The Breaking Point
“Who is this fellow?”
Sojiro Sakura was sitting in a booth across from Yuki and Morgana. Yuki found Sojiro’s look to be a bit intimidating, but she mustered through it.
Thankfully, it seemed that Lavenza had given her the perfect cover-story, and used the power of cognition to create a perfect alibi for Morgana.
“He’s my friend. He knows me because his parents are friends of mine. His parents decided they want to send him to boarding school here in Tokyo, so that’s why he’s here. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to find appropriate housing for him in Tokyo, so his parents asked my parents where I was currently living, and then his parents called me asking if I’d vouch for him.”
Sojiro stroked his beard. “I happen to have an attic above LeBlanc, but --”
Yuki interrupted his thought by placing the briefcase on the table. Sojiro’s eyes widened at the sight of it. “Morgana was carrying this with him. His parents have informed me that they are willing to offer you half of it if you’d be willing to house him. Of course, they informed me that they would be willing to offer you more. The other half is for his living expenses in regards to food and certain other conveniences.”
Sojiro cleared his throat. “Well, if you’re vouching for him and if his parents trust you, then I see no problem with it. He’ll have to stay in the attic; I don’t have enough room at the house. He’ll get a key to LeBlanc however. As for the money, I’m perfectly fine with it. His parents are offering more than the standard rate I held in my mind.”
Sojiro got up and motioned to Morgana. “I think I got a mattress up there. You need to come up and help me with it.”
Morgana smiled. “Thank you, Sakura-san.”
Yuki gestured to the door. “I’ll leave you two to it. I got some other things I need to do. Get settled in, Morgana. Tomorrow, I’ll be taking you to Shujin, unless Sakura-san prefers to take him there. He already has the paperwork filled out; it's in a folder I got right here.”
Sojiro turned around. “I think you can handle it. I still have to manage the cafe, and you know the way there. Just keep him close at all times; I don’t want him to get lost. You heard that, Ito-kun?”
Morgana nods. “Got it. I’ll see you later then, Yuki.” He wisely slipped into the role Yuki expected of him, that of friends. Her heart ached; he was still Morgana, but not the exact same Morgana she once knew, in addition to this Morgana being a human.
Ryuji was lying in his bed, thinking and thinking.
He always knew from the first moment that Kamoshida stepped foot in Shujin that there was something wrong with the former Olympian. That being said, it didn’t surprise Ryuji when Kamoshida soon unveiled his true colors.
He remembers the sickening treatment he received as part of the track team, which Kamoshida had been coaching after their original coach left under suspicious circumstances. It was quite frankly inhumane; Ryuji couldn’t bear it any longer, so he left the track team. As long as Kamoshida held a thumb in Shujin’s athletic programs, his abuse would only continue and he would become ever more so bolder. Ryuji wanted to stop him, but how?
He began to look more into Kamoshida’s past as an Olympian, but as expected, it seems that everything was swept under the rug. When he tried to get his teammates and friends to realize what Kamoshida was doing is wrong, nobody chose to stand with him, arguing that Kamoshida was too insulated by his fame, his prodigy, and the school administration that even if a group of students spoke out against him, they would be snuffed out.
He thought the physical abuse was everything Kamoshida only amounted to; he was proven wrong. He began hearing rumors last year, a couple of months after Kamoshida first showed up, about girls on the volleyball team being called into his office; he quite frankly suspected that Kamoshida was sexually harassing and abusing them, quite possibly even rape as well. He ran into some of the volleyball girls in the hallway; he remembered that they couldn’t even look at his face, much less his eyes.
Of course, everyone bought into the illusion that there was nothing wrong in the school, even as more athletic volleyball members showed up with injuries, and girls normally boisterous are as silent as mice.
One day during the second semester last year, while he was eating lunch, the Student Council President called for him through his homeroom teacher. Ryuji raised an eyebrow; this was quite surprising, considering how the Student Council was effectively under the thumb of the Principal, despite open and fair elections.
Makoto Niijima. The previous year, he had known her only as the girl who he always saw in the library. Short, brown hair, deep red eyes, and that look in her eyes… it betrayed a sense of an individualistic self-centered outlook.
