Sukeban (Discontinued)

Chapter 44: Coming Back

Tomomi drew in a deep breath, her hands beginning to shake while she stared up at the tall school building in front of her. It was only her second day back but unlike her first, Tomomi had yet to encounter the others. She'd managed to find them outside the school gate yesterday morning but it didn't appear that Tomomi would be so lucky this time. She would have to face walking into the school alone now and this time, walking into school truly did scare Tomomi.

With another deep breath, Tomomi forced her legs to begin moving. It was just school. What was the worst that could happen? Hana and her friends were still suspended and she figured no one else would dare touch her knowing she was now close to Haruna's gang. They were so feared that she assumed no one would risk it, but that didn't stop the fear that taunted her.

She clutched her bag tightly when she got into the halls and made sure to keep her head down, not desiring to meet what would surely be looks of accusations and dislike towards her. There was no way for Tomomi to block out the whispers that came towards her though. She could hear her peers gossiping and whispering about her; Hana's news really had spread fast across the student body. Tomomi whimpered softly, wanting to leave the school. She didn't want to keep hearing all this whispering and gossiping.

Her pace quickened a bit while she walked down the hall and she allowed her eyes to lift for a moment. She nearly stopped in her tracks when she saw a familiar black bob of hair stuffing books and papers into her respective locker. She had seen Mao a few times yesterday but had been too scared to approach her. How would Mao respond if Tomomi did? Mao was no doubt going to be angry at Tomomi for being anywhere near Haruna and Tomomi didn't really know how she was supposed to explain herself. She didn't know how she was going to explain her motives to Mao.... They weren't the same as when she first began. She had an added reason to want to continue being near them but she couldn't explain that to Mao. Not yet at least.

Tomomi had pushed herself off to the side now and had completely stopped. She chewed on the soft skin of her mouth, contemplating what to do. She couldn't ignore Mao forever; she would have to confront Mao sometime. And she didn't want to lose her friendship either. If she avoided Mao for too long, would it only further hurt their friendship? Just the idea of that happening was hurting Tomomi. She knew what she had to do now.

"Mao!" Tomomi called out. She could see some of the other students in the hallway turn to look at her for the shout, including Mao. As she made her way over to Mao, she could see the black haired girl scoff and turn away from her. Tomomi's footsteps faltered with the hurt the action had cause but she pushed herself forward.

She weaved in and out of the students until she had successfully made it to Mao's side. She stopped, placing a hand on Mao's shoulder on for her friend to shake her hand off. Mao closed her locker in a way that told Tomomi how upset she was and gathered her bag to leave. Tomomi stopped her by grabbing onto her arm, stopping her in her tracks and forcing her to turn around to finally face Tomomi. The brunette tried to give her a weak smile but she was unable to when she saw the angry look on Mao's face.

"Mao.... Can we please talk?" Tomomi asked in a squeakier tone than normal. Mao didn't respond right away but after a few moments of silence, she finally pulled her hand away from Tomomi just before turning to face her fully. Tomomi wanted to be hopeful but the continued angry look Mao was giving her wasn't helping.

"Unless you're going to explain yourself than I'm not interested in speaking to you," Mao told her harshly. Tomomi gulped back her fear and took a small step away from Mao. She gripped onto the bag handle with both hands, her eyes training themselves on the ground. Tomomi knew she wouldn't be able to say any of this if she looked at Mao. "Just tell me, is it true? Are you really part of Haruna's gang?" Slowly, Tomomi nodded her head.