This is what I would've entered if I wasn't hosting the challenge. Hope you enjoy!
Two Sides Of The Same Coin (Bully! Hoshiko Mizudori x Victim! Horuda Puresu)
Horuda's head was low, her arms wrapped around herself tightly. Her arms were littered with self inflicted cuts, and the rest of her bony torso was discoloured with bruises. Under her fringe, she had a large bruise over her eye. All of this caused by five girls who wanted her dead. She was a punching bag for them, an easy target for them to torture since she was always alone. She wasn't particularly social as it was even before the bullying started, but now nobody would come near her. They didn't want to be next. They either bullied her, or turned a blind eye to her abuse. She was truly alone. Her parents didn't care. They were divorced. Her mother had sole custody and refused to let her father see her. Her mother was very abusive, and her step-father was a raging alcoholic who took his anger out on her. She wished she lived with her father instead, he wasn't abusive to her.
She made it to the roof, finding the bench she usually sat alone on. It was away from everyone, believing strongly they didn't want her around them. It was like she'd been brainwashed by her bullies into believing their lies about her even if she knew they weren't true. She pulled out her book to read, thankful she hadn't run into her bullies yet. Unfortunately her quiet was brought to a swift end. All five bullies walked up to her, surrounding her. She gulped in fear, looking up at her torturers.
"What's this, freak?" Musume asked mockingly, grabbing her book and ripping it out of her hands. She didn't even bother trying to stop her. She didn't bother opening the book, throwing it to Hana.
"Trash, just like the trash reading it." She smirked as she caught it, holding it in her hands. She raised it, whacking Horuda over the head with it. She laughed as Horuda cried in some kind of shock. She kept hitting her with the book, soon getting bored. She handed the book to Kokoro, who began tearing out the pages and throwing them at Horuda. She could only watch as her book was torn to shreds in front of her eyes. She was really starting to enjoy the story, but now she'd never know how it ended.
"Here, WHORE-uda!" Kokoro laughed wickedly, throwing the cover and few scrap pages that were left at her. The rest of the bullies laughed as they walked away. They'd probably torment her later on in the day. Horuda cried sadly to herself as she gathered the pages that hadn't blown away in the wind, stuffing them into her bag. She'd have to dispose of the book later.
As Hoshiko split up from her friends, she got this weird feeling. It wasn't a sickness or anything like that, it was an emotion. She didn't really understand it. Was it regret? Shame? No way. She never felt that before, but now she was. She tried to push it to the back of her mind, being without success. It frustrated her and angered her, so she dealt with it the only way she knew how to. Sending a lot of online hate towards Horuda. For the victim, it never ended. Hoshiko went back up to the roof, back to where she'd left her victim crying over a book.
Horuda was still on the roof, stood by the railing. She was looking out over the gardening club, watching the girls garden and talk. She wished she had friends she could relax with and share hobbies with like that. Hoshiko came up behind her, shoving her in the back. Horuda screamed and held on to the railing, genuinely scared she was going to fall and die.
"Shut your fucking mouth!" Hoshiko snapped, pulling Horuda away from the railing and shoved her to the floor. She whimpered and covered her mouth with her hands as Hoshiko stood over her. Hoshiko slapped her in the face, growling. "You're a waste of fucking air, you know that?" She slapped her again. "Life for everyone would be better if you were dead and gone." She slapped her even harder. "You need to just die!" She raised her fist, about to punch her when she stopped. Her fist wouldn't budge. She made an unholy screech, kicking Horuda as hard as possible before storming away. Horuda watched, confused and scared and in pain.
Hoshiko laid in her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She didn't know how to feel, and she didn't like it. Everything usually made perfect sense to her, but not how she felt earlier after bullying Horuda like normal. She picked up the photo frame she had on her bedside table, removing the picture of her and her friends. Behind it was a photo of her and Horuda as children. They'd been best friends, but Horuda didn't fit in when she befriended Musume, Kokoro, Kashiko and Hana. They started bullying her, and Hoshiko chose popularity over childhood friendship. Maybe she was starting to feel regret, especially learning recently what happened to her parents. She sighed and put the other photo back in the frame. She got up and changed into all black, leaving the house. She was heading out somewhere, and didn't want to be recognised.
Horuda finally arrived home. She hated being there, and always took her time going there. She opened the door, seeing her mother stood waiting. She looked furious, which scared Horuda. She knew that look all too well, it was the look her mother had before she abused her daughter.
