voice. She swallowed a mix of spit and blood, then added, ?What Kouta wants ..... Kouta gets.?

Yuka lay looking up at Kaede. ?You do love Kouta very much,? she said in a pant.

Kaede nodded, then dropped to the side. Turning her head to look at Yuka, she said, ?That's why you can't go. You are important to all of us, especially Kouta.?

Yuka frowned, then winced. ?So what do we do now??

?I don't know. If you go, Kouta will be sad. I can't have that.?

Yuka looked down on herself, then at Kaede's body, both were covered more with marks and scratches than any clothing. ?We better put something on, or that pervert will see us.?

?So what? He will anyway,? Kaede said with a tired huff.

Jonathan's voice called from the hallway, ?Hey! You girls OK in there?? Steps announced he was approaching.

Heart in her throat, Kaede noted Nana and Mayu's bath robes hanging on hooks on the wall. She shot a vector out and grabbed them, tossing one to Yuka. Quickly, they sat up and covered themselves.

?How did you do that?? Yuka asked.

From around the corner outside the door, Jonathan called, ?Got some concerned people out here waiting to patch you up if you need it. That is, unless you're not done with your argument yet.?

Kaede looked at Yuka. ?Well?? she asked.

Yuka nodded. ?Yes, we're done. I'm staying,? she conceded.

?All right!? Nana and Mayu cried in unison. Nana ran around the corner and stopped short upon seeing them. ?You two look bad,? she said.

Appearing to gape at them, Mayu said, ?Kouta went to get you medicine. Please don't fight any more.?

Stepping in, Nana looked at Kaede and said, ?Thank you for not killing Yuka.?

Yuka let out a tired laugh. ?I will take a lot more than that to kill me.?

Kaede looked over at a chunk of wood on the floor. Using a vector, she lifted it and shattered it into splinters. ?I can do that any time I like,? she said as she looked at Yuka. ?I didn't want to damage you, only stop you from leaving us.?

From the hallway, Jonathan announced, ?All right, it's over. Hug, shake hands, whatever you're going to do. Make peace and don't let this happen again.? He then crunched back down the debris filled hall.

Holding Mayu's robe to her chest, Kaede got up with the help of her vectors, then extended Yuka a hand. ?Peace, sister?? she asked.

Yuka took her hand. She struggled up, and after a pause of studying Kaede, she hugged her. ?Peace, sister,? she said sincerely.

Kaede felt she owned Yuka something, so she said, ?If it makes it any better, I'll share Kouta with you. You can't have him for yourself, but if he ... is inclined to be with you from time to time, that's fine.?

?You'd do that?? Yuka asked in amazement.

?If that's what Kouta wants.?

>>>

?It only makes sense,? Mayu said as she helped Nana get breakfast ready. ?Jonathan solves his problems by fighting, so now Kaede does the same thing.?

?But she DID get Yuka to stay with us, and she didn't really hurt Yuka. Mayu, we both know that Kaede could have chopped Yuka in half any time she wanted to.? Nana told her.

Mayu scooped the fish from the pan and scowled at Nana. ?But I heard Jonathan tell her he was proud of her. What kind of father praises his child for fighting??

Nana giggled and replied, ?I think he was praising her for not using her vectors to seriously hurt Yuka. I mean, for a fight involving Kaede, that was pretty mild.?

?I suppose so,? Mayu begrudgingly admitted.

The kitchen door opened, an Yuki came in, wearing a business suit. ?Hi girls, can I help??

?Sure! We're ready to fill the plates. You can help take them in for us,? Mayu said cheerfully.

?WOW you look nice!? Nana said as she smiled at Yuki. ?Do I go with you today??

?Not until those men finish their machines. Today Jonathan said it's mostly going to be boring stuff. I'm only going because we're going to pick up Ayami and her parents.? Yuki said.

>>>

Kouta sat at the breakfast table by Kaede on the end, and Yuka on the other side of him. He had trouble looking at either of them. The ugly bruise on Kaede's cheek that crept up to blacken her left eye was a little worse than the one on her forehead. He was glad the white collar of a bandage she wore on her neck hid the swollen red scratches, he'd seen enough of those. Yuka was in no better shape, her bloodshot right eye was swollen almost shut, she was missing a patch of hair, her lip bore an ugly purple bruise, and he didn't even want to think about where those red claw marks that descended onto her chest ended.

?Ahhh, nothing like a good breakfast to start the day. Thank you, Mayu and Nana, you did really well!? Jonathan announced.

?I could have done it,? Yuka said.

?No, you need to rest,? Mayu told her. ?There's no school today, Nana is going to help me with the house. I'm fix you another cold pack for that eye, and one for you too, Kaede. You both look terrible.?

Shifting her gaze between Yuka and Kaede, Nana asked, ?So you got things worked out, right? Are you friends now??

?Sisters,? Yuka said with a tiny grin, then winced and touched her lip.

?Sisters?? Kouta asked, finally looking at Yuka.

?Yes, we can disagree, but we will watch out for each other,? Kaede explained.

?And we can share,? Yuka said, casting Kaede a smirk. She then winced again.

?You mean like share clothes and things like me and Mayu do?? Nana asked eagerly.

Kaede flicked her eyes at Kouta and said, ?Everything, yes.?

?HUH?? Jonathan said as he stared at her.

Casting him a crooked grin, Kaede asked, ?Do you want details??

Jonathan's face flushed as he gapped at her. ?Ahhh, no, NO! Thanks for breakfast, I ... have to get some things ready for today. I'll meet you in the entry, Yuki.? Jonathan said as he got up, bowed quickly, and left.

Kaede watched him go, the let out a chuckle. ?I don't believe it. I found something that rattles my father.?