"It is the nature of monsters to destroy their makers."
Shugosha stared at the ceiling, dreading the events about to unfold. Moonlight bled from the curtains, its silver essence scattered on the carpet. He picked himself out of the bed as the door slammed, and walked quickly toward his little sister's room, apprehensive of the brutal storm on the horizon.
"Shugosha! Where the fuck are you?"
He tensed, his arms reaching to protect his sibling. Hitomi stared up at her brother, and hugged him tight. His mother burst into the room, fire poker in hand, and glared at them.
"How fucking pathetic. Why aren't you working? You're supposed to make me some money, you little shit."
Shugosha stammered out a response.
"I-I-I got f-fired. It's my fault. If you're going to beat someone, let it be me."
His mother took in the news, first grimacing, but then smiled.
"But that's no fun, is it? Besides, you could take the beatings. If it happened to Hitomi, though, you would have way more incentive to prevent it next time."
The familiar fear ran through Shugosha, draining him. Hitomi took another look at her brother, and pushed him away, limping toward her mother. Shugosha made a feeble attempt to snatch her back up, but his mother pointed her weapon at him.
"Just because you're bigger than most people doesn't mean you can win against against me. If you stay where you are, it'll be short... if I feel like it."
His mother raised her fist, and Shugosha watched, unable to do a single thing. That beating, with all the others, was what lit the fuse. It was only a matter of time before it went off.
He walked up the hill, watching the cherry blossoms float through the air, while his little sister slept on his back. Shugosha wheezed, the scar on his chest burning from the effort, reminding him of the missing lung. It had been two months since they ran away, and even poor, they were incredibly happy. They had found a home in a male dormitory, the landlady making an exception for his eight year old sister, as long as he attended a school nearby. Hitomi didn't want to stay by herself no matter what, so she ended coming with him to the school. Shugosha thought about leaving her in a library, and decided it was probably the best choice. After all, he couldn't just take her to class. As they reached the top of the hill, they were treated to the sight of the large school. He marveled at it, growing a bit scared of what it would be like. Shugosha sighed, and continued toward the library, asking various students for directions along the way, if he could get ahold of one. They were intimidated for the most part, as being approached by a large person with scars on his face was a justifiable cause for such a reaction. He opened the door when he made it to his destination, and was a bit surprised when he found a girl reading on the floor.
"Umm, hello? If you're staying here, could you watch over my sister? At least until you have to go, if that's ok."
The girl didn't respond, and Shugosha shrugged, deciding to take the silence as a yes. As gently as possible, he set down Hitomi, and tip toed out of the room. Up next were his classes. Jeez, it was nerve-racking, but Shugosha continued on, nonetheless, to his homeroom 4-B.
He slid the door open, and stunned the class when he went in. The teacher looked up at him, a bit frightened.
"Are you the new student? If you're not, then I have to inform you that you're not allowed to be here," the teacher told him this, with just a hint of caution.
Shugosha was a bit miffed by this, but replied nonetheless.
"Yeah, I am. I sort of don't know the school layout, could you help me?"
"No! I mean, the class representative will help you. She's right over there."
The teacher pointed toward a girl with purple hair, one of the few students that didn't look like she'd run away screaming. In fact, she just looked annoyed. He smiled, in spite of this. He was glad that she wasn't scared of him; it would make things so much easier. As he approached her, the girl's expression shifted to one of disdain, and she spoke.
"You must be hardcore emo, or you get into a LOT of accidents."
He was surprised at this, but decided to ignore it.
"Neither, but don't ask. I'm Shugosha Miyano. Can I sit behind you?"
Shugosha watched the girl intently, waiting for a response.
The girl was creeped out by the look in his eyes. There was happiness on the surface, but there was something strange in the depths.
"Kyou Fujibiyashi. You probably should sit behind me, seeing as I'll be showing you around the school at lunch."
Shugosha took a seat, a bit interested in the abrasive and fearless student in front of him. Once the teacher settled into her lecture, he felt an intense drowsiness, and found himself drifting away from the classroom.
"Mom, you're not going to hit her, anymore! I'm tired of it! Get away from here, now!"
