Chapter 2: Pain and Sorrow

Hajime didn't know how long this was going on. Ever since he could remember, he dad would always beat him. But, his dad was strange as he would constantly switch between personality traits. At times, his dad was lazy bum who relayed on his sons for everything, especially Izuru.

Other times, he is a workaholic who neglects both his children, to the point he pretends that they don't even exist. Personally, Hajime liked it when his father was in that mode, because the man left him and Izuru alone. However, there was when their father became a strict, violent, and abusive alcoholic.

And then, there was the worst trait of them all. When his father became affectionate. Normally that would be nice, if it wasn't the creep type of affection. So far, it was what Hajime hated most about his sick twisted father.

That's when he decided. After he graduates from Hope's Peak, he'll find a job, easy with the academy's high education program, and move out with Izuru.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Hajime was currently still slumped on the coffee table in the living room after his dad had hit him, again. This time he was punished for being late getting home. He hated this. Every day he had to suffer those harsh hits from his father. Luckily, the old man went easy on him, this time.

"Onii-chan." he heard a voice and pattering footsteps. He looked up to see Izuru in front of him with a small frown on his face, and hurt in his eyes. It pained Hajime to see his brother with such an expression on his sweet face. So, he put on his best fake smile to try and cheer him up.

"Don't worry." He tried to reassure his brother. "I'll be okay." He then sat up and looked at the younger boy. "Why don't you get dinner started? I can't wait to eat more of your delicious food." He told the boy as he stood up and left the room heading upstairs, to do homework.

Izuru stayed still before walking out of the room and started heading to the kitchen, passing his old man who was heading back to the living room with the beer bottle he grabbed.

Izuru hated his father. He hated how his dad would hit him and his brother, he hated when he would rely on them for everything, and he especially hated that the man drove his mom to kill herself.

That's right, his mother killed herself because she couldn't take to her husband's abuse anymore. Before Hajime, their poor mother was the main subject of their father's abuse. The man even went so far as to force himself on her. (If you get what I mean.)

Eventually, she just couldn't take it anymore and ended up hanging herself in their old house. All she left was a suicide note saying that she was sorry to her two sons. Worst of all, Hajime was the one who discovered her hanging corpse, and he was still in middle school at the time.

Izuru sighed as he made it to the kitchen to start on dinner. When his mom died, Izuru had decided to take over most of the house chores, and take care of what was left of his family.

While Hajime would help him with the cleaning sometimes, he mostly took care of the food. Surprisingly, he ended up becoming a better cook than his Mom was. Izuru sighed as he tied his hair back into a ponytail, and got started on the food.

Dinner went the same as usual, with their father taking his food to the living room and ate while watching TV, meanwhile Izuru and Hajime sat at the kitchen table. Sometimes they would talk, but today they didn't speak. They just sat there and ate their dinner in silence.

After eating, the two brothers head off to bed, although Hajime stayed up a little in order to study since exams were coming up. If he didn't get good grades his dad wouldn't be happy. He knew that he begged the man to pay big bucks for him to attend the school. He just have to endure it until graduation. Then he could leave.

-The next day-

Hajime stared at his bandaged wrist as he walked to school after dropping Izuru off at his middle school. He remembered when he angered his father, who then nearly crushed his wrist as a result.

He then reached up and felt the medical patch on his cheek that he used to cover up the bruise after his dad had smacked him. He snapped out of his thoughts as he saw police cars by the school gates.

Curious, he walked up to the building to see a bunch of the reserve course students crowded at the entrance. What? What's going on? He rushed into the crowd only to see yellow police tape blocking the entrance. What the hell?

"Hey. What happened? Why are the police here?" Hajime asked one of the reserve course students next to him.

"Apparently one of the students got murdered here." The student replied. What murder? "Supposedly it was that new girl. Natsumi. I think…," the student continued and Hajime's eyes widen as he dropped his school bag.

"What? No way. Natsumi? It…it can't be…It…can't…" he thought then an image of his mother's hanging corpse flashed in his mind. He suddenly began feeling sick, and his vision became clouded with black spots before everything went dark and he fell to the ground.

-Scene change-

Hajime blinked open his eyes to find he was in the reserve-course clinic. Huh? How'd he get here? The last thing he remembered was being at the front doors when he suddenly felt dizzy and fainted.

"What happened to me?" he thought as he sat up, suddenly feeling dizzy again. "Ugh…" he groaned while holding a hand to his aching forehead.

"Oh. Thank goodness you're awake." Hajime turned to see the reserve course nurse come into the room and walk up to him. "Don't move too much."

"Um…what happened miss?" Hajime asked not sure what's going on.

"You passed out at the front of the building." The nurse began. "Some of the other students brought you here and explained what happened. I'm guessing you heard about to Miss Kuzuryu huh?" she said and Hajime remembers. That's right, Natsumi was…dead.

