Tuesday, April 12th
Afternoon
"I don't have a fuckin' thing to say to you!"
The boy spat the words out loud enough to turn heads. The skin on his face seemed a little too close to the white of the bandages around his head for good measure—Akiha just wasn't sure if it was from his injuries or from her. She put her hands up. "Alright. I'll leave."
"Good! Leave me the hell alone!"
Akiha stalked away from him as a sigh escaped her lips. The volleyball team offered up one of three reactions when asked about their injuries or Kamoshida: clammed up and said it was none of her business, pretended like everything was fine, or avoided her completely as soon as she approached.
Fantastic.
It didn't help that most of them were even more distrustful when they realized she was that transfer student. The boy she'd just been talking to had looked at her like she was about to pull a knife on him in the middle of the hallway. It had been less than half an hour since she started and Akiha was already running out of people willing to talk to her.
She made her way to the nurse's office, hoping that Mishima proved more helpful. Pausing a moment outside the door, she inhaled slowly, trying not to let any of her frustration slip out.
She just had to show them what they needed to see.
She slid the door open. The nurse's office wasn't empty this time, although the nurse was still nowhere to be seen. Akiha wondered if she just had bad timing or if the nurse was chronically absent. Not a great sign either way.
At the very least, though, her target was here.
Mishima sat on one of the beds, staring at the wall. He looked even worse than Akiha had realized—his face was bandaged and bruised, and she could see a red welt from the volleyball blow had already formed and was beginning to turn purple. He wasn't heavily built, and though he wasn't exactly slender, he looked like he was about to snap in half. Bag on the floor next to him and phone on the bed, he continued to stare, his gaze empty and his eyes blank. He looked right through everything to somewhere far away.
Akiha shivered.
"Hey," she said without moving, not wanting to startle him.
Mishima jerked back to awareness, a yelp escaping his lips. He flinched and knocked his phone off the bed and onto the floor. Akiha stared as he bent down to grab it, his hand visibly shaking.
That wasn't good.
"Sorry," she said eventually, "didn't mean to startle you."
"It's—it's fine!" Mishima stammered, his voice a little higher pitched than Akiha expected. His eyes widened. "Oh, you're…"
Akiha stepped in, closing the door behind her without taking her eyes off him. "Kurusu Akiha. That's me."
Mishima glanced away, not meeting her gaze. "…I'm Mishima Yuuki. What do you want?" he asked, his voice tense.
"You okay?"
Mishima twitched in surprise again. "I'm fine," he said shortly. "What are you really here for?"
Akiha grabbed the chair from the nurse's desk and sat in it sideways, dropping her bag beside her. "Kamoshida hit you," she said evenly. "You went down hard."
Mishima looked away again. "Yeah, and? Accidents happen." His voice was short and clipped.
"You get hit in the face a lot?"
"I'm—I'm just clumsy."
"Yet you're a starter."
"What do you want from me?!" Mishima said, his voice rising as he gripped the sheets of the bed with his fists. "Are you just here to make fun of me?"
Akiha shook her head, her voice quiet and even by contrast. "Just curious about Kamoshida, that's all."
"So you're asking me?" he said doubtfully.
"Yep."
Mishima sighed. "Forget it. I don't have anything to say to you. Why are you even asking about him, anyway?"
Akiha looked Mishima up and down, ignoring his question. "Do you like volleyball?"
Mishima paused at the abrupt topic change. "What? Why would I be on the team if I didn't?"
"Not what I meant. Do you like volleyball right now?"
Mishima frowned. "I—I don't know…?"
Akiha stood and glanced over at the sunlight streaming through the windows, now turning golden. It was getting late. "Better figure that out quick, then." Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she turned to leave.
"Wait, that's it?" Mishima said in disbelief.
Akiha glanced over her shoulder. "You had nothing to say. You want me to interrogate you for real?"
"N-no! That's not what I meant… Why did you even come here?"
Akiha turned to face him fully, her face set. "I told you, just looking into Kamoshida a bit." She tilted her head. "I'm not here to push."
For a long moment, Mishima didn't speak, just staring at her. "You're planning something, aren't you," he said finally, his voice low.
Akiha shrugged. "I'm not planning anything. Just asking questions." It technically wasn't a lie. Yet.
"…Stay out of it," he said, his words barely audible. "Someone like you going around causing problems is only going to make things worse, so just drop it."
