I See Red
Chapter 3: Red Track Suit
"Okita-kun! There you are."
His perfect view of the sky was interrupted by two shadows with long, dark hair. He sighed.
"Yup. You caught me. What do two of the Sadistic Sisters want from this humble student?" Perfect moment ruined.
It was five thirty in the afternoon, and the sky was turning into a pleasant shade of vermilion. Instead of being in the library, he was up on the roof-deck, sucking on a lime-flavoured ice candy. Sighing, he got up to face the two sisters in question.
Tokugawa Soyo, the so-called Princess of 3Z and the class president, tilted her head at him. Behind her, a stoic and silent Imai Nobume watched him, as if ready to strike if he were to try anything funny. "I was looking for you and Kagura-chan in the library. Have you guys finished studying for the day already?"
"Apparently so."
Soyo frowned and narrowed her eyes. "That can't be right. I thought Ginpachi-sensei told you to tutor her…"
"Tell that to China. She's the one who stood me up two days in a row."
Much to his annoyance, for those two days that Kagura didn't show up, Okita stayed and waited for her until the library closed.
"You have any idea where she's gone?" asked Soyo.
"Don't know. Don't care, TBH."
Soyo sighed and looked at Nobume. "What do we do, Nobume-san?"
"Simple. We torture him until we get information." Nobume had her shinai out all of a sudden, and she aimed for Okita's leg. Thankfully, he had lightning speed and he was able to jump out of its way.
He smirked at the silent girl and said in a deadpan voice, "See—now this sends worry into my innocent heart. If her two best friends don't know where she's gone, where could she be…?Could she be involved in something shady…? Something that can get her expelled, dare I say?"
Soyo shook her head vehemently. "It's nothing like that, Okita-kun. Nobume-san, stand down."
Imai Nobume lowered her shinai. In the next moment, she was already munching on a pon-de-ring, and the class president looked at Okita again, her eyes shining with worry. "It's not that we think she's causing trouble or anything… it's just that she's been, er… elusive the past couple of days…"
Soyo laid it all out for him: China has been coming to classes every day as Okita knew, and had been present for most parts of lunch breaks. However, Soyo and Nobume had also noticed that she wasn't coming to the library for the past couple of days; she'd just send them a hasty email that she was needed at home and would send noncommittal messages through chat until the evening.
She had looked tired the past two days, but she only told them that she'd been drinking double shots of espresso mixed with Red Boor and Yakulk so that she won't fall asleep studying for exams at home.
"… so why tell me this? Whatever she does outside of schoolwork doesn't concern me in any way, princess," said Okita, as he sucked the last, sticky bit of melted ice from its plastic wrapper.
"'Cause Ginpachi-sensei told you to keep an eye out for her," replied Soyo, with that innocent, double-bladed smile of hers. "And… to be honest, we don't know her very well. It's been only over two weeks since we've met. I was wondering if she'd… opened up to you, somehow, about…" She suddenly trailed off and looked down.
"About her past, you mean?" The rumours about her being a yankee and/or Yakuza princess have not died down the past few weeks, despite her better behaviour. Okita wondered whether Soyo or Nobume had also seen the bruises and cuts on China's arms. If anyone else were to see them, it would only worsen the rumours…
It was clear to him, then, that Soyo came to him, worried not only about China, but whether those rumours have any bearing. Okita sighed.
"She doesn't tell me anything, and I don't ask. I know how to mind my business," he said. "Anyway, it's China-girl. For all we know she's probably ditched you guys to watch K-dramas at home. It might be nothing to worry about."
"… I see." Soyo snapped out of her sullen mood and gave him one of her regal smiles again. "If you say so, Okita-kun. If I were you though, I'd pay closer attention to her~ If anything happened to her, you'd answer to her dad…"
"Her dad? Oi, who is her dad, anyway? Is it that balding old man who teaches gym?"
Soyo and Nobume began walking away, but not before flashing him peace signs as they left him alone on the rooftop.
