character photo: Yoshino Hibiki
The rest of the week pretty much went by in a blur, each day relatively the same...
After a hectic morning centering around her slightly over dramatic mother, usually leading the girl to miss breakfast, she would head to the train station. Two cat shaped treats comfortable tucked away in her bag. Once arriving, the young Ishikawa girl would sit next to Tamashini during her morning commute. Or vice versa depending on who arrived first, and the two would silently eat their kitty onigiri together. Little to no words where usually exchanged between the two other than a soft greeting from Kimi's end and a nod of acknowledgement from Matsuoka's.
Once arriving to their shared destination Kimi's train companion would sometimes give her a small wave before she left, though the two never walked to school together. Instead the taller girl would always jog off without a word.
Well, she never seemed to say a word in general...
But that was beside the point.
After arriving to school, the girl usually ran into Tadaaki at their lockers, where the male would begin to talk her ear off until they arrived to their shared classroom... where he would continue to blabber on and on and on.
Well, unless someone came up to him and attempted to start a conversation with the male before class started. But even then for some reason the pinkett would more likely than not try to include the uninterested girl in whatever discussion he was having. Which she would either pretend she didn't hear the male speaking to her or give the most bland and half assed responses she could. Though it could get kind of tiring, part of her could respect how the male could just keep doing something even at the cost of getting rejected over and over again.
But she had to admit, once class was finally in session it was like a sweet release from the male..
Well, for the most part.
Every once in a while she would feel a light tap on her shoulder. Or find a small note flying over her shoulder and into her view, gently land on her desk. Thankfully the up-beat male seemed to have enough common decency to not bother the girl too much during class.
But the same couldn't be said for Yoshino Hibiki...
On their second day, the male was quick to ask if he could trade seats with a girl who originally sat in the desk next to her. Who was happy to oblige with the male, a small blush on her cheeks in almost a trance like state. Well.. until she really realized what he had asked of her, finally processing that she wouldn't be the one sitting next to him. In fact she would be almost as far away, from both of the cheerful boy's of 1-B, as one could get. But it was kinda too late to retaliate at that point. Leaving her no other option than just walking away, resembling a sad puppy that just got scolded by her owner.
It only happened a few times, but occasionally a girl or guy would come up and ask to exchange seats with the young Ishikawa girl. Seeing how to most, the girl had the best seat in class, hell maybe even the entire school. But before the girl could agree one if not both of her seatmates would quickly intervene. Giving some half assed reason on why the girl couldn't move.
The middle seat is right under the air conditioner, Ishi-chan would get too cold.
It would be way too hard to see the front from there!
Aw~ but I'd miss Kimi-chan too much~
...
It was ridiculous, but at least she had lunch to get away from all of the chaos.
So far the girl had been successful in getting out of the classroom before anyone could bother her. Of course there had been a few times someone tried to trail behind the girl so they could talk her into getting lunch with them or maybe even attempt to confess. But so far she had been able to successfully shake them all off before getting to her secret area. The only place Kimi could comfortably be herself without the fear of being caught by prying eyes. Her own personal slice of heaven in the personal purgatory that was school. Well.. maybe it wasn't quite that bad. Sure, it was a bit stressful at first but at this point she was able to fall into an almost comfortable routine at this point.
But still, this little spot behind the gym...
It was like a lifeline..
The only little thing she had at this point to keep her sane throughout her day.
Because of this little safe haven she had found, the cute first year had successfully passed her first week with little trouble, well maybe not little... but nothing she couldn't handle! And with Monday heading back around and the second week ready to begin, Kimi was ready to face it head on!
Or so she thought...
Maybe it was a little too optimistic of her to believe everyday would be as easy as they were...
Like no one would ever catch on to her routine, or ever find the little hiding place she ran to every day. Yet, she couldn't help the liquid shock that pumped through her system nor stop her hands from tightening around the small lunch container in her hands as her cyan eyes fell onto the panting blond figure. The unknown student currently crouched close to her usual lunch spot, between the gym and a metal sports equipment shed.
The blond girl, chest heaving up and down harshly, in an attempt to catch her breath. Cuts and bruises seemed to littler her small frame. All of them more visible to the eye seeing how she didn't have the usual long sleeve blazer or cardigan on. Instead a plain short sleeved button up took their place.
