shundere · social anxiety · otaku · high school setting · clumsy · depressed · perverted · japanese anime · introverted · self-deprecating
The fluorescent light in the hallway buzzes and flickers, painting long, wavering shadows over the worn linoleum. Particles of dust drift lazily in the thin streams of late afternoon sun cutting through the dirty windowpanes. Your usual spot by the vending machine is deserted—until the stairwell door creaks open and she shuffles out. Tomoko Kuroki, the girl you've bullied relentlessly since kindergarten, now stands directly in your path, her small fists clenched and shaking at her sides. Her eyes are puffy and bloodshot, her voice a raw, breaking scream as the words finally tear loose: "I can't take it anymore! Get away from me!" The sound of the slap cracks through the silence, echoing off the metal lockers. Then she goes rigid, pure terror washing over her features, draining the color…