Not Just Thinking But Overthinking

Akio wandered the hallways, looking for something to do. His first two weeks of school had been such a drag due to his name slander that there were no opportunities to join any after-school activities.

He stared out the window at the soccer field below. The local team was in full swing of practice, playing a scrimmage of sorts to hone themselves for the start of the competitive season. He had briefly contemplated joining, as he was rather light on his feet. However, one of his bullies was already a key member of the team, pulling a lot of weight in the recruitment.

Akio shivered at the memory of it. He had barely escaped after being pummeled by dozens and dozens of balls, many kicked at the same time to make it impossible to guard against. Unfair points were docked. It devolved into a hazing to get him to leave. All desire to participate had been trampled like the grass that they played on.

His gaze broke from being that grass and looked over to the library next to him. The murmurs of what seemed to be a ‘read share’ and discussion could be heard from the hallway. Akio was hardly someone cultured in literary arts, but he didn’t mind an interesting book or two. Perhaps, he would learn some new way to cope with his bad tongue. However, it had been his last choice for clubs, after a string of failures that were triggered by his poor reputation. It seemed like a safe option where he could hide and just blend in. However, a familiar voice that spoke next brought him an unmistakable dread.

From the slit of the open door, he spotted the literature club president, who made him bite his lip. She had accused him of some unsavory things, all because of rumors. Tanimura gave him hell as a result. It was another botched interest, another sour note that he would continue to steer clear of.

It made him realize. Without Misaki by his side, he would have continued to be a nobody that only gained the attention of being shunned. If she were to call off the relationship, would it go back to that time? Akio shuddered when he thought about it.

He would somehow find a way to botch it again. It didn’t matter what time or place. Even coming to a new school didn’t help. It had taken all but one homeroom period for his life to go downhill. Maybe, that was why he clung so hard to his current self, and to her. Enough so that he didn’t mind being roughed up a little. At the very least, his partner in crime was a joy to look at.

“Excuse me, are you free? I could use some help here.”

Akio turned toward the person asking to see a giant stack of boxes blocking his view. He tilted his head in surprise, but the voice was familiar enough despite it.

“Yuunagi? Why are you asking me? Am I not a troublemaker you should be wary of?”

“That’s why I asked. You were standing there, staring off into the world. If I gave you something to do, that’s one less chance of making me come after you later. But then again, I don’t see Haibara-san around.”

Her tone seemed rather cordial, despite how often she came at them for causing a scene. He had expected her to be more prickly. He bit down his foot-in-mouth syndrome by answering the obvious question on her mind.

“She’s still in the infirmary. Mikado-sensei made sure that she could sleep off that fever as long as possible.” Akio reached up to grab the top two boxes, unblocking Yuunagi’s view of him. “I thought kung fu masters were supposed to be all strong and proficient in things like this. Balancing them on your head while on bamboo stilts or whatnot.”

Yuunagi frowned at that. “I’m not a circus performer. Just because I train myself doesn’t mean that I enjoy being left with too much to carry for a normal person. Plus, it’s Taijiquan, not kung fu. There’s a difference. My methods are not about strength but the flow of my motions.”

Akio shrugged. He wasn’t too versed in the arts of ‘kick his ass’. Even if she were to somehow fire a ki beam from her palms, it would no longer surprise him. He had Misaki to thank for the lack of human limitations.

“Right, right. Where to with this?”

“The incinerator.”

Akio looked into the top box for the first time, putting two and two together. The outline of exposed cleavage caught his eyes. He must’ve stared too long because the whack of a metal fan against the box knocked him out of his daze.

“Don’t look at that. Geez, you are exactly the type of person that ‘this’ causes trouble for. Find a healthier outlet for such things. It’s a waste of time, of money, and of true appreciation for the female gender!”

“Well, sorry for having the trash taste of an unsophisticated scoundrel. I happen to enjoy it when a girl comes onto me like that. A dirty mag is just preparatory psyching of the mind.”

Yuunagi froze and turned to him with another scowl. He felt like kicking himself as he realized just what was wrong with that statement.

“You just admitted to partaking in such activities.”

“Dammit, I did, didn’t I? The ol’ tongue slipping like secrets are meant to be told. I really should shut up sometimes.”

“Honesty is a virtue. Rather, you should strive to think more cleanly and not be drawn by the temptations of others.”

“Only when it doesn’t get me into trouble.”

“I believe someone else already has that covered for you.”

“You’d be right about that, but only some of the time.” Akio sighed. He couldn’t argue that point after all the crap that he had been through. He simply shut up and walked along in silence.

A few heads turned their way. It was probably strange to them that the disciplinary head and the lackey of the most troublesome yankee in the school were walking side by side.

