TW: SELF HARM MENTIONS. Please be cautious when reading this chapter. Happens near the end.
Ten minutes had passed since I started carrying Miwa. I didn't know where I was in this forest, so I was just wandering aimlessly through the forest. I figured that if I walked in a straight line, I'd either run into someone, or make my way out of the forest. Miwa was still sound asleep, and showed no sign of waking up.
'I wonder how everyone else is doing.'
I stopped to catch my breath, and I pulled out my phone to text Usagi. Then, the sky went dark.
'Wait. Did someone put a veil up?' I thought.
I had only seen a veil once before, during my mission. Ichiji put one up, then said something about drawing out curses, and keeping them contained within the veil to protect the general public.
'What's going on? Is everything okay?' I texted Usagi.
'We're not sure what's happening, but we're okay. What about you?' She texted back.
'Well Miwa is still asleep. I was trying to carry her out of the forest.'
'Okay. Inumaki is going to look for help, and I'll find you. We have Megumi's demon dog with us. So, just sit tight.'
'Good.' I thought. I put my phone back in my pocket, and leaned Miwa against a tree. I took my mask off, and took a deep breath. I tried to keep myself calm as I kept a lookout. I took a look at the cut on my arm. The bleeding had stopped, and the cut didn't look that deep enough to worry about. It would leave a scar, but that wasn't anything new. I looked over at Miwa, who was sleeping peacefully, and I thought about how one-sided our fight was. Maki would've won, Usagi probably would've won, and yet, there I was. I didn't even stand a chance. I kept getting stronger, and it still wasn't enough.
'At this rate, I'll probably die before I find Yanagi.' I thought. I sighed, and sat down next to Miwa. I didn't realize how tired I was, and fought to stay awake, but my body got the better of me, and I passed out.
I was sitting alone in my room on top of my futon. What little I did own was packed up in boxes.
"Hayashi. If your grades get any worse, they're going to transfer you." I remembered what my teacher said. I knew this day would come, but that didn't make it easier.
"Fukoru, open up!" I heard from outside my door, along with loud knocking. I stood up, and opened the door. Outside was Yanagi, who was out of breath, still wearing his track uniform.
'He must've run here straight after practice.' I thought.
"Our teacher told me that the school is transferring you. Is that true?" He asked me.
'It is.' I signed. I kept my eyes fixed on the floor. I couldn't look him in the eyes.
"That's not fair! They can't just do that to you."
'They said they didn't need worthless trash in their school. That it would look bad for the school.
"God. Those pieces of shit only care about themselves. I can't believe they're just throwing you away like trash." Yanagi complained. He was more upset than I was. I didn't have many good memories tied to the school. Teachers treated me like a disappointment, most of the kids either made fun of me, or beat me up. No one cared about me. No one except Yanagi. He was always there for me. He helped me through so much. His family was always so nice to me, and they all learned sign language just for me. Even with everything else against me, for a brief moment, I was happy. Then, as fast as it came, it was ripped away from me, and I couldn't do anything about it. I could only cry as Yanagi complained for my sake. He noticed my tears, and held onto me tightly as I cried in his arms again. We stood there for a while until I got it out of my system.
"Where are they sending you?" He asked me as he wiped away my tears.
'Osaka.'
"Then listen to me Fukoru. If you can't make it back to Tokyo, then I'll come find you in Osaka. I don't know how long it will take, but I won't let you be alone, because I lo-" Yanagi cut himself short, his face bright red. I looked up at him, confused about what he was going to say.
"I mean, because I know you'll get lonely, and Hinami is going to miss you."
I'll miss you, too.'
"So don't worry. We'll see each other again someday, okay Fukoru?"
"Fukoru..."
"Fukoru... Wak..."
"Fukoru... Wake up!"
I sat up abruptly awake, and looked around me.
'That sounded like Yanagi's voice.' I thought.
I stood up, and kept looking around me, but the only person I saw was Miwa who was still asleep.
'Where did that voice come from.'
Just then, Usagi, and Megumi's demon dog came running into sight, and stopped when they saw us.
"Oh good. You two are okay." She said, then her eyes widened when she saw my left arm. I looked down at the cut I got from Miwa.
'Oh, it's fine. Just a cut I got from my fight with Miwa. Nothing to worry about.' I texted her. I made it a point to always wear long sleeves, even when Usagi was helping me try on clothes, and I guess I forgot that it was the first time she had seen my arm.
"I really can't leave you alone, can I?" She asked, then there was a loud explosion in the distance, and we both turned towards it.
"That's the direction Inumaki was running." Usagi explained. I went over to pick up Miwa, but was stopped in my tracks.
"I'm sorry, Fukoru." I heard the voice again. I frantically looked for the source, but what I saw wasn't a person, but a bear running at us. I grabbed Miwa, and dove out of the way as it barreled right through the tree. I quickly got to my feet, and summoned my katana. I placed myself between Miwa and the bear, and it had its gaze fixed on me.
