Is it Worth the Trouble? Part4

Matsuri froze in place. His blood ran cold. He started to tremble in place. His eyes shot wide open, his pupil grew small. He shook as he looked over his shoulders. And to his fear, he found the president that stood tall behind him, with her blue ice eye's shooting daggers at him.

Mayumi and Etsuko wore terrified stares at the president who stood there behind the group. The two girls froze from eating their food. 

Mayumi especially as sweat was pouring against her skin, her worst fear of interacting with a boy with the president at large is here among them. 

Etsuko shook with a single tear in her eyes. She was more scared of not hanging out with Matsuri anymore. Her more question was how did she manage to find them here in the first place. Her mind was bogged with many questions and fears. 

"M-M-Madam President….." Matsuri said with a terrified tone. 

"And just why are you eating lunch with my cute little sister…..Hitoyoshi."

"Little sister…..y-you mean…..C-Chiyo, right?"

"Sis," Chiyo spoke out with a surprised look. "Why are you here?" 

"Well, I was hoping to speak with Matsuri alone, but I was surprised to see him here…...eating lunch you, Chiyo."

"H-How did you f-found us!?" Etsuko asked with a nervous tone. 

"I just happened to find you dragging Matsuri over to your secret spot." She simply said.

"SO IT'S MY FAULT!?" She thought to herself with a shocked look. 

"I do hope you are aware of the rules, Hitoyoshi." She said with her arms crossed under her chest, giving the boy the look. 

"I….I….."

"Wait! We invited him! He's not doing anything bad!" Chiyo defended him. 

"Even so, I made it completely clear that none of the female students would not converse with male students." She countered. 

Matsuri immediately knew what was going to happen between the two and stood up. "W-Wait! It's my fault that I'm here! I should've just left them alone! So please! Don't punish them, Madam President!" He bowed to her, hoping she would accept his plea. 

The group left speechless, especially Mari. This boy continues to just surprise her in every way possible. But that's not the reason she's here.

"Relax Hitoyoshi, I appreciate that you understand, but that's not the reason why I am here."

"Huh?"

"Then why are you here, sis?" Chiyo asked, still on guard, when it comes to her sister, Mari can be rather stubborn. 

Mari held her smirk in as she wanted to hold her plan deep to her chest. She was going to prove to her dad that Matsuri is indeed not the man who he claims he is. She reached for the folder she held under her armpit and showed it to Matsuri and the others. 

"What I have here is your permanent records." 

"Huh?" 

"Wait! You looked into his permanent student records!? Why would you do that!?"

"What else, we know nothing of Matsuri's past or even who he is? So I decided to do some digging into his history…...and I found some…..interesting details." She narrowed her eyes on the boy.

Matsuri's eyes widened in fear, he felt she found something that he wished she didn't look into. Fear tugged at his heart, was she really going to reveal his secret to him and his now called friends behind him. 

"Um…..w-what do you mean?" Mayumi asked but wished she didn't.

Mari simply opened the folder and grabbed a paper and showed it to the group, the terrified boy's eyes widened in fear. 

"Matsuri, before you attended this school, you used to attend another previous school, that school was Atsuhiko academy....is that correct?"

Matsuri made a small gasp. "Y….Y….Yes….."

Mari made a small smirk. Not knowing the damage she was doing. "In January, two month before the graduation, an incident occurred at the school…." Matsuri bit his lip. "Naked photos of a student were spread across the school, all of the students and staff members received the photos, the student who was in those photos…..was the student council president of the school…..Yoshimiya Kakeguri."

Matsuri breathing turned heavy. His hand started to tremble. Fear was gripping him on every corner. 

Chiyo and the others took notice of Matsuri's reaction. "Matsuri….."

"These photos were spread across the school, and in that very month…..she took her life because of it….."

Chiyo held her gasp in from escaping. Her eyes widened in fear as sweat poured against her face. Mayumi could only look onward in fear, having a similar reaction to her friend. Etsuko carried an equal reaction.

