I thought I had screwed up bad enough when Kido ran away back then, but now… knowing that we did meet, I feel even worse.
I can't even begin to imagine how Kido must have felt.
"I should've never let her enroll into that school." Mr. Hideaki talked in a soft disheartened tone as he covered his face.
"My poor girl, how much more must you keep enduring…"
The mood of the room seemed to be down in the gutters.
Sigh
This is why I didn't want to get involved anymore.
I just keep messing things up one way or another.
"Mr. Hideaki I—"
Before I even got to say anything, Mr. Hideaki slammed his palm against his desk. Not in a full outburst but enough to make Takaki and Tsuchida flinch.
"Do you know what she's been through?" he asked, quieter now. His frustration was controlled, but still sharp.
I stayed silent, unsure how to respond.
"Japan is… peculiar when it comes to those who stand out." He moved back to his desk, settling heavily into the leather chair. "The smallest deviation from the norm—something as insignificant as a different hobby, a louder voice, the wrong hair color—is enough to make someone an outcast, a stray, a reject. It's outdated and pathetic. Yet it still happens every day."
He glanced at the family portrait on his desk. "Kido… she was like a marble dropped into a sea of stones. Too bright. Too different."
"Because of our wealth and status, she's endured more than her share of envy and resentment. But even the positive attention… admiration, respect, praise… those turn rotten too. She becomes the 'distant role model.' The untouchable rich kid. A flower no one dares to touch or taint."
He exhaled slowly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "She only ever wanted to fit in. To stand side by side with the so-called 'regular crowd.' She even begged me to let her attend a public school. As if she weren't normal herself. In her own eyes… she's anything but."
"But you know what the worst part is?" He said as he looked at me.
"When the one person she dearly remembered as her true and only friend tossed her aside and forgot about her."
It's not like I meant for any of this to happen…
Abruptly the voice of a woman could be heard approaching and everyone including myself turned to the door behind me.
"Dear~?"
Peeking from outside with her head was an outstanding beauty with pale blond hair.
She walked in only to reveal an uncanny resemblance to Kido. Her hair slightly covered one eye, and she wore a white dress that accentuated her mature figure.
I turned to look at Mr. Hideaki who had grown pale, while Takaki and Tsuchida seemed to be sweating bullets.
"Ha-Hana! What are you doing here?! I thought I told you we were going to have a very important business meeting."
"Oh, well I was just going to ask if anyone would like any refreshments." She said with a bright and naïve smile.
Soon after she would spot me sitting tied up in a chair and in response, she would let out a tired sigh as if she had seen this many times before.
"Oh Hideaki~ I thought I told you not to do this anymore," she said as she placed her hand on her chin with a disappointed look.
"How many more times will you interrogate any boy who tries to get close to our Kido, I thought I told you she isn't a little girl anymore." She said while pouting her face.
"KIDO WILL NEVER STOP BEING MIY LITTLE GIRL!" Mr. Hideaki abruptly exclaimed.
"Is that really reason enough to raise your voice to your wife dear?" She asked with a sinister smile that made Mr. Hideaki recoil back.
Mrs. Hana would let out a disappointed breath of air and shake her head, "You really need to stop this. You know Kido hates it when you do this."
She slowly approached me from behind and began to untie me.
"But… but I swear I have a really good reason this time…" Mr. Hideaki murmured.
"Oh really? Let's hear it," she said as she continued to fiddle with the rope.
"He's the kid that made Kido cry."
Mrs. Hana had frozen completely in place.
"He's…the one…?"
Suddenly with one swift motion from Mrs. Hana, I felt my guts being compressed with tremendous force.
"Miss… I think… you tightened the rope by accident…" I struggled to speak.
"Shut your damn mouth you *%*$!$"
"D-dear…? Are you alright?" Mr. Hideaki asked with a frightened expression.
"Takaki, Tsuchida?" she said with that same smile that now screamed danger.
"Y-yes Mrs. Hana?" Tsuchida stuttered.
"Could you two go get me some pliers, a vehicle battery, 10 gallons of water, and some wet towels?"
"Um dear…? What are you trying to do…?" Mr. Hideaki asked cautiously.
"Ara~ What am I trying to do?" She said while tilting her head.
"Well obviously I'm going to [redacted] while I [redacted] to his [redacted] so he will never be able to [redacted]"
Well this is it.
Dad, sis, lil bro, remember me.
It was a good run… wait no, it was definitely not a good run.
"TAKAKI, TSUCHIDA, QUICKLY GET HER OUT OF HERE!" Mr. Hideaki commanded with urgency.
My hero!
For some odd reason Mr. Hideaki seemed very gallant as he said those words.
With a swift and precise manner, Takaki and Tsuchida grabbed Mrs. Hana by both arms before lifting her out of the room at an inhuman speed.
"LET ME GO! AT LEAST LET ME [redacted] TO HIS [redacted]." She yelled as she stared daggers at me.
The doors slammed shut, and with it, peace and quiet had returned to the room. Now it was just Mr. Hideaki and I remaining.
"My apologies, as you can see she's a bit of a doting mother."