'There's no way this is a coincidence. Is someone trying to keep us separated from the rest of the group.' I thought. I glanced over to see Usagi to see her sneaking out of the bear's line of sight. I was glad she showed up when she did. I couldn't imagine a way for me to take it down on my own. The bear looked like the other cursed beast we'd seen, all black with the same red markings, with those piercing, yellow eyes. It stood there growling at me, waiting for me to do something. Usagi extended her hands, and her shadow shot out toward the bear. She explained to me before that her power worked best at night, with it being its strongest during a full moon. With that being said, it's not at all powerful during the daytime, which is why she never uses it during training, but with the veil out, it works as a pseudo night. Her shadow latched onto the bear, and its attention turned towards her.
"Now, Fokoru!" Usagi shouted. I channeled my curse energy into the blade, and dashed towards the bear. I hadn't realized it then, but I hadn't felt any of the fear from before. I was just focused on making sure Miwa and Usagi were safe. I slashed down from the bear's shoulder, but the cut wasn't as deep as I expected. It then roared, and managed to struggle itself free from Usagi's grasp. Then, it lifted its paw, and swung at me, knocking me off my feet, and sent me flying into a tree. The pain I felt was immeasurable. I'd been beat up a lot, but nothing was nearly as painful as that attack was. When my blurred vision cleared up, I saw the bear approaching Miwa. Before I knew it, my body acted on its own.
'Cursed Technique: Sonic Overdrive.'
I subconsciously put more cursed energy into it then I ever had before. I sprinted over to Miwa, scooped her up safely, and got as far away as I could. I hadn't used it in the forest because I wasn't going to be able to evade the trees as I ran, but I didn't have time to think about that. I jumped, lifted my feet in front of me, and planted them on the tree as I crashed into it. The tree then split where I landed, and toppled over. My knees ached from the impact, but I could still move.
"Where am I?" I looked down to see Miwa finally awake, her hair a complete mess. She looked up at me, and it took her a second to realize that I was carrying her in my arms.
"You can put me down now." She said while trying to hide the blush on her face. I set her down on the grass, and looked around me. I lost sight of Usagi and the bear in the trees.
"Fukoru, you piece of shit! How dare you run off with the girl, while you leave me alone with the bear!" I, and probably everyone else in the forest, heard Usagi yell. I quickly ran back the direction I came from. When they finally came back into sight, I saw Usagi evading the bear, while continuing to trap it.
"Oh, how nice of you to show back up. Now, hurry and help me!" She yelled as she trapped the bear again. When I looked at the bear, I noticed the wound I caused started to heal. I readied my blade, and shot towards the bear. I swung my katana downward at it again, making sure I got a deeper cut. It cried out in pain as I jumped out of its range.
'Good. At least I can hurt it.' I thought, but then the wound started closing back up.
'Shit! It's already healing?'
We attacked it a few more times with Usagi trapping it, and I slashing at it from different angles. I was hoping that the more I attacked it, the slower it would heal, but it didn't look like we were any closer to beating it. Plus, we were getting tired, and it was getting harder and harder for Usagi to stop it.
'Usagi, try stopping it one more time. I have an idea.' I signed.
"Wait. What did you say?" She asked. I sighed, pointed at the bear, and held up one finger, then took off running toward a tree.
"That was just as confusing, but whatever."
She extended her arms out to trap it again. Her shadow extended, but she struggled wrapping it around the bear. After struggling for thirty seconds, she finally had the bear wrapped up in her shadow. I then found a tree, ran at full sprint, jumped, and the moment my feet made contact, I used cursed energy to propel myself off of the tree, toppling it over, towards the bear. Then, as I landed on the bear, I pierced my katana through its skull, and forced as much cursed energy I could muster directly into its brain. After a moment of it screaming in pain, it fell to the ground, lifeless.
"Look at you go, Fukoru! I knew I raised you well." Usagi cheered as she wiped a tear from her eye.
'Thank you.' I signed as I slid off the bear.
"Is everyone okay?" I looked over to see Miwa poke her head out of the trees.
"Oh, this was nothing I couldn't handle by myself." Usagi bragged.
"That's good. I was worried that I was in the way while I was asleep. Thank you for taking care of me."
"It was no problem at all. It was mine and Inumaki's fault you were asleep, but who knew all this would happen."
Miwa took a look at the cursed beast before looking back at me.
'If you were able to take down something like this, then I must've gotten lucky in our fight." She told me, and I shook my head no.
"Wait. Fukoru, did you lose?" Usagi got right next to me, and glared at me.
'Yeah. She beat me pretty badly.' I texted her.
"I take back my compliment. I raised you poorly. How could you lose." She complained while hitting me on the head repeatedly.
'Can you walk? Do you need me to carry you?' I texted Miwa, ignoring Usagi.
"Oh no, I'm fine. I can walk, but thank you for the offer." She responded.
Then, the veil surrounding us suddenly broke. We all looked up, and saw someone up in the sky.
"Oh, it's just Gojo." Usagi said, sounding disappointed.
"Oh, it's Gojo!" Miwa cheered. Then, she looked at both of us.
