Hey, just before this chapter starts, I just want to take a moment to say thank you for all the support that you've given the story so far. The reviews, the faves and follows really drive me to keep going.
The genuine interest and enjoyment that you all get reading my fanfic fills me with fulfillment and joy. I really wish that I could upload chapters faster, but the writing bug strikes where it strikes.
I hope to complete this story someday, no matter how long it takes. So, I hope that you'll continue to enjoy Phantom Dragon Rising!
Alright, let's get on with it!
"Ann?"
"Shiho, we need to talk."
"Okay...? Is everything alright, Ann? You sound so serious."
"Shiho...I...I just wanted to ask how you were doing? Are you...okay?"
"O-Okay? Of course I'm okay? Why wouldn't I be?"
"Shiho...I've...I've heard some bad things. About what happens in volleyball practice."
"...!"
"Your sprained wrist, that bruise above your eye, your twisted knee. You told me that's from pushing yourself too far in practice. But...that isn't true, is it?"
"A-Ann..."
"I know how much you love playing volleyball, but...but I can't just sit back and watch as you get hurt over and over again."
"Ann, li-listen..."
"Shiho, I-I think you should quit the volleyball team, at least for a little while. I don't want to see my best friend in so much pain-
"Ann, please! That's enough!"
"Shiho?!
"You...you don't know what you're talking about. I just...I just practice a lot, that's all. G-Getting hurt every now and then is normal.
"Not like this, it isn't."
"Ann, listen to me, we're a national level volleyball team. We don't get to that kind of competitive scene with ordinary training. S-Sure, we may push ourselves too far sometimes, but it's a sm-small price to pay. Volleyball is one of the only things that I'm good at. Can't you support me on this...?"
"Shiho...I'm your friend. So why? Why are you lying to me...?
"What?"
"I know that Kamoshida's been abusing you. Abusing all the volleyball team. He's cruel, vindictive and only cares about himself...
"A-Ann, don't talk like th-that about Mr. Kamoshida."
"Don't talk like— Shiho, you're not seriously trying to defend him after everything he's done! Don't tell me he has that kind of power over you!"
"...I...Ann, I can't just... All I've done, I can't just throw that away because you think that there's something bad going on..."
"Please Shiho... Please get out of there, before it's too late. You know that I'd never lie to you. You know that I'm not lying to you."
"I...I need to go. Goodbye, Ann"
"Shiho? Shiho!?"
*Beep*
Ann's mouth hung open as the hang-up tone blared into her ear.
No...no. This couldn't be happening! Shiho couldn't be...!
Frantically, Ann tore the phone away from her ear as if it burned her and glared hard enough at the screen to form holes in it.
She redialled Shiho's number and brought the phone back to her ear. She had to convince Shiho to leave the team. She had to!
It was only after a few tortuous rings that the call went to voicemail.
"Hi, this is Suzui. Please leave a message aft—" Ann hung up. She didn't want to leave a message. She needed to talk to Shiho proper.
She redialled once again.
"Hi, this is Suzui. Please leave a—"
*Beep*
She dialled once more.
"Hi, this is Suzui. Please—"
*Beep*
And again.
"Hi, this is Suzu—"
*Beep*
"Dammit, Shiho!" Ann hissed. She could feel frustrated tears beginning to pool in her eyes. Shiho must've turned her phone off.
But why?! Why was she choosing not to listen to her!? Ann had seen firsthand the kind of torment that the volleyball students faced in Kamoshida's castle. What they faced in reality. Shiho's wounds, which she'd constantly insist were from practising too hard, just didn't add up. Not until now.
And yet, Shiho herself had just told Ann that there was nothing wrong. That despite all she said, everything was fine.
Ann didn't know if it was the same for everyone else on the team, but she could certainly hear the fear in Shiho's voice. A fear that she'd never wish on anybody, much less her best friend.
And yet, despite that fear, Shiho had dismissed everything Ann had desperately told her as paranoia and hearsay.
There were no two ways about it. Horrifying as the premise was, Shiho was in the iron clutches of Kamoshida's terrible reign, just like the volleyball team, just like all of Shujin. So utterly cowed by his presence throughout the school that she'd even lie to her best friend about being physically abused.
Maybe she was even lying to herself as well.
And Kamoshida? He was getting away with it all.
The sexual harassment. The abuse. The gossip. Everything. Even if dread followed Kamoshida with every step he took, he would be forever protected, forever worshipped, forever present in that damned castle of his...
In the empty halls of Shujin Academy, Ann lost the strength to stand and pressed herself up against the wall. Soon after, her legs gave out and she slowly slid down to the floor.
There, she pulled her knees up to her chest, lowered her head and started to sob. Frustrated tears, helpless tears, anxious tears. All of them pooled together in a puddle of misery.
"It's not fair."
"Why does it have to happen to us?"
"I'm so scared."
"I can't take this anymore."
"Someone..."
"Anyone..."
"Please save us!"
A thunderous thunk resounded across the gymnasium as a volleyball soared over the net and into the other team's half of the court. Not a single one of the volleyball team members had even a chance of returning the serve. Some of them even looked scared at the thought of attempting such a thing.
Of course, due to the fact that the ball was spiked by none other than Kamoshida.
Today was the day of the volleyball rally, and it was Students vs Kamoshida. Well, technically, Kamoshida did have some team members who definitely didn't look like students on his side, but compared to Kamoshida, they were canon fodder.
It was pathetic, really. Kamoshida had set this whole thing up as a replacement for today's classes under the pretence that it would 'bolster the reputation of the volleyball team.' But the volleyball team was already the most notable thing to come out of Shujin Academy. It didn't need reinforcement.
No, this whole event was nothing more than an excuse for Kamoshida to show off, strut his stuff to the entire school. He was using Olympic-level plays against teenagers who weren't even old enough to drink yet. Not an ounce of his strength was being held back. A tiger against foxes.
Hell, he was even actively aiming at some of the students who dared to return the ball. Kamoshida had already knocked two students on their asses with powerful spikes. And if the thought occurred to anybody that Kamoshida could have just aimed away from them, which he could afford to do, because again, he was an Olympic athlete against high-schoolers, and that a pro-level player like him shouldn't be "accidentally" hitting students with the ball as consistently as he did, then they didn't bring it up.
No, instead, they were just surrounded by raucous cheers from the hundred or so students who watched the ensuing match. Excited chatter went back and forth between the many spectators.
They were giving Kamoshida exactly what he wanted.
The only thing that was being 'bolstered' here was Kamoshida's ego.
As Kamoshida walked backwards from his spike, he was greeted with jovial cheers from his teammates. They all crowded around him, dishing out high fives and compliments to the man.
"Nice toss!"
"Man! You still got it, Coach!"
With a charming grin that hid how much the greedy bastard enjoyed soaking up all the praise, Kamoshida nodded his head.
"Thanks! Let's go for one more!" He announced to...that guy...and sprinted back into position.
What? He picked these guys up from a Shujin alumni sheet and people who owed him favours. He needed them for their numbers, not their names.
While he was returning to the center, he snuck a glance at the one person that he wanted the attention of more than anyone in this gymnasium.
Ann Takamaki.
She was sitting on a chair, staring down at her knees with a depressed expression on her face, her hands wringing in anxiety. Kamoshida didn't spare a single moment of regret for being the one to put the girl in that situation.
Hmph, ungrateful bitch, what was she worried for? She should be jumping for joy at the idea of being his girl. She was the perfect match for him. She was pretty, she was a virgin, she was unique and she was young.
Before she was known around the school as Kamoshida's Bitch, she was mostly ignored, due to her mixed ethnicity of being a quarter American. He gives her the attention that her slutty body was asking for and she rejects him?
Well, he was a persistent man, and Ann was a feisty woman. But Takamaki would come around eventually. He held her leash, after all.
His fantasies of getting the blonde to submit to him were interrupted when he noticed that sitting on either side of the girl were the pair that had been making his life difficult recently when it came to approaching his prey.
Sakamoto and the transfer brat.
He didn't know how it had happened, but ever since they showed up to school late a couple of days ago, they had become fast friends. Like, almost inseparable. Whenever he tried to catch Ann alone, there was always at least one of the two there to foil his plans. It had happened twice today and three times yesterday. Nobody got that cozy with each other in so short of time.
He watched as Kurusu tapped Takamaki's leg and say something to her that she couldn't overhear. It caused her to give a small smile though and she nodded in reply. Then Sakamoto said something and she switched from being grateful to looking offended. There was a fire in her expression that looked decidedly out of place.
Why would Takamaki be hanging out with those losers when she could have him?
...and why did looking at the transfer student in particular send the most ominous of phantom pains shooting up his right arm?
This...this had to stop. He'd been trying to break down Takamaki for a while. The last thing that he needed was for her meddling friends to build her back up again, strong enough to resist him.
He needed to remind her of her place, that reaching out would help no one. That she was completely alone, except for him. He needed to send her a message. Let Ann know what happens to people who get close to her.
Oh, now there was an idea.
But first, he needed to open up some slots on the other team. He couldn't just boot a couple off willy-nilly.
As the ball found its way into his hands, he glanced through the net and at the intimidated faces beyond it.
Hmm, Mishima's face looked quite enticing...
"For crying out loud. I don't know whether I'm pissed off or bored..." Ryuji grumbled. He stretched his arms up and stifled a yawn. "I mean, it's an ego show for Kamoshida, through and through."
To that, Akira had to agree. The match had been going on for about half an hour already and the pattern of it hadn't changed from the moment it started.
Kamoshida dominated each and every round, eventually climbing up to twenty points strong as opposed to the opposing team's one measly point. A point that they only got because one of the guys on Kamoshida's side got too excited and lobbed the ball out of bounds.
And Kamoshida seemed miffed at even that.
Was his ego so fragile that the only way that he could vindicate himself was by going all out against teenagers who weren't even close to his skill level? There was no pride to be found in that kind of victory.
