cross-posting on AO3. pick ya poison, fellas.

haha, not died yet, but i sure do feel dead on the inside. got sick again, lol, plus work was killer.

do make sure you read all of the chapter or else you're going to be confused. cos our MC won't be going by Lexa annnnnymore unless special occasion or by special person.

a lot of characters appear, btw. and by a lot, i mean like three or four, lol. gl, my good dudes.

v

If there was a prize for having such rotten luck, Lexa swore she'd lose… but only because her luck was simply just that bad, not even able to have a metaphoric prize that signified how much Lady Misfortune clung to her like some kind of parasite.

Because after the hug, Akari insisted on having Hisashi over for dinner. And who was Lexa to object to that? Unlike Hisashi, she wasn't Akari's real grandchild. She had no say on something like this even though she really wished she did. Even though Akari would insist that Lexa was just as much of her grandchild as Hisashi was. Honeyed words and Lexa was in no mood for sweetness.

Rei was invited over as well, given near no choice in the matter by Akari once the old woman noticed that Hisashi was not alone. Despite that, her mood seemed happier by the second, happily chatting with Akari as they walked.

Hisashi talked, too, but Lexa refrained from the conversation altogether. In fact, she lagged a little bit behind, hands stuffed into the pockets of the leather jacket with her eyes trained on the trio. She did introduce herself to Rei and Hisashi when prompted by Akari, and she had even made sure to be rather polite, giving the two teenagers warm smiles.

However, it was all Lexa had in her as far as a mask went, too exhausted and if not slightly upset at how Hisashi and Akari were grandson-and-grandmother. Okay, no. Slightly was an understatement. The relationship made things so much more complicated, so much more that Lexa had to prepare for. Highschool of the Dead wasn't really complicated by plot means, but the relationships were if she had to be honest. And Hisashi being precious to one of her precious people was like a gut punch.

…Because if Hisashi dies, Akari is going to be completely devastated.

It would lead to new problems, too. Problems Lexa didn't want to confront head-on, especially with Them up and walking around. Not to mention that… well… Akari knew Lexa the most out of anyone. As self-assured as Lexa was with dancing around issues, she felt almost certain that if Hisashi did not survive his plot-demanded death, Akari would eventually find out that her not-granddaughter had the capability to save him but she didn't.

And Lexa didn't think she could stomach that discovery. Sure, she could take extra precautions, but if she learned anything from Nikolai, it was that not every plan will go exactly as intended. Even with a well-thought-out plan, things could change at any given moment without warning and turn into something one wasn't prepared for.

Like Hisashi being Akari's grandson. Originally, despite liking the pros she came up with, Lexa had leaned toward Hisashi dying since his death made things more predictable with Rei and Takashi. Plus, if she changed too many things at the very beginning, then certain outcomes would be replaced by something entirely new. Something she probably wouldn't like and almost certainly catching her off-guard. Because, really, she could only plan so much, and yeah, she did sort of seem to have a respawn button with being unable to stay dead.

However, Lexa didn't want to rely on Unknown making her 'reset' after she died. Meaningless as it had begun to feel to her lately, experiencing death was not particularly pleasant.

And there's no telling if Unknown will revert events I don't want to happen if I do die, whether by someone else or my own hand. I guess I could ask, but after what happened earlier…

A sigh escaped out of her nose. Yeah. Yeah, Lady Misfortunate had a complete hard-on for her at this point.

Fortunately, though, Akari did not try to make her participate in the conversation. Neither did Hisashi or Rei, although she was sure for different reasons. Akari was always quick to notice when Lexa didn't want to be talkative, thus did not ever force her to be like the awesome grandma she was. And Rei and Hisashi were probably because she was just a stranger and Akari made no efforts in trying to get Lexa to talk.

Either way, Lexa was thankful all she had to do was walk and carry some of the groceries, with most of what she and Akari bought being carried by Hisashi, who insisted that he carry something. Just like the good samaritan he was described in the author's commentary.

Although every so often, Akari glanced at her. She'd be really stupid to miss the concern she had in those weathered, brown-colored eyes, but Lexa decided to pay no mind to it. It was just Akari being a worry-wart, worried about her sickly not-granddaughter and the like. However, Lexa did raise an eyebrow when Hisashi… did the same thing. Glancing at her.

Boy. Whatchu lookin' at, was on the very tip of her tongue, a near knee-jerk response, but Lexa kept her mouth shut, lips clamped together in a firm line. Hisashi was described by the creators as being good-natured, she reminded herself. He probably just noticed his grandmother was worried about her. Akari wasn't exactly making it subtle.

She breathed a sigh through her nose, composing herself. Maybe when they got home, she could lie and say she wasn't feeling good. Go to her room or something.

Oh, and risk having Unknown try to interact with you? Fuck no.

Ugh. Right. Unknown was being weird. But Gods, she hated this. So much. It would've been so much easier if she was just by herself, not having Akari or her dad here—especially with all these pre-established relationships. With them around, and relationships already formed, Lexa was limited in her choices… and weighed down by needing to have some semblance of a conscience. No sane person would trust anyone that had no conscience, and Lexa knew that if she wanted to make the best possible ending, she needed to appear trustworthy at the very least. A voice of reason.