Kimi could have easily just snuck away seeing how the stranger in front of her didn't seem to even notice her presence. Seeing how the blond's eyes had remained clenched shut in discomfort since the girl had showed up behind the gym. How easily the dark haired girl could just turn around and act like nothing ever happened. Like she didn't see a single thing.
Just walk back to class and enjoy the rest of the little lunch break she had. But.. she just couldn't find it in herself to do that. Sure she was trying to stay under the radar the best she could. And have as little human interaction along with that.
But the girl was hurt.. She couldn't find it in herself to turn her back on her.
Stranger or not.
Ishikawa slowly made her way closer to the blond, slowly like how one would approach an injured wild animal. Cautiously.
Though was quickly to freeze in her place as the unknown girl stood back up with a pained grunt that almost resembled a snarl. Eccentric blue eyes opening, only to quickly fall into a glare. A hand reaching up towards the peach bow messily tied around her collar, ripping it off and throwing it on the dirtied ground. Stomping her foot on top of the material soon after. Though that seemed to do little to cool the girl's anger, as she quickly turned around, bringing a harsh kick towards the metal shed. So hard it left a small dent in the outer wall.
"Fucking bitches!"
The voice that left the blond was so low and venomous, the other couldn't help but jump in her place. That small movement alone was enough to catch the pissed off girls attention. Short blond hair flew around as her neck twisted at an almost impossible speed to glare at the timid cyan eyed girl. Kimi immediately flinched under the girls harsh glare, causing her to scuff at the reaction.
'maybe... this was a mistake..'
The young Ishikawa stood frozen as a deer in headlights. Then suddenly the unknown girls blue orbs narrowed dangerously.
"The hell is this?"
'oh yea... defiantly a big mistake.'
"They send the weakest of the pack to try to prove herself?"
The question left Kimi opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water, racking her puny brain for an answer to the girls strange question. Though before she could the unknown blond was already making her way towards the girl. Causing her to attempt to take a few clumsy steps back in an attempt to create distance between herself and the scary girl once again. But before she knew it rough hands suddenly grabbed tightly around the front of Kimi's collar, lifting her up slightly in the process. Leaving the girl to struggle on her tippy toes as they stood face to face.
"Not taking? Fine, I'll just beat the answer out of you."
Wide cyan eyes became glossy at the girl's frightening words .
'b-beat?'
The blond's grip on her collar tightened, making it hard to breath. "Hey, you listening bitch?!"
...
With that, waterworks were quick to start. Large tears forming in the corners of fearful cyan eyes.
'...eh?'
Threatening blue orbs quickly morphed into more confused ones as she began shaking the teary eyes girl aggressively. "Eh? You a fucking baby or something? Stop crying you idiot or else!!"
.....
WAAAAAAAH
Loud dramatic sobs passed small pink lips, so intense they almost could rival the girl's mother's.
Well... maybe not THAT extreme..
"Shut up you idiot!" her voice was harsh, but was about as loud as a whisper as panic began to set in. "Someone's gonna hear you!"
Suddenly, a slightly calloused hand quickly covering the young Ishikawa girl's mouth in an attempt to muffle the cries. Watery cyan eyes widened at the sensation, suddenly falling back into a place she didn't want to be.
The dark haired girl didn't even realize she was squirming and screaming for help until Himari had grabbed her by the neck.
'..please..'
Keeping her head still as possible as she brought the blade toward the right side of the girl's forehead...
"Please, Stop!"
"STOP! STOP! STO-!"
'...stop...'
"Shut the fuck up."
A hand slammed down over the girl's mouth...All that filled the room was the girl's muffled screams and cries..
"J-just.. Just shut the fuck up!"
The small forgotten box in the crying girl's hand quickly dropped from her shaky hands, the contents of her lunch spilling onto the blond's white school shoes along with the freshly cut grass below.
Small hands flying up between the small space between the blond and herself. Harshly pushing against the aggressive girls chest with a strength she didn't know she had. Causing her attacker to release her hand from the girl's mouth as she backed away, shock written all over her face. Not quite expecting the crying girl to retaliate like that at this point.
