Iron hand (a Miki story) chapter 1

                                            Iron hand (a Miki story)



Twenty minutes to go on the lunch break and Shizune wasn't even finished reading half the files in the budget reports pile, but Misha was coming in with another box filled with more; Expenses, incomes, financial forecast for the next year. They could let Yamaku's accountant deal with those, but Shizune thought this would be valuable experience, if she owned a company someday. There was also the disciplinary actions files, and the attendance sheets from every class. This last one was a mess, with every teacher doing it in a different way, leaving the student council to deal with it. Shizune had to count everyone's absences, and for each student over the allowed maximum, she had to verify if said student's condition gave him an exemption, and notify the headmaster when appropriate. It was a lot of work, but someone had to do it. As always, Shizune was taking a lot on her plate, with every duty she took for her and the council - which really meant 'Shizune and Misha', after Lilly's recent departure. They had their hands full, and their best attempts to recruit new students for the council proved fruitless. Most students seemed more willing to break every rule in the book, adding to their workload, than to actually take part in helping, work for the council and the school.

It wasn't easy to delay much of these tasks to Misha; She was more than capable of doing the grunt work and didn't shy away from work, but... when it came to the accounting, crosschecking files, Shizune couldn't rely on her; She had a good heart and worked hard for the council, but there was just so much she could do when it came to numbers, balancing, budgeting... Which made up most of what they've had to do these past few days, other than painting a fence, and cleaning up the schoolyard after the festival.

Shizune: [Thanks, Misha. Put this one on the other table. You can take a pause if you want.]

Shizune didn't have anything else for Misha to do, but she wasn't offering her to take a pause only to get her out of the way; Misha looked exhausted. They still had some cleaning left to do and Shizune originally planned to do it later this day after the classes, but with Misha already tired at midday, she would probably just send her away after school, to let her rest. Shizune could do the rest by herself, or so she thought. She was still thinking about her work schedule for the day while looking at Ikezawa's absences at the same time, when the fight erupted in the hallway. Misha was waiting for Shizune to do something, until she realized she obviously couldn't know it was even happening.

Misha: [I think they're fighting outside Shicchan!]

Shizune stood from her chair and walked to the door, curious to see who 'they' were. But when she got there, a dozen students remained, two of them taking care of a third one, laying on the floor and bleeding heavily from the nose and a bad cut just above the eye. Shizune recognized him, one of the members of the track team.

Shizune: [Misha, send for the nurse. And ask Hozumi who did this.]

Hozumi didn't look like he could even speak, so she asked the crowd around him, but couldn't get a name; Some of them were too busy trying to wake him up, the rest of the group either feigning ignorance, or apparently having really good excuses to leave at this exact moment. The nurse didn't take long to come, and when Hozumi finally woke up, he accompanied him to his office, and the few who remained on the scene left in a hurry. Shizune shrugged it off and went back inside the student council room, to get some more work done before going back to class for the afternoon.

But ten minutes later, a knock on the door caught her attention; Well, not the knocking itself, obviously, but she always positioned herself to see people coming at the door so she knew, even without hearing anything. She opened the door and let Hozumi walk in. Shizune wondered who could've got the best of him; He was a big guy, six feet two, maybe six three, two hundred pounds. Shizune didn't remember his condition, his reason to be in Yamaku, but as a member of the track team he had to be in good shape, still. And she once read in his file about him being a former high school wrestling champion. He didn't look like much now though. His shirt was covered in blood, he had a pack of ice for his nose, and a bandage for his cut.

Hozumi: 'The nurse said I'd have to go back if the bleeding doesn't stop. Maybe I'll need stitches.'

Shizune signed something quickly, and Misha asked her question again, this time to the right person - or so she thought;

Misha: 'Who did this to you, Hozumi?'

But she got no reply, Hozumi simply staring at the floor, and Shizune signed again.

Misha: 'Were you fighting with him, or did he assault you?'

More silence.

Misha: 'We usually deal with these situations within the school, but you were bleeding seriously. Should we call the police?'

Hozumi: 'No, it's fine. I...'
Misha: 'I?'
Hozumi: 'I started it.'

Misha translated for Shizune, who smiled triumphantly; At least he was talking now. Shizune signed something for Misha to ask.

Misha: 'Is he hurt as well? Any serious injury? Do we need to call the nurse again?'