When the rumors about Kamoshida and the abuses first started spreading, she and the Student Council did nothing to rectify the alleged charges, if they were true. Ryuji held no faith that the Student Council could do anything to look after the students.
Ryuji tentatively walked all the way to the Student Council. Surprisingly; it seems as if the other Student Council members are outside the room, looking at him cautiously.
He knocks on the door.
Makoto Niijima opens the door. “Please, come in.”
Ryuji, wary, walks over to the table. He sits at one side of the table; Makoto at the other.
Ryuji looks at her. “Have I done something wrong for you to call me here to talk?”
Makoto Niijima crosses her arms. “Lately, I’ve been hearing that you have been talking to fellow students about Mr. Kamoshida.”
Ryuji snorts. “Is that a crime?”
Makoto continues. “You ask them about the rumors and the abuse, and they’re quite frankly disturbed and unnerved by it. The students you’ve questioned have lodged a complaint against you.”
Ryuji leaned in. “I believe those rumors have a grain of truth. If I questioned them, it was only out of concern for their wellbeing. If these rumors are true, it means that Mr. Kamoshida has been abusing his authority.”
Makoto narrowed her eyes. “So… you’re saying that we should judge an authority figure on outlandish, baseless rumors?”
Ryuji looks her dead in the eyes. “I was the former captain of the track team; I’ve seen firsthand the treatment Kamoshida gave to me and my teammates. Granted, it pales in comparison to whatever the rumors are willing to say, but have you ever heard of escalation?”
Makoto stares at him and Ryuji at her; they maintain this staring contest for what felt like 5 minutes before Makoto takes her eyes off him.
Ryuji found her formidable; however, she seems to be reaching for something.
She pulls it out, and it’s… a dossier. She puts it on the table.
Ryuji gestures at the folder. “What is this?”
Makoto replies. “I’ve done my own investigation into Mr. Kamoshida. This is all the evidence I have collected so far; currently, there is nothing concrete to suggest that these rumors are true.”
Ryuji crossed his fingers. “Why did you have to tell me this, Niijima-san?”
Makoto sighs. “I get it, you don’t trust me. The Student Council, to the larger student body, always seems like this useless organization. However, we’re not anything like that. We take things seriously, but nobody else knows to what extent.”
Makoto looks at the door. “The reason why I wanted to talk with you today… is to cordially invite you to join the Student Council. When I learned about what you have done, I couldn’t help but believe… that Shujin needs someone like you who cares about everyone despite what others say about you.”
Ryuji sighs and leans back. “I have to say, I didn’t expect this to happen. It was the furthest thing from my mind. Why, though?”
Makoto raises an eyebrow. “I honestly feel the same about you on the topic of Mr. Kamoshida. If the rumors are what people say and they turn out true, then we have to do something about him. If you join the Student Council, you’ll have the pretext and excuse of being someone with authority, which may ease up other people when you’re talking to them.”
Ryuji scratches his head. “Won’t that put them even more on guard then?”
Makoto nods. “It’s definitely a possibility, but you’ll have a proper excuse to use that time. It’s only up to them to decide whether they believe it or not. Back to the question: will you join?”
Ryuji sighs. “I’ll do it, but on one condition: I want to quit once we deal with Mr. Kamoshida. I also want to know everything you have on Mr. Kamoshida so that we're officially on the same page regarding what we know currently.”
Ryuji extends his hand out. “I guess we’ll shake on it.”
Makoto is hesitant, but extends her hand out and shakes Ryuji’s hand. “Mr. Kamoshida will atone for his crimes if we can find and utilize concrete evidence to indemnify him.”
Ryuji lays in his bed in his room at home, staring at the ceiling.
Ryuji would have liked to say that decision he made yielded some results; truthfully it did, as he was able to collect more evidence regarding Mr. Kamoshida.
However, as to concrete evidence regarding his crimes, he was still at square one. Niijima-san assisted him the very best she could; as the Student Council President, she maintained a degree of frigid professionalism that Ryuji could never hope to embody. That helped him with coaxing some of the volleyball players and other students to consent to individual interviews; however, these interviews yielded nothing of value.