Akiha bit her lip. She'd gotten the same feeling from Suzui, too—they were both completely and absolutely convinced that things couldn't get better, and any attempts would just make their lives even more miserable.
She clenched her fists.
"Mishima-san," she said quietly, "Are you going to sit and let this happen?"
"What would I even do?" Mishima snapped. "Just drop it."
"Look around you." She stared him down, meeting his eyes and trying to pierce through them. "Don't shut your eyes. You're not the only one."
"What are you—" Mishima was cut off as the door slid open and Kamoshida strode through. Now that she saw him standing in a doorframe, Akiha had time to appreciate that Kamoshida really was ridiculously tall, probably pushing one-ninety-five centimeters.
"Mishima-kun, are you still just lying around? It's time for practice!" Kamoshida drawled as he stepped through the door. He paused as his gaze landed on Akiha. "And what's our new delinquent transfer student doing here?"
Akiha met his gaze but stayed silent. Kamoshida rounded on Mishima, who wilted under his glare. "I'm not feeling well today…" he muttered, looking down.
"What, you're just gonna quit on me?" Kamoshida said. "If you don't show up to practice, you'll just stay terrible forever. I thought you wanted to be good at this?"
"He said he's not feeling well," Akiha said evenly, staring at Kamoshida.
"How about you keep your nose out of things that aren't your goddamn business?" he said, glaring at her. "Too much trouble and you're out of here for good. Now, Mishima, are you coming to practice or not?"
"…I'll go," Mishima said after a long moment.
"Good answer," Kamoshida said. "Wouldn't want to disappoint me, would you?"
Mishima visibly flinched and stood hurriedly as he grabbed his bag. Akiha rose to follow him, but as Mishima fled through the door, she felt a burly hand land on her shoulder.
"Remember, someone like you doesn't belong here," Kamoshida said. "I hear you've been hanging around with Sakamoto. Great way to fast-track you both to getting expelled—haven't you already been told to stay out of trouble?"
Akiha stepped away from him, shrugging his hand off her. "Good thing I'm not the one starting it," she bit out, meeting his eyes for a moment before turning and exiting through the door, closing it behind her.
Akiha felt like she'd swallowed burning coals as she left. That had gone just about the worst it could have. No leads, and she probably pissed Kamoshida off while she was at it.
By the time she'd crossed through the courtyard back to the main building she'd mostly calmed herself down enough to unclench her fists, even if the burning pit in her gut persisted. Moving to enter the main building, she found a familiar face standing in the middle of the walkway, blank-faced.
Suzui Shiho was frozen in front of the doors, her gaze fixed somewhere on the horizon as she swayed gently in place. Her eyes remained glazed over even as Akiha directly approached her.
"Suzui-san," Akiha said quietly, wishing that there were fewer people around to watch… whatever this was.
Suzui didn't respond, as if she hadn't heard Akiha at all.
"Suzui-san," she said again, a little louder this time. The girl in front of her flinched away, gasping in surprise as she came crashing back to reality. Taking a step back, her eyes met Akiha's.
"Wait, did she just threaten Suzui-san?"
"Oh my god, are those bandages on her hand? Do you think she got in a fight already?"
"It's you…" Suzui said, a little shakily. "Sorry, I'm standing in the way, aren't I?"
"Take your time," Akiha said softly.
Suzui tried to smile, but it came off as more pained than anything. She opened her mouth to speak, and a small choked sob was all that escaped.
"Should we do something? What if Suzui-san gets hurt?"
"Do you want to get away from the crowd?" Akiha asked, tilting her head.
Suzui nodded silently, and Akiha opened the door, gesturing for her to follow. She sent a glare back towards the murmuring crowd of students, no longer caring if that would just make things worse.
The stares persisted as the two made their way through Shujin's halls for the second time that day. Akiha led Suzui up to the third floor and then to the roof. They pushed the door open together.
The smell of wet concrete filled Akiha's nose as she walked over to the scattered desks, sitting on one. Cloudy grey skies overhead made her glad for her uniform's blazer as she shivered in the chill. At least she had leggings on. Suzui trailed behind her, the vacant look not totally gone from her eyes. Staring out at the cityscape in from of them, she shivered.
"Are you okay?" Akiha asked. As Suzui slowly turned, she met her eyes. "Need me to call someone?"
