HΣIШΔ

memories just suck, ok?

the ikebukuro native was upset.

she grew up in a large city, with smog in the sky and crime at every corner.

she pretty much hates being outside.

and trekking through the forest like they are right now, in their school provided swimwear, did not do anything to help her dislike of the outdoors.

she was walking behind nakamura with earbuds in her ears, not paying attention to the conversations going on around her, but pauses before almost bumping into the girl's back. looking over the blonde's shoulder, she groans when she sees their destination.

mako has never been the type to like swimming all that much. she used to love it when she was younger and didn't have as many things to worry about, but growing older, she just lost her passion for it. now, she only swims when necessary, or just to get people off her back.

everyone aside from her and hazama launch themselves into the fun. the dark haired girl was reading a book on the side, while
mako herself was trying to lose herself in her music, eyes closed to help block out the world.

hearing a bunch of loud whistles, she peeks open an eye to see the octopus yelling at everyone, and ignores his words.

not like she could really hear them, anyways.

after some relaxing time to herself and the music, her earbuds are ripped out of her ears, and she yells at the person who did it.

"now, come on, heiwajima-chan! the water is great, and i bet you look hot in a swimsuit!" nakamura encourages with a sly grin, but mako only rolls her eyes and takes back her earbuds.

"i'd rather not. swimming isn't really something i like to do in my spare time."

the blonde frowns but then smirks, sending a grin to something behind her, confusing the girl until she feels her arms being restrained.

"let me the fuck go!" she shouts harshly, thrashing about, and manages to get out of the grip of kataoka, yada, and hayami. it looked like the four girls had plotted to get her in the water.

she backs herself away from the girls, glaring heatedly at them, but lets out a yelp when she's picked up abruptly around the stomach and carried off.

"let me go! put me down, asshole! i said put me down!" she shouts frantically, eyes glancing around erratically and breathing speeding up.

"quick! grab the girl, we gotta get outta here before we get caught!"

"ok! just start the fucking car, dipshit!"

a younger mako attempts to run away, but is trapped by arms wrapping themselves tightly around her stomach, knocking the air out of her. a cloth is shoved in her mouth to keep her quiet as she's picked up and carried off.

her thrashing doesn't seem to do much help, and tears build up in her eyes. it takes all the young girl has to keep her tears from falling, and try to escape at the same time.

"stop kicking, dumbass kid! it'll make it easier if you stop struggling! you wanna see your brother again, right?"

she gives a small, meek nod, and she can feel the breath of her kidnapper on her ear.

"then stop fighting."

she's abruptly let go of, falling to the ground as she takes air in greedily. looking up, she sees karma standing there, looking at her in shock. the four girls, a few others, and the octopus stand around her, koro-sensei trying to gain her attention.

"heiwajima-chan! are you alright? you looked like you were about to pass out!" it asks worriedly, reaching out to try and help, but she pushes his tentacle away, standing up on shaky legs.

"stay... stay away from me..." she murmurs, then runs off, ignoring their calls of concern.

———

mako didn't come to school for the next couple days. she didn't want to face the others too soon after what happened, so she waited a while before going to the school. she made it right as class let out, wearing her regular clothes, and raises an eyebrow when seeing the others wearing their swimwear again.

'seems like they're heading out to the pool. so annoying'

she follows them to the pool, watching terasaka order them all around while hiding.

judging by what he's doing, he's not the one in charge. he doesn't know what he's gotten himself into, and he'll most likely end up paying for it in some way, later.

seeing the dam break, her eyes go wide, and she rushes out of the tree line, trying to at least get to one of her classmates in time.

her panicked eyes go to see karma and terasaka quarreling, but shouts with annoyance in her tone, "if you two are done being idiotic boys, come over here and help!"

karma's head snaps over to her at her voice, eyes widening at the sight of her, and he runs over quickly, reaching her in no time.

"look, mako-"

"no time, dick, we got shit to do."

she rushes over to the others to try and help. looking over the edge carefully, she sees itona and shiro down there, the boy fighting the octopus.

"dammit..." she grumbles, eyes flitting around to search for a way to help one of the two boys hanging off the cliff or hara who's latching onto a tree branch.

eyes widening at seeing terasaka grab hold of itona's tentacle, and she smirks at seeing the white haired boy begin sneezing. while it honestly is kinda cute, she'd never admit to thinking that. especially not out loud.

at karma's behest, their other classmates jump down into the water and start splashing the boy, and mako makes her way down to stand down on a rock, hands in her pockets as she watches everything unfold. shiro calls itona away and the two tread off, making her turn to face the others.

she lets out a laugh at seeing the still shirtless boy grab hold of karma and throw him into the water. the others mess with the redheaded boy, and she turns to see the octopus move towards her after talking to nagisa.

"i'm glad that you joined us for this, heiwajima-chan, even though it was after school. if you're comfortable with it, would you please explain to me about what happened the other day?"

she lets out a long sigh, eyes looking over each of her classmates.

"just some shitty memories. i'd rather not talk about it. have a nice day, octopus."

the girl walks off, not paying attention to the stare he leaves on her until she's out of his view, and she lets out a shaky breath once away.

'there really wasn't any point in me coming back today, was there? nah, but at least i got to see everything unfold. it's better to witness things instead of always having secondhand info'