Hi. :) Here's another one-shot. I must say, this one-shot thing is something I'm definitely enjoying. This is short and entirely from Kotegawa's point of view. It's part of the story theme.


Slamming her locker shut, Kotegawa huffed and stooped to properly tie her shoes. The day had been harder than usual. Many assignments were due, but she could handle those easily. For some reason, it seemed the boys in her class had all decided to pull semi-licentious pranks left and right on the same day. Everything stopped soon after lunch with a couple exceptions. "At least Yuuki-kun didn't do anything," She thought before shaking her head, wondering to herself why such a person even entered her mind. With a sigh, she stood, grabbed her purse, and began walking toward the school entrance.

As she exited the building, Kotegawa saw Rito, Lala, Saruyama, and Haruna near some benches, chatting animatedly about simple nothings. While walking past, she watched their interactions, making sure the topics were acceptable. At least, that's what she told herself. Unexpectedly, Rito raised his eyes, noticing her. With a light-hearted air, he made eye-contact and smiled gently, almost sheepishly. Her stomach jumped ever-so-slightly, and she felt disarmed. Recovering smoothly, she let herself smile back, her frustration now very diminished. At her gesture, Rito brightened a bit and returned his attention to the heated conversation Lala and Saruyama were having about what the difference was between lightning and thunder.

Turning away, Kotegawa walked away quickly, seeing no reason to linger. Ten minutes into her walk home, she came upon an unwelcome sight. Standing in front of her were four rather large adults. They weren't in their twenties but still adults.

In a tense and cautious voice, she asked, "Um, what do you guys want?"

The four laughed at her, and the one closest to her responded with a sneer, "What makes you think we want something?"

Kotegawa's eyebrows angled in rekindled agitation, "Well, then let me through!" She attempted to brush past them. As she did, however, her arm was caught.

"Ah, ah, ah. We never said we didn't want anything," the same one said. She turned slightly towards them, fear sparking at the man's touch. Without warning, one of them moved behind her and swept her feet, knocking her down. She cried out in pain at the impact. Her purse was swiftly kicked away from her hand.

"H-hey! Give that back," she exclaimed unsteadily.

Once again, the group laughed. Three of them began searching her purse while one made her attempts to get up futile. Time passed, and when they found no money, one of them cursed in frustration.

He then turned to her and said viciously, "Well, fine. You'll be paying us somehow. Come on, boys, into this alley."

Kotegawa's eyes widened, and when two of the assailants picked her up by her arms, she gasped and kicked, struggling to get free. She tried to shout, but her mouth was covered before she could voice her distress.

In the alley, she was dumped onto the ground harshly against the wall, and the men kneeled to her level. With heinous grins on their faces, they held her still and began to trace her body with rough fingers. "How could they do this? Why would they do this? Why-" her frightened thoughts were halted, and she watched in horror as they ripped her overcoat off of her. Her kicks became stronger and more frantic, and she managed to connect with one of their knees. The man grunted and snarled, hitting her forehead hard with his palm. Her head snapped back and hit the wall behind her, dazing her tremendously. With blurred vision, she saw them rip off her undershirt, exposing her bra-clad chest.

"That's it. I can't resist, I'm helpless, I… I…" she vaguely heard fast and repeated thuds against the ground before she fell under a cover of black.


Seemingly just as quickly as she fainted, she woke. Her eyelids fluttered opened, and she groaned as the light streamed unwelcome into her eyes, igniting a strong pain at her the base of her head. While attempting to adjust, she remembered and shot up, much to the detriment of her headache. She swiftly recognized her home surrounding her place on the couch. For a fleeting moment, she hoped it was a dream. However, when she looked down at her towel-covered torso, her heart sunk.

She shut her eyes, hoping with all her mind that she hadn't been violated any further. She didn't feel like it. Other than the towel, her clothes were untouched. She glanced at the coffee table and was amazed to find her purse, along with all of her belongings. Next to them, she saw something peculiar. It was a small teapot and a filled cup. At this point, she relaxed in her firm conviction that she had been rescued.

She extended a trembling hand towards the cup. It was still warm. Gently inhaling the vapor, she affirmed its innocence and took a sip. Her headache soothed if only for a moment, and Kotegawa smiled. She hadn't tasted it before. She owed someone a thank you.


After the weekend, as she entered the school, her mind went back to the incident, and she shivered. Despite her efforts, no one had claimed the saving deed as theirs. She had asked Lala. She had asked Risa and Mio. She had asked her brother. He didn't fess, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he knew who it was. She even asked Rito. Rito refused as well after a moment of concern. Part of her wished the person would step forward, but the other part of her felt quite content. At least, she knew there some good people out there, stranger or not.


An interesting concept, no? This story stemmed from an idea I had, which I began to call, "The Thankless."

L9erz! :)


It wasn't necessary. Why would it be? What good would come if she knew? A skewed perception of her savior? A feeling of obligation or guilt?

"It was just a little, white lie, right?" Rito thought as he iced the discolored skin on his lower chest.