Stigma

Episode 4: Bag of Lies

The beams of light peered through my curtains and onto my eyes as my alarm called for me to return. The light gusts from the air conditioner brushed across my face, leaving an arctic sensation as a trail.

It was already morning.

I got out of bed and rubbed my puffy eyes after a long night's sleep. The drizzle from the shower head was more chilly than usual.

"Am I nervous?" I asked my submerged mind.

As I was putting my uniform on, I heard a knocking on my door, loud enough to be considered a slight banging.

"What does that old man want this time? He's gonna break that door one day," a thought slid through my head.

When I was ready to leave, I opened the door, completely expecting the landlord yet, to my surprise, I saw Akae with a frown across her face.

"I told you not to be late!" she scolded.

"It's half past seven, school starts at eight," I replied as I locked the door.

As she ranted about how everyone should arrive at school early, we casually walked along the road as the chirps of the birds diminished her voice significantly.

Once we arrived, I parted with Akae and walked up to the third floor, approaching the student council's room. With cold feet and sweaty hands, I entered the office.

"Kin'ichi," 'he' said.

"Hayama," I replied.

Tadataka Hayama, student council president and firstborn son of Tadataka Yujiro, the chairman of Tadataka High, this school.

"You called me last night, what do you want?" he asked.

He was looking out the window calmly, as if not knowing about the havoc that has been roaming around the school. After mustering up the courage to, I asked him about Kyukichi Reiji and Akae Tsuneko.

After hearing my question, he faced me then turned around and slowly walked to his desk to sit down. He then gestured me to sit down in front of him as he poured a glass of water and offered it to me.

"Kin'ichi, why are you digging around? What has happened in the past is far from your business," he stated.

I stayed silent. His response showed how little he cared for the two.

"You're still the same as always. How did you know about those two anyways?" he asked, taking a sip from his glass.

"Akae came over to my place yesterday. When I asked about Kyukichi, she shivered."

His eyes glared at me like a tiger eyeing its prey. He asked me about what we talked about, trying to hide his ulterior motives.

"I didn't tell her about our deal," I said.

"That better be the case. We've helped you so much ever since that incident, I wish you would fulfill my one request as a form of thanks."

"As for Kyukichi and Akae, I will not share that information with you. I am glad to know that you've become acquaintances with Akae Tsuneko but if you were to become close friends with her, she will tell you herself," he added as the bell rang, forcing me to cut the conversation short.

I stood up and thanked him for his time before opening the door to leave. Just then, he stopped me.

"One last thing, Saiichi is looking for you," he said before allowing me to leave.

As I was walking to my class, Hayama's words spiraled in my head like a maelstrom. The thoughts swallowed me as I wasn't able to focus on anything.

"Haha, so you're hanging out with that broke fuck?" I heard a deep male voice echo through the long corridor.

My memory of said voice caused me to snap out of my thoughts. As I foresaw, it was Kyukichi. He was pinning Akae against the lockers while his goons stood around the two, preventing any form of escape.

"Maybe this will help you understand," he said as he slammed her head against the metal doors.

With no hesitation, I broke through the goons and grabbed his shoulder. Beyond a second to waste, I pulled him away from Akae, applying enough force to make him fall down.

"That's enough!" I said.

"That's enough? No bitch, you're fucked,"

He got up and tackled me against the lockers. His body weight was too much for me to handle. Once I was down, he started to punch me mercilessly, every hit harder than the last.

Just as I thought it was over, he grabbed the fire extinguisher nearby and lifted it up.

"Die!" he said, swinging it as hard as he could at my head.

It hit.

Blood was trickling down my forehead. A trail of the red substance could be seen flowing from the eye down to the chin, I was barely conscious and my vision was starting to blur.

Kyukichi and his goons fled the scene. A few seconds after there footsteps faded into the distance, I could feel someone holding me, hugging me. My eyes opened for a brief second to see Akae, crying over me as she held me close to her.

Her screams were filled with pain and loss. Her cries of genuine sadness filled the long corridors, painting a new portrait in a lasting gallery.

Her tears were raining down on me as her cries grew louder and louder. Her heart was shattered because of me but not only me, there was someone else.

"Yukia, I'm sorry," she cried.

"Yukia?" I thought before my mind went all white.

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Author's note: Didn't reach 1000 words long but I did reach 900.