cw: harrassment, mild violence, mentions of bullying, slur

—

it doesn't take a genius to know that kazuha is anxious.

eyes flitting outside the classroom, fingernails digging crescents into her palms, the constant shuffling of her shoes against the linoleum floor as she's unable to stand still — sakura winces at the ear-piercing screech of the shoe sole's friction against the floor.

she dislikes the fact that she knows exactly what's putting the girl on edge.

"you're looking restless," sakura points out the obvious, her eyes are fixated on kazuha's jittery figure while her hands zip up her bag with her wallet in her clutch.

"you know just... eager to go for lunch." kazuha tentatively responds, her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes, they're tight-lipped.

it's a foreign feeling when kazuha refuses to meet her eyes because other days, she would gaze deeply, constantly seeking to get lost in the labyrinth of her brown orbs. for the first time, sakura feels the clear absence of a familiar warm gaze.

"...it's that boy again, isn't it?" sakura doesn't beat around the bush, still looking at kazuha intently. her heart squeezes uncomfortably when kazuha flinches upon her words, recoiling like she'd been grazed by the blade of a knife. she hates the silence that subsequently fills the room.

sadly in every school, there's no shortage of some boys exhibiting their odd, douchebag behaviour which, in their perspective, makes them appear cooler and attractive. to whom? the monster under their bed? sakura doesn't know.

in her eyes, they were just immature fools with an unbelievable amount of audacity as their ego. if she were to compare them to rats, that would just be undermining the poor critters, because at least they don't pull the dumbest stunts just to luxuriate in short-lived attention.

there's this obnoxious boy from two classrooms ahead of theirs who's been bothering girls to no end — trying to flirt up the ones who were right up his alley, even going as far as begging, coaxing them to be his girlfriend.

unfortunately, kazuha wasn't spared of his unpleasant advances ever since she caught his eye. sure, the first few times, he was easy to shake off, but it's been a week and he's becoming more persistent in pursuing kazuha, that sakura thinks this guy is practically asking to be put in juvie.

why the hell hasn't anyone reported him? the thought alone makes sakura seethe. she's going to have a talk with the discipline master about this pressing matter later.

"yunjin said that jerk approached the two of you yesterday after practice. ugh... how many girls has he already bothered?" sakura grumbles, frown lines forming on her brows.

"...it's getting really annoying." kazuha admits, head lowered as she rubs her arm.

the blatant discomfort her girlfriend is displaying has sakura clenching her teeth, her animosity for the boy who instilled such a heartwrenching look on kazuha's face increasing tenfold.

the silence that engulfs them after is stiffling, it's clear that kazuha doesn't want to utter another word about that prick and sakura decides not to pry further. because there was no use in the built-up anger if that pesky boy isn't here right in front of her to receive the end of it.

so she takes kazuha's hand in hers to lead them out of the classroom, squeezing lightly and glancing back for reassurance. it's enough to eradicate the discomfort on kazuha's face.

"it's best we go home together later, i don't want him to show up when you're alone." sakura says, earning an immediate nod from kazuha.

to her knowledge, people like him could only take so much rejection and then it would only be a matter of time until he turns physical. it's best to stop his disturbing behaviour right now, but with how no one was standing up against him, sakura's worry only rose.

"oh! kazuha~ i'm still waiting you know!"

speak of the devil and he shows up right at your doorstep.

the girls stumble to a halt. when sakura looks back, she first registers kazuha's face blanching at the annoying voice before her narrowed eyes landed on the imp who stood behind her.

he's far from a sight for sore eyes, sakura thinks she's looking at something uncouth. he has a shrimp's backbone, tie hanging loosely around his neck it might as well have been a noose, hair unkempt and on top of that, he has an unsettling smirk on his face that sakura wants nothing more than to smack it off his unruly face.

there's another boy ghosting behind him. unlike the shrimp, he looked relatively harmless, droopy eyes with pupils fixated on the floor, indifferent. his shoulders were hunched as he trails after the boy in front of him with tangible reluctance in his steps.

at one glance, sakura knows he's just mixed in the wrong crowd, probably stuck with the pressure overwhelming him. but being an accomplice didn't make him any better.

she suddenly feels a squeeze on her hand, and watches with eyes simmering with anger as kazuha turns around with knitted brows. if even a look of disgust couldn't repel the stubborn boy, sakura figures she could show him what can. preferably, it would end up with someone hurt.

and it certainly wouldn't be her.

pleased with how kazuha's cold eyes met his, the boy grins and approaches her with languid steps.

