I felt my hackles rise at the mere mention of her name. "What, did she tell you some sob story? Whatever this is about, all of you can fuck off. You know jack shit about me and her, but she certainly isn't a victim." I stepped towards Sasaki with a low growl. " So back off. Now." 

I was tired of that woman causing me trouble. Of her lies, her shallow apologies and constant pestering. It was bad enough that her stalking caused more rumors about me, every Tom, Dick and Harry gossiping about why the cute new girl was hounding the most disliked guy in school....but now there were even fuckheads like this Sasaki brat coming in righteous fury trying to act on her behalf when he knows fuck-all about anything?

Sure, she probably hadn't sent them here herself. But just her existing is causing me more headaches. Hadn't I made it clear to her that I couldn't give a wet fart about her? I wasn't interested in sorries anymore.  I didn't care if she regretted what she did to me, and even less about her wanting to be friends again. 

Just how long is it going to take for her to get that through her thick head?

I had three inches on Sasaki, but he has about ten pounds more muscle. Neither of us were intimidated by the other, so in response to my threats he only grew a vein in his forehead and opened his mouth. Presumably,  to make some ego-fueled comeback I would've responded to with a blow to his head. 

Before that could happen, though, Ruri threw her milkshake at the man and punched the nearest woman in her breasts. 

"Get these fucks!" She cried out like a delinquent, pulling another girl's hair and kicking her feet from under her. 

Hide grinned like a madman. "I fucking love her." 

And just like that, a brawl ensued. Needing no further prompting, I grabbed Sasaki by his shirt and slammed my head against his. Pain blossomed, but I ignored it, grit my teeth and butted him again. Just like that, he was down. 

Hide, for his part, rushed two of the others. As a guy who'd been dragged into fights along with me many times before, he was no stranger to it. When he got close, he kicked out and blew the air from the lungs the guy. Hide immediately turned, using the momentum to land another kick to the other boy's face. 

Meanwhile, Ruri was going batshit on the two hussies she'd targeted at the start. By the time the third boy met the floor, she was grabbing the head of one of the girls and driving her knee into her face. As the other tried to tear Ruri off of her friend, Ruri just responded by biting her shoulder with all the fury of an enraged poodle. 

The girl screamed in pain and swatted at Ruri's head. But like the bulldogs of yore, she refused to let go. 

"You crazy bitch!" The woman yelled. 

Hide and I, having finished the fight with the ease of a hot knife through butter, just looked at each other. 

"Uh, Ruri..."Hide tapped the girl on the shoulder. But his lover was in the midst of a blood-lusted rage and switched targets, biting his hand. 

"Fuck!" Hide yelled. 

Snapping out of it, Ruri let go immediately. "Shit, I'm so sorry....are you okay?"

"Are you a goddamn piranha?!" Hide asked, cradling his hand with narrowed eyes. "File those damn teeth down!" 

"Hehe." The girl laughed cutely, trying to diffuse the situation. "My bad." She knocked on her head.

"I'm dating a chihuahua...." The boy shook his head. "No, perhaps a chupacabra?" 

I forced down a laugh at their antics and kicked Sasaki hard in the stomach. "Take your gang of hoodlums and go." 

The man grunted in pain, eyes filled with unshed tears, and shouted, "You'll regret this, Katsuragi!"

"I seriously doubt that." I spoke with obvious disdain. " Go ahead and come at me again. Give me the excuse to fuck your mother."

"Bitch!" 

"Don't bring your dad into this."

I saw the man's eyes go completely black with rage. "You--!"

"Dude, forget it!" One of the boys he'd brought with him hissed. "We'll get them next time! Let's go!"

Sasaki's face turned beet-red. 

I wanted to goad him further, but at my side Hide grabbed my shoulder in warning. 

"Shuu, don't. Sasaki has a lot of friends." He tried to reason. "You, well..." I only have him. And I guess Ruri.

But my blood hadn't cooled. "So?" I all but snapped. "Let them all come at me. I don't care." I then turned my attention back to the man in question. "Next time, I'm going to take a potato peeler and skin you alive." 

A kind of madness overtook me, and in that moment, I meant it. I was so done with everything, and everyone, who hated me just because of some nonsense rumors that happened ages ago. 

None of them ever cared about my side of things. They only wanted someone to hate, to bully. But I wasn't having that. 

A white-hot rage burned in my chest. It was suffocating, all-consuming.  It wanted me to lash out at everyone, to just tear them apart. 

I shut my jaw so hard it hurt, and it took everything I had to not gouge out these bastards' eyes right then and there. 

I hated it, this cruelty, this darkness, within me. But I couldn't deny it's existence. I could only barely keep it in control.

Haru needs me.

That thought alone brought me back from the edge. I felt my breaths come out in hot, ragged pants. My hand still itched for violence, but Hide held me back. 

"They aren't worth it." He said softly. And with every ounce of willpower I could muster, I chose to believe him. 

It was like this a lot. 

Each time someone picked a fight with me, I struggled to hold back. It scared me how willing I was to hurt them. But logically, I knew it was wrong. 

Had it not been for Haru and Hide, maybe I'd already be in prison. To be honest, I'm not sure I wouldn't be better off there. 

It's just that I refused to leave Haru to that bitch. To betray the trust Hide put in me. So, slowly, I calmed myself. 

"Good," Hide clapped my back. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Nodding stiffly, I allowed him to lead me out. The eyes of those around us were getting on my nerves. So judging, like everyone else in my life. Not knowing or caring about the backstory and only choosing to believe us a bunch of delinquents causing trouble. 

"That was fun!" Ruri exclaimed excitedly a few minutes later. "Did you see me? I totally fucked them up! They had no chance at all! Ha!"

"They had us outnumbered. It could've gone very badly if they weren't so weak." Hide doused water all over her. Though in a way that mocked their would-be adversaries. 

"I mean, maybe. But they were! I've never been in a fight before...how'd I do?"

"Shittily. Friendly fire isn't appreciated."

"Tsk. Stop being a baby. You like it when I bite." She grinned. 

The man had the grace to blush. "No comment."

I smiled at them. Yeah, they were a great couple. "I wonder what they were talking about, though." Ruri went on.

"Who knows? Asami is good at getting the public on her side," I replied bitterly. "Or hell, they probably just saw her stalking me and thought I'd played with her feelings or something."

"Did you?" The girl asked frankly.

"No."

"Alright,  cool," She accepted my answer easily. "I'm guessing there's history?"

"She accused me of trying to molest her to save the scummy boyfriend who cheated on her," I explained curtly. 

"Wow. What a bitch," Ruri frowned. "Alright, it's settled. I'm fucking her up." 

Her words left me speechless. "What?"

Ruri grabbed my shoulder and squeezed warmly. "No one messes with my friends like that, you hear me?"

Honestly, it was one of the nicest things a person had ever said to me.