"I could beat your ass any day," Yashiro snorted.
"Maybe in your dreams," Seiko yelled back.
"Meet me tomorrow morning, in the Main Area, after breakfast. And don't be late," Yashiro said, slamming the door shut, and stomping up the stairs, followed by Fujihara, Tomohiro, Lilth, Arisu, Finacal, and Maeve.
Yashiro stomped straight to her bed. She flopped down and Tomohiro sat next to her. They sat in silence for a few moments. The awkwardness slowly rising between the two.
"You don't have to fight her you know," Tomohiro tried.
"Yeah, I do. She insulted Fujihara, I have to stand up to her," Yashiro said.
"I know you love her and all, but sometimes you need to choose the right battles," Tomohiro said putting his hand on her shoulder.
"No, I know this is my battle. Just because I'm short doesnt mean people can just be cunts and walk all over people like me. I was always bullied and i'm done with taking shit from anyone. I will protect the people I care about. Fujihara, Lilth, Finacal even. You too. I'm going to stand up for you all."
"That's a lot of pressure to have on your small shoulders. But I know you're strong. You'll be able to do it."
"I just want to be able to protect everyone, and I know I can't do that because someone is going to end up killing and its all just hopeless and-" Yashiro started bawling. She leaned into Tomohiro's arms and he comforted her as best as he could.
"Shhh. A lot has happened today. Just let it all out." Tomohiro said as he hugged Yashiro tightly. She sobbed into his jacket.
Yashiro cried in Tomohiro's embrace for almost an hour before she tired herself out. She fell asleep in Tomohiro's arms and she felt him pull a cover across her.
Yashiro woke up in the morning to find herself all nice and tucked in. She had a glass of water next to her bed, her top hat and gloves were off and set aside. She put on her hat and gloves and took a swig of the water. She got up and realized nobody was in the Sleeping Quarters. She headed to the main doors where a blinding light shone in Yashiro's face.
Everyone was gathered around the stage. Seiko was up on the stage, wearing headgear, boxing gloves, and a mouth guard. She was punching Kana in the stomach multiple times. He tried his best not to clench at the pain but it was obvious. Arisu and Finacal looked at the door and notices Yashiro come in.
"What the hell is going on?" Yashiro questioned.
"Everyone is excited to see your big fight," Arisu responded.
"We found all the gear in the Sports Closet down in the basement," Finacal explained.
Tomohiro glanced back and noticed Yashiro. He walked towards her and Yashiro just gave a nervous smile.
"Are you ready for this?" Asked Tomohiro.
"Yeah, I guess," Yashiro said.
"Well look who the fuck it is!" Seiko shouted as she noticed Yashiro in the room. "The bitch actually showed up. I figured you would hang yourself in the bathroom or some shit."
"Go fuck yourself. I'm just here to beat your ass and get on with my life," Yashiro snorted.
"Then let's go! Kana, give her the shit," Seiko commanded.
Kana jumped down from the stage and walked over to Yashiro. He helped her take off her top hat and put on the headgear. Yashiro took off her gloves and handed them to Tomohiro. She put on the boxing gloves and grabbed the mouth guard that Kana was handing her. The red and gold mouth guard seemed to fit her mouth perfectly, like it was made exactly for her.
Yashiro hopped up onto the stage, and stood in the opposite corner as Seiko. She gave Seiko a glace and Seiko was giving her the death stare.
"On this right side, we have Yashiro, the midget piece of shit Ring Master!" Kana shouted. "And on the left, we have the gorgeous, boobalisious, Seiko! Ok, let's have a somewhat clean fight, and if some shirts get ripped off, I won't complain. Anyway, get ready... Fight!"
Seiko immediately started to advance on Yashiro. Yashiro was trying to think logically. She had to figure out some weak points of Seiko. Seiko took a swing and Yashiro managed to duck and avoid it. Seiko took another swing and Yashiro dodged it again. Yashiro noticed that Seiko took a step before she swung. Yashiro stared at Seiko's feet until she stepped, but Yashiro didn't move quick enough and the punch was a direct hit to her Jaw.
