Naoko Hajime and the Not Good Very Bad Day

Ame rummaged through the instruments in the music room. Where the hell is it? She had left it here just a moment ago. Just then she noticed a commotion in the hallway and a group of boys chanting something guttural as they marched past the music room.

She moved to the doorway and glanced down the hall at them. One of them had something tall and wide in his hands.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

*****

Early to class, Hotaru took his seat with nothing to do for once. The leftover pizza he had for breakfast felt energizing enough, but part of him wished he could have had breakfast with the others. He was almost certain that they were eating all sorts of things. But Final’s orders were final.

Not Final’s orders, Alpha’s orders… Hotaru corrected himself. He shook his head in an attempt to wake up. Alpha had told him to get used to arriving early to school. On account of that his main job was to protect Hajime Naoko during the mission. But protect him from what?

Not a moment later Naoko arrived. He looked surprised to see someone else this early to class. They made eye contact briefly when Naoko took his seat next to Hotaru.

“Morning,” Hotaru said.

“Good morning,” Naoko returned before opening up a notebook to study before class.

This will be the easiest job ever, Hotaru thought. The guy doesn’t do anything but study most of the time. He’s not a part of any clubs, he doesn’t have any prospective girlfriends that I know of and…

Hotaru’s train of thought stopped when he saw someone at the doorway. Disappointed that it wasn’t Alpha, a girl leaned into the classroom and waved at him. Certain that the wave wasn’t for him, he turned to where Naoko had been sitting, only to find it empty.

Where’d he go? Hotaru scanned the room, finding only the girl, laughing to herself. When she finally entered the room she sat towards the front, Hotaru heard a distinct beeping. Checking his watch, coordinates ran across the interface, telling him where Naoko currently was and his condition. No flashing meant he was fine, yellow flashing meant he ran into Ame, while red flashing meant he was under serious stress. It was flashing red.

“Excuse me!” He said, standing. “Can you tell the teacher I’ll be a little late?”

“S- sure!” The girl stammered as he left in a sprint. Following the watch’s directions, he made it quickly outside as more students were passing the front gate. The watch led him to the far right side of the school where he found Naoko, on the ground, beaten and lying in the dirt and shade.

“What happened to you?” Hotaru asked. Naoko sat up, rubbing his head and brushing off some dirt from his jacket.

“Oh, I uhh... Was trying to use the restroom,” he began, avoiding eye contact. “Then I ran into the wall and uhh... I tripped?”

“Are you saying you hurt yourself?”

“Yup,” Naoko answered, standing up with a stretch. “Welp, let’s head back to class.”

“No,” Hotaru told him. “We’re going to the infirmary.” Naoko frowned at that but when he lost his balance and fell into Hotaru, he nodded without complaint. They eventually came back to the second-floor hallway where they passed their own classroom to the nurse’s office at the end. Once inside, Hotaru flipped the lights on and sat Naoko down on the closest bed.

“Don’t worry about me,” Naoko said, his glasses missing. “I just need to sleep a little, really.” Hotaru narrowed his eyes on him and made no comment.

“Okay,” Hotaru said. “Just stay here till the nurse comes back, got it?” Naoko nodded again and turned over to lay down as Hotaru closed the blinds to the bed. Once shut, Hotaru looked to his immediate left in the corner behind the door. There he saw the head nurse, a tall attractive woman with a cloth over her mouth and Hinako holding it there.

When the nurse fell unconscious, Hinako quietly dragged the women over to the window. In one deep breath Hinako lifted the woman and hopped outside with her in tow. Hotaru started for the window when he heard a knock on the door. Alpha was standing there, arms crossed and head motioning to the hallway. Hotaru eyed the window before following her out, figuring he could ask about that later.

“So, what happened?” She asked.

“Naoko got beat up.” Hotaru said without a doubt in his mind. “Though, he’s not admitting it, and I was too late to catch who did it.” Alpha mulled over the information as Hotaru waited for her orders and wondered if Naoko would be safe in the infirmary.

“Have you heard any talk amongst the other students? Any gossip or hate talk?”

“No ma’am,” Hotaru answered.

