killer x victim yuri

; foreword : this was originally a followup to this post, but i spent so long in the lead up that it's pretty much its own thing)Fun fact: part of why it took a year for me to mirror this on my site is that my plans for this mutated into [Ars Longa. I think the finer points of my vision will never been known or appreciated.]{.note} imagine they'd gone to school together. one was a rich girl, with so many friends and connections and opportunities. she knew exactly the right words to charm all the people in her life, and she works hard for their approval --- everyone has high expectations from her. she has perfect grades and attendance, membership in four different after school clubs, and the worst the rumor mill can say about her is wondering when the hell she sleeps --- because of course, she studies gossip and popularity like it's a class of its own. the other girl... was not. the poverty line was the roof over her head. she had attention problems, trouble fitting in, and a keen sense of how much she was looked down on, ignored, routinely denied. and she hated it. she'd raise her voice, she'd lash out, she'd cause any amount of trouble if it meant they'd shut up and get out of her way. behavioral anger issues, they called it. her academic record is littered with suspensions, expulsions, a brief stint in a correctional facility. all throughout, though, she had potential, and a couple teachers even saw it. sparks of something more than a hopeless delinquent. so here and there, there's extra chances, leniency, several half-pleading half-condescending talking-tos imploring her to change. and... eventually she does. maybe the fight gets beaten down, maybe the prefrontal cortex develops, but the rage becomes restraint, all her old impulses rerouted behind a mask. so she gets transferred to a new campus, a kind of sponsorship with a special arrangement; it's hers as long as she keeps her behavior and and grades on the up and up. maybe she tries to stay quiet about her past, but the other students quickly notice how she regularly meets with a counselors and officers. maybe one girl had been in a previous school she'd gotten kicked out of, back before she'd gotten her act together. it starts as a small rumor, but it sticks and grows into a suffocating cloud that hangs around her. that girl is trouble; nobody wants to associate with her. the isolation, the whispers whenever she steps into a room, it puts a hitch in her efforts. her detractors get bolder; her treatment verges on harassment. it might be the most infuriating thing she'd endured in her life --- she'd done everything right. her grades start to tank, that goes without saying. she needs help, she needs support. is there anyone she can study with? she feels contempt and revulsion --- and it's mutual --- for everyone she shares classes with. even the ones not sneaking sneering glances and muttered words, were doing even worse than her academically; pathetic and not worth her time. but there was one exception. one girl who was the top of every class, of whom no one, not even the the most cynical of them all, had a negative word to say. she was always kind, always thoughtful, and the outcast had never seen that girl be complicit in her treatment, even when all her friends joined in. if anyone might be willing to study with her, that girl seemed like her only hope. (and she was, undeniably, pretty cute) it takes a while to work up the courage and find an actual opportunity - the top student had a busy schedule. but the outcast finally gets her alone, asks her for help studying. but again, the top student has a busy schedule. is she expected to find even more time to spend with this failing student? still, she's always kind, so she finds the words to gently refuse her. too gentle --- the excuses, the seeming reluctance, it gives the impression that the answer isn't no, it's maybe, just not right now. so perhaps if the outcasts insists, if she argues against the excuses, then the other girl would be willing. they circle around each other like this for a bit, polite refusal and insistent rebuttal. couldn't she take a hint? she's busy. all of the work she does for school and extracurriculars, all of the people she has to micromanage and keep happy --- she simply does not have time to deal with this girl on top of that. and yet, it's more than just studying the outcast is really after. it's a lifeline, a person who doesn't hate them for no reason. she needs that. neither of them can say aloud what's really motivating them, though. does the outcast need to study with the top student, though? surely there are remedial classes to take. and the outcast bristles at the suggestion. she isn't stupid. none of the people in those classes would be worth her time. really, none of the people in this school are worth her time, except you. and that is what makes the top student bristle. all of the work she does day after day, and it's what, the bare minimum to make her worth the time of this nobody? who does she think she is? honestly, with how hard this girl pushes herself, it's a wonder the top student didn't snap sooner. and if there was ever a perfect time to lose control, chewing out a girl with no friends while the two of them are alone was it. the outcast is seething --- but she had long learned to hold that in. take a deep breath, remove yourself from the situation --- she storms out of the room, runs back to her dorm, and smashes her desk. that should have been the end of it. she takes a shower to relax, but even as she lay under the water, the conversation's stuck in her head, all the things she said, all the things she could have said. and again: when she's lying in bed, trying to sleep, she's instead thinking about her, and how infuriating that argument was. if she had the time to compose all her words perfectly, how satisfying would it be to tear apart everything she said? the top student is thinking about that encounter too, but her ruminations are different. she's stuck thinking about how great it felt. all of the expectations, all of the rules, but just once, she could say fuck it, let loose and hurt someone. she... she needed that. so days later, when they cross paths again, when they stop and stare at each other --- the top student doesn't apologize. she should, she didn't really mean it, she really shouldn't talk to anyone like that - but instead when she opens her mouth, she twists the knife, doubles down, and watches how red in the face the other girl gets, holds back a laugh at the sputtered response. the top student doesn't have time for more studying, but she does have time for more of this --- hunting through the halls to find that girl, and tormenting her with quick insults and insinuations. it should have gotten old, she should have gotten bored of it --- but it only escalated. the outcast didn't just take it, and she didn't run away, she met every barb with invective of her own. soon they're screaming and hissing in each other's face. whatever argument they had should have ran its course after the first meeting or two. instead, it develops into a kind of violent smalltalk. they'll talk about their days, and the other will berate them for it. the top student vents about her latest frustrations, and the outcast exclaims how much she doesn't care about how hard her perfect life is. every hardship is promptly cheered or demeaned. it's a few sessions of this before the outcast grabs her. she's bigger, stronger, she's been in fights. the top student becomes suddenly aware that she's shorter --- that none of her extracurriculars were athletic. the spell lasts a second --- then, with sudden realization of what she was doing, the outcast lets go of her and runs off. she doesn't leave her room the next day; she's sure that the other girl is going to report her, her streak of compliant behavior was over, and they'd take her back to correction and... it doesn't happen. she still has to go to class, and when she does, she crosses paths with her at their usual spot. and the shorter girl snarks at her without missing a beat, as if nothing had happened. if anything, she's more brazen, as if daring her to do it again. she's the first to lean into the other girl's face, closer than they'd ever gotten in their shouting matches. it's too close, and the outcast pushes her back. and she just laughs, and steps right back. shoved back, again. and she steps back again. that's when she's grabbed, a bruising grip, and forced back. don't make me do this, the outcast says, leaving again --- hearing taunts behind her. again, no reports. they meet again, and the girl flinches but never cries foul. sometimes she tries to yank her hands free, step back from the girl looming over her, but if the outcast tries, it's not hard to pin her down and shut her up with a hand over her mouth. she can't deny that it feels great. so long bottling everything up - and now she can exert power without fearing a reprisal. their meetings tend to end the same way, now --- the top student tries, but this is one area where she can never seem to excel. she throws the first punch, but the outcast hits harder. and once they're outright fighting... the outcast pulls her hair, bites her arms, strangles her till she's blue in the face. the outcast is sure she's pushed to far then. but the top student just wears a scarf to hide the mark. still, that's what spooks her into pulling back. if it goes much farther, the evidence is going to become unignorable. avoiding the top student... isn't very successful. she lays in ambush in the halls, and even when the outcast steps up her stealth, she can just get other students to report on her whereabouts; she still has friends everywhere. the outcast can't escape her --- and it's driving her past her limit. so she decides to escalate farther, finally scare the other girl into stopping. the next time they fight, the outcast brings something new.