And of course, the way he aimed at people, faked concern and then moved on with the match like nothing had ever happened. It was enough to make the spectacled teen's blood boil. Every single encounter that Akira had with the man, direct or otherwise, had pissed him off.
For a moment, he could feel the man's insipid gaze roll over them. It made him tense up, until that feeling eventually vanished.
"Hey, so Ann..." Ryuji piped up to the twin-tailed girl. "Whaddya think of the plan that we told you about? It's great, right? All we gotta do is sneak away from this rally, find some volleyball team stragglers, and get a confession outta 'em." Ryuji said enthusiastically.
They had just gone over a summary of Plan A with Ann: to get volleyball students to confess to the abuse, and while Akira was still doubtful of its effectiveness, he had agreed to go along with it.
But looking at how down Ann seemed to be, it had him reconsidering.
She had waited for them to tell her about this supposed master plan, and all she got from it was the simplest of ideas. An overly optimistic idea pitched to a girl who didn't have much optimism left.
"I m-mean...it's better than nothing, I guess." The blonde sighed. She made it no secret that she was displeased with how simple and...ineffective the plan seemed.
Akira sighed. Ann had that same kind of hopeless, sad look in her eyes that he remembered seeing under the awning where they had met. He knew that they had agreed to not let Ann know too much about Plan B, but Ann...she was his friend. He couldn't just say nothing.
He tapped the side of Ann's leg, causing the girl to glance down at him with a curious expression
"Don't worry, Ann. I know that this plan might seem doomed to fail..."
He received an unamused stare from Ryuji and heard a snort from his bag.
"...but we have a Plan B. And it's something that'll definitely get rid of Kamoshida. As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow."
"Wha—!? Dude! We agreed to not tell her about it!" Ryuji hissed, an alarmed look in his eyes.
Akira's bag jostled wildly for a moment and a blue eye stared through the flap. "You know that it's too dangerous!"
"Hey! Quiet!" Akira tried to silence the cat. Even in a room full of blind cheering, Akira didn't want to take the risk of someone noticing that he brought a cat to school with him.
Ann leaned forward in her chair, focusing all her attention on Akira. Her blue eyes held a spark of intrigue. "D-Dangerous?" She repeated.
Akira shook his head. "Look, Ann. I can't actually give you any details about Plan B, but what I can tell you is that if our first idea doesn't work, our second definitely will. Whatever happens, Kamoshida won't be hurting anyone anymore." He told her with a kind smile.
And Akira would be lying if he said that he didn't feel his throat tighten as the sheer hope that bloomed within Ann's expression shone upon him.
"Yo-You're serious. You really do have a way to get rid of Kamoshida?" She asked in a whisper, barely heard beneath the din of the crowd.
Ryuji sighed and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms behind his head. "I mean, yeah, it'll work. But it's super last resort-y. It's why I wanted to try all our options before we go all...you know, Plan B."
Ann sat up on the chair. "I got it." She took a deep breath in. "Tell me what I have to do."
Both boys flinched at Ann's request. Didn't Morgana literally just say that it was too dangerous?
"You...You come with us and help us gather confessions..." Ryuji responded. "Simple as that."
Ann turned to Ryuji and shook her head in dismissal. "No! I meant for Plan B. And if you're so sure that it'll work, then why isn't it Plan A?" She questioned.
Akira palmed his forehead. He should have known that Ann wouldn't go down without a fight. Despite her lack of Persona, Ann was just as embroiled in this situation as they were, maybe even more.
"I don't care what I have to do. But you have to let me help out." She insisted.
"We told ya, you can help out with Plan A. If you wanna help us with Plan B, then the best thing that you can do is stay away." Ryuji told Ann sternly.
"Wha—!? That's uncalled for!" Ann snapped. All she wanted to do was help! More hands on deck would be better for getting rid of Kamoshida as soon as possible. And in Ann's case, the bastard couldn't be gone from her life fast enough.
Akira had to hide a wince at Ryuji's directness. It wasn't like he didn't understand where he was coming from but some additional tact when it came to relaying the news would have been nice on Ryuji's part.
Before any of them could say a word further though, a mighty slap resounded across the gymnasium. Everyone turned to look at the game once more, where Kamoshida had just spiked the ball over a line of defenders, of course, with a charming grin. The ball spiralled through the air at Olympic-level speed, and it soon found its target. Not the gym floor, but upon the face of a hapless, plain-looking young man whom Akira recognised from his own class. Mishiyama or something?
The kid went flying back as if he'd been decked in the face, and collapsed to the floor, accompanied by the horrified yelps, cries and gasps on part of the spectators.
As the kid lay still, Akira let out an empathic hiss. That had been far worse than anything that they had seen so far, and inflicted upon someone who looked like he needed a trip to the ICU already. That was probably a concussion, maybe a broken nose too.
The cheering faded away into near silence, as concerned students chattered and whispered about the poor guy's condition.
And Kamoshida just stared at the downed player with a cold impassivity. There was not a shred of concern on his face, not a speck of regret. He had definitely planned to mess that kid up.
He stared for a second before he stepped under the net and jogged over to the dark-haired student, who was moaning on the ground in pain. "Sorry!" Kamoshida said. Not apologized. There was a difference. He crouched down next to him and cradled his body like he actually gave a damn. "You alright?" He asked, to which he received no answer.
The teacher looked towards one of the random members of the student team. "Hey, Toshika, can you get him to the nurse's office?" He asked. The requested student gave a small nod and carefully took the injured student from Kamoshida's grasp. The kid moaned as he had his arm wrapped around the guy's shoulders and was helped to his feet. It was a little hard to spot, but it was simple to discern just how much both teens wished to get off the court.
Ryuji scoffed as he watched the scene. "Look at him, pretending to be concerned for that guy. Makes me sick." He grunted. The blond saw a stray volleyball at his feet, so he grabbed it and tossed it half-heartedly towards the court.
"Poor Mishima." Ann sighed as she interlocked her fingers. She had always noticed that he looked beat up. It was clear where that was coming from now.
As Mishima was led off the court, one of the volleyball team members awkwardly raised his hand.
"Um, Mr. Kamoshida, we're down by two players."
The man's smirk was present and then gone so quickly, that it was considered a trick of the light. "No worries. We just have to grab a couple of substitutes." He told them.
Dread started to fill Ann's mind as Kamoshida gave that announcement, dread that was almost immediately justified as the man fiendishly glanced towards her once again.
And then he said the words that made her blood run cold.
"Hey, get in here, Suzui!"
Suzui.
Shiho Suzui.
No!
Immediately, the colour drained from Ann's face, and her entire body quivered. That...That was Kamoshida's game. Removing two players to make room for her best friend.
He was going to hurt her!
Ever since that initial phone call, Ann had tried to get in contact with Shiho multiple times. She tried calling, texting, or trying to catch her at school, but she was avoiding her at every turn. It was so frustrating. All Ann wanted to do was help her!
And now, watching as her best friend shuffled out of the crowd to the court with an expression like she was off to the gallows, Ann felt her heart sink. She was tempted to call out. To beg Shiho to run away. Hell, she'd run up there and take Shiho by the hand to pull her away, if she could.
But she couldn't. Her throat seized up and her hand stopped short of reaching out.
She couldn't do anything, like always.
Akira and Ryuji were quick to notice the poor girl's dilemma. Akira leaned toward Ryuji with worry stretched upon his face. "Ryuji, who's Shiho?" He asked.
"Ann's best friend." Ryuji spat. He was staring at the court like he wanted to go up there and clock Kamoshida across his square-ass jaw. "She's a member of the volleyball team. She and Ann used to be joined at the hip, but ever since Shiho joined the volleyball club, they've been together less and less." The blond explained.
And at that moment, all of Ann's prior concerns when it came to the volleyball team made sense. She wasn't as concerned for the team in general as she was for her best friend who happened to be on that team. And with Kamoshida constantly harassing Ann—
Oh.
Oh..that slimy bastard!
He was probably keeping Shiho at practice, not only to keep her away from Ann, but likely to torture her as well. He was seeking to drive the duo apart!
And now, as punishment for refusing his advances, Kamoshida was planning on tormenting Ann through Shiho.
Akira's hatred towards the man reached even further heights. Ever since that night in Okinawa, he figured that he could never hate someone as much as he hated that drunkard. But in Kamoshida pranced, visceral and scummy as they come to bring those perceptions crumbling down.
It was enough to make him retch.
"Hey, you. How about you play as the volleyball team's sixth?"
Akira was brought out of his musings once he noticed that the room had gone dead silent. His instincts were quick to let him know that there were over a hundred pairs of eyes...
...all staring at him...
Akira raised his head in mild confusion, a confusion that was quickly abated when he noticed the idol of his hatred pointing at him.
Wait... Kamoshida wanted him to play volleyball?
Ah...that's right, there were two slots that Kamoshida had opened up on the team. He thought that it was weird that the man sent off one of his own players to help another when there were plenty of other students around who could assist.
So, this was his plan, huh? He wasn't settling for only one of Ann's friends, but two. Coincidence? Of course not. It didn't matter if it was sadism or a strategic move. Both he and Shiho had ended up in Kamoshida's crosshairs...
...and Akira had to fight to keep from breaking out into a grin. This...this could work… Yeah, it could definitely work!
"Hey! That's not fair! He ain't even on the volleyball team!" Ryuji quickly tried to defend Akira while Ann stared at him with wide, scared eyes.
"This rally is an opportunity for everyone to try their hand at volleyball, Sakamoto. No need to get snippy." Kamoshida retorted, he crossed his arms and smugly stared down the trio.
"But...But..." Ann gave a quiet whimper. This couldn't be happening! First Shiho...then Akira...!
"Hey." Ann felt a pat on her shoulder. She looked up to see that Akira had gotten to his feet. And on his face was a soft smile. "You haven't forgotten how tough I am, right?" He asked the duo. "I can handle Kamoshida."
That was an undeniable fact for both of them, but it didn't stop the unsure looks from crossing their faces.