And… making the best ending. Doesn't that require people to be saved if you can save them?

Maybe. Lexa wasn't too sure. She didn't know any apocalyptic story that had everyone live happily ever after. It was always bleak in some sort of way… and Highschool of the Dead seemed to have been heading in that direction with the nuclear blasts. Confirming that some of the world leaders were dead or undead, showcasing the collapse of government infrastructure.

All and all, Highschool of the Dead was pretty much following a staple of zombie apocalypses. Well, maybe not the nukes since she knew that not every zombie story included them, but definitely everything else.

So maybe, just maybe Lexa had bitten off more than she could chew if the original story was truly set for disaster.

The thought prompted laughter, but she repressed it.

…I'm such a silly salmon, swimming against the current.

Out of the many things that could've happened when Rei asked if they could go someplace no one from their school would be for their private talk, Igō Hisashi did not expect to stumble across his grandmother. Nor did he expect him and Rei to be invited to dinner.

At least Rei seemed to be in a better mood, happily chatting with his grandmother. It was good, he thought idly. She had been coming to him more and more these past few weeks, more than dejected from Takashi giving her the cold shoulder, but he could see that talking to Akari had brightened her mood considerably. Even if it was just an act, it was a great sight to see compared to Rei sulking and him offering an ear to listen to her woes and give advice when he could.

It wasn't like Hisashi disliked doing that. If it helped Rei feel better, he was more than willing. Same thing with Takashi. He didn't mind listening to his side of the story about how Rei had become distant and moody, that she was such a hassle to deal with. He could sympathize since Rei's mood had definitely gotten volatile since earlier this year, but he did wish that Takashi looked a little more deeply into his girlfriend's behavior.

…especially now that he knew exactly why Rei was being like this. It was all heavy stuff with her father trying to take down a corrupt politician, but that very same politician had a son who worked as a second-year teacher at their school. Rei's teacher. It was understandable why Rei didn't tell anyone at first as it would definitely impact the investigation.

However, after Rei buckled against his persistence to find out what was wrong, Hisashi realized just how big of a mess it was. And it made him feel for Rei. Yes, she did need to keep quiet, but he really wished that her father hadn't placed that burden on Rei. Everything was made complicated because of it, especially with Takashi, who was ignoring Rei when she truly needed him the most.

But it'll work out eventually, Hisashi told himself. It had to. So there wasn't any use worrying so much about it, and he decided to settle for focusing on the present.

Which was interesting, to say the least. He was never made aware that his grandmother was the legal guardian of her neighbor, a black-haired girl that was abnormally tall for someone of Japanese descent despite the awkward, English-sounding name of Doi Lexa that she introduced herself as.

But then again, it'd been a long while since he had last seen his grandmother.

Doi had to be his height, maybe a little more with seemingly a slim build underneath the leather jacket and sweatpants. He couldn't see much of her face, honestly, hidden behind a bright red scarf and large, curricular sunglasses, but the fact that she was nearing six feet in height was impressive. Most girls tended to be smaller than him, but she certainly wasn't even with how willowy she appeared to be.

She didn't talk much, he noticed. She didn't say much of anything the whole walk, and Akari made no attempts on getting her to engage. But she did look back at her worriedly every so often. It made Hisashi compelled to do the same because clearly, his grandmother was worried about something.

He found out later why, when they were settled in a house that was definitely not what he remembered. As soon as the tall girl slid off the leather jacket to reveal an ill-fitting sweater, she took off the scarf and glasses, too—exposing cat-like, opaline eyes that were an ever-shifting, glittery rainbow in color, paired with a face that made him think of a doll somehow, a few beauty marks here and there. Very pretty, honestly.

But upon getting a closer look at Doi, Rei morphed a look of shock and concern, saying, "You're the girl that collapsed in gym class!"

Immediately, Doi snickered, giving Rei a toothy grin that revealed large, prominent canines that easily made them count as fangs. From that look alone, Hisashi got the feeling that his grandmother's neighbor definitely sparked trouble.

"Very observant of you, Miyamoto-san." Oh. Yeah, Hisashi could tell she was a troublemaker, wearing a rather mischievous expression as Rei faltered somewhat, her eyebrow twitching slightly—a sign that meant Rei didn't like that response. Hisashi sucked in a sigh, wishing that Rei wouldn't let things get to her so easily.

Akari gave her neighbor a stern stare. Hisashi recognized it well. "Sen," came the low word of warning, and it took Hisashi a second to realize that she was referring to Doi.

He pursed his lips. Was Sen apart of her name? It appeared so, but Hisashi was well-aware that Japanese citizens couldn't have anything more than a given name and a surname. So where did Lexa even come from if that was the case?

An odd noise escaped out of Doi, sounding a lot like n-YEH, but either way, she was quick to correct her smug tone, giving a much softer smile. Sincere. "I didn't mean that disrespectfully, Grandmother o'mine," she said, although prismatic eyes directed to Rei. "But yes, Miyamoto-san, I was the girl that collapsed. My lung shriveled like a balloon."

