[Author's Note - Content Warning]
This novel contains dark themes such as bullying, violence, emotional abuse, and attempted harassment. Please read with discretion.
The morning sun crept through the windows of Class 2-A like it had every day - warm, indifferent, blind to suffering, but for Kaito Ren, it was just another day to survive.
Kaito Ren, a second-year high schooler, was the weakest in Shinra High, a prestigious academy for the rich and powerful. He was there only because of a scholarship, and that's why he is a loner.
He entered the classroom and sat quietly in the back corner, hoping to disappear into the background, just to survive another day, but it never worked.
He was sitting silently in class without getting noticed, but then-
Thud!
A sneaker slammed onto his desk, knocking over his pen and books.
"Haha! Look at that twitch," laughed Renji Tatsuo, smirking at him like a predator.
Renji Tatsuo, a high school bully, is the son of a rich and powerful businessman and which makes him feel superior. All the students fear him because of his father.
"Hey! bring back that sneaker with your mouth, you bitch!" Renji said with a commanding voice.
He tasted rubber and dirt. Laughter echoed, but all he heard was his heartbeat, fast and hollow. Just endure.
Snrk.
Pfft.
The other students also laughed along, not because it was funny, but because it was safer.
After that, Kaito slowly gathered his fallen belongings.
He was silent. He said nothing. He never did. Talking back only made it worse.
Renji's lackeys, Kenji and Sota, leaned over his desk. "Yo, check it out. The loser is studying already," Sota mocked.
He leaned close and sniffed. "Eugh. Dude, do you even shower?"
Whack!
Renji slapped the back of Kaito's head, sending his forehead into the desk with a dull thunk.
"Ack-!" Kaito grunted, clutching the edge of the desk.
"Oops," Renji snorted. "You were studying, so I guess your head needs a massage."
They were laughing and mocking him, but then, across the room, he saw her.
Aika Hayasaka
A model with golden hair. Bright eyes. That perfect laugh everyone loved.
Sometimes Aika glances at Kaito and smirks. But every time he thought of these signals in a good way. Not knowing what are the real intentions.
That same girl who once called him "cute" while picking up his notebook, and smiled at him.
She was laughing too.
But it started from that incident that he should not have interfered with. Kaito was in the first year and cleaning the gym store room when he heard noises from behind the room.
"Ack! Guh!, Argh!"
He peeked from the corner.
Three boys were in their first year from different classes surrounding another first-year student, beating and laughing at him.
Kaito clenched his fist in anger and his body moved on his own, and this is the moment where he is trying to be hero not knowing who are they.
"Stop it," he said, voice troubling but firm.
The boys turned
"Who the fuck are you?" one scoffed.
Before Kaito could answer, a fist drove into his gut.
"Guh-!"
He fell to his knees, gasping.
"Huff... Hoff... ack..."
The boy he tried to protect stands. Kaito thinks he is going to help him, but he runs away with a flash. Never looked back and then he finally relised that he fucked up.
Before he could think much, a kick flew across his head, knocking him down.
"He felt like he was going to pass out, but even as the pain blurred his vision, his thoughts remained clear. He had stood up for someone else... but now he was just a broken mess. Was it worth it?"
But his thought cracked when word spread fast that Kaito had tried to play hero.
Then they bully him whenever he crosses paths with them.
He thought that next year they would stop if they were in a different class. But his luck is not with him.
Next year they got in same class and that gave Renji to put him back in his place and bully him more.
Then it got worse when Renji found out that Kaito had a crush on Aika.
Then they took everything.
His notebooks? Soaked it in the toilet.
His gym clothes? Thrown in the garbage bin.
His phone? And send a message to the group chat that Aika, "I like you."
The replies came quickly.
Laughter in the group chat.
[Renji]: Bro, I'm DEAD 💀😂
[Sota]: Wait, HE likes Aika??
[Aika]: That's adorable. Like a rat liking the moon.
Kaito reads the messages in shock.
He kept his eyes down.
Even when they topped him in the hallway.
Even when they fill his locker with rotten food.
Even when they slammed his head into the vending machine
Aika may look good, but she is evil on the inside. She thinks everyone is beneath her, and Kaito is unaware of her this side, but that happened to make him see her true nature.
After school, Aika approached him.
"Kaito," she said gently.
Kaito froze. "Y-Yes?"
She asked. "Can you come with me to the rooftop? I want to talk."
They climbed to the rooftop. Just the two of them. The sky was painted with orange hues.
Kaito swallowed hard. "I-I didn't mean to make things weird. About the message--"
She turned toward him, her voice softer.
"People always expect me to be... perfect. The model student, the pretty girl, the untouchable one."
Her fingers fidgeted with her sleeve.
"But sometimes, I wish someone would just talk to me like a normal person."
Kaito's cheeks turned red.
He freezes, his breath stuck. He had no words left. The girl he admired, who had smiled at him, now stood before him like a beauty. The silence stretched on, thick and suffocating.