Though the look went unnoticed to the young Ishikawa girl, as she quickly turned and ran back towards the main school building. Teary eyes not sparing a single glance behind her as her legs moved as fast as they could. Lucky not running into anyone on her way, most still enjoying the small time they had left before break ended.
She refused to stop. Not until she got inside the building and into the closest bathroom she could find. Quickly locking herself inside one of the stalls and falling to her knees before the porcelain bowl in front of her. Bending over and harshly emptying what little she had contained in her stomach. Once finished letting out a harsh sob, and another, and another. Not stopping until the warning bell rang, telling the girl she had to head back to class or she'd be late.
Though, part of her thought about just staying..
Keeping herself locked up in the bathroom until the end of the day.
But that would just end with a call to her parents and an explanation needed from her.. She didn't want to worry them anymore.
Slowly stepping out of the stall, it was decided. She had to go back and try to get through the rest of the day. If it was really too much she could just say she threw up earlier and felt ill, which wasn't exactly a lie, maybe lay in the nurse's office for a while. Having a migraine or a sick stomach was better than admitting she was threatened by a strange girl, that threw her into some kinda panic attack revolving around past trauma.
... yea, the stomach flu would be a lot easier to explain away.
Lost in thought on what to do, the girl quietly walked towards the bathroom door. Only pausing when she caught a glimpse of her reflection. The finally taking notice of the disgusting taste resigning within her mouth.
Sighing as she turned and took a closer look in the bathroom mirror. Eyes glassy and bloodshot. Red irritation under her slightly swollen eyes. It would be obvious she had been crying..
Quickly turning on the sink, the cyan eyed girl splashed cool water on her face in hopes to calm the irritation and bloating on her face. And bringing another handful up to her mouth in hopes diluting the taste. Then yanking off a paper towel to dry herself with while she jogged back towards her classroom. Kimi didn't have much time left, and looking back in the mirror would only stress her out more. Plus it wasn't like she had the time to do anything else at the moment. She would just have to keep her head down the best she could. Hopefully none of her classmates would notice. Or if they did, not question her on her current state.
Quickly making her way down the maze of hallways, the girl finally reached her classroom door. Going through and making a bee-line towards her desk. As soon as she sat down, resting her head on the palm of her hand and turning her head to gaze out the window. Keeping her face out of sight of her fellow students the best she could.
Hopefully no one would-
"Kimi-chan, how was your lunch break?" Hibiki's voice was so cheerful you could practically hear the smile on his face. "Ya know, you still have to eat with me sometime Kimi-chan! Or I'll be really really really sad!!"
Ishikawa didn't have the energy to scold the boy on calling her by her first name, nor tip toe around the proposition of lunch like she usually did. She was still feeling sick from the experience behind the gym. And her head was pounding at this point, a side effect of all the crying. She wanted nothing more than to just lay her head down and sleep.. Sleep the whole day away and pretend like it was all just a shitty shitty dream.
"Kimi-chan?"
But that wasn't an option now, was it.
The girl spoke, but made no attempt to look at the boy sitting next to her. "It was fine, thanks for asking.. And please, don't call me Kimi-chan."
She tried her best to hide it but Yoshino was quick to notice how exhausted she sounded. Though he wasn't the only one. The pinkette male sat behind the girl, secretly eavesdropping on the conversation, also caught on that something was wrong. Sure the girl was always pretty curt with her classmates, and didn't seem to show much emotion when she could. But still, this kinda reaction was strange. Without thinking, Tadaaki didn't hesitate to invite himself into the conversation.
"Ishi-chan.. Are you okay?"
Kimi couldn't help but flinch at the question, something the pair also noticed, before answering.
"Fine. Just tired."
He didn't want to think the girl was lying to him, but the pinkett could help but doubt the girl's words. She was hiding something. Part of him told him he shouldn't pry into the girl's personal affairs. But he just couldn't help himself. Ever since the first day they met, something about her drew him in. He wanted to know everything about her...
As for Hibiki...
He wanted to know what she was hiding
To dig deep into her brain like the parasite he secretly was.
Revel every teeny tiny secret she had and lay them out in front of him, to use as he pleased.
Though before either could question her more on the matter the final bell rang, their home room teacher passed through the door hushing everyone instantly.