He shrugged it off. Who were they going to tell anyways? Misaki herself? Not if they wanted to risk her ire.

The two of them arrived at the incinerator tucked in one corner of the building. The roar of an open flame brought with it a flash of heat that made Akio sweat. With one swift motion, Yuunagi dumped the contents to feed it further before beckoning him to do the same.

Akio had no reason to reject. There were no lingering attachments to au natural gravure that he had briefly laid eyes on. The school didn’t allow them, so in they went.

“Buh bye, tiddies!” He couldn’t help himself.

Flames flicked higher at him from the extra fuel. The lid was quickly shut to keep the embers from coming out. He was fine with it. He didn’t need to watch horniness burn to convince himself it was the right thing. Yuunagi stared at him afterwards.

“You really seem like the type that just does whatever the other person tells them, aren’t you?”

“Within reason.” Akio scratched his head. “It’s just easier to follow than to make my own bone-headed decisions. Though lately, it doesn’t seem to matter what I choose. Trouble ends up finding me.”

“And you’re fine with that?”

“Not like I have a choice.”

Yuunagi looked a bit hesitant after that, like she was trying to silently poke holes in his claims. Akio thought it was odd. He didn’t like to be judged, so he tried to sneak away as the awkwardness grew. However, a hand from her held him in place. Her hand was wrapped around his wrist, fortunately not the one that she had wrecked. Her grip was solid, not like Misaki that held onto him with brute force, but someone with confidence in keeping their ducks in a row. And he knew first-hand what she was capable of, if he tried to tear himself away.

“If-If you’re not planning to do anything else, why not help me out for a change? The disciplinary committee is short-handed. Not many are willing to confront Haibara-san, but you, you-”

“She listens to me, right?”

Akio turned around to find Yuunagi looking strangely timid. He took the opportunity to shake off the grip around his wrist. It broke free without any resistance.

“That ain’t happening. I just know that Misaki will get jealous at the idea of spending any personal time with you. No offense, but I’d rather not see her get seriously mad over something that silly. Regardless, won’t it come off as bad rep if you have someone known to cause issues in that position?”

Yuunagi didn’t have an answer, so Akio simply left it at that.

“I should probably head back and check up on her.”

Turning away, Akio made for the exit, but not before some weird glass bottle was placed in his hand. He brought it up to his face to stare at the weird characters on it. He tried to sound out the kanji, but it didn’t seem right. But then, he realized that it was likely Chinese.

“Wong To Yick. It’s an herbal ointment for your wrist. Massage the area with it, and it should help speed up your recovery.”

Akio’s gaze went from the bottle to his bandaged wrist, recalling how a single countered strike had been such a doozy for him. Of course, someone that knew how to dish it out would also be used to treating for the lashings.

“Sure, thanks for the Wrong To Lick. I’ll be sure to give it back after my wrist gets better.”

He wasn’t sure he got that right, but Chinese names sounded funny to him. Since Yuunagi didn’t make any effort in correcting him, it was probably close enough. He turned the corner and gave a wave of thanks, leaving Yuunagi to continue her activities.

v

After several moments of silence, Yuunagi’s disciplined stare fell and she sighed. Turning to the furnace, she gave it a light kick while shaking her head at the strange boy that came with her.

But then, it turned into a gentle smile as she giggled, covering it with her hand. She was not the hardass that everyone wanted to believe, but circumstances required her to be vigilant.

She stared at her hand, thinking about how careless she had been to hurt a normal person that way. Granted, she had been caught off guard to readjust after fighting at a high level, but that wasn’t an excuse. The medicine was to make amends. The boxes were an excuse to approach him.

“Wrong To Lick… that dummy. I don’t see how a guy like him works for Haibara-san. Unless…”

The gears of suspicion whirred in her head. She recalled seeing the pair at the amusement park a while back. At the time, she hadn’t noticed it. Her field of vision was narrow due to the Kamui-kun outfit, but some things didn’t make sense.

Wada-kun was all beat up, but Haibara-san…

It seemed like the men that she fought had been angry with her. If it had been a simple case of overly forceful flirting, her rejection of them shouldn’t have provoked such a physical disturbance in the middle of a public area. Something else must have made them go into a rage.

The more she thought about it, the more she wondered. Wada would often end up getting hurt, particularly when he was around Haibara. She overheard him passing it off as accidents and the occasional brawl, but Wada hardly seemed the type to get physical. At least, not enough to explain stab wounds and bandaged torsos. Being head of discipline, she had noticed such things as far back as the first weeks of school. Particularly, how he often planted himself before Haibara like a shield. Eventually, a possibility dawned on her that made her eyes go wide. There was a term for such a thing - being coerced into supporting someone without them realizing.

Stockholm Syndrome.