"hey man, let's just go..."

"oh shut up, you're always whining like a baby!" he shrugs off the hand that tried to hold him back roughly, glaring at his friend who immediately clamped his mouth shut.

"kazuha, give me a chance! please? just once, i already said please." he whines like a little girl crying out for candy deliberately, so playful and casual about his gestures that it's taking everything in sakura to not shove his necktie in his mouth.

with how many students he's bothered, that filthy mouth is better off sewn.

"i told you, i'm not interested!" kazuha firmly tells him, loud and clear yet her words go straight out his ears.

"not interested in me or..." he raises a taunting brow and takes a step closer,"boys in general?"

it's sickening. watching the corners of his lips rising as he says the next words like they weigh nothing.

"no way..." his eyes expands comically, even turns to his friend who was trudging behind him and guffawed, earning looks from students who only watched them.

then he looks pointedly at kazuha with a malicious look in his eyes, that impish grin reaching his ears as he suddenly grabs kazuha's arm and yanks her.

"are you a dyke-"

whatever happened next felt like a fever dream to everyone in the vicinity.

because it ends with sakura's chest heaving, staring daggers down at the boy who looked back up at her with bulging eyes, clutching his now bloodied nose in pure disbelief. he shrieks through tear-filled eyes, the sharp pain on his face causes him to groan.

"m-my nose! you bi-"

"h-hey! the discipline master! call the discipline master! there's been a fight!" someone rational eventually makes the right call, amidst the sharp gasps and dumbfounded gazes that never once left them.

"you stay the hell away from her," sakura warns him through gritted teeth, feels her lower lip trembling because she's never done this. and aside from the fact that he's put her friends and kazuha in an uncomfortable spot multiple times, today, he crossed a line as soon as he opened his mouth.

the boy desperately backs away, the unexpected turn of events has him shaken up. his friend doesn't even move, jaw slack as he stares at sakura incredulously. when the cherry blossom glances his way, he cowers and shakes his head vigorously.

"sakura!" kazuha grabs her shoulders and when she shakes her, sakura exhales shakily, doesn't realise she's been holding her breath until she meets her girlfriend's eyes.

"h-he called you..."

"it's okay, it's okay," kazuha soothes her, warm palms cradling her cheeks, thumbs caressing her reddened skin.

when she feels the stiffness and the burn in her knuckles on her right hand, it hits her like a truck. something twists in her stomach, wringing her insides like a wet rag, feeling a bile rising in and it feels like she's swallowed the sun, burning her from inside out.

at the same time, the discipline master along with a teacher enter her peripheral vision, frantically rushing towards them but sakura pays them no mind. she shifts her eyes from kazuha's concerned face to her bruised knuckles, where crimson liquid ooze out from bits of torn skin, before her vision turns roaring black.

the boy got expelled.

or did he get suspended? caned? no one is really sure, because they don't see him around the following days and the girls who were perturbed by him had sakura to thank for that. they didn't have to worry about the discomfort he would cause them anymore.

sakura learns that they also backed her up on the case, claiming to the school leaders about the boy being a thorn in their sides and was constantly harrassing them.

and with their reasoning as fortified evidence, she was sure the boy was definitely not returning to the school anytime soon.

and in any case the school decides to give him a second chance and he still doesn't change his behaviour, sakura's left knuckles are still unharmed. either way, she hopes that when she punched him, he took a lesson along with it.

"i still can't believe you passed out right after making someone eat your fist."

of course chaewon doesn't let her breathe, munching on her chips as she sat on the desk beside sakura's.

she looks genuinely ecstatic, a sly smile drawn on her lips as though she's pleased with the fact that the sakura did the unthinkable, and was undeniably proud of it.

kazuha chuckles, smile lines visible as she wraps the last of the roller bandage around sakura's injured hand, before securing the end with a pin. it had loosened when sakura attempted to jot down notes earlier, even when she was advised not to do anything that could stress her knuckles. it's a pity she wasn't ambidextrous.