These people are lunatics!
"Anyways, here's the deal Naoki."
Mr. Hideaki approached and began to slowly untie me.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Kido seems to really like you, and it pains me to see her like this. So, here's what you're going to do."
Please don't let it be something outrageous. PLEASE don't let it be something outrageous.
"You are going to see her at school again and apologize for your actions. Make her believe you were simply… flustered, and you do in fact remember her, and not only that but that her love for you is reciprocal."
What is this man saying?!
"You want me to lie to your daughter?!" I exclaimed with a frown.
"Hold your horses cowboy, I didn't say I was done. You think I'm such a fool that I'd want someone like you around my daughter? Please."
Mr. Hideaki let out a tired breath of air, as if annoyed to have to explain in further detail.
"Once you patch things up with Kido, you will work hand in hand with Tsuchida and Takaki to make yourself like a complete and total scumbag. You see what im getting at? To make Kido forget about you, we will make her realize how much of a loser you are… cause you are."
Ouch.
"That way she herself will dump you, and I will then take her to a different school abroad where she won't have to see your ugly face and she can have a fresh start. Away from… all of this."
"And if I refuse?"
"Well I'll probably start by breaking your legs."
You can't convince me otherwise that this man isn't a yakuza…
Also, how the hell does he expect me to do that to Kido?! Then again, how am I even supposed to refuse his request to begin with…
"I refuse."
"Did— Did you just not hear the part about me breaking your legs?!"
"What you're asking me to do is even worse than what I did. Regardless of what she feels, this isn't right."
"Damn brat! Do you not understand your position?!"
"I do."
I'm painfully aware in fact.
"I hurt Kido profoundly… And precisely because of that, I refuse to lie to her."
If there's something my time in my old school taught is that lying like this will only make things worse.
I stared at Mr. Hideaki directly.
"Hah…"
Mr. Hideaki let out a tired groan, before putting the palm of his hand on his face.
"You got guts kid. At least you got that going for you."
For a moment I thought Mr. Hideaki would reconsider, and I wouldn't have to go along with this nasty plot.
"Unfortunately for you, I didn't bring you here to make a kind request Naoki. This isn't me asking you for a favor. This, is an order, from me to you."
Mr. Hideaki's tone grew colder.
"It's apparent from the kidnapping that my organization has the resources and connections to pull off something like that… of course, that includes a pretty wide intelligence network. Which brings me to next point. My people have informed me of a peculiar incident in your previous school. Some real NASTY rumors surrounding you. You wouldn't want that spreading when you just transferred over would you?"
This damn geezer!
"Breaking your legs would just be the beginning. Making your school life a living hell is where the true punishment begins."
I couldn't help but grit my teeth and clench my fist.
Even now those events come back to haunt me! Why. Why did it turn out this why?
"You… so you're plan is to blackmail me?"
"Yup, that's exactly what I'm going to do. That or you can deal with my wife," he said, smirking as he pointed at the door behind me.
As I turned to look, my heart skipped a beat. A small crevice between the doors revealed a single, menacing eyeball, glaring at me with a look that could freeze my very soul.
"I think we both know what choice you should pick."
YOU HAVE TO BE JOK—
No.
Calm down.
Just play along for now.
You've always found a way. Now it's not any different.
"I understand." I replied hesitantly, "I'll do what you want."
"Now that's what I like to hear!"
With one tug, the rope that had been confining me would loosen up. It was clear Mr. Hideaki had been waiting for me to agree before completely letting me go.
"One last thing. I don't want to see my daughter looking like that for so long. So to motivate you a bit, you got till' the end of the week to make up with her." Mr. Hideaki said as he patted me in the back.
I finally stood up and Mr. Hideaki began to guide me out.
"Well Naoki I'd like to say this has been a pleasant reunion, but it has not, especially after you broke my daughter's heart. But I'm sure you'll be able to figure something out or the next time we meet, the thing that will be broken will be your legs. Ciao"
I stepped out of the room, and outside, Takaki and Tsuchida were patiently waiting for me.
As they walked me back into the elevator, right next to the door stood Mrs. Hana with a sinister smile waving goodbye with one hand and holding a kitchen knife on the other.
"Come back soon…" she said in an eerie and cold voice, enough to send shivers down my spine.
This is the worst possible scenario.
….
Ugh… what should I do…
"Yo, Naoki."
Can't even think…
"Naoki! Earth to Naoki!"
Should I just transfer again…
"Naoki!"
Nakai exclaimed as he slammed shut my shoe locker, which I had just been staring at for a solid minute without doing anything.
"Are you alright dude?"
Issei also looked at me with a concerned expression.
"Dude… what's up with you…" Nakai asked with an eyebrow raised, "you look like you aged 40 years in one weekend."
He was right, I looked like a disheveled vampire with heavy eyeliner. Like I had just come back from pulling all-nighters 7 days in a row for my family of 5 with just part-time jobs.
But I simply hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep ever since I came back from getting kidnapped. Not cause of trauma or anything but because I was lost on how to deal with Mr. Hideaki's request.
