Chapter Text
In the city of Tokyo at 17:06 the fifteen-year-old Kunugigaoka student, Mitsuko, stared down at the river from the top of the city bridge.
Her dad couldn't murder her if she was already dead, right?
She swallowed a lump in her throat and gripped the railing tighter. "Maybe it's not that bad of a drop..." Mitsuko stomach churned. "Maybe everything would be easier if—?"
"Um, young lady, are you alright?"
Mitsuko felt a flash of irritation.
A random man was looking at her in confusion as a crowd of people walked by and went about their business.
"Did you drop something?" He asked.
"DO YOU MIND!!?" Mitsuko snapped, making him jerk back when she turned around and glared. "You're ruining my moment!"
"Well, geez sorry for being concerned!!" The man yelled back.
"Well mind your own business next time!"
"What the hell is your problem?!"
"Ugh, forget it." Mitsuko groaned and started to walk away. "The moment's past."
"Fine!" The man scowled as he watched her leave. "Geez, get some help, kid!"
Mitsuko sighed, dragging her feet as she continued her walk home. The city was packed with people, much too many people and the traffic was terrible.
"I'm just overreacting about this..." she told herself, sighing again. "He might not even be that mad..."
She paused in the middle of the pavement and hung her head and silently dry sobbed while a number of people walking passed shot perplexed glances at the girl with strawberry blonde hair.
A loud ring from her phone made her tense and lookup.
Mitsuko hesitantly looked at her phone, relaxing slightly when she saw it was just Rio calling. Her stomach fluttered as her thumb hovered over the green icon on the screen.
Then the memories of the previous weeks came flooding back, making her chest ache.
She declined the call and hastily stuffed the phone back in her pocket.
Mitsuko slowly inserted her key into the door, biting her tongue as she carefully turned the key to open it.
She nearly sighed in relief when the door didn't creak. The hallway was dim since most of the curtains and blinds were closed, but it was also silent.
Mitsuko hesitated before she opened the door fully and stepped in, closing it gradually behind her as she slipped off her shoes off.
She cringed as the door softly clicked shut.
The house was still silent.
She closed her eyes let out a deep breath she'd been holding in.
"Would you like some tea, Mitsuko?"
Mitsuko screamed and hit her back against the door.
Principal Asano stared at her blankly from where he'd suddenly appeared in the middle of the hallway.
Mitsuko's throat was dry, opening and closing her mouth repeatedly. "Uh...I...?"
He looked at her like she was braindead.
She closed her eyes and hastily pulled herself together, standing up straight, as she cleared her throat and then coughed. "Excuse me?"
"Tea?" He repeated. "I just made a fresh batch. Come." He smiled pleasantly and started to walk towards the kitchen.
"Oh, right..." Mitsuko placed her school bag on the hook and followed him.
Sure enough, there was a steaming tea pot on the breakfast table with two tea cups out.
Mitsuko gulped and sat down opposite him as he poured her cup first. "...Where's Gakushuu?"
"I believe he's preoccupied with some extracurricular or another."
"Oh..." She crossed her arms as she watched him warily. "And mom?"
"Out," he replied curtly, pouring his own tea next.
She looked down, gripping her cup tightly. "...Okay."
The Principal took a long sip of his drink while he stared at her.
Mitsuko gulped down some of her tea trying to smother her anxiety. "The tea is nice." The green tea was a familiar Matcha blend, but there was a slight over-sweetness to the taste. "As charming as this all this, why are we doing this?"
He drank another obnoxiously long sip before he placed the cup down. "So abrupt." He smiled coldly. "Your brother would have at least kept some pretence for another five minutes or so."
With some struggle, she maintained eye contact. "I...I'm sorry for disappointing you, sir," she said with great difficulty, feeling her stomach churn. "I failed and I'll accept whatever punishment you deem fit." Her hands were clammy. "But I did study, and I tried, sir, but when I sat down and started the test I..." She started to feel sick from dread. "I panicked and—"
"That would be a large understatement, wouldn't you say?" He interjected calmly.
Mitsuko cringed, tasting bile in her mouth. "I..."
"I admit I'd actually become quite complacent with your mediocrity," he continued smoothly. "But you actually managed to surprise me by becoming an even bigger disappointment than I'd anticipated."
She started to sweat and felt her mouth grow dry. "The r—" She coughed badly and drank to ease her throat, but it did as much good as scraping sandpaper along her throat."I can explain what happened."
He sipped his tea leisurely. "Really?"
The dread in her stomach was growing. "I had a panic attack during the first test," she admitted, looking down. "And then...after that they wouldn't stop." She clenched her hands tightly, feeling her skin prickle uncomfortably. "I think maybe...Uh..." She looked up. "Maybe if I could get some medication—?"
"Even this is being a tad overdramatic for you, Mitsuko." He arched an eyebrow. "Medication? Honestly?"
She winced, wanting the floor to swallow her whole.
The Principal finished drinking and placed the cup down. "I've told you countless times, Mitsuko," he said coldly. "It doesn't matter how or why you failed. The only thing that matters is that you failed." He leaned back slightly and clasped his hands on the table. "I'm transferring you to E Class at the start of term."
Her stomach lurched like she's been punched in the gut.
"No," her voice strained. "You can't do that," she said firmly like it was true. "You...you can't."
He smiled at her like she was an idiot.
Mitsuko felt like screaming and wanted to hurl the teapot at him.
She might as well have been a fly a web, no amount of begging or explaining was going to fix this and make her any less of a failure.
"I don't belong there."
He tilted his head. "Your grades say otherwise."
"It was a mistake!" she snapped, jumping to her feet. She grasped the edge of the table when she stumbled forward, feeling nauseous.
"The rules are non-negotiable, you know that." The corner of his lip twisted into a faint smile. "No exceptions."
Mitsuko glared at him. "I hate—" She felt a sharp twist of pain and winced, clutching her stomach. "Ugh..."
"Oh, yes, I nearly forgot." He looked amused, standing up. "I slipped some Ipecac into your tea."
Her eyes widened. "W-what?!"
"I whipped up a small batch yesterday."
Mitsuko felt her throat burn as the tea made its way back up. "Uhh." She spat on the floor, trembling as she fell to her knees.
The Principal stepped around her and removed a bucket from the cupboard underneath the sink.
"I suggest you use this. Your mother only just polished the floor yesterday."
Mitsuko willed her tears back as she felt a scorching wave of hatred for her father.
"I hate you," she hissed, raising her gaze to glare at him.
He dangled the bucket above her. "Excuse me?"
Rage flashed in her eyes. "I HATE YOU!!" She screamed and then snapped her mouth closed to swallow back some vomit. "Fuck."
"Do you recognise that feeling, Mitsuko, that burning sensation easing up from your stomach and along your throat?" he questioned lightly.
She grabbed the bucket and vomited into it.
The sound reverberated around the kitchen.
"I want you to remember that feeling every time you fail," he continued, looming over her as the drug did its work. "That is my lesson to you."
Mitsuko retched into the bucket, puking up her lunch in one go.
***
