Izumi POV
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There's a lot I can't remember. Everything feels weird in my head, I can barely remember my own family.
When I woke up, it was fuzzy, but I still remembered a lot I think.
It's not like I've totally forgotten my own family, but I definitely have...lost some parts.
But as the weeks went on, I started losing more and more.
I have people calling me "family" and I feel awful for not remembering as much as I'd like.
Fuuka and Mom...they're saying that they are my family.
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I mean, I remember a little bit of them, but to be honest, everything is such a blur, I feel like a new person. I don't have attachments to anything.
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I definitely see the resemblance; they look extremely similar to me. Both of them are thin, with a somber face and sharpened eyes.
Black hair.
I don't want to cause them so much pain, I can see it in their eyes.
I'm miserable to them, I shouldn't have made it. This is something that is seared into my heart.
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I think I tried to kill myself a few weeks ago. I'm still in recovery.
It hurts constantly, my legs are on fire constantly, and I can't stop the pain.
Being degraded, being wheeled around like something to stock shelves with. I hate it when people do that for me.
I always insist I do it myself when I absolutely need to.
I don't leave my hospital room often, and when I do, it's when my "sister' or "mom" tries to bring me outside.
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The outside of the hospital had a big grass field with a trail leading away from the hospital. to be honest its nice, but I'm scared of the outside. I'm scared of meeting people, and I'm embarrassed to be seen like this.
What if I see someone that once knew me before the accident?
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I had a dad, but he died. I can't remember him at all, though, or any of my friends.
Not a single person resides in my head anymore.
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The doctors told me my memories may or may not even come back to me after time.
Whatever, I'm happy in here anyways, well besides from the pain, alone within these walls.
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They try and do physical therapy with me twice a week, I try my best, but walking is really difficult. I feel like a child learning.
Slowly learning to put pressure on my legs again, it's excruciating.
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Along with that I'm missing my left eye.
They removed it after my suicide attempt, look like something went through it and it was irrecoverable.
Learning new depth perception with only one eye, is really difficult. I constantly try and show doctors I'm learning, but I can never get it right.
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I was also covered in bruising unrelated to the suicide attempt the doctors say.
I don't...remember anything though.
Did I really try and kill myself?
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There is too much I don't know. I'm scared.
I'm scared to learn about my past and what I used to be.
I can really only take it day by day, learning new things and acting like I'm someone I'm not.
Putting on a mask for my family, the one's I barely remember myself.
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Class POV. (Before Izumi woke up.)
"Ehhh? Izumi isn't here today either?" Hamasaki said, laughing to her group of gals. "I wonder what he's doing, do you think he's too scared to come to class?"
"You think? Maybe he is on a trip or something. Hey, now that you mention it..." Kurumi replied.
"...Katori hasn't been to class for a while either." She said, with a small look of worry on his face.
"Yeah..." Hamasaki said, her enthusiasm died down a little. "I wonder what happened."
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"Take your seats." Sensei walked in with anger permutating on his face, then looked around the entire class.
"Before we get started, does anyone have anything to confess to me...?" Sensei asked, with a genuine look disappointment, mixed with anger.
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"No one...? Not a single person has anything to say to me about these last few weeks?"
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He was met with silence; everyone had their heads down towards their desks.
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"...What about when I mention Izumi Takahashi?"
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The class stayed silent, Hamasaki looked stunned at the mention of his name, while Kurumi just kept her head down, the atmosphere of the class was extremely grey for a moment.
A feeling of slight guilt wore the class like cheap perfume.
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"Hamasaki, come here for a second." Sensei barked, it seems he sensed her unease.
'H-huh? What? Why? I didn't do anything?" She barked back at him with an attitude.
She looked scared, as she said this looking down towards her desk.
She had long blonde hair, kind of poofy but it was well kept. Large breasts and always dressing in the latest fashion. The typical gal, but she wasn't someone who actively bullied, in other words she was a coward who only laughed along.
"Come on" Sensei waived at her to follow.
The walk was silent; Hamasaki was planning for a way out of this.
She never really fully bullied him, very light teasing sure. It was really Katori's group of girls who actively berated him at every turn. She just never really tried to stop them.
Hamasaki didn't think too badly of Izumi, just that he was different than some of the other boys. Weak, sure, but not that he didn't deserve to get bullied.
She just never tried to stop it, since she would probably start getting bullied that way.
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That's how she'd survive. Blending with the herd.
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"Why am I being singled out...? I didn't do anything to him..." She said; anxiety was running rampant on her face.
Then, Hamasaki spoke up.
"S-Sensei, what are you calling me back for...?"
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He looked at Hamasaki with disappointment.
"Look at me in my eyes Hamasaki." Sensei finally asked, sitting her down in the faculty office.
Hamasaki hesitated. Her hands fidgeted with the hem of her skirt as she avoided his gaze. The sound of the wall clock ticked steadily behind them, amplifying the silence that pressed between them like a weight.
Sensei leaned forward. "Do you know where Izumi is right now?"
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Her eyes widened slightly. "N-no... I don't. I mean, he hasn't come to class for weeks. Nobody's seen him, right?"
Sensei's expression didn't change. He studied her like he was looking through her, and then he sighed.
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"Does any of your friends, or any of the girls know where he's at?" Sensei asked again after a moment of speculation.
"N-No, I swear. Why are you asking me these things Sensei?" She replied back to him.