Akira turned to face the teacher and gave him a thumbs-up. He deserved the middle finger, but Akira refrained. "Alright. I'll be over in a minute!" He called. Kamoshida gave a small huff. "Don't keep us waiting..." He replied before he turned away and returned to the court.
Akira waited until the man was out of earshot, and then leaned in close to the pair of blondes. "Here's what we'll do. I'll keep the match going for as long as I can, and while all eyes are on me, you two can sneak off and try and get some testimonies."
Ann's face shifted into one of worry. "But Shiho-!"
"-is going to be just fine, Ann. I won't let anything happen to her." Akira assured her with a gentle smile. "I'll trust you to gather those testimonies and you can trust me to keep Shiho safe."
It was a hefty promise on Akira's part, but Ann couldn't deny that the boy had proved himself time and time again, both in the Metaverse and in reality. Could she trust Akira to keep her friend safe?
Yes, yes she could. As much as it sickened her for Akira to willingly put himself in Kamoshida's crosshairs, the fact that Shiho had someone on the court looking out for her, and that someone was a confirmed badass eased her heart, just a little.
And while she wanted to watch out for Shiho more than anything right now, she had to agree with Akira that she was better utilised in getting confessions...or a least pushing this whole thing into the mysterious Plan B.
"You're sure you're up for this dude?" Ryuji asked. "Playing against Kamoshida is gonna be brutal."
"I'm not just going to play against Kamoshida. I'm going to beat him."
It took all of Ryuji's self-control to not let out a startled "for real?!" It didn't stop either him or Ann from dropping their jaws at such a declaration though. Akira was being totally serious about this.
The teen smirked at his friends. "And just so you don't miss out..." He dug his phone out of his pocket and opened the camera app.
"Hey Morgana, do me a favour and try to record this." He requested, slipping the phone into his bag. He got a surprised yowl in response and a series of shuffles, but eventually, the phone camera was settled into place.
"I feel like a soccer mom..." Morgana grumbled.
"Trust me, Morgana, it's gonna be worth it." Akira chuckled as he slipped off his glasses and placed them aside.
"You should press record now because you might wanna play this back in slow motion."
And with that being said, Akira crossed the gym to the court, his jovial expression melting away until there was nothing but grim determination.
He might have scared some of the student body though.
"Eeeeek! He looks so dangerous!"
"I'm so glad I'm not on the volleyball team right now..."
"Kamoshida's gotta take him down a peg."
"What if he gets hit with the ball and just completely loses it?"
The whispers accompanied him for the entirety of the short journey to the court. He tried hard not to let his frustration show. Their words weren't worth his time. Instead, he took it and turned it into resolve. He'd show them. He'd show them all
"Hmhmhmhm~!"
Huh. For a second, he could have sworn that he felt an approving chuckle resonate in his mind.
Well, he had no need to be upset by the disapproval of these credulous students.
No, the one that he was truly upset with; livid with, was Kamoshida. It was Kamoshida who deserved all of his ire. Kamoshida that deserved all of his rage.
That being said, for as pathetic the man was, his athleticism was clearly no joke, and neither was his intent to harm. Akira needed to be careful if he wanted to beat Kamoshida at his own game.
He stepped into the student half of the court and forced a smile. He didn't want to scare the present team members off the court.
"Alright! Who's ready for a comeback?" He asked with a clap of his hands. It earned him a few curious glances and a couple of tiny, wry smiles. He'd take that.
He took a brief, inconspicuous glance at the young girl that he had promised to protect. Shiho was looking at him with a curious expression, and she also seemed to be somewhat guarded towards him. Not uncommon, considering his rep, but Akira could feel that there was another reason behind her cautiousness.
There was another matter of worry too. Now that he was closer, he could see just how injured this girl was. Even a furtive glance was enough to rack up another several reasons that Kamoshida was such a damn bastard.
Her face was covered with small bruises, including a massive one above her left eye. She was wearing a knee brace on her right leg and clearly putting weight on her left. And under that P.E. uniform, Akira suspected that he'd find many more bruises up her arms and maybe around her torso.
And her eyes... They were so dull, so lifeless. Not even sadness was left behind, only bitter acceptance of the most unjust of situations.
It wasn't only those though. It was the way she carried herself. Like there was something to be ashamed about clinging to her. That she was trying to hide something and was terrified of it being found out.
Akira was no psychologist, but he knew exactly what to look for. Because Riona was the same.
His surrogate sister always wore long-sleeved shirts, even in the summer, to conceal the scars on her arms. Scars which were a result of the same house fire that took her real parents away.
There was always this kind of discomfort hidden under her gossipy and fashionista personality. Even around Morning Glory, she wasn't comfortable with those scars being out in the open. He had only seen them once himself, when he took her to get a flu shot, and while he wasn't disgusted by them, Riona had been so mortified that it had taken a little while to get her to open up around him again.
Thankfully, Mitsuo was a massive help in bridging that divide between them since, for some reason, Riona was okay with Mitsuo seeing her scars. Kiryu had actually promised to tell him the story about that.
Something about a dragon print polo shirt and a...cowboy hat?
Well, he supposed he'd never hear it now...
In any case, Akira was able to see that Shiho was uncomfortable. How her pain would limit her movement, how even a slip of her sleeves would show everyone the bruising that she carried. Show a certain someone just how broken she had been. But she had nothing to be ashamed of though. Nothing!
Riona's scars may have been the result of an accident, but Shiho's injuries weren't.
Kamoshida caused them. He made her feel like this; was actively contributing to this, not even allowing her to heal.
And she accepted it! It was beyond cruel, but she, as well as all the volleyball team members; anyone who ended up in Kamoshida's sights had to put up with it, like pigs for slaughter. And Shiho had gotten the worst of it, likely to put pressure on Ann.
The most controversial thing in his previous school had been a broken drinking fountain! How the hell did things get so out of control here!?
"A comeback? A bit optimistic there, Kurusu. You play much volleyball?"
Akira drew his attention away from Shiho and instead focused it on Kamoshida. The bastard was giving him a shit-eating grin across the net. Oh, he was gonna get his. Starting with this volleyball court.
"Nope! I've never played volleyball before, so go easy on me, Kamoshida-sensei~!" Akira forced on the most innocuous good-sport voice he could muster.
"Hmph, that'll be a problem. You know the rules, at least?" Kamoshida asked back.
Akira nodded. "Yeah, I understand the rules. You start by kicking the ball up then you slam dunk it over the net for a touchdown, then you have to block the other team from knocking your pins over, don't run with the ball, try to hit home runs, and the one with the lowest score wins!"
Akira had to try really hard not to look in Ryuji's direction as he heard the blond cackle, which in turn had many of the student body giggling at his beyond silly summarisation of volleyball rules. Hey, humour was nice, and the court was already dreary enough.
A few of the members were actively covering up their smiles, and for the ones that didn't cover there was a definite twitching of their lips.
Even Shiho looked like she was about to let out a giggle, though it stopped halfway. In any case, morale was looking much better all of a sudden.
Of course, there was one person that wasn't laughing. Kamoshida stared at him icily with an unamused expression, even with his own team also finding the humour in Akira's words. He didn't appreciate Akira making light of his sport.
And Akira didn't give a shit.
"Funny. But being a comedian won't help you on my court." Kamoshida huffed. "How about you play the net with Suzui? I'm sure she can catch you up."
That's what he said, but all Akira heard was: "How about you step into the strike zone where I'm able to hit both of you easier?"
"Sure! I can do that." Akira replied. That was the plan anyway. He wouldn't be able to protect Shiho from the back lines.
Akira made his way over to the middle hitter position, right next to Shiho. The girl watched him approach with slight trepidation, but Akira just gave a thumbs up.
"Don't worry. I've been watching. I do actually have the gist of this down." He told the girl. Shiho gave him a confused glance in reply, but then she gave him a small, kind smile. It was tiny, but it was there.
"No aiming at imaginary pins, then?" She asked.
"No aiming at imaginary pins." Akira parroted with a grin.
He took a steading breath and set himself in the middle position. No better target for Kamoshida's volleyballs. But he had taken on the Cognitive Kamoshida's rain of deadly volleyballs and made it through. In comparison, this would be a walk in the park. A walk in the park where they were being fired at by heavy artillery, but a walk in the park nonetheless.
"Alright! We ready?" Kamoshida asked. He had managed to wipe the frown from his face and take his position. "You guys get the next serve." He announced, tossing the ball over to them, like a regular person as he likely wouldn't get away with beaning them in the face with the ball before the match had even started.
Shiho reached up and caught the ball with a tiny, near-imperceptible wince. She'd be fighting through pain throughout the rest of the match. Within a second, her slightly playful mood was completely wiped away, leaving her feeling apprehensive once more.
She gripped the ball tightly. Nervously. The match was practically won, but Kamoshida wasn't content with just winning. He was going to hurt her again... and Ann was watching!
Her breathing grew heavier. Anxiety gripped her heart, and she tried to force back helpless tears.
"Hey."
Shiho let out a gasp that sounded too much like a sob and looked to her right. There was the transfer student, and even though he must have seen just how bad of a time he was in for, he looked at her with a calm and comforting expression.
"I wasn't joking when I asked if you guys were ready for a comeback. We're gonna win this!" Akira pumped his fist.
To Shiho, that declaration was nothing short of thoughtless and naive. She had no reason to believe him. They were so far behind in points, they were all battered and bruised, and Kamoshida was looking to kill. Any hopes of victory should be well out of their reach.
And yet...
There was something about him.
It may have been the dauntless way that he stood against Kamoshida, like a lone, valiant warrior who raised his blade towards an army of hundreds.
It may have been his eyes, which made her feel like she was under the protective gaze of a being that was larger than life.
But whatever that something was, Shiho couldn't deny that she could feel something stirring within her. Something that she thought had no place on this court anymore. Not for her. Not for anybody.
Hope.
To have something that was as far gone as hope stirring within her just because of a single boy...
PEEEEEEP!
