I need reviews. Enjoy! - Moonfire, 20 DEC 2017

CHAPTER 2: BULLIES ARE EVERYWHERE

"Look, it's Yuuki-chan!" a voice was heard.

Yuuki was startled. She pretended to not hear the boys whistling and calling her name. She sighed dreadfully. The cafeteria lady handed her the change for her payment. She ran back to the classroom before any boys can talk to her. Midori was waiting for her to eat together.

"Somebody confessed their love today?" Midori teased.

"Please…" Yuuki blushed.

Midori giggled at her reaction. Yuuki started to munch on her melon bun. She was still blushing. It had been a month since she enrolled at the school and more than ten boys had confessed to her. She was always saved by Midori. Nobody was bothered by the fact that she had a cousin and his best friend looking after her. They still tried to find chances to confess to her.

"Are you going home with your cousin again?" Midori asked.

"Yeah… If not, you know what's gonna happen, right?" Yuuki sighed again.

Her friend nodded. "Hmm… Your cousin is pretty brave."

Confused, Yuuki asked, "What do you mean?"

Midori was a bit surprised at the question. "You don't know the story?"

"What story?" Yuuki demanded.

"It's about Akabane-senpai. He's an ultimate delinquent at times," Midori whispered.

"Really?" the pink haired was being skeptical.

Midori nodded and said, "Yeah. I mean, his grades are good but his attitude is…questionable…"

Yuuki shook her head in disagree. She remembered a few times Karma saved her from some confession sessions and boys. Of course, Nagisa was there too but he didn't do much.

Evening came and it was the end of school. Midori said goodbye to Yuuki. The classroom was empty in an instant. Yuuki was about to leave when three girls came up to her. She was confused.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Stay away from our boyfriends or face the consequences!" the girls shouted.

One of them pushed her. She tumbled backward. Yuuki cringed, eyes still fixed on the girls. They huffed and left her. Yuuki stood up, brushed off the dust around her and started her walk to the gate. Karma and Nagisa were waiting for her. A few students started to whisper about. Yuuki heaved a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Nagisa asked.

"Nothing…" Yuuki replied, forcing a smile.

She glanced up at Karma who was looking at her the whole time. She nodded to him as a greeting. Karma shrugged.

"We're stopping by at a cake shop," the redhead suddenly said.

"Really?" Nagisa asked, surprised.

Karma nodded and explained, "There's a new cake that I want to try."

Yuuki stared at him confusedly. Karma smiled at her. She nodded to show that she agreed. Nagisa sighed, giving in. In a few minutes, they are in front of a bakery. Yuuki waited for them by the side. Nagisa helped Karma make his pick faster. Yuuki checked her messages and emails, ignoring the two boys. Nagisa stole a glance at his cousin.

"She looks worried," he said to Karma.

"Hmmm…? Really?" Karma asked.

Nagisa elbowed him. Karma laughed. They paid for what they bought. Yuuki kept her phone in her pocket as she followed them to the train station.

"Something on your mind, Yuuki?" Nagisa asked, concerned.

"Not really… I just…" Yuuki hesitated, shaking her head, "I'll deal with it myself."

Her cousin was not convinced but he refrained from asking again. Karma took out one of the muffins he had just bought and started to munch on it as he listened to them. The train arrived and it was crowded than usual. They hurdled into it. Yuuki was hesitant at first but Nagisa pulld her in before the door closed.

"I'm not gonna leave you there," he said.

"You could have wait with me for the next train," she complained.

"I don't want to be late home… You know how my mother is…" Nagisa replied.

The train rocked a few times. Yuuki could not find anything to hold on to. She was pushed into her cousin and Karma. They turned to look at each other. She abruptly blushed.

"Sorry…" she whispered to them.

"It's okay…" Nagisa chuckled at her reaction.

Karma took hold of her hand. He pulled her to lean against a wall, facing him. She blushed deeper, but at the very least, she was secured. Nagisa smiled at how thoughtful his best friend was. The redhead took out a chocolate bar, showing it in front of her face. She blinked at the snack. Karma gestured it again. Yuuki hesitantly took it.

"Thanks…" she mumbled.

Shizukana Yume hummed a tune as she checked her email. She was in her dressing room, waiting for her concert to start.

"Yume-chan, you can standby now," a call came from outside her room.