Yashiro fell back and held onto her jaw. Seiko jumped ontop of Yashiro and started punching her. Yashiro tried blocking the punches but occasionally one would get through and hit her face. Yashiro had to think and get out of this position quickly. Yashiro noticed Seiko was straddling her, so she kicked her leg up and hit Seiko right in the 'cooter.' Seiko grabbed that and fell down. Yashiro rolled out from underneath her and waited for Seiko to get up.
Seiko finally got up but she just looked even more pissed off. Seiko let out a large scream before she ran towards Yashiro. Yashiro jumped to the left and kicked Seiko in the back of the leg and Seiko fell to the ground. She got up again and ran towards Yashiro once again. Seiko jumped and mid air, she punched Yashiro right in the face. Yashiro spun and fell to the ground. She felt hands grab her and throw her across the stage. She flew for a few feet before slamming down onto the stage. Yashiro slowly started to get up before she noticed a quick motion to her right. She barely got to look to the right before she saw a foot coming towards her face and Yashiro blacked out.
"Yashiro? Yashiro! Can you hear me?" Said a voice. Yashiro had a slight ring in her right ear. Yashiro tried sitting up but a hand put her back down. "You need to lay down for a bit longer. You got beat up pretty bad."
Yashiro slowly opened her eyes to see Arisu in front of her. She looked around and noticed she was in the Infirmary. She laid on a bed in the far corner of the room. Multiple shelves and cases held different types of medicine and remedies. Four more beds were in the room. Yashiro noticed two other ones were occupied.
"Wh-what happened?" Yashiro asked.
"After Seiko kicked you in the face, she decided to 'glorify' herself some more. She turned you around and kept punching you and kicking you in multiple places. She would have continued and ended up making you bleed if Tomohiro didn't defend you," Arisu answered.
"What d-do you mean he de-defended me?"
"He jumped onto the stage and punched Seiko right in the face. A one hit knockout. He punched her so hard she was bleeding. He had blood on his hands too. Kana then jumped up and Tomohiro turned around. His eyes had turned bright red, and I couldn't recognize him, almost like he had an alter ego or something. Kana ran up to him and Tomohiro did a round house kick and knocked him the fuck out. Tomohiro's eyes then turned back to normal and a few people grabbed him and dragged him away to calm him down."
"Wow... that's all I can say. So those two in the other beda are Seiko and Kana?"
"Correct."
"Thanks for being here for me I guess."
"Well, I was the only one who volenteered. Tomohiro just said to take them to the Infirmary. He is currently in the Kitchen, but everyone has that place on lock down to make sure he doesn't do anything else."
"Okay, well I'm going to go see him."
"Uhm, no, you're not."
"Yes I am, now you can come with me, or you can stay with the Sick Lovers. Your choice."
"Fine. Let's go. I never really cared about these guys anyway."
"Glad you finally listened to reason."
Yashiro got out of bed and grabbed her things quickly. Arisu made some preparations and they both headed out the door. Arisu and Yashiro made her way up the stairs and out the door. As they entered the main room, they saw Rie keeping watch with Velia by the Dining Room doors.
"Yo, we can't let you in here. You're the reason why Tomohiro freaked the fuck out," Velia called as Yashiro and Arisu walked up to them.
"I need to see him," Yashiro said calmly.
"Honestly I don't care," Rie said as she was painting her nails, "You can go in if you want. If TomoFreak wacks out again, it'll be yet another funny ass show. I wonder who he would knock out next."
"B-but Rie! W-we can't let them through!" Velia retorted.
"Honestly Velia, you need to shut the fuck up and listen to your superiors. We make the rules around here, you're just a side character," Rie yelled back.
"F-fine. Go through, bitches," Velia said while her eyes sparkled with water.
Arisu and Yashiro pushed past Velia and Rie and walked into the Dining room. Yashiro looked back and noticed Rie walked in as well, a smile present on her face. At the opposite door, Finacal and Nari stood guard. Nari shot Rie a disapproving glance.
"Yashiro, I'm glad to see you well so soon! But the thing is, we can't let you in here," Nari started. "In fact, Rie shouldn't have even let you get this far."
"Meh. I honestly don't care, plus, if TomoFreak goes wack again, I want to see who he'll knock out next," Rie responded.
