Chapter 10 An Eye For An Eye
Chapter 10 An Eye For An Eye
Kazuki’s POV
That fucker is really slippery, Kazuki thought as he sat in class, glaring at Iryoku, determined not to lose him this time. Over the past few days, he and his brother had tried to catch him and give him a beating, but Iryoku always slipped away—taking different routes, hiding, disappearing just long enough to drive them insane.
Kazuki kept staring at him. The urge to beat him burned in his chest.
When class ended, Iryoku rushed out. Kazuki followed, moving with the flow of students so he wouldn’t stand out as the hallway filled.
He lost the boy for a moment—
then spotted him again and kept tailing him as they spilled out onto the streets and the crowd thinned. Iryoku took different roads, cutting through side paths, until he finally walked into a small store.
After a moment, Iryoku came back out with a drink in his hand and turned into the alley beside the store.
When Kazuki reached the alley and peered in, he saw Iryoku standing there. It was a dead end. For a second, Kazuki considered rushing him and beating him alone—but he stopped. The memory of Iryoku hitting back before made his stomach tighten. Even if Iryoku was shorter and thinner, he wasn’t harmless.
Iryoku took a long swig from the juice bottle and tossed it aside. Then he crouched by a wooden fence, lifted a small wooden lid hidden behind a crate, and slipped through the narrow gap to the other side.
Kazuki hurried after him and reached the fence just in time to hear Iryoku’s triumphant laugh.
“Hahaha! This is a perfect secret escape route! If they ever chase me, I can lead them here and escape!”
Kazuki checked the passage. It was tight—small enough that even he would have trouble squeezing through, let alone his brother.
But he had seen everything.
A cruel grin spread across his face as a new plan began to form.
The Next Day
Iryoku was running.
“Why are you doing this? I thought you would’ve forgiven me already!” he yelled over his shoulder.
Kazuki and his brother were chasing him through the streets. The boy zigzagged wildly, cutting through different roads and side paths, but no matter what he tried, he couldn’t shake them. His breath was ragged now—he was almost out of stamina.
Kazuki laughed, glancing at his brother.
“Hahaha. He’s using the path I told you about.”
Iryoku reached the same store as the day before and cut the corner, a crooked grin spreading across his face.
“Come and get me, assholes.”
He sprinted into the alley, rushed the wooden fence, lifted the hidden lid, and squeezed through the tight passage to the other side.
Kazuki and his brother reached the fence, peered through the gap, and grinned wide.
Iryoku popped out on the other side and turned back, laughing.
“Hehe, that’ll show you.”
Then he spun around and bolted toward the street—
—and froze.
Two big guys rounded the corner from the opposite end of the alley. Iryoku’s smile died instantly. His legs locked as they closed in.
“Got him!” one of the high schoolers shouted.
Kazuki and his brother rushed around to join them.
“G-go away!” Iryoku’s voice shook. “You think hitting me won’t get out?! I’ll tell the school! The teachers! My parents! Everyone will know it was you!”
Kazuki stepped forward, eyes gleaming with cruel delight.
“Nobody’s gonna believe you after how you punched me that time,” He sneered.
His big brother grinned.
The two bigger high schoolers grabbed Iryoku from behind, pinning his arms. Terror twisted across his face as a pathetic whimper slipped out.
“Please—no—”
Kazuki closed the distance first. His fist slammed straight into Iryoku’s stomach—hard. All the air exploded out of him in one wet gasp. His knees buckled, and he dropped to the concrete.
Then they were on him. Fists and knees rained down on his sides, ribs, gut, and thighs—soft places that wouldn’t show bruises where anyone could see. Each blow made his body jerk like a ragdoll. He cried openly now, loud and ugly.
“Ah—! Please—! Stop—! It hurts so much!” he screamed, curling into a ball. His voice shattered into raw sobs between every blow.
Kazuki’s brother crouched, grabbed a fistful of Iryoku’s hair, and yanked his head up.
“We’re gonna do this again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that. So get ready, crybaby. This is your life now—for messing with my little brother.”
They spat on him and walked away, still laughing. Their footsteps faded down the alley.
Iryoku stayed on the ground for a long minute, sobbing loudly, body shaking. Then he pushed himself up on trembling arms. His ribs screamed. His gut felt like it had been turned inside out. He spat a thick glob of blood onto the pavement.
“Ahh… ahh…”
He limped out of the alley like a broken doll, one hand clutching his side.