He clenched his teeth and frowned. The sky was turning into a deeper shade of red, and all he could think of is how hard he'd smack the China girl's red head after all this was over.
It had nothing to do with the meaningful glances that Soyo threw him the next day, nor the stone cold glares that Nobume gave him when China wasn't looking. However, he brought it upon himself to expose China's secret before the day is over.
He sent texts to the Mayora and Gorilla as early as recess to keep an eye out for China secretly, citing his meeting with the princess and her bodyguard the afternoon before. Indirectly, he told them that the class president requested the disciplinary committee's intervention.
Hijikata had nodded to him discreetly in understanding, and Kondou-san might have received the message too, but it was difficult to tell at first since he bothered (and got beaten up by) Otae-san as usual.
Kagura had her track suit over her sailor uniform again as early as homeroom, and Ginpachi-sensei didn't seem to mind. During lunch break, she and Okita ate tensely facing each other as usual. Shinpachi came over and gave them dumplings. Kagura ate about half her portion, and said that she'd keep the rest of them for her snack during their 3 PM Japanese Literature class.
She's eating less than usual. You're right, Sougo. Something's up, texted Hijikata in their group chat, who was munching on yakisoba bread completely covered in mayonnaise from the other corner of the room.
Told ya. Also: Die, Hijikata-san.
She then announced that she needed to take a dump, earning her a few minutes of nagging from Glasses on how she spoke in an unlady-like manner. Later, Kondou-san sent a message through the group chat.
It's OK, Sougo~ she really went in the girls' room. Most likely taking a dump. (poop emoji) She must have eaten some of Otae-san's tamagoyaki too (100 emoji)
Kondou-san. Please stop peeping in the women's bathroom. (cringing emoji)
Toushi~! How could you accuse me of such a dirty deed? (weeping emoji). For your information, I'm not here to peep on anyone but Otae-san!(heart emoji) (heart emoji) (heart emoji) (panting emoji).
Okita sighed and erased those incriminating portions of the group chat. Soon enough, a loud scream—Kondou's, from the gorilla-esque sound of it—rang from the direction of the toilets, followed by a terrible crashing sound.
From his corner of the room, Toushi's entire body flinched, and he hung his head in shame.
Within that chaos, the three of them lost sight China. Kondou texted them in a panic, saying that there's nobody in the bathroom anymore and nothing smells like poop. Okita, trying to appear nonchalant, walked around the third floor, the school yard, and the gym, but the red-head wasn't there.
As the bell rang and signalled their next class, Okita came running back to room 3-Z. China was jogging behind him as well, red-faced and panting.
"The hell have you been, China?"
"Told ya, I took a dump, yup. I must have eaten some of Anego's tamagoyaki by accident," she mumbled, pushing him aside and ambling to her seat.
"All right ya slobs, take your damn seats and pay attention," slurred Ginpachi-sensei, and Okita followed. He tried to ignore Soyo's worried glances, and instead attempted (and failed) to focus on Ginpachi's long drawl about the legend of Kintaro.
Later that day, he finally caught her.
He didn't go to the library—he knew that she wouldn't show up again, anyway. After classes, Hijikata said that she was at her shoe locker one moment, then gone the next. She probably knew that somebody was tailing her, or that she was doing her best not to get caught in whatever it was she was doing.
How difficult was it to look for someone with red hair in this school, anyway? Okita stopped and collected his thoughts. She was trying to hide her bruises—could the rumours be true that she was a yankee? If so, she might be in some stupid fight somewhere, and if it was that type of fight, it had to be outside of the school. Maybe a dump or an alleyway somewhere.
"… Dragon's Vein. Heck, why not," he mumbled, cursing to himself. He ran towards the direction of the middle school, sending a rushed message to their group chat as he did.
Sure enough, he found her in that narrow alleyway, stony-faced and resolute, her back against a wall decorated with a poorly drawn dragon via spray-paint.
They were a bunch of no-name girls, pretty and forgettable faces, probably from the lower years. Okita recognized some of them as part of the more popular crowd who confessed to him last year and whom he subsequently rejected. Probably. He couldn't really remember.