"I need to go see Tomohiro," Yashiro said.
"We can't let you in," Finacal repeated.
"I. Don't. Care. Let. Me. In." Yashiro said again.
"N-no!" Shouted Nari.
"You're not going to get anywhere if you argue like this," Arisu told Yashiro.
"So why can't I go in here?" Yashiro asked.
"Because, Tomohiro freaked out after the fight and beat Seiko and Kana. We can't let him do that again," Nari answered.
"What if Tomohiro didn't freak out because of me?" Yashiro asked. "For all we know, he freaked out because he saw someone getting beat up unfairly. Ever think about that?"
"Oh. Well, uhm. No, we didn't..." Finacal responded.
"Then let me through. If he gets mad again, take me out, and we know I'm the problem. If he doesn't freak out, we know it wasn't me," Yashiro suggested.
"Fine. Now I see why Rie let you through," Nari stated flatly.
"The power of manipulation is a wonderful thing," Rie said as she looked up and followed Yashiro and Arisu through the door.
Tomohiro was ties up to a chair. Fujihara, Lilth, and Maeve stood around him, talking. Yashiro slowly walked up and Tomohiro noticed her.
"Oh hey, Yashiro! I'm glad that you are feeling better already."
"Yeah. I would be worse if you didn't stand up for me tho."
"Yeah. I just had to do what was right."
"Okay, enough with the gushy stuff, I want TomoFreak to punch someone in the face. Maybe Maeve?" Said Rie.
"Way to ruin the moment," Lilth said.
"Are you doing alright?" Arisu asked Tomohiro.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just the rope is somewhat chafing me," Tomohiro replied.
[] Ding Dong Bing Bong []
Everyone in the room turned their gaze to the monitor in the corner. Monosaki showed up.
"I love to see you all happy and stuff, but it's time to head to bed. Remember, the Motive starts tomorrow night! Sleep tight!" Monosaki said, smiling big, and shooting her hands up to the sky before the monitor turned off.
"I guess it's time for bed," Maeve stated. She untied Tomohiro and they walked out the door.
The group walked through the dining hall, past Nari, and out into the main room. They headed into the Sleeping Quarters and people started getting into bed. Yashiro took her hat and gloves off and laid under the covers.
Yashiro woke up still tucked into her covers. She sat up and stretched. Yashiro noticed she was one of the first people up. Only a few other beds were empty. She placed in her items and walked out of the Sleeping Quarters. She walked into the Dining room to find a few people already eating.
Nari was slowly bringing food and drinks out. Finacal helped her, and Velia sat and ate some toast. The last person in the room was Maeve. Yashiro went and sat next to Maeve.
"Morning," Maeve said casually, while sipping her black coffee.
"Hey," Yashiro stated plainly. Nari handed her some breakfast and Yashiro started eating.
A few minutes later, the doors opened up and Yashiro expected to see someone she knew, but she saw a short little girl walk through. She had long blonde hair in two pigtails. She wore a black over jacket, with a white shirt underneath and a tie on. She wore a black, fluffy and wrinkled skirt. The girl wore black shoes and had bright, big eyes.
Yashiro got up and walked over to the girl. The girl looked around real quick before looking up at Yashiro. Her cute facesuddenly got hard, cold, and nasty. She gave a Resting Bitch Face as she looked Yashiro up and down.
"Hey little girl. What are you doing here? Where did you come from?" Yashiro asked the girl who was maybe a foot shorter than her.
"Honestly lady, I don't know. I woke up in a cramped locker, and I got my skirt dirty. I walked up some stairs and smelt the food, so I came up here," The Girl responded harshly.
"What's your name?" Maeve asked as she came up behind them.
"That doesn't matter right now. Oh, and by the way. Someone is dead down there," The Girl said calmly, swiping Maeve's coffee and taking a swig.
[] Authors Note: Hey guys! Wasn't this a wild chapter? Sorry this took so long, but at least I get out good quality. Anyway, it looks like the 17th student has finally presented themselves. Or have they? What do you think their SHSL is if they even have one? And then there appears to be a murder?! What is going on down at the Academy of Hope?! Stay tuned for chapter 13 to find out! Thanks for reading! []