Shiho flinched at the shrill sound of the whistle. A sound that meant she had run out of time to think. The spectating students began to chatter and cheer once again and filled the auditorium with noise. The match had officially started, and it was up to her to serve the ball.
Though her body trembled slightly, Shiho gathered her nerves and tossed the ball into the air. An ingrained action that she had done thousands of times.
She watched as Kamoshida tensed his body, watched as his smirk turned vile.
The familiar evil sight temporarily overwhelmed her, and the girl couldn't help but shut her eyes.
Then she heard the squeak of shoes.
A massive SLAP.
A whoosh of air.
A mighty THUNK.
And then, complete silence. The familiar din of a volleyball match was completely absent, and the spectators had gone oddly quiet.
It took a few moments of the preternatural silence before Shiho finally managed to open her eyes.
And it was at that moment that she understood the silence.
The volleyball that she had served was slowly rolling towards the edge of Kamoshida's half of the court. The man himself was looking at the ball in disbelief, frozen whilst in the process of raising his arms.
This...this couldn't be real, could it? Had they actually scored against Kamoshida?
Then she blinked and glanced over at Akira.
He was staring cockily at Kamoshida, with a hand slipped in his pocket. He looked completely confident in himself, no doubt to be seen.
"P-P-Point for the volleyball team!" The referee eventually announced. It seemed that they were no less stunned at this development than everyone else.
So it was true... They had really scored a point. Not by accident, but an actual point! Against Kamoshida! And in the first few seconds too.
Akira turned towards her and gave her a subtle wink. After a few moments, realisation struck the girl.
"K-Kurusu...you...?"
Akira didn't say anything back, instead choosing to look back towards the net; beyond it, to the countenance of the volleyball coach.
As if in a trance, Kamoshida stared right back at him eyes still wide, jaw still hanging open.
Akira's smile grew smug.
"You might want to close your mouth, Kamoshida-sensei. You'll catch flies."
The jab seemed to snap the teacher out of his trance, and his face slowly twisted into an ugly expression.
This.
Fucking.
BRAT!
Who the hell did he think he was to taunt him so brazenly? But more importantly, how the hell did he even do that!?
Kamoshida hadn't been paying too much attention, but he could have sworn that as soon as Suzui had launched the ball, Kurusu had leapt crazy high and slammed it over the net at a speed even he had barely been able to grasp. All he had been able to make of it was the slight brush of wind through his unruly mop of hair, and before he knew it, the point was lost.
As a volleyball coach, he had seen students come and go, some relatively skilled like Suzui, and some no-hopers like Mishima.
But what the hell was this?! He had never seen anything like this before! That technique wasn't a fluke. He'd almost expect that kind of play from one of his team's rivals back when he played competitively.
If Kurusu wasn't lying about never playing volleyball before, then he was one hell of a prodigy. A prodigy that he needed to stamp out.
Oh, that kid thought that he had one up on him? Don't make him laugh. No matter how good he played, he was still nothing more than an ant compared to him.
His next spike would wipe that smirk off his face. Would hopefully send him to the nurse's office alongside that useless Mishima as well. He was the school delinquent, nobody would care.
Kamoshida slowly wandered over to the volleyball and picked it up, gripping it tight enough to make the rubber squeak. He walked back over to his setter and pressed the ball into his hands with barely concealed aggression. He got some strange looks, so he tried to compose himself. It was just one point, after all. A total of two to their twenty. It wasn't that big of an issue, at least that's what he told himself.
With a taut expression on his face, Kamoshida choked out a sportsmanlike congratulations. "Nice shot, Kurusu. Let's see if you can keep this up..."
The brat simply grinned back at him.
He would show that damned delinquent.
The referee blew their whistle, and the game resumed.
Kamoshida's setter lobbed the ball upwards until it was just hanging over the net, and the teacher immediately saw his chance. He jumped for the ball, his hand already pulling back to spike it at Kurusu...
Wait. Where the hell was he?
"Looking for me, sensei?" He suddenly heard a voice...from right in front of him.
...no fucking way...!
Kamoshida's sight drew upwards, and there Kurusu was, leaping just as high as he was, with a perfect mid-air stance and a face of cold determination. And his eyes... There was such a great inferno within them. Flint chips stared back at him as if he were seeing into his soul, as if he was seeing just how rotten he really was.
At the same time, both of them placed their hands on the ball, causing a small shockwave that was enough to shake the net they were suspended over.
In official volleyball terms, this was known as a joust. But to Akira, it was far from that. Kamoshida could spin all the bullshit he wanted, and this game could get all the regulations it could. But ever since he and Shiho had stepped up to the plate, this stopped being a "friendly match." Hell, it wasn't even a match to stoke Kamoshida's ego.
It was a battle now.
Kamoshida was willing to hurt them, and losing was not an option.
That was fine. Akira had faced those odds countless times on the streets of Okinawa and had emerged victorious every time. This time would be no different. He would win, or he would die. That was what this battle had become to him. All Akira had to do was win.
He grappled with Kamoshida for control of the ball, their eyes never wavering from each other's. It was a battle of wills.
And Akira would never allow himself to lose that to this bastard!
SUGURU KAMOSHIDA
EX-OLYMPIAN
"OOORYAAA!"
"Argh!"
Kamoshida didn't know why, but now, of all times, his arm started to act up once again. The man winced, and his grip on the ball weakened slightly. And slightly was all Akira needed.
The boy twisted his body to the left, redirecting his force away from Kamoshida's grip and despite the athlete's struggles, the ball was eventually torn from his hands, flying backwards into Kamoshida's side of the court again. Of course, nobody could stop it.
Kamoshida didn't register that he had lost yet another point until well after he was back on the floor.
"Point for the volleyball team!" The referee announced.
Watching on, the student body were near speechless at the awesome display that they had just witnessed. Anyone who had been browsing their phones or talking to each other had now been completely drawn in by the game that was unfolding.
And nobody had a better seat than Shiho, who could only look at Akira in absolute astonishment.
Just who was this boy...? And this bubbling in her chest...was it excitement?
Akira felt her gaze on him and turned to face her with a smirk. "Get ready, Suzui. Like I said: We've got a comeback to make!"
And this time, Shiho believed him.
This...
This was a nightmare.
This was a goddamn nightmare!
Kamoshida was a realistic man. He did not believe that he was unmatched on a volleyball court. He had met his equal more than a few times in his Olympic days.
But students shouldn't even begin to compare to him. On this court, he was nothing less than godlike. So how...?
How the hell was the transfer doing this!?
Ever since he entered the game, the game had been completely turned around for the student team. They started with that meagre one point, but then it rapidly grew to five.
Then ten.
Then fifteen.
Then twenty.
And now he was staring at the scoreboard in disbelief. The score of 24-23 was displayed to all the students in the auditorium. Students who were now cheering for the student team that had made that insane recovery. Cheers that were supposed to be HIS!
He had the student team pinned to the floor! He had made sure of it. He had broken them down, he had hurt them, and he was going to keep hurting them, so that he would remain superior to them in every way.
But that delinquent had swept all of his plans aside with ease. He had not only taken his plot to hurt him and Suzui and completely flipped it on its head, but somehow brought the match to a point where they were one damn point away from winning!
Kurusu's defensive plays were almost unreal, with movement and reaction times that were obscenely fast and an offensive that was just as insane. It made actually trying to hit Kurusu with the ball damn near impossible.
And what was worse, when he decided to aim at Suzui instead, Kurusu was somehow always there to knock the ball upwards, protecting her from the blow. Suzui would then get the chance to serve the ball or pass it to another team member.
The morale of the student team was steadily climbing, and despite Kurusu's last minute addition, he was working in sync with them. There were a couple of fumbles, of course, but most of the time they were working like a well-oiled machine. It was no exaggeration to say that he had become somewhat of an unofficial leader of the student team.
And all the while, he had that insufferable smirk on his face that made Kamoshida want to cross the court and pummel the brat. Of course, even if he was the star of Shujin and Kurusu was a delinquent, he doubted that he'd be able to get away with it in front of all of these witnesses.
This whole thing had gone wrong. This whole thing had gone terribly, terribly wrong!
This whole thing couldn't have gone better!
With every point that they gained, Akira had the pleasure of watching Kamoshida's face twist into something more and more ugly, all the while trying to hide said ugliness from all the spectators. It was a great time.
With all of the shit that Kamoshida had pulled to make his and his friends' lives miserable, it was indescribable how good it felt to get some payback. And what a stellar payback it was. Outplaying Kamoshida in the very sport that he used to rise to the top. The blow to his pride would be oh-so satisfying.
It was such a shame that Ryuji and Ann couldn't see this in person. They had long since left to interrogate the absent members of the volleyball team. Oh well, they'd just have to settle with the recording.
He couldn't imagine it would be easy for Ann to leave though. Even as she asked around, she was probably beside herself with worry for Shiho. Akira wouldn't squander the trust that she had placed in him. Not a single monstrous spike from Kamoshida came close to injuring her. Akira always managed to knock the ball up at precisely the correct time to turn what was once a grievous strike into an opportunity for Shiho or one of the other members to score.
And right now, despite being battered and bruised, Shiho was looking way more energetic now than when the match began. Her darkened eyes were now alight with just the tiniest of embers. It was the look of someone totally in her element. He could only imagine the sight it would be, should her eyes be filled with light...
Well, he could ponder all he wanted later. They had a match to win.
The air was pierced with a shrill peep of the whistle, signalling the beginning of what would hopefully be the final round. Akira took a deep breath, bent his knees, and prepared to put yet another nail in Kamoshida's coffin.
Kamoshida's team served this time, but it was clear that their performance suffered from the game beforehand, their morale mostly shattered after having such a commanding lead closed so easily. Perhaps if Kamoshida had actually stacked the team with players worth a damn, instead of just hogging the spotlight himself, Akira would have had a harder time shrinking that gap.
As the ball soared through the air, Kamoshida leapt up and struck the ball with fury that he couldn't openly display. He was almost like a vengeful spirit at this point, with the ball being his mighty sword.