At least, that was until yesterday. Shiho Suzui was always the odd one out on the volleyball team; she only had Ann as a friend, so she was more so isolated from the rest of the volleyball team.
Ryuji unconsciously felt his hand curl into a fist; the things Shiho had said infuriated him. He already had his suspicions about every crime Mr. Kamoshida allegedly did, but Shiho’s testimony only confirmed the absolute worst.
Once Shiho was done with her confession, she was tearing up. Ryuji sent her out, but not before giving her time to calm down and blot the tears rolling down her cheeks. Ann would have murdered him if Shiho arrived at their hangout a crying mess. He wondered if Ann suspected anything; Shiho didn’t seem like the type to disclose everything to Ann, but Ann knew about Shiho being in the volleyball team, and he knew Ann was smart enough to notice any discrepancies.
Once Shiho left, Ryuji was livid. For a split second, he thought about confronting Mr. Kamoshida. However, he realized something. If he did so and got punished, then nobody would be there to look after the students. Makoto had taken time off since March; about what, he wasn’t sure. He doubted anyone else but the Principal knew exactly what happened. He had to bide his time; he had to make sure that someone in charge was still there to at least keep watch on Kamoshida as an impartial authority figure.
His mind wanders back to that strange place he wandered into with Yuki. He couldn’t get his mind off of that. That alternate Kamoshida… he certainly acted with no restraint, almost like the rumors said he did.
Ryuji kept thinking about the proposition Yuki offered him. If the place is an embodiment of Kamoshida’s darkest desires, and if they did something to that Kamoshida, then the real Kamoshida might change.
Ryuji shook his head; even still, it really sounded like a stretch to him. Additionally, he’d prefer to use it as a last resort; he wasn’t too keen on messing with other people unless there were no other options.
His mind then drifted over to Yuki. She didn’t seem too fazed by what she saw in the other world. It almost seemed like… she was accustomed to it, or the very least not surprised. The deductions she made… she had to have prior experience.
Ryuji murmurs, “Yuki Amamiya, just who are you?”
4/13/16
Today was surprisingly chill. She took Morgana to school; apparently, the documents Lavenza had handed her warranted his status as a first-year student, similar to Yoshizawa-san. She left him with the documents at the faculty office, before arriving for class.
He could deal with the idea of school, she hoped. However, she did muse that maybe Morgana will finally learn why she always dreaded school.
Yuki found herself idly staring blankly anywhere in the classroom. You couldn’t fault her; she had heard the exact same lecture when she was Ren; she could probably even recite it in her head.
When lunch rolled around, she got up to head to the rooftop as customary. However, outside her classroom, she saw Ryuji and Ann arguing. She inched closer and blended in with some students.
Ann looked at him. “What the hell did you ask her yesterday about Kamoshida? She didn’t show up today, and she never misses school.”
Ryuji looks at the ground. “It would breach the agreement of confidentiality I offered her when I asked her some questions. I can’t tell you.”
Ann clenches her fist. “I’m her BEST friend, and you don’t think it’s wise to tell me what you did to upset her. Today she missed school, and she never willingly misses school. It’s not in her nature to do so; the only thing that would have made sense is that you asked her some questions that turned her into a mess.” She narrowed her eyes. “Spill it!”
Ryuji shook his head. “No.”
Ann snarled. “Why? I thought I could trust you. Shiho is my friend, and I worry about her. All these rumors about Kamoshida… it’s like you said, they’re just RUMORS! They’re not TRUE!”
Ryuji stared straight into Ann’s face. “Even still, I have to verify the legitimacy of these rumors considering the context of these rumors. If one of those were even true, it would make things extremely complicated and dangerous for the students.
Ann closed her eyes. She breathed in and out. “I thought you were someone I cared for, and truthfully I still do. However, when someone else I also care for talks to you, it doesn’t make me jealous, only worried when that person breaks their daily routine. I have NEVER seen Shiho miss school, and you had better HOPE she’s all fine!” She stalked off, Ryuji just watching her walk off.
Yuki decided to walk up to him. “How was your chat with Suzui-san?”