When he ran into them, they were saying a bunch of clichéd stuff like "who do you think you are" "stop throwing yourself at him" "you are such a whore, you should crawl back to whatever hole you came from and never come back" and "you're a piece of trash polluting Sougo-kun's floor, you should be ashamed of yourself".
China, clad in her track suit, had her eyes fixed on their faces, never moving, not saying anything else but "let's just get this over with, you uncreative pigs, yup" and that did nothing but to rile them up more. They punched and kicked and pushed her, taking care to avoid her face because "that Sakata pervert won't catch us as long as her face doesn't show it". It's obvious that they were hoping that she would fall, but she was strong enough to take all the hits.
The blows came down harder and harder, and the fire-headed girl was starting to flinch. But all she said was a deadpan, "Are you done yet?" And the anger in the girls' face just grew and grew.
"Oh… we're just beginning to get started, Yankee Princess. You know, I know a big guy you might like—he's been itching to get his hands on ya. How about it? Want him to pop your cherry?... Of course, he might not ask you as nicely as we are…"
"Eat shit."
"You will, soon enough." One of them had lit a cigarette, and he saw her in slow motion grabbing Kagura's arm, lowering the lit part of the cigarette to her perfect, pale skin, and next thing he knew, he was seeing red, and he was in front of them, and the cigarette landed on the ground instead.
"Oi. What do you think you sluts are doing?" He heard himself say in a dark, dangerous tone that he'd never used in public before, and the girls' eyes were as wide as saucers as they looked up at him.
He couldn't see China's face, but he felt her freeze behind him. The no-name girls stammered stupidly at him, saying things like they couldn't stand that a slob like her was inconveniencing him so, and that he deserved better, and that she was rude to them so they were just teaching her a lesson, etc.
"A-anyway, Okita-sempai... you know Urara-chan is just looking out for you, don't you~?" The leader of the pack, a girl with dyed orange hair tied into two pigtails, told him sweetly.
"Scram," was all he said.
"But, Okita-sem—"
"I said SCRAM." He felt that his red eyes were glowing with the raw anger rising in his chest, and the girls ran away quietly. Urara, or whatever her name was, gave Kagura one last scathing look, muttered "We aren't done yet," and ran away with tears at the corners of her eyes.
He took his phone and dialled Hijikata's number. "… yep. I found her. A bunch of girls took her at Dragon's Vein. She's safe. Try to catch them," he said before hanging up.
He turned around and saw China dusting herself off, stretching her arms, as if she had merely come from a workout. "For how long have they been bothering you?"
"Maybe a week now. They waited for me outside the library… first time they brought me out here, though," she told him with a neutral voice. She picked up her book bag and began walking to the direction of the school.
The anger in his chest and the red in his vision didn't disappear. He grabbed her shoulder, clamped it so that she wouldn't walk away. "I heard everything they said, China. Why the fuck didn't you tell me anything?"
"And why would I do something stupid like that?" she replied, unfazed. "They're a bunch of idiots who like an idiot like you. It's not even worth mentioning."
"Even so—you didn't think to tell Kondou-san or Hijikata-san or anyone else from the disciplinary committee? Or the teachers? We take bullying in this school seriously."
She smirked. "I wouldn't know it from how you treated me before, Sadist. But like I said, no need. Like I said, not worth mentioning."
"Don't pretend to be so strong, China. I know you could beat them to a pulp even if you were outnumbered so you didn't fight back. But to allow yourself to be their punching bag for two weeks?"
"Bitches will be bitches. Not worth it."
"What if they brought a knife? You would have let them cut you?"
"They're a bunch of weaklings who barely know how to fight… like I said, Sadist, I can handle myself. I don't know why you even bothered to—"
He felt that he had enough. In one fluid motion, he forced her to face him, and before she could resist, he took off the track suit jacket, which was thankfully loose, and it peeled off her shoulders and hung off her arms almost effortlessly. Her exposed arms were full of bruises, some of them already yellowing, some of them dark and red, all of them polluting her pale skin. She looked away from him defiantly.