The ball cleared the net and came hurtling toward Akira like a missile. It was so fast that any normal person wouldn't have a chance to deflect it.
But however fast, the ball was, Rush Style was faster.
WHAP!
Akira brought his fist up fast enough to knock the ball up into the sky, killing almost all of its momentum and trading it for verticality. What little momentum remained carried the ball to the rear, where the two guys and one girl readied themselves to serve it straight back.
As the ball came back down, the rightmost player managed to intercept the ball and passed it forward over to the front, leftmost player, Shiho.
"Suzui!" He cried as he sent the ball her way, an action that he needn't have bothered with because Shiho was more than ready to receive.
"Ha!" The girl grunted as she gave the ball a shove back over the net. It was unfortunately seized by the back, leftmost player, who passed the ball over to Kamoshida. The man was already winding up one of his iconic spikes. It spelt danger to any of the players on Akira's side of the court, to him and Shiho most of all.
With a titanic palm strike, that had all of Kamoshida's desperation and rage funnelled into it, the ball was hit and flew towards Shiho's face like a greased bullet. She didn't even have the time to bring her arms up to protect her face before the ball was already upon her. All she could do was let out a small gasp.
PAF!
But then, as it happened many times before, a strong hand appeared before her, halting the ball in its tracks. And it was immediately obvious who.
Kurusu. The one who stood before what had felt like a coming tsunami and quelled it with just his presence alone. He who took not only the role of center player, but also of her guardian angel as they fought on the court. Spikes that would have normally broken her nose or given her a black eye felt like they were worlds away from even touching her with Akira at her side.
It sort of begged the question as to why he went so far as to protect her. Especially since Kamoshida also had intentions of hurting him as well. She knew the intent behind those spikes well, after all.
Did Akira know too, and that's why he protected her? And if he knew...who else did?
Her thoughts suddenly became lost to her as Akira leapt up, ball still in hand, his arm windmilling to spike it back over to Kamoshida's side of the net. The motion was smooth, perfectly executed.
Was...was this it?
Kamoshida growled and settled himself into a stance. There was no way that he could lose...not to this pricky delinquent. Not to anyone!
He was Suguru Kamoshida! An Olympic champion! A god of volleyball!
He was the KING of Shujin Academy!
"IT'S OVER!"
The transfer student's declaration caused Kamoshida's heart to jump and his teeth to clench. Who the hell did this kid think he was!?
Kamoshida watched the ball leave Kurusu's hand and he raised his arms to serve it straight back. All he had to do was hit it, as he had done tens of thousands of times.
All he had to do was reach out and—!
SWOOSH!
The ball, as if guided by invisible hands, suddenly curved away from his hands with only millimetres before contact...
"He put a spin on it!?"
And those few millimetres were too little to allow the man to correct himself in time.
All Kamoshida could do was watch, following the ball with his eyes. His mind wasn't able to catch up right away, but deep down he knew that he was watching something inevitable.
WHAP!
A clean slam, a thunderous crash.
The ball had made a perfect impact with the ground, undeniably in bounds. The gymnasium went completely silent as the ball slowly rolled away from Kamoshida. It was a deafening hush, almost as if the world itself had been muted.
The first person who was able to find his voice again was the referee, luckily.
"P-P-Point for the student team! The match is theirs!" He announced
And then, as if on cue, the awed silence shattered like stained glass.
A cacophonic eruption of cheers and applause filled the gymnasium in no time flat. The spectating students couldn't help but erupt into an almost intolerable racket that one would expect from concerts, not a minor volleyball match in high school. It was as if a dam had burst, and the pent-up elation of witnessing such a comeback came spilling out of the entirety of the student body.
"Whoooa!"
"Holy crap! Did you see that!?"
"We ALL saw that!"
"The volleyball team actually won against Kamoshida!"
"Who would have thought that the delinquent would be such a bawse at volleyball?"
Akira winced a little at the sheer volume of the cheers. His peers were going near ballistic, and honestly, who could blame them. He didn't like to brag, but they had put on one hell of a display there.
Wait a sec. Didn't cats have a sense of hearing that was several times better than a human's?
Akira glanced towards his bag for a second, only to feel a sense of guilt when he noticed it shivering slightly.
Poor Morgana.
He didn't have long to ponder on the state of the feline as he was suddenly dragged into the volleyball team's ecstatic celebrations. This had been their first victory against Kamoshida, after all, and Akira had been a big part of that.
For someone who got nothing but fearful stares ever since he started school here, it was weird to suddenly find himself being congratulated on all sides for being the MVP of the match, receiving pats on the back and double hi-fives. The team members clearly cared more about getting a victory over such an overwhelming opponent than they did about Akira's reputation as a delinquent.
It was a nice feeling, and it brought a smile to his face. His heart pounded and his chest swelled with pride.
He had done it. Against all odds, against the tyrannical Kamoshida, he had led the volleyball team to a stunning victory.
But amidst the jubilation, his gaze crossed with said P.E. teacher. The coach simply stood there in a mix of shock and disbelief, swathed in a cocoon of barely suppressed fury. All the while, his face twitched rapidly, barely able to keep itself from twisting into one of wrathful humiliation
He had lost and could do nothing about it.
It was a sight that Akira relished. Kamoshida's pride had been broken, and his aura of invincibility torn asunder. The man who had tormented countless students for so long had been defeated on his own turf.
Akira watched the man slowly reach down to pick up the volleyball at his feet. Kamoshida stared at it with an almost faraway expression. The man gripped the ball; gripped it tight enough for its shape to distort slightly and for veins to become prominent on his arms.
And when the man looked up...
Akira had to fight the urge not to enter into one of his styles. The sheer look of undisputable hatred that Kamoshida shot at him was enough to make Akira shiver with apprehension. The man looked ready to commit a damn murder!
Ball still in hand, Kamoshida turned around and started to walk out of the gymnasium. His furious aura must've been leaking out, because any student that was between him and the exit scurried out of the way. Nobody wanted to contest the man's decision to leave, and Akira had no desire to be a contrarian.
Akira sighed. This definitely wasn't over. Provoking Kamoshida may have been satisfying, but not exactly smart. He'd just need to hope that they could deal with the bastard before he mounted any sort of retaliation.
He then found himself bringing his gaze from where Kamoshida once stood over to the place where his other main objective was. And it was night and day in comparison.
Whereas Kamoshida's anger was palpable and stifling, the sheer relief and muted joy reflected in Shiho's smile was like a cooling mist after a trek through the desert. The moment he saw that gentle smile displayed on the girl's face, Akira felt any regrets as to what he'd done wither away.
He should talk to her.
Akira managed to break away from the celebrating team members and walked over to the girl. It seemed like Shiho had been waiting for him to approach.
"Well?" The ponytailed girl asked.
"Well...what?" Akira asked as he placed a hand on his hip.
"Aren't you gonna say it? "I told you so?" She asked with a coy expression.
"Did I say something like that? I can't seem to remember~" Akira teased.
Shiho gave a small giggle in response, a wonderful, melodic sound.
Yeah, he had no regrets at all.
"You played wonderfully! It's hard to believe that you're just a novice...you are just a novice, right?" Shiho asked.
In response, Akira placed a hand on his shoulder and rotated his arm. "Yeah, but I train a lot and have good instincts. I just had to translate that into volleyball." Akira answered.
"I see..."
From there, the two went silent for a minute. It was kind of hard to find the words to fill the silence when there was no silence to fill.
In Shiho's case, she simply didn't have the words to show her appreciation. Akira had walked headfirst into a dangerous situation and turned it into something wonderful. His unyielding support throughout the entire game had inspired her; had allowed her to play with confidence that she thought she'd all but lost.
But there was also one detail about the match. Something that was bothering her.
"Kurusu," she said softly, her voice barely audible above the cacophony. "You were protecting me, weren't you?" She asked, her smile slowly turning downwards until it became something more neutral. "You saw what Kamoshida was doing. And you...protected me."
It was no theory or accusation. It was something that Shiho knew definitively. Kamoshida's spikes had come close to striking her no less than seven times during that match. It was hard not to recognise those spikes, after all. But none of them, not one, made it past Kurusu.
Akira sighed in response. It made sense that Shiho would be able to deduce that. He hadn't exactly been subtle, after all.
"I shouldn't have had to." He replied with a solemn voice. "This is supposed to be a chill sport, and Kamoshida's just using it as an outlet to abuse you guys."
Shiho immediately gasped in response. The accusation was as blunt as a baseball bat and hit just as hard. And just the fact that it had come from a peer...it was a bit of a shock.
He was right. Of course he was right. Shiho had held a genuine passion for volleyball, but now, every time school ended and she found herself in this gymnasium, that passion had been churned into dread.
Insults, impossible exercises, physical abuse. That had become a fact of life for her. She couldn't tell anyone, not the teachers, not her parents, not even Ann. She was in an impossible situation and could only suffer silently, with no one privy to her woes.
But if this boy, Akira, could see the abuse, why couldn't anyone else?
No, she knew the reason. Everyone saw the abuse; knew about it, but they all just...ignored it. All because it was Kamoshida. All because he was an Olympic hotshot who took Shujin to the Nationals.
He was beyond vindictive, beyond merciless. His abuse conditioned them all to stay silent, even defend him, and anyone that his beatings didn't silence were simply expelled. That was the kind of power that the man possessed.
It wasn't fair. All she wanted was to play volleyball!
Shiho hung her head, while her fists balled up in despair. She was at her wit's end. She just wanted all of this to stop...
"Suzui..." Akira whispered. "You don't have to say anything, okay? We know what's going on. And we're gonna get you out of this."
"H-Huh...?" Shiho asked, her eyes lined with unshed tears. "W-We...?"
"Me, Ryuji, and Ann." Akira specified. "We're conspiring to take Kamoshida down. All you have to do is hold on, just a little while longer."
Truthfully, Akira wasn't sure that he should be telling Shiho this. The stuff that he was planning on doing was super risky and likely illegal. But at the same time, he couldn't leave the girl with nothing. He had to give her hope.
