"Honestly, you gotta use your brain for once, dumbass." Akihiko mumbled, dabbing the cut on Minato's forehead with a little more force than necessary. Luckily, the cut wasn't that deep, and would need nothing more than a simple bandage. Still, it would leave a mark for days. In fact, his entire face would be marked for a while; bruises from punches and kicks were already starting to surface, his lip busted and bleeding, and multiple cuts, some even going through his uniform, were littered all over him. Akihiko sighed.
"When are you going to learn to walk away from a fight?"
Minato flinched, whether from the sting of the cut or the remark, he didn't know. His eyes were averted the entire time, either staring off into space or at the shower curtain, never once concentrating on the other's face a foot in front of him. He was good at things like this, keeping his mind off of the obvious. Zoning out at the worst of times. Most likely why bullies were so attracted to him.
Many times, Minato had wandered home, beaten and tired. Many times, had Akihiko dressed his wounds and kept his word. It wouldn't be good for the others to find out just how bad it was; the bandages often overlapped. The first time, Akihiko had agreed to not breathe a word to the others, just out of politeness, but it had been getting worse and worse lately. Regular bruises were becoming scars, and just a band aid was joined by ice packets and pain pills.
"This one isn't too bad." Akihiko commented, swabbing over a mark on his cheek with an antibiotic doused towel. "Just a few days for this to heal up."
Minato gave a grunt in response, eye twitching from the prick of the ointment. Anything more than a 'yes' or 'no' was an extreme rarity from this stoic boy, but Akihiko tried to make conversation anyways. It beat just talking to yourself. Though he might as well have been…
"You still sure you don't need help with this?" Akihiko asked, trying to keep his voice gentle, as he laid another band aid on his cheek. If Minato would just let him step in, he could have all those guys down with just one hit.
"No. It's fine." Of course, the aloof blunette always refused. It was enough to make him want to punch him along with his harassers. He was too proud of himself to let anyone help him, believing he could deal with it on his own every time. But, Akihiko thought, wiping away the dirt from yet another cut. He can't.
There were other ways of finding out just who was beating the kid up without direct answers from him.
"If you say so." He stood, picking up the extra rolls of bandage and antibiotics off the counter. "Alright, you're all patched up." One of his better jobs, he had to say. Other than the occasional bruise, he had managed to keep every injury under wraps, literally. The poor boy was still looking like a near death patient, but he didn't look nearly as torn up now.
"Thanks." Minato muttered, eyes still lackluster and avoiding his own. Would he ever be able to get close to this kid? Still, he gave Minato's already tousled hair another goodhearted pat. When he looked up in surprise, Akihiko just gave him a (hopefully) kind smile.
"Better get off to bed, it's been a long day."