"why'd you have to word it like that..." sakura pouts, burying her face in her good hand as embarrassment is quick to cloud her head.

yunjin's laughing with a slice of apple between her teeth, she's kind enough to help sakura copy out notes from kazuha's notebook from their previous lesson.

the two spend their lunchtime in their classroom ever since the incident a couple days ago, away from peering eyes and gossiping lips. chaewon and yunjin paid their class a visit during this period of time to see how they were faring with everything going on, occasionally bringing snacks so they could share with the couple.

so it gets lively, perhaps a little too lively. at least they're a good distraction.

it's a pity that eunchae doesn't share lunch with them — being in different years — but sakura's sure she'd be fuming if she knew they were hanging out in her classroom like it's a picnic nowadays. she loves to be included with the older girls.

"he's lucky, his nose wouldn't be the only broken bone if it were me." chaewon shrugs, and sakura feels a chill down her spine, sitting all doll-like and swinging her dainty legs while those ice cold words slip out was another level of scary.

"we know chae, you'd have him six feet underground in seconds flat." yunjin laughs.

"hard to believe with all that height." sakura teases, looking at her bandages now properly secured around her hand courtesy of kazuha.

"no way you're talking," chaewon glares, an index finger pointing right at her and they all break into laughter seeing her worked up.

angry chaewon is indeed cute, but they sure as hell wouldn't want to see what those small hands are capable of. so yeah, sakura figures the boy was lucky that it hadn't been chaewon in her place.

"um... sorry to intrude,"

four pairs of eyes turn to the sole figure standing meekly at the door. with their attention trained on him so suddenly — like a mouse confronting four tigers — the boy cowers but wills himself not to scurry away upon their hard gaze.

it's the friend of that jerk, or was.

as soon as sakura recognises him, her smile is quick to dissipate into a thin line, she straightens in her seat and looks at the boy with a glare that could halt a charging bull.

sensing their inquisitive yet piercing looks, the boy frantically waves his hands in front of his face.

"i-i'm not here for trouble! really! i just wanted to uh-"

"alright dude, give us one reason not to pummel you right here right now," chaewon hops off the desk, seemingly ready to drill her fist into someone's face but yunjin puts an arm out to stop her from taking another step.

"on behalf of that idiot, we don't want suspension from being an assailant's accomplice aaand i'm pretty sure sakura doesn't want to add another one to her record..." yunjin replies instead, doesn't move an inch when chaewon glares at her.

"girls..." sakura sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. she glances at kazuha, wanting to silently ask for help to pacify their angry pupu but the girl isn't looking at her.

instead, kazuha has her eyes set on the boy who stood before them quivering in his shoes. sakura sees the slight purse of her lips and her furrowed brows, before she looks away with a huff and occupies herself by tending to sakura's bandaged hand once more.

it didn't need anymore adjustments but sakura doesn't stop her.

on the contrary, chaewon has her arms folded across her chest, her scowl per se could set someone ablaze. sakura's honestly impressed that the boy hasn't scrambled away with his tail between his legs yet. he's probably at the edge though.

"what? he's the 's friend isn't he? come to think of it, why isn't he suspended?" chaewon questions dubiously, the boy gulps nervously.

"peer pressure. he came clean about being bullied and manipulated by that jerk, said the only reason he didn't report to the school leaders was because he'd feel bad for selling out a childhood friend and believed he would change." yunjin fills her in instantly, leaning back in her seat and scrutinises the boy up and down.

chaewon scoffs, her ears just couldn't believe it.

"wow that's a load of bull, so you prioritised your own guilt over a multitude of girls getting harrassed, you're just as sick as him. and you're dumb as hell to remain friends with someone who treats you like a ragdoll. i mean, seriously are you blind-"

"i get it! please! i know that i was in the wrong so i came here to apologise directly!"

the boy interrupts her, he already came in looking guilty and now with chaewon breathing down his neck with her relentless remarks, he looked as if the floor was swallowing him up whole.

"uhuh, like that's gonna automatically heal kkura's hand." chaewon rolls her eyes, earning a frown from the boy.

"i'm sorry but... what's your deal? i really only want to talk to sakura and kazuha to apologise!" he asserts truthfully, not understanding why chaewon was meddling when he came with pure intentions and nothing of malice. it's not like he doesn't know that he definitely deserved more than a couple weeks of detention for a punishment.