"A-Ann..." Shiho whispered to herself. Ann knew too?
Come to think of it, that phone call from a couple days ago...
Ah...it all made sense now. Why Ann was saying that stuff. Why she was so worried.
And all Shiho had done was push her away. She ignored her pleas, didn't pick up when she called and avoided her in the halls.
All so Ann couldn't see just how broken she was. She was too ashamed for her best friend to know—
"Ann won't judge you."
Shiho was hit with another wave of shock as Akira interrupted her thought process with a sentence that struck her heart like an arrow. Could he read her mind or something?
"When you were called up to play, Ann was terrified for you. She was so scared that Kamoshida was going to hurt you that I'm surprised she didn't storm the court and whisk you away."
Even with the state of this conversation, Shiho couldn't help but feel her cheeks turn slightly pink at that mental image.
"God...I'm such a bad friend..." Shiho eventually said. "All I've been doing is making Ann worry about me."
Akira shook his head. "You're not a bad friend. You're in a terrible situation and just wanted to keep your best friend out of it." He assured. "You're scared, and Ann is too. If you feel bad about making her worry, maybe you should talk it out. And I guarantee that however that talk goes, Ann will still be your friend at the end of it."
Something told him that Ann would have just as much to talk about with Shiho as Shiho did for her.
It took all of the ponytailed girl's willpower to hold back the tears that were desperately trying to fall. For so long, Shujin Academy had felt like hell on earth, solely because of Kamoshida's turning her passion into a tortuous ordeal. But even amid her despair and her anxieties, her heart felt...full.
There was someone here who could listen to the words that she could not speak.
Someone who could save her when she had long since given up on salvation.
As she reached up to wipe her eyes, Akira hummed awkwardly and glanced at the ceiling. He didn't mean to make her cry. She could probably use a subject change.
"A-Ahem... Frankly, it was lucky that Kamoshida singled me out too, I wouldn't have been able to protect you if I wasn't officially in the game." Akira commented.
Shiho managed to wipe the built-up moisture in her eyes and looked up at the boy with an expression of curiosity. "Wh-Why do you think that he picked you as well...?" She asked.
To hurt Ann and make her more susceptible to obeying his orders.
"I'm the new school delinquent." Akira chose to say instead. "He probably just wanted to boost his rep by taking down Shujin's Public Enemy Number One." He couldn't fully hide his bitterness. Even if Kamoshida was brought to justice, Akira's criminal record would remain looming over his head until he left. Kamoshida had really screwed him on that front.
"I don't know how those rumours even started..." Shiho suddenly said with a small amount of fire. "Everyone says you're a delinquent and you do a bunch of illegal stuff...but you're actually really nice," Shiho told him.
And that was something that Akira desperately needed to hear. The rumours hadn't slowed down from the moment that he showed up for his first day here. It was honestly comical the kinds of crimes that he had supposedly done. Everything from jaywalking to murder.
Yeah, pretty sure juvie wouldn't have let him out in that latter case...
"Tr-Try not to let the rumours get to you, okay? I mean, you'll probably get some nicer ones, after everything you've shown today..." She gave him a small smile.
Akira answered in kind and gave Shiho a smile of his own. "Thanks. It makes me feel happy to hear that. As happy as any shoplifting, drag racing, knife-toting serial killer can be." He joked.
He was glad to see Shiho's cheeks puff up and to hear the girl give an unrefined and exasperated "Pfffft!"
It was a nice sound.
It took a second for Shiho to get herself back under control before she resumed speaking.
"You know...Ann was the same..." She said with a sad smile. "She's constantly misunderstood because of her looks, due to her being a quarter American and three-quarters Japanese." She admitted.
She gave her head a shake. "Having hurtful rumours like that in circulation, because of circumstances beyond your control..." She trailed off.
"You were there for her, weren't you?" Akira questioned.
Shiho didn't give an explicit answer to that question, but her slightly bashful expression spoke volumes.
"J-Just um...just don't let them get you down..." She eventually said.
Akira nodded and was about to open his mouth when the referee suddenly spoke.
"Attention, everyone! The rally has officially concluded! Thank you all for participating! There are no further classes for today, so unless you have club activities, you may go home!"
Ah, that was right. They didn't have any classes after the rally today. They were free to leave. Well, for however much he hated Kamoshida, at least they got to leave school early, and show him a student that didn't like leaving school early.
He supposed that he should meet back up with Ann and Ryuji and see what they managed to uncover.
"Well then, Suzui..." Akira nodded to her "I hope you can patch things up with Ann. I can tell that you both care too much about each other for this to tear you apart." Akira told her with a firm expression.
Such a direct statement caught Shiho off guard, but the battered girl soon gave her head a slow nod. Akira was right. She should talk to Ann. Tell her everything. She knew she could trust her.
Geez, it shouldn't have taken a random boy to tell her that; she should have known that from the outset.
"I-I will. And Kurusu?"
"Yeah?"
Shiho gave him a wonderful, bright smile. Even amongst all of the bruises, it was practically iridescent.
"Thank you...for saving me!"
A smile as radiant as any star...
That loathsome brat...
That vile brat...
That arrogant brat...
That despicable brat...
That foul brat...
That sickening brat...
THAT FUCKING BRAT!
If Kamoshida's self-control had been even an iota weaker, the man would have put a hole in the wall of the P.E. Faculty Office, thrown his papers around, and broken the nose of anyone who came to check out the commotion.
How dare he?
How fucking DARE he!?
Kamoshida knew that letting that transfer student into his school was a mistake from the get-go, but that walking tub of lard who called himself the Principal had justified it; calling it an opportunity to boost Shujin's reputation.
That was what he was here for, dipstick!
He was all the reputation boost that Shujin needed. He was Shujin's golden child. He was the one who carried this damn school!
Kamoshida had reluctantly backed down the more inevitable that Kurusu's transfer became. He should have opposed it more. The only reason why he didn't was because he felt that no matter what the delinquent threw at him, he would be able to keep the brat in line, if not through fear, then through physical abuse, like what he'd attempted today.
But what the hell was THAT?!
Kurusu had completely turned the game on its head the second that he stepped into the court. He turned what should have been a landslide victory into a humiliating defeat.
He stole the spotlight, ruined his plans, and shamed him at the one thing that he was supposed to be better at than anyone else.
And the worst thing was that the brat somehow knew.
He knew of his plan to hurt him and Shiho to torment Ann, probably not the full scope, but Kurusu at least knew that he was intentionally looking to hurt them. The pre-emptive plays that he made were inexplicable otherwise.
He protected Suzui every single time. And all while having that same, damnable smirk on his face that made Kamoshida wish that he could beat it into a bloody pulp. He had intentionally humiliated him, and that was a sin of the highest order.
Perhaps in another life, Kamoshida would have actually sought the boy out for the team. Delinquent he may have been, but his fitness and his talent in volleyball were undeniable. He could have carried them beyond the Nationals and into the Internationals.
But no. That bridge had been burned and replaced with an impassible void. He was going to fucking end that kid!
The man took a deep breath that did little to loosen his fists or teeth.
Oh yes, he was going to make Kurusu pay, but he wasn't satisfied with just him.
Suzui had made some unforgivable plays against him. Working together with Kurusu was more than enough to land him on his shit list. She would not avoid the punishment she was denied.
Takamaki, the bitch who continuously rejected his advances. He gave her all his attention and she still rejected him. It was only through his grace that her best friend was even on the team!
And Sakamoto...well he didn't really know where he fit into all this, but he did notice the boy hanging around Takamaki, so he needed to go. Kamoshida was tired of looking at the repugnant, vulgar blonde anyway. He needed to go ASAP.
It was all their fault...
It was all their fault!
He was the only one who was blameless in all this.
God, he needed an outlet. His anger warranted some serious self-satisfaction, and for him, he sought that under the skirts of innocent high school girls.
Well now, there was an idea. He had run out of patience concerning her anyway.
With a maniacal grin, Kamoshida's hand slipped into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
He had a call to make.
"HA HA HA! Holy shit, this is awesome!"
"Ryuji! Don't yell out loud in here, it's embarrassing!"
"Aw, come on! We're students. Nobody cares. More importantly, Akira, you gotta send me this video, dude!"
Akira chuckled as he lifted a fry into his mouth. "I thought you'd like it." He said.
It had been a little over an hour since the volleyball rally had ended, and the students were allowed to leave. Of course, Ryuji and Ann had wasted no time in regrouping with Akira.
Since hanging around the school wasn't exactly viable right now, they needed a place to debrief, and Ryuji had suggested the local Big Bang Burger. It was a common place for students to hang out, so it seemed like the best place for them to talk about their situation. So long as they were quiet, which Ryuji was decidedly NOT being.
"Ya thought right! Look at his face! That spin you put on it at the end was insane!" The blond cried. Ryuji definitely felt on cloud nine right now. Kamoshida had been destroyed by Akira's plays, and he deserved every single point lost.
Being able to watch his new friend tear Kamoshida up on that course definitely filled him with a sense of vindictive glee.
"She's okay..." Ann suddenly whispered with a voice so quiet that the others barely heard her. But it was clear that she was relieved. "Shiho's okay..."
Ann had watched the video all the way through, scrubbing through every second to ensure that Shiho didn't get assaulted by any of Kamoshida's spikes. It had been beyond difficult to try and focus on gathering testimonies while her mind was stuck on her best friend. She had been so anxious during their interrogations that she had to run to the bathroom to take a break in between.
Turns out all that anxiety was unneeded.
Akira kept his promise. Akira kept Shiho safe.
The boys both looked towards the model as she gazed down at the table. The stress that had built up during the volleyball rally seemed to melt away and left a serene expression behind.
"Akira...thank you. Thank you so much..." Ann gazed at Akira with teary, sapphire eyes. "I don't know how I can ever repay you."