Suzui exhaled shakily, the last of that look in her eyes disappearing. "I'm—fine," she said, stumbling over the words. "I'm fine."
"Bullshit."
Suzui looked up, startled. "What?"
"Bullshit. You're exhausted, covered in bruises, and look about two seconds away from a breakdown."
"That's—"
"I spoke with Mishima-san already," she said, giving Suzui a look. It technically wasn't a lie, though that didn't make Akiha feel any better about it. She kept a poker face as she met Suzui's eyes.
"You—talked with Yuuki?" she said, clearly caught off guard. "And he… he told you?"
Akiha spread her hands. She probably owed Mishima an apology for using him. Oh well.
A breeze blew across the rooftop, sending a shiver down Akiha's spine. Suzui seemed to shrink in on herself, and for a moment that was all. Then the wind was gone and the light disappeared from her eyes. She exhaled, deflating like a balloon as she withered into a crouch, wrapping her arms around her knees.
"It doesn't matter. None of it matters." She buried her face away, her voice muffled. "They all know, anyway. The school, even some of the parents... everyone knows what he does to us."
The rooftop was much colder all of a sudden.
"Anyone we've tried to tell either hasn't believed us or just covers for him. And any time he figures out that one of us tried to snitch…" She shivered, her arms gripping her knees even tighter.
Akiha stared wordlessly, barely even breathing as she listened.
"A lot of people have left already. But Kamoshida's an Olympic athlete, you know. He really is the best out there, and… we really are improving. And he only hits us when we do something wrong, or if he's angry. And—and I love volleyball, and it's the only thing I can actually do right, and Ann is…" Suzui's words tumbled out, and she smiled weakly as though to reassure Akiha.
It just made her feel sick to her stomach.
"Ann?" she questioned, forcibly unclenching her fists.
Suzui paled. "It's—it's nothing! I love volleyball, and I know my friend Ann loves watching me play, that's all."
"Suzui-san…"
"Honestly, it's fine!" Suzui said, standing shakily. "I'm just whining, and it's not as bad as it sounds. Ryuji was asking about this, too, you know, but I'm telling both of you it's really okay."
Akiha hated what she was about to do. She took a deep breath and pushed harder.
"Is what's happening to Mishima-san fine?"
Suzui froze in place.
"Don't shut your eyes to what's around you. I can't make you do anything, but I need to go to a doctor for my hand. Come with me, get those bruises checked out?" Akiha asked softly.
The blood drained from Suzui's face at the mention of doctors. "S-sorry, Kurusu-san, I need to get to practice," she said, exhaling. She bowed her head. "Thank you, though, honestly." She was gone before Akiha could get her next words out.
She looked up at the grey sky overhead.
"Fuck."
It took Akiha longer than she would've liked to regain her composure and venture back down into the school building. She changed back into her school uniform now that the rally and school day were officially over.
The Shujin gym clothes didn't suit her, Akiha decided. Bright red gym shorts, a white tank-top, and a red jersey jacket with white highlights—it made her look like a giant whiteboard marker. The regular school uniform with its blacks and reds was much better.
It wasn't until she'd finished changing, gone back to her classroom, collected her things, and paused in the hallway that she realized she had no way of contacting Sakamoto and no idea where he was. She had a sneaking suspicion that her classmates wouldn't exactly be thrilled to volunteer any information to her, either.
Akiha settled on waiting to see if he came by her classroom. She stuffed her earbuds in, tried to ignore the piercing stares people gave her, leaned against the wall on her phone and waited. The minutes dragged on and she swiped through her phone aimlessly, but there was no sign of Sakamoto anywhere.
She did notice the blonde girl—Takamaki Ann, she remembered—leaving their classroom. Kamoshida came to the top of the stairs at the same time, spotting her and walking over. Akiha frowned and slipped one earbud out.
"Hey, Takamaki! Got a minute?" Kamoshida asked, grinning widely.
Takamaki looked down at her shoes. "Sorry, I've got to get to a shoot soon. Special edition for the summer and all, I don't have much time to chat."
Kamoshida's grin drooped into a frown. "What a shame. Didn't you just have one yesterday? Being a model's good, but you're too pretty to burn yourself out like that with those health issues you mentioned."
