Harem of Side Characters [Rewrite]

Event - Wounds that Don't Heal

"K-Karuizawa! That's uncalled for!" Mori stutters out. It seems we bumped into a group of Class D girls.

"She was the one that bumped into me! Its not my fault she can't look straight." Karuizawa scoffs before walking away.

"Kei!" Three girls ran after Karuizawa as she left. I believe they were Satsuki Shinohara, Maya Satou and Chiaki Matsushita. If I remembered correctly, the group of three girls were best friends and always hung out with each other. Shinohara and Satou ran after Karuizawa without looking back, but Matsushita stopped and gave a small bow in apology before following.

"...Damn it, I'll go buy something to replace the food. I'll be back in a sec." Onodera glances at the food on the ground, before hurrying away to buy them again as compensation.

Morofuji still hasn't moved to get up. She was blankly staring at the floor.

"I'm so sorry about that! Here, let me help you up." Kushida crouched down and offered her hand. However...

Morofuji slapped her hand away.

"Wha-" Kushida recoiled back, not expecting her help to be rejected. Honestly, I didn't expect it either.

Looking closer though, I realized that Morofuji was shaking. I thought it was from anger, which would be understandable given the current situation. But no, it was different than that.

She was shaking out of pure fear.

Her eyes darted back and forth warily, her arms positioned in a way to protect her head from getting hit, and her breathing was erratic. The other girls watching realized that something was wrong immediately.

"H-hey...Are you alright...?" Kushida once again reached out her hand, and the second Morofuji's eyes landed on Kushida, she let out a blood curdling scream.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Morofuji pushed Kushida back as she sprinted away from the scene. That's not a good sign.

I ran after her making sure to keep my distance. It's clear that getting close to her would be doing more harm then good. Eventually she ran into an empty room on the ship, finally collapsing from exhaustion. I stood outside the door, observing.

She was still struggling to keep her breathing under control and I could see tears forming in her eyes. Her hands went up to cover her mouth, before she threw up.

Pitifully, she crawls to one of the corners of the room.

A little girl seeks shelter, cowering in a dark corner.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Morofuji mumbles over and over like a chant. Her hands once again cover up her head. A natural response when one feels like they are in danger. One word immediately comes to mind.

Abuse.

This girl was a victim of severe physical abuse, to the point where she developed a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder. If the abuser was a man it would also explain her fear of men, however from what I have seen... her fear is a lot more deep-rooted than that. Which means there's a possibility that in addition to the physical abuse, she was also sexually abused.

...For her sake, I hoped that wasn't the case.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.

-----

"...Mm..." Saki slowly opened her eyes.

"Oh, you're awake. Did you have a good nap?" Yabu smiled as Saki sat up on the bed.

"Mm...Did you stay with me this whole time?"

"Of course. I was worried about you. We're all worried about you. Ayanokouji even came here to check on you, you know."

"...Kiyotaka did?"

"You're not callin that guy 'Sir' anymore? Don't you always call him that?" Manabe raises her eyebrow.

"...I guess I'm just...not in the mood." Saki sadly says. "Wait... what time is it?"

"It's almost 2 o'clock." Manabe replies, before her phone rings. Reading the caller name on the screen, she gets confused. "What could that guy want?" She mumbles to herself before answering the phone.

"Have you guys not eaten lunch?"

"Don't worry about that, Rika and Ayanokoji are going out to get food. They'll bring it back here and we can all eat together. I asked them to get your favorite beef bowl." Yabu says.

"Oh that's a relief. My hair is a mess right now, so I don't want to go outside." Saki lightly giggles. Having just woken up, her hair wasn't tied into their usual pigtails.

"Oh, you look fine. You with your hair down is actually pretty c-"

"WHAT!?" Manabe's yell caught Yabu and Saki by surprise. "Where is she!?" Manabe's worried expression only increased the unease of the two girls.

"Shiho, what's going o-" Yabu couldn't finish her sentence, as Manabe was already out the door. The two girls remaining in the room looked at each other, before coming to the same conclusion. Both of them rushed out after Manabe.

-----

"Shit, Rika!" Manabe completely ignores me and rushes into the room. She quickly crouches down in front of Morofuji, not caring that her clothes were being stained in vomit.

"Oh my god..." Yabu mutters as she and Saki also arrive.

"Rika, you're with us now! You're safe!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so-"

"Who did this to you!? WHO!?"

In Manabe's eyes, I could see a multitude of emotions. The strongest ones being hate and anger, directed at the person hurt Rika in this way. A strong desire for revenge.

Saki's eyes were similar, but her strongest emotion is empathy. She constantly tries to comfort Rika, and she's trying to help her get through whatever horrible experience she experienced.

However, turning towards the last member of the group... Nanami Yabu's eyes were different.

In her eyes, I could see a deep sense of despair and helplessness.

A similar kind of despair I saw in Hirata's eyes during the island exam incident.

But at the same time, I could see something else in her eyes...

...It was acceptance.