“Well regardless,” Alpha continued. “Make sure you keep a closer eye on him. Remember, his safety is your responsibility. Since you’re the only one who can follow him into the restroom.”

“Why should that matter?” Hotaru asked.

“Because anything can happen in the restroom, dummy!” She walked up and flicked his forehead. “The next time Naoko gets hurt; I’m going to poke your eyes out!” She left with that and Hotaru immediately turned to his watch to monitor Naoko.

“Still there, good,” Hotaru sighed, posting himself just outside the nurse’s office. He watched Alpha return to the classroom after she gave Hotaru another reminder, two fingers jabbing at her own eyes before pointing directly at him.

Thinking nothing of the threat, Hotaru waited for Naoko by the door, determined to keep him safe at least till the end of the school day. When Naoko finally left the nurse’s office, with no sign of the nurse anyway, Hotaru walked after him back to class.

“You can trust me, Hajime.” Hotaru said before the door. “If someone’s bothering you, I can help you get them off your back.” Naoko held his silence as they entered and took their seats. Hotaru watched the other students in the classroom carefully throughout the next period and half into the next before Naoko raised a hand up.

“I need to use the toilet,” Naoko said to the teacher, who absently waved a hand in his direction. Naoko left with his lunchbox in hand. Hotaru thought it was a funny coincidence for a little while until he made eye contact with Alpha. She was glaring daggers at him two seats and row in front of him. Hotaru flinched but ignored her. He then got worried when ten minutes passed, and Naoko still hadn’t returned.

You can’t be serious, Hotaru thought. He looked over at Alpha again, who made the same threat for the third time, fingers to the eyes and then at him. Hotaru ground his teeth when he looked at his watch and saw that red flashing again.

“Sensei, may I go to the toilet too?” Hotaru stood up.

“Why, of course, Miyagi-kun, take your time.”

“Thank you,” Hotaru said, speed walking out of the classroom, turning left down the hallway and to the restrooms.

Please be safe, please be safe, please be safe! Hotaru prayed as he opened the men’s room door frantically opening each stall. What Hotaru found at the last one was Naoko, head down and damp with toilet water and dabbing his face with ripped toilet paper.

“What happened?” Hotaru demanded.

“I don’t know!” Naoko confessed, teary eyed. “That guy wasn’t even from this school. I don’t even know how he got in. He just said that my face made him mad and dunked my head in the toilet. Can you believe that?”

“So, you were getting beat up earlier!”

“Of course, I was, Sherlock!” Naoko snapped at him. “I didn’t get Sakiko-senpai's homework to her on time, so nothing for it. But still, I didn’t think she’d sick her friends on me, or punch me that hard.” Hotaru frowned at that and helped him up. After drying Naoko off some, the two walked back out into the hallway. Classes hadn’t let out yet, but Hotaru spotted a teacher walking towards them.

“Sensei!” Hotaru called out.

“Yes?” the teacher said, turning to them.

“Sensei, we’ve been having a problem with bullies at this school,” Hotaru said.

“Someone’s been bullying you?” The teacher looked shocked.

“No, not me,” Hotaru corrected, pulling Naoko into view. “They’ve been bullying Hajime here.”

“I see,” the teacher acknowledged but changed his tone. “He doesn’t look that bad to me.” The teacher concluded after looking him up and down. Naoko’s uniform was dirty and ripped in some places, and his hair was noticeably wet from the toilet. “Just go back to class, young man, no one’s hurting you.”

“Excuse me?” Hotaru balked.

“But sensei, I was assaulted,” Naoko confessed. But the teacher only glared harder.

“Well, maybe you deserved it. Just stay out of people’s way, would you?” The teacher finished, bumping Naoko with his shoulder hard and striding past. Unfortunately for Naoko the teacher hit a portion of his body that was bruised which caused him to whimper pathetically. As if in retaliation for the noise, the teacher turned to face him and kicked Naoko Hajime in the shin causing him to stumble.

Hotaru gazed at the teacher, aghast. Who, remembering himself, commented: “Sorry. His face just kind of pissed me off.” Then walked away as if it were nothing.

“That’s not normal,” Hotaru said.

