Chapter Two: Yuiko's Distress
"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!" Said the alarm clock that rudely awoke Ritsuka. The neko was sore all over. It was like a thousand pounds of pressure were on Ritsuka. After a night of one of his mother's rampages, it always seems particularly hard to get up in the morning. Waking up and going to school was tedious, having to deal with the people who were affiliated with school more so.
"BEEP BEEP BEE-" Ritsuka slams his hand down on the clock, shutting it up for now. With a grunt, Ritsuka rolls himself out of bed and lands on the floor. It hurts to move. It hurts to think. Why was he getting out of bed for again?
The mental image of an energetic Yuiko and the Zero twins came to mind, and Yayoi too. The friends that he managed to keep might worry about him. He didn't want that. Did he? With a sigh, Ritsuka struggled up and made his way to the bath room slowly, his injuries impairing his movements.
Turning the water on lukewarm, he began to undress. Thanking his hindsight he wore a button down night shirt because there was no way he could lift his arms. After Ritsuka awkwardly shuffled out of his pajamas, he examined himself in the mirror. From the left shoulder blade and down his ribs there was an angry black-blue-purple bruise that faded down his side. There were slivers of raw open flash that mixed with the old scares of past repeated beating. The whole left side of his face was beginning to discolor. His left eye swollen shut and small cuts adorn the opposite side were his face met with the shattered glass.
With shaking hands, Ritsuka caressed his body, exploring the extent of injuries. He could move his arms, and legs. So he can walk and move around somewhat easily. What was going to be hard to cover up was his face. Sighing, Ritsuka turns from the mirror and gets into the shower. It was still too hot. The boy hastily washed himself, as efficiently as he could. The soup stung. Ritsuka scrubbed the dried crusted blood off the surface of his skin as gently as he could, then ran the soupy cloth up his slim body and washed his dark hair.
When he was done, he turn the water off and as lightly as he could, dried himself. Then with a second glance at the clock face, bandaged himself up and got dressed in the typical oxford long sleeve shirt and sweeter and pressed pants uniform designated to his school. Grabbing his school things, he leaves his room, leaves his house and leaves his mother for another day at school. However, his escape from the reality at home was possibly rivaled with was he found at school.
All was normal when he got to school. He met up with Natsuo and Yoji at the gate and walked them to class. Natsuo commented on his bandaged eye patch with something along the lines of "we match" but Ritsuka wasn't paying much attention to the Zero's. The two neko's followed him up to homeroom. Being that Ritsuka, Natsuo and Yoji were all in the list of top 20 in their class, naturally they were in advance homeroom.
Ritsuka placed his belongings by his desk and left to check up on Yuiko. Although she barley passed the entrance exams to get into the same high school as everyone else, she still had to be in remedial classes. Walking down the last year's hall-way he noted a hello to a passing Yayoi. At class 3-E Ritsuka stop his journey and entered Yuiko's class room only to be greeted a wailing earless Yuiko.
Her trademark pig-tales were gone today, left with a foreign flat curtain of pink hair. Only making it more obvious to the girl's lack of cat ears. Almost all the people in this class had no ears, -unlike Ritsuka's class, were almost everyone still had there ears. So few of her classmates were unbothered by the spectacle, but others not so much. The boys in the class were snickering at the now innocent less Yuiko while the other girls were laughing and mocking her. Ritsuka stood shocked in the door way.
"Oh look?! It's her boyfriend!" Someone called out of the room, sounded like a guy. The word boy was exaggerated out so it sounded like boooyyyyyyy-friend.
"What?! No! It can't be! He still has his ears!" Said some girl, while another one was practically shouting in Yuiko's ear demanding to know who she fucked.
Ritsuka rushed into the room and grab Yuiko's hand, dragging her out of the chaotic room and taking her to someplace he deemed quite. The stares of those they passed by only made Yuiko's cries louder. When Ritsuka got to an empty stairwell, he faced his friend with curiosity and empathy on his face.
Embracing the girl, Ritsuka tried to comfort his friend by back rubbing and soft "its okay's" The shaking Yuiko fit into Ritsuka's arm justly. He grew, as everyone predicted, to be around Seimei's height. Although he was taller than Yuiko, barley, he wasn't nearly as tall as Soubi. Despite being taller, Ritsuka was still slim and it was awkward having another in his arms, but a little while after the bell rang and the halls empty and Yuiko's sobs were less audible.
When it was apparent the girl calmed down, the neko asked his friend to explain what happened. With a deep breath Yuiko replied, "S-So you know how I had t-that date last night?" stuttering and sniffling as she said so. She waited for a response from her friend. Ritsuka muttered a yes, stoking Yuiko's hair. "Well the date was going very well. I- I had a lot of fun." She sniffled, "When it was time for Yuiko to go back home, he took, he took," She starts to sake and cries once more.
"It's okay Yuiko. Tell me what happen." Ritsuka said.
"W-well he didn't take me home! And he gave me something to drink, and it tasted funny, and I couldn't move very well, and we were in his car, and then he made me have sex with him, and then he took Yuiko's ears, and then when he was done, and he called Yuiko a cry baby and a tease, and then he pushed me out of the car, and I had to walk home, and it hurt to move, and then I had to tell momma what happened, and then she gave me putting and talked to me, and then I went to bed, and then I woke up and showered because Yuiko felt icky, and then there was blood, and then I went to school and everyone's being mean to me!" Yuiko explodes in a loud sob. She begins were wailing once more and Ritsuka comforted her as best he could.
Gently guiding Yuiko's face up, Ritsuka paces a kiss on her forehead. "Yuiko, don't listen to what the people in you class say. Ignore them."
"They called Yuiko a, a sl-slut!" Yuiko cried out.
"Ignore them Yuiko. It's none of their business as to what happened to you and you don't have to tell them anything." Ritsuka said empathetically, hugging her tighter. "You're still valued as a person and the people who care about you aren't going to treat you any differently. I promise okay Yuiko?" Her only reply was a nod and a sniffle. "Look, you have to go to class now okay? But I'll walk you there."
"I don't wanna go to class" Yuiko says, tears and snot running down her face. Getting out his handkerchief, her wipes Yuiko's tears and ask why she came to school anyway. "Yuiko wanted… I- I wanted to come and see Ritsuka…" She said, taking Ritsuka's handkerchief and blowing her nose into it.
"I don't understand why you didn't just call me. I would have gone to your house." Ritsuka says, taking the soiled handkerchief folding it up and placing it in his pocket to be washed.
"I didn't think of that…" mumbled Yuiko.
"Look Yuiko, because you did come to school today, you have to go back to class." Yuiko just nodes. "Come, I'll wake you to your door."
"Thank you Ritsuka, I wouldn't know what would happen to Yuiko if she didn't have Ritsuka." Says Yuiko, sniffling.
Taking her hand, Ritsuka starts to talk Yukio back to 3-E. "You don't have to thank me silly. That's what I'm here for." Yuiko giggles and Ritsuka gives his best half smiles. At the door to Yuiko's homeroom, Ritsuka takes the now earless Yuiko in for another hug. "Yuiko, I won't be here for the rest of the day okay? But Yayoi and even Natsuo and Yoji will be here for you."
And with that, Ritsuka gives Yuiko one last encouraging hug and leaves her by the class.
Leaving the walls of the school, Ritsuka sends out two text messages. One telling the Zero's to look after his school bag, and the other calling on his fighter unit.
To be continued.
(Sorry the upload took a while, I went on a trip for a week and I forgot my flash drive to upload this chapter. The next post should be faster than this. Pleaser review and comment.)