Chapter 1
This isn't Yuya. She knows it isn't.
This isn't your best friend, Yuzu keeps telling herself. This isn't Yuya.
"You're not Yuya!" She screams at the monster on top of her. She gets no response from this creature. They just continue on with their evil deed.
Continues to slowly tear her to pieces.
"Bring back my friend!" Yuzu shouts.
He still doesn't hear her.
"Please… Yuya. Come back." Yuzu cries quietly.
With every movement this creature makes, Yuzu stifles a cry of pain.
This isn't Yuya.
She can never forget that one important fact. She knows he would never hurt her. She knows that this isn't him hurting her now. It's something else. Anything else. It's just not Yuya.
Yuzu can't help the cry of agony that escapes her lips. She's never felt this kind of pain before.
It's finally over.
This… this monster is finished. The burning lingers but the worst of the pain has passed. That awful pressure inside her is gone.
Yuzu feels his weight lifted from her body but still feels so incredibly heavy. Her vision is blurred by tears but also intense dizziness.
No, not yet. Don't pass out yet.
She hears him breathing behind her.
With her quickly dwindling strength, Yuzu moves to a sitting position and faces her attacker. It hurts to sit like this, but she feels she can withstand the pain a little longer. He's ignored her thus far but he will hear what she has to say. How dare this entity possess her best friend. How dare it force Yuya to commit such a terrible act. She's going to give this thing a piece of her mind.
Wait.
His eyes.
They no longer glow with malice and hatred.
The thing that hurt her is gone.
Yuya is back.
Yuzu breathes a sigh of instant relief.
It's gone. It's over. Your friend is back now.
She notices that he is still very out of breath and seems barely conscious. Yuzu has heard from Gongenzaka how exhausted these fits of rage have left Yuya in the past. They can't both pass out. She has to be strong enough for both of them right now. She pulls up her underwear and adjusts her skirt and socks so the blood and bruises don't show as much.
"Yuya? Yuya, are you alright?" She slowly approaches her good friend. Her body screams with every move she makes. It takes everything she has left to stifle the pained groans.
Yuzu tries again to get his attention. "Yuya? Can you hear me?"
The young redhead starts to cry and places his head in his hands.
"Hey, Yuya." Yuzu whispers as she takes her friend into her arms. "It's gonna be alright. You're okay now." Even now as she touches him, she already feels the stark differences. The monster that hurt her feels nothing like the crying boy in her arms. He's so warm and full of love. That thing was cold and heartless. They're practically opposites.
"Yuzu?" He has finally stopped crying. "I didn't hurt anybody, did I?"
All Yuya knows is that he blacked out. He can never remember anything that happens during these episodes. And he never remembers what he's done or who he might have hurt. "Did I do anything bad?"
Yuzu hesitates with her answer. You fool, you know the answer is no. Yuya didn't do anything. It was the rage. Yuya and the rage deep inside him are not the same. The rage merely uses him as a vessel. He's just as much a victim as she is.
"No, of course not. My dad took the kids for ice cream before dropping them off at home. I found you on the floor just now." She knows her explanation has holes in it, but she hopes it'll suffice for now.
"So they didn't see me like that? Ayu Chan and Tatsuya and Futoshi kun… They didn't see any of this did they?" He sounds so ashamed of himself. "Did you?" He asks.
"No. Nobody saw anything. You basically just threw a tantrum until you exhausted yourself. You big baby." Yuzu teases as she attempts to lighten the mood.
Yuya looks up at her. "Why are you crying?"
"I'm not crying." Yuzu defends.
"Yuzu, what happened to your neck?" Yuya is worried. Did she lie just so he wouldn't feel bad? Has he done something terrible and she just won't say? "Yuzu? Is that a… Did I bite you?!" He sounds disgusted as he places his hand over his mouth. He's bitten people before and never had any memory of doing such a thing. He wouldn't be surprised if it happened again.
"It's nothing, Yuya." She turns her head so the area of focus on her neck is hidden from view.
"Yuzu…" Yuya doesn't complete his thought. When Yuzu looks at him again his eyes are closed and his breathing is deep and even. He's finally passed out.