"You're late. Again. Does it not set in you need to be home straight away after school?" Her mother snapped, snatching her book bag and throwing it down. Horuda didn't react to it, used to it. Her mother grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the living room, shoving her to the floor in front of her step-father. "She was late again." Her mother told him, putting one foot on her daughter's back to keep her pinned to the floor. Her step-father pulled off his belt and began beating her with it. She could feel the buckle hitting her. She wanted to scream and beg him to stop, but that would only make it worse. "Come on." Her mother snapped once her step-father was done beating her with the belt. She yanked her up and dragged her into the kitchen.
She shoved her into the corner of the room next to a cracked open window. Horuda remained standing, getting scared. Her punishment wasn't over yet.
"Arms up! On one leg!" Her mother snapped. She hastily did what she was told to do. Her mother gave her a look of disgust. "Stay like that." She was ordered. She didn't move as her mother started making dinner for herself and her husband. Horuda would be deprived of food again. She started losing balance, trying her hardest knowing she'd be punished if she lowered her foot or now sore arms. She'd be allowed to rest in the early hours of the morning, being able to sleep for a few hours before she'd have to get up for school.
Hoshiko finally arrived at the place she was headed, looking in through the kitchen window. She was at Horuda's house. She could see Horuda stood in the kitchen alone exactly as her mother had made her. She had barely flinched, fearing the consequences. Hoshiko got that feeling back, the one she had earlier on in the day after bullying Horuda. She opened the window, getting her attention.
"Please don't hurt me." Horuda whimpered, her arms going to cover her face. She was terrified now one of her bullies knew where she lived. It was only a matter of time before she wouldn't be safe anywhere.
"I'm not here to hurt you, for once." Hoshiko snapped under her breath, loud enough for Horuda to hear and understand her words. "Meet me tomorrow in the third floor bathroom at 7am. The one that's rumoured to be haunted. Keep me waiting and I'll make you pay." Hoshiko told her firmly, walking away. Horuda didn't know what she wanted, and was too scared to not show up even though the most likely scenario was that she would go and be attacked. That's what history had taught her, anyway.
The next day, Horuda walked into the 'haunted' third floor bathroom, not expecting to see what she saw. Hoshiko was stood alone, putting on lipgloss leaning on the sink. Horuda had expected to see all five of her bullies, but Hoshiko was alone right now. She looked up at her usual victim, smirking.
"Glad you came. Block the door, this needs to be private." She insisted. Horuda did exactly as she was told, very confused. She didn't like the confusion. Hoshiko walked over to her, holding something in her hand. It looked like a photo frame. She showed the picture to Horuda, which was the one of them as children. "Remember this?" She asked, handing Horuda the frame. She looked at the photo and nodded her head a few seconds later.
"We were children..." she said quietly, scared to speak out of place. Hoshiko nodded her head, letting Horuda speak for once. "We had such good memories... until you befriended those girls..." she teared up. Hoshiko took the frame back, backing her up against the wall.
"Oh darling, you are so very broken and no one cares to notice." She said into her ear, smirking. She pulled back, looking into her one visible eye. "I noticed. I made you that way, and I'm sorry. I want things back how they used to be, but I know that's impossible right now." She sighed. She wanted the past back, but they had to move forward. They couldn't get stuck in the past. "We're gonna have to keep our friendship a secret, because I want us to be friends again. In front of the others, I'll bully you, but when it's just us we can be friends again. Okay?" Hoshiko told her. The other girl nodded her head quickly, scared of what would happen if she didn't agree. She still felt like she was being controlled by Hoshiko and the rest of her bullies, and things wouldn't be the way they used to be. They never could be. "Good girl. Now, as far as everyone knows this didn't happen." Hoshiko said, putting back on the bitchy exterior she was known for. She walked out of the bathroom, leaving Horuda with the photo frame. Hoshiko could get it back later, anyway.
Hoshiko and Horuda kept this up for weeks. Months, even. Nobody knew that they were friends again, or that they even had any positive interaction. Hoshiko began to get an even weirder feeling around Horuda as the weeks passed. She felt even more intense guilt about the bullying, and even about the abuse Horuda would tell her she received at the hands of her mother and stepfather. She felt like she was falling in love with her. That feeling scared her a lot. She didn't want to be in love with the girl who's life she ruined. She couldn't handle that. No. She'd refuse to let herself feel the way she did. No way was she going to allow herself to fall in love with Horuda.
