Bully

-Saturday Morning-

Fumio stood in the park, frowning. He had many questions about what would transpire. How did I get dragged into this? Fumio expected to talk, not an ultimate show down.

-Five Days Earlier-

Sui-Topii came home crying. Fumio looked up when he heard the door close.

“Sui-Topii?” he asked. The freshman got up and headed to the door. He found his sister leaned against the doorframe crying.

“What’s the matter?” Fumio asked. Sui-Topii sobbed as she wiped her tears. Her brother could barely understand her.

“What did you say?” he asked. The little girl lifted her head.

“He was so mean,” she cried.

Sui-Topii sniffled. “Jin!”

“Jin?”

The little girl nodded as more tears formed in her eyes. Fumio pulled her into his arms.

“What did this Jin-kid do?” he asked. Through tears, Sui-Topii told him about how this big kid pushed her off the swings and laughed at her.

“Did you tell the teacher?” Fumio asked. Sui-Topii nodded.

“And what did she say?” he asked.

“I don’t know!”

“You don’t know?”

“No!”

Fumio sighed. “What do you want me to do?” Sui-Topii hugged his legs.

For five days, she came home in tears. Fumio tried to get her to talk, but he could barely understand her through her whimpering. Unsure of where to turn, the freshman spoke with her teacher on Tuesday. He found himself coming back every morning. The answer was always the same. Finally on Friday, the teacher shrugged.

“Look, I don’t know what to tell you,” she said. “I never see anything.”

Fumio frowned. “You don’t see my sister crying every day? Really?”

The teacher rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“Look, talk to the kid yourself. I’m new here and I’m already stressed out!”

The freshman rolled his eyes. That’s hardly an excuse!

-Now-

Sui-Topii grabbed onto Fumio’s leg. Her older brother shook his head. How did it come to this? The teacher could’ve stopped this days ago. Now he had to confront a kid half his size.

“Point him out,” Fumio said. Sui-Topii pointed to a tall, chubby boy in a plaid shirt and grey shorts on the slide.

“Thank you,” her brother said. Fumio walked over with unease. What would he say to this kid? How could he do this without looking like a bully himself? Jin, the little monster in question, and his friends looked up and saw a frowning Fumio approaching him. They froze when they saw the dull look in his eyes.

“Are you Jin?” the freshman asked in a low voice.

“Yes,” the chubby boy said with his eye shifting left and right. Fumio pointed to Sui-Topii behind him.

“That little girl is my sister,” he said with clenched teeth. “Why have you been making her cry?” He didn’t notice his face resembling a tired, angry dragon as he spoke. He almost seemed to be growling too. The little boys trembled.

“It was a joke!” Jin yelped.

“So it’s funny to make a little girl cry? Hm?”

“We’re sorry! We’re sorry!”

Fumi folded his arms across his chest. “Don’t do it again. Real men don’t make girls cry; you hear?”

“Yes!” The boys ran off, shaking. Fumio breathed out as they disappeared from view. That was that, but now he felt like a bit of a bully himself.