“No, that was Ryoichi-sensei. He’s hated my guts since I corrected him in the middle of class one time.” Naoko clarified. Hotaru didn’t comment on that and instead of walking past the classroom again for Alpha to see, he grabbed Naoko by the wrist and pulled him along to the other side of the school, where they could get to the roof without being noticed.

“Wait here,” Hotaru said. “I’m going to make a phone call so I can fix this bullying problem.”

“You can do that?” Naoko asked.

“First, before I do that, can you give me an explanation as to why someone would bully you? Besides correcting teachers. You probably deserved that one.” The question seemed to have a lot of different answers, and the more Naoko thought about it, the more Hotaru dreaded hearing what he had to say.

“I guess you could say I’m an easy target,” Naoko said.

“That’s never a good thing to lead with,” Hotaru commented.

“Okay, I’m smart, and therefore that makes me an easy target.”

“You’re a bit flippant, you know?” Naoko rolled his eyes..

“Listen, Miyagi, I don’t expect a tough guy like you to understand what it’s like to be picked on for studying a lot and skipping play time just for the sake of being prepared...”

Actually, I know exactly what you mean, Hotaru thought. He briefly thought back on all the times he got called a ‘stickler’ or a ‘know it all’ by his Ethel. But he also remembered doing those annoying things on purpose, so she’d call him those things. So, to him, it was more fun than pain. To Naoko, however, that was just how he was.

“All my life I’ve been the go-to for study help. In elementary it was times tables; in junior high it was science. In high school it's been just about everything, and instead of tutoring help, people have just asked me to do their homework for them.”

“By threatening you?” Hotaru interjected.

“Not usually?” Naoko said. “To be honest, I’ve had threats and people have pushed me to get their work back to them on time. But I’ve only given late homework on purpose once or twice.”

“To whom?” Hotaru asked, hoping to glean who might have a serious motive..

“Ame is pretty much the only person I’ve done that to.” Naoko confessed. Hotaru palmed his face and gave him a glare.

“Is she the one sending these jerks out to hurt you?”

“I haven’t done homework for her since the fifth grade,” Naoko said. “I threw her assignment in the trash after she pelted me with a dodgeball. I think I made her watch too. She had asked the teacher for a new one and got half credit for it anyway.” Hotaru stepped away, breathless.

“Have you done that to anyone since then?” he asked, pinching the bridge on his nose.

“Pretty sure I haven’t.”

“Okay, I’m going to make that phone call now, and if Hazel asks why you’ve been hurt, tell her nothing.”

“Why? You don’t think she’d hurt me, do you?”

“No, I think she’d hurt me,” Hotaru finished, walking down the steps a ways before pinching his ear lobe. “Ranger F to mission control,” Hotaru whispered.

“Omega speaking, how can I help you?”

“Have you been monitoring Naoko at all today?”

“Why yes,” Omega answered. “The others have told me that he’s been assaulted several times today, on two incidents you’ve been late to protect him. Ethel 22-L also said you just stood and watched him get hurt on the third incident.”

“Please don’t tell, Alpha,” Hotaru begged.

“Don’t worry, Miyagi-kun, I won’t.”

“Thank you,” he said. “Do you have any information for me that could help me in stopping it? It almost feels unnatural, if that makes sense.”

“You’re right on the money, actually.” Omega added.

“Really?”

“It’s just a theory for now but hate for Hajime Naoko isn’t uncommon in the other universes.”

“So, this kind of thing has happened before?” Hotaru asked.

“Oh, yes. And it’s been a major obstacle in almost every existence. Naoko has had a rivalry with every male student and staff member at Hiwara, and every other school he’s attended. Some of these people Naoko has overcome himself, but most have always beaten him down, even killed in some universes.” Omega was trying to keep things simple for Hotaru, but for him things were getting worse. Below him, a group of three students were walking up the stairs to the roof, beating their fists into their hands before spotting Hotaru above them. He glared down at them, taking a tall defiant stance before one of them said something under his breath and motioned for the others to follow him.

“Is that what’s happening here?” Hotaru asked. “Just some ill feelings between acquaintances?”

“Hardly,” Omega continued. “It’s too irregular for Naoko to be experiencing this level of animosity so soon in his life.”

“Wait, it gets worse later?”