Then speaks-
"I..I admire you," he said, voice barely audible. "You were the only one who smiled at me. That smile...kept me going."
Kaito's heart raced as Aika came close to him, her lips shining in sunlight. But warmth in her eyes seemed to vanish, but he ignored it and got excited, and started smiling and blushing. Thinking that message was just an act.
"She took a deep breath, her shoulders straightening, and her face changed. The warmth in her eyes was gone, and her voice was sharper than anything he had expected. "But I don't want that person to be you."
Kaito's thought shattered.
Then she said angrly, "Who the fuck do you think you are... to think that I will like you?"
His heart stopped. Smile vanished.
"I-I..."
"You mother fucker. Weak. Worthless. You thought someone like you could ever matter?"
"B-But you always smiled at me-"
"Haha...Did you think that one smile meant something?" she said, her voice cold as ever. "You're not even at my level."
After he tries to say something, but suddenly-
Bang!
The rooftop door slammed open.
Renji and others appeared, laughing, and phones were already recording.
"Haha! Kaito's big love confession, huh?" Renji said. "Let's make this moment more special."
Smack!
Kaito staggered.
Thud! A knee to the ribs.
Crack! His head bounced off the rooftop wall.
"Ack-ghh! H-Huff!"
He curled into a ball.
Sota pulled his hair. "You shaking, Romeo?"
They dragged him and punched him again.
"Argh-! Ack!"
As blood spilled from his nose, Aika stepped forward, pulling his hair, saying, "You're not even worthy. You loser."
As she leaves him, a fist crashes into Kaito's face, and blood drips from his chin. Laughter echoed off the rooftop.
Then-
Aya Tanaka stood frozen at the entrance, eyes wide and trembling.
Then, suddenly, she stepped forward.
"Stop it!" she shouted, voice cracking, "I... I can't watch this anymore! Leave him alone!"
Everyone turned.
Renji smirked. "And who the fuck are you?"
"A background extra?" Sota laughed.
Aya stood her ground, trembling. "You've done enough. He has done nothing to deserve this."
Aika walked up slowly behind her. And
Smack!
Aya drops to the floor, clenching her head.
"Don't act high and mighty, you little bitch," Aika sayed, her voice dripping with venom.
Renji and his gang turned their attention to Aya, eyes glaring at her with lust.
Kenji stepped closer, grin wide.
"Your face is cute," he said darkly. "And that body of yours... looks like it could be fun."
Aya backed away in panic. "Wh-Why are you coming closer?"
Sota chuckled. "We're bored. How about a little fun?"
"N-No... stay away!" Aya cried, trying to push Kenji away.
But they didn't even flinch.
Then-
"LEAVE HER ALONE"
A roar tore through the air.
Everyone turned.
Kaito was standing.
Blood streamed down his forehead.
One eye was swollen shut. Knees shaking. But standing.
A trembling wall... that still wouldn't let them cross that line.
"Hahaha!" Renji laughed. "Look at that! The fucking cockroach trying to be lion!"
"The zombie stands again," Sota smirked. "For a goddamn side character."
Thud! Another kick to Kaito's gut.
Crack! His head slammed against the wall.
He collapsed again in pain.
"Tch, this ruined the mood," Kenji muttered, spitting at him. "Let's go."
The gang left, laughing. Aika gave Aya one last glare before leaving.
Only silence remained.
Aya dropped beside Kaito, hands shaking as she cleaned the spit and wounds with her handkerchiefs.
"You idiot..." she whispered, eyes wet with tears. "Why... why would you stand up for me, while you are in pain?"
Kaito coughed, blood on his lips. "You... stood up first. I couldn't... let them..."
He says while in pain. "You were kind to me... so I had to return it..."
Aya smiles a little with teary eyes, cleaning his wounds as best she could.
They sat on the rooftop, smiling under the twilight sky.
But in the middle of hell, a faint warmth bloomed in Kaito's chest.
Someone...saw him.
Someone...cared.
Later That Night
Kaito lay in bed, bruises still hurting, bandages wrapped by Aya's trembling hands.
Unable to sleep, remembering her voice: "Leave him alone! You don't deserve this."
At this time, a light appeared in the darkness.
A friend... I have a friend now.
A small smile touched his lips.
The Next Morning
The sun peeked through his curtains. Kaito sat up, sore but strangely light.
He caught his reflection in the mirror - swollen face, puffy eye, but smiled anyway.
"Today... might not be bad."
He left for school with a small sense of hope blooming inside him.
Maybe things will change, maybe I am not alone anymore.
As he walked through the school gates, something felt off, but he ignored it.
Whispers. Glares.
Eyes following him down the corridor.
All seeing something on their phones and then glancing at him.
But he shook it off.
He thought. No... They don't matter. I have a friend now.
He smiled and reached the door of class 2-A.
But all his thoughts shattered as he slid the door. His smile vanished.
He saw three letters on the blackboard: "Die, Kaito Ren."
To be continued...