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Part I ; Brother ~ Adoration , Grieve
"...Komi..." A groan escaped her brother's lips through the wall that separated them (Makoto attempted to get his parents to knock the wall down, to which they strictly declined no matter how much money he tried to give them). Despite her age, she knew exactly what he was doing. She knew he was doing "it" while thinking of her. The mere thought of that made her want to yell at him like there was no tomorrow.
She hugged her pillow in a poor attempt of comfort, staring off at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep, not with the knowledge that she was holding. She wanted a normal brother. One that she could talk to and have fun with without him trying to marry her.
When she was nine, he would do things like hug her from behind, go into her room while she was asleep, or even sometimes shower with her. She thought it was normal sibling things, a quick internet search of "what is incest?" told her otherwise.
But she put up with it. She pretended to accept everything. She pretended like nothing was wrong so she wouldn't worry her parents, isn't that so nice of her?
As they got older, Makoto simply grew worse. He'd start talking about how big her tits had gotten, he'd hold her ass if nobody was around, he'd trace her body or kiss her on the cheek if he thought she was asleep (truthfully, she was too terrified to sleep when she knew what he was doing).
It sickened her so much.
But she can put through it. She's perfect.
Part II ; Man ~ Worship , Torment
"Teruhashi! I love you!" A man who was no younger than 20 gave her a box of chocolates. She was used to getting love letters by now, she got them everyday. But they were usually from boys her age, not an adult who probably has some kind of drug addiction. It made her sick.
She’d find herself forcing a smile, saying something like “I’m sorry, I really need to focus on my studies. It’s just not the time for romance!” and walking away like nothing happened as people gauged at her like a trophy to be won.
Truth be told, not even the boys her age were any better. At least the man was somewhat respectful when she rejected him. The kindest reaction to a rejection in her school would be to trash her desk, leaving words such as “stuck up whore” or “my future rape victim.” The worst case scenario would be to have her foot broken (that actually happened twice now, to which the boys immediately greeted upon seeing her tears-stricken face).
Posting her face on the internet was strictly forbidden by her parents and her brother (because, according to him, “nobody else should see her beauty” and according to her parents, “those nobodies would target her”). Which was probably one of the only rules she agreed on (some examples of rules her parents had were “don’t make friends with people who are ugly” and “only eat twenty grams of junkfood per month”).
When she goes to school, she would be greeted with hundreds of presents in her locker, each having a letter attached. She would always take the time to reply to those letters, one by one. From the moment she finished her (organic, low-carb) lunch to late at night.
Isn’t she so perfect for that?
Part III ; Stalker ~ Devotion , Accept
There were people following behind her, watching her every move. When it first happened, she told her parents. They didn't seem to care, they told her it was bound to happen. She learns to tell someone's age and gender by the sound of their footprints because it happened so much.
She would sob into her pillow every night when she made sure nobody would hear her (isn’t that so kind and considerate?), making sure every nook and cranny in her room was covered or shut, constantly looking at the curtain, under her desk, or towards the door as if expecting someone to be there.
Although, despite the sleepless nights, she would always wake up without eyebags (another blessing from god, she must say!). She would wake up to be greeted by some news people who were conveniently standing right in front of her house, apparently doing their work with no other motives (they totally didn’t make her late multiple times due to interviewing her) (they totally weren’t taking advantage of her for some easy money).
I love you no matter what ; Friends ~ Purity , Exceptions
Saiki is weird. Why doesn’t he treat her like everyone else? Actually, most of her... friends(?), although they still do get flustered around her, treat her like a human.
It’s an odd feeling. Nobody would sing their praises to her just because, she wasn’t a doll on display to them, but rather a teenage girl who deserved privacy and had boundaries like everybody else.
“Teruhashi isn’t a doll you know, hands off unless she says otherwise!” Aren’s protective voice rang through her ear. No matter how many times she would replay it in her head, the warm feeling would arise. The way he would yell at anybody who seemed to get too close to her, then immediately change to a soft expression and ask if she was fine. Like a big brother. A big brother she never had.
“Are you sure?” Chiyo would usually ask her this question- when she’d invite her out anywhere and when Teruhashi would accept, she’d ask “are you sure?” rather than to put her hands around her shoulders without permission and go say something like “alright, doll.” Chiyo asked that question a lot because according to her, she didn’t want to risk Teruhashi’s safety for her own enjoyment. For someone to prioritize Teruhashi’s safety over their enjoyment, like a big sister who worried a lot, made Teruhashi smile.
“You don’t need to if you don’t want to.” She remembers the way Kaidou would give a look of concern. She hasn’t heard that phrase in a long time. It was comforting to know that her choices would be respected, even if she didn’t really have a true reason other than simply not being in the mood to do something. She was never pressured into something when she was around her friends.
She could go on about every single one of them, how being around them felt like a warm embrace that never faltered for a moment, how it felt a refreshing breeze surrounded her, how it felt like her soul was free of sin.
She never wanted to be normal, but the occasional feeling of normality around those people... wasn’t terribly bad.