Hisashi couldn't help the spike of alarm. Neither could Rei it seemed, understanding how serious the condition was. In fact, just thinking about the pain made Hisashi wince a little.

But Doi laughed, waving them off. "Don't worry, don't worry. It's fine now, fellow classmate and kohai."

Ah. Was it that obvious that he was a first-year? He didn't think so, but then again, Akari probably told her about him. She was always one to gush about her grandkids, if he recalled, a very affectionate woman.

Speaking of his grandmother, after Doi and him set the groceries on the kitchen counter, Akari was quick to usher all three kids into the living room. She did not take no for an answer, insisting that dinner would be ready soon and that 'kids should just be kids'.

Her neighbor didn't seem to like that, her lips pressed into a thin line. But Doi obeyed only after she very deliberately spread out the ingredients in a way where everything was easy to access, with Akari having to force her out. Well, not really force, but definitely pushed out with Doi allowing herself to be since his grandma was an old, fragile woman. Far different from the tall, willowy-built girl with strange eyes.

A rather awkward silence befell them after Akari was busy in the kitchen. He and Rei had taken a position on the couch with Doi in the nearby recliner, legs drew up and crisscrossed together. Doi didn't say a word, didn't even look at them, and Hisashi wasn't entirely too sure how to strike up a conversation.

Not when Doi's entire demeanor changed, going impassive now that his grandmother wasn't around. He could see why he thought that she was doll-like as her fine-looking features were definitely as reticent as an actual doll when her expression was blank.

Eventually, Rei nudged him lightly, catching his attention. She did not waste any time mouthing, "What do we…?" but all Hisashi could respond with was a shrug. Rei deflated, although she seemed to have spotted something off in a distance, getting an idea.

"Hey, um… Doi-san?" Rei prodded, unsure.

The response was immediate. A simple "Yes?" but despite responding and directing her eyes at Rei, Doi remained impassive, with her stare owlish. It was a bit unnerving, admittedly, and Hisashi could tell that Rei thought so, too.

But Rei remained adamant about trying to speak to her, saying, "In that middle picture over there." She pointed to several photo frames on the wall. "Is that your sister?"

Slowly, Doi turned her head, almost mechanical-like. In an effort to not think too hard about just how… emotionless Doi had become, Hisashi followed Rei's direction as well, spotting a large, rectangular frame that contained a photo depicting what was clearly a younger Doi, if the prismatic eyes were anything to go by. Maybe a couple of years back, so much more human-looking than present-day Doi. She was still pretty, but not withdrawn.

In her arms, however, was a young girl, who couldn't have been any older than five or six with hair similar to Doi, having a bluish-purple sheen like raven feathers. Her eyes were dark though, so dark that Hisashi couldn't see her pupils with no glittery fragments of color like Doi's, and wrapped around her neck was a familiar-looking scarf that was bright red in color, contrasting heavily against her hair and eye color. Both of them were smiling, and Doi's eyes shone with nothing much affection, her face smooshed against the child's cheek.

Present-day Doi, on the other hand, looked somehow even more devoid of life as she gazed at the picture. A few seconds passed by, and then Doi answered in a deadpan. "No. Alba is not my sister."

"A…Ar…Arba?" Rei said, hesitating. It was not a name that native Japanese could say easily, but Hisashi commended Rei's effort anyway.

"Alba," Doi repeated, still in a deadpan. "It's an English name. She was a *hāfu." She paused for a brief moment, her hands twitching. Something was in her eyes, but then Hisashi saw that something disappear as she said, "It's why I introduced myself as Lexa to you. I picked out an English name, so she wouldn't feel singled out… It isn't something that I should do now though."

"Aw, but that's so sweet," Rei replied. Hisashi nodded in agreement. Yeah, that was actually pretty sweet and not something that he expected Doi would be so willing to do. "Where is she?"

Opaline eyes went straight to the floor, Doi's downcast gaze becoming moody even while the rest of her face remained blank. It seemed as though she was done talking about the subject as her lips formed a thin line, mouth firmly clamped shut.

Needless to say, an even more awkward silence befell them. Rei's face fell at this, muttering an apology for bringing it up, and Hisashi rubbed her shoulder sympathetic, trying to figure out how to recover from the silence otherwise it was going to be a painful wait for Akari's cooking.

However, before he could come up with a solution, Doi spoke, breaking the silence.

"Are you two dating?"

It was not a question he was prepared for. Neither was Rei, by the looks of it, wide-eyed and mouth slightly agape.

He took a deep breath, releasing a half-suppressed chuckle as he removed his hand from Rei's shoulder. Maybe it looked like that on the outside, he supposed. Not many girls and guys hung out with each other unless they were romantically involved, but it wasn't like that with Rei. "No, we're just—"

"Friends," Doi said, cutting him off. She sounded dubious, and when he looked at her, she wasn't looking at the floor. Instead, she was giving him an almost… disappointed look, audibly sighing. "Sure you are."

Whatever it was, Rei didn't like it, quickly getting over her surprise to take a defensive tone. "Hey, what does that mean?"

As if Rei had reacted just like she wanted, Doi broke her impassiveness, her lips curling into a wry smile. It was a smile that told Hisashi that this exchange was not going to go well at all.