“Let me finish,” Omega stopped him. “As I’ve said before, this level of repeated violence is happening too fast in too short a time. A more likely example for this is Multiversal Emotional Contagion. In other words, emotions from the other universes are pouring into this one, and for some unknown reason, these emotions are being centered on Naoko.”

Hotaru rubbed his eyes. “Is it possible to reverse this?”

“As of right now, no. But we may be able to do something else in the meantime to fix this. You just keep a close eye on him. And make sure no further harm comes to him.” Omega reinstated.

“Roger,” Hotaru agreed and hung up. He looked one more time down the stairs for any more unexpected visitors, only to hear Naoko yell from above. “Not again!” Hotaru skipped steps on the way back up, prepared for the worst. “Who is it this time?”

“No one,” Naoko admitted. “I forgot to boil my egg this morning and...” Hotaru looked down on the raw egg that had spilt on Naoko’s pants, relieved, but still concerned. Glancing at his watch, Hotaru knew that lunch time would be ending soon. The thought of having to guard Naoko at all moments made him feel exhausted.

“There must be a better way to do this,” Hotaru mumbled. Naoko cleaned himself and stood up. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To deal with it,” Naoko said blankly.

“That’s not the answer,” Hotaru grabbed his shoulder.

“There’s no point in trying to discuss it like it's some world ending problem, Miyagi. Some people are just like this. I just happen to have a lot of people who wish to pick on me.”

No, it is world ending, Hotaru thought. And this isn’t just some common happenstance, the universe is literally trying to kill you. And if he could say all that without messing with the fabric of the multiverse and the entire mission, he would have, gladly.

“Listen, Hajime. It’s like you said, there are just some people who can’t help but want to let their frustrations out on you. But that doesn’t mean you have to take it lying down.”

Naoko looked at Hotaru suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, stand up for yourself,” Hotaru said. Naoko laughed at that.

“Right, me and what army?”

“Listen to me! I can protect you for as long as you’re at school. But the moment you go out on your own, every single person who’s bullied you and even people who are currently planning to bully you and going to strike. But there is a way to defuse a situation without having to roll over for them.” Naoko stayed quiet to listen.

“Most of the time when someone is bullying someone else, it has nothing to do with you, and has everything to do with themselves.”

Although, given how this universe is going, it is actually happening because of you.

“You have to refute,” Hotaru continued. “All of these past incidents, have you ever once talked back?”

“No,” Naoko answered.

“Exactly. So, the next time someone pushes you, I want you stay on your feet.”

“But-”

“No buts! That’s an order!” Hotaru cut him off, and suddenly he felt a little nostalgic, and the rest of it clicked for him. Naoko kept his mouth shut for the remainder of Hotaru’s lecture. Explaining the intricacies of talking back with purpose and being a man, all while Naoko took notes to review. Hotaru would have laughed at how similar they were but kept up his mentoring until he was finished.

“I went through the exact same thing you’re going through, Miyagi,” Hotaru lied. “And at the end of it all, nothing and no one ever bothered to talk down on me again.”

Besides alien bugs and the Ethels that is. Hotaru could see that everything he said to Naoko was soaking in, and a new determined face had replaced a doubtful and skeptical one.

“Shall we head back to class, buddy?” Hotaru asked.

“Absolutely, friend,” Naoko agreed, taking Hotaru’s hand to shake and into a fist bump. Starting back downstairs to class, Hotaru followed Naoko close behind as Omega called in again.

“By the way,” Omega started. “I would refrain from getting too close with Naoko, on account that in a few universes he has swung that way. We need Naoko aiming for Ame, not you.”

Hotaru distanced himself back from Naoko by a few more steps as they made it back to the classroom. When they entered, Hotaru caught sight of Alpha checking if Naoko was any more hurt. When she stopped her inspection, she nodded to him as he sat down at his desk, still glancing over at Naoko, who was reviewing his notes.

Drained, Hotaru let himself relax as students were filing into the classroom again. But straightened his back when that girl from before walked up to him.

“Hi?”

“I told the teacher for you,” she said.

“Oh, thanks for that!” He said, remembering now that he did ask her that.

