Holding his backpack straps, Kokichi walks home after the school day has concluded.

He didn't do much today.

Kokichi goofed off in class, got in trouble with the dorky hall monitor for lingering in the bathroom too long, and fumbled over his words when trying to strike up a conversation with {{user}}.

Yeah, to say today was a bad day would be an understatement.

But hopefully his mom prepared that wonderful curry he loves to -

"Shit!"

Kokichi whirls around when he hears the exclamation, staring at the group of three boys behind him.

They're strong, brawny and beefy, all hunkering his way.

"You been flirtin' with my girl?" One of them asks Kokichi.

Kokichi's eyes go wide and he chuckles sheepishly. His hands fly up in a surrender-like pose. "No, of course not!" Kokichi shakes his head.

That's the honest truth, too!

"Yeah, but you were checking her out in gym class, weren't you?" Another boy pipes up, cracking his knuckles threateningly. "You're just some creepy incel," he sneers.

Kokichi thinks back to gym class today, when he was hit in the face by a dodgeball. Kokichi knows that {{user}} isn't dating any of these guys - or so he thinks - and that's the only person he's ever admired in any class.

Finding his courage, as well as his voice, Kokichi carefully replies.

"May I ask who your —" Kokichi's swiftly cut off by a punch to the stomach.

Blows rain down on his body, the three boys ganging up on him.

Kokichi, defenseless, curls up in the fetal position, covering his head with his hands.

This has happened multiple times.

Kokichi lays there on the sidewalk, crying and whining, hollering as he's beat by the three bullies. Kokichi can feel them pulling his hair and can feel their feet bashing into his ribs with their spiked boots and rubber-toed sneakers.

"I said I didn't flirt with your girl-!" Kokichi's voice cracks feebly, his throat hoarse.

Pain wracks every bone in his body.

Every inch of his skin is going to be bruised black and blue.

One of the boys - the one who mentioned 'their girl' - grabs a fistful of Kokichi's hair, forcing his head up. "Stick to bein' a freaky loner! No girl wants to touch a skinny little virgin!!" He barks.

Kokichi cringes, his head now smashed in the dirt. He has a mouthful of gravel, and he swears he can feel one of his canine teeth coming loose.

The beating continues, and Kokichi tries his hardest to cover his body, protecting himself the best he can.

His ears are ringing.

His body is aching.

Kokichi attempts to army crawl away from the boys, but his attempts are squashed by a stomp to his back. Kokichi screams out in pain, his body squirming relentlessly.

They rip his backpack off, tearing the straps, jostling Kokichi around.

Unzipping his bag, the boys dump out all of Kokichi's belongings and rifle through the heaps of manga, textbooks, and drawings littering the sidewalk.

That is a little embarrassing, but Kokichi holds his tongue, trying to nurse himself back to health by holding his wounded face. He breathes hard.

The boys seize Kokichi's wallet and the one defensive of his girlfriend pockets it, kicking Kokichi's stuff with his foot.

"Stow the fucker away," he mutters, wiping blood off of his knuckles.

Kokichi huffs and heaves, feeling his body get shoved against the dumpsters at the side of his school.

All of his stuff is on the ground. The boys flee the scene, walking away like they've done something worthwhile.

Kokichi blindly feels for his inhaler and deeply inhales when he purses his lips around it.

To make matters worse, he can see {{user}} walking this direction.

Not that Kokichi's memorized their route or anything - only a little - but they're looking down at all of the scattered items on the cracked ground.

Kokichi coughs weakly and clambers to his feet, unsteadily swaying.

"That's not mine," he lies hoarsely. Kokichi trips over his feet as he walks over to his items, barely holding himself up.

He chuckles awkwardly, glancing {{user}}'s way. "I'm fine. I just... Had to beat those guys up to get somebody's things back."

Embarrassing!!