Pink orbs couldn't help but to cast a pitiful look at the girl in front of him. 'Kimi...' silently allowing himself to call out to the girl internally, before reluctantly bringing his focus back onto the beginning lesson.
~*~*~
Ishikawa couldn't help but to sigh in relief as the final bell rang out. 'Man, what a long day...'
"Hey, Ishi-chan-"
The girl cut the pinkett off before walking towards the door. "I'm in a rush, sorry Hirano-san."
She would surely feel bad about it later. But for now she just had to get out of there. She really didn't feel like interacting with anyone today. She just wanted to go home.
"Oh.. uh, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow Ishi-chan!" The males voice didn't lose it's usual upbeat tone, though the disappointment was evident buried deep underneath.
Something Kimi paid no mind to, instead focusing on getting out of the building and to the train station as fast as possible.
"Uh, I-Ishikaw-" the girl speed walked out the door, shutting it behind her. Cutting off the unknown classmate calling out to her. Most likely another confession or someone attempting to get close to the girl, both of the two having little to no value to the girl. Especially right now.
The dark haired girl didn't slow her fast pace until she got to the road leading towards her station. Allowing herself to breath in the fresh air around her in an attempt to relax. Mind focusing on the cracks in the pavement below her. Knowing if she let her mind wander, it would just go back to places she didn't want to be...
So she'd focus on something else.
Cracks
Sticks
Leaves
Birds
Anything...
Except today.
Luckily her walk to the station went by faster than she had expected. Once getting to her usual track, grabbing her phone to scroll through social media. Something to distract her mind until the train came and make her look busy so hopefully no one would approach her.
To her happiness, it actually worked this time around. Maybe the universe had decided she went through enough today and decided to actually give the girl a break.
Walking to her usual seat, Kimi quietly took a seat next to the tall stoic girl that had apparently got there first. Giving a small nod of a greeting before facing forward and closing her eyes in an attempt to rest for just a little while.
Matsuoka couldn't help but cock her eyebrow at the girl. Sure, they didn't really speak too much but it was usually a spoken greeting from her end and a quiet nod from her own. It felt kinda strange to not hear the usual soft hello from the pettiet girl. Even her silent and exhausted looking figure was different from usual. Everyday, whether it was the ride to school or from, the cute girl had spent the ride looking at the passing scenery from the speeding train's window. A small content smile on her face.
She was acting differently...
Just like the girl's two classmates, Tamashini was quick to catch on that something must have happened today..
'I.. I should say something...' dark eyes side eyed the girl next to her, before looking forward. And repeating the action every few minutes. 'I am her senpai.. I'm supposed to give advice in situations like these, right?'
The girl parted her lips to speak before hesitating. 'Or.. maybe I shouldn't pry...'
Her mind was swirling with what she should or shouldn't do. Anxiety rising in her chest, making it feel tighter and tighter. Leaving little room to breath. A cold sweat began to cover her.
'No... not now..'
Dark eyes squeezed shut, along with a tight fist on the hem of her own skirt. Doing her best on focusing on her breathing and calming herself back down. This wasn't the first time something like this happened, a panic attack. Though she did her best to not put herself in overly stressful situations. Being one of the reasons she was so anti social, social situations is something that triggered the girl the easiest.
Basketball was one of the few things that worked to calm the girl instantly. Seeing how she used to play often with her father, it brought happy memories. Along with it was a skill the Tamashini was confident in.
But at this moment she didn't have her usual safety net.
She felt scared..
Embarrassed.
Helpless..
"See you tomorrow, Matsuoka-senpai." Kimi's voice was meek and lacked her usual enthusiasm, but worked hard to give the wide eyed girl a small kind smile before walking towards the train exit. Too focused on her own problems to notice her train companion's change of demeanor.
Had they really got to their destination so fast?
That wasn't really of importance at the moment though. The only thing Tamashini seemed to focus on was the calm that washed over her once seeing the shorter girl's smile. Whether it was obviously forced or not.
But.. Why?
What did Ishikawa do to her?
The taller girl shakily got up from her seat and hastily got off the train. Making her way towards her home, the opposite direction Kimi had just gone.
She had quite a bit to think about...