“So, where were you before you came to little old Chiba, Miyagi-kun?” She asked, sitting on his desk. The girl was tall, and wore a blue headband in her long black hair. She had an average bust and an admittedly hefty waist. Her dark brown eyes perfectly magnified by a small but diminutive pair of spectacles. She was a beauty now that he was forced to take a closer look. She could give Hinako a run for her money. But nowhere close to Ethel. He thought at last, returning her eye contact.

“Tokyo,” he answered.

“Sorry, I meant which school you used to go to.” She corrected herself.

“Chiharu private school,” he answered, as Omega had instructed.

“Really?” The girl almost gasped. “That’s one of the best schools for engineering and science. What made you want to come out here? If you don’t mind me asking?”

“No, not at all, I…” Hotaru started, finally catching that he was looking at this pretty girl a little too much. Without looking, he remembered that Alpha was still here, and felt confident to say something else instead of the memorized line. “I changed schools because... Someone I like goes here.”

The girl wasn’t expecting that kind of answer from him, and leaned closer.

“And who is this special someone?” she asked. Hotaru expected as much, but still found the words caught in his throat. When he was ready to answer, the hand of that special someone slammed on his desk between him and the girl.

“Have you seen Hajime-kun?” Alpha asked. Hotaru whipped his head left, saw no Naoko in sight and stood.

“Did you see Hajime leave at all?” He asked the girl, avoiding all eye contact with his special someone.

“I think he left a little bit ago, is everything okay?”

“Shoot,” Hotaru cursed, breaking into a sprint to the hallway. He looked both ways before glancing out the long vaulted windows of the hallway, spotting Naoko in front of large crowd of people at the front gate.

“No, no, no, no, no!” On his way down and to the shoe lockers, he failed to swap shoes as he ran outside, only to see Naoko, untouched and waving to him.

“Hey, what’s going on buddy?” Hotaru said, still checking if he was hurt.

“Just great, actually! I did what you told me to do and stood up for myself.”

“In what way?” Hotaru looked past Naoko for a moment. Death glares were all aimed back in their direction.

“I confronted them all head on and told them off immediately.”

“All meaning?”

“Everybody who ever looked down on me.” The way Naoko said that made him puff out his chest in pride. The school bell rang for the start of the next period, calling for all of the students currently in the courtyard to walk past them. Their concentration on Naoko alone told Hotaru that whatever Naoko had said only made things worse. The emotions from the other universes were converging too heavily and Hotaru wasn’t sure it could be reversed at this point. His instincts told him to call Omega, but the school day was almost over, and Naoko seemed high on life.

“How did you get ‘confront them’ out of what I told you?” Hotaru said, teeth grinding.

“It’s okay, right? They had nothing to say after I was done. Now they’ll leave me alone.” Naoko said. Hotaru kept his mouth shut and spotted the rest of the student body looking out from the windows.

The walk back to class made Hotaru feel like he was back on fallen earth, but the enemy was the whole of humanity. And instead of ravenous aliens seeking out tech to destroy, they wanted Naoko, and they wanted him in pieces. Hotaru was forced to stay close to him as they sat down for the final period. Class itself went on like usual, except for Alpha’s absence and the tension in the classroom being thick enough to cut with a knife. Hotaru considered that Alpha and the others were at least planning to do something about this. Leaving him with security duty again.

“Let’s head home together for today,” Hotaru told Naoko, who looked at him with a tilted head.

“You’re being a little too buddy-buddy there, friend.” Hotaru ignored him.

“Which way are you going home?”

“I was actually thinking of taking the long way home,” Naoko smiled.

“Which would be?”

“Past the east side park,” Naoko explained. “It’s a fun walk, and I’m feeling pretty good about myself.”

“Good for you,” Hotaru said, still on high alert.

“Well, it's all thanks to you, Miyagi.” Naoko said. “Now I focus on myself and what I want to do instead of what others want from me.” The way he said that last part almost made Hotaru feel like he had done some good today.

If only the universe felt the same way, Naoko. Hotaru thought. Closing ceremonies were held, everyone stood and turned to Naoko. Hotaru stayed close to him, making eye contact with as many as possible to instill a warning to all who wanted to hurt his friend. Naoko was honestly feeling happy leaving the school finally. But even he grew uncomfortable from all the looks that the close-by residents were shooting at him. Their pace quickened as large groups of people cut them off from every route but the one leading to the east side park.