"It's nothing… I had it worse before, yup," she mumbled.
"Before?"
"…"
"What the hell happened in your old school, China?" he asked quietly.
"… please, just leave it alone." After a while she looked down on the ground with a strange aura of shame. Obviously, she'd said too much already, even though Okita had nothing but more questions in his head. "You can't tell this to Soyo-chan or Nobume-chan or Anego or anybody else, okay? Although… if you or the Gorilla or the Mayora say anything, they might hit my friends next," she added weakly, almost pleadingly. He let her put her track jacket on.
"It'll be Kondou-san's responsibility to report it to Matsudaira-sensei, and maybe the Principal too. But the disciplinary committee will need your cooperation if they raise it to the authorities."
"Ah. Then… can you tell the Gorilla…"
"You know, if you're worried about your friends, don't be. Nobume's the star of the Kendo club and she's acting like the Princess's bodyguard, like, all the time. And you don't need me to explain how Onee-san, Kyuubei, and Sa-chan can defend themselves. Those bitches are crazy."
"Don't call them bitches, you asshole." Kagura kept looking down on the ground. "I was… going to take care of it myself, okay? I didn't need your help, nope."
He sighed, staring at her unmarred face. She had that scowl again, and that spark inside wouldn't stop bothering him. Without thinking, he stepped closer to her, tipped her face upward to make her face him, and stared even longer.
Her skin was so… pale. It was odd. If anybody hurt her, her skin would show it, and he would immediately know…
She obviously found this disconcerting, and a blush crept up to her cheeks. "What is it, Sadist? Don't be such a pervert—"
He gave her an evil smile, and then took off her glasses. When she protested, he held them high above her head, out of her reach. "They're cracked, you idiot. I thought you didn't want anyone finding out that a bunch of weak sluts were beating you up on a daily basis."
She cursed as she tried to jump up to reach her eyewear. "You don't just take glasses from the visually impaired without their permission, you dumb-ass."
"Hm. Interesting—I didn't know the visually impaired have such… clear, hipster fake glasses," he said as he put the glasses on himself. She took this opportunity to grab them off his face, and he smirked at her when her frown deepened. "Look—I ain't going to ask anymore since you obviously don't want to tell me anything about you, but I can't let any other idiot beat you up while Ginpachi has us in this arrangement. You can get beaten up to a pulp for all I care, since you seem to be such an M, but do it after exams, okay?... actually, you could be my M. I'd prefer it if nobody else beat you up but me."
"As if. You are such a fucking jerk," she said, but in an undeniably softer voice. She must have been getting tired. She sighed, bit her lip in thought, as if wanting to tell him something, but she apparently changed her mind. "We barely have time to study in the library, Sadist."
Okita looked at his wristwatch. She was correct, of course. It was already getting dark, and the library would be closing in 10 minutes.
He sighed. "We have a lot of material to cover, China. And you're still having a hard time with the literature coverage. And math. And English—actually, all of it, since you seem to be dumber than a bag of hammers—"
"So let's study at your house," she said.
He looked at her, who still had that defiant look on her face. "What? Right now?"
"Yup. You said so yourself. We barely have enough time. If it's your house, we can study as long as we need to, since it's a Friday and we don't have school tomorrow. I can ask permission from my dad that I'm staying at your house tonight."
"Why my house?"
"I'm not bringing you to my house… G-Dad wouldn't like it."
He frowned. "Would your dad be okay with you staying the night at a guy's place?" Her dad, the mystery teacher that she had not told him about yet? And besides, he has work that night—
"Yup, he knows about you. If you do anything funny to me, he'll rip off your balls and serve them to you over rice for breakfast." She already had her phone out and was sending an SMS to the dad.
"Ugh. All right, give me a second," he mumbled. He would have to ask the Mayora or Kondo-san to cover for him at work, on top of everything else. He sent them his SOS, not explaining why he needed the cover, and cursing the strange turn of events, he led China to the road home.