He was right. Because Doi's next words were: "You can't expect me to believe that you're simply just friends, especially when you, Miyamoto-san, are dragging another guy out to places, seeking comfort from him because your boyfriend is ignoring you."

Hisashi's eyes shot as wide as saucers, not quite expecting Doi to take a pot-shot at Rei. From his peripherals, the orange-haired girl was processing the information, but he knew that Rei was going to react far more explosively than him. So he tried to think of a response, anything to smooth things over, but Doi suddenly stood from the recliner with a dramatic-sounding clap.

"I'd be, too," Doi drawled, nonchalant. "With a boyfriend that ignores my efforts to communicate, especially since my detective father is investigating a perverted creep's father."

Rei's raging fire died out instantly. She looked up at Doi with shocked eyes, then glanced at Hisashi with apprehension. Almost accusing. No, it was accusing. To Hisashi's knowledge, she was the only one he told, and here Doi was, making references to it.

He took a composing breath through his nose to keep from grimacing. This is bad. How did she—

"He didn't tell me if that's what you thinking," Doi told them, cutting off his line of thought, and then she tut-tutted, wagging her finger at Rei. "Shame on you for thinking your friend snitched. Besides, it's our first time meeting. We've made that quite clear. Better pay attention, carrot top."

Rei formed a scowl at Doi but said nothing. Hisashi took that as his opportunity to speak, asking calmly, "How do you know then?"

Doi chuckled, rosy lips forming an impish grin that showed off fanged teeth. "Overheard you two earlier with your loud mouths," she said, her words dripping with smugness. He winced a little, cursing himself for letting down his guard, and Rei let out a scoff, but Doi didn't seem to care all too much, snidely continuing, "All it took was a bit of provoking, and you confirmed the rest. Pretty handy tactic."

…What?

Hisashi looked at the girl incredulously, jaw dropped. Had she… conned the information out of them? Actually conned? Without so much of them speaking a word? It was crazy to think about, let alone happening, but here they were, looking like idiots to a girl they met not even an hour ago, who now knew there was an ongoing investigation involving the father of a teacher at their school. Sure, they didn't verbally confirm anything, but their reactions sure as hell did.

He made a mental note to watch how he reacted in the future. Maybe make sure Rei knew too as she looked ready to explode. Doi took that as her cue to head out of the living room though, so very obviously proud of herself that she had successfully vexed them—Rei, in particular.

However, just before she went out of the doorway, back to the kitchen, Doi turned back and said, "Word of advice from your friendly neighborhood Sen, I'd be real careful with Shidō-sensei if I were you. He's got lots of victims just like his daddy, and it's why I pay attention whenever he's mentioned."

Victims…?

And then Doi's grin split from ear to ear. "See ya, silly salmons. Oh, and make sure you get through to that knucklehead Komuro or leave his moody ass behind in the dust."

Antagonizing one of the main characters wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do, especially with how particular she had been with Saeko to avoid vexing her, but damn if it didn't feel good to Le—Sen, she reminded herself.

If one good thing came out of the revelation that Hisashi was Akari's grandson, it was how she had realized she didn't need to go by Lexa anymore. It had lost its meaning a long time ago, and she couldn't believe it had taken her this long to realize that there was no point in introducing herself as anything but Sen.

She would still let Akari and her dad call her Lexa though. As she was physically eighteen, the incident most likely still would be fresh in their minds. So suddenly not going by Lexa and correcting them would be worrying, Sen felt, and she had more than enough worry with her lung.

Speaking of her lung, it felt better and better as the days passed. Even when Sen resumed schooling, there was very little that stopped her from moving about. Sometimes, there was an occasional ache, but that was to be expected and it was nothing serious to Sen since it was mainly where the tube was inserted.

Going to school posed new problems though.

Rei was not in her class and Shidō Kōichi was not her teacher, thank Gods, but Rei was evidently displeased by her appearance—always trying to prove looks could kill, boring holes into her whenever she was in the vicinity. Being that Sen and Saeko were in the same class and that Saeko was rather content with following Sen around to ensure she didn't suddenly collapse again, Saeko was quick to notice Rei's glaring. She was also quick to note that Rei made sure to avoid Sen whenever they got close.

Naturally, Sen was questioned. Naturally, Sen made it a Future Sen problem to deal with, brushing off Saeko's concerns in a nonchalant manner. Because while Saeko didn't pursue the issue further, Sen knew the purple-haired girl had made mental notes, probably to bring it up later.

She had some peace though when the fourth period was over and lunch began. Saeko had to deal with some last-minute club stuff, but Sen made sure to take that as her opportunity to sneak outside of her classroom, going to the very back of the school where she hoped no one could find her.

She was, unfortunately, very wrong. Entering the exterior stairwell, she saw Igō Hisashi hanging out with the one and only Komoro Takashi and another guy—Morita, judging by the stupid spiked blond hair in the front that made him look like a rooster. It seemed like they were heading to the roof, so she paid them absolutely no mind.