"watch your tone, where was that energy when your 'childhood friend' was going around disturbing girls, huh?" chaewon bites back, yunjin grabs her elbow before she could do anything foolish. even if all she wanted to do was defend her friends and take revenge, her way was anything but the civil way.

"god's sake chaewon, sit your cute back down and let the poor dude talk. i'm sure he's learned his lesson, hm?" yunjin looks at the boy who frantically nods, appreciative of her gesture.

he dares a couple steps forward, and it's when they realise he's holding a plastic bag in his trembling hands, the group exchanged curious glances before they stare at the boy again.

"kazuha... yunjin too..." he turns to the two girls, arms stiff by his sides and bows a ninety degree.

"i'm sorry, i'm really sorry! for putting you in uncomfortable situations and not stopping him when i should have! i-i was scared... but i hope you could forgive me and it's understandable if you don't... i hate myself for allowing it to come this far."

"it's... fine," kazuha speaks up awkwardly, she doesn't particularly want to talk about what's already happened.

the boy nods firmly once, guilt eating him inside out. all those times he'd only watch from behind as his former best friend would persistently try to pursue kazuha by spouting nonsense and following her around despite her consecutive rejections, and just a few days ago he further crossed the line, he couldn't imagine the amount of anxiety she felt, afraid that if she rejected him once more day by day, he'd retaliate differently and gone to desperate measures.

sakura exhales loud enough for all their attention to turn to her, she shakes her head in disapproval and once again looks at the boy dead in the eye.

"it's not fine, actually. while i appreciate that you're reflecting on yourself and apologising, i hope you're aware that the lingering anxiety that your former friend had induced in kazuha and all the other girls won't just magically vanish with a mere apology. i'm sure you know that. all those times kazuha could have had a good night's sleep not having to worry about someone following her around like a creep in school the next day, remember that you could have prevented that." sakura tells him the hard truth, tone firm and stern as she makes sure to get her message across as she spoke on behalf of her girlfriend.

the boy hangs his head, sakura leans on her palm as she continues, but not before releasing another sigh as she muses about the unpleasant day when she was pulled into the principal's office to be questioned after she woke up with a bandaged hand.

"let me add on to what i couldn't say when we were both simultaneously questioned by the discipline master the other day while that idiot got hospitalised, when you mentioned about not wanting to sell him out," sakura squints her eyes, and the boy looks back up with glassy eyes. the other three also listened to her intently and suddenly it feels as if she's holding a therapy session of some sort.

sakura digs her chin into her palm.

"say you did 'sell him out', you do realise you would have done him a favour, because you know you'd be doing the right thing. even if it was at the cost of your friendship, a good friend knows what's good for you and doesn't hesitate on wanting to shape you into becoming a better person, especially knowing whatever you're doing is wrong. they're a good friend simply because they're leading you down the right path, it doesn't just stop at valuing your friendship. but because you didn't, your predicament went out of the frying pan and into the fire. as a result, the only person you ended up hurting is yourself while your friend remained oblivious and thrived in your ignorance. and in the process, you boys hurt other people too, it's a ripple effect."

sakura knew she hit bullseye when the boy's chin trembled uncontrollably, this time he doesn't hang his head, merely nodding weakly upon every word. the other girls could only stare at her with impressed looks, sakura ignores them and closes her long statement.

"so i forgive you, but don't expect all the girls he'd bothered to because had his actions escalated into something dire with kazuha ending up really hurt, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now and trust that you would have been in the hospital bed right beside him." sakura glowers at him fleetingly, voice laced with venom when she thought about the possibility of her girlfriend getting hurt.

a deafening silence, then a couple of sniffles escape from the boy who stood on trembling feet.

"he's... crying." yunjin points out, surprised that he was reduced to tears after listening to sakura's admonish. even chaewon could only raise her brows in amusement as she watches his shoulders shake.

"oh um, i hope you learned your lesson?" sakura scratches her cheek, unsure of what to do now. as if she didn't slap an entire chapter of life lessons across the boy's face.

he ends up apologising in rapid succession, through tears and snot and with how hard he's gripping the hem of his shirt, they've completely crumpled up from the weight of his own guilt. he also tells sakura that he admired how she had stood up for kazuha instantly, wishing he had the same bravery before and somehow, it briefly turned to him idolising her for a good minute.