"Whore-uda! Whore-uda! Whore-uda!" Kokoro, Kashiko, Hana and Hoshiko chanted, surrounding Horuda. Musume grabbed her by her dark hair, shoving her against the wall. She whimpered as the side of her head made contact with the wall. Musume kicked her in the stomach repeatedly, laughing wickedly. Horuda was starting to feel like she was going to throw up. Musume was relentless, though. She kept hitting and kicking her victim until she was physically sick.
"You dirty Bitch!" Musume screamed, shoving Horuda to the floor in the pile of sick on the floor. She kicked Horuda in the face before storming off to change. The other girls left with her quick. Part of Hoshiko wanted to stay and make sure she was okay, but she didn't want to lose the friendships she had with the other girls. Horuda got herself up carefully, heading to the nurse's office. She knew she'd be sent home for this, and she'd be punished for it, but she felt like she didn't have a choice.
Hoshiko climbed through Horuda's bedroom through the open window. She'd come to see her to make sure she was okay. Horuda was laying on the bed in the corner, facing the wall. Her body was hurting from her stepfather beating her, and small spots of blood had smeared over the bed and the t-shirt and black cotton shorts she was wearing. The cuts and bruises all over her arms and legs were visible to Hoshiko, and she seemed to be motionless.
"Horuda?" Hoshiko asked, poking her. She laid back, her eyes widening when she saw Hoshiko in her bedroom. Her hands went to her mouth, trying to keep quiet to prevent someone coming in and finding them both. She didn't think she'd survive the beating. "Good, you're alive." Hoshiko said quietly, not wanting to be caught in here either. "Meet my by the pool area tomorrow morning, first thing." She told her firmly before crawling out again. Horuda was silent and confused. She was going to show up, because she didn't want to deal with Hoshiko's wrath, but she was scared. Anything could happen.
Horuda went up to the pool area early the next morning, just like Hoshiko wanted. She looked around, seeing Hoshiko sat on a sun lounger by the pool. She was relaxed, with her designer jacket folded to make a small pillow for her head. She had a pair of expensive designer sunglasses on her face, and if it wasn't for her uniform she'd look like she was at the beach.
"H-Hoshiko?" Horuda asked hesitantly, walking even closer to her. Hoshiko looked up, taking off her sunglasses and putting them away in their case when she saw Horuda. She dropped the case into her book bag, standing up.
"Good. You came. Listen, I have something to tell you, so you better keep your trap shut." Hoshiko told her coldly. Horuda nodded her head, in silence. She made sure her breathing couldn't be heard, anxious about annoying Hoshiko. That just went to show how controlled the dark haired girl was by her fake blonde ganguro tormentors. "The reason I haven't been such an awful person recently is because... I might kinda like you. Like, really like." Hoshiko told her. That came as a huge shock to Horuda. She didn't know how to react. Her legs were trembling, and the rest of her body was telling her to run. Hoshiko looked up, seeing Musume enter the pool area. Thankfully she hadn't heard Hoshiko's confession.
"What is she doing here. Is she bothering you, Hoshiko?" Musume asked, pointing her finger at Horuda. The dark haired girl froze up, hesitantly turning to face Musume. Hoshiko nodded her head, acting as though Horuda was being a bother just to keep her popularity.
"Yeah. Stupid skank thinks she can bother me." Hoshiko lied. That confused Horuda. One minute, Hoshiko liked her and the next she was bothered by her presence. Musume stepped closer to Horuda, making her take a small step back.
"Don't be bothering my friend, you loser. When will you learn your place as a dirty pathetic nobody?" Musume told her wickedly, grabbing hold of Horuda's dark hair and yanking it harshly. Horuda gasped in shock and sudden pain. Musume dragged her by her hair closer to the pool and shoved her in. Horuda had grabbed her bag, pretending to search it for money or anything with some kind of value.
"Tsk!" She dropped the bag by the edge of the pool, turning back to Musume, who was stamping on Horuda's hands every time she put them on the edge of the pool to get out. "Let's just go, Musume. This freak isn't worth our time." Hoshiko said. Normally, she would've stayed with Musume and helped her torment Horuda, but she didn't wanna do that anymore. She wanted to make things right with her. Musume looked down her nose at Horuda, nodding her head.
"You're right. Let's go before we catch whatever diseases this thing carries." She laughed. She stamped on Horuda's hands once more, spitting on her before walking away. Horuda watched them leave, getting out of the pool. She'd have to hope the uniform was dry by the end of the day, because her mother would be even more angry at her if she found out she got it soaked through like it was right now.
