I have changed since then. I thought to myself as I stared at my reflection with a light grin.
Since the days of old, since the day I dropped out of school and attempted suicide, the change inside of me and outside has been drastic. For one, I had grown from 5'5inches to 6'2inches since I dropped out, I began developing my body, conditioning it every day like a blacksmith sharpening his masterpiece and honing multiple arts with it. Newfound confidence flourished inside of me and my features became sharper and more desirable in the eyes of the other gender....or so I had been told.
"I'm ready." I voiced my thoughts as I threw on my obsidian blazer and grabbed my bag, heading out of my room and back to school for the first time in three, or has it been four years? Today I would be making my high school debut in my 2nd year at the age of seventeen. Luckily, Sato found an alternative way for me to continue my education whilst I remained hesitant to return to that hell. But now I'm ready.
On the way out of the house, I passed Sato who patiently waited for me to arrive at the door with a packed bento wrapped for me with an angel's grace as her eyes lit up at the sight of me.
"Have a good first day at school, Kioshi!" She said cheerily, clapping her hands softly as encouragement.
"Thank you, Sato." I replied in short. I would like to tell her more than that, but if I were to we'd be here for hours and I would miss the whole day of school. So instead, I gave her a quick peck on her cheek and headed out.
My resolve was made and I trudged on down the marble steps that led to our door and set off.
Gazes soon turned their direction to me varying from all ages. It seems my appearance had made an even more impactful change than I had anticipated. I briefly paused in my commute to school and turned in the opposite direction to a convenience store just around the corner of the turn.
"That will be 700 yen, sir. Thank you very much." The cashier spoke with a radiance to her as she passed me my canned coffee and mochi that I withdrew into my bag.
I enjoyed my coffee and sakura mochi on the way to school, but I subconsciously made an effort to slow down my arrival. I soon realised this as the image of a school gate flashed in my memory and now before me once again. Though my composure remained tightly sealed and a stoic and collected look imprinted itself upon my demeanour. I hastily made my way into the main building and changed my shoes at my locker before heading off to the staff room as I was advised to on the call. There I would be meeting my homeroom teacher who would then escort and introduce me to my new class.
Knock, knock, knock!!
"Come in!!" A voice trailed off from the other side of the door instigating my entrance. I slowly slid the door open and walked over to the direction I heard the voice from, my eyes were met with a beautiful woman waving her hand at me, egging me to come on over. She seemed to be in her early thirties but that took nothing away from her youthful and delicate features. Her name was Mayumi Sasaki, or as she told me to refer to her, Sasaki-sensei. She was a vixen of a woman, endowed with a large bust and wide hips. Plump rose-coloured lips and striking gold eyes. Her mood, however, was that of a strict teacher that upheld rules and lived by conviction.
As I should, I greeted her with respect and she responded in kind.
Ding, ding, ding, dong! Ding, ding, ding, dong!!
The bell rang and homeroom began. I paced up and down the holes peeking into each class but making sure not to be noticed as I restlessly waited for Sasaki-sensei to call me into the class.
"And now I would like you to all treat him kindly, so please come in." I heard the muffled speech through the door as her frigid tone signalled my entrance. I stepped through the door calmly and came directly to the front where immediately all attention was garnered towards me.
That's right, there's nothing to worry about. I almost fooled myself into thinking I was anxious.
I immediately recognised multiple faces. The more recognisable being my former best friend and Toru Miura, one of the middle school oppressors that weren't with me previously in elementary. None of them seemed to recognise me, but I recognised them. That was enough.
"Hello, everyone. Now before I introduce myself, I would like to say I would like it if we got along. The reason I was homeschooled for these past couple of years was that I couldn't seem to get along with anyone. So please, think twice before you act and be kind. In return, so will I." Everyone froze, including the teacher. No one was expecting me to dish out a warning. I made it clear from that speech that I was uninterested in taking any harassment from anyone.
"My name is Kioshi Kage, but you may refer to me as Kage." The room erupted into chaos. Questions were on everyone's lips but the teacher silenced them all. At the end of homeroom, everybody's eyes were completely on me. I casually ignored all who eyeballed me, until Miura finally walked up with a kind smile drawn on his face.
"Kioshi Kage, right? It's good to have you in our class." His voice reeked of his schemes and I wanted to rip his throat out then and there but I restrained myself.
"Thanks, Miura." I replied with a cold smile, my eyes peering directly into his.
"I can take it that you knowing my name is confirmation you're the same Kioshi Kage from middle school, right?" It was foul how he couldn't even hide his emotions. His face was an open book that I simply could not look away from.
I nod silently at him, not breaking our intense confrontation as my gaze fixed tightly on his.
"Really? Man~, it's been so long! How have you been? I'm sorry for all those things I did before. You know how kids are, right?" He began bombarding me with useless small talk seemingly trying to loosen me up by seeming apologetic.
I pretend to laugh it off along with him and tell him to not worry about the past whilst my eyes remained as dead as they were when this conversation started. He friendly slips his arm around my neck pulling us close together trying to create a fall sense of security before the corners of his mouth grew more separate indicating his action as he followed through using his hand which was on my shoulder and using it to slam my face into the desk as hard as he could.
THUD!
The sound echoed through the class and all went silent.
"You may have grown taller and have a disgustingly handsome face, but you're still the same pitiful loser as before." His attempt to provoke me was useless. In the first place that never hurt. Yet I allowed my face to remain in that position whilst My thoughts fought each over.
I didn't want all this excitement on the first day, but this could be a good opportunity to show I'm not weak anymore and possibly gain some time by inserting doubt into the bullies of the school. Or will that speed up their process of trying to get rid of me? No. I just need to humiliate him. They should remain on the back foot for at least a while.
I casually lift my face off of my desk and stand up, hands submerged in my pockets as I towered over the 5'9 Miura. He slightly stumbles as I came close to him but snickers and throws a swift punch at my face. With my hands in my pockets, I calmly dodge the blow and proceed to effortlessly sweep Miura off of his legs causing him to fall to the ground on his back. I glare at him menacingly and then continued my attack by stomping on my opponent's head and then kicking him in the stomach sending him flying to the other wall of the room and crashing Miuri into it.
I waft the dark strands of hair out of my eyes and sit back down. I glanced over to Junpei, my former best friend, who can only timidly smile at me. I turn away from his direction and our next professor walked in whilst all eyes remain fixated on my presence.