Morita had different plans though, trying to speak with her. She could tell he was even noticeably happier, a subtle rosy glow appearing in his cheeks, but he wasn't smooth with his words at all to a point that Takashi was visibly sweatdropping. Hisashi cringed, too, but he was a lot more polite about it, hiding his face with his hand.

It was not hard to tell what Morita thought of her. Not when she knew he was very much into hot girls, and well, vain as it was to say, she had a real pretty face.

Sadly for him, Sen was not in the mood to entertain his lust. Without batting an eyelash, she walked right on by him, hands stuffed in the muff of the zip-up hoodie she opted to wear over her uniform.

"A… Ah… Doi-chan is usually much nicer than that," came the dejected mutter as she descended the stairs, Morita rather deflated. "She talks to me, I swear."

Not today, sir. I want peace and quiet.

She hoped that was the end of it, that she could just relax on the stairwell until lunch was over, but of course, that was asking for far too much. Because Hisashi seemed to have decided it was his turn to speak with her, following down after her after presumably telling Morita and Takashi that he'd catch up since the two other boys were nowhere in sight.

"You're a lot braver than Miyamoto-san," Sen said, leaning against the railing, sprawling her arms across the top. "All she does is glare at me these days."

Hisashi regarded her carefully. "...I don't see the point in trying to be hostile with you," he replied.

Her response was immediate. "Why not be hostile to the girl that knows a little too much? Too much of a goody-goody?"

Hisashi seemed taken aback, if only by a little. Sen was aware that she was playing with fire, but compared to the rest of the characters, she didn't really know much about Hisashi as a character. He was… hard to predict and plan for. That, and Akari being his grandmother made her have a stupid sense of obligation to make sure that he lived.

So Sen felt as if she needed to prod him for answers or try to get a rise out of him—figure out how he truly operated beyond just unknowingly serving the role of decoy protagonist.

It didn't take Hisashi long to think of an answer. "I feel as if it's best that we remain at least neutral with each other."

She raised an eyebrow. Was he really that good-natured? Oh, sweet baby cheesecake, that wasn't going to be fun to deal with post-apocalypse. "Because of Akari?" she prodded.

Hisashi nodded. "Yes, but…" Trailing off, the gray-haired teen furrowed his brow. To Sen, it seemed that he was struggling to find the words, but she did not prompt him to continue. Instead, Sen remained quiet, watching him owlishly, and eventually, Hisashi did speak. "You said that Shidō has victims. Lots of them."

Oh. Yeah, maybe she shouldn't have said that. Although with Shidō's personality and how Kohta reacted to him, Sen was pretty certain that Kohta and Rei hadn't been his only victims.

Still, she heaved a sigh. "Yeah, and?"

"What do you mean 'and'?" Hisashi asked, puzzled. "You're the one that said you pay close attention whenever his name is brought up."

Ah, more words of previous vexing coming to bite her in the ass. She rubbed at her temples, turning away from Hisashi with closed eyes. Man, this was going to be a lot more trouble than it was worth, but curse past Sen for being a vexing idiot that got petty over insignificant shit.

"Three things," she said, still with closed eyes and fingers rubbing at her temples. Because she could definitely feel a headache coming on. "I'm gonna tell you three things, and don't speak until I'm done listing them off, okay?"

She waited for a response. Hisashi did not give one, verbally at least. Good, she thought. He could actually follow directions to a T, it seemed.

Now came the hard part. Choosing her words carefully, bullshit some explanation that Hisashi would find satisfactory.

"Firstly, I'm not sure you or Rei really grasp the situation," she said. "Because if you want to ask me about his victims, don't because it's better to ask the victims directly and I'm no babysitter. Secondly, while Shidō isn't able to do much, Shidō is still Rei's teacher—and as her teacher, he can easily mess with her academically."

Sen paused, letting the words sink in for Hisashi. She hoped that he could put two-in-two together.

Because there was no way she was outright saying that if Shidō wanted, he could force Rei to repeat a grade, but she could at least give hints. That way, if it still happened, Sen hadn't technically 'predicted' the future or some other nonsense that would bite Future Sen in the ass. It was always the norm with isekais anyway with the isekai'd character being viewed as some prophet, but she definitely did not want those problems.

Opening her eyes, Sen began to list the third thing she wanted to say, but the words died in her throat. Because down below, on the ground level, Sen had caught sight of bright red hair. Unmistakably red. Familiar red.

She couldn't see the face, but the red hair definitely belonged to a girl, somewhat long, and she was in Fujimi's tracksuit.

She released a breath she didn't even know she was holding, blood growing ice cold. Was the girl Narumi? It could be. Sen was only a year older than her, so if Sen was sent to this world as an eighteen-year-old, then Narumi should be seventeen. Unknown didn't confirm or deny that Narumi was in this world either.

So it could definitely be her Naruuchi. But Sen wasn't too sure. She was a good fifteen feet above, and all she could see was the back and top of the girl's head as… she argued with some guy. With some poor overweight kid behind her on the ground, curled in a ball.

On closer inspection, with Sen cursing herself for just having zoned in on the girl and nothing else, the overweight guy had clearly gotten the shit kicked out of him, and it was obvious that the red-haired girl was trying to prevent him from getting harmed further. Not to mention he seemed very familiar…

Kohta…?

