Chapter 2

Second chapter of my second Fanfiction. The game still hasn't started, but hang on, it will very soon!

The next day, Tsuchihara All-Girls High School Locker Room

Asuka and Kyoko were running wildly, almost flying, through the long stairs that led to the locker room. It was a special day, the day of the medical exam all classes should take once a year. On that day, it was their classes turn. The two friends weren't really excited. The exam consisted of weighting and measuring, and all the girls would now know how fat, strong or un-pretty one of them was. Asuka and Kyoko did not really worry about it, thankfully.

When they arrived at the large, open space filled with showers and lockers, Yoriko and Chitose were already there, partially undressed. Chitose's pink bra seemed to be twice the size of her small body, but the others pretended not to notice. Kyoko started taking of her shirt, exposing her creamy, beautiful body. Yoriko couldn't resist stating:

"Kyoko, words can't explain how much I envy you right now." – And all the girls giggled together.

"Don't worry, Yori" – answered Asuka – "If you exercise every day, do a plastic surgery in your entire body and then kill yourself to reincarnate, you might get close to her." – Despite the meanness in the sentence, Asuka did not want to harm her friend. She just knew that it was almost impossible for a girl to be as beautiful as Kyoko. She was actually looked like a model, much like Kumiko Noma. Yoriko, with her short hair and tall stature, was a bit too masculine to be considered pretty.

Misa Fujiwara, who despite being new in the school had adjusted very quickly and was even becoming quite popular among the other girls conversations, sprinted through the locker room and met her classmate's gaze. She did not forget about her conversation with Kyoko on the previous day.

"Hey girls! Are you now sure about taking me on a tour now, Kyoko?" – asked Misa, directly and a bit aggressively, like her fiery personality was.

"Yes. Don't worry, we'll go together."- answered Kyoko. She had been thinking about hanging out with Misa instead of her boyfriend the entire time during the previous night. Misa seemed to be a nice girl, and was also strong-willed. Kyoko liked these types of people. Also, she still did not have any friends, and being friends with Kyoko would make her friendly with the entire group. Misa couldn't hide a smile after hearing that answer.

Asuka, who was quietly watching the events to unfold while undressing, heard a sob behind her, on the other side of the locker room. She turned around and saw Sato Mizunoe, still with her shirt on, crying copiously. She did not usually talk to her, but decided to at least ask what was going on.

"Sato, it's me, Asuka…. Why are you crying, darling?" – She hoped the "darling" at the end of the sentence would make Sato answer.

Sato looked into her eyes with her large glasses, teary eyed. She then answered like if her throat was burning with fire:

"It's Kumiko…. And her friends… when they see how ugly I am, they'll all make fun of me again. - Sato knew she would be bullied anyway, but decided not to undress. She did not want to be seen, as she was fat and ugly. She hated herself and envied girls like Kumiko and Kyoko more than anyone else. How unfair God was! Why couldn't he just make everyone thin and pretty?

"I think they bully you, Sato, because you pay attention to them. That's all they want: attention. Ignore then and they'll go away, because I'm sure they are unhappy and lonely themselves." – Asuka never thought she could deliver such a wonderful speech like that. Maybe that was the cause of all bullying: unhappiness. And unhappiness only leads to more unhappiness, and in the end everybody loses the battle.

The locker room door opened and the dreaded trio came in. Tsukiko was the first to come in and already shouted at Sato:

"Look who's here! The fatty, stupid, ugly duckling! Why don't you take your clothes off? Only because you are ugly and can't do anything about it?" – Tsukiko was a really, really mean person. Kumiko and Tomoko giggled in the background.

Asuka stood up and faced Tsukiko, angry. She wouldn't accept that humiliation happening in front of her anymore. She shouted back.

"Look who's here! The dumb slut who has an empty life and loves to say others are ugly because she's already ugly herself!" – Asuka was playing with fire, and was about to get burned.

"Fuck you!" – screamed Tsukiko, and then ran towards Asuka, ready to punch her. How could that small, stupid brat go against her, the most foul-mouthed and aggressive in her trio? But somebody grabbed her arm. Surprisingly, it was Misa.

