Taku was in the school laundry, washing heaps of clothes and uniforms. The school laundry had all laundry equipments in it which included washing machines, tumble dryers, ironers but the folding machine was broken so it was deserted for months.
The screeching, squealing, banging and rumbling made by the machines was tremendous noises, which was unpleasant in the ear. The equipment in the laundry had problems but they weren't fixed yet and it didn't seem like they were going to be repaired anytime soon. Taku wore a headset across his head listening to music inorder to reduce the noises.
The laundry room had a strong smell of soapy and floral scent like a wild soapwort flower. The smell of freshness entwined with antiseptic invoked bacteria free.
Although the schoool had janitors but Taku had taken it upon himself to see the laundry room was always clean and span. He was its regular guest, not for his purpose but that of the bullies. Low thought crept like a cold worm through his brain that he might be an undersired regular guest till he graduated from high school.
Other students came him like swarming flies, dropped off their uniforms and clothes with a mockery smirk. Some even had to drop it on the floor for Taku to pick them. Taku
Taku didn't seem angry. He continued washing meekly and obediently. He just wanted to get done with the laundry and go back to class, but more students were bringing their clothes and uniforms for him to wash. He dared not say no.
Sota, Jin, and Midori came and joined Taku to do the laundry. They felt sympathetic him.
Taku told them not to, but they insisted.
"Hope I didn't miss much," Taku shrugged although he knew he had missed a lot.
"I'll lend you my book," Jin replied instead.
"Why didn't you keep your bag or even give me your homework so I could submit it for you?" Midori brow narrowed in annoyance
" Sorry I didn't have the time for it."
"Something mysterious happened today," Sota said dazedly, looking at Midori in an unusual way, as if he was a little bit scared of her.
Jin gestured at Midori. "I think something is not right with Midori. I can't quite put my finger on it, though."
"What happened?" Taku was curious. If curiosity was a person, that would be Taku. He saw the terror on Sota and Jin's faces.
Midori looked perplexed as ever. She didn't know what was awry. How could anything mysterious happen to her, and she wasn't aware? She wondered.
"What are you guys talking about?" she finally inquired.
"Your eyes," Jin pointed at her eyes. They looked normal.
"Yes, my eyes. What happened?"
"What happened to her eyes? They look normal," Taku affirmed.
"It had a light red glow," Jin revealed, looking a bit frightened.
Midori laughed and splashed soapy water at him. "You better wake up from your dream."
"He isn't lying. Everybody saw it in the class," Sota added quickly.
"Y'all must have gone nuts," Taku hissed.
He put the remaining clothes in the washing machine, while Sota removed the other clothes from the drying machine. Jin and Midori were folding them.
"They must be really nuts," Midori laughed.
Taku joined her.
Sota and Jin looked at them as if they were really the ones who were nuts. They didn't see anything funny in what they had just said. They felt it was supposed to be taken seriously, unlike what Taku and Midori were doing.
***
Taku, Sota, Jin, and Midori entered the class. Taku was carrying his school bag. A teacher was just going out before they entered. Sota, Jin, and Midori had missed the class in order to help Taku with the laundry, so he would be able to attend the rest of the classes, that is, if he was allowed to, though.
Two guys in the class, Isao and Tani, were yelling at a girl, Fuji, the one whose hair was being braided by her friend, Emi. She was panicking and crying. She had a shaky breath, sniffling with fear . They loosened her hair. It was now looking haggard. They guffawed scornfully at her.
Fuji's friend, Emi, was standing a little distance from them, crying.m. She sniffed her running nose with her hand. She was powerless. Apparently, there was nothing she could do.
At the sight of Taku, they stopped and then approached him. Taku was going backward, looking intimidated, but they kept going closer, smirking. Then one of them stepped on Taku's foot, and he screamed in pain. Taku immediately covered his mouth. A stabbing pain shivered down his spine.
"Have you washed all the clothes and uniforms?" His voice was husky and unpleasantly rough.
"Y-yes," Taku stuttered.
"Where are our clothes and uniform? Where did you keep them?" Tani glared at Taku.
"In your dorm," Taku wispered quietly, looking afraid and intimidated, frightened like a child in the dark.
