Finding Strength Within | Digimon Savers/Data Squad |

"You're not fit to work at DATS either-"

'Tohma was right...I'm not fit to be a member of DATS. Why would they even keep me around...?'

"Ms. Harima..." The sound of her teacher's voice echoed through the classroom, but not a word had reached the girl's ears. 

'Maybe if I were as strong as Masaru...'

A loud sigh could be heard. "Ms. Harima.." The tone in his voice grew slightly more annoyed than it had sounded just a moment ago. Alas, his words fell on deaf ears. The girl he was attempting to address said nothing, lost in her own thoughts of self pity. 

'...Or as smart as Tohma-' 

"Ms. Harima!" The moment her teacher raised his voice to Satsuma levels of scary, Tohru jumped up to her feet, being jerked out of her thoughts. The language teacher didn't seem surprised in the least at her lack of attention.

"Y-Yes sir?!" The moment those words left her mouth Tohru came to a horrifying realization that every student, including her teacher, were staring at her. A chorus of giggles and snickers sounded around her, the brunette's cheeks heating up as the embarrassment began to set in. 

"Day dreaming again, Ms. Harima? Please pay attention from now on I'll have to start putting you in detention with your friend Mr. Daimon." The language teacher spoke in a tone that almost seemed as if he were mocking her. Which wasn't surprising as he was known for being a huge asshole to his students, according to Masaru. The sneer her teacher gave her caused the humiliated teenager to swallow hard and nod her head slowly. "Now, as I was trying to tell you before, please read the first paragraph on page four." 

Tohru slowly and hesitantly picked up her textbook as the sounds of cruel laughter never left her eardrums. Her heart thumped in her chest, cheeks burning red as she swallowed the lump in her throat. Hot tears stung her eyes but she desperately tried to hold them back. 

Turning to the assigned page and taking a shaky breath of air, soft lips quivering as they parted. However, the moment she started speaking, her own emotions betrayed her and the tears she'd tried holding back began to fall. Tohru's entire body began to shake, salty tears staining the pages of the textbook where they fell. 

The teacher rolled his eyes and put up a hand, "Stop. Just...go outside until you're done crying." He gestured to the door with a sigh and a shake of his head. Tohru didn't hesitate to drop her book on her desk and quickly flee from the room. Her classmates erupted into mocking laughter and snickers. 

"What a crybaby." Ayumi snidely commented through her snickering, but she quickly shut up when Masaru—the only person in the room who wasn't laughing at Tohru's expense—sent a death glare in her general direction. Masaru, who was actually quiet for once in his life, turned his forest green gaze to the door and helplessly watched his friend's retreating back. Fists clenched tightly, itching to make contact with the teacher's face. 

No, he wanted to punch every single individual in this room. Masaru hated them for the horrible way they treated Tohru. Laughing at every little mistake she made or making fun of her weight. He held back his rising anger and resorted to just fantasizing about beating them all up in his mind. Though that didn't seem to calm him, he was still pissed off. The brunet wanted to jump up from his seat and run to Tohru and throw his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace and comforting her. 

And if anyone even dared to laugh at him for showing his soft and affectionate side toward a girl he cared so much for, he'd fight them. He'd be damned if he let anyone question his masculinity. He could show a girl he cared for her and still be manly as hell. So, why didn't he do this? Why didn't he just disobey classroom rules and go to the crying girl outside?