"i-i hope your hand's okay... this is something like a get-well-soon gift and an ointment for your hand. kazuha, i uh, got you a soda, i'm sorry again. a-and yunjin, i didn't know you'd be here so i don't have anything else..." the boy-whose-name-shall-not-be-known musters up the courage to finally pass his 'peace offering' to the girls, he feels like absolute , but knowing that sakura would have told him to focus on improving himself instead of dwelling in the past, he keeps his chin up.

chaewon stares at the box of pocky, an ointment and a bottle of coke on sakura's desk. she takes the pocky box in hand and scrutinises it back and front before placing it back down.

"sure you didn't poison or put secret cams in this-"

"i didn't! why would i do that?!" the boy exclaims in disbelief, greatly offended at chaewon's false assumptions.

"oh now you're raising your voice at me?" chaewon snaps, nose flaring and instantly the boy regrets opening his mouth.

"oh my god chaewon, calm down! it's just pocky!" thank god for yunjin, sakura thinks, inwardly groaning at chaewon's temper.

it's unbelievable that she's the one with an assault record and not chaewon (all that temper and she has none!).

"tastes fine to me," sakura says, already opened the box with one chocolate stick halfway in . she offers kazuha one but the girl shakes her head.

"you're already eating it?!" chaewon gapes at the older girl.

"i got nothing else to say, just that i'd choose my friends better next time if i were you." sakura shrugs, shoving another chocolate stick into .

"yeah... i'm really sorry again... i'll do better." the boy says, sakura doesn't know why he's standing at attention with pink cheeks, probably from all that shame and crying.

when he's still lingering awkwardly with eyes glancing at her, sakura shoots him a questioning look,"...what? is there anything else?"

"i um... it's nothing! nevermind!" he responds too quick, pink cheeks now turning a shade darker as he looks away in panic.

"you're letting him off easy," chaewon rolls her eyes.

"chaewonie, i don't really hold grudges. i've said what i needed to say and he seems adamant to change." sakura points out, noting that he was definitely sincere in his apologies and resolve to change. moreover, she's never made a boy cry his eyes out before...

"well, i do. i wanna have a little chitchat with you- hey! where the hell are you going?!" chaewon yells out when the boy suddenly whips around to run out the classroom.

"y-you're scary! i'm sorry!"

his screams fill the corridors as soon as chaewon chases after him, hot on his heels.

"ah! don't hurt him chaewon!" kazuha exclaims, doubts that the girl could even hear her so she sighs.

"yeaahhh... i'll go with her, in case she goes all hulk on that poor dude. that girl does not know mercy." yunjin takes one chocolate stick and starts walking backwards to the exit before turning around to capture an angry pupu on the loose.

"please keep her at bay, yunjin..." kazuha feels dizzy, she's not sure if it's from the lack of sleep these days, her girlfriend getting hurt on behalf of her, and now chaewon's stubborn self was chasing that poor boy down for another interrogation session.

yeah, it's probably the accumulation of all that.

"strange. why'd he give a lot of stuff to me and just water to you? it feels like he's got us mixed up." sakura says out of the blue, gaze lingering at the door before she shrugs and chews on her snack nonchalantly.

at this, kazuha broods. unlike sakura, she's aware how her girlfriend's brave front had garnered her a lot of... admirers. and apparently, that boy was one of them who had taken a liking to her girlfriend. to him, she probably was a miracle who granted him a way out of a neverending maze. she couldn't blame him, or any of them for that matter because it's not like they know sakura's taken.

"he totally didn't..." she mumbles under her breath, glaring weakly at the soda she's been gifted.

"you say something?" sakura leans in to hear her better but kazuha doesn't repeat herself, instead she kisses sakura's cheek and watches with ease as the girl pulls away in pleasant surprise, ears turning red.

"i said thank you, you were cool scolding him like that."

"you already thanked me sooo many times the other day." sakura waves a dimissive hand and ignores the praise but she blushes.

she recalls the day when she had passed out because she was shaken up from her own bizarre actions (but she never regretted it), kazuha's tear-stained face was the first thing she saw when she came to, followed by a bone-crushing hug and strings of apologies and gratification.

she knew kazuha wasn't someone who cried easily, but when her girlfriend saw her fainting right in front of her eyes and then watching her wake up with a wound which had signified that she protected her, the dam just broke.

