Chapter 11 The Art of Deception (Illustration)
Chapter 11 The Art of Deception
We were back in the principal’s office. My parents sat to my left, their faces tight with worry. Across the room, Kazuki’s mother was red-faced, hurling insults nonstop. Kazuki sat beside her, eyes swollen, staring anywhere but at me. He looked scared.
“—and this little delinquent has been terrorizing my son for weeks!” Kazuki’s mother screeched, jabbing a finger at me. “He attacked Kazuki in the restroom, after school, behind the school—anytime! My Kazuki is too afraid to go to school. He’s a criminal—he should be locked up! He should be expelled!”
The principal looked worn down, his expression flat with exhaustion. He’d heard enough.
My dad stared at me, defeated, a mix of disappointment, anger, and tiredness. “Where did i go wrong?” he asked quietly.
My mom was crying. “Iryoku, why are you behaving like this?”
Those words hurt. But this was the only way it could end.
I raised my hand politely, my voice steady. “Do we have any evidence?” I asked...
“No? I myself have evidence of the other way around. May I show it? I am the victim.”
Everyone stared. I pulled the VHS from my backpack. “It’s all here.”
They looked at me like I was crazy.
Kazuki’s mother’s voice rose again. “Stop playing games!” She turned on the principal, furiously pointing at him. “I want a definitive punishment, or I’m going to the police! I’ll make sure you get fired!”
Anger rose inside me, but I didn’t move. I tried to bottle it up, arms crossed over my chest.
“So I can’t even defend myself?”
I could see my father wrestling with it all. He stood. “Principal Moriyama, please. Let us see the video. We’ll accept whatever decision you make after that.”
The principal sighed, then nodded.
A TV and a VCR were brought into the office. I slid the tape in.
The screen flickered to life.
The room went dead silent.
The footage showed an alley behind a wooden fence. I appeared, squeezing through a small gap in the fence as I tried to escape. Right behind me, Kazuki and his brother chased after me and stopped at the wooden fence.
I stood up and rushed out, but two older students stopped me and caught me. Then Kazuki and his big brother disappeared from the camera and suddenly appeared on the other side of the fence. They attacked.
Their fists and knees crashed into me. The video had no sound, but it didn’t need any. My face twisted in agony, tears streaking down my cheeks, mouth open in a silent scream as I was beaten by multiple people. At the end, they yanked my head back by the hair, said something to me, then spat on me on the ground. As they walked away.
After a moment. I stood up wobbly, face ugly and dirty. I spat blood onto the pavement and limped out of frame. It looked brutal.
The tape ended.
My mother gasped, sobbing. “No—”
She rushed to me and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m sorry… I didn’t know…” She cried, shaking. She checked my body. “When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell us?” Her voice cracked with sadness.
My father’s face hardened. He turned slowly toward Kazuki and his mother, fury burning in his eyes.
Kazuki stared at me, stunned, his mouth hanging open. I knew his thoughts: How? Then he shook his head violently and grabbed his mother’s arm.
“Mom, that’s not true!” he cried. “He attacked me first! He kept harassing me—he was hurting me every day!”
His mother didn’t look at him.
She only covered her face.
Weeks ago
I had been trying to build a plan, but I wasn’t successful.
After school as I headed home, they spotted me and chased me down the street.
I used the same tactic as before—rushing toward a crowded area.
I sprinted down the street and cut around a corner. When I glanced back, I saw Kazuki’s brother still charging after me.
I reached a corner store. I was about to duck into the alley beside it, but it was a dead end. I quickly turned back and entered the store instead. My body tensed as I hid behind a refrigerator full of beverages.
I saw the guy pass by, looking around. He even turned toward the store. I flinched and ducked my head, my heart beating hard.
Suddenly someone poked my back.
“Ahh!” I jumped, scared.
A soft voice came from behind. “What are you doing?”
A young elementary schoolgirl stood over me—long chestnut hair, arms crossed, staring down at me strangely. “You’re suspicious.”
Behind her stood a tall young woman with a cute, youthful face—the store clerk. She also had long chestnut hair, but tied in a ponytail.
Then I remembered her. She was one of the three women I had helped with their bags that day when I escaped from those guys. She was very thin. I peered at her chest for a second; it was flat as ever, though her face still looked quite cute.
“Hello, you’re the Onee-san from that day,” I said. “I’m the boy who helped you and your friends carry the bags.”
“Oh, I remember you,” she said. “The creepy kid.”
I cringed a little, feeling some shame.
“This boy looks like a delinquent, Onee-san. He might be a shoplifter,” the elementary schoolgirl kept glaring at me.
Then the store door opened. I flinched and hid quickly behind the schoolgirl. I peered back.
He was there—Kazuki’s brother, along with the other two high schoolers.
“Please, please,” I whispered desperately. “Hide me. They want to beat me up.”
The schoolgirl hesitated for a moment, then pulled me behind the counter and pushed me under her. She pretty much sat over my back.
“Welcome,” said the Onee-san.
I don’t know why I was still scared—of course those dumbasses wouldn’t do anything to me here.
While hidden under her, I glanced up for just a second and caught a glimpse of her panties. They were pure white with a cute bear drawing on them. I immediately lowered my eyes, feeling shy. They were helping me, and I didn’t want to be labeled a creep.
“He isn’t here,” one of the guys called out. The store door chimed as they left.