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"I don't think you were involved, I picked on you randomly. Just, please don't lie to me." Sensei said, looking at her directly in her eyes this time.
"I'm not lying," she whispered, voice small. "I really don't know where he is."
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Sensei leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temple. He looked exhausted, more than that, defeated. "I see," he said quietly.
"Head back to class. I'll be there in a moment."
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"O-Okay..." She said, leaving her chair and heading back to class.
He had to prepare himself, there was absolutely no room of mistakes with this. There will be an internal investigation soon, and a police investigation regarding Izumi Takahashi.
When Hamasaki slipped back into the classroom, all eyes turned toward her. Kurumi mouthed something—what happened? —but Hamasaki didn't answer. She just sat down quietly, her heart still racing from the tone in Sensei's voice.
No one spoke, even the usual chatter had vanished, replaced by a heavy silence that crept between every desk.
Sensei entered moments later, holding a clipboard in his hand. His expression was grim, but composed. He stood in front of the board for a long moment, as if searching for the right words.
"Everyone," he began quietly, "I need your full attention."
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The class straightened instinctively.
"There's something I need to tell you," he said, his voice low, but steady. "It's about Izumi Takahashi."
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At the mention of Izumi's name, a few people looked at each other uneasily. Others froze.
Sensei took a deep breath. "Three weeks ago, Izumi was involved in a very serious incident."
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Kurumi frowned. "Incident?" she whispered under her breath. "What...? Incident?"
"He was found...in critical condition." Sensei continued, eyes fixed on the floor for a moment. "It appears that he... attempted to take his own life."
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Immediately room exploded in a rush of whispers, gasps, a few muffled cries.
"Wha— no way!"
"Are you serious?"
"Why would he—?"
Sensei slammed his hand against the desk, not in anger, but to restore order. "Enough!"
The class fell silent again. Then, his voice softened. "I know this is shocking, it's difficult to hear."
"Is he alive...?" Ayako asked from the back of the class.
The question that was on everyone's minds.
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"He's currently in the hospital recovering from extensive injuries, but he's in a coma, and hasn't awoken yet."
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Sensei scanned the class. "I don't need to tell you that what happened wasn't random. Many of you saw how Izumi was treated in this classroom."
"Now, I'm not saying this was on anyone, and I'm definitely not blaming it on the class, but I need everyone's full cooperation with this investigation."
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No one spoke. Only slight muffled gasps, and slight tears running down the cheeks of some of the girls. Probably due to the guilt.
Kurumi's hands trembled in her lap, tears running down her face, terrified of the fact a classmate tried to kill himself.
Hamasaki looked down, her teeth pressing into her lower lip until she tasted blood. "It's...my fault." She whispered to herself in anger.
"I shouldn't have ignored it."
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From the back, someone whispered, "What about Katori? She hasn't been here either..."
Sensei's eyes darkened. "Katori's situation will be handled separately but make no mistake—this will not disappear. There will be an internal investigation, and the police will be involved."
"So, you're saying she had something to do with this...?" Someone asked from the back of the class again.
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"We...don't know yet."
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A murmur rippled through the class again, quieter this time...fearful.
Sensei continued, "If any of you know anything about what happened before Izumi's disappearance—anything that might explain what pushed him to this—now is the time to come forward. I'll be staying after class for anyone that wants to talk to me anonymously."
He turned toward the board, trying to steady himself. "That's all for today. You're dismissed."
Chairs scraped softly against the floor as the students began to gather their things. No one spoke above a whisper. Hamasaki lingered, frozen in her seat, staring blankly at the wood grain of her desk.
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Kurumi leaned toward her. "Hamasaki... this...this is just awful." tears running down her cheek.
"I-I feel so much guilt..."
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She didn't answer.
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Her mind was replaying every moment she could remember, every time she looked away and let it all happen to him.
When the classroom emptied out, she finally stood and looked at the empty desk near the window. Izumi's desk.
Her breath hitched. Tears welled up in her eyes.
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Hamasaki wondered around the school for a little while, just trying to process this information.
She reached the end of the hall, stopping near the stairwell that led up to the teacher's offices. Her hands were trembling now.
She thought about just going home. Pretending she didn't know anything, like she was just another clueless classmate.
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And before she realized it, her feet were already moving up the stairs, toward the faculty office.
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Sensei was still there, sitting behind his desk, papers stacked neatly beside him. His face looked even more exhausted than earlier. When he noticed her in the doorway, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"Hamasaki...?"
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"I... I need to tell you something," she said quietly.
Sensei gestured for her to sit, his expression softening. "Alright. Go on."
She sat, clutching the edge of her skirt tightly in her fists.
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"You were right. About Izumi."
"I didn't hurt him," she said quickly, voice trembling.
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Her voice cracked.
"He's in the hospital because of it, he was bullied so bad...I...never tried to stop it either."
Sensei leaned forward slowly, his eyes dark with grief.
"Who was leading it?" he asked quietly. "Tell me the truth."
Hamasaki wiped her eyes with her sleeve, unable to look at him. "Katori. It was mostly her and her group... I...don't want him to die...." She said, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.
"I don't want him to die..." She cried out again, this time in guilt.
Why was it only now she was realizing how bad it was for him?
Only when he has to take such drastic steps.
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Sensei sat back, rubbing his forehead. "I hope he pushes through."
The silence stretched between them.
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