“We’re being herded,” Hotaru said, forcing Naoko to keep up as they continued avoiding people. The road turned left under a bridge where three homeless men eyed Naoko as if he’d stolen something. Hotaru grabbed Naoko’s wrist who bucked and pulled in the opposite direction. “What are you doing?”

“Let’s cut through the eastside park. No one goes there!” Naoko insisted as the sound of footsteps came closer.

“Fine!” Hotaru relented, following Naoko up a steep embankment to their immediate right and then between two awkwardly close houses to a massive dirt lot.

“There, see? No one here.” Naoko said with pride. He was right of course, the “eastside park” was empty, but then there was the problem of what the “eastside park” was. It was a massive dirt lot whose fine powder was sleet grey. Surrounding it were a few hills, a highway, and a housing development. In the center, as if it were a shrine to some forgotten god was a massive tire and an empty oil drum upturned inside it. Am I really in Japan? Hotaru asked himself before he heard murmuring from all sides.

Behind them, over the fences of two houses came the students and teachers of Hiwara High. Over the hills, amassing like a Mongol horde were Mothers and children from the surrounding neighborhood and from over the highway were kids in diverse uniforms wielding chains and pipes and chanting loudly: “Naoko’s Blood! Naoko’s Blood!”

The two backed up until their feet struck the tire. As the groups mixed Hotaru was pretty sure he knew what the “eastside park” was all about, actually. This is where the locals killed people!

“I’m sorry, Miyagi-kun,” Omega said in his ear. “I told Alpha.”

“Yeah, I figured as much,” Hotaru said. “Not that it matters since I screwed up so bad.”

“Let Naoko use you as a human shield for now. I’ve positioned the other girls within the crowd to disrupt and start infighting to offset the hate that’s been building.”

“Will that work?” Hotaru asked. He heard no response, then spotted Hinako off to the side of the large congregation of Naoko haters. Quietly she dragged knocked out people to the sidewalk and over the hill to thin the herd. Following her back into the crowd, Hotaru caught a glimpse of two white bows making their way through the crowd. And then, right in front of him, the tall girl from class was opening a knife.

“You too!?” Hotaru blurted, feeling a tad betrayed.

“Well, yeah! He’s got to go!” She responded as if it were a natural conclusion.

“Wait! Hold on!” Naoko climbed atop the tire and addressed the crowd. “Isn’t this ridiculous!? Don’t you realize you all have gone nuts!?”

The crowd shouted back, united in purpose: “No way that kid sucks.” “His face pisses me off!” “Throw him in the tire!” “Naoko’s blood!” As the hoodlums pressed in, Hotaru stepped in front of his charge and braced for the worst. For the first time since his days at bootcamp he was afraid for his nuts.

“Hey!” Alpha blurted out. “You were the one I saw who shared his lunch with Naoko Hajime last week!” Part of the crowd’s attention shifted inward to such an assumed traitor before Final spoke up.

“Yeah, and I saw Sakiko-senpai didn’t even beat him up the week before that!”

“Sensei also gave him a hundred percent on his test too!” After that, the accusations started to be called out by everyone, and that’s when the infighting truly began. Instead of everyone focused on hurting Naoko, they became more focused on hurting those who hadn’t hurt Naoko. Hotaru saw the same white bows bobbing and weaving to the edge of the groups as they split off to fight one another. Hotaru grabbed Naoko by the shirt, ready to leave and just as the moms started a beef with the teachers he dragged his charge into the opening towards the edge of the park.

One by one the greater part of the crowd seemed to fall apart as bodies fell to the dirt. Hotaru, trying not to make a scene by running, continued to drag Naoko before a lone student holding up a guitar shouted over the din.

“Wait! We’re not the reason for all this madness, it’s him!” He said, jumping in front of them and brandishing the instrument like an axe. “He’s the thorn in our sides! If he goes, everything will end!” He screamed bolting towards them with incredible speed.

