OBJECTIFY

What was that just now?

Yoshikawa looked back at the tall boy walking away.

First he gave a tried to ignore me, placed a finger on my lips, said such words and just taking off?

Her heart was pounding a bit from the earlier proximity, she was able to get a good look at his face.

Leaving her with mixed feelings.

Usui was the only person to give me such feelings before, but why am I feeling like this way now too?

She looks around the courtyard, noticing a lot of different people's gazes on her after what just occurred.

Maybe I really didn't fall hard for Mr. Sato as I had thought…

Her eyes soften a little at the thought.

Am I really that kind of girl? One that fall for such things so easily to get my heart racing?

I thought I had found the one when my heart beat like that the moment I laid my eyes on Mr. Sato…

A feeling of disgust and shame began to rise within the white haired girl.

The feeling of being so vulnerable and swooned by another man like that made her feel so ashamed, thinking that her feelings may not have been as real as she hoped for.

I'm the worst…

She began to walk inside towards her the shoe locker silently, lost in thought of how she's feeling.

Her silver eyes was looking down at the floor as she changed into her school shoes, a clean white pair.

Is it really all it takes to win me over is just some handsome looks and good listening skills?

Sigh.

Honestly, I always thought I was better than this, but I just seem be another girl in the end…

Dejectedly, she would walk down the hallway, not even bothering to look at the clock.

I'm just a dumb high school girl with stupid crushes.

First period, she would start off with speech and communication class, one where she had to see Mayeda in once more.

How am I supposed to face him again after what just happened? That had to mean something, right?

I didn't take him as a player that goes around different girls.

Thoughts appeared in her head. A flash of realization appears in her eyes.

How could I…? I've been so focused on myself and telling him what I think that I never once asked about him as a person.

How can I even call myself a friend of his if I barely know him? Not even his favorite color…

A thought had appeared in her mind, a hopeful one.

Maybe if I talk with him more, he'll be able to tell me what more about himself and Mr. Sato. After all, he seems very open enough to an extent of promising me for help.

She smiles at the thought of talking to him again, a possibility of sorting things out of a new experience of feelings she can't handle being lended a hand.

The hallway was filled with people, must've been due to the time still left before their classes start as more and more students began to enter their classes each minute.

Boys and girls alike of all shapes and sizes no matter the school year they were.

Yoshikawa, being a natural beauty, would have eyes on her as she walks. A feeling she was used to.

The feeling of an eye candy, admiration, idolized.

But for very few of those.

An object.

It's ok… I've grown used to this feeling…

Yoshikawa held her book bag in both hands as she walked.

A woman unobtainable to many students in Meriozan High School.

Some would consider her the queen of this school district, the air she gave off of gentleness yet confidence was relevant to everyone.

You could almost mistake her for royalty.

Every morning… everyday… everybody… with these stares…

The gazes of boys and even girls that she's turned down in the past would look at her whenever she would be passing by.

Of course she'd feel bad about breaking their hearts, but she was a girl with honesty and integrity, unwilling to lead others on with a chance that never existed in the first place.

Experiences of past school days would be remembered to many, even Yoshikawa herself would remember some their confessions unconsciously at the back of her mind.

The stuttering.

The confessions.

The ulterior motives.

The confidence.

The tears.

Some would even run away or tell her that she was ugly anyways.

All sorts of reactions would transpire whenever she slams others with a sincere rejection.

For someone like her, she would easily tell what the difference between love and lust would be.

Gazes and words she knew too well for people her age.

Feelings of gazes on her big assets were feelings she was used to as well, though not one she enjoyed.

She never asked to be very beautiful, having such nice white hair and breathtaking eyes. She just wants to live and enjoy things normally.

Being insanely attractive and put on a pedestal to many felt pressuring ever since she was very young until she got used to it.

The need and desire to keep up appearances drained her until it unwillingly became part of herself.

All that she ever wanted, was something genuine. A love that would make her heart beat fast and take her away into a love story she's always wanted to experience.

Unfortunately in such situations, things like that won't happen with people like this.

Today's day and age would often be focused on lust and manipulation, making her feel isolated and scared of choosing a partner carefully.

Just hoping to wait for a man who would make her heart beat surely had to be the one…

Right?

I wonder how I should approach the subject when we meet again, hopefully Mayeda is willing to hear me out as soon as possible.

Maybe during lunch may be the best time to ask instead of first period…

She looked up ahead and noticed Mayeda exiting the restroom, she instinctively hid behind a corner.

Her heart was racing again..

Why am I hiding? It's just him…

Didn't I say I needed help? What's so different this time?

Deep breaths would emerge from his mouth at a slow pace before she took a step, walking ahead of the restrooms.

Suddenly, a big hand would cover her mouth and pulls her back into a restroom. Dragging her alone from the classroom with only a hallway that was barely filled with voice any longer.

RING!

***

Now the problem would be the size of the school, but I need to think of the most likely spots that she could be at given the situation.

Mayeda closed his eyes to think about all the possible spots, reflecting back on all the hidden locations and classrooms that don't seemingly be occupied by many.

I mean it's only been five minutes ever since the bell rang, so not much should've happened.

He thoughtfully looks up.

It's possible she was actually late for once and already heading over to class.

The black haired boy shakes his head a little at the notion, rejecting that possibility before glancing at the end of the hallway.

A staircase connecting all the floor together from top to bottom in each corner's of the building.

