𝐄𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐘. 西村 力

the last straw

to say yamauchi shizuka had had enough would be an understatement. no, she was brewing with violent anger, anger that would be best used against his disgusting face. she sat with reina, who absent-mindedly strung at her guitar in deep thought. haya was long gone, which was a shame, because the girl would've done a brilliant job at calming shizuka down.

shizuka never knew she could hate someone more then nishimura riki, but there hokazono kenji stood proud, an annoying smirk brandishing his thick lips. and his thick mouth, it seems, as he never knew when to stop running it.

shizuka sat in their usual spot in the school courtyard, leaning against the stone wall with her sketchbook resting on her knees. the outdoors basketball court wasn't too far, where kenji stood with his friends, laughing obnoxiously. weirdly, she hadn't seen riki. not yet, at least.

she wasn't drawing anything in particular, just scribbling mindlessly to keep herself distracted from the gnawing frustration that had been brewing within her all day. her now black bangs fell into her eyes, and she blew a strand out of the way, irritated, as she dragged her pencil harder across the paper than necessary. reina raises an eyebrow, putting her guitar down softly as if it were her child before turning to her friend with a frown of concern. "shizu," she begins, softly. "are you okay?"

"mhm. just peachy." shizuka replies, making reina snicker. "peachy? yeah, you're defo not okay. what's up?"

"nothing."she nodded no as to dismiss her concern as she tried to focus on the lines. "where's haya?"

"with sunghoon. probably student council shit." reina simply hums, turning back to tune her guitar.

but it was all to not avail. her thoughts kept drifting back to kenji. his stupid face and his stupid voice. he'd been spreading rumors about her for years now—whispers about how she was a nobody who only caused trouble. the kind of girl guys like him used for fun and then tossed aside. ever since the start of freshman it seemed kenji had it out for her, but she didn't expect his incessant piss-taking to drag into senior year.

she clenched her jaw, the pencil in her hand shaking as her grip tightened.she hated him. hated the way he got under her skin, the way people listened to him, believed him. it wasn't enough that he had everyone fooled with his charming, cool guy act—no, he had to make her life more of a hell than it already was, too.

"shizuka," a voice drawled from somewhere nearby, yanking her out of her thoughts. it was sickeningly sweet, as smooth as honey, and thats when she knew exactly, exactly who it could be. her hand stopped mid-sketch, the pencil hovering above the page as she slowly turned her head.

kenji stood a few feet away, leaning casually against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest. his dark hair was perfectly styled, his uniform crisp and immaculate, like he always had everything under control. there was a glint in his eyes as he smirked down at her, the same mocking look he always gave her whenever they crossed paths, as his cross earring dangled from his left ear.

shizuka's blood boiled.

"what do you want?" she muttered, her voice sharp, though she kept her eyes on her sketchbook, refusing to give him the satisfaction of her full attention.

"just checking in," kenji said, his voice oozing false concern. "did your stepdad finally kick you out? you look a little more homeless than usual." he smirks evilly, and shizuka scoffs. her breath caught for a split second. she's heard that phrase before, and it's not the last time she suspects she'll hear it, nor the last time it'll trigger her.

so she ruthlessly swings her tight fist.

her clenched fist connected with his jaw, the sharp crack echoing through the courtyard. the crowd around them gasped, a ripple of shocked voices spreading as kenji stumbled back, clutching his face. blood trickles from his lips, as he looks at her in disbelief.

for a moment, the world stood still.

then, all hell broke loose.

kenji straightened up, fury flashing in his eyes. "you psychotic bitch," he spat, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth. "you're going to regret that."

reina gasps. if she were a sensible friend she'd force shizuka to calm down, but she was no stranger to kenji's harassment, and she was far from a sensible friend. she had her own fights to pick with people, especially that of park jongseong - the boy she had been fighting for the lead guitarist role in the school band for years now. they'd bickered, their arguments borderline petty. once, jongseong went around telling people that reina wore hair extensions because she was balding.

..so she told everyone he had chlamydia.

and so, instead of being a mediator, she chose to instigate per usual, cheering her best friend on. "go on shizuka! beat his ass!"

that seemed to be his last straw as he lunged forward, grabbing shizuka by the collar of her uniform. shizuka was no stranger to fights. she twisted out of his grip and swung again, but kenji was quicker this time. he blocked her punch and shoved her backward, sending her stumbling into the crowd, before punching her nose, making her fall to the ground. it didn't hurt, not to her at least, but as she felt something warm trickle down her philtrum, she knew she had to fight back.

the tension in the air was electric now. students had gathered around, their phones out, recording the chaos, some chanting for more. shizuka's frame shook with pure anger, her whole body coiled like a spring, ready to bounce back. she looked up, her sharp eyes flickering, before she faintly smirked and wiped the blood with the back of her hands, before smearing it into her blazer.

she charged at kenji again, tackling him to the ground. her fists flew, and kenji barely managed to shield himself as she landed hit after hit, years of anger and frustration spilling out in every punch. it felt good, shizuka thought, felt good that she could finally get back at him after years of self restraint. maybe this would teach him a lesson.

"you think you can mess with me? with my life?" Shizuka's voice was ragged, her words punctuated by each swing. "you think i'm scared of you? huh? answer me, you fucking piss take!"

kenji growled, rolling over and knocking her off. "you're a nobody, shizuka. you always have been. you don't belong anywhere, not even at your own house, in your own family."

shizuka scrambled to her feet, her knuckles scraped and bloody, but the fire in her eyes never seemed to die down. shizuka stumbled back, breathless, but before she could attack again, two teachers burst through the crowd, pulling her and kenji apart.

"enough! that's enough!" one of the teachers shouted, holding shizuka back as she struggled against their grip.

kenji wiped more blood from his lip, smirking as he glanced around at the crowd, playing up the victim card. "see what i mean?" he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "she's crazy."

"what's crazy is that you think you'll get away with it. im telling you, it's on sight, kenji-" she speaks harshly, breathing heavy from adrenaline, as she's escorted away to the principals office.