The next thing was a punch on Taku's face from an unknown direction. It was Kenji. He had been sitting down, observing quietly, his eyes were as cold as steel. He was the leader of the bullies. He had a masculine physique. He was huge like a giant and had the height of a skyscraper.
With a body like that, he intimidated anyone and everyone. No one dared challenge him. He had even boasted a time ago that even those demons couldn't challenge him, that when he would kill one, he would bring it to the class. He didn't even know that after killing a demon, every piece of it turned to ashes and disappeared.
Taku looked astonished. What had he done this time around? Hadn't he done everything he was told to do? And he had even done it meticulously. So what was his offense this time? Could he dare ask? Maybe he should, maybe he shouldn't. It wouldn't make any difference. He later had to ask.
"Kenji, w-what… Did I do?" Tears streamed down his eyes in a single flow. One could see the pain in his hot steaming tears.
Now all the students were watching. They didn't like what these bullies were doing, but they didn't dare challenge them unless they wanted to be their target. That would ruin their lives in the school.
Although some who didn't say or act against any of their bullies had been their target. They would toy with and bully anyone they damn well wanted, and nobody would do anything.
Not even the school authorities. They didn't know and didn't bother to know about things like these. No student had been courageous enough to report their deplorable actions.
Kenji, Isao, and Tani pounced on Taku. They punched the daylight out of him like they would do to a punching bag. They kicked his stomach hard until he started throwing up blood. Blood also came out of his nose. His face was bruised. He winced in pain.
They didn't care, they continued. Probably they were determined to make him faint or kill him that day, whichever came first. They had a target. Because they hadn't gotten to their target, they didn't stop, and they seemed like they wouldn't stop anytime soon.
Sota, Jin, and Midori were crying. Midori covered her mouth with her palms. Sota and Jon were visibly shaking.They reeled in anguish. They couldn't do anything to help. They were as powerless as anyone in the class. They, however, lay on Taku. Taku was underneath them, feeling their weighty bodies on him.
Kenji, Isao, and Tani beamed wickedly.
"This is getting interesting!" Kenji exclaimed, kicking them.
"You fools!" His nose flared. "You will all regret why you decided to sacrifice yourselves for this worthless animal!"
Tani began to laugh with that sibilant laugher which resembled the hiss of a serpent, "I'm loving this!"
They all seemed to enjoy it. While Sota, Jin, and Midori's bodies covered Taku's own, they were beaten non-stop. They didn't scream, they wept silently.
Sota and Jin were hoping for Midori's eyes to change to glow light red like they did in the morning. That would scare those bullies away, because when that had happened in the morning, they were also astound like other students.
They waited, and nothing happened. Then suddenly, Sota fainted, looking lifeless on the floor. Other students screamed in terror and stupefaction
Voices echoed from the terrified students.
"Should we call the ambulance?"
"Is he dead?"
"What if he doesn't wake up?"
"What are we going to do?"
"Are we going to lose a student in the class?"
"What are we going to say happened?" Taku, Jin, and Midori shook him severely, crying. He wasn't waking up. Fear gripped them. Taku checked his pulse.
It had stopped!
Oh no!
"He isn't breathing!" Taku gasped. Fear erupted his body
Several murmurs like swarm of bees rang out
"Is he dead?"
"Is he going to wake up?"
"Isn't it better we take him to the hospital, but he is already dead."
"We have truly lost someone in the class."
The whole class was chaotic as Sota lay lifeless on the floor.
"Sotaaaaaa!" Midori wailed uncontrollably shaking him fiercely. Her kneels on the on the floor trembling like a leaf in the midst of a strong violent wind.
"The cold hand of death has taken you away from us!" Jin lamented. He put his ear on Sota's chest to check if he could hear his heartbeat, but he didn't."His heartbeat has truly stopped!" he cried bitterly, putting his two hands on his head in grief.
Taku looked at Kenji, Isao, and Tani with an eye to kill. He grew very enraged. The vein in his neck was throbbing and his fist was clenched, his eyes lowered blazing with fury. He rushed at them to fight back but they pushed him away, and he landed flat on the ground.
Kenji, Isao, and Tani, seeing what had happened to Sota, looked scared. They'd killed someone in cold blood, that was the end game for them. They thought and disappeared into thin air.