"Well, you can start by buying him a meal; dude, stop stealing my fries!" Ryuji tactlessly spoke up as he slapped away an attempt from Akira to nick some of his fries.
"Come on, it's not like I can buy my own fries, I'm broke, remember?"
"You still haven't paid me back for the Stama-whatever!"
"It's Staminan, and I will. But right now, that's the past. The fries are now."
"Yeah, but you're feeding like, half of 'em to the cat!"
"It's Morgana!" An irritated feline poked his head out of the bag, glaring at Ryuji. His anger was quelled as Akira subtly slipped him another fry.
"Morgana recorded the video, he deserves some fries," Akira said.
"All he did was hold the 'effing phone still!"
"And what else could he have done, Ryuji?" Akira asked innocently.
There was also the matter that he didn't actually have much to feed the cat with, but they didn't need to know that. It took a lot of nerve to do it, but Akira had saved his dinner until Sojiro went home for the night and managed to share it with Morgana. He didn't really have any other options to feed him until he started making some Metaverse money.
He'd take beating up supernatural beings with bottomless wallets over part-time any day.
Ryuji groaned and shovelled a load of his own fries into his mouth before the duo could get their hands on them.
"Charming..." Ann groaned, taking a quick glance around, hoping that nobody was seeing the savage that she was associating with. Once she verified that, she turned back to Akira.
"Still, I didn't know that you were so good at volleyball. I mean, you said that you never played before, but that had to be a lie, right?" She asked.
To her surprise though, Akira shook his head. "No, it was the truth." He replied. "I was fit enough to keep up with him and I normally pick stuff up pretty easily. From there, it was just instincts and guts." He admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.
Ryuji managed to swallow his mouthful of cholesterol and frowned at Akira. "Well... yeah, but... Kamoshida's a whole-ass athlete with a ton of experience and you were playing his game. You were really able to beat him like that?"
Akira blinked.
The world darkened.
And he could see everything. He could see the fly on the wall at the opposite end of the restaurant—every individual spittle of oil as fries were dipped into a deep fryer—the stubborn grease stain clinging onto an employee's black apron—the footprints left behind by a hurried office worker who only dropped in to grab a cup of coffee—everything as if in slow motion—all apparent—all revealed to him—!
"...I had to. No matter what, I couldn't let that bastard win. That's all there is to it."
As if flicking a switch, the darkness receded and Akira's vision returned to normal.
"Huh..." Ryuji muttered and scratched his cheek. "Well, if you say so..." He replied.
"Well, if you ask me, I think it's fantastic!" Morgana announced. "That raw talent and adaptability will help us loads when we infiltr—mrrrrww!?"
Before the cat could continue speaking Akira took the initiative to stuff his mouth with a load of fries, similar to what Ryuji had done. It caused Morgana to grunt and look up at Akira with a perturbed glance.
Akira glared right back, however. "You're the one who said that we couldn't talk about that stuff with you-know-who," Akira whispered to the cat.
Immediately, Morgana's eyes widened as he looked to the now curious Ann. He...did say that, didn't he? Ashamed, the feline lowered his head and silently munched on his edible gag.
"Huh?" What's this about?" Ann asked, quirking her brow. Akira cursed. Thanks, Morgana...
"It's...nothing that you need to worry about Ann, so just drop it, okay?" He requested firmly. He wanted to keep Ann out of this as much as possible. She'd been through enough.
"Um...okay...?" the blonde replied. Luckily, she didn't seem to think much of the interaction, which Akira was certainly thankful for.
He sighed. They needed to get this conversation back on track.
"Anyway, now that we've reviewed the reasons why Kamoshida's probably imagining my head on a pike as we speak, how about we discuss the progress that you two made on gathering testimony?" Akira suggested.
Though, from the crestfallen expressions from both blondes, it was easy to deduce how that went.
"A-About that..."
"No one spilled a damn thing!" Ryuji interrupted Ann. "We went to all the people that we saw a copy of in the castle. Every single one of them were totally messed up. Bandages, bruises, the whole lot!" Ryuji said in an irritated tone.
"We asked about their injuries, and if Kamoshida was abusing them, but anything we asked, they outright denied," Ann added. "The match went on for a while, so we were able to talk to a bunch of volleyball players, and none of them said anything incriminating. The most we got were some nervous looks."
"So, no one talked?" Akira specified.
"Actually, we did get something. Sorta." Ryuji corrected. "You remember Mishima, the guy that took Kamoshida's monster spike to the face?" Ryuji asked.
Akira gave a second-hand wince of pain and then nodded. Yeah, he remembered that poor dude.
"Well, we caught him leaving the nurse's office, and Ann got him to talk. He said..." Ryuji trailed off as his fists balled up. "...he said that proving Kamoshida's abuse was pointless because everybody knows about it!"
"So he confirmed it, but he has no intention of helping us. Lotta good that does." Akira sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Still, I can't blame them. Kamoshida's broken all the volleyball team members down so thoroughly that their fear of him outweighs their desire for the abuse to end." He grunted.
That man was devilish, ruthless and cunning. He had taken every opportunity to establish himself as an immutable, untouchable presence throughout the entire academy, from taking the volleyball team to Nationals to breaking Ryuji's leg with no consequence.
Nobody had curbed him, nobody had stopped him, and now, the man was too powerful. The only way to stop him now make him tear himself down.
And there was only one way they could do that.
"Dammit!" Ryuji cursed with a frustrated expression.
"Well, I'd say that Plan A is a failure," Akira murmured, shaking his head. Instantly, and rather predictably Ryuji whipped his head around to Akira.
"What?! No, we can't give up that fast. We...We can give the team members another shot, can't we? Give them time to come around? We must've gotten 'em thinking or something?" The blond reasoned.
"Ryuji..." Akira sighed. "Those team members have probably been "thinking" ever since the abuse started. But they won't do anything..."
He couldn't help but think of Shiho, and remember the broken smile upon her tired face.
"They can't do anything."
"But..." Ryuji tried to raise his voice in denial, but all that left his mouth was a squeak.
"And the longer we leave this, the more they'll get hurt. The more Ann has to deal with Kamoshida's shit." Akira gripped his fist tightly. "We can either try the team again and risk having it end as fruitlessly as it did before. Or..."
He leaned in close to Ryuji, glaring at him with pure seriousness.
"...we can move onto Plan B, and stop this right now."
Akira leaned back in his seat with a grunt. He didn't like to be a hardass, but Ryuji needed to look at the reality of the situation.
Akira had given him his chance. He had bought them time to question the volleyball team members, even placed a bigger target on himself. But he couldn't in good conscience keep humouring Ryuji's well-natured, but ultimately useless attempts to take Kamoshida down the normal way.
No. Ann, Shiho, everyone...all of them had seen enough hell.
Silence washed over the booth, as everyone pondered Akira's stance. There was such conviction and determination behind it that Ann, Ryuji and Morgana each struggled to find their words.
The drive to make things better.
The will to do what must be done.
And the resolve to see it through until the very end.
Akira...held the aura of a leader.
Finally, Ryuji found his voice.
"Haaaah...! Godammit, you're right..." He grumbled, frantically combing his hand through his blond hair. He couldn't really be mad. Deep down, not even he had believed that making the other team members testify would work. But it just felt less shitty to try things the right way first.
But if the right way was ever going to work, it should have been when he lost his ability to run.
"We're all in agreement then?" Morgana asked, his blue eyes narrowed.
"Wait!" Ann cried as she slammed her hands on the table. It made the two boys and cat jump a little at the suddenness. A few people even looked over, but soon realised that the commotion wasn't important and simply returned to their meals.
"You guys have been talking back and forth about 'Plan B this' and 'Plan B that', but you haven't let me in on it at all!" The twin-tailed blonde hissed. Thankfully, she had the presence of mind to lower her voice after the initial outburst.
"Ann, we talked about this already. You can't help with Plan B!" Akira scolded her.
"I have just as big a stake in this as you guys do. I deserve the chance to take him down!" Ann retorted.
"I agree, completely," Akira stated, catching Ann off guard. "But I can't, in good conscience, let you participate. Hell, I'm barely okay with Ryuji being in on it."
"Hey!" Ryuji grunted in indignation.
"No offence, it's just that you're not as good at that kinda stuff yet."
"You're just as new as I am!"
"I have experience, you've got gusto. Both are good, but I know where I'd place my bets."
"Che! Whatever..."
"Guys, come on! Whatever it is, you can trust me!" Ann insisted, leaning in close to Akira. If she could just convince him then—
Ting-a-ling-a-ling!
Ting-a-ling-a-ling!
Ann paused upon hearing the ringtone and glanced at her side. Her phone was going off. Ugh, why now of all times?
"Do you need to take that?" Akira asked.
"Hmpf! It's probably my agency wondering when I'm free next," Ann grunted as she dug into her pocket to take out her phone. "Give me a sec to take care of..."
Akira and Ryuji immediately knew that something was wrong as soon as Ann looked at her phone screen. Blood drained from her face and her pupils dilated in clear panic
"Ann, what's wrong?!" Akira asked. He couldn't fight the sudden bad feeling building within his gut.
"I-It's..." the pale-faced girl looked at Akira with wide, frightened eyes. "... it's Kamoshida...!"
And immediately, everyone's senses were set alight with alarm.
"The dickhead's callin' you!?" Ryuji hissed. "How did he even get your number?"
"I-I held off on giving him my number for the longest time, but he was just so persistent. He... blackmailed me into giving it." Ann admitted.
"Bastard!" Morgana cursed.
The phone kept on ringing, and all everyone could do was stare at it, with none of them knowing how to approach it.
For all the torment that Kamoshida put Ann through, nobody could blame the girl if she simply declined the call. But she couldn't keep anxiety from gnawing at her mind. There was always the possibility that Kamoshida would try something, and in that case, was it not better to know what was coming?
Ann wasn't sure that she would have had the strength to answer the call alone. Too many times, she had been forced to find comfort under her quilt after Kamoshida had gotten in contact with her to describe the disgusting things he wished to do to her.