Those who were standing turned to Naoko with newfound fire. The boy with the guitar led the charge, ready to swing. Naoko pulled his shirt free from Hotaru’s grip causing him to fall. As he did, he caught Naoko giving him a determined look then soldiering forward to face the guitar-wielding barbarian head on. There was no time to react, no time to defend him. Hotaru had failed in his mission.

“Hold it!” shouted a girl. The guitar overhead halted just before Naoko’s head, his arms in the air to protect himself. “That’s my guitar you ass!” Ame stepped quickly, yanking the guitar out of the boy’s hands. She gave Naoko a scornful look then turned back to the mob who had gone still.

“What the hell are you doing!?” She directed the question to the crowd but glared at the guy who stole her guitar.

“He makes us angry!” The guitar stealer said. “Yeah, he talked back to us, and told us to screw off!” Said another. “The kid’s annoying!” “He’s a pest!”

"You people don't get it, do you?” Ame started, taking a solitary step to the crowd. “He makes you angry? He makes you mad? You don't even know what you're talking about!” The people all flinched, forgetting Naoko for a moment as Ame continued.

“This guy is so infuriating it hurts. Did you know sometimes he comes to school wearing mismatched socks!? I've seen it! You know he doesn't like drinking water? What a weirdo! Sometimes, he doesn't brush his teeth in the morning because 'he didn't have time' and every day he comes to school with bedhead because he doesn't believe in combing his hair. Okay, yeah, maybe he's smart, and maybe his personality is annoying but how is that enough of a reason to want to ice this guy? He is so beneath this kind of effort! Seriously! This guy right here? He's pathetic, really. And honestly, the fact that you all think he's worth this effort is disgusting in my view. It shows you all care about him way more than even I do, and I've known him my whole life."

All tension in the crowd seemed to die after Ame’s speech. She was huffing by the end of it, and all the people present looked around in confusion for a second and left just as quickly as they came.

“Ame?” Naoko spoke up. She turned around slowly, giving him her trademark scowl. The two long time acquaintances held a moment of contempt as she waited for him to speak. Finally, Naoko simply extended his hand out to her.

“Thank you for saving me,” he managed to say. Hotaru could tell that doing that took a lot of effort for him to do, and felt proud of how far came since this morning. His hand remained out for her to take, but just when it seemed she was going to speak, she spat full-on in his palm and walked away.

Hotaru held back a gasp as he shot to his feet watching Ame stomp off in a rage. But it was then he saw death staring at him through the dispersing crowd. Alpha, Final, and Hinako stood in a line giving him the worst staredown he had ever seen. Hotaru turned his back on the sight, pushing down his fear of corporal punishment to support his friend.

“You, okay?” Hotaru asked Naoko, who wiped his hand off on his pants and stared at the ground.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks, Miyagi,” Naoko said, offering a fist-bump which Hotaru returned quietly. Naoko Hajime looked like a ghost as he waddled out of the park, alive, but not in any way that counted for much. Hotaru felt his own life slipping away too as he turned around to face his superiors.

Alpha, Final, and Hinako were staring at him again, this time from two feet away as his charge wandered off in the distance. In his ear Hotaru could hear static which could only mean Omega had her finger on the “talk” button but couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Wordless and covered in sweat Hotaru turned heel as he’d been taught in bootcamp and started marching home. After what felt like forever he heard the others following suit.

No one portaled, no one passed him, and no one tried to strike up conversation as they made their long march back to the safehouse. Hotaru caught himself thinking that maybe, just maybe, they weren’t really mad at him but instead impressed which quickly fell apart once he reached the front door. He glanced back at the street where three girls were folding their arms and gave him a grim nod as if to say: “go on.” Which he did after a minute of silence to calm himself. He opened the door to a dark entryway. Like a good boy, he took off his shoes and walked into the living room where Omega stood, arms crossed.

“You goofed up, soldier,” Omega said.

“Listen, I admit that I failed to protect Naoko for the majority of the day, but everything turned out alright in the end, right?” Hotaru said but was immediately met with shaking heads from the others who had snuck in behind him to cut off his retreat.

"Sure, Naoko is alive,” Alpha cut in. “But right now, all of the Emotional Contagion has passed on to Ame. You may have set Ameko back by weeks, months! Decades! This is worse than letting him get beat up!"