Takamaki nodded, shifting her bag slightly and not meeting Kamoshida's gaze. "Yeah, I've been meaning to go the hospital, they're worried it might be appendicitis. I've been, uh, too busy, though! Sorry to worry you…"
Takamaki Ann was definitely not a good liar, Akiha decided as she pretended to text someone on her phone.
"Hm…" Kamoshida intoned neutrally. He seemed to go along with it, at least. "Well, be careful. There's all these accidents happening, too. You're starting to make me feel bad for keeping your best friend in practice so much!"
"Haha, sorry…"
"Well, whatever," he said dismissively. "I've got to go manage practice, but you should give me a call when you're free."
As he disappeared down the stairway, Takamaki exhaled. "Bad vibes," Akiha muttered, resumed her music, and pocketed her phone.
What she didn't expect was for Takamaki's eyes to land on Akiha and for her to start walking over.
"You're the transfer student, right? Kurusu Akiha?" Takamaki asked, her voice half-drowned by Akiha's music.
She took her earbuds out fully. "That's me. You're…?" She'd learned firsthand people could get defensive if you knew more about them than they expected.
"Takamaki Ann," she said. "Can I talk to you for a minute? It'll be quick."
Akiha shrugged one shoulder. "Fine. Where?"
Takamaki wordlessly turned away, leaving Akiha to follow. They soon arrived in the courtyard again, the small alcove and blinking vending machine lights welcoming her back. Takamaki wrapped her arms around herself defensively as she stood by the table, watching as Akiha leaned against the back wall.
"What do you want with Kamoshida?" she said without preamble.
Akiha tilted her head. "Not sure what you mean."
Takamaki gave her an exasperated look. "I'm not stupid. People are already talking about how you and Ryuji have been asking about Kamoshida and cornering the volleyball team. I'm hearing rumors that you were bullying Shiho, too. I know you aren't," she added, seeing Akiha's face.
"And?"
Takamaki sighed, a look of exhaustion settling onto her face. "Just… whatever you think you're doing, don't. Don't stick your head into this, it's not gonna help."
"Whaddaya want with Kurusu?"
Both Takamaki and Akiha looked up as Sakamoto walked in, hands stuffed in his pockets. Giving a nod to each of them, he slunk over to one of the vending machines and jammed several coins inside.
Takamaki seemed to tense a bit more. "I'm just talking with her, that's all."
Sakamoto grabbed a can of soda from the vending machine, straightening as he turned to look at her. "Yeah?"
Takamaki sighed. "You should hear this too, Ryuji. I don't know what you two are planning, but nothing good is going to come of it. Trust me."
"Seriously? That's it? You want us to just drop it?"
"Ryuji, I'm worried about you, asshole. I know you still wear that knee brace." She glanced at his right leg, and Sakamoto didn't quite flinch, but it was close. "You've already gotten hurt enough."
Sakamoto gave a long sigh, taking a drink of soda and rubbing his face. A dark look flickered in his eyes. "Maybe I'm tired of seeing people get hurt 'cause of him."
"You can't help us, Ryuji. Just… leave it. Please. I don't want you getting hurt again or expelled."
Sakamoto's eyes narrowed. "Wait, 'us'? Ann, if that creep's threatening you…"
Takamaki sagged, the dark circles around her eyes growing even deeper. "I'm fine, Ryuji. I'm just warning you to be careful. I'll see you around." She walked away, leaving Sakamoto staring at the space she had occupied. Akiha watched her go in silence, feeling distinctly like she'd just seen something she shouldn't have.
Sakamoto slammed a fist into the side of the vending machine, the impact hard enough to dent and loud enough to make Akiha flinch. Rage radiated from him like heat, his fists and legs shaking as he steamed with barely-contained fury.
"Fuck!" His voice cracked. A vein bulged in his forehead, his teeth clenched and his face flushed, eyes bulging like he was about to burst a blood vessel.
Akiha just watched.
Then, slowly but surely, it died down. Sakamoto's shoulders slumped and his fists opened. Anger was replaced with exhaustion, the shadows on his face growing longer as his arms dropped to his sides.
The courtyard was quiet again. A long moment passed before Akiha finally spoke, her voice cutting through the wake. "You good?"
Sakamoto straightened slowly, rubbing his face. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good, sorry 'bout that."
Akiha shrugged. "No worries."
"Thanks. So, did you figure anything out?"
