Prologue
"Honestly, Hastuharu! What is the matter with you? All he did was ask one simple question! You beat him nearly to death!"
No lady, it was in no way a simple question. Trust me, I know the definition of simple. I may be a little slow, but I know the definition of simple. That was in no way a simple question.
How was I supposed to explain to the kid that the reason my cousin isn't in school again is because Akito wasn't in a good mood last night and lost it again? No way in hell was that a simple question.
Sure I hadn't meant to hurt him so badly, but he wasn't beaten nearly to death. That is such an exaggeration. Trust me, I've been with Yuki enough times after Akito's lost his temper to know what it looks like when someone's been beaten nearly to death.
But thinking about what state Yuki would be in right now wasn't something I wanted to think about at the moment. My hands clenched into fists on my thighs from where I saw at my desk and I grit my teeth. Though whether it was to fend off the tears or avoid blowing up at my teacher, I wasn't totally sure. It wasn't that I had no remorse for that thoughtless kid. Even though I was mad, I hadn't meant to snap like I did. But I wasn't sure how much more I could be subjected to listen to before snapping again.
"That poor child!" my teacher ranted on. "He never deserved anything of the sort! Young man, you had better plan on a good long letter of apology!"
Oh, that poor kid. If she honestly thought he had it bad then this world really was screwed up.
But, sure enough, I would be forced to apologize. Even though I hadn't really been aware of the consequences of what I'd been doing at the time, I would have to show some regret for hurting what would be considered a defenseless victim.
I, Hastuharu Sohma, had truthfully done enough in my thirteen years of existence to be considered a juvenile delinquent. In fact, it was probably nothing more than the power of the prestigious Sohma family that kept me out of juvi hall.
I continued to stare blankly ahead. I barely registered what she was saying as my sensei continued spewing out her speech of hatred.
Lady, you have no idea what goes on in this world if you think he has it bad. He's lucky. Why don't you take a look into Yuki's background? Look in your thick, stupid folder of all the Sohmas. You'll find out his age, birth date, and who his parents are. But you aren't going to find out the most important thing. You aren't going to find what's sabotaging his whole freaking life in there.
Go ahead, dig deep into the world of Yuki Sohma.
With Akito's resources, you'll never find anything. By those standards, he might as well have never existed at all...