Running Solo

Chapter 2 - The Bully And The Coward

"Finally found you, Midoriya-kun." a harsh voice sneered. It was two of my classmates, Kanish Otoru and Shigari Koshinuke.

"W-what do y-you w-want, Kanish-kun?" I asked in a shaky voice as I stood up. My knees were already buckling and I could feel my whole body shaking in fear and helplessness.

"Haha! That's a good one!" Kanish said with a laugh as he walked closer. Shigari trailed hesitantly behind. "What do I want? I'm just here to remind you what a loser you are! Ha!" he said gleefully. His expression darkened a little as he stopped just a few feet away from me. "You made it very hard to find you. You weren't in any of your usual places. Took a lot of asking around to find you." Kanish chuckled darkly. "You know how much I hate having to ask for help." he said, taking a step closer. "I might just have to beat you for that." Kanish said triumphantly, taking another step towards me. "Right, Shigari-kun?" he said, looking back at his friend.

"Uhhh... I don't-" Shigari started. Kanish glared at him. "Y-yeah..." Shigari mumbled regretfully.

A part of me felt bad for Shigari. He'd been bullied just like I had because his quirk had manifested late. Kanish was the only reason Shigari wasn't bullied anymore and had any friends. I understood that Shigari didn't want to jeopardise that. I also knew that Shigari was afraid of Kanish. That was understandable. Most of our class was. In our class, only Kacchan's quirk came anywhere close to matching Kanish's.

"Please," I begged as my body trembled. "Not today. Please just leave me alone." I pleaded. My voice trembled with my body and my lip quivered with emotion.

"Aww, is the baby gonna cry already?" Kanish mocked. "We haven't even had any fun yet." he said. There was a cruel smile on his face and a glint in his eye.

Kanish stepped closer. He was now close enough to touch me. I took a fearful step back, my body moving before I could stop it. I looked behind Kanish at Shigari. My eyes begged him to help me. I had stood up for him many times and taken quite a few beatings for him. Shigari just looked down. I guess he was too much of a coward to return the favor. As usual, I was on my own.

"I'm actually kind of happy you were up here. There's a lot less people around and I won't have to worry about getting caught." Kanish said, smiling cruelly. He quickly grabbed my wrist and started squeezing.

"Agh!" I cried out in pain and surprise. I whimpered softly as Kanish increased the pressure.

Compared to all of the other beatings I'd taken, him squeezing my wrist was nothing. However, Kanish's quirk could trick the brain and increase or decrease nerve sensitivity. When used for good, his quirk could have helped him reduce pain levels and make him more sensitive to touch, allowing him to feel things that others couldn't. When Kanish used it cruelly, like he often did, he could increase the feeling of pain up to three times. He could also make himself feel nothing when the rare kid fought back. I couldn't help but be impressed by the control Kanish had of his quirk, the same way I couldn't help but admire Kacchan's strength, his resolve, and his amazing quirk.

"Shigari-kun, come hold him." Kanish demanded as he tightened his grip on my wrist.

"Aak!!!" I let out a choked noise.

It felt like he was breaking my wrist. Shattering it into pieces. However, when Kanish let go of my wrist there was nothing more than a few red marks from his fingers. I cradled my wrist as Shigari reluctantly walked over to stand behind me. He grabbed my arms hesitantly and slowly pulled them behind my back. I winced as my wrist throbbed. Shigari held my arms behind me keeping a firm, but gentle, hold on them. We both knew that I couldn't fight back. My wrist throbbed again and I realized that I still had my notebook in my hands. Why hadn't Shigari taken it from me?