Ghosts of Wonderland

Boku

Halo Six: Boku:

I don't know why or how any of this happened. Actually, I do know the how. I still haven't figured out the why. All I know is that she came into my life and I feel like I can do anything.

She first came along in early September. We had just come back from summer break. Kubo-sensei had been murdered the day before while on his morning run. It was a run-and-hit accident. An elderly couple was the one who found the body. The police still haven't been able to figure out who did it. Everyone at my school is still worried. We all liked Kubo-sensei. The girls loved him and the boys wanted to be him.

Well, before that, there was a girl in my school who committed suicide shortly after school started in the spring. I think her name was Hana. I didn't know her at all. They had flowers sitting on her desk throughout the spring semester. I heard that she had been bullied last year. Now that I think about it, Kubo-sensei didn't do anything to stop the bullying.

"It's just kids being kids," he said. Part of me wanted to believe that was why he got killed. (I kept this to myself, of course.)

Anyway, I set up the background about what's going on at my school. Now onto the main story.

I myself was being bullied. There were these three boys that made school hell for me for two years. Their names don't matter in this story. Okay, there was one. His name was Muto Joji. He always had his gang around to beat up the weaker students around the school. I happened to be their favorite target after the last kid they bullied died from suicide. (Not Hana, someone else. That's a whole nother story in itself.) It would be their deaths that brought me into her world.

They were beating me up behind the school like they usually did. I thought I was being careful that evening. You see, I was struggling with my grades. So, I had to stay behind for tutoring. This was the only time at school that I had any rest. I would try and find any excuse to stay behind until it was late. Usually, everyone would be gone at this point.

That night, I wasn't so lucky.

I was just about to cross the school gates.

"Oi, you!"

I froze. Oh no... Don't turn around. Don't turn around. Don't turn around. Don't turn around.

I just had to turn around.

Muto and his boys were waiting to attack. I started to slowly back away. Why couldn't they just leave me alone?

"Please... I don't want any trouble," I pleaded. My pleas fell on deaf ears. Muto charged at me and that was all she wrote. I have gotten faster at trying to run away. Again, luck wasn't on my side that night. They caught up to me and dragged me back around the corner of the gym. They threw me to the ground. I opened my eyes in time to see Muto cracking his knuckles. He and his goons chuckled at me.

I should be used to this by now. I didn't even try to fight back. I lay there and took it. Punches to my chest, kicks to my stomach, stomps on my hand, punches to my face, and kicks to my head. I closed my eyes and waited for it to end.

Suddenly, I heard a low whistle.

The blows all stopped. I sat up as I groaned in pain. We all looked up to see a figure standing inches away from us. They were wearing gray and red robes with a black and red skull jackal mask. They held a machete by their side. Muto and his goons lost interest in me.

"What the fuck?!" Muto asked. The figure stood silent. We stared back at them. Muto threw his arms up in the air.

"Who the fuck are you?!" he shouted. One of his goons charged at the figure. It happened so fast. One minute he was running toward them and the next he was knocked flat to the ground. Muto and the other two boys didn't move. The boy on the ground groaned as he pushed himself to sit up.