"it's stupid that you got a week-long detention, i'm really annoyed." kazuha pouts, dropping her head on sakura's shoulders, playing with the tips of sakura's fingers that peeked out of the bandages.

"ah that's nothing, i narrowly escaped from suspension you know." the older girl says and chuckles, patting kazuha on her back.

a week-long detention meant no walking home together and she sure as hell wasn't going to make kazuha wait knowing her tendencies. she was going to tell her girlfriend to get her well-deserved sleep.

"you smashed his face in with this small hand, you're very strong." kazuha marvels at the revelation once more, gently lifting her injured hand, earning a groan from the cherry blossom who pushes her away.

"don't say it like that... you make me sound like a brute..." sakura juts out her lower lip and huffs, her breath shooting up and her bangs becoming disarrayed.

"and no i'm not strong, my hand hurts so bad, zuhaaaa..." she whines, leaning all her weight against her girlfriend as the corners of her lips pulled down in a frown, closing her eyes and feigns crying sounds that causes kazuha to giggle at her reaction.

"chaewon better had not lay a hand on that dude, i do not wanna get in trouble again..." sakura grouses, when she opens her eyes, kazuha's looking at her weirdly.

"what? why are you looking at me like i summoned the spawn of satan?"

"you have now idea what you've awakened. now that someone like you holds an assault record, chaewon probably puts you on a pedestal." kazuha shakes her head.

"first of all, don't glorify an assault record! and second, what do you mean someone like me??" sakura nudges her shoulder against kazuha's, looking at her with an offended look.

"i mean look at you? you don't look like you'd hurt a fly to be honest..." kazuha's eyes ran her up and down, this studious-looking girl who was inches shorter than and smaller than her couldn't have possibly hurt someone else, but here they are.

in her defense, she did it out of instinct to stick up for a loved one. shows how much a person would do for you if you meant the world to them.

"you're talking about yourself,"

"what do you mean? i'm brave, i can be very..." kazuha inhales and puffs out her chest, eyebrows creasing,"intimidating."

sakura throws her head back and laughs airily.

"not so brave when you left me behind at the haunted house last summer huh?" she makes her girlfriend remember and hits a nerve, watching with suppressed giggles as kazuha shrinks in her seat and looks away in embarrassment.

"are you still hung up on that? i apologised so many times... you know how i am with horror stuff."

"you're so cute, now do you understand why i'd protect you?" sakura grins, pinching kazuha's cheek and stretching them playfully.

kazuha grunts, turns away from sakura's hold to hide the blush that dusted her cheeks. sakura giggles at her shyness and leans into her side again, sighing in content when her cheeks rest on warm shoulders.

"anyway, i can't believe your mom's cool with all this. she wasn't even angry at you or scolded you for punching someone."

sakura hums, grinning widely when kazuha snakes an arm around her waist.

"why would she be? apart from the fact that i broke some guy's nose, deserved i say, she knew that i was just protecting you in case that dude tried anything."

she was far from a violent person, and what kazuha said might as well have been the truth — that she wouldn't hurt a fly. but the moment that boy — who had implanted a surmount of unease and dread into kazuha and dimmed her bright smiles — grabbed her and worse, called her such derogatory term, it was sakura's breaking point. in the end, she reacted before she could even clearly think.

according to kazuha, when her mom was called into the office for confrontation and saw her unconscious, along with her bleeding, purplish hand wrapped with cold compress, she immediately questioned the teachers (to everyone's surprise) present in the room in utter disbelief, on why her daughter wasn't also being sent to the hospital for immediate treatment.

she couldn't believe they prioritised useless questioning, which could be done the day after, over her daughter was in need of medical attention. when sakura regained consciousness hours later and returned home after a teary exchange with her girlfriend, she had half-expected to get an earful from her mom.

instead of chastising her after hearing her side of story and how the boy had been a thorn in kazuha's side, her mom was merely proud that she stood up willingly without an ounce of hesitance for a friend.

sakura chortles as she relives the memory.

"you know what's funnier though? when my little brother found out, he was so angry he wanted to personally give that jerk a beating of his own." sakura looks up, chest blooming when she sees the warm smile occupying kazuha's face again. just like how it should be.

"you've got a feisty, protective little brother." kazuha giggles, gently bumping their heads.

"no but seriously, i think you could have been in the ufc or wwe. you packed a mean punch."