Under the stairs is an option, many students when they're alone hide under there. Whether it be skipping classes, smoking or doing inappropriate things with their significant other… a total of 4 stair cases exist within the building.

He glanced at an empty classroom and peeks into the window, seeing nobody in there.

On the other hand, empty classrooms that aren't used until later classes is another possibility. Given the amount of rooms there are, it'll take several minutes to check in all 49 of them without including the staff room.

Finally, he looks back at the restrooms, squinting his eyes a bit and walks to the front of the girl's bathroom. No doors for each restroom, just a walk in and out through a short hallway.

Another one could be that she's in the restroom, obviously I wouldn't dare go in here unless something serious was going on.

Sigh.

I wouldn't wanna earn the "Pervert" title on high school, or else I'd most likely get a week suspension.

He glances at the signs, a logo of a man in a blue square to represent the men's restroom.

Though it's possible she could be in these restrooms, a bit more concerning for her to be in the boy's restroom if she were there.

With a shrug of his shoulders, he goes into the boy's restroom to check just in case.

No sound but silence was in there except there were a few boys talking amongst themselves.

These guys must be skipping first period class, typical .2 GPA behavior.

Mayeda straightens his poster and acts casually as he enters, turning the sink on and washing his hands.

If I were to just walk in and out when they notice me, it'd be suspicious behavior to the rest. Though maybe asking them where she was last seen may be a good idea, I need to act fast though.

The gaze of a few boys behind his head was crawling down his back like a group of spiders.

A certain vibe was showing in the atmosphere, an unpleasant one.

Thinking of what to say, he looks back at the group of boys, a total of 6, who seemed to gather around a certain stall.

All were shorter than he was with average looks, of course he wasn't one to judge however and clears his throat.

"Hey guys, I'm curious about a classmate who was missing this class period even though I was talking to them earlier." He puts up a polite smile as he speaks.

One by one, the group of boys looked at each other, seemingly to be telepathically be communicating in silence with their eyes only.

Yeah, this seems pointless. I'm just keep searching.

He began to walk out of the restroom before he heard faint, muffled moan from somewhere.

…

What was that?

Mayeda slowly turns around and noticed that it came from the direction of the sound.

It was faint, but I heard a sound come from the girl's restroom. It sounded like Yoshikawa… Is she hurt?

He quickly rushed out of the restroom into the hallway before hesitating to go into a girl's bathroom.

Damn it. Fuck the signs.

The tall boy barged into the girl's restroom.

It was quite surprisingly clean compared to the boy's restroom.

Yet it was empty like nobody had been there.

Still, he doesn't give up.

Mayeda scans through the small sliver of cracks between the walls and the doors of each of the blue stalls to see what was going on.

Scanning each one until he sees two people in one stall together.

His gaze darkens a bit as he sees the scene.

A brown haired boy who had Yoshikawa against the wall, who was trying to talk her way to get out. Luckily enough that Yoshikawa was a capable women, yet he knew there was only a limited amount of time before she couldn't fight off any more.

Noticing her clothes and hair were a bit disheveled, a sigh that this guy was as trying to force himself on her if it wasn't due to her struggles thus far. Unfortunately for Mayeda, he knew all too well of who this guy was.

After all, he was popular with a reputation of going around with different girls.

Kawamura Atsushi.

Mayeda lets out a quiet sigh of relief, realizing he made it before it was too late.

Footsteps appeared behind him as he glanced behind himself.

The same group of boys would be present again, now all in the girl's restroom.

They were all covering the one way entrance and exit of the restroom, leaving him stuck in there.

Ah, so this was their idea…

Suddenly, one of the boys would lunge in and grab Mayeda's head to pin him down on the dirty floor in less than a second.

A knee pressed hard against his back with his wrists held down behind him as well.

It seemed this boy, a blonde one who looked ripped as hell, would be the strongest. His body weight was crushing Mayeda.

So their plan was this all along, huh?

His eyes closed and turns despite behind pinned down to look up at whoever was pinning him down.

I knew it… it's Okana Yuu, friends with Kawamura Atsushi.

A playboy who uses women for their body and lures them with his good looks and charms at first before sleeping with them before throwing them away as a toy.

That thought alone disgusts him, his teeth gritting a little.

Okana was surprised by Mayeda's ability to turn around on his back despite the combination of his weight and grasp holding him in place.

Does this mean… the one in the stall is…

Suddenly, Okana's hand would go from his wrists up to his neck, trying to squeeze and choke him unconscious.

So this is how we're gonna proceed with the plan of this perfect love story, huh?

Mayeda felt the grip of the hand squeezing his neck, still being pinned down by a far superior weight than his own.

So their plan was to catch me looking for her in the boy's restroom while one was with Yoshikawa in the stall of the girl's bathroom…

So if I was found out, they would corner me into a bathroom and beat me into submission?

So this is their plan to forcefully defile Yoshikawa Manami?

Honestly to think they're actually going this far is pathetic…

Even with the risks of other women coming into the bathroom, they must've been confident in their physical abilities to handle them on their own… because they're women.

These thoughts alone angered him.

Seeing and taking advantage of women… seeing them as nothing but tools for pleasure and fun for themselves…

This is why I'd never forgive people like them for existing like this…

An existence of not judging based off of first impressions…

Mayeda looks up at the boy with a look of disdain yet a glint of excitement in his eyes.

I'm so glad…

That getting rid of these people…

Was the first step towards this plan.