One could forgive Ann for wishing to ignore the call.
But she wasn't alone. Brown, blue and grey eyes stared into her own, while a firm hand clasped over her own.
She looked to the owner to find Akira, his expression soothing, yet serious. "You can do it, Ann." He whispered. "Get him on loudspeaker so we can hear too. Don't worry, we'll be here the whole time." He assured her.
Ann bit her bottom lip and gripped Akira's hand tightly.
She could do this.
She could do this...!
She used her other hand to answer the call, loudspeaker enabled.
"H-Hello?"
"Takamaki. For a moment, I thought that you were going to let me go to voicemail!" Kamoshida's voice blared through the speaker. He addressed Ann like they were old friends or something.
"What do you want, Kamoshida?" Ann asked, trying to keep her voice even and breathing steady.
Instead of answering, Kamoshida asked another question.
"Where are you right now?"
Ann swallowed. "I'm... I'm doing a shoot right now. This is cutting into my break, so can you make this quick?" She lied.
"Oh Ann..." Kamoshida used her given name like Ann had given him permission. Malicious chuckles practically leaked from the phone. "...the funny thing about that is that I just finished a phone call with the director of the magazine. He said that you didn't have any shoots scheduled until next week. Don't worry though, I made sure to mention that I was your teacher and that your constant shoots were causing you to fall behind in your classes. So, he cancelled your upcoming shifts. You've got a full calendar free, Ann!"
Ann froze and her eyes shot wide open. She could see Ryuji whispering a muted "What the 'effing hell!?" And Akira's expression was pulled into a tight grimace.
She turned back to the phone. "That was none of your business! Y-Y-You had no right to do that!" She hissed, not even bothering to hide how appalled she was.
"Please," Kamoshida scoffed. "Like that'd stop me. I was getting so fucking tired of hearing that excuse over and over. Well, guess what? Now you don't have an excuse."
"B-But I—!"
"Shut up!" Kamoshida growled. "I showered you with attention! I gave your worthless friend a spot on MY volleyball team, and you still tried to blow me off!"
"That's not—"
"Well, I'm done waiting. You're gonna give yourself to me, and you're going to do it now! Or your best friend can kiss her starter position goodbye! As well as any starter position she can possibly find afterwards!"
The table creaked a little under Akira's grip. So…that was how Kamoshida was trying to force Ann into having a relationship with him. He was holding Shiho's position; her entire future of volleyball hostage!
He was angry. So angry. It took all he had to keep his rage concealed. He couldn't imagine how Ann was feeling.
"Wh-! That's not...! Th-This has nothing to do with Shiho!" Ann cried.
"Oh yes the hell it does. Your delinquent friend was protecting her all throughout the match. And he fucking won at the same time. You want her to stay on the team? Then be a good bitch and do what I say, before I lose what little generosity I have left."
Ryuji was having a hellish time trying to keep his own mouth shut. Kamoshida couldn't know that they were also listening in on this call, but there was no denying that he was furious too.
"This is what's going to happen. The second this phone call ends, you're going to go straight to my place and wait for me to arrive. I don't think I need to say what we'll be doing..." Kamoshida ordered. Ann gave a deflated gasp in horror. Nobody at this table was ignorant of what the scumbag was planning.
"Then, the next day, you're going to walk back into school like nothing ever happened. If you even try to tell anyone about this, I'll expel both of you. And not just you, but those Dumb and Dumber pests who've been hanging around you lately. You're going to have to ditch them too, by the way." He told her.
Horrified didn't even begin to describe how Ann felt. The sheer callousness of Kamoshida as he blatantly told her to do something that would tear her life to shreds was enough to make her feel sick.
She looked at Akira and Ryuji, and she felt oddly comforted in their rage. Akira's grip on the table only tightened further, but his grasp on her hand remained supportive and gentle.
And Ann's dry mouth began to speak words she never thought she would.
"I dare you..."
"What?"
After that bastard had gone and said all that shit, Ann somehow found the strength to fight back.
An ember of something was stirring within her heart...
"Shiho is...a wonderful volleyball player! That team of yours wouldn't last two seconds in the competitive scene without her! If you take her off, it's your foot that you're shooting!" She declared, staring daggers into the phone.
"All the disgusting crap that you've put me through...I've had enough, Kamoshida!" Ann spat the name as if it were poison.
"Y-You've had—! Oh, you...bitch!" Kamoshida snarled. His voice had dropped, and his tone had completely changed, an authoritative and smug voice bleeding away into something low and quiet.
And then...he began to chuckle. A chilling, malicious cackle that caused the group's blood to run cold.
"You know what, Ann? That's fine! You want nothing to do with me? I'll just find someone else!" Kamoshida told them in too cheery a tone.
"Wh-What?!"
"Yes! I have my pick of all the girls in Shujin. But who to choose to be my new cocksleeve...?" He asked in a condescending tone. "Oh! I have a special girl in mind..." He hummed tauntingly. They could all hear his shit-eating grin.
Ann grit her teeth at Kamoshida's declaration. What did he mean by—?"
...
Oh god...
Oh GOD...!
"You wouldn't...!" She whispered into the receiver. Her earlier fire was nowhere to be heard in her voice, now replaced with unbridled fear.
"You thought you could be a big girl and throw me aside, like that would solve all of your problems. But that's not how this world works, Ann. I take what I want, when I want, and you shitty little brats can't stop me!" Kamoshida said. "And if you think you can..."
From Kamoshida's end, there was the sound of a knocking at the door.
"Come in!" The teacher called, which was then followed by the sound of a door sliding open.
"U-Um, excuse me, you wanted to see me, Kamoshida-sensei?" A male, timid voice asked. One that Akira remembered took attendance on his first day at Shujin.
"That voice...it's Mishima...!" Ryuji whispered under his breath.
"Ah, Mishima, perfect timing! Please find Suzui and tell her that I would like to see her in my office immediately for...special training" Kamoshida ordered the boy.
"Y-Yes, Kamoshida-sensei. Right away."
A few seconds of silence passed, only being broken by the door of Kamoshida's office closing behind the dejected boy.
"No...you can't! Please!" Ann begged. Her horrified cry was only met with a cocky scoff.
"I'm...I'm gonna call the police!" She tried desperately, but she knew that it was a failing play the second the words left her mouth.
"Hahaha! How many times do you think I've gotten away with this? The police roll over for money and the Principal's got deep pockets. Report me all you like."
The Principal knew about this shit!? That this despicable, unforgivable man was abusing and sexually harassing students. Hiding the crime? Drowning testimonies in money?
"Face it, Ann. You won't; you can't do anything. Unless you want to take her place? A good friend would do anything to keep her safe, right?"
Frustrated, anguished tears ran down Ann's cheeks. How? How was a man this evil allowed to exist? It wasn't fair!
She wanted to scream. She wanted to be sick. She wanted to save Shiho with all her heart. She wanted everything to just stop!
And yet, here she sat, only able to tremble and sob silently as Kamoshida gave her the choice to give up herself, or her best friend.
Desperately, she glanced at her friends.
Ryuji's expression was contorted into a look of pure outrage. Keeping quiet this long was seemingly getting to him, and he was reaching his limit.
Morgana's fur was bristled, and he glared at the phone with as much hatred and fury as a cat possibly could.
And Akira...
…
Wasn't there...?
"Argh! Watch where you're going, you punk!"
The trio found themselves all looking down the corridor of the restaurant, towards the commotion. They saw a large man in a flowered shirt rubbing his bicep and looking towards the entrance.
They also saw a flash of a Shujin uniform and a lock of frizzy hair as the person shot through the automatic doors and started tearing down the street.
"Huh? Akira, where are you going!?" Ryuji called out to the sprinting teen, only to get no answer.
"Why did he...?" Ann asked with a shaky voice. It had happened so fast that she had only managed to catch a brief glimpse of his face.
It was an expression that she had never seen him wear.
Akira was not the type to smile all the time, but she had come to recognise the small, polite smirks and subtle grins that he gave.
This wasn't one of those.
His face was devoid of expression. The only feature that even hinted at an emotion was the burning anger in his grey eyes.
He was furious. Immeasurably so.
"There's only one place I think he'd go. We gotta get to Shujin. Now!" Morgana announced.
"Wh-What the hell's going on?! Was that Sakamoto!? This was supposed to be a private talk, you bit—"
"Enough outta you, asshole!" Ryuji grunted as he hit the End Call button on Ann's phone. He then reached over and grabbed Akira's bag with Morgana ducking his head inside.
"Ann, c'mon! We gotta follow him!" Ryuji urged her.
Ann stared at the two for a moment, and then quickly wiped away the tears staining her cheeks.
"R-Right, let's go!" She replied.
Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!
Akira repeatedly cursed himself while sprinting as fast as he was able. People, buildings cars; all of them morphed into blurs and colours around him.
This was all his fault! All his fucking fault!
Moron! Moron! Moron!
Damn it! Kamoshida was an asshole, but at least he wasn't actively on the warpath before.
Why did he have to beat Kamoshida at volleyball? His only goal was to protect Shiho. He hadn't thought that the repercussions would come so hard and fast. He just had to show him up, antagonise him. Of course the bastard would be spurred into action.
Dumbass! Dumbass! Dumbass!
And now, Kamo-fucking-Shida had Shiho in his sights. Ann's best friend. A sweet girl who was currently heading towards a fate worse than death.
He couldn't let that happen! He couldn't let that human filth touch a single hair on her head!
This was his mistake. It was up to him to clean it up.
He had already checked the trains on his phone. The next one to Aoyama-Itchome wouldn't leave for the next ten minutes, and wouldn't arrive at school for another five. That wouldn't be enough time. He had to leg it!
If he pushed Rush Style to its limit, he could probably get there in ten minutes, but he had no guarantee that it wouldn't already be too late for Shiho by the time she got there.
And yet, it was all he could do.
So he ran.
"Please let me make it in time."
And he prayed.
"PLEASE LET ME MAKE IT IN TIME!