Fights were a concern in every school, but even more so in Yamaku, where some of the students' health was at risk without even fighting; They had to make sure everyone involved was fine, before dealing with the disciplinary actions.

Hozumi: 'No serious injury, everyone's fine alright? You don't need to call the police or the nurse or the army or whoever else you want to call.'

The tone of his voice made it clear; He was getting annoyed, even angry at them. But there was more than that, he seemed embarrassed. Well, if he was genuinely ashamed of his actions, that might help him get less harsh a punishment. Shizune handed him a sheet of paper.

Misha: 'Here, fill this. Write down your recollection of the events as best as you recall, from start to finish. If it's the same as the other student, we'll tell you what's coming next. If it's not, we'll try to ask some witness, to find out who is right.'

Hozumi grabbed the sheet, but he seemed unwilling to write anything. When he eventually did, he kept erasing some of the words, taking over entire sentences. Shizune and Misha resumed their work on the budget reports, to give him some time to finish. They would certainly be late for class, but it was out of their control. A few minutes later, Hozumi handed the sheet back, and Shizune gave it a once-over. Teased another track team member about having only one hand, some... Miura? - probably a new student, Shizune had never heard of him. Miura lost it and beat him unconscious, then fled the scene. Shizune signed something to Misha, then wrote this information in an incident report.

Misha: 'Very well, you may go. We will call you back if there is anything else. Avoid getting yourself into trouble now. If you see Miura again, you are NOT to approach him. Are you in his class?'

He smiled, but had a weird expression on his face, one that Shizune couldn't read;

Hozumi: '...Not in the same class no. Don't worry, won't ever come close to that freak again.'

He left the room shortly after, and Shizune noticed he was also limping on his right leg. She didn't act on this information, surely the nurse noticed it too, and it was no big deal. A few minutes later, Shizune still working on the report, someone knocked on the door again... would this day never end? Misha opened the door to let a girl come in; Tall girl with long brown hair that went all the way to her waist, she had an athletic build, and her skin tan was a shade paler than her hair, a light brown. Shizune and Misha looked her up and down, trying to figure out what she wanted while waiting for her to speak. When she made no move to enter the room, staying halfway hidden behind the wall, and didn't bother to explain herself either, Shizune signed to Misha;

Misha: 'We're very busy! Budget reports, cleaning up the yard, and now people are fighting in the hallways. We have lots of work to do and very little time! Do you have urgent business with the student council?'
Miki: 'I guess. They told me to come here. I'm Miki!'
Misha: 'What do you need? Who are "they"?'
Miki: 'Teachers. Nurse. I don't know. I don't care. I'm the one who beat up that retard in the hallway.'

After translation, Shizune signed to Misha, paused, then signed some more.

Misha: 'Please refrain from using such language here, it is highly inappropriate. You... You are Miura? Miki Miura, that is you?'
Miki: 'In the flesh!'.

They both looked at her for a moment; She was very fit for sure, but still... Hozumi was twice her size, and fit as well.

Misha: 'Could you come in, please?'

The girl walked in, and they finally saw she was telling the truth; Her left arm ended in a bandaged stump, she really did have only one hand. She was the girl Hozumi described in the report, neglecting any mention of her gender. She didn't seem to have suffered any wound from the fight. There was some blood on her right hand, but it was most likely not hers. Well, it was not the student council's place to judge. Shizune handed another incident report sheet for Misha to give her.

Misha: 'Can you fill this in please, with details of the incident from start to finish?'
Miki: 'He was being an ass, so I punched him in the face, then I left and came back here.'

It was not the first time the council heard about Hozumi behaving poorly, there were some rumors about him bullying the other students as well; This might have been why no one wanted to help them identify the girl who did this... Or why they didn't help him as he was taking a beating. Still, Yamaku was not welcoming vigilante justice, and leaving a student to bleed on the floor over an insult, was pushing it a bit too far. They needed to know more.

Misha: 'Can you give us more details? And put it in writing please!'
Miki: 'My hand still hurt from bashing that idiot's face. Can't you write it yourself?'

Misha translated and looked to Shizune, who simply nodded.

Misha: 'Very well, go on.'
Miki: 'Well, as I was saying, he was annoying, so I beat him up. What else do you want to know?'
Misha: 'What did he say? Did you punch him only once, then leave?'