Sen didn't have the time to second-guess herself. Not when the girl was roughly shoved away by the guy she decided to dub as Prick.

"Thirdly," Sen deadpanned when Prick began to kick at Kohta, "we're about to meet a victim of Shidō's."

Why was he always the target? What did he do to deserve being a living, breathing punching bag for despicable bastards such as Tsunoda? Was it something he did in a past life? It had to have been because he had never done anything wrong before someone decided they needed a victim. Sure, he may have had a dark thought or two, but he never acted upon them, never even harmed anyone in his life. In fact, it was only when certain people came into his life that he ever wished to harm someone.

Because all Hirano Kohta wished for was to be normal. A normal son. A normal student. A normal classmate. Life just wasn't fair though. Especially when he was caught in a corner by his bullies, away from prying eyes. It wasn't like he could tell anyone, not with a teacher enabling that shitty behavior, but Fujimi Academy was a prestigious school and it didn't take kindly to outward shows of violence.

So Tsunoda always liked to catch him in places where there weren't too many people lingering around. Beatings weren't commonplace, but if Kohta had to guess, he'd say that Tsunoda was pissed, judging by how hard his kicks felt. All he could do was curl into a ball and hope it'd be over soon. He already felt bad enough about getting Uratsuka involved just by being within proximity, and he dared to take a peek at the red-haired girl as Tsunoda sent another kick to his ribs.

Suddenly, Tsunoda was no longer looming over him. Because Uratsuka, recovered from the shove, gave her own shove to Tsunoda, throwing the aggressive guy off balance despite her smaller, lithe build. He really struggled to catch himself, and as she hurriedly tried to help Kohta up, Tsunoda fell and looked ready to murder, glaring at Uratsuka harshly.

Kohta would've found Uratsuka really brave for how the girl met the glare with a composed expression if he wasn't so worried about Tsunoda hurting her for interfering yet again.

"What part of leave," Tsunoda growled, picking himself up off the ground, "did you not understand? I got business with that goddamn fatty!"

"All you're doing is kicking him," Uratsuka replied, taking a deep breath. Kohta noted that the hand that was on his arm was trembling ever so slightly, and it made him feel even worse that it seemed like Uratsuka was putting up a brave act to help him. "He isn't a punching bag."

Tsunoda snorted, scoffing. "He's a weak pathetic bitch so might as well be. Plus, Shidō-sensei says I can do anything I want, and you should know better than to make sensei upset, Uratsuka."

His words made Uratsuka flinch, but her grip on Kohta didn't slack. In fact, she held Kohta firm, muttering that they needed to get ready to run. Kohta wasn't too keen on running, but Uratsuka had surprising strength, more than intending on forcing him to. Maybe it was a given because how she was the star of the track club, but Tsunoda was in the same club, too, and Shidō was its advisor.

"You don't need to—" Kohta started to mutter, but Uratsuka shook her head and squeezed his hand.

Tsunoda took a step closer, threatening. "Look, I don't give a damn if you're a girl, let alone hot. Only reason I haven't hurt you is that we're in the same club. Don't make me—"

"You're only hurting him because I rejected you," Uratsuka cut in sharply, her stare narrowed, unforgiving. Kohta glanced at her worriedly, but the redhead only squeezed his hand in response again, not breaking her gaze from Tsunoda, who had the dumbest face Kohta had ever seen.

In any other situation, Kohta would've snickered at Tsunoda, at how dumbfounded he was by Uratsuka's boldness, but as the look of surprise began to morph into anger, Tsunoda flushing red with a vein visibly swelling on his neck, Kohta felt a lump forming in his throat.

And then Uratsuka provoked Tsunoda further, saying, "If anyone is pathetic, it's you."

Kohta braced himself for a world of pain, but just as Tsunoda lunged forward, angrily cursing, something black and gray and green blitzed past, heading directly for Tsunoda.

Kohta realized that the something was a tall girl with long, black hair that shined like raven feathers, wearing a gray baggy hoodie with the long variant of the girls' skirt of the school uniform. Kohta watched in awe as the girl knocked Tsunoda off his feet, clamping a hand firmly over his face to slam the back of his head into the ground, aided by momentum.

Laid flat on his back, not even so much as moving an inch, Tsunoda was dazed from the attack. A telltale sign that the slam was powerful, but the girl didn't appear to have exerted herself much, quick to stand upright with her hand retreating from Tsunoda's face into the pocket of her hoodie. Her posture was completely relaxed, in fact, having a nonchalant demeanor despite how she had attacked someone, virtually unbothered.

Kohta got a good look at her now that she stood still. She was beautiful, like model beautiful, not the type to start fights, and even with the hoodie on, the overweight boy could tell she boasted a toned, curvaceous frame that was more on the willowy side, very fitting for the rather tall stature she possessed. In fact, she was the tallest girl Kohta had ever seen, a head span taller than his five-foot-two self.

However, the most noticeable thing about her was not her height or her fine facial features. It was her eyes. Her eyes were rainbow-like with the colors appearing in her irises like glittery fragments that seemed to shift every time she moved, contrasting heavily against dark eyelashes. They reminded Kohta of the precious opals his father would sell in his jewelry.

