one [sachio ueda]

t w e n t y o n e : t h i r d p e r s o n

When it was evening, Mai went to work again. Another day of being a complete failure. She was fiddling with the figurine that Rao gave the entire afternoon. It didn't make her happy but it relieved her anxiety.

She kept her bag in a locker and wore her uniform. Right when she was about to get out of the changing room, a person blocked her way. Koa looked down at her with a resentful gaze. It made her uncomfortable but she was used to it.

"Excuse..." Mai shifted to her right but Koa moved along with her to stop her. She moved to the left and he stopped her again. "What do you want?" She crossed her arms and let out a sigh.

"Where do you get the confidence from?" He raved.

Mai raised her eyebrows, nodding. So this is what it was about. He was resuming with the insults. Previously, he simply used to laugh. Now, he was furious ever since Fujio came to talk to them.

"What confidence?" She rolled her eyes with a blink.

"You should know where you stand." He crossed his arms which made Mai drop hers. "You get to insult us but when we do it, we get beaten up."

"Aren't y'all the ones who always start insulting me first?" Mai's face contorted. "Okay babygirl, didn't know you'd get hurt by the same insults that you used on me."

"Remember the time when you said a celebrity looks better than me? You're no less either. You judge people by their face too."

Mai couldn't feel Koa's anger from a distance. He'd erupt any moment now.

"That's because he does look better than you! Are you being serious right now? He's a fucking celebrity. That is nothing compared to all the insults you give me." Mai flung her arms around. "Do you really think you're that handsome?"

This was it. The end of Koa's patience.

He pushed Mai back with one hand but Mai was quick to push him back. She shouldn't have done that either. She should've just fallen and let go of the fight because the next moment, Koa lashed out on her with his nails. It happened so fast. Maybe five seconds? In those five seconds, Koa managed to scratch Mai's lips, kick her in the stomach and pull her hair. All Mai did was try to push him away.

It only lasted five seconds because they were interrupted by the owner who had noticed commotion going on in the back rooms.

"What is happening?" The owner tried to raise his voice but failed. He was too old for this shit. "Are y'all children? Even children don't fight like this."

Mai stood there, breathing heavily as she tried to absorb what just happened. She probably didn't even notice that he kicked her in the stomach. She didn't notice her lips were bleeding either until the old man saw it.

"Mai, your lips are bleeding." He stated, trying not to sound terrified. His shaking hands said otherwise. "Go wash it and put some medicine."

Mai rubbed her upper lip with her palm and when she looked down at the blood trickling, she finally felt the deep cut that Koa etched on her face. It didn't stop bleeding. It was a waterfall of blood, a bloody waterfall, Mai thought to herself as she ran out of the cafe with her bag. Even during serious moments like this, she was cracking jokes within herself. How insane one must be to laugh all by herself.

As she walked, she could start feeling the burns of the other cuts. One on each cheek and another one on her arm.

When she took a turn into the lane of their house, Mai saw the annoying couple sitting on a bench outside the building and cackling at some joke that Fujio probably made. She slowed her pace. They won't be able to see her injuries from that far.

"Mai!" Fujio waved intensely at her, making Sachio turn around to look at her.

Mai waved back with a weird smile. As she decreased the distance between them, Sachio's eyes ran all over her face. He wasn't sure of what he was seeing until Mai came closer.

Turns out, Fujio noticed her face too. He got up and walked towards Mai, still unsure of what he was seeing. He even had to rub his eyes twice.

"Did you take part in the theatre's drama?" Fujio asked her. Her clothes seemed clean. She only had deep red liquid on her face. "Why do you have paint on your face?"

"Because it's not paint." She walked past Fujio. She knew he'd take this as an opportunity to fight again. He loved beating people up.

Fujio pulled her back by the bag on her shoulder to get a closer look.

"The fuck? There's a huge cut on your lips." He exclaimed. Behind him, Sachio got up from the bench and walked towards them.

"It's not even that big." She pulled her bag further up on her shoulder. As she raised her hand to wipe her lips, Sachio grabbed her arm at the speed of lightning.

"He meant deep. Not huge." Sachio let go of her arm. "And stop touching it with your dirty hands. It'll get infected."

Mai was good at acting and being tolerant towards Sachio. Deep inside, she wanted to take out all her anger on him but she didn't. She really didn't want to face him right now. She was not only furious but also bothered by the fact that she didn't hit Koa back even once. One slap from Mai and Koa would reach Mars.

She tried walking away but Fujio pulled her again.

"Did something hit you?" He asked.

"You think hitting will give a deep cut like this? I just fell, okay? It was an accident." Mai shoved Fujio's hand away from her arm.

"Oh, okay. Get inside. I'll go buy some band-aids." Fujio nodded before he walked off.

As usual, Mai's amazing performance worked wonders and Fujio, being the dumb shit demon he is, believed her. Fujio could never relate her clean clothes with the imaginary accident.

But somebody had an higher IQ. Sachio might not have figured out that she was lying but he definitely saw that she had no dust on her pants or shirt. If she really had an accident, should've she have other injuries as well?

It's almost like someone aimed at her face...

Sachio soundlessly followed her inside, observing her every move. He just wanted to see a flaw in Mai's acting. She can't keep acting all the time, right?