"Oh…" I replied lethargically, "I just didn't get much sleep last night…"
I could see a grin form on Nakai's face.
"What were you out partying and picking up girls?"
He asked smirking me as he lightly shouldered me from the side.
"What? Why would you say that."
"Well I would think as much when it came to someone like you, Mister Playboy."
I flinched upon hearing that last part.
"Who told you that?" I asked with a concerned expression.
Issei pointed in the general direction of a classroom, "There's this girl in classroom 3-B going around saying that about you. You know her? She's kind small, round glasses, kinda reminds me of a hamster to be honest."
Lulu… damn it.
That girl, for someone who seems so defenseless, she's turning out to be more troublesome than I thought.
"As if it isn't obvious enough, I wasn't out doing any of that. But if you have to know, I was at home… studying."
Just not studying anything related to school… and rather than studying, planning how to talk to Kido would be a more accurate description.
They both looked at me with skepticism.
"Studying? Are you serious?"
Nakai crossed his arms and looked at me with an unimpressed gaze.
"If you're gonna make up an excuse, then at least don't say something so dumb and obvious. Who studies at the beginning of the semester?"
"Maybe I want to pass the class Nakai and not have to make them up during summer. It's called freaking strategy alright?"
"I'm just sayin', if you want to come up with an excuse then at least come up with something better."
"Ha~ let's just get going."
They both closed their lockers, and we made our way to our classrooms.
As we walked to class, my phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number.
'One week. Remember that.'
You don't have to remind me, damn it.
As if the request from Kido's father wasn't outrageous enough, I had five days to go through with it, otherwise the life I had left behind in my previous school would come to haunt me.
Not long after we split off from Issei who had a different homeroom, and we headed to ours, arriving promptly.
From the outside one could see a couple of students inside already. Some of them where trying to get a last 10-minute nap before class, while others were sitting patiently in their seats.
Including Inoue who was living up to his protagonist role, looking out the window and resting his chin on his arm. Wonder if he's dreaming about bumping into a girl with a loaf of bread in her mouth.
As we began to open the classroom door, a cheerful voice called from behind.
"Kurogawa-kun, Taro-kun, good morning."
We turned around to be greeted by Kousaka Nino. Our homeroom's class rep. According to Nakai, she was the perfect model student: kind, diligent, and always ready to help.
She even looked the part, light hazel hair, a headband holding back her bangs, and a smile polished enough to make teachers tear up with pride.
A modest beauty, people called her. Mostly because they couldn't compare her to Kido without sounding shallow.
"Mornin', Kousaka!" Nakai waved.
"Morning." I just gave a quick bow and went inside.
The three of us stepped into the classroom and while Nakai and I headed to our seats, Kousaka headed to the white boards where she begun to write a list of announcements on the board.
Some where about who had to water the classroom's plants or who had to go print copies for some assignment we had. There was also one about who was in charge of cleaning duty and oh… it's me…
Right… the teacher did say that was going to be my punishment.
Kousaka began to write one final announcement, something about everyone showing up to their respective clubs.
Wait, now that I think about it… did I ever sign up for a clu—
But before she got to finish writing, the door at the back of the classroom slammed open.
I turned to look only to spot a person coming in.
Heavy footsteps, bandages and a blood-spattered uniform.
A girl with blazing long red hair, sharp eyes and a nasty attitude that contrasted with the innocent star-shaped pin she wore on her hair.
"Kuh-HIEEEK!" Kousaka shrieked. "Homura-san! What happened to you?!?! You're covered in bandages!"
"She's in our class?!" I whispered to Nakai in a panic, who didn't even bother to look back, probably too scared to even take a glance.
"You mean you didn't even notice her?! She sits next to Inoue."
I thought Inoue had taken a bullet for me, but as it turns out he then proceeded to jump on top of an active frag grenade to protect me.
"Hmm?" Homura turned to look at Kousaka, still with her deadly glare, but her shift in tone was surprising.
"Oh Kousaka! Nothin' much, some punks from the neighboring district picked a fight with me this morning."
"Are you alright?!"
Kousaka asked with a concerned expression.
"Don't worry I kicked their asses."
"But Homura… your uniform… it's covered in blood splatters!"
Homura then looked down at her uniform.
"Don't worry it's not mine," she said while giving a thumbs up and a proud smile.
Talk about trouble.
"That's not what I mean!" Kousaka protested.
"Hahaha, relax Kousaka, I'm fine and class is about to begin anyways."
Kousaka proceeded to let out a defeated breath of air, while Homura waved her off and plopped into her seat.
"Morning Homura," Inoue tried to greet.
"Don't talk to me uggo" she snapped back and proceeded to put her head down.
"Sorry…" Inoue whispered like a sad puppy.
Clichés #5 and #8: "the girl by the window" and "the delinquent yankee." Together. Of course.
Had I not protested to change my seats that day, I would've had to deal with that…
Just thinking about it gives me shivers.
I pressed my hands together like a monk and muttered, "Inoue, your sacrifice will not be forgotten."
One less problem on my plate.
Now I just had to deal with the mountain called Kido.