"Learned a bit from Suzui-san."
"Wait, you talked to Shiho, too?" When Akiha gave him an inquisitive look at the use of her given name, he shrugged. "She went to the same middle school as me 'n Ann."
"Oh. Only a little."
"What'd she say?" Sakamoto said, tapping his foot anxiously.
Akiha took a breath. "Kamoshida's definitely beating them. Suzui said they've tried to tell the school and parents, but they either don't listen or don't care. Some of them are helping to cover it up."
"Shit!" Sakamoto crushed his soda can in his hand, the remaining soda splattering out onto the ground. If he noticed, he didn't care. "We basically knew already, but that's just…"
Akiha nodded. "It's bad."
"You can say that again. Did you get anything we could use to take Kamoshida down?"
"Nope. Couldn't even get Suzui to visit a doctor with me."
Sakamoto seemed to be running out of curse words, as he inhaled sharply but came up empty. "Why the hell won't anyone do anything?!" he hissed. "The school seriously knows about this shit?"
"Kamoshida has status," Akiha said. "He's good for the volleyball team, which is good for the administration and the parents."
"And the kids are all too 'effin scared to say anything or think no one would believe them if they did," Sakamoto finished grimly. "There is seriously something wrong with all these shithead selfish douchebag adults."
Akiha glanced over at the school building, pink cherry blossom petals drifting down from the tree in front of her. Shujin Academy's principal was detestable, and it wasn't a stretch for her to imagine him staying quiet because it brought more attention and positive accolades to the school. He'd allowed her to enroll for exactly the same reason, after all. A sardonic smile stretched across her face. Bastards.
"So what now?" Sakamoto said with a frown. "We don't have shit on him and I'm running out of ideas."
"If people are covering for him, the only thing that'll stick is an actual recording of him assaulting someone," she said.
Sakamoto brightened. "Right! Maybe we can try setting up cameras in the gym or something. Y'know, like in spy movies!"
Akiha half-smiled. "Maybe. He's probably smarter than that."
"What do you mean?"
"Doing it somewhere he can't be watched."
Sakamoto's eyes widened. "His office."
"He has one?"
"Yeah, yeah. It's over in the practical building. There probably aren't cameras in his private office, and he keeps it locked and everything." He paused. "Oh, god, that's a scary thought."
"…Yeah."
Sakamoto glanced at his phone. "Shit, it's getting late. Here, gimme your number and I'll text you later. We can figure out how exactly to take down this creep!"
His expression and energy were so bright that Akiha almost looked away on instinct. The grin that stretched across his face as he stuck his phone out to her glowed brighter than the late afternoon light.
She passed her phone next to his, a short ding echoing as they both pocketed them. "Alright, see you later!" Sakamoto called, slinging his bag over his shoulder and dashing out of the courtyard. Akiha watched him go, a smile playing across her face as she began to follow.
It was only after Akiha stepped through the door to Leblanc that she remembered her stitches were still torn. Sakura took one look at her bloodied hand as she stepped through the door and rubbed his eyes.
"What the hell is that," he said flatly, pointing at her hand.
"…My hand?" Akiha ventured, only meeting Sakura's eyes for a moment before she looked down at her shoes.
"I meant why is it bleeding again?" His patience was clearly wearing thin.
"Volleyball rally at school, teacher decided I had to play." Akiha shrugged. "Took a ball the wrong way."
Sakura stared at her for a moment, his face morphing through several expressions before eventually settling on bafflement. "And the nurse let you go home like that?"
Akiha hesitated. It sounded bad no matter how she said it. "…The nurse wasn't in either time."
"The nurse wasn't there?!" Sakura exclaimed, his eyebrows raised. "And—and you just went home?"
Akiha shifted from foot to foot. "Didn't think it was a big deal. I can grab more first-aid supplies tomorrow."
Sakura was walking around from behind the counter before she could even finish. "No, absolutely not. I'm closing up shop, and you're going back to the clinic to get that looked at. Got it?" His tone brokered no arguments.
"…Got it," Akiha said, her cheeks warm. God, she'd been such a pain in the ass already.
The bell jingled as she swung the door open, flipping the sign to 'closed' as she did. Shivering a little more now that the sun had begun to dip below the horizon, she trekked over to the clinic.
