The next day, you decided to wake up early to leave the house before your mother awakes. You shoved your hands in your pockets and let out a sigh as the cold air greets you in the morn. You nearly forgot what had happened yesterday with your mom but you would always remember your conversation with Mob at the ramen shop. It gave you comfort when you thought of him. He was always a soft spoken kid from the start. Not to mention, he was patient, no matter what. You hesitantly smiled at the thought of him.
"That's right. I can't stay like this. I need to change too." You wondered as you gradually changed your attitude and lightly skipped your way to school.
You came in early to school so you decided to walk around the premises to know the school facility a little better since you were still "new". You went around in the back to see a group of young boys in black uniforms. But for some reason, they were crowded around a certain someone. You could barely hear what they were saying from afar but you decided to stay and watch. You didn't hide when you tried to eavesdrop on the conversation. Instead, you stood by where they could all see you yet they were too busy to turn around. You could hear someone letting out a small cry as the crowd became aggressive. You took a couple steps further to see who they were talking to. You managed to capture the color of the uniform.
"... Purple...?" You thought as the group of students backed away to reveal the foreign student.
"Look around you. Ain't none of your friends comin' back for your sorry little ass. Too bad they left you behind. You're on our territory now." One of them announced as the rest of the group chuckled.
The boy who clutched onto the foreign student's uniform seemed a tad bit different than the rest. He stood out much more than the others in black uniforms. The boy seemed extremely tired, judging by the bags under his eyes.
"Y-You're going to pay! Once we bring out our ring leader, y-you'll regret your actions!" The foreign student argued.
"'We'? Who the hell's 'we'? Yer ring leader ain't gonna do shit to save you. You won't be alive to tell anyone."
You heard those words loud and clear. You had to stop this unpleasant atmosphere and interfere with their business since you didn't want any violence to occur at school. They're just kids for crying out loud. The foreign student already had some bruises here and there on the face and arms. His clothes were covered in dirt, assuming that they seemed to have had a brief riot.
"Um! P-Please don't fight!" You shouted out of nowhere as you rushed to join the group.
"L-Look, you're drawing attention, you dumbass." The foreign student indicated.
The tired young boy sighed and seemed extremely irritated when he turned to you.
"You. Get lost." He spoke in a haunting rasped voice.
"It's against school rules to do this kind of thing! I-I swear I'll report you!" You yelled. You were shaking and you couldn't help but feel heat building up on your cheeks. You felt nervous because it was your first time trying to stop a fight.
"Ey girly, this is none of your business." One of them demanded.
"I suggest you leave. You may get hurt if you try to interfere with our business." They threatened you.
"I-I'm not leaving until you let him go!" Still, you stood your ground. It would be awkward if you were to just leave after they tell you to do so. You couldn't help but imagine if you were the helpless little boy with a different school uniform.
"Y-You listen to her--" The foreign boy spoke.
"Shut it!"
"I'm not leaving!"
"Just let go of me--"
"Boss! You want us to handle her?"
"Let go of him now!"
"You heard her!"
"ARGH! SHUT UP!" The tired young boy roughly pushed the foreign student to the ground and pointed at him.
"This isn't over, you hear me? The next time I see you, you're dead!" He shouted as the foreign boy fled as soon as possible. It was quiet for a moment before they turned their heads towards you. You didn't know what to do at this point. You decided to take a couple steps back as they walked close to you.
"H-Hey, I won't report you. Y-You did the right thing--" You stuttered. You eventually found yourself in a dead end when you bumped into someone from behind.
"Leaving so soon? We're not done with you yet." The boy glared daggers at you, rubbing the back of his neck as it cracked.
"You had it coming."
"You asked for it."
You didn't know what to say to make this bad situation go away. You couldn't ask for help, otherwise others would get hurt. Maybe if adults were around, things would be easy.
"(Name)!"
You followed the voice to reveal Mob from far away, waving at you in happiness.
Oh my God, of all the times... Why now?
"Friend of yours?" They asked with a smirk.
That was when you knew who their next target was. You couldn't take any risk of putting Mob in danger. You couldn't leave the group to join Mob because one of them was holding you back with a firm grip. They rolled up their sleeves, preparing to engage in combat. You had to stop them from hurting Mob somehow. You couldn't let him take the heat for your own actions.
"I-I... I don't know him! He's just another face in the crowd! Just some wimpy kid!" You told them.
Mob started jogging towards you with that happy dumb smile of his, which made you worry.
"Looks like he knows you." They chuckled.
"Good morning!~" Mob soon reached the group and gave you a quick bow.
"Uh.... W-Who're you?" You hesitantly asked.
Mob gave you a blank stare before his smile dies.
You couldn't tell them that he was someone important to you, otherwise they might do something bad to him. Mob was far too innocent. You couldn't let them take him away from you.
"Haha... It's me, Shigeo. Mob!" Mob lightly laughed.
Even he couldn't tell the unsettling atmosphere that was currently going on. Mob was very naive to the situation.
"I don't know you. G-get lost." You turned away.
Mob still couldn't understand. He decided to press on which made things difficult for you.
"Aw come on, you don't mean that. Are these your friends? Hello!" Mob kindly greeted them with his red cheeks and wide grin.
"Just get lost, kid! Do you understand!? Leave right now, you creep! Can't you see we're busy here!?" You scolded him.
Mob's smile turns upside down, finally realizing that you didn't want him there. He blinked a couple times before he turned away.
"Okay... I'll.. See you at school then."
"Whatever you say, freak." You stared at the ground until Mob was nowhere to be found.
The group of delinquents finally released you with a small laugh.
"Don't ever meddle in our business or else." They let you off with a warning before walking away, leaving you to stand alone.
You froze there, thinking back on your horrible words just to convince those delinquents. You didn't want Mob to get hurt or suffer the penalty that was intended to be on you. If he were to be the target, you would never forgive yourself. But how could you, even after you said those awful things to get him away from danger? Even a small insult to Mob broke you. He was just a sweet kid who doesn't deserve to be treated differently.
You let tears escape from your eyes. You wanted to find Mob and apologize to him as soon as possible. But for some reason, you couldn't move. After everything that you told him yesterday, will he still look at you the same way as before?
"Please don't hate me."