"It wasn't you. So don't worry about it." She whispers to him.
Yuzu notices that his pants are still unzipped and he's very exposed. Yuya definitely wasn't fully conscious or he would have noticed something like that. She's glad he didn't. There wouldn't have been any way for her to explain that.
Careful not to wake him, Yuzu zips her friends pants, and buckles his belt. For a reason she doesn't even know, the noise his belt makes causes her to cringe and even whimper.
With the remainder of her strength she carries/drags Yuya to the lounge couch. Her body is shouting at her to stop. Everything hurts. Everything below her belly button is on fire.
When Yuya is settled on the couch, Yuzu practically collapses on the floor. She leans her back on the side of the couch and takes a loud deep breath.
She's established that it wasn't him.
That doesn't mean it didn't happen.
She was raped.
Something was inside of her. She can't escape that terrible feeling. It won't go away.
It burned.
It burned.
It. Burned.
The monster was rough, merciless, and angry- everything her best friend isn't.
For some reason- that reason probably being her age- she never imagined it being so painful. Yuzu always thought it was something that people enjoyed but this was also something she rarely ever thought about. She never knew what to expect but didn't really consider how it would feel because of the ever common "when I'm older" deal. She was forced to face reality a lot sooner than anticipated and she did not like what she saw: Pure rage.
Also unforeseen; although it burned, Yuzu felt so incredibly cold. His fingers were like icicles as they touched her. Every time he moved inside her, a bit of her froze. That kept happening until her whole body felt like it had frozen solid. A chill runs down her spine. It's over. You're okay now. Yuya is back.
Yuya won't hurt you… Again.
No! Not again. He never has. Yuya will never hurt you.
It wasn't him and she knows this. She can't allow herself for even a small second to say that Yuya did this.
Because eventually, she'll believe it to be true.
Yuzu recalls- there's bound to be blood on her clothes. Blood running down her legs. People would see that. She can't let anyone see this.
Yuzu struggles at first but manages to get on her feet. The walk to the you-show locker room is usually a good two minutes. It's takes her ten. She has to lean on every wall on her way there as she no longer has the strength to stand on her own. Everything hurts. Her body wants to die. When she finally reaches her locker, Yuzu is ever thankful that she has exactly what she needs for once- a change of underwear and another skirt. Her weird habit of always having spare underwear handy finally became useful.
She grabs the bar of soap that she keeps for the rare times that she showers at you-show. Yuzu limps over to the sink area. Her reflection looks so pained. She resembles a wounded animal.
Yuzu removes her skirt and her underwear and her reflection does the same. Even though she's alone, she finds it necessary to hide her reaction when she sees the blood. The bruises. Yuzu didn't even know that this part of her body could cause her this much pain. She didn't know someone would be able to fight their way inside her through her bottom. Just the thought is embarrassing but also just… So confusing. There's so much she didn't know.
Yuzu gently scrubs away the dried blood as she stifles her cries of pain. It even hurts to just touch her sore backside. She makes sure that she washes away any blood that managed to curl around her thighs and knees. Afterwards, Yuzu pats herself dry with her towel. Even that hurts.
After changing her clothes, Yuzu searches for a bandage for her neck. She doesn't want anyone to see that bite. Once all the evidence of what happened is hidden, Yuzu makes the long journey back to the lounge. Yuya is still sound asleep on the couch. She sits on the floor next to the couch and leans on its edge once again.
Yuzu can't even bring her knees to her chest. All she can do is push herself off the couch so she can lie flat on the floor. When the pain rushes to her head she shifts onto her stomach.
She lays on the floor next to the couch and lets herself cry.
Shuzo finds the two both passed out in the lounge hours later. He can tell his daughter has been crying. After many failed attempts to wake them, he gives up. They must be exhausted. That's not new. The only thing he can't understand is why Yuya would take the couch. The Yuya he knows would have let Yuzu take the couch instead of letting her sleep on the floor. Maybe he'll get an explanation later after they've both had their rest.
He calls Yoko to let her know he'll be dropping Yuya off soon, and that he's sleeping like a rock.
Neither child wakes throughout all of this.