The fluorescent lights inside made her blink, and she found Takemi sitting behind the counter idly spinning a pen. She glanced up. "Back already?" Akiha raised her hand silently, and Takemi's eyebrow crept up as she looked at the blood-stained bandage. "Seriously? You decide to take up a sport or something?"
"Well…"
Takemi sighed apathetically. "Whatever. Head to the exam room, I'll take a look."
Akiha sat down and Takemi walked in shortly after. She quickly got to work, not even glancing at her before she started unwrapping the bandage and disinfecting it once more.
"So," Takemi said as she worked, "how'd you tear the stitches? Did I not mention you're supposed to be taking it easy on the hand?"
"Didn't have a choice. Volleyball rally at school, teacher made me play."
That made her pause and look up. "Seriously?" she said, her disdain evident. Seeing Akiha's nod, she clicked her tongue. "Tell you what, I'll write an official doctor's note for you. They give you shit again, tell 'em to call me."
"Oh. Thanks."
Takemi snorted. "Don't thank me, it's your school's fault. What'd the nurse say?"
"…No idea," Akiha admitted. "Nurse's office was empty both times."
Takemi actually stopped fully at that. "You went twice, and nothing?"
Akiha shrugged.
"What school do you go to, anyway?" Takemi asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Shujin Academy, in Aoyama-Itchome."
"Hmm," Takemi said, displeased. She resumed tending to Akiha's hand, pulling out the needle and glancing at her before beginning to thread it in and out. "I don't like them already."
Akiha smiled at that.
Takemi finished quickly, wrapping a fresh bandage and checking it over. "Alright, there you go." She appraised Akiha. "You know, I think you're the quietest I've seen someone for stitches without some kind of anesthetic. Not even a wince."
"I've been told I have a high pain tolerance."
Takemi chuckled. "You say that like it has nothing to do with you." She passed Akiha a clipboard with an invoice and a doctor's note. "Good thing you came in when you did, I was about to close up for the day. Next time get injured well within business hours, please."
"Yes, ma'am."
"None of that," Takemi said, bonking the top of Akiha's head with the clipboard as she passed it back. "Remember—five days, then back here to get those out. And don't tear them open this time, alright?"
Akiha nodded dutifully. "Thanks, doc." She stuck a hand in the air as she left, earning another soft chuckle from Takemi.
When she arrived back at the cafe, Sakura was sitting by the counter and sipping a cup of coffee. She gave him a nod before starting to walk towards the stairs. He opened his mouth to say something but hesitated, closing it momentarily.
Akiha kept walking.
She dumped her bag on the floor upstairs, groaning but forcing herself to drag her homework out and start working on it, more out of habit than anything else. Not like she had any hobbies, so it was either this or keep cleaning.
The sound of her pencil scratching against paper was the only sound in the attic for a long time. Akiha felt her eyes growing heavier with each problem she answered. The past few days had been exhausting. She rested her chin on a palm, hunching down a little further.
A yawn escaped her mouth as she finished another set. She was almost done. Maybe it was okay to close her eyes for a minute. Slowly, she lowered her head.
She was suffocating.
Akiha's breath was choked, her throat constricted as something slowly crushed her windpipe. The metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils as it ran thickly down her throat and filled her lungs. Cold handcuffs snapped around her wrists, dragged her downwards and pulled her arms behind her, as the blood began to overflow, as it ran down her face and plastered her clothes to her chest, as the hands around her neck squeezed tighter and tighter until—
She was falling.
Her back crashed into the hard floor, her arms at odd angles as she convulsed and spasmed, her eyes half-lidded as she choked on nothing. Her hands flew to her throat where she had felt the grip before. She found nothing there. As she opened her eyes she could vaguely make out the wood beams of Leblanc's rafters, though she could still taste the blood on the tip of her tongue and feel it sloshing in her lungs.
There were hands all over her, grabbing her hair and seizing her throat and stroking along her arms, grasping pulling tearing clawing—no matter how Akiha flailed or fought, they were still there.
She rolled onto her stomach, forcing herself onto her knees. A hand clamped down over her mouth, and when she looked down she saw nothing but empty space. A violent shudder shook her whole body.
Biting her lip, Akiha scooted over to the shelves nearby on hands and knees. As she did, she saw that it was well and truly dark outside and the cafe lights downstairs were turned off. She reached out for the shelves, gripping the wood frame with both hands as tightly as she could. Her eyes stung and her body trembled like a leaf in a storm.