"Tsukiko, she's my friend now. Stop it." – Her voice was so calm and certain of what she was saying that even Tsukiko got impressed. Asuka was happy to see that she was a friend of Misa as well. Tsukiko angrily stared at Misa and said:

"I promise you, bitch, that you are not going to live to see the sun tomorrow." – And then got rid of Misa's arm and went back to her group, who angrily gossiped and disappeared behind the locker lines.

Aya Tsunaba was also in the locker room the entire time, changing her clothing all by herself. She had watched the fight and now her thoughts were all of pride and punishment. Aya was born to a fanatically religious family, who believed everything that wasn't told or said in a church was an art of the devil. Aya just thought to herself: How can these girls be so stupid? That Tsukiko is a coward, and Sato is also a whiny loser. They are all so aggressive and mean to each other. The world must be close to the Apocalypse. O Lord, please protect me of their indecency and sin. Do not make me fall into temptation. Amen.

Meanwhile, Shizuko Honda and her friends, Rena and Natsumi, sat together by the locker line next to the right side of the place. Shizuko was constantly touching her pregnant belly, wondering when it would come out. She wished her boyfriend had not abandoned her, but now it was too late. At least she still had her family (who accepted her pregnancy and did not force her to abort) and friends to trust. Her life was the new life coming out of her now.

"I hope they don't do anything physically stressing today. It would hurt my baby badly."- Shizuko wasn't doing exercise for a long time now. She couldn't, and also did not want to. The teacher would probably get angry with her, but it didn't matter.

"Don't worry, Shizu, you'll be fine. Think about us, who'll have to go through the training and humiliation anyway." – said Rena, the comic relief of the group. All the three girls smiled, and Shizuko now felt happy. Without her friends, she was nothing, but with them… she was a lot. She wondered how her baby would feel in the future, with three "mothers" instead of only one.

Rin Tosaba's group was also gossiping and talking about the future. Specially Hana Nozaki, the most talkative, about a new crush she was having.

"Her name is Koichi, and he lives in Shibuya. He's so handsome and gentlemanly; you girls should all meet him!" – Hana was boy crazy and changed her crushes daily. She was proud of it.

"I vote we should all meet him, but in the end he would be only mine!" – exclaimed Hitomi Nara, Hana's rival-in-love but friend in anything else. She hadn't met Koichi personally, but she knew Hana wasn't lying. Her face said it all.

"I wonder what my Shuya would say if he heard that" – giggled Rin, the pretty but also as fragile as a bird leader. She was dating for two years already and actually loved Shuya more than anything. It was hard to get a boyfriend in an all-girls school, but Rin found the best she could. It made her feel special. Rin loved to be a leader, even though it meant a lot of work.

"What about you two? You need to have somebody in mind, you know it!" – asked Rin to Sachiko Kirihara and Kagura Soga, who were away from the gossip. Sachiko simply raised her head and answered:

"Not interested. Please call again. Tut-tut." – Sachiko's imitation of a telephone was so perfect that all girls burst out laughing, except Kagura, always in a corner and the one who was out of most conversations. Even though she had many friends, Kagura still felt very, very lonely. Maybe because she thought they weren't real friends. They just picked her into the group to see one less isolated girl in class, besides Sato. Kagura was sometimes funny and happy, but most times gloomy and sad. Sachiko, on the other hand, despite looking nerdy and not having interest in men, was a very nice girl and also made decisions quickly.

All the groups kept talking and slowly all the girls, with only their bras and skirts on, walked up the staircase to the infirmary, where the exam would take place. The nurse, Mrs. Suzuki, was a beautiful, tall woman who would raise crushes from all the boys, if boys were allowed in that school. The girls sat down next to her friends and started to hear what the nurse had to say. Mari and Hiasame Shikamoto, Miki Nakayoshi and Kageri Shouzaku were already there since early in the morning, for some strange reason. The nurse simply asked a question to Rin, the class representative:

"Rin, are they all here?" – Rin looked around and counted all the girls. "Yes, they all are, Mrs. Suzuki.

"Great. Really great."- And then Mrs. Suzuki grabbed something on the floor and put it on her face. It was a gas mask. The puzzled girls started asking questions, but not for very long. They were all feeling strangely tired and quickly went to sleep where they were. Asuka was the last one to go, looking around to see all of her sleepy friends, before finally going to the darkness herself.