Tokyo Revengers; Reminiscence

Chapter 2

Sano Mizuki P.O.V.

I watch Shinichiro working on a bike. I'm quiet as is he, though he asked me to come. "Manjiro told me you were crying again" he says after a long while. I click my tongue annoyed. "Are you being bullied at school, Mizuki?" Shinichiro asks. "No" I say. Shinichiro looks at me, and I look away. "Maybe a little" I say softly. "A little huh?" Shinichiro says standing up. "And what is a little?" He asks, sitting down next to me and lighting a cigarette. I shrug. "Apparently it's not a little when you're crying at home now is it?" Shinichiro asks, blowing out a cloud of smoke. "It doesn't matter really, niisan" I say. "Of course it does" he answers. I don't respond for a while, so Shinichiro doesn't say anything as well. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asks softly. "I didn't want to bother you" I say. "Bother me? Mizuki you could never bother me" Shinichiro says. He puts his arm around me, pulls me against him. "You should tell me these things. You don't have to shoulder them alone" Shinichiro says softly. "There's nothing you can do anyway" I mumble. "There's plenty I can do Mizuki" He says amused. "It's just high school" I say, looking up at my brother. Shinichiro blows out smoke again before he looks at me. "Yes it's just high school" he says. "But you should still enjoy it at least a little bit" Shinichiro adds. "I do" I say softly.  Silently Shinichiro smokes his cigarette before he extinguish it. "I know I told you before that it's our job to always take care of Manjiro and Emma because we're the oldest" he says as he blows out the last cloud of smoke. "But you are also my younger sister. It's my job to take care of you as well" he says. Shinichiro looks at me. "I'm sorry I didn't notice before" he says. I raise my eyebrows slightly. "You have nothing to apologize for" I say, raising my eyebrows. Shinichiro puts his hand on my head. "I haven't taken proper care of you" he says. "You have" I mumble, pushing his hand away. Shinichiro chuckles. "Have you tried beating them up. You've been training at the dojo enough" he says. "It will only make me seem uglier" I shrug. "Uglier? Do they call you ugly?" Shinichiro asks. I nod. "Hm guess they're blind huh?" He asks.

I'm hidden near the school pool, as it's lunchtime. It's spring time, the Sakura blossoms are blooming beautifully still, and the sun is shining bright. I like how it reflects on the water so I'm often here during lunch, reading manga. I'm a little surprised when I hear voices coming this way, especially since two of them are classmates. "Oh, it's just ugly Sano. We can have her go away in no time" one of them says. "Why do you call her ugly Sano?" A voice I don't recognize asks. "Well.." the other classmate says, but the voice interrupts him. "She got tits, a nice ass and a tiny waist. She even has a somewhat pretty face. Why do you call her ugly Sano?" He asks. "Well, she really was a troll in middle school" classmate 1 says, and I sigh softly as I turn my gaze back to my manga. "Hello" I hear in front of me, and I look up. A tall teenager stands in front of me. His uniform is somewhat unkempt and his blonde hair is in pigtails. He doesn't really have a mean expression on his face, but the sharp look in his violet eyes reveal that he is a dangerous person. He obviously is a delinquent. "can I sit here?" He asks. "Go ahead" I say softly, he sits down. "What's your name?" He asks. "Sano Mizuki, what's yours?" I ask. "Haitani Ran. Nice to meet you. Can I call you Mizuki-chan?" Ran asks. "Sure" I mumble. Ran smiles slightly, though it's not a kind smile. "Why do they call you ugly Sano?" He asks. I shrug. "Beats me" I say, looking at the pool. "I don't understand it either." Ran says, looking at the two classmates. "I haven't seen you before" I say. Ran grins. A mean grin. "I had to start a little late. These idiots are my classmates and were asked to show me around" Ran says. "They're my classmates as well" I say, looking up at them. "Oh so we're classmates too. Can't you take over from them? I'd rather have a pretty girl show me around" Ran says. Our classmates seem somewhat annoyed by this. But before I can answer the bell rings. Another grin appears on Ran's face, but I stand up and grab my bag. "Guess I'll see you inside" I say, then quickly walk away.

"Niisan" I say softly, sitting down next to Shinichiro on the engawa. "Hmm?" He asks, looking at me. "It really hurts when they call me ugly, and bully me" I say softly, looking down at my lap. Shinichiro doesn't respond but I hear him blowing out the smoke he just inhaled. Then I feel his arm around me, and his hand on my waist as he pulls me against him. "I'm sorry about that Mizuki" he says softly. "Yesterday it seemed like you didn't care about it that much" he adds. "I didn't. I was used to it since middle school. But someone came over and talked to me today. Saying to the others that he didn't understand why they were calling me names, and I realized that I feel very lonely" I say, placing my hand on my chest. "They've been bullying you since middle school?" Shinichiro asks. I nod. "Mizuki" He sighs. "Why didn't you tell me? I'm sorry I never noticed" he says. I don't respond and wipe my cheeks with my other hand. Shinichiro presses a kiss on top of my head. "I'm sorry you didn't get the attention of me that you deserve. I promise I'll do better" he says. "Manjiro and Emma need it more" I sniffle, wiping my nose with my sleeve. "Don't say that" he says, ruffling up my hair. I don't respond. "So, you made a friend today huh?" Shinichiro asks after a while. "I wouldn't call him a friend immediately" I say shrugging. "He al least made the effort to talk to me" I add. I finally lean against my brother. "A guy huh? Does he seems kind?" Shinichiro asks. I chuckle. "No" I say. "No?" He laughs surprised. "I've been hanging around you and your friends long enough that I can smell a delinquent from afar" I say. Shinichiro laughs. "Well, a delinquent can be a very good friend" he says. "Yeah I know" I mumble. "Shinichiro" Mikey says as he walks up to us. "Grandpa is calling for you" he says. Shinichiro puts the cigarette in the ashtray beside him, presses a kiss on my head then stands up and walk away. Mikey sits down beside me. "Who is hurting you, Neesan?" He asks. I smile and put my hand on his head, ruffling his hair. "No one" I say. "I want you to tell me" Mikey says, looking up at me. "It doesn't matter" I say smiling.