A Ray of Sunlight

Chapter 15.5 - Sunset (Katsunori's POV)

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 The cool, summer air felt nicer on my skin than the atmosphere inside the warehouse. It wasn't like the warehouse smelled bad or was warm. It had been abandoned for so long that grass was starting to grow inside and the big windows were open so those weren't a problem. I sat down on the steps and buried my face in my hands. The palm of my hand soon became wet with tears. What was wrong with me? Things were going so well, why was I crying? What else did I want? I am so ungrateful and stupid and...and hopeless and something. I can never do anything right and...and... I stopped my thoughts and looked up to see Akuma handing me a lollipop.

"You're stupid. Don't be so hard on yourself." I reached for the lollipop, unwrapped it, and placed it on my tongue.

"Go away."

"As you wish." Akuma went back into the ring.

I looked up at the yellow sky with elaborate swirls of pink, purple, red, and a hint of blue. I remember the sunset was the same as the ones I saw on the days when I was in high school.

I remember going to school with Kaito. I had chosen Maple Leaf HighSchool, partly because Kaito chose it and partly because Mom yelled at me for even considering private school, saying how selfish I was for ignoring our basic needs for school. I was just mentioning I got in, not asking her to pay. I remember being really upset that day and spending the whole rest of the day in my room, even skipping dinner. It's okay though because she was really stressed that day.

It was the first few weeks of school and I was already getting targeted. The school was a pretty decent school so I assumed there wouldn't be bullies but oh boy I was wrong of course. I hadn't hit my growth spurt yet and was about 160 centimeters tall (that's even shorter than Haruto) and I guess my dorky, thick glasses (I wear contacts now) or something about the vibe I gave off made me a target but it's okay because I had tried avoiding them and so far, it was working.

Kaito, of course, was tall and well-known even in the first week of school. I assume it's his nice vibe that makes him popular. I was kind of scared he was going to abandon me for other friends but thankfully, he didn't. Whenever we walked together, the group of bullies didn't try to approach me. The drawback was when we walked together, my ears turned red but I assume Kaito didn't notice.

That day, we were eating lunch while doing homework and joking around. Paper was spread all across the table and eraser sheds were everywhere. I hope our table wasn't the loudest despite being only us two because we were laughing so loud. I finished my lunch early and went to use the bathroom.

"Wait for me, okay," I said, gathering all the sheets of homework and making sure they were all mine before storing them neatly into my folders. "I'm going to use the bathroom."

"Okay!"

When I was walking to the bathroom, I kept on hearing footsteps behind me but surely it must be a coincidence right? Anyway, when I got there, I did my business and while I was washing my hands and drying them with a paper towel, the group of bullies walked in.

"Oh boy! Look who we got here!" They said as they spotted me. I immediately freeze in my tracks, looking for an exit. "It's Katsunori! How are you doing, dork?" They laughed and I looked down on the floor as usual, praying that they would go away.

When they were done, I tried walking away but they formed a semicircle around me, not allowing me to escape this frightening nightmare. My worst fear had begun when one of them stepped forward and smirked. I bent down on the floor, leaned against the tilted walls, and covered my head as each of the five boys took turns hitting and kicking me. I bit down on my lips to avoid crying out, knowing that it would only make the situation worse from prior experience. Tears trickle down my face, then my chin, and onto the dirty bathroom floor. What did I do to deserve this hell? I never did anything wrong. What did I do wrong?