"You know, I've been noticing that no one from your school really likes Gojo. Why is that?" She asked, and Usagi and I just looked at each other.
"He's obnoxious." Usagi started.
'He's loud.' I texted.
"He's full of himself."
'He's annoying.'
"He's nothing but a pretty boy."
"Okay. I think I got it. Well, with all of this happening, I guess the event is over. We should probably head back now that the veil is down." Miwa said We nodded, and started walking out of the forest.
"Fukoru, how's your arm?" Miwa asked me. I stretched my arm out, and gave her a thumbs up. For once, Usagi was quiet.
"That's good. You mentioned a friend that you're looking for, right? What's their name?" She asked me.
'His name is Yanagi. I went to school with him here in Tokyo before I was forced to transfer.' I texted her back.
"Oh? What was he like?"
'He was really kind. He was my best friend, and his family treated me like their own. He means the world to me.'
"He seems nice. So, why were you forced to transfer?" Miwa asked me. I didn't respond right away. I thought back to my time in Osaka. It had been nearly two years since I left that school.
"I want everyone to welcome Fukoru Hayashi." I stood in front of the classroom. They all just stared at me, not making a sound. One girl raised her hand.
"Why is he wearing a mask? Is he sick?"
"No, he's not sick. Now, let's see. There's an empty desk over there. Why don't you take a seat." The teacher told me. I walked over to the desk, and sat down. One of the kids leaned over to me.
"So, can you really not talk?" He asked me. I shook my head no, and he, and all his friends laughed to themselves.
'I guess nothing ever changes.' I thought.
A week later, I sat in the classroom during lunch, reading a manga I found in the library called Given. Yanagi used to let me read any manga he had after he finished it, but since I moved, it became harder to find any. As I was reading it, these kids snatched it out of my hands.
"Reading manga all by yourself again, Hayashi?" The kid teased me as he started flipping through it.
'Give it back.' I thought as I reached out for it, but he held it out of my reach.
"My sister was reading that one. I overheard her talking about it with her friends." One of his friends chimed in.
"Oh really? So, you like this girly shit?" He teased me as he continued to flip through the manga. Then, his eyes widened.
"Woah! Are these two dudes kissing? I knew there was something wrong with you." He and all his friends laughed at me.
'Shut up.' I thought as I took the manga back.
"What's wrong Hayashi? I didn't mean to make you angry. If you want us to stop, then just say something." He got up in my face with a sly smile. Everywhere I went, nothing ever changed. I was tired of it. I was tired of everyone treating me like shit. The next thing I knew, He was on the floor, holding his face, and my curled fist throbbed. Then his friends grouped up on me, and took turns beating me up. After that, they made me do their work for them, and gave me all sorts of errands to run for them. They told me that if I did what I was told, that they wouldn't hit me, but they found some excuse to do it anyway.
I opened the door to my apartment, and walked through the door while my entire body ached. I couldn't even make it to my futon, and I fell to the floor. I felt so weak. And helpless. I had been there for two months, and I couldn't take it anymore. I felt so lonely, and I didn't know what to do. I missed Yanagi. I missed Hinami. I missed their mom. I missed eating a home cooked meal with them.
'Why does this keep happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?' I thought. Tears rolled down my face. I felt so worthless. Nothing I did ever mattered. NO matter how much I studied, my grades never improved. No matter how hard I tried to please everyone, they all still hated me. No matter what I told myself, things never got better.
'No one would miss you if you were gone.' I thought.
'Shut up.'
'They'd probably be happier without you.'
'Shut up.'
"Wouldn't it be easier for you, too?'
'Shut up.'
'You wouldn't have to suffer anymore.'
'Shut up.'
'Don't you want to be free from this pain?'
'Shut up.'
I don't exactly remember what happened next. I had blacked out, and when I came to, I was still lying on the floor, I felt physically weak, and the pain in my left arm was almost unbearable. I looked over, and saw my kitchen knife of the floor, covered in blood. I slowly sat up, placed my hand on my head as I tried to ignore my headache, and looked down at my bloody arm. I stood up, and walked over to the kitchen sink. I turned it on, and placed my arm under the water. I winced at the pain as I cleaned the wound. Afterwards, I looked around the apartment for something to wrap the wound with. I found some bandages, and wrapped up my left arm. I sat down on my futon, and looked around my apartment. Besides basic furnishing, it was empty. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. I got up, and gathered what little I owned, and walked out the door.
I never did return to that school.
'Fukoru, are you okay?" Miwa asked me. I looked at her to see a worried expression on her face, and I nodded.
"Then why are you crying?" I quickly wiped away my tears.
"You don't have to tell us, but I want you to know that you have people that care for you, Fukoru." Usagi told me. I just stared at her. She was right. I wasn't alone anymore. No one here treated me like a piece of trash, and I had people who would care if I disappeared. Things were finally getting better. It just made me want to find Yanagi even more, so I could introduce him to my new friends, and show him just how far I've come.
'Thank you.' I texted Usagi. I saw a faint smile on her face as we made our way out of the forest.