Miki sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes.

Miki: 'He joked about how I shouldn't run the relay because having only one hand could be a handicap, to pass the baton.'
Misha: '...And?'

This time, she smiled. She had a beautiful smile, made her look quite innocent... Which contrasted heavily with the blood on her hand, and the fact that she just beat up one of Yamaku's jocks.

Miki: 'And I punched him in the face to show him that one hand was good enough!'
Misha: 'Did he hit you back?'

This could make all the difference... It was either a fight, or an assault.

Miki: 'I don't know... Maybe? I didn't pay much attention. Though I feel some pain in my ribs so I think he might have.'
Misha: 'How many times did you hit him?'
Miki: 'Man, you have these stupid fucking questions. I don't know. I wasn't counting.'
Misha: 'Approximately?'
Miki: 'Ten? Fifteen maybe? No more than twenty. Does it matter?'
Misha: 'You punched him ten to twenty times in the face and no one stopped you?'
Miki: 'One of them tried... Grabbed my right arm with both hands like an idiot. People think that having only one hand means it's the only thing I can hurt them with. So I elbowed him in the face, and he didn't ask for more.'

Shizune was writing everything in the incident report, making disapproving faces with each new detail Misha translated for her.

Misha: 'And after that?'

Miki: 'After that huh... At some point he stopped moving so it wasn't fun anymore and I left. The nurse came to me with a teacher and they told me to come see you, and here I am! Can I go now?'

Misha looked at Shizune's hands, before replying;

Misha: 'You may go. But you will be called again shortly about your actions. In the meantime, please refrain from talking or interacting with Hozumi under any circumstances.'
Miki: 'Really? And I was about to invite him on a date too. Anyway. Later you two!'

And with this she left, leaving the two girls to finish the incident report. Once it was complete, they brought it to the headmaster; He was a big man, with an imposing presence. Old, past seventy now, yet he still commanded respect, and when he spoke, people from any crowd would keep silent and listen. He was harsh in judgment, but always fair, and willing to give people a second chance... Rarely a third though. Rumors among the students at Yamaku was that he used to be a soldier. Some even said he used to be a gangster. Shizune rarely paid attention to such talks, but he did fit the look, the personality, in both cases.
He read the report slowly, a concerned expression on his face.

Headmaster: 'Is this a mistake? This... Miura is a girl?'
Misha: 'No, sir. I mean, yes, sir! No mistake. A girl.'
Headmaster: 'And she started it right? Well, it's her first offense, but a serious one. I'm giving her a month of detention after school. And I will speak with her too, before and after. She needs to understand this behavior is unacceptable in Yamaku, or anywhere else.'
Misha: 'Very well, sir. Shall we go?'
Headmaster: 'Hmm... Could I ask you, or another student council member, to take care of her first night of detention? I don't have time to find a teacher to do it, and I want it to start tonight, so she learns that actions have consequences right now, and not just tomorrow.'

The headmaster obviously wasn't aware that the student council was only these two girls. Or he didn't care.

Misha: 'But we have so much work to do, we were supposed to clean the festival grounds tonight and...'
Headmaster: 'You could use her help, then?'

Shizune considered the idea for a while, then signed something for Misha to translate.

Misha: 'Would she, though? Help us? We don't exactly have any authority over her. What if she doesn't want to do anything?'

She left a big part unsaid; Shizune had not seen Miki fight, but she had seen the aftermath on Hozumi's face. She didn't want to risk getting into a fight with this girl.

Headmaster: 'Here, give me a second. I'll write you a letter.'

When he was done, Shizune looked at it, skipping the formalities to focus on the important lines; You are to receive a full month of detention for your actions. ... You will be under the supervision of the student council tonight, and perhaps other nights as well. You will answer to them as you would to me the headmaster, and the school. ...  You shall help them clean the festival grounds, or any other work they may require. ... And at last, you will apologize to Mr. Hozumi Ito for your behavior. Were you to refuse any of these, or act with violence again in the future, you shall be expelled from Yamaku.

After exchanging some more information on the incident, and discussing the budget reports, they left his office, Shizune holding the headmaster's letter tight against her chest; Her shield against Miki's fury.



End of chapter 1
Chapter 2: https://pastebin.com/Ryi9yT7Y