The one who was hit the most was Matsuri, his breathing became heavier, he was finding it hard to even talk, his mind swirling with fears, anxiety, and memories of the one who he lost back in his old life. Tears were forming in his eyes. 

"Y….Yoshi….."

"W-W-Wait, what does all of this have to do with Matsuri!?" Chiyo spoke even though was scared out of her mind.

Mari's eyes narrowed at her sister. "I'm getting to that, they have not identified who took those photos of the student council president. I found it strange myself, that is until I did more research."

"N….N….." Matsuri wanted her to stop. The memories swirled around his head. 

"It turns out that our little good natured boy," Her eyes shot daggers at the trembling boy. "Was friends with Kakeguri."

Matsuri started to hold himself in place, he didn't want to be here any more. Those days started to weigh on him. 

Etsuko took notice of her friend's sudden behavior. "M-Matsuri….."

"Sis, please that's enough."

Mari didn't bother with Chiyo as she continued to press Matsuri further. She was going to reveal his true colors. "Why would they leave out someone who is close friends with another student? Especially if that close friend was a student council president?" 

"You….No…." Matsuri couldn't speak anymore. Too frightened by the story. 

"Mari that's enough!" 

"You took those photos, did you, Hitoyoshi?" Mari said as she walked up to the frightened boy. "How did it feel? When you stripped her naked? When you tossed her aside like some used up sex doll?" She accused Matsuri as she reached towards him. Her face was right up to his terrified face. 

His eyes looked into her deep blue eyes, they stabbed him right through his soul, his lips trembled in fear. No longer able to speak, think, or anything. 

"Matsuri…." Etsuko was scared for her friend's safety. 

"Mari! Please! Leave him alone!"

"You took those photos, did you Hitoyoshi...."

"N….No….no….."

"Mari!" Chiyo yelled. 

"I WANT THE TRUTH HITOYOSHI!" 

Chiyo immediately got up and stood between Matsuri and Mari. Her fierce eyes staring at her sister's blue eyes. "I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Mari flinched at her sister's outburst. The two, not aware of Matsuri starting to hold himself in place as he began to lose balance. 

"He's already suffering enough! Just leave him alone already!" Chiyo exclaimed. 

"He's guilty of a crime that he committed and got away with it!"

"But you don't know that!"

"Yes I do!"

"No you don't! How can you say that to someone who you don't even know! You don't know anything about Matsuri!"

"Um….C-Chiyo…." Mayumi tried to get her friend's attention, both her and Mayumi noticing Matsuri's odd behavior as the small girl went up to Matsuri's aid.

"And what about you?" Mari narrowed her eyes on her sister. "You don't know anything about Matsuri and yet here you are defending him. Sometimes you can be too naïve about people around you!"

Chiyo felt a nerve hit her. "I'm not naïve! I'm optimistic about many, that includes boys like Matsuri and Kiyoshi!"

Mari raised an eyebrow. "And what does Kiyoshi have to do with this!? He's the same as all the other boys! They're nothing but rotten scums!"

"No they are not! If men are such scums, then why did I see Kiyoshi saving a baby crow and putting it back in the nest that it fell from!"

A light gasp escaped from Mari's mouth. Kiyoshi saving a baby crow, was this the same Kiyoshi that was peeping on the girls in the bathroom? Mari's eyes widened and just stared at her little sister for a moment, as if she was looking in her eyes, seeing if she was telling the truth. Was Chiyo being serious? 

"Kiyoshi…...he saved….."

"Matsuri!" 

Their arguments were cut off as they turned to see Matsuri was on the ground, his breathing became uneven, tears were leaking out from his eyes. His eyes became dead as he just looked onward, nowhere particular. 

"Matsuri!? Matsuri!? Come on, snap out of it!" Etsuko was trying to help her friend but he just remained in a panic. 

Chiyo rushed over to his aid, unsure what to do in this situation. "Matsuri! Hey, come on! Please wake up! See what you did!?" Chiyo bursted at her sister who wore a surprised and terrified look. 