"please stop... i just lectured a dude about influence..."

while the incident made her appear like some kind of 'heroine' in people's eyes, it also garnered her odd, judgmental looks from the handful who couldn’t hide that they disapproved her actions.

they stare at her as if she was a ruffian of some sort — in disbelief that someone widely known as scholarly and as poise as sakura, had pulled a barbaric feat.

it was a pill that was hard for them to swallow, but ultimately, they didn't matter.

"i really don't like that they look at you as if you killed their dogs or burned their houses."

"ah leave 'em be, i'd probably react the same."

kazuha huffs in annoyance, she catches another pair of eyes looking their way — sharp and accusing — it leaves a bad taste in . when they refuse to look away, she simply stares back, eyes in slits and lips upturned. and when they falter as discomfort seeps into their skin like their irksome gazes had done to the couple, they frantically turn their heads and scramble out of her sight.

it's a pain that the interclass games just had to be a week right after the whole incident — no doubt it caused an uproar amongst the school and despite being a week old incident, it still headlines students’ conversations, much to kazuha’s dismay.

on the other hand, sakura never bothered to appease the havoc that centered around her, simply letting time do its thing and hopes in another week or two, it would be forgotten.

for now, wherever she wandered in the sports hall — past the different classes of their cohort — her ears would occasionally catch her name in people’s mouths somewhere. and while sakura gave little to zero effs about it, she noticed that kazuha’s serve hits during the rally with the opposing class were getting much harder than the last, that she’s afraid their opponent might take one directly to the face.

they’re prepping for the volleyball game now — having just finished watching chaewon and yunjin’s class absolutely destroy one of the other classes — and if sakura and kazuha’s class wins this game, they would be up against the other two for the next round.

which was supposed to be exciting for the most part, kazuha’s been looking forward to it for a while now especially since the three of them are from the school’s volleyball girls' team. though with the commotion involving the incident, she’s only been frowning all week, subconsciously driving nosy students away with her glares when they stare at sakura too long.

if they aren’t staring, they’ll be running their mouths. kazuha dislikes this the most.

the class that they’re currently up against is a good example of exhibit a:

“i’ve seen bizarre , but the teacher’s pet putting someone in the hospital is out of my damn expectations!”

“she’s gotta be insane, punching a dude’s face in like that,”

“right, i don’t even know why someone as brutal as that is a model student of our school, we’re so ruined girl…”

“she’s got boys grovelling at her feet, my freaking crush included! ugh, what an attention-seeking whor-“

the thunderous sound of a ball striking the polished wooden floor turns heads at the speed of lightning. countless eyes direct their gazes towards the court, hushed whispers among the student audience replaced the loud chatters.

at the sidelines, sakura remains still in her seat, frozen with wide eyes as everyone’s attention falls upon their side of the court.

“you’re in the way.” kazuha glowers at the two girls on the other side of the court where the opposing class resides, they were among the few who were standing to spectate the game.

kazuha doesn’t apologise, recovering from her landing form right after spiking the ball her opponent had served during their practice rally.

sakura’s lips twitch, knowing full well it wasn’t a blunder shot because she knew kazuha’s aim was better than that. and the fact that she was supposed to lob the ball back straight instead of sending it earthward out of the court where she nearly downed one of the girls standing around.

she witnessed how the ball landed right behind them, barely grazing past one of the girls whose hair flew back due to the formidable force.

kazuha looks at them intently for a second longer, her lips pressed in a thin line. then she nonchalantly turns back to the opponent’s server (who’s gawking at her in disbelief) and raises a dismissive hand as a half-assed apology before going back to their final practice rally.

her unexpected display of spiking strength with a ‘blunder shot’ despite being a setter was enough for the opposing team’s confidence to falter.

sakura sighs when one of kazuha’s volleyball teammates from the opposing class merely whistled in awe, chuckling and clapping silently, obviously not a stranger to kazuha’s hitting power as she watches the two girls shake in their spot afterwards. the amused grin on her face tells sakura that she clearly vouched for kazuha’s actions, which mind you, effectively shut the two girls up immediately.

when the sports coach blew his whistle to signify the start of another match, the scowl on kazuha’s face was instantly replaced with a wide, exhilarated grin, happy to be up against one of her club members who mirrored her excitement.

unsurprisingly, sakura and kazuha’s class won.

