Apparently the Gal who Bullies me Likes me

Chapter 23

Quarrel

After I got home, Tachibana called me while crying, and I listened to her until late at night.

"I can't do this anymore..."

"Don't say that."

"I'm sure by now I'm hated by Rina and the others."

"You won't know that until you talk to them."

"... I've said all those things because both of you guys are important to me."

"I see."

"I'm sorry for bullying you."

"I don't care about that anymore, so it's okay."

Tachibana appeared to be depressed, as she didn't know what to do and appeared to be mentally unstable at the time.

I want to comfort her, but I can't think of any words that will calm her down.

I really hated Tachibana before when she was bullying me, but right now it's different because I don't feel that way.

At that time, we were the bully and the bullied, but now we are lovers.

I have no intention of saying anything about the time that she bullied me, as she has already apologized to me, so I thought that was the end of that discussion. 

But it looks like she's still concerned about that.

As I've said to her, I already forgive her, and I don't care about that anymore. But it looks like, from Tachibana's point of view, even though we became lovers, the fact that she bullied me won't be solved by just simply apologizing to me.

I feel that this is a problem that won't be solved right away.

The next day, Tachibana was absent from school.

I'm a little worried about her, as she didn't say anything to me about being absent for today when we were talking last night. That's why I've decided to go to her house after school to check on her.

During class, the usual Tachibana who sits next to me isn't there.

The beautiful desks and chairs are lined up in a lonely row.

It may be the first time I have taken a class without Tachibana.

Normally at this time,  I would see Tachibana next to me with her long, beautiful black hair, the scent of her sweet perfume, and a smile on her face, but right now she's not there.

I feel kind of lonely, and class is really boring, and because of that, I often look at the clock on top of the lectern.

It feels like the hands of the clocks aren't moving at all.

The breaks also felt longer than usual.

I don't usually think like this, but I felt that without Tachibana inside the classroom, my world, which was once colored by her presence, returned to black and white.

Was school really this boring before?

After a really long class, I took a break from club activities today and decided to go to Tachibana's house.

When I went to the entrance of the school, Umezawa and her friends were waiting for me in front of my shoe cupboard.

There are also several rough-looking male students that I have never seen before. It looks like they are my senpais.

"Hey you! Come here!"

They blocked my path towards my shoe cupboard as if to say that they wouldn't let me pass until they finished their business with me.

As I had no choice, I walked fearfully towards Umezawa and the others.

Suddenly, a senpai grabs my uniform collar and slams me into the shoe cupboard.

A painful shock hits my back, and I fall to the ground.

Umezawa then kicked and put her foot on the shoe box near my head to prevent me from escaping.

It looks like they completely surrounded me.

"Stand up and follow me."

When I look at my senpai, they give me a look as if to say that I know what will happen if I refuse them, so I have no choice but to obey them.

They then brought me to the back of the gymnasium, where no one could see us.

Right now I'm standing with a wall behind me while being surrounded by senpai, including Umezawa.

In total, there are nine students who surround me: Umezawa and her three friends, plus five male senpai.

It looks like a situation from which I can't escape or reason my way out.

"Do you still remember when Kyoko got mad and argued against us yesterday, right?"

"Something has been wrong with Kyoko ever since she started hanging out with you, it looks like she's gone crazy."

"I mean, seriously, even though Kyoko is bullying you, why are you getting along with her so well?"

Umezawa is questioning me with a very irritated voice, and it doesn't help that her blonde hair makes her look more intimidating.

Did she see me getting along with Tachibana inside the classroom?

The people around us also put pressure on me.

Suddenly, one of the senpai punched me in the face. 

A dull ringing sound reverberated in my ears.

So this is what it feels like when you get hit, huh?

It's so painful that my face became numb.

"Hmmm, so you're on good terms with Tachibana-san, huh!"

If I look closely at the person who punched me, I notice that he was the captain of the men's basketball team that confessed to Tachibana and got rejected.

"Don't get full of yourself. Didn't you realize that Tachibana-san is just playing around with you? So you shouldn't misunderstand your situation too much"

Did this guy still not want to give up on Tachibana?

I see, so that's the reason why Umezawa said that Tachibana and I are getting along. 