Ryuji sighed. “I think I gathered more conclusive proof, but we still don’t have any concrete evidence to pin on Mr. Kamoshida. Plus, he’s Shujin’s star coach; it’ll take a lot more than accusations and people coming forward to make him accountable for his crimes. If we don’t play this right, he will walk away scot-free.” He then shifts the subject. “Listen, about that weird place we found that other day…”
Yuki raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
Ryuji scratched his head. “I don’t know about it. I’d like to keep it as a last resort; I don’t fully agree with the idea of traipsing around an interpretation of a person’s imaginative reality. That being said, we will use it ONLY if we have no other alternatives or if something major happens.”
Yuki nods. “I guess I’ll have to accept that. What should we do in the meantime?”
Ryuji looks around before leaning in. “I guess we’ll have to keep our eyes and ears out. I’ll keep finding people to testify about him.”
Yuki inclines her head.
Mishima happened to be walking over to the Practice Building to meet someone when he heard Kamoshida’s voice from his office on the way to the meeting spot. On the off chance, he decided to turn on the recording feature his phone had.
He heard Kamoshida mutter, “So that bitch didn’t come to school today. She can’t escape me; tomorrow when Suzui comes back to school, I’ll send someone to tell her that I need to talk to her. That’s when…” He continued speaking, Mishima only growing more and more horrified by the moment with the words Kamoshida obliviously says that he let out an involuntary gasp.
Mishima quickly fumbled with his phone and shut off the recording function, as Kamoshida’s voice stopped. His voice sounded livid as Kamoshida spoke. “Who’s there!? Show yourselves!”
Mishima ran for it; only when he thought he was sure Kamoshida didn’t find him, he breathed a sigh of relief. In his hands, he held absolute proof that the rumors about Kamoshida are true. However, he feared that Kamoshida would be on his guard, so he decided to wait until the coast was clear before going public on it.
Mishima wondered if Ryuji would like to hear it first. Considering all the rumors about him talking to Suzui, he hoped that Sakamoto was conducting an investigation into all the rumors. This may well be Ryuji’s break in the case if this was true; however, he also had doubts. The Student Council publicly didn’t show any interest in listening to the rumors, and the student body thought that the members were more focused on policing them rather than helping.
Mishima shook his head. Ryuji wasn’t that person now or ever; even though he hadn’t met Sakamoto face-to-face, he bumped into Ryuji a couple of times and Sakamoto always seemed pleasant, if not a little on guard.
One thing was for sure; this recording will be the talk of the school once it gets out. Kamoshida won’t get away scot-free with the recording painting him as a sexual predator.
Shiho Suzui was in her bed. She managed to get her parents to call the school to give her a day off, saying that she didn’t feel too well to attempt to go to school.
She remembered Ryuji’s conversation with her about the things Kamoshida has done. She expected Ryuji to be concerned for her, but she saw Ryuji grow infuriated the more and more she went on, despite his best attempt to mask it.
To be honest, she appreciated the concern he showed her; it honestly amounted to more than her parents could ever boast of. Her parents basically do not care for her wellbeing even when she comes home in bruises and welts; it was to be expected, considering how they urged her not to miss the opportunity of a lifetime.
That being said, she loved volleyball and at first, she thought she could learn under Mr. Kamoshida's tutelage.
It turns out she was wrong. DEAD wrong. Mr. Kamoshida slowly began to show his true colors; at first, he indeed was polite, but he over time showed changes in his personality. He slowly became the Kamoshida everyone now knew him as, someone to be feared and also whose directions are to be followed, no matter what they may b
Shiho despised Mr. Kamoshida; he made the very idea of volleyball turn from a sport she took pride in and enjoyed to a sport where she couldn’t find any enthusiasm for.
She makes up her mind as she lies there in her bed. She can’t continue playing in the volleyball club; the thought of playing volleyball now doesn’t bring her happiness but instead to tears as she endures Mr. Kamoshida’s rough coaching along with sexual harassment.
I’ll tell him I’m quitting volleyball; I can’t find myself enjoying volleyball ever since he began to show his true colors. I used to love playing volleyball; now I can’t even think about it without having nightmares and bad memories. If I stay any longer, I feel like I’m going to drive myself crazy or become manic.
I HAVE TO QUIT.