1.6

Yuuko Hanazawa is a good girl

‘You know what separate the greats from the rest, the greats act’

That was what her deadbeat father always said as he was drunk. She didn’t mind, him busy philosophising meant he was not beating mother and brother.

Then that day came, and the girl would never be bothered by him ever again.

This time, Yuuko Hanazawa returned home from school by herself. Last night, the girl brought up the parents’ meeting and as expected, her brother would be too busy to attend. This was nothing new and yet, Yuuko had been feeling rather down for the whole day now.

She remembered the night of her birthday which was just last week. Brother hugged her, he was shaking slightly. That was the first time ever since mother died that she saw him sentimental in front of her. Yuuko thought things would be different after that night. But it was just wishful thinking.

While the girl was deep in thought, a van was approaching. Yuuko realised it too late as a pair of hands smothered her and dragged the girl in.

Inside were three thugs, on at the wheel and a familiar face.

“Sakura?” Yuuko grunted.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you interfere!” Sakura said, fear on her face.

Maromi must have told Sakura that they had found out her dealings. Yuuko knew that her friend probably said it out of concern.

“Is this really necessary?” Asked on of the thug as he bound Yuuko’s hands with a pair of handcuffs “She is just a school girl”

“You don’t understand, once Yuuko decided on something, she would not step down” Sakura answered, looking down on her old friend. Inside her were many conflicting feelings. She didn’t want to hurt Yuuko but… no, if she was to be found out, her life over “I’m sorry” She muttered, avoiding eyes contact with her victim.

“I still don’t understand why this is needed but oh well, I am not complaining” The other thug in the back seat said, licking his lips as he gazed upon the high school girl’s skirt. Realising the futility of the situation, she was not thrashing around as he had expected. This would be an easy score.

The other one held Yuuko down by her head, holding up a syringe “Stay still girl, this won’t hurt at all” He said with malice in his voice “Quite a looker, I’m sure your AV would be a hit. Maybe you will enjoy it even, hah”

The syringe came down near her neck. In Yuuko mind, the word of her deadbeat father rang.

‘You know what separate the greats from the rest, the greats act’

Yuuko squeezed down on her hand and a dry crack sound resonated within the van. The thug looked down in confusion as a broken hand was aimed straight at his eye. He recoiled back in pain as blood spurted from his head. With her remaining hand still in cuff, Yuuko grabbed the syringe. Before the other thug could reach for her, the girl drove the item into the driver’s arm and dragged the wheel as hard as she could.

The van our of control and crashed against a street light, Yuuko was flung out of the windshield, having thrown herself at it.

She stood up, her hands screaming out in pain. One of them was broken, crushed enough to squeeze through the cuff. Both filled with glass shards, bleeding all over. Having never felt such intense pain, Yuuko wanted to scream out and cry.

The girl bit her lips, no this was not the time to cry. The thugs would be after her soon. Yuuko recognised this route as she staggered to the nearest phone booth. Her side was screaming out in agony, however, having impacted against the road. The girl limped forward, at this rate, they would catch up to her. There should be a hardware store nearby.

Yuuko slid the door open and entered. Inside, the lone clerk greeted her.

“Welcom… what’s wrong!”

He was frightened, and he should be. A girl with a broken bloodied hand, the other in cuff also drenched in red just entered the store. The clerk reached for the phone.

“Just wait there, I will call an ambulance for you”

Yuuko grabbed his hand and looked straight into his eyes. She tried to look as weak and desperate as possible. This was unpleasant, but she needed his help.

“Don’t, there’s no time, they are coming. I need your help” She darted her eyes around and saw the cleaning bucket, filled with water “Please grab this and hid behind the counter!”

The clerk wasn’t a remarkable man in any mean. But there was a girl in distress leaning on him, this awakened an instinct within him. Of course, he would help the damsel. The clerk grabbed the bucket and hid. Meanwhile, Yuuko made a beeline for the Sellotape and limped to the back of the store.

When the two thugs busted into the place, they could see her, leaning at the back door.