"No way! It can't be!" Hajime thought with widen eyes and kept silent. He still couldn't believe it.

-Later; by the fountain-

Hajime sighed as he sat on a bench while staring at the water fountain. He reached up his hand and touched the patch on his cheek again. He had never been so nervous until recently.

-Flashback-

"Anyway. It seems you just passed out due to the shock, so you should be okay." The nurse said to Hajime as he got from the bed and gathered his things. "But, I would like to ask where you got that?" she asked the boy who looks at her confused. She then pointed to her cheek and Hajime immediately knew what she meant.

"Oh crap!" he mentally panicked. "Um, I…fell and…hit my cheek, but it's just a bruise so it's not serious. Ha-ha~" he laughed nervously while walking backwards to the door. "A-anyway, got to go!" he shouted and sprinted out of the clinic.

-End of flashback-

The boy sighed again. Not only had he fainted, he had also apparently missed two classes since it was now lunchtime. He didn't feel like eating as he thought about what happened. He just couldn't believe it. Natsumi was dead. She was actually dead. Just like his mother. He shivered as he thought about that day.

-Another flashback-

"Hey we're home!" Hajime called as he returned from middle school along with Izuru. "Mom!" he called. Luckily, his dad told them that he was working late today, so they rest had the afternoon away from the man.

"Where's Mommy Onii-chan?" little Izuru asked his older brother.

"Maybe she's upstairs." Hajime suggested as he crouched to his brother's level. "I'll go check. Meanwhile since dad isn't here you go watch some TV. Okay?" he told the boy who nods and heads to the living room while Hajime heads upstairs.

"Mom." He called as he approached here room, and the door was slightly open. "Hey mom, want to come down and start on dinner?" he asked as he pushed open the door slightly. "Mom…" he trailed off as he opened to only witness a horrible sight.

There was his mom hanging from the ceiling by a rope around her neck and not breathing. Hajime's eyes were as wide as diner plates. He didn't know what else to do, besides let out a horrified scream.

-End of flashback-

After his mom's funeral, the family moved into a new house and Hajime soon became his father's newest favorite punching bag. Even after the years that have past, that image still haunts him, making him feel weak and helpless. He sighed again then heard something.

He looked to the source to see Sato and Mahiru off to the side. It looked like they were talking about something. Probably Natsumi. He wanted to ignore it, but his curiosity got the better of him as he moved closer to get a good listen. He hid behind a tree and watched the two girls talking.

"Look if she hadn't died she would have killed you." Hajime heard Sato say with serious eyes, and he quietly gasped. No way. Could Sato have actually…? No it couldn't be, but… Hajime looked back to see Sato raise her left arm and pulled down her sleeve to show a scar her forearm.

"You remember this scar right?" Sato asked and Mahiru gasped. "Remember in middle school when the two of you got into a fight and I jumped in to stop it?" she said and Hajime's eyes widen. "Later that same night, someone did this." She explained and Hajime was shocked.

"I'm sorry I didn't know–"

"No, there's nothing to apologize for." Sato interrupted Mahiru, as she let go of her sleeve. "Really. I don't blame you for asking me."

"You didn't kill her then?" Mahiru asked looking at her friend.

"Honestly I wouldn't hurt a fly. I just said to scare her off." Sato answered. "You do believe me, don't you?" Mahiru nodded.

"Yeah. I believe you." She said reassured. "Okay I should probably be going. See ya." She then walked off as she waved to Sato. Hajime then went to talk with her. Although Mahiru believed her, he just couldn't shake this sinking feeling he had.

"Sato." He called out as he approached her. "What exactly were the two of you talking about?" he asked the green-haired girl. "She's dead, and people saw her threaten you."

"Look. I didn't murder her. Is that what you want me to say?" She retorted, but Hajime still wasn't convinced.

"So where'd you go after she stormed off yesterday huh?" he pressed.

"She was Yakuza, of course she was gonna die young, or maybe she offed herself. Ever think of that. Maybe she couldn't stand being a talentless bitch and gave up." Sato retorted with a creepy look in her eyes. "Suicide it had to have been." She sounded sure, but Hajime knew none of that was true.

"Natsumi hadn't given up on anything." He said surprising the girl. "Talented or not, she still had hope for the future. Hope that–"

"You're wrong." Sato interrupted him. "You're wrong. You're wrong! No! Gyah!" she suddenly screamed and ran off.

Hajime was shocked. So Sato really did…? No way, but he could overlook the facts. He felt the bandage on his cheek again and stuttered. Hearing Sato say how she had defended Mahiru and ended getting hurt, reminded him of, "that". He then thought back to that day.

-Flashback-

It was about a year after his mom's suicide. One evening, Hajime's dad had come drunk and as he soon as he saw his son, he started beating him. Hajime didn't know what to do.

