Author's Note: Happy birthday, Saburo! You van-loving weirdo! I have been sitting on this idea ever since I heard the story called, Why I Stopped Hacking, in one of the videos from Top15s' YouTube channel years ago. We get to see a little bit of Anzu's back story. I will go into more about Anzu, her little friend, and more about this unfolding drama in the near future. Next up will be Aoba and Akane's birthdays. (It's funny with the alliteration with their names and the month of August.) I already have ideas for those bites. Also, Dark Side of Wonderland will be premiering on the second of August. For now, enjoy this latest bite.

Scorched Earth

-Anzu-

This was all my fault. I should've never introduced her to that monster. I have to make it right.

I walked up to Shingo's apartment and knocked on the door. I backed up when his mother opened the door. She still had on her apron from cleaning.

"Excuse me, is Shingo-kun here?" I asked. Kitagawa-san perked up.

"He's in his room," she said in a polite tone. I could tell that she was happy that he son finally had some friends.

"Please, come in," she said as she moved away from the door.

"Thank you," I said, bowing. I walked into the apartment.

I felt that old shiver up my spine as I walked down the hall. I tried to push it down as I knocked on the door.

"Shingo-kun! I'm here!" I said.

"Enter," his muffled voice said. I opened the door and poked my head inside.

"I'm coming in," I said. He had his back to me. I watched him type away on his laptop.

"Hey there," I said.

"Yo," Shingo-kun said. I closed the door behind me.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"Yes!" I said. I didn't have to think about it. Nothing was going to convince me otherwise.

"Yes, I thought about it," I said. "I am not going to back down. He deserves this." Shingo turned and looked at me. He had a serious look on his face.

"What do you have?" I asked.

"Come up and look," he said. I walked over to his laptop. My jaw just dropped. He had everything about Nagai Kohei. School records, social media, emails, phone records, and everything in between.

"How did you get all of this?" I asked.

"My own powers let me access anything I want through anything on a computer," he said. I started to back away from Shingo-kun. His powers are starting to scare me. I cleared my throat.

"Wow. That's… Whoa. Remind me to never piss you off," I said. Shingo said nothing.

"Where you do want to start?" he asked. I lifted my chin.

"I want to go full scorched earth on that bastard," I said. "I want to ruin him so badly that he can never recover. He hurt my friend and now I want to hurt him!" I clenched my fists at my sides. Now it was Shingo's turn to be scared of me.

"He raped my friend," I said. He said nothing as he turned back to his laptop.

"Where do you want to start?" he asked again. I leaned in for a look on the screen. Hm… Where do I want to start?

"I have something," I said. I told him what I wanted and Shingo got right to work.

I was serious about the scorched earth plan. We spread rumors about dating older men for pay. Told about all the girls he drugged and assaulted. Talked about all the drugs that he used. Shingo used photo and text "evidence" to really sell it. (I had no idea that he was good at deep fakes. Too good. I almost fell for it myself.)

Shingo sat back in his chair.

"Good enough?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. Now, I just had to sit back and wait.

A good revenge takes patience. Why am I doing all of this? It's all for my dear friend. Her name is Kano Mizuki. We've been friends since we were six years old. Mizuki had always been the shy and quiet one. I had to be the one to lead the way. The teacher was the one who paired us up during a class assignment. I thought that Mizuki looked so small. My chin could rest on the top of her head.

Mizuki was a sweet girl. You would have to try and push her to talk. And that's what I did. Not too aggressively, mind you. Just offering it up to her. She was happy to stay home and read shoujo manga. I didn't mind. I just wanted her to have other friends besides me. That plan was going fine.

And then he came along and ruined her.

Nagai Kohei.

I rue the day I met him. You see, Mizuki had a huge crush on him. Looking back, it was easy to see why. He was handsome. All of the girls loved him. Guys wanted to be him. I admit that I found him kind of hot. I didn't go after him because I wasn't looking for a date. Mizuki couldn't stop talking about him.

For context, he went to another school. (We went to an all-girls middle school.) We didn't get much of a chance to interact with him. It didn't help that Mizuki was shy. She didn't know how to approach Kohei. So, I decided to be a good friend and hook her up with him. Mizuki had never had a boyfriend before.

It wasn't hard to do, really. I found him in the arcade. He was alone, playing a racing game. I walked up to him and said hello. Right off the bat, he came off as a bit cocky.

"Hello," I said. He looked me up and down with a bored look on his face.

"Are you Nagai Kohei?" I asked.

"Who's asking?" he asked. That was a small red flag but then again he probably gets hit on all the time.

"Listen," I said. "My friend's got a huge crush on you. But she's a bit shy." He's probably heard that one before. I had to make this quick.

"She's really sweet and she likes you," I said. "Would you like to meet her?" Kohei shrugged at me.

"Sure," he said. I blinked at first.

"Sure?" I asked.

"Sure," he said again. He just went back to his game. I looked like an idiot. Still, I couldn't back down. I grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Do you want our numbers?" I asked. He stared up at me for a moment.

"Okay," he said. He wasn't annoyed by my sudden boldness. In fact, he looked quite amused. Probably should've taken that as a hint. Nevertheless, I gave him Mizuki and my number and he gave me his.

Kohei and Mizuki grew close over the phone in a week. Maybe too quickly. I was just happy that she was about to have a new boyfriend. Days later, they were going on their first date. Now, I was happy for Mizuki but I wasn't going to completely throw her to the wolves. The girl grew up sheltered for pete sake.

"I'm going to come with you," I said. "Don't worry. I won't stay the whole time. Just until you get your bearings, okay?" Mizuki made a face at me at first.

"Okay," she said.

"I just want you to be safe," I said. Mizuki didn't argue with me. I think she just wanted to humor me.

The date took place on a Saturday. Mizuki got all dressed up to look cute. I just had on jeans and a t-shirt. Why should I have to look cute too? This wasn't my date. We were going to meet up in the food court at the mall.

"Are you nervous?" I asked. Mizuki nodded.

"It's okay," I said. "Call me if you want me to bail you out, okay?" She perked up when I said that.

"Hello, ladies!" a voice greeted us. We looked up to see Kohei walking to our table. Mizuki rose to her feet like a bullet.

"Calm down," I whispered. She took in heavy breaths as she sat down. Kohei walked over to our table.

Everything started nice enough. Kohei acted like the perfect boyfriend. He was the one who did all of the talking. I hung back like a good friend. Still, I wasn't going to go yet. I just had to make sure that my friend was going to be okay. Soon, Mizuki started to relax into the date. She engaged in the conversation and even laughed at his jokes. I thought she was going to be okay.

I felt awkward being the third wheel there. This was her date. Mizuki wasn't a child. I figured it was time for me to go. I stood up.

"I've got to go," I said.

"Aw, you're leaving?" Mizuki asked with a pout. I tried not to laugh.

"You don't want little old me tagging along on your date," I said. "It's going to be fine. You just have fun on your date." I gathered up my bag.

"Call me when you get home," I said. Mizuki broke into a huge smile.

"Okay," she said.

"Have fun," I said. I bowed and walked out of the food court. That would be the last time that I would see that smile on her face.

I looked at a message board on my when I got up the next morning after my mission. Already, his friends and classmates are talking about the photos and texts. They are starting to show concern. Good. All I have to do is sit back and watch that creep's downfall. But first…

I brought up the text app and started typing a quick message. I shouldn't be doing this but she has to know. I am doing this all for her after all. I just want my best friend back.