Marionette

Skies, Chapter Thirty - Mizu no Keimusho [水の刑務所]

If there was ever a time that Amaya was wishing she'd gone with being obstinate over giving in, then now was that time.

It was too late to run away - She didn't want everyone to know about such a crippling fear of hers, and running away now would draw attention to it right away.

So with her PE bag in hand, Amaya reluctantly followed after everyone else - fearing what she felt sure was her own version of impending doom.

The female change-rooms were loud with conversation as Amaya wandered inside, of confused chatter and exhausted complaints. There was no discord though - Everyone was content, talking amongst themselves about what possible setup Koro-sensei had been working on.

Thankfully the cubicle in the back of the room was empty, so Amaya made her way there.

She decided she would follow along for so long, once everyone else got distracted, she'd take the first chance she got to leave.

Even as she unbuttoned her shirt and struggled to untie the bandages, she could immediately tell that even if she wasn't so scared of water, she certainly wouldn't be swimming, or running around. In fact, it was better for her to just sit down and do nothing, but when Koro-sensei made a decision, it was just better to go along with it for the most part.

His responses were always so unpredictable, and she didn't know if she'd end up witnessing him get so upset he'd start bawling his supposed eyes out, or if he'd get stubborn and drag her along like he had done so the whole Kyoto trip.

She needed to focus on building a wall, something to help force her emotions to stay hidden away inside.

She used to be so good at it, she remembered - So good in fact, that it honestly scared people when she first moved to Tokyo.

When had she started losing her walls?

Maybe it was when the events and movements of Yuta, Reiko and Karma started to remind her where her cage stood?

They'd been broken down by events past and present.

'Katsuragi-san?' A voice suddenly spoke up from the other side of the cubicle curtain, startling Amaya enough to draw a squeak from her as she jumped.

'Y-yeah?' Amaya responded, though she was unsure of who it was on the other side.

She could pick most of the boys voices, because she had exchanged more words with the boys than with the girls.

There was a small pocket of silence from the girl, though the chatter from all the others continued all the same.

'I've been meaning to talk to you, but earlier didn't feel right.' The girl spoke, her voice soft, though not in a way that showed she was deliberately hushing herself.

It sounded more like she was a soft-spoken girl in general, which eliminated a good half of the female members of class.

Amaya swore under her breath as she lost her grip of the knot in the bandages.

'A-ah, I see...'

There was a small pocket of silence before the girl on the other side of the curtain spoke up once again.

'It sounds like you're having trouble ... Did you need help with anything?' She asked.

The question surprised Amaya so much that she almost forgot what she was trying to do.

She weighed her thoughts for a few seconds, before she let out a breath through pursed lips.

'Actually ... I think I might...' She gave in, letting her arms drop to her sides.