As Horuda left the bath house, she saw a second year girl with dark hair in a ponytail leaning on the wall. She looked like she was waiting for someone. Horuda kept walking, assuming it wasn't her that the girl was waiting for.
"Excuse me, Horuda, can we talk for a few minutes?" The girl asked suddenly, getting her attention. She'd never met this girl, yet she knew her name. Then again, most people knew her as someone to avoid. She hesitantly walked over to her, wanting to hear what she had to say. It was rare someone would want to talk to her, so it was nice when someone did. "My name is Ayano. I want to help you with your bullying problem." She explained when Horuda was close. Horuda's eyes widened. She never expected anyone to want to help her. "I know Hoshiko told you she likes you. She meant to say that she loved you, but didn't because she didn't want to feel humiliated. She only told you that to earn your trust to destroy your life. I'm sorry you had to hear that." Ayano knew fully well she was lying about Hoshiko. Hoshiko did love Horuda, but was too nervous to confess, not embarrassed although she didn't want anyone else finding out. She wanted to fix Horuda's life, not destroy what was left of it. No more words were spoken as Ayano walked away to go find her Senpai. Hoshiko was in thought, believing Ayano's words. It seemed more likely than Hoshiko just being truthful about things like that.
That night, Horuda found herself walking home in the pouring rain. She was soaked through yet again. She had her arms wrapped tightly around herself, trying to find some warmth in the cold and damp. She looked up, seeing a familiar face in the distance. Someone she hadn't seen for so long, and yet wished they had never left her life.
"Dad!" She ran over to him. The figure turned around, his eyes lighting up when he saw his daughter. Fatherly instincts told him that the girl approaching was his beloved daughter, even though she had grown and changed so much since they last saw each other.
"Horuda, my darling!" He hugged her tightly, lifting her up. She hugged him, wanting to cry. She'd missed him so much. He was delighted to have her in his arms again, but he was concerned. She felt very underweight for her age, and could see marks on her legs in between her stockings and skirt, and those on her face. "What happened?" He asked worriedly, setting her down.
"Mother and her husband have been abusing and starving me!" Horuda told him, bursting into tears. She'd been bottling that up for years, and now she was finally able to set it free. Her father comforted her, furious with himself that he had been unable to protect her from that. He should've taken her when he left her mother.
"It's okay. I promise you're never going back there. From now on, you live with me." He said to her, holding her bony hand. She nodded her head, smiling. This is exactly what she wanted. That didn't mean she wasn't scared of her mother and stepfather trying to force her back. Hopefully she'd never have to go back to that hell. She'd be well fed now, and shown some love and affection instead of abuse and neglect.
The next day, Hoshiko hanging out in the courtyard by the fountain instead of wandering around. Her and her friends had already covered Horuda's desk with hate, and Musume had even placed a flower on her desk. Nobody would know how symbolic that would become today. Horuda walked into the courtyard, her head low. She was muttering quietly, a kitchen knife in her hand. She hadn't taken any of the medication she needed, because her father didn't have it and her mother had locked it out of her reach. Her father had gone to get her some, but by that point it would be too late. She didn't want to hurt him, but she wasn't in a good state of mind. People quickly took notice of her, getting out of her way. Hoshiko looked over, her eyes widening as Horuda launched at her. She stabbed her in the stomach a few times, blood getting everywhere. Hoshiko knew if Horuda kept stabbing her she would surely die.
"Horuda... I know I'm going to die, so I have to tell you..." Hoshiko started, coughing up a small amount of blood. She spat it out before speaking again. By this point, Horuda had stopped stabbing her, looking down at her. "I'm in love with you... I never told you because I was scared of what others would say. Now I'm dying I can finally tell you... I'm sorry." Hoshiko confessed with dying breath. Tears ran down Horuda's cheeks. She was in love with Hoshiko too, but would have to kill her now. She knew she would be ridiculed if she lived, and her entire life would be destroyed. Hoshiko wrapped her arms around Horuda, pulling her close suddenly for a kiss. Her life ebbed away, the knife burying itself in her stomach as she kissed her. She took her final breath, her body going limp as her heart stopped. Horuda looked at what she had done in a state of despair. She turned the weapon on herself, ending her own life. She couldn't live with herself, and she didn't want to go to jail. She didn't want to let to know how ashamed she'd make her father. Hoshiko had destroyed their friendship, and Horuda had ended their lives. If only things had been different, then maybe they could've been two sides of the same coin, just like fate would've wanted for them.