"Y'know," the girl drawled to Tsunoda, voice much more composed than Kohta expected but still light and breathy. "You really should go back to your barber. You got a skunk streak that looks like it's been pissed on."

The grip Uratsuka had on Kohta became tighter. The redhead was rigid against him and glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he saw she was watching the scene with an undiscernible expression. No, that wasn't quite right. Her honey-like eyes were trained on the girl, not looking at anything else.

"Wh… Fu... ck… yo…you!" Tsunoda was disoriented but still coherent enough for anger to fill its way back in, it seemed. He tried moving, visibly struggling—just how hard did the girl slam him, Kohta wondered—but all this did was make the tall girl walk to the side of his head and lean over.

"Hey." Her tone seemed full of concern as her long-lashed, prismatic eyes gazed down at Tsunoda, head tilted to the side. "What's the matter? You've not finished already, are you?"

A taunt. One that Tsunoda didn't take kindly to as he glared defiantly, trying to instead reach to pull the black-haired girl down. But this reaction, Tsunoda giving into the provocation, only drew a sinister grin from the girl, exposing fanged teeth.

"Ah, there we go. That's it," came out as a murmur before the pretty girl raised her sneaker-covered foot and stomped hard onto Tsunoda's stomach, right at his solar plexus. Forcing out all of the air in his lungs.

Several desperate gasps occurred predictably, tears threatening to leak out of bulged-out eyes as Tsunoda struggled for breath. Instinctually, he began to curl into a ball—but this left him defenseless because the girl followed up the stomp by kicking him in the jaw, her demeanor nonchalant. Yet the force of the kick was so strong that Tsunoda's head whipped to the side, blood mixed with saliva flying from his mouth onto the floor. His body followed, with his back turned to the girl that didn't waste any time aiming another kick at his body, completely unmerciful but casual, treating this as if she was just playing around.

So despite how his body ached and how Uratsuka was as still as a statue, Kohta couldn't begin to describe the happiness and relief that flooded him with seeing Tsunoda be reduced to this sorry state. He couldn't even stop the grin he wore, relishing how Tsunoda was unable to catch his breath, curled into a feeble, wheezing ball. It felt good if he was being honest. Sure, it was shitty to be like that, but the girl attacking Tsunoda couldn't have gone any better.

"Oh, c'mon, c'mon." The girl nudged Tsunoda with her foot, a dangerous glint in her eyes despite the lighthearted tone her voice possessed. "That can't be—"

"That's enough, Doi-senpai!" Kohta heard a new voice yell, cutting the girl off. Doi, her name was, or at least her surname.

A male student came into view from the stairwell. He was of similar height as Doi, although visibly more muscular with gray curtained hair, his long fringe framing his angular features. A handsome guy, all together, Kohta thought dejectedly.

Doi stopped, too.

Slowly, she looked at the gray-haired guy, the smug smile she had lost and replaced with a blank expression. Kohta had to admit that it was a bit unnerving as it seemed as though the girl… looked ready to harm him, too, eyes a prismatic abyss, lacking emotion. A few painstaking seconds ticked by, and then the girl grinned, life returning to her with her mouth doing this funny thing where it pulled up further at one side, making it seem dorky rather than contemptuous like before. She pulled one hand out of the muff of her hoodie, giving an OK gesture.

"Okaaay, I'll stop," The girl drawled, giggling. "Only wanted to look cool anyway, hehe."

Cool…? Cool? Kohta sweat-dropped. In his personal opinion, she had succeeded in doing just that and then some, but he hoped that maybe she wanted to right an injustice.

Or something. It was an odd situation for him. No one ever stopped the bullying before, always just letting it happen. Not Uratsuka though. Not this Doi girl either, to a frightening degree.

Still, the chubby boy released a breath he didn't even know he was withholding, though when he breathed in too deeply, his ribs and back ached with his features twisting in response. There had to have been bruising, maybe even some fractures if he was unlucky. Being in the track club gave Tsunoda really strong legs, and Uratsuka seemed to snap out of her trance of staring at the girl, worriedly murmuring that they needed to get him to the nurse.

Grunting, Kohta readjusted his glasses, thankful that they hadn't been broken, and—

He noticed Doi was looking straight at him, head tilted to the side curiously. Then she let out a whistle, almost grimacing. "Daaamn. Prick did a number on you, huh?"

Kohta only blinked at her, not fully registering that she was indeed talking to him, that a pretty girl was taking the time to talk to him instead of just leaving or talking to the guy. Not that Uratsuka wasn't pretty either, with ruby red tresses and soft features paired wonderfully with gorgeous amber eyes, but Doi… she was an odd one, Kohta guessed.

Either way, the black-haired girl didn't seem to mind the lack of response. Instead, Doi pulled out a rectangular object from the hoodie. An iPhone, Kohta realized, and she raised it up, aiming… the camera directly at him.