"you guys sure showed them," sakura tells her later, handing kazuha a bottle of cold water.

from her periphery, their team are celebrating their victory, huddling around as they hopped in elation. the rest of their classmates sprung out of their seats as they cheered for the playing team.

“heh, can i get a reward later?” kazuha grins, a hint of mischief in that smile of hers, a finger pointing to her lips.

sakura rolls her eyes and wags a finger.

“nope, not after you almost headshotted someone, that was dangerous you know.”

kazuha’s shoulders slumped, smile turning upside down. she gulps down the cold water, feeling the heat rising in her neck when she thinks back about the gossip between the two girls.

“…you know i missed deliberately. plus, they talked about you nonstop it got on my nerves.” she says, letting her eyes scan across the court, notices that the two were nowhere in sight.

okay, she might have scared them off, so what? she couldn’t just let them trash talk sakura like that, and even if her girlfriend didn’t show that she was afflicted by their insolent comments, kazuha herself was.

“zuha, it’s not worth it. i know it’s big coming from me after literally putting someone in the hospital but still, it’ll pass. let’s not have matching records, yeah?” sakura places a comforting hand on her shoulder, thumbs massaging lightly into kazuha’s skin.

“okay, you’re right… but still,” the taller girl breathes, mouth parted to continue her sentence but sakura pulls her down by her wrist and suddenly they’re both sitting.

the coach’s whistle goes off, and another match between two different classes begins.

"i can't take back what i've done, and honestly those idiots can say whatever, i really don’t care because their trash talk was nothing compared to the boy’s actions and words. it was something so unforgivable to me that when i did what i did,” sakura turns to her, gaze turning soft,”all i thought about was protecting you, zuha."

something squeezes her hand, when kazuha glances down it’s sakura’s uninjured hand grasping hers while its twin lay still on her lap, thick due to the bandages that continuously wrapped around the small hand she loves to hold.

looking at it now, bulky and bigger than her own hand, kazuha feels her chest constricting.

"you know why?” sakura tilts her head and motions her to look up when she notices her downcast eyes, she smiles gently when kazuha finally glances up and listens.

“because it's scary to just think what if i hadn't, would you be okay just as you are now, would you still be happy, did i do well protecting that smile i cherish so much, i think about you like this and then the feeling of wanting nothing to taint that pretty smile of yours just intensifies.”

i mean that much to someone, to her. and truth be told, kazuha can’t even form words to say anything back. not when sakura’s eyes that deeply gaze into hers speak of so many emotions, delivering more than passing statements could.

bonus

sakura loses the bandages three weeks after, and all that’s left is the remnants of the incident that had carved itself into her knuckles. kazuha would trace her thumbs gently across the slightly coarse skin, between uneven curves and crevices — her caresses seem to whisper that she would always be there for her through ups and downs.

"are my hands like stress balls to you?" sakura brings up half-jokingly, leaving her hands in kazuha’s care (or entertainment, she isn’t sure).

it’s no surprise to sakura that kazuha likes holding her hands, being the one between the two of them who’s more fond of physical affection. but recently, the taller girl seems to be holding her hand a lot.

"no, but they remind me of plushies. soft and small." kazuha places her palm against sakura’s, giggles at the obvious difference.

"small." sakura deadpans.

"yes. small, tiny." kazuha nods, smiling brightly.

sakura chuckles, despite kazuha basically saying that her hands were akin to those of babies.

"okay i get it, but it's enough to hold the world at least," sakura shrugs, pulling her hands out of kazuha’s clutch and waves them in front of their faces.

"the world? now you're exaggerating-"

"my world." sakura suddenly says, with her palms cradling kazuha’s cheeks, lips curled up in a loving smile as she looks at her girlfriend with a gaze so tender.

kazuha becomes motionless in her palms, eyes wide and lips puckered as small hands held her face, clearly taken by surprise from the sudden proximity and unbelievably smooth flirting.

"ah, too much?" sakura sheepishly laughs when she realises that kazuha was in a state of stupor, neck turning red from embarrassment.

"i think… i need a moment to cool down..." kazuha barely chokes out, a tremulous smile on her lips and now the blush has spread violently to her face.

“i flirt with you one time and you’re this giddy? just how much do you like me?”

“can you say that again? i want it as my ringtone-“

“kazuhaaaa..."