No matter what he said, or screamed, his dad just ignored him, and continued hitting and even slapping the poor boy, so he just let his dad have his way, until a small voice screamed out.

"No!" Hajime looked up to see Izuru run up and push their dad off him, as the man strangled him.

"Izuru…no…" he said weakly as he tried to sit, but his bruises were too sore for him to move, so he watched helplessly as he drunk father turned to his little brother with a furious expression.

"You, *hic* wittle…brat!" the man shouted/slurred as he slapped Izuru across the face, causing the small boy to fall to the floor.

"D-dad! No! Please…leave Izuru alone!" Hajime cried out in desperation, but went unheard as the man grabbed the elementary boy by his hair and dragged him to the closet. He then roughly pushed Izuru into the closet and locked the door.

"*Hic* You'll be, *Hic* stay…ing, in there, *Hic* until, y…ou calm down. *Hic*" Hajime watched his father slur and stumble over to the stairs, and walk up. He secretly hoped that his dad would fall down. Hajime turned his attention to the closet and heard some soft whimpers coming from inside.

Hajime quietly started sobbing to himself as tears streamed out his eyes. He really wanted to get up and get his brother out of the closet, but his bruises hurt too much, so here he was lying on the floor, battered and bruised, and crying himself to sleep.

When he woke up, it was the next morning. He winced as he opened his eyes to the bright morning light shining through the house curtains. He groaned as he sat up wincing every move. Luckily, his wounds weren't hurting as much as they were before, so he was able to stand up, although warily.

He stood on his bruised and walked over to the closet, having to lean on the wall in order to keep his balance. He stumbled his way over to the closet, he unlocked it and opened the door slowly, and what he saw broke his heart.

Izuru was sitting on the floor in a fetal position. He flinched slightly as Hajime opened the door and looked up to reveal his puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks, indicating that he had been crying. He stared at his brother with fearful eyes, breaking the spikey brown haired boy's heart.

"Izuru…I…" Hajime trailed off as Izuru jumped and hugged his brother's waist. Hajime didn't know what to say. He felt so guilty. Izuru must have been so scared, locked in the dark closet all night, not knowing if he was ever going to get out.

Hajime gently pushed Izuru off and dropped to his knees. He then engulfed Izuru in a tight hug. He felt wetness on his shoulder and knew Izuru was silently crying.

-End of flashback-

"Oi! Hinata-kun!" A voice snapped Hajime out of his thoughts. The boy turned to see familiar fluffy white hair.

"Komaeda-san, what are you doing here?" he asked Nagito as the said boy walked up to him.

"I heard about what happened to Natsumi-san." he began. "I just can't believe it." He added with a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, I agree." Hajime said sadden. Although he wasn't close with Natsumi, he admired the hope she had. Something he wished he could have as well.

"Hinata-kun." Hajime looked up at Nagito at the sound of his voice again. "What happened to your cheek?" the boy asked, causing Hajime to flinch.

"Oh, oh, I just fell. It-it's nothing, really. Hahaha~!" he said nervously then took off running, not noticing that he dropped something on the ground. Nagito went to pick it up and found it was Hajime's Student ID. He was about to run after Hajime, but he realized he had get back soon. Even if he could easily skip, he knew if he did, Miss Yukizome would have his head.

So wanting to stay alive, he quickly tucked the ID into his jacket pocket and started heading towards the main building, planning to give Hajime his ID back after school for now.

-Time Skip; After School-

Hajime rushed home as fast as he could, with his brother Izuru trailing behind holding tightly onto his brother's hand.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Hajime cursed in his head. They were even later today than they were yesterday. Sato didn't return to class for the rest of the day, so he was worried and couldn't considerate in class. The teacher caught him spaced out and asked to meet him after school.

After talking for a bit, the teacher asked about his bruised cheek. (Third time he was asked that day). Hajime panicked and told the same lie again. He then rushed out of the classroom and out of the school, heading straight to pick up Izuru. Unfortunately, they missed their train at the subway station, so they had to wait forever for the next one, which then stalled on the way.

Hajime panted as he and his brother made it to their two-story house in the quiet neighborhood they lived in. The place in general didn't have many residents, and the ones who did live here, were either self-centered or just stayed away mostly, so they didn't really have anyone to help them with their awful life.

Hajime and Izuru walked up to the front; hopefully their father was either still at work, or passed out drunk on the couch. Either way they had to get in before he noticed them. The older brother went out to open the door, but to his horror, someone else opened first, from the inside. The spiky brown-haired boy sucked in a breath as the door opened all the way to reveal his dad's form. Hajime eyes widen in fear as he stood in front of Izuru protectively, knowing for well what their were in for.

And Cliffy! Sorry this took so long. I hope you like it. Later. Also, I would like some more reviews about this story.