Mari was unsure of this situation, she was expecting him to run away or deny or anything. But she never predicted that he would suffer a panic attack. Her eyes scanned the disabled boy who was on the ground, holding himself in place, his eyes got a thousand yard stare, his breathing became uneven.

Perhaps she had gone too far by interrogating Matsuri, but this reaction he was giving, was not the answer she was hoping for.

She shook her and approached the four. "We need to get him to the infirmary."

"R-Right….." Chiyo nodded. 

Everything was fading to black through Matsuri vision, he couldn't hear what they were saying, but only the sound of his heartbeat. His eyes wandered as he could see he was being crowded by his friends and the president who all wore worried expressions. He could not make out what Mari was saying but he looked at her lips and could make out what she was saying.

"You'll be okay."   

…..In the infirmary…...

Sitting on the chair at the desk, on the other side of the room, a woman was reading a magazine with her expression showing boredom. The woman had long wavy blonde hair, strands were poking out from the sides. Her hairline was rolled up, leaving no bangs except for a strand that hangs loose. She wore a long white coat that revealed her purple button shirt and skirt. 

She sighed to herself and bent back on her chair and stretched. Before she could do anything else, she hears the door opening, revealing Mari, Chiyo, Mayumi and Etsuko who were carrying a terrified Matsuri who was unconscious. 

"We need help! Now!" Mari wasted no time as she immediately told the nurse what was wrong. 

The nurse's eyes widened in surprise at the council president and her eyes scanned the boy that was in her arms. 

She nodded as she approached the group.

It didn't take long for the group to get Matsuri settled in on the bed. The boy's breathing slowly became even, but was still having trouble coming to senses. 

The nurse used her back hand to feel the boy's temperature, the boy groaned in his trance. "His temperature is cooling down. And his breathing is normal," The nurse said. "He should be fine. Let's just be glad it was a minor panic attack." 

The girls breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that his condition is progressing well. Mari on the other hand held a guilt expression upon her face, she was not expecting this result to happen. Part of her felt unsatisfied that she didn't get an answer from the boy, but the other half felt…..sympathetic to say the least. 

"What happened?" The nurse said to the group, breaking Mari from her thoughts. "Something that can cause this is usually a result of stress or maybe a change of the environment…...so what happened to this boy?"

Mari immediately felt eyes on her, feeling the guilt that she had caused to make the boy have a panic attack in the first place. "I…...I-"

Her speech was interrupted as another person came rushing through the door. The figure revealed to be a familiar grey hair tall teenage student. 

"Nurse! We have a-" She stopped herself as she noted the familiar faces among the crowd and the boy who was in bed. "M-Madam President?"

"Meiko? Why are you-WAIT! HANA!?" Mari stopped herself as she noted the unconscious Hana who was covered in liquid. "What happened to Hana!? Why is she covered in-WHAT EVEN IS SHE COVERED IN!?" Mari was in a complete panic, unsure what had happened to her.

"I-I don't know! I just found her like this in the bathroom!"

The nurse sighed to herself, holding her forehead with her fingers. "It's just one problem after another."

"So let me get this straight," The nurse was sitting on the chair with her legs across the other. Facing the group of students who were in front of her. "You found Hana in the bathroom, next to the toilet, covered in…...urine." She said with a bit of shudder in her voice. 

"Y-Yes. I don't know what happened? She was just covered in that and well….." Meiko was sweating at this point. She herself had no idea what happened. 

"What about the boys," Mari said as she eyed her vice president. "What were they doing?"

"T-They were working like usual. Hana w-was keeping an eye on Kiyoshi and Gakuto!"

Mari narrowed her eyes, it was unclear what had happened to Hana, but she decided to leave it alone for now. 

"Well, I guess we could say she had an accident," The nurse said with a questioning look. "But now onto your…..temporary member, Matsuri Hitoyoshi….." 