In, out. Akiha forced her breathing to slow from a rapid staccato to an even pace, filling and emptying her lungs as measuredly as she could. Her hands began to shake from the exertion of gripping the wood so tightly she swore she could hear it creak under her fingers. In, out.
She sat there for a long time.
Once the grasping hands calmed, she slowly released the shelving with trembling fingers. She stood slowly, trudging over to her bed to find her pencil and notebook scattered across the floor.
She must have fallen asleep doing homework. Akiha rubbed her eyes exhaustedly, shuddering each time a phantom hand grasped somewhere new. She reached down and grabbed her things, sitting on her bed and flipping open her textbooks.
There was point in trying to go back to bed now—no way she could sleep like this. She leaned over to her bag and grabbed her earbuds. Her smartphone dutifully informed her it was 2:47 a.m., but she ignored it and turned the music up to a deafening volume.
Blocking out the rest of the world as much as she could, she began to work. Her homework was already finished, so instead she studied, reviewing old material and reading new sections. Akiha vaguely wondered as she worked if the student body would still consider her a delinquent if she placed at the top of her class in exams.
Who was she kidding? They'd probably just assume she cheated.
Akiha's exhaustion finally overtook her two hours later. Her pencil trailed off the end of a word as she collapsed backwards into bed, unconscious. Her clothes still on, textbooks scattered around her and legs dangling off the bed, she drifted off to sleep, an inky and dreamless void relieving her from reality.
Wednesday, April 13th
Early Morning
Akiha woke up regretting every decision she'd ever made.
Her eyes fluttered open just before six, her neck aching. She'd fallen asleep at an odd angle, her uniform wrinkled from what amounted to a one hour power nap. It wasn't like she'd gotten an excess of restful sleep since she got to Tokyo, either. Her mouth was dry and her eyes felt like someone had dumped sand into them.
The silver linings were that the hands were gone and she hadn't had a weird dream. Which only put her at two for four on days without weird dreams so far, but still. Positive thinking.
She forced herself to tidy her uniform and put away her textbooks, slamming back her meds without water on habit. Groaning at the 5% battery notification on her phone, she fumbled around for a charger, plugging it into one of only two outlets in the entire attic. At least she had an hour before she needed to head to school.
Slipping downstairs into the bathroom, she sighed as she glanced in the mirror. Fluffy black hair that came down to her broad shoulders, long, messy bangs, slate grey eyes rimmed with dark circles, cool brown skin, sharp features with soft edges, and thick-rimmed black glasses greeted her back. She'd slept with the previous day's makeup on, too. Her skin was going to hate her for that.
A significant amount of scrubbing and rinsing later, she quickly applied a new coat. She was half-tempted to reach for her black eyeshadow and eyeliner, but Shujin technically forbade any makeup. In practice, that just meant she was stuck with stuff people wouldn't notice. At least it saved her time in the morning.
She emerged from the bathroom about twenty minutes later looking and feeling marginally more presentable but the lack of sleep still weighing heavily on her. She was surprised to find Sakura already behind the counter, cleaning and prepping for the day.
"You're up early," he said as he glanced up. "And you look terrible."
"Thanks," Akiha said, monotone.
Sakura sighed. "Come here, I'll get you some breakfast. You want coffee?"
"…Yes, please."
Sakura served her another plate of curry, and as Akiha began to dig in she realized that she'd been missing way too many meals recently. "How do you take your coffee?" Sakura asked, busying himself with the beans.
"Black," Akiha said between mouthfuls of food.
Sakura raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment as he placed a cup in front of her. Akiha paused as she took a sip both at the bitterness and the shock of complex flavors underneath. She took another, trying not to burn herself yet desperate for any caffeine. The more she drank, the more the flavors seemed to expand, notes of chocolate, fruit, and mild sweetness dancing on her tongue.
"This is… amazing," she said softly.
Sakura snorted. "Good to know you're not a total lost cause. The curry's spiced to complement it, too."
Akiha elected to spend less time talking and more time devouring the meal in front of her. Sakura didn't seem to mind, at least—he gave her a satisfied look as she decimated the curry and stepped away to sort through the jars of beans lining the shelf.