“Come out. They’re gone, kid,” the Onee-san said.
Both girls were still staring at me suspiciously.
“Thanks. You both saved me,” I bowed deeply. “Those guys chase me every day. They always try to beat me up.”
I glanced at the Onee-san and noticed the name on her uniform tag. “Yui... Fushigi Onee-san,” I said. “And thank you, too, little elementary schoolgirl.”
The little girl scowled. “I’m not in elementary! I’m a middle schooler—and I’m not little, dummy!”
“Sorry, sorry!” I said.
Fushigi Onee-san chuckled. “It’s because you’re so small. I keep telling you—you need to eat well and drink plenty of milk or your breasts won’t grow.”
The middle schooler turned on her, visibly mad. “Eh?! But I’m still young! You’re an adult and you have none at all!”
Both girls suddenly got into a scuffle.
For a moment I thought I should probably leave. But I looked up at the ceiling and saw two cameras in the corner—one pointed inside the store, the other pointed outside toward the alley. Then an idea sparked in my mind. Something moved inside my head.
I turned back to the fighting girls. “Excuse me, do those cameras work?” I asked.
They both stopped. The Onee-san acted nonchalant. “Of course. We have the TV in the back there,” she said, pointing to the door behind the counter. “You want to see them?”
“Onee-san, you’re too trusting,” the middle schooler protested. “What if he’s really a criminal? Are you seriously gonna let this boy go in the back?”
“Eh, I’ve got nothing else to do,” Fushigi Onee-san replied casually.
I interjected quickly, “Please! Those guys won’t leave me alone, and I fear for my life. This might be the only way to save myself.”
The middle schooler frowned. “Can’t you just tell your teacher or your parents?”
I shook my head firmly. “I need real proof.”
Now inside the back room, Fushigi Onee-san pressed a key on the keyboard. “Here—this one shows inside the store. This one is the side facing the alley. And this one is outside.”
As she switched between the different cameras, my face stretched into a wide grin. A huge plan had just formed in my mind.
“I told you he’s a delinquent,” the middle schooler whispered to Fushigi Onee-san.
Then I prepared everything. I checked the fence in the alley while both girls stood there with me—they really seemed to have nothing else to do.
I found a small passage through the fence, narrow enough that only someone small like me or the middle schooler could squeeze through. Even from above the fence, the outside camera could clearly see everything that would happen there.
“Now it’s time to end this…”
After two full days of careful preparations, I made sure Kazuki followed me and saw the path to the alley. First I went inside the store and greeted the Onee-san. The little girl was there too. I still wondered if they were actually sisters.
I told them, “Check the cameras and make sure everything appears on frame. And if I get attacked… don’t intervene.”
Then I went outside, holding the juice I had just finished. I passed through the small passage and said out loud, “Hahaha! This is a perfect secret escape route! If they ever chase me, I can lead them here and escape!” Kazuki heard everything.
Just as I thought, since he was alone, he didn’t attack me.
The next day, everything happened fast.
They chased me—Kazuki, his brother, and the two older high schoolers. I reached the alley, squeezed through the gap in the fence, appeared on the other side, and kept walking. Just as planned, the two older students were already waiting for me.
I knew I wouldn’t get out unscathed. I was thrown to the ground and beaten—punched and kicked hard. It hurt, but it was nothing compared to what I had endured before. Still, I acted like a true victim: I screamed, cried my soul out, let the snot run down my face, and whimpered pathetically.
After they finally left, while still on the ground, I pulled out a ketchup packet, tore it open, and squeezed the ketchup into my mouth. I stood up limping, crying ugly, covered in dirt, and spat out the mixture of ketchup and saliva, making it look like blood. I limped away, making sure they were gone, then squeezed back through the fence to the other side.
What I saw there genuinely surprised me.
Fushigi Onee-san and the little girl stood there, faces pale with terror. The middle schooler gripped an umbrella tightly like a weapon.
The moment they saw me, both girls rushed over.
“Are you okay?!” The small girl grabbed my arm. “We need to take you to a hospital! Let’s call the police right now! Those criminals deserve to be buried in prison, bastards!”
I stopped her. “I’m okay. This is nothing.” I tried to stand straight even though my whole body throbbed with pain. “I’ve had much worse.” I gave them a small smile, then my lips stretched into a wide grin.
“Now… let’s check the video.”
This isn’t everything, I thought. Even if I have to take more beatings, I still need to give something back to Kazuki. I want to make him truly terrified. Getting them expelled or reprimanded isn’t enough. All this damage… I want it returned in full.
Back in the present
I walked into school feeling relieved. It was a new day, and I breathed in the peace. I reached my seat and looked around—Kazuki wasn’t there anymore. A deal had been made: the dumbass had to change schools. His stupid older brother had also stopped bothering me completely. With the video in our possession, we could easily go to the police and press charges anytime we wanted.
“So this is my first true win.”
I also went back to visit the sisters. I bowed my head deeply and said, “Thank you so much for all your help.” Then I invited both of them for ice cream—bought right there in the same store, of course.
While Fushigi Onee-san was busy attending to a customer, I turned to the little sister. “Now that we’re here… can you tell me your name? Are you a Fushigi too?”
She side-eyed me, still eating her ice cream. “Just call me Fushigi, like my sister, you creepy kid.”
I frowned. “Come on, don’t call me that. Just call me Iryoku.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, Iryoku. You can call me Alice…”