When I met him the other day in front of the vending machine, he looked so cool and kind, but I guess I misjudged him, and he's really the type of person who wouldn't mind hitting other people.

Umezawa then made an unexpected statement while I was still in pain from being punched.

"You know, I called Tachibana yesterday, and she said that she doesn't want to have anything to do with you anymore. When I spoke to her, she was really depressed, and she said that she was already sick of being with you and that she was really tired of being taken around by you."

Did she contact Tachibana after our call had ended?

I'm sure Umezawa doesn't know that Tachibana and I are dating, but seriously, is Tachibana really that depressed because of what happened yesterday? I wonder if she's properly holding out. I felt like she was still a little depressed when I talked to her yesterday, and I wanted to rush over to her side right away.

"I'll stop bullying you, and in exchange, don't get involved with Kyoko anymore, understood?"

They will stop bullying me if I say yes. That's the thing that I've been hoping for since they started bullying me.

If I answer yes, then I will be released from my days of being bullied by them.

I see, so Umezawa brought the male senpais here to threaten me and force me to say yes to her demands.

"Don't get involved with Kyoko anymore."

Umezawa's words are now repeating in my head over and over again, along with the memories of the days that Tachibana and I spent together.

To choose between being freed from being bullied by them or being together with Tachibana... I knew my answer from the start.

"No, I won't stop getting involved with Tachibana."

"Huuuuh?!"

"I'd rather be beaten up by you guys than leave Tachibana."

"You? What are you saying? Do you even know what will happen if you refuse me?"

After Umezawa said that, the people around us slowly approached me.

All five senpai are tall and have good builds. And if they attack me, I'm sure that I'll definitely get beat up.

But that doesn't matter anymore.

"Didn't I tell you that I wouldn't hand Kyoko to you!"

The captain of the basketball club said that while he glared at me.

"Why are you calling Kyoko by her first name? In the first place, she's not even your girlfriend."

The Tachibana that you like is my girlfriend. 

I then let out a laugh, knowing that he doesn't know that Tachibana is already in a relationship with me.

"What are you laughing at?!"

While saying that, he punched me again.

My face is quite numb, and I can already taste blood in my mouth.

"You guys, you know what to do."

When the captain of the basketball club gives the orders to the other senpais, Umezawa and her friends step back, and the four senpais approach us.

I am getting systematically beaten up as eight fists are taking turns punching me, but that's okay because for the first time, I followed what I wanted, and that's why I have no more regrets.

The captain of the basketball team pulls back his arm, ready to hit me again.When I thought that a fist would start moving and I would get hit again, someone rushed into the captain of the basketball club with a powerful dropkick.

When I looked at the person who did that, I saw that it was Ren.

The captain of the basketball club then falls to the ground after receiving a dropkick from Ren.

The four senpai, including Umezawa and her friends, were shocked about what had happened.

"What are you doing? You said that you would skip club activities today because you had to do something important, and here I found you getting beaten up."

Ren said that with a cool expression on his face, as if saying, "I didn't dropkick him.".

"Uhmm, I got involved in a little mess."

I can't speak really well because of the beating that I received.

"You know you can't protect Tachibana like that, right?"

Wait, how does he know my relationship with Tachibana?

"What the hell are you doing?!"

The captain of the basketball club said that angrily while he stood up.

"Who the heck are you?!"

As expected of Ren, he's not scared at all, even if he's in front of several senpai who are far taller and have better physiques than him.

It looks like they are eager to fight each other.

"Leave this place to me. You're going to Tachibana's place, right?"

It seems like Ren is able to figure out everything.

"Thank you. As expected of my best friend."

When Ren threw a roundhouse kick at one of the senpais and that senpai was blown away by the kick, I ran through the gap that it created.

"Hey! Wait!"

I heard the captain of the basketball club say that, but after a while I heard a groan.

I wonder what happened to Ren.

I heard screams and sounds of someone being beaten up behind me, but I didn't know if it was Ren's voice or the voices of the senpai and Umezawa and her friends.

I didn't look back. I just ran to the place where Kyoko is.





Note:

1. I remember now why I put this on hiatus; it's because this story was written like the sentences weren't even connected to each other and the author just put sentences together without rhyme or reason, but since my editing skills have improved, I will now continue this series.