He took her plate and cup once she finished before shooting her an unusually contemplative glance. Akiha grabbed her phone to check the time. 6:47. Still a little time to waste before she had to leave. Considering attitudes towards her, she had no intention of spending any more time at school than she had to.
As she debated how to kill an hour or so, Sakura's voice roused her attention. "Is school… going okay?" he asked. The look he gave Akiha was so genuine that she was caught off-guard. She hadn't expected him to care.
It made sense, she supposed after a moment. She came home with a bloody hand and a claim that no one at school had cared or helped. It was… surprisingly thoughtful of him, she had to admit, but she had a feeling he wasn't going to be pleased with the truthful answer that her classmates thought she was about two seconds away from stabbing someone.
"It's fine," she said.
He examined her for a moment, but grunted and turned away. "If you say so."
Akiha took the pause as an opportunity to slink back upstairs and get her things together. She noticed that Sakamoto had texted her as she grabbed her phone.
Sakamoto: yo, u good to meet me after school today?
Akiha: i'll be there. roof?
Sakamoto: nah, courtyard. we gotta scope out the gym during practice
Sakamoto: sneakylike n shit
Akiha actually smiled at that.
Akiha: see you there
Slipping her phone in her bag, she grabbed her spare set of black fingerless gloves and put them on. Slowly, she began to stretch herself out, trying to remember first year gym lessons. If she had to go sneaking around after school, she might as well try to limber up her stiff limbs.
Akiha hadn't quite worked up a sweat by the time she had to leave, but it was close. She'd never been much of an athlete, and her real-world coordination was miles behind her dexterity in the Palace. Between a solid round of stretching and the coffee earlier, though, she was at least starting to feel a little less like death warmed over and a little more like a reanimated corpse.
Sakura shot her another one of those looks as she slipped downstairs and outside, but she pretended not to notice. She really didn't need him getting on her case about something, too.
Akiha arrived at school with a few minutes to kill before class. She decided to stop by the courtyard and grab some canned coffee in a futile attempt to stave off the exhaustion that would inevitably hit her later that afternoon.
Yawning as she shoved her coins in and grabbed her caffeinated prize, Akiha narrowed her eyes as she read the label on her drink. Apparently it was a brand called Starvicks, claiming to be 'the world's first spicy coffee'.
"How the hell have they not gotten sued?" Akiha wondered aloud.
"You seriously drink that stuff?" came a voice from behind her. Takamaki was standing there grabbing a drink of her own. She looked only marginally better than Akiha felt—her eyes were red and rimmed with dark circles, and her complexion was a little paler than she remembered.
Akiha just shrugged in response, taking a sip of coffee. Odd, to be certain, but not the worst drink she'd had. She actually kind of liked it.
Takamaki gave her a weird look, before popping the tab on her—much more normal, brand-name—can of coffee, drinking about half of it in a single gulp. She lowered the can, rubbed her eyes, and looked over to Akiha. "I'm glad I ran into you, actually. I… owe you an apology, I guess," she said, her voice quiet.
Akiha's eyebrow shifted a fraction, but she didn't comment as she took another drink.
"I talked to Shiho after school yesterday, and she mentioned that you tried to help her. And all I did was talk down at you," she said. She didn't meet Akiha's eyes. "I was… pretty cold."
Akiha drank more of her coffee, looking at Takamaki with a mixture of curiosity and appreciation. "Thanks," she said after a moment. "It's all good. You're just worried."
"If you say so," Takamaki said, shooting Akiha a weary smile. "I really appreciate you helping out Shiho."
Akiha shrugged awkwardly. "Didn't do much."
"She didn't say exactly what happened, but it sounded like she felt differently."
Not sure what to say to that, Akiha took another drink of coffee. "Takamaki-san," she said eventually, "is Kamoshida—"
She was cut off as the bell rang. "Oh, shoot," said Takamaki. "We gotta go. What were you going to ask me?"
Akiha shook her head. "Never mind." She had a bad feeling she already knew the answer as to whether Kamoshida was threatening her somehow.
Takamaki gave Akiha a look, but shrugged. "Alright. Come on, we've got Ushimaru-sensei first period, and he's a real hardass about attendance."
"You go first," Akiha said, "I'll catch up." No reason to give the student body more reason to spread rumors than they already had. From the look of it, both of them had enough trouble with that as it stood.
It was going to be a long school year.