"Okie dokie~" Yume replied.

She put on her signature armlet on her right hand. Then, she stepped out. Her hair flew in the wind as she walked. The men there could not take their eyes off of her. She strolled over to the stage. The crowd cheered when they saw her. Yume waved her hands happily.

"Hello, everybody!" she called through her microphone.

The crowd cheered again. Yume started her first song and then, her next one. She took her first half rest after her third song. She felt cold due to her sweats. She was back in her dressing room. She turned to look at herself in the mirror. Her lips formed a smile. She fixed her hair, reaching for the next costume she had to put on.

Yuuki ran into her classroom. She was later than usual that day. The whole school was talking about Yume-chan's first concert in Japan after so long. Yuuki took her seat, heaving a sigh.

"You went to the concert?" Midori asked.

"Y-Yeah…my cousin got an extra ticket," Yuuki replied.

"Lucky~ I didn't get to go because of all our homework," her friend complained.

"Yuuki, somebody is looking for you," a boy called.

Yuuki looked outside to see the three girls from yesterday. She gulped and nodded. She stood up to go and meet them. They asked her to walk with them. She was taken to a building at the back of the school.

"My boyfriend just broke up with me!" one of them, which appeared to be the leader, said.

The pink haired girl didn't reply. The leader shoved Yuuki to the wall behind her. Yuuki cringed in pain. The other two girls started to laugh.

"It's all your fault…" she growled.

"S-Sorry…" Yuuki choked.

"Just an apology is not enough! We told you to leave them all alone!" the leader screamed.

Yuuki choked again as the older girl strangled her. Yuuki looked left and right, hoping that someone would appear. One of the other two girls took out a pair of scissors. The leader took it, smirking.

"I should cut your hair as punishment…" she sneered.

Yuuki fell on her knees. "No, please! Don't…" she begged.

She tried to run away but the other girl pulled her and pushed her back to the wall. They flipped her around. She could hear the sound of the scissors. Yuuki was about to cry when they heard a voice.

"This looks fun… Can I join in?" Karma stood there, leaning against the wall.

"A-Akabane!" the leader exclaimed.

Karma smiled, keeping his eyes on Yuuki. The girl bit her lower lip, holding in her tears. The leader accidentally dropped the scissors. The redhead picked it up calmly. The three girls started to panic when they saw him holding the scissors.

"Let's get out of here!" one of them screamed.

They scrambled away. Yuuki fell to her knees, exhausted. Karma offered his hand to help her up. She accepted his kind gesture.

"This isn't the first time?" he asked.

Yuuki shook her head. Karma looked away as she started to cry. He left her at the infirmary to get examined. Karma waited outside.

"You have a little scratch on the knee," the nurse said.

"Thank you…" Yuuki muttered as she exited the infirmary.

"Yuuki-chan!" Midori hugged her.

Yuuki smiled at her friend. She turned to Karma who smiled.

"I brought her here. She was worried about you…" he explained.

"Thanks," Yuuki replied.

"I was so worried when I heard you were bullied!" Midori bawled.

The shorter girl patted her head as she hugged her tighter. Karma took his leave. Midori and Yuuki made it back to the classroom. The Math teacher looked strictly towards them as they took their seats. None of them knew what had happened. Yuuki prayed that the next day would be better.

Unfortunately for her, it had gotten worse. Her locker and shoes were full of thumbtacks and a warning note, somebody 'accidentally' pour rubbish water when she was in the toilet and somebody pushed her to the middle of the road when the two boys were not looking. A car almost hit her. Yuuki heaved a dreadful sigh. Nagisa pulled her hand to follow him as they walk to the train station.

"It's now super dangerous to let you walk alone…" he remarked.

"You don't have to go this far," Yuuki muttered nervously.

Karma noticed that she was about to cry again. She bit her lower lip to hold her tears. The redhead sighed. He caught sight of an ice-cream stand.

"Hold on," he said to the cousins.

Nagisa and Yuuki watched as he walked over to the stand. He bought three popsicles of the same flavor. He strolled back to the confused boy and girl. He handed them one each.

"A good stress relief…" he said absentmindedly.

Yuuki stared at her ice-cream. She didn't feel like eating at all. Karma snatched it from her, unwrapped the wrapper and placed it back into her hand. She blinked at him a few times. He just flashed his usual smile.