Thump.

"Pl-Please s-stop it!" A young teen cried out in pain before he curled up. Multiple kicks soon followed and were delivered to him, a loud crack echoing in the empty hallway of the school.

"Awww, what's the matter? Is the pain really that unbearable, Touta?"

"All of this could've been avoided if you had just done our homework like we asked you to!"

"You look so pathetic, Matsuda."

Touta Matsuda screamed as another one of his classmates kicked him in the face. He felt blood rush out of his nose and tears started falling from his brown eyes. He felt himself be picked off the floor and barely looked up before he was punched in the eye. Feeling his back hitting a locker, he gave out a cry and felt his world spinning.

Drowsiness consumed his whole body as Touta muttered, "No more," and passed out. Blood dripped to the floor from his wounds and the bullies 'eww' ed in disgust.

"Maybe we should lock him up in the bathroom. That'll teach him that we aren't messing around," one of the bullies suggested as he and his two companions walked away.

Throwing him a dirty look, another replied, "Everybody left, you big moron! We'll be in trouble if he doesn't go home and will snitch on us."

"I think Matsubaka has already learned his lesson. Leave him be guys," the last one of them spoke up.

"Whatever," both replied and trailed behind their friend.

Elsewhere, Touta was struggling to keep awake despite how tempting it was to fall asleep. After ensuring that he would be able to stay up, he slowly got up on his feet, using the locker as support. Touta winced and looked at the nearest window close to him to look at his injuries.

Seeing his reflection, bile rose up his throat but he swallowed it down as Touta's eyes started to burn and his vision blurred. His left eye was now swollen and black, a small trail of blood under it. His lips were swollen and smeared with blood that he could taste on his front teeth. And to match his face wounds, blood drops kept dripping from his nose to the ground. Teeth clenched, he begin to walk outside of school and hidden, headed home limping and wheezing.

Touta stopped in front of his house and stared. The house was constructed the same like the others layered across the neighborhood, three windows on the top floor with a big window on the left bottom side and a wooden brown door. There was a front porch that looked ready to fall apart at any moment and Touta twitched at the memory as to why. The front lawn was filled with half-dead flowers and a pathway made of concrete interrupted the middle of it. A fence that was as tall as three feet surrounded the whole house.

He tried to think up an excuse as to why he was late arriving home and his appearance if his parents were home before deciding to sneak in by the backdoor. Carefully, he opened and closed the fence door before Touta walked, or limped due to his injuries, around the house and stopped at the corner. He listened for any noise as he kept his breathing to a minimum. Hearing nothing, he figured his parents were still out and used the backdoor to get inside.

Touta limped past the kitchen and carefully tried to walk up the stairs without leaving any blood stains behind. He went to his room and grabbed whatever clean clothes he could find and went directly to the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, he slipped out of his bloodied clothes and felt grateful it was the weekend or he'd have a hard time explaining what happened to his uniform. Touta stepped into the shower and began washing himself.

Fifteen minutes later, he stepped out and dried himself with the towel hanging on the doorknob. He opened the mirror and reached for the alcohol and bandages. Deciding it would be better to just clean up the wounds that his clothes couldn't hide, he was careful to try to make them as faint as possible, especially his right leg that was still bleeding but not by much anymore. He was especially cautious with his swollen eye as he cleaned up the cut beneath it.

He took about five more minutes to treat his injuries before dressing up in lose black sweats and a beige T-shirt. He then exited the bathroom and made a decision not to eat for dinner tonight as his parents would clearly notice his eye was swollen.

However, Touta jumped and hid half of his face behind the bathroom door as his mother was five feet away.

"Matsui!" Mrs. Matsuda cried out in joy and walked towards him, capturing him in a hug. Panicked, he kept hugging her when she was about to release him.

"Mom, when did you get home?" He questioned awkwardly before realising he had left his clothes carelessly on the bathroom floor.

"Just a few minutes ago, dear, " she murmured. "I decided tonight for dinner we would have your favorite curry. After all, after seeing your grades, it calls for a celebration."

" I-I'm not hungry. I ate a lot at school that I feel like I'll explode if I eat anymore, " Touta lied and wished for a distraction as he knew his mother was growing suspicious.

"Really? That's odd, Matsui, I-" Mrs. Matsuda said before she was interrupted by a knock on the door. "That must be Mrs. Shinya. I asked her if she could drop off something. I suppose I shouldn't keep her waiting. I'll talk to you laterlater, sweatheart."

"Sure," he replied and watched her go downstairs. Touta then scrambled to the bathroom and quickly picked up his clothes and looked around to make sure he hid all the evidence. He then ran to his room and locked it.

He threw his clothes in a basket before sitting on his bed. He grimaced as pain erupted throughout his body. He groaned and layed down. Feeling sleepy, Touta closed his eyes.

In a few minutes, he was unconscious and didn't hear the screaming coming from downstairs.