It's strange how much you notice when you are running. The rotting leaves on the trees. The puddles just starting to freeze over. The students whispering together, huddled against the walls. He can feel their eyes on him, in short bursts. He runs past too quickly for them to look for long. His hands and feet are numb with cold while the rest of him feels like its burning. He can hear the footsteps behind him grow further away. Maybe he'll get away this time?

Maybe not. He still needed to go to school. They'd know where to find him.

He dodged around a corner and almost ran straight into the reason all this was happening. He didn't slow down. The reason smiled as he ran past, making no attempt to grab him. Gakushuu liked watching him run. Nagisa had figured that out over the past year.

It was almost their anniversary.

Almost a whole year since it happened. He'd been walking home from the shop, a heavy bag in each hand. He'd rounded a bend to see them ahead, leaning against a boarded up shop front. Gakushuu, the big 5 and an assortment of their followers. Mostly A class with a few hopeful B's thrown in. It had been so cold. He didn't have any gloves, so his hands were numb holding the bag. The tarmac had been covered with a few inches of snow.

Gakushuu's breath formed white clouds when he talked.

"I'm freezing. Where is it?''

Ren had pulled a white squirming bundle from his bag. A rabbit. A little white rabbit with two black feet. Nagisa didn't want to watch what was going to happen. He didn't want to know. But he needed to walk past them to get home. Should he turn around? Going a different route would add almost three miles to the walk. It was so cold….

But what would they do if they saw him? He didn't want to find out. He dithered, edging back slowly. Risk freezing to death or risk walking past them? Hard to deal which was more dangerous.

"Perfect! Let's get it lit."

One of his minions pulled out an old coke bottle and opened it. Gakushuu dumped its contents over the rabbit until its fur was plastered to its shaking body.

Where had they found a rabbit? Was it one of theirs? Maybe it belonged to a little sibling. Maybe they stole it.

Nagisa had never realised how crazy Gakushuu was before. He'd never really noticed him before. Not ever. Of course, he knew him. Or knew about him. Everybody at Kunukigowka did. But he had never thought about him too much. Now? He could feel the restless energy rolling off him. Like his mother before the worst of her fits. He could do anything like this. He would do anything.

Gakashuu pulled a green lighter from his pocket. It looked so innocent, almost cute. Nagisa felt his heart jolt a little as the tiny flame sprang up.

'You're not really going to do it are you?" asked Araki.

"I said I would so I will. Are you saying I'd back out? Are you saying I can't finish what I started?"

The look on his face could have killed someone. Araki soothed him quickly. He looked around hoping for something to distract him. Unfortunately, he found something in the form of Nagisa.

"Hey! Hey bitch!"

Nagisa decided to walk past quickly and hope they lost interest. Since they'd already seen him there was no point in staying put.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back with the other retards? Look at him!" He turns to the boys nearest for support.

"Imagine looking like that! Aren't you almost 14? You look like you're 11. I'd be so embarrassed having your body and your brain."

They burst out laughing at the old insult. It was almost too stupid to upset him, but his muscles still tensed. He tucked his head down and walked a little faster. He was almost past them. He just needed to get to the next corner, and they'd forget about him.

"Hey Shiota.'' He froze. Gakushuu's eyes burned holes through his back. "Come here."

Nagisa weighed his options.

Keep walking. Embarrass the clearly mentally unstable, incredibly powerful top student of his school. Deal with the repercussions.

Turn back. Get closer to the clearly mentally unstable, incredibly powerful top student of his school. Deal with the repercussions.

Admittedly the options were not great.

"I'm waiting."

Nagisa turned and took a hesitating step towards him. Then another. He beckoned him closer. Nagisa cautiously came forward until he was about 8 feet from the group. From here he could smell the definitely-not-coke on the rabbit.

"You can be my little scapegoat." Said Gakushuu. He waved the hand holding the lighter like a magician revealing his assistant. Nagisa didn't have time to worry about what he meant by scapegoat; he was talking again.

"Keep your eyes wide open Shiota. You don't want to miss this." With a smile as wide and manic as his mother son her worst days, Gakushuu held the rabbit aloft and lit it on fire right at the tip of its soft little tail.

Nagisa never knew rabbits could scream until that moment. He prayed he'd never hear it again.

Gakashuu dropped the flaming ball on the floor. The rabbit ran in circles, shaking and kicking. But it couldn't escape the pain. Its fur burned right off to show pink and black skin underneath. Finally, if gave up. It lay twitching on the icy ground, little puffs of steam and smoke rising off its body. Its eyes were wide and crazy.

Its eyelids had burnt off. BΣΛЦƬIFЦᄂ

Dropping the two bags of food, Nagisa ran.

The next day he had gone to school as normal. He thought it was just one time. One weird encounter. He thought he would never have to interact with them again.

He was wrong.

He was called into the principal's office right after lunch. There he came face to face with Gakushuu and his father. He had thought Gakushuu was deranged. In comparison to his father, he was a completely well-adjusted citizen.

"I have received some very disturbing reports Shiota." The man stared at him with wide violent eyes.

"I have been informed by several witnesses you burned a rabbit alive yesterday. Is this true?"