“How!?”

“Because it undermines the entire reason we are here in the first place,” Hinako added.

“But how is the Emotional Contagion my fault?”

Omega lurched in his direction pointing squarely at his nose with her long accusatory index finger. "If you had been there to defend him, the contagion would have been shared by you and may have dispelled naturally.” she clarified. “Instead, you increased the negative emotions pouring in by telling him to confront his oppressors directly!”

“You said that it was a theory, how could I have known that it was supposed to work like that?”

"You were supposed to follow him everywhere he goes! I said not to leave him alone!" Alpha said.

"Your friend is the slipperiest little eel I have ever met.” Hotaru retorted, whipping around to face her. “Have you noticed he's almost impossible to keep track of!?"

"This is why we gave you the trackers, but you didn't think it was worth your time did you!?" Omega accused.

“You were also too distracted,” Alpha said.

“I was keeping an eye on him as much as I could!” Hotaru said but lost all confidence when he recalled the tall girl sitting on his desk and drawing his eyes away. The Ethels didn’t need to say anything as Hotaru shut down, only bothering to look Alpha in the eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said as sincerely as he could. “I promise that I’ll do better, Naoko won’t get hurt by anyone again.” Omega and Alpha shared a look before relaxing their scolding faces.

“We know, Miyagi-kun,” Omega said. “That is why we’re sending off to train in universe Zero-2.”

“Wait...” Hotaru paused to think. “Which universe was Zero-2 again?” The Ethels didn’t answer. Instead, they watched as a portal opened up behind Hotaru, and metal boots clanking on wood got closer and closer to him.

“This the guy?” An older Ethel asked, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. Hotaru looked up and remembered. He saw her on the day he first went through a portal at the final council of Ethels. Her mismatched hair, half-buzzed half-unkempt fell over her right shoulder complimenting the deep scar running through the center of her grizzled face. It was Ethel Zero-2, or The Empress Ethel, as the others referred to her.

“Yes, ma’am!” Omega said. “He’s all yours.”

"Great! Been needing a new bodyguard since that pre-industrial Ethel got vaporized. You'll do!" Empress Ethel said happily, dragging him back to the portal. Hotaru couldn’t get her grip to come off, if anything, her hold on him only got stronger the more he resisted.

“Alpha!” he said, one last time. Alpha Ethel and the rest waved him good-bye as he and the Empress passed through, and the portal closed.

Hotaru blinked and found himself staring at a hell made of metal. The floors were brushed copper in ornate patterns, the walls were polished nickel pocked with precious gems, the massive ranks of soldiers now flanking them were cold and still covered head to toe in ornate steel. As they stepped through the portal, the ranks of soldiers an entire head taller than Hotaru saluted in unison. Their armor was thick, a rigid endoskeleton snaked beneath and glowed between folded metal scales and slats that hung loose and firm concealing both sex and face. The ranks stretched off to the edge of his vision where he could faintly see a dark red glow seeping in from the outside of the industrial compound. A red giant whose light made his skin crawl.

“Bring it.” The queen snapped at a massive soldier to her left. He stepped forward and tossed a perfect black cube as wide and tall as his arms could reach in front of Hotaru. A small light shot from the inside of the cube and flooded over him. Then the mass shifted, and from the formerly shiny surface produced various armaments which fell to the floor with a clatter. First a helmet, then pauldrons, then boots.

“Oh… god.”

“Welcome to universe Zero-2, Hotaru 632-E. The universe where we won the war with the Etherians, but lost the battle with Ame and Naoko.”

Y’know… Hotaru realized. That tall girl from class. I don’t think I ever caught her name.

*****

“Alpha? Do you give me permission to yeet Hotaru from this plane of existence as punishment?” Omega asked. Alpha walked at the same pace she had before without responding. “Stay silent for yes, grunt for no.” Alpha held her breath. “Okay… Call Zero-2, Etel!”

“Yes! Zero-2 fix him good!” Etel responded, typing so loud and furious Alpha could hear her through the comms. For a second she felt bad. Then she noticed his sheepish expression as he glanced back at him from the front door. She folded her arms and nodded. Nope, she was okay with it.