I woke up to a head splitting headache. My eyes stung, the taste of iron filled my mouth and I couldn’t breath out of my nose. My body ached all over and my clothes were stained with dried blood. 

I tried to sit up, but the pain overwhelmed me so I gave up. 

I looked around to see that everyone was gone. If I wasn’t in so much pain I would have believed that it was just a nightmare. 

The memories of what just happened replayed freshly in my mind. “She…she…” A tear rolled down the side of my face. It felt like someone had just punched me in the gut. No. It felt even worse than that. It felt like someone had just ripped my heart out.    

I punched the concrete, it hurt but I just couldn’t find the will to care.  

I couldn’t do anything! All I did was make things worse! 

I shook uncontrollably, my eyes burning. “Damnit..damnit!” 

I sobbed alone, the cold floor being the only comfort that I had. 

I finally calmed down after who knows how long, and I just barely picked myself up off the floor. I looked over to see a blood spot that stained the floor of where the old man once was. 

“He got away.. and she let him..”  As those words left my mouth, I felt my chest tighten. 

I didn’t expect Saya to care for me in any significant way. But, knowing that she tried to prevent me from attacking that piece of shit.. and.. Proceeded to attack me after… It’s... it’s just bitter.

I thought about calling the police for a moment, not because it’s the right thing to do. But, because I wanted Saya to pay. But, what would that do for me? Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for her, she's supposed to be a part of my harem. And me sending her to jail or compromising her life in a significant fashion could potentially ruin the chances of her ever joining my harem. Not that I wanted her to be a part of it now, but me failing to do so would result in the death of not only myself, but everyone else as well. 

Even if I still told the police everything despite all of that, how would I prove it? The train station was outdated and only had a handful of cameras. And where everything happened was out of the way of cameras and people. Not only that, but the man is gone. So, it’s my story against her’s. 

I dragged my body out of the secluded area and managed to find a bathroom so I could clean myself up. 

My face was bloodied, my nose was slightly crooked and my lip was split open. I had a few bruises on my face and my eyes were blood red. Probably from the pepper spray. 

“Argh!” I screamed as I popped my nose back into place. Blood trickled down my face.

The events replayed in my head. The old perverted bastard screamed as I punched him. My fist cracked as I hit him. The malicious glint in Saya’s eyes. It made all my injuries hurt again.

I wanted to turn back, forget this ever happened and live a normal school life. But, that just wasn’t going to happen. I’ll never forget what happened today. I was now involved in Saya’s life regardless of whether I wanted to be or not. 

I cleaned off the blood on my face and wiped as much as I could off of my uniform. I still looked worse for wear, but at least I could walk around without looking like a murder victim. 

“Ha! The fuck happened to you?! They must have beat your ass!” Some guy who reeked of alcohol announced as he left the stall. He smacked me on the back and cheerfully walked out of the bathroom. Without washing his hands.. 

“Haha.. fuck you asshole.” I wanted to cry from how fucked up a day I was having. Ironically enough, a random guy touching me after taking a shit and wiping his ass was a poetic symbol of my day. 

I sighed, cursing my horrible day. 

At least I can go home and- 

“Mizuki!” I suddenly remembered that Mizuki should be waiting for me at the train station. I needed to get a hold of her as soon as possible

I reached for my phone, finding nothing in my pockets. A vague memory of me leaving a phone sitting on the dresser came to mind. I hadn’t noticed because I rushed out for school and due to everything happening at school I forgot about it! 

I made my way out of the bathroom in a hurry! train station. It was late so there weren't too many people left in the train station, not even Jax. Surprisingly, the few people who did notice me didn’t bother to stop and offer help despite my disheveled appearance. They were too caught up in what they were doing and only took a few shocked glances at me before walking past.

I had to beg a lady to let me use her phone so I could call Mizuki and tell her. The whole time she looked irritated holding her phone while I waited for Mizuki to pick up. It rang four times before it went to voicemail. The woman quickly put her phone away before walking away. 

I was worried about Mizuki, but logically speaking she may not have answered because she didn’t recognize the number, either that or she was irritated and didn’t want to talk to me. I would accept the last two if it meant she was okay and was safe at home. I assumed Mizuki would have been left, she didn’t seem the type that would wait for me forever. 

I still took the station back home to see if Mizuki was still waiting for me. It was a long and silent ride. My head was empty and my body was on autopilot. I got off my train to find no one waiting for me at the station. I was a little hurt, but happy that Mizuki more than likely got tired of waiting and left.

I slowly made my way home, getting lost a few times in the process. 

It was pitch black when I finally found my house. I did my best to keep quiet as I opened the door. 

The lights were off and as I made my way past the kitchen a small voice called out to me. 

“Jeff?” 

I turned my head to see Mizuki wearing a white t-shirt and pink shorts. She had a cup of juice in her hands and looked somewhat confused to see me. 

“I’m home.” I said before trying to escape the situation. 

Mizuki’s confusion quickly transformed into anger and she sat her juice on the counter. “Where were you?! I waited for two hours. I called you over twenty times!” 

“Sorry.” I muttered.

“Sorry?!” Mizuki screamed as she took a step closer to me. “We were worried about you?! How could you just leave me there and ignore my calls?!” 

“I’m sorry.” I said louder. My eyes watery, and my face burning. 

“Sorry, this! Sorry, that!” Mizuki snapped back, placing her cup on the counter and stepping closer. “That doesn’t make it okay!”

“I'm sorry!” I screamed, tears cascading down my cheeks. 

“Jeff…” Mizuki‘s eyes snapped open after getting a better look at my appearance. “What happ-“ 

I pulled Mizuki into an embrace. Her body was soft and warm, compared to me she was tiny and frail. She squirmed in my arms, but quickly realized that I wouldn’t let her go and stopped struggling. 

The tears poured out of my eyes nonstop as I squeezed Mizuki as if she would disappear if I let her go. 

“O…Onii-Chan..” Mizuki weakly muttered, her voice wavering.

Thoughts of Saya’s feral screaming filled my mind. The helplessness permeating my bones.  “I’m so sorry…”