He felt the floor open beneath him. Please. Please. He didn't do anything wrong. Why him? Why now? How would he defend himself? None of Gakushuu's cronies would come to his defence. He didn't even tell his mother what had happened. She'd been so angry when he came home without the food. His heart pounded inside his bruised ribs.

Gakushuu smiled at him with a mouthful of shark's teeth.

"I am not going to expel you. I understand experiencing such… educational imperfections… that you have, you may have needed an outlet. But if I hear of you harming any creature, animal or human. If you so much as raise your voice at one of my students. You will be expelled. Do you understand?"

"However," continued Asano, "People would find such imperfections much more egregious in shall we say… a model pupil. One such as my son. It would be hard to believe he'd ever hurt something. Person or animal. I'd personally find it much easier to believe you were the one causing any such harm."

"To conclude our little disciplinary meeting, I'll say this. I'm keeping an eye on you. if any of the more successful students in this school needed to use aggressive means towards you, in self defence of course, I'd find that understandable. It would be best if you behaved. Particularly around my son. You wouldn't want to be expelled, would you? I'm afraid no other school would touch you; your education would be over. Your life, even. Do you understand?"

Nagisa couldn't move, not even to nod. Asano knew. He knew what his son was. What he had forced his son to become. He imagined what Gakushuu could do. Of all the horrors he could dream up. He thought back to what happened when his mother found out he had been put in E-Class. He imagined what she would do if he was expelled outright.

"I understand."

Which brought him to now.

Gakashuu was running too. He could hear his footsteps. It was a weird talent to have, telling exactly who was behind him by the sound. It didn't exactly help. Still. It was always nice to know who was trying to kill you.

They were getting closer.

He was almost at the mountain top when they caught him. Almost safe. Gakushuu got close enough to shove him down. He fell on his knees, and they were on him before he could get up again.

Koyama leant on his shoulders to stop him standing while Araki pinned his arms behind his back. Vomit surges up his throat, though he manages to swallow it back down. ΛᄂЩΛYƧ ӨП ΉIƧ KПΣΣƧ. The ice under his knees starts to melt and soak into his trousers. Annoying. He'd just washed them.

"Shiota!" Gakushuu called happily, as if seeing a friend. "It's so lovely to see you. It's been too long."

It's been three weeks.

Koyama's fingers dig into his shoulders. He tries to discreetly reposition into something more comfortable. Koyama smashes his head down onto the ground and yanks him back upright. Nagisa gasps at the sudden ringing headache.

Gakushuu crouches down and pokes his sore forehead. Nagisa flinches which makes him laugh.

"What have you done now?" Theres a trill of delight in his voice.

"What have I done?" It's not really a question. It's just his role to fill. Theres an expectation to their meetings. They've been together long enough for everyone to know their lines. He follows the script. Nagisa always follows the script. He's not curious about the answer, not anymore. It didn't make a difference.

"You don't know? We saw you! You attacked that dog. You made such a mess of it we were afraid to intervene. But of course, we could tell the principle where you left its body. For the good of the school."

Nagisa wondered whether the dog was already dead or if they would kill it later. Even if he told someone, he knew who everyone would believe. The perfect valedictorian would always win over the crazy bunny killer.

"What do you want Gakushuu?"

"None of us can have a part-time job. You know that don't you? It's against school rules. So, on occasion, we find ourselves in need of a little money."

"Why don't you ask your parents?"

Ren tugs on his hair so hard a few strands rip out.

"Because idiot, our parents don't need to know everything about our lives. Some parents don't feel the need to control every aspect of our existence. I guess you wouldn't relate."

"Oh no, you're mocking my mom. I'm so upset."

Ren tugs his hair again. His scalp burns. He should learn how to keep his mouth shut.

Ren hissed at him. He didn't have Gakushuu's self-control, his voice went high pitched as he whined.

"Could you please take this seriously? You could get kicked out of the school!"

Naggisa tried to shrug, found Koyama weighed too much.

"That would be a shame. The students here are just so nice." Admittedly it was a stupid thing to say. In fairness, he was a slow learner. He was only E-Class after all.

Ren looked like he was restraining himself from strangling him. Then he realised Nagisa couldn't fight back and strangled him. It was an uncomfortable experience.

Nagisa pressed his face into the ground as his vision slowly returned. His throat felt dry and he was sure his voice would crack if he tried to speak. He swallowed, trying to shake off the feeling of his fingers around his windpipe. Slimy trails of disgust spread over his skin. Oŋɛ ɖąყ ɧɛ'ɖ ცཞɛąƙ ɬɧơʂɛ ʄųƈƙıŋɠ ʄıŋɠɛཞʂ. The cold from the ground seeped through his cloths and skin, right into his bones.

"70,000 yen. You have two weeks to get it."

Nagisa propped himself up on his elbow. "How am I supposed you get that much money?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Said Ren, reaching for his throat again, but Gakushuu stopped him.

"Let's go. We're almost late for class. You should get going too Shiota. You're far enough behind as it is."

Nagisa pulls himself to his feet and watches them walk away. 70,000? In two weeks? He's so dead.