Next Day
Iryoku walked into class like nothing had happened. His uniform was perfectly neat, his expression calm. He smiled and greeted his classmates with a cheerful “Good morning.”
Kazuki was already at his desk in the back. The moment he saw Iryoku, his lips curled into a smug grin. He leaned back with his arms behind his head, waiting for him to flinch, limp, or look away.
But Iryoku didn’t. He met Kazuki’s eyes for two full seconds, then looked forward as if the bully was invisible.
Kazuki’s grin faltered. Why isn’t he scared? We’re supposed to beat him again after school. Aniki’s waiting… It doesn’t look like he’s ratted on us, has he?
Iryoku acted completely normal all morning. Lunch passed normally, and afternoon classes continued without issue.
During the final break, Kazuki stood up and headed to the restroom, still smirking to himself. Little bitch tried to act tough today. Just wait till Aniki gets his hands on him again.
He pushed open the door, stepped up to the urinal, and unzipped his pants—
A devastating blow slammed into his back.
Kazuki crashed face-first onto the dirty tile floor. Before he could react, fists began hammering him with cold precision — ribs, kidneys, stomach, thighs. Each punch was calculated to cause maximum pain without leaving obvious marks.
Kazuki curled into a ball, arms over his head. “S-stop—! Who the fuck—?!”
The beating didn’t stop. It was relentless and methodical. Every time he tried to scream, another fist drove the air from his lungs. Tears poured down his face. Snot ran from his nose. He was sobbing uncontrollably like a child.
Then the fists suddenly stopped.
Kazuki lay gasping on the floor, body on fire.
A shadow fell over him.
He looked up through blurred vision.
Iryoku stood above him, breathing steady, staring down with wide, unhinged eyes that didn’t look human anymore—there was something wrong in them, something smiling.
“Go on,” Iryoku said, his voice eerily calm, cold. “Tell your brother to beat me again. I don’t care. You were about to do it anyway.”
He crouched, tilting his head.
“Or what—gonna go crying to your mom and the teachers, huh? What a pussy.”
Kazuki opened his mouth, fury boiling in his chest, but only a broken sob came out.
Iryoku straightened and walked away without another word. The door swung shut behind him.
Kazuki stayed curled on the filthy restroom floor, shaking, crying, gagging on the stench around him.
The following day, Iryoku was caught again—this time near a park. Kazuki’s brother beat him savagely, growling between blows, “Motherfucker, you don’t learn.” Once more, he left Iryoku battered and curled up on the ground.
Iryoku cried like a small child, sobbing and whimpering in the dirt.
But the day after that, He walked into school looking perfectly fine.
The moment he entered the classroom, he locked eyes with Kazuki, pointed straight at him, and silently mouthed:
Prepare yourself.
Kazuki flinched.
Class went on as usual, but every time Iryoku turned and fixed him with those wide, unhinged eyes, real fear coiled tighter in Kazuki’s gut.
When the final bell rang, Iryoku was the first out the door.
Kazuki smirked. “He’s just scared. All empty talk,” he muttered, then rushed after him. He spotted Iryoku heading toward the back of the school and grinned wider, convinced he was trying to run again. He bolted after him.
The moment Kazuki rounded the corner, a bag flew straight into his face. He threw his arms up on instinct—
—and a brutal kick slammed into his stomach.
“AH—!”
Kazuki staggered back, folding in on himself. The attacker didn’t stop. Relentless kicks crashed into his body. He was tackled to the ground, pinned, someone straddling his chest and hammering punch after punch into the same soft places they’d used on Iryoku.
“Stop! Stop!” Kazuki screamed, tears streaming down his face. “I’ll tell my brother!”
Iryoku leaned in close, eyes wild, mouth stretched into a grin.
“Don’t you get it? Anything they do to me—I do to you. I don’t care if he keeps attacking me. It comes down to who can take more. You or me. Hehe. Hehe.”
His face looked wrong. Broken. Excited.
He stood, spat on Kazuki’s tear-soaked face, and hissed, “Wimp.”
Then he walked away without looking back.
Kazuki lay there shaking, rage and pain twisting his face into something ugly.
The cycle didn’t stop.
Iryoku would get jumped and beaten after school, left sobbing on the ground—
and the very next day, he would ambush Kazuki in secret, returning every blow, every kick, every insult exactly as he’d been given. He never hesitated. He never cared.
“Come on!” Iryoku snarled during one of the beatings, fists still flying. “Go tell your fucking mother!”
He laughed as Kazuki sobbed beneath him.