Mari bit her lip, she just remembered the main reason they were here, Matsuri's rather unnerving condition. It was strange to her, here she was expecting the boy to deny her, get into an argument with her at least, but no, he just…..broke. He broke down in front of her. 

"Madam President?" The nurse snapped her from her thoughts. "What happened?"

".....I…..I was just interrogating him about what had happened at Atsuhiko Academy…..but he just…..he just broke." 

Meiko's eyes widened in shock, this was something new to her. Matsuri breaks down in front of the president, interrogating him for information about the events that happened at his school. Her eyes turned towards the boy who was still showing uneven breathing and sweating. 

"Matsuri..."

The nurse took a moment of thought before giving her answer. "Well, I'm not going to scold you or anything, but I think it would be wise not to stir up anything that relates to Hitoyoshi in anyways, okay?" She said as she looked at the boy. "Whatever happened in his previous life…..it looks like he still has mental scars from that event..."

"Mental scars…...did it really impact him that much?" Mayumi asked in a worried tone.

"More like that event severely affected him…..for now let him rest. I'll look after him so you guys don't have to worry about him. Just come back and take him to his room later today."

Etsuko was worried for her male friend whom she had just gotten used to. She never saw him break down like that, let alone never seen anyone break down like that. She hoped that he would make a recovery soon. 

Chiyo sets her hand on Etsuko's shoulders. "He'll be fine, Etsuko. For now let's leave him with Ms. Takamoto….."

"I know..." Etsuko shook her head. And spins around to face Chiyo and Mayumi. Determination lit in her eyes. "When Matsuri wakes back up! I'm gonna refill him with my happy energy!"

"Huh?"

"I'll give him my happy go lucky energy beam! It's super effective against anyone! Even Matsuri wouldn't be able to stand a chance against it!"

Mayumi just sighed at the small student's cheerful energy. "Well, glad that you're back up and running." She said with Chiyo giggling at her friend's outgoing energy.

Mari took a moment to look at the three interactions, but her eyes were more specifically on the smaller student. Does she know Matsuri? Since when? She will possibly ask him later when he fully recovers.

"Ms. Takamoto, what about Hana?"

"Oh right, I'm not sure. She seems fine for the most part, but she looks completely out of it. Perhaps a few days' rest will do her some good. And maybe a shower too….." She said with a dissatisfied groan. The liquid that covered Hana still made her uncomfortable. 

"Very well," Mari said as she turned to Meiko. "Vice President, what are boys doing at the moment?"

"I'm sorry, I had to tell them that work is done for today so I sent them back to their cell early."

"Alright, later could you assist Ms. Takamoto by escorting both Hitoyoshi and Hana back to their rooms."

"Yes ma'am!" 

Mari turns to look at the nurse. "Ms. Takamoto…..if Hitoyoshi wakes up early…...can you please tell that…...I'm sorry for intruding on his life....please?" Mari said as she bowed her head. 

"Sis?"

"Oh, what is this? Feeling sorry for a male?" She said as she made a sly smile at the president. 

Mari quickly raised her head, a blush could be seen on her cheeks. "D-Don't be absurd, I just thought it was wrong of me to make him like that....I never had the intention of making him break.....I'll be going now. Meiko."

"C-Coming." Meiko said as she followed. 

"Madam President," The nurse spoke out. Stopping the president in her tracks. "Wouldn't it be better if you told him that yourself…..it would make more sense."

"......I don't think I have the courage to face him." Mari said as she opened the door and left, with Meiko following behind. 

Etsuko simply pouted. "She can be so stubborn."

"She can…..but," Chiyo said. "I think she'll come around one day…...hopefully."

"Ooo! Is she gonna have a redemption arc!"

"What now?" Mayumi asked with a plain look. 

"A redemption arc! You know, where the bad guys are evil during the first or second half of the story arcs and become good guys later on!"

"Etsuko, you're treating this like it's an anime or something."

"Or better yet, maybe she's a bad guy but just lacking in any hero qualities have a very cloudy moral compass! So in other words, SHE'S ANTI-HERO!" 

"Just stop."