Shugosha, age fifteen, held onto his six year old sister. His mother's face contorted with rage, and she swung the firepower at his face. At first, he didn't feel anything. Then he realized his face felt warm, and the pain ripped through him, sending a cascade of tears and blood down his cheek. He howled with pain, but held onto his little sister. His mother swung again and again and again, the fire poker stained red.
"That's what you get for trying to stop me. Now, I'll hit her the same way. Now get the FUCK out of my way."
With that, she grabbed Hitomi, and almost broke her arm, twisting it so hard. Shugosha couldn't see clearly, everything in a haze. He reached out to his sister, and realized what was going to happen to her. Something red started to fill his vision, and he heard a roar, filled with hatred and rage. Shugosha realized he was charging at his mother, screaming at the top of his lungs. How ironic that she would stab into his chest, and take one of them away. The last sounds before he blacked out was his sister crying out, and the noise of her leg snapping, both following him into the darkness.
"Are you ok? Come on, wake up."
Kyou stood over Shugosha, trying to wake him up from the bad dream he was having. He shot up in his seat, holding his arms up trying to protect himself from whatever nightmare was haunting him. His eyes, wide with fear, where darting back and forth before he came back to reality.
"I'm sorry. I just had a... weird dream, that's all. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."
Shugosha seemed to be ok, but he still had that frightened animal look in his eye. "Could we make a stop at the library before you show me the rest of the school? I want to check on someone."
Kyou shrugged, not really caring in the slightest. "At least be quick about it. I need to help my sister with something." They made their way to the library, where he found his little sister reading a couple of feet away from the barefoot girl.
"Hey Little Sis. How are you doing?" Hitomi smiled and hobbled over to hug his big brother. Kyou watched, and found herself grinning. It was the first time Shugosha really looked happy.
"I'll try and find us food, ok? I know you must be hungry, so if it means I have to tear apart the school to find a snack, I will." Shugosha set his sister down, and she frowned, pointing at his stomach. Shugosha grinned, and answered her silent question.
"I'm not really hungry. Besides, you come first. Always."
Shugosha waved bye, and slid the door closed. His companion grinned at him, and started to lead the way.
"You really love your little sister, don't you?"
Shugosha replied pretty quickly. "I would do anything for her. She's my only family in the world."
"What about your dad and mom?"
Shugosha looked uncomfortable, but responded anyway. "My dad is dead, and we don't live with our mother."
"Why not-"
"So are there any free lunches in the school? Like I said, my little sister is a bit hungry."
Kyou narrowed her eyes, wondering why he was trying to dodge her question. But she decided to ignore it, and focused on the question he just asked. "No, there isn't. Don't you have any money to buy food with?" Shugosha looked a bit nervous at this, and he put on a big show about how he had a lot of money. Kyou giggled, at that moment he reminded her of a certain blonde idiot. Of course, it was obvious that Shugosha wasn't an idiot, just that his acting sucked.
"If you need money, I'll let you borrow so-"
"No. I'm not going to take what I can't pay back. Whatever I need, I'll find myself." Shugosha's eyes hardened and all jovial manner had disappeared. Kyou couldn't help but notice how old he looked at that moment, wondering what had made him that way.
"Well that's the whole school. Be sure to not be late for class."
Kyou waved goodbye and started into a brisk jog toward the courtyard. Shugosha headed toward the opposite direction, hunched over, trying to keep unnoticed. He spotted a group of students gathered around the window, excited over something. He took a look, and was surprised to see a girl, confronting some gang. Some instinct of his kicked in, and he made his way downstairs, toward the soccer field.
"-You wouldn't want to get hurt, would you?"
Tomoyo, defiant toward the intruders, tensed up, ready to defend herself. They charged at her, and she let out a flurry of kicks, sending them flying. She felt a presence behind her, and instinctively lashed out, feeling her foot sink into something big. Shugosha felt pain, and it set something off. He grabbed the girl's foot, flipping her over and sending her into a daze. Red covered his vision, and he raised a fist, but realized what he was doing, and lowered it.
"I'm so sorry, that was sort of a reflex, are you ok?"
Shugosha helped the student to her feet, trying to think of a way out of this.
"I feel a little bit dizzy, but otherwise, I'm fine. You're the first person to actually hit me in a while."
Shugosha stared at his hands, anger overtaking his expression. He looked and forced a smile, starting to back away.