“You shouldn’t have run like that, now I will make sure you feel it all. You have no idea what I want to do with that body of your” One of them said, clutching his bloodied eye, his words filled with rage.

They rushed toward, determined on tearing the frail and pure flower ahead.

With an ice-cold gaze, Yuuko raised her broken hand. A torch taped to it, with her intact thumb, the girl lit the fire. These low-lives thrived on weakness, she shall show none. They wanted her, only fiery judgement ahead. With her remaining hand, the girl raised a spray.

The gears inside the thugs’ brain turned too slow as Yuuko refused to hesitate.

‘You know what separate the greats from the rest, the greats act’

A stream of flame shot out like a fiery dragon. The two thugs were shrouded in fire as they ran back, their eyes blinded. Yuuko gave her order calmly.

“Now”

The clerk rose up from behind the counter and dumped the bucket onto the thugs’ path. They slipped and collapsed to the floor with a thundering thud. Not waiting for a second, Yuuko grabbed the shelf and threw it onto the two whimpering messes. Inside her, there was a slight disappointment that it didn’t crush their empty skulls. The girl held back from stomping on the shelf. The police would soon arrive, she had sent a passer-by to them.

Yuuko cut the cuff left the store, but not before giving the clerk a kiss on the cheek.

She felt strangely nonchalant about using and manipulating him like that. He stood there in a daze, this was the first time a girl had kissed him. The clerk turned back to ask for her name, but she was gone, just as sudden as her arrival.

Outside, the police made their way to the store, Yuuko avoided them just in time. She encountered a familiar face in the alleyway, it was Sakura.

“Don’t worry, I don’t intend on reporting you to the police” Yuuko said coldly, her eyes as empty as the void “They would take you away and Maromi would be sad. But if you pull something like this again, the police would be the last thing you should fear”

Sakura fell to the ground, the person in front of her wasn’t the Yuuko she once knew. Who was this person, devoid of empathy, a ruthless being? What happened to this girl.

Or had this side of Yuuko Hanazawa always been there…

Despite facing with only one girl, Sakura was overwhelmed by fear. The girl whimpered, a wet puddle formed under her.

Yuuko walked past her without a care in the world. She needed to reach a clinic for her broken bones and the bleeding. There was something wrong though, something Yuuko couldn’t quite put her finger on.

The girl looked down to see her legs shaking, her breath soon ran shallow.

What was going on? Yuuko leaned on the alley wall and collapsed alone. She was shivering, a panic attack soon overwhelmed the young girl. All the thoughts she had been suppressing flooded in like a broken dam. To be pushed down, to be cuffed, to be rendered powerless. It was nothing but frightening.

And that was without mention what would happened if she failed. Her mind was filled with all the possibilities. All the despicable acts that would be committed on her, and they would be filmed as an eternal reminder of her humiliation.

Yuuko was shivering in fear, the adrenaline rush was over and she was just a high school girl.

“Onii…san” She curled up, holding her legs “I’m… scared”

Tears welling up but before a drop could escape, Yuuko held back.

“No… I can’t be like this” The girl muttered to herself. Brother had sacrificed his life for her, working himself away so she could live a peaceful life. Just like mother before who died from overworking…

She couldn’t be scared, no, she was not allowed to. That would be a bother to brother.

Wasn’t that why Yuuko had avoided the police? He would have to spend time for their inquiries, then she would be a bother.

‘Yuuko is a good girl, Yuuko is a good girl, Yuuko is a good girl’

All these injuries were because she fell down the stair, yes, because of that and nothing else. ‘Yuuko is a good girl’. She couldn’t cry here, then her eyes would be red. Brother would notice, then he would be worried, then she would be a bother. ‘Yuuko is a good girl’

The girl limped to the nearest clinic, having suppressed her shaking. Soon, even fear and pain were smothered, only nothingness remained. She continued to mutter again and again. Like a chant, one to numb her soul, to remind her not to be a bother.

“Yuuko is a good girl. Yuuko is a good girl. Yuuko is a good girl”