Several flashes occurred rapidly. "Hey, hey, hey," Doi said, enthusiastically taking pictures from all sorts of angles. "Look this way. C'mon, c'mon. Lookie, look. Loooooooooooooo—"

Kohta did not look. Instead, he shied away from the camera, raising his arm over his face to block the flashes. Uratsuka did the same, almost seeming dazed.

Fortunately, it didn't last long. The tall, gray-haired student moved his hand in front of the iPhone, shooting an apologetic grimace at them while Doi, like an upset toddler, puffed out her cheeks, pouting—but even that didn't last long since Tsunoda groaned, slowly but surely picking himself up off the ground.

Doi was quick, and the gray-haired student proved to be just as quick when he crouched and roughly grabbed Tsunoda by the back of his neck. He didn't slam him to the ground like Kohta expected though, instead tugging the beaten guy up to his feet, with his grip not slacking even as Tsunoda struggled visibly.

"We're going to let bygones be bygones." His words were loud and clear, but his voice had taken on a threatening, commanding tone. "Because if you want to take this further, then, by all means, take it further."

"Fuck you, Igō," Tsunoda spat. "When Shi—"

"If anyone hears about this," Doi cut in, holding up her smartphone with a sly smile. "Then you're going down, too. Because this video of you threatening a female student and physically assaulting your classmate won't look good for you, and your creepy-ass sensei can't do jack shit about you being caught on video."

Sure enough, Kohta realized Doi wasn't bluffing. On the screen played a video that was clearly taken from the stairwell, showing him and Uratsuka and Tsunoda from a bird's eye view. However, while Uratsuka and he were facing away from the camera most of the time, Tsunoda's face was visible, clear as day within almost every second of the video.

Clearly enough for Tsunoda to clamp his mouth shut, too. A few more words were exchanged between him and the gray-haired student called Igō, and then Tsunoda was practically scurrying away with his tail tucked between his legs.

No one moved until the bully was out of sight, Doi pocketing the iPhone and Igō pinching the bridge of his nose, gently sighing. An odd tension started to seep through the air, and Kohta gulped down a lump beginning to form in his throat as the silence was deafening.

He wasn't exactly sure what to say to his and Uratsuka's saviors, but building up the courage, the overweight boy bowed with a wince. "T… Thank you!" He cringed at the volume of his voice, but peeking at his two saviors, Igō let go of whatever qualms he had about the situation, responding back with a good-natured smile.

"Not a problem, dude." Igō patted his shoulder. "How are you doing?"

"He… He needs to go to the nurse," Uratsuka said, shakily.

From the corner of Kohta's eye, Doi stiffened. No, that wasn't quite the right word. When Uratsuka spoke, the black-haired girl went rigid, and her face almost… noticeably began to pale, but she turned away within a few seconds, shying away. It was then that Kohta realized that Doi hadn't actually once looked at Uratsuka. Not like how Uratsuka looked at her, and even Uratsuka seemed to sort of… flinch when she took notice of how Doi reacted to the sound of her voice.

Even Igō noticed. He side-eyed Doi with noticeable apprehension, especially how the tall girl moved to cup a hand over her mouth, slightly shaking. No, trembling. However, the moment he began to voice concern, Doi snapped harshly, soft voice much lower than Kohta expected, almost taking on a raspier quality: "You heard her. Get Hirano to the nurse. Fucking go."

...Aha. She knew his name? Or, at least, part of it? Kohta tugged at his collar, unable to swallow down his nervousness, especially with how taken aback Igō seemed by the snapping, but the gray-haired young man quickly recovered. Again, an apologetic grimace was shot to Kohta and Uratsuka, but he didn't waste any time leading them away.

But Uratsuka seemed reluctant to leave. She lingered a bit, and while she did follow as Igō led them back into the school building, supporting Kohta, her yellow-orange eyes stole glances at the upset Doi until they were out of sight from the prismatic-eyed girl with scary fighting prowess.

"I'm Igō Hisashi, by the way," Igō said eventually if only to break the silence Kohta guessed. Despite how much tension there was, the corners of his lips were uplifted into an easygoing smile. "1st-year."

"M… Me too," Kohta replied, slightly pained—all this walking was getting to him even if he did have someone that was clearly athletic helping him along. "I'm… in Class 1-C. H-Hirano Kohta."

Igō nodded. "Explains why I haven't seen you before. I'm in 1-A, but…" His sharp-eyed gaze shifted, brown eyes directing to their third member of the makeshift trio. Uratsuka.

Uratsuka, who seemingly wasn't minding where she was going, eyes downcast. She looked near listless. Igō nudged her very slightly, even clearing his throat in an effort to catch her attention, and the redhead blinked rapidly when it appeared as though she was finally brought back down to the earth.

"O-Oh, I…" Uratsuka fiddled with her fingertips, seeming a lot more reserved in contrast to the brave front she had put on for Tsunoda. Shyer, even. "I'm… Uratsuka Narumi," she said softly, tentative. "1st-year, too. In, uh, 1-B."

"Well," Igō began, his smile turning into a toothy grin. "Nice to meet you, Uratsuka-san, Hirano-san."

Terms:

*Hāfu - A Japanese language term used to refer to a person ethnically half Japanese and half non-Japanese. It's a loanword from English, meaning literally "half".