I will protect Chie no matter what!
But, thanks to that interruption earlier by that student council member, I'm far behind them. Only knowing where I should go by catching a quick glimpse of that punk turning around the corner. I need to speed up!
Turning another corner, I see him at the end of this long corridor with all the science classrooms.
He was headed to the garden area outside on the right side. Geez, this school is way too big for its own good, why do they need so many labs, or any of these long hallways anyway!?
I took a deep breath and then prepared for another run. But right when I was about to begin my impulse, I was completely halted by one of the doors opening.
A tall woman with swith short pinkish hair that covers her right eye, wearing her lab coat comes out of that door…
Wait, that's the science teacher, Miss Yuka! She just left her lab!? She never leaves it, why now of all times!?
I had to downgrade my running to a fast walk, hoping she wouldn't notice me at the opposite side of the hallway, but it was all for naught. She almost instantly noticed me after closing the door, and I just froze up.
Miss Yuka had a confused look on her face, is it because she knew classes had already started? Does she think I'm skipping classes? Am I going to be detained!?
As these questions floated in my head, her expression turned into a very gentle, almost creepy, smile. I began to shake and sweat profusely seeing this, "It's all over, I'm done for!" I thought.
Wait!
No, no, no! There's still a chance, I can still salvage this, maybe she thinks I was just passing by and going to my class! Yeah, play with this narrative Seiko! I just need to act friendly and continue walking, and as soon as she breaks line of sight, I make a run for it!
And so, I put my plan into action, walking forward while making a waving motion and forcing a friendly smile back to her. She waves back at me and prolonged this nerve wracking moment.
The brief second she turned and broke line of sight, I took the opportunity and ran as fast as humanly possible out that hallway, I was gone in a flash. Hopefully it was fast enough that she didn't see me.
Finally at the garden, after passing through all the obstacles that were in my way, I can finally see them clearly.
That punk, standing right in front Chie's face, casting a heavy shadow over her. "It was you, wasn't it?" he asks in a threatening tone. Chie, against the wall, terrified and shaking, unable to answer that question. Did she do something? No, that can't be it, she probably did nothing and he just wants a reason to pick on her. I'm not gonna let him bully Chie!
I took a deep breath and began to walk towards both of them.
"Hey, stop picking on her you bully! Can't you see she's terrified!?"
"Huh!? Who- Wh-what are YOU doing here!?"
"I'm here to protect her from YOU."
"Protect!? What do you mean protect, is your bird brain acting up again?"
"I can tell by your attitude, you're up to no good."
"I'm not gonna let you mess with her!"
"Bully!?"
"P-please stop…"
"I'm not trying to pick on her! I just wanted to tha-" He suddenly stops and gets a little flustered, "No! Wh-why should I tell you!?"
We continued the back and forth, raising the tension further.
"I won't let you do anything to her!"
"I'm not going to hurt her! Why do you keep bothering me!?"
"ENOUGH!"
Her scream echoed through the garden, shortly fading to the silence of the wind colliding with the fauna around us… She broke our arguing and left us speechless…
Chie crumbles to the ground, making a thump sound during the landing.
"Ch-Chie, are you okay?"
"I-Im fine…"
"Seiko… Ple-please don't fight over this, I don't want to see anyone hurt over something I did…"