"I have to go. I'm sorry for what I did, please take care of yourself." He left the silver haired girl in the middle of the field, and retreated into himself.
"You hit a girl, you retard. What's the matter with you? Are you so mentally damaged that you lash out at complete and total strangers? No wonder your mother hates you. She has every right to do so."
Shugosha continued to loop this thought, his mother's mantra, burned into his mind. He spent the rest of the day out of class, committing the school's layout to memory, in case he needed to get out early. As the final class was about to end, he walked to the library, going to pick up his only family. Hitomi was right beside the other girl now, reading from her book.
"It's time to go, Hitomi."
She looked up, and smiled, taping her companion and waving. The reader looked up and waved back. Shugosha couldn't help but smirk at the non-vocal exchange. Hitomi made her way toward her brother, and he put on her on his back. As they made their way toward the dormitory building, he thought of the day, and started to hope this would be the beginning of a life filled with freedom.
Shugosha and Hitomi arrived at their destination, at peace, until loud screams woke them up from their daydream.
"Wow, someone's getting a pounding. I hope Misae doesn't get too angry with them."
Sure enough, Misae's telltale yell sounded through the dormitory, and the rugby players stampeded through the entrance, in a hurry to get out while they could. Shugosha stomped up the stairs, a little winded from the journey. An argument was ensuing on the second floor, mainly Misae reprimanding some poor blonde kid. Shugosha stood beside the landlady's door, waiting for her to return. After the argument, he watched her walk back, stressed out and frustrated. Her face lit up when she saw the two of them.
"Hey guys. School wasn't so bad, was it?"
"It was ok. Hitomi stayed in the library the whole time, reading."
Misae beamed at Hitomi, and turned serious.
"I have a room for you at the end of the hall, but Hitomi will stay with me because she's too young. You also have to tell me what happened to you. Got it?"
Shugosha was taken aback from her bluntness, but regardless, he nodded.
Sitting down at the table, Shugosha stated back at Misae, waiting for her first question.
"What happened to your face, why doesn't Hitomi talk, why does she limp, and why do you have breathing problems?"
Shugosha was a bit overwhelmed, but proceeded to give answers to all of them.
"First, my mother abused us for quite a long time. She stabbed me in my chest and destroyed my left lung with a fire poker, which she also used to beat my face. She also broke Hitomi's leg, and it never healed right." Shugosha's eyes drifted, reliving the memories, and he looked incredibly sad.
"Hitomi stopped talking after a couple years, probably because she didn't want to. Everything that happened to her was my fault. My mother beat her to spur me on to work for money."
Misae covered her mouth, astonished by what she just heard, and even more so by the flat, emotionless tone Shugosha said it with.
"But it's not your fault! You may think it was, but you couldn't have been able to stop it."
He looked up, and smiled bitterly.
"Maybe that's true. But I could have stood up any time. And I didn't, so it just makes me a coward."
Misae was unreadable, taking in everything without a flicker of emotion.
"One more question. If she hit you in the head so hard, and left scars, is your... brain ok?"
"Actually, it damaged me there too. I can't control my anger, due to the blows, and all the other stuff. I am broken. That's why I'm trying to get Hitomi into a school, and caring for her at the moment. She isn't so shattered, so she could survive and live a better life. Then I can be at peace."
He looked so happy at the thought of this future for his little sister. Misae, registered all this, lifted her hand, and slapped him. It barely registered, but it got his attention. She looked extremely angry, glaring at him with a mixture of frustration and exasperation.
"You are NOT a tool, so stop acting one. You deserve to be happy as well! I'm not telling you to abandon our little sister, but you should live too. If you want to stay in this dorm, you MUST promise me you're going to live for you also, got it?"
Misae was waiting for his response, and Shugosha sat there, mulling it over.
"She comes first, but I'll... try. I'm not making any promises."
Shugosha tried to grin, but it came out weird and destroyed. Misae stood up with her hands on her hips with a stern expression, albeit with a bit of pity. Shugosha tried to leave, but was hugged from behind.
"You don't really deserve this. Just because that woman treated you terribly, does not mean you're a terrible person."
Shugosha nodded stiffly, his expression withdrawn and elsewhere.