"Dad we're back! You think he's at work?" Happily, Hikaru smiles beaming brightly as he trots inside, after swinging himself down from my shoulders, his sketchpad underneath his armpit, looking all over the place.
"His shift should have ended an hour ago at the least." Warily, my eyes narrow, furrowing my brow at the thought looking up at the clock sighing.
"Then where's dad? You think he's sleeping again." Curious, Hikaru looks up at me curious.
"Most likely. Why don't you go get the bath ready?" Tiredly, I sigh kneeling down, crouching down to his height.
"But…" Feebly, Hikaru begins whining.
"Come on stinky or do you want those stink bugs to come creeping in?" Cheekily, I smirk lunging in pouncing at Hikaru, who releases a small squeal, beaming brightly, frantically thrashing, squealing excitedly from my tickling.
"N-No not bugs anything but that!" Scared, Hikaru whimpers trembling, shaking, scared.
"Heh, gets him every time…dad? You alive? Huh?" Amused, I smirk smugly placing my hands on my hips as I watch him rush over to the bathroom making me direct my attention through the hallway where I slide the door open. My eyes widen when I find my father slumped over the desk, drool dribbling down his mouth making me sigh. I approach him, kneeling down my eyes softening to see the books littered all over the place, seeing the titles of Now What Do I Do? The suitcase kid, clean break and it's not the end of the world.
"You idiot…" Shakily, I sigh my voice cracking breaking at the idiot thinking about us even after work, the dumbass the idiot. Pained, I whimper bowing my head, my nails digging deep into the cover of the book, feeling tears threatening to fall.
"H-Huh? S-Sayako welcome home…heh sorry I should go and…" Alert, I jolt up from my father's dreary tone, smiling warmly at me as I quickly brush the tears aside, tossing the book aside turning to my father, kneeling down.
"Come on tiger time for bed." Gently, I smile down at him, helping him up.
"But…" Feebly, he whispers.
"We're fine, it's fine, come on you should sleep, I've got you." I assure him.
"But what about you and Hikaru? I should…" Earnestly, my father begins making me sigh.
"I'll take care of it." I assure him.
"I'm really a terrible father…" Pained, he bows his head making my eyes soften.
"Dad you work so hard to support us, please get some rest for us both." Pleadingly, I beg to him sighing shaking my head at the idiot.
"But I didn't even get to ask about yours or Hikaru's day? He was telling me about this drawing he was planning to do…" He tells me.
"I'm sure you can see it tomorrow and I'd be happy to tell you how school was then…" I assure him.
"I…I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Sobbing he whimpers his voice cracking breaking my heart as I close my eyes steeling my nerves.
"You have nothing to apologise for…" I rub his back helping him into bed settling him down and leaving sighing sliding the door shut.
"Where's dad?" Hikaru peers through the door making me sigh.
"He's...sleeping." I tell him sitting down at the table, Hikaru opposite me.
"Oh." He furrows his brow.
"Come on let's finish that cake." I stand up getting the remnants of the cake out of the fridge.
"Oh…okay!" Excitedly, he gushes his eyes starry shining.
"Hikaru…" I furrow my brow as I place the cake down watching him dig in.
"Hm?" He hums looking up at me crumbs smears of vanilla staining his cheek making me sigh.
"Those bullies…you didn't tell them anything did you?" Attentively, I lean over taking out one of the kitchen blanket thing brushing it against his cheek making him whine.
"What do you mean?" He furrows his brow once I clean his face.
"I mean…why did this start was it truly about drawing?" Sceptical, my eyes narrow, trying to understand the true reason. I mean sure bullying can be a cause for no real reason, they can just be jerks but usually there is a reason for it all.
"W-Well they were talking about white day and how girls gave boys treats and I just…I got some treats which were nice but I noticed some of the boys not be given any of the treats. So I thought well I'm not going to eat all of them so I offered the chocolates to them and then they…were shouting at me saying how boys didn't give boys chocolates or treats and it just…I said that was wrong, anyone can be given chocolates then it all." Saddened, Hikaru tells me making me grimace at the boy's innocence.
"Hikaru…it's…that's wrong." Pained, I sigh shaking my head at him, having to remind him of it of the vital lessons, of the vital rules given to us that we had to follow.
"Why? Why is it wrong?" Upset, Hikaru whimpers, his voice breaking, trembling, pain laced in his tone, tears freely flowing, waterfalls sliding down his features breaking my heart.
"Hikaru please just…remember that talk they gave us when we began school." I remind him.
"Keep your head down if they ask say how our mother died in childbirth what about it?" Firmly, I remind him of the first rule ever taught to us.
"Keep to that story, keep your head down and keep making your way into the world okay?" Scowling, I remind him of our first rule remembering well the two of us bowing our heads, sitting down with them across from us telling us how it is, telling us how we had to act, how we had to keep our heads down, how we had to…adapt.
"Are…are we wrong?" Pained, Hikaru whimpers, his voice breaking small sobs about to break through.
"…" Quietly, I bow my head having no real clue what to say with it all.
"Sayako are we wrong!?" Impatiently, Hikaru demands from me angrily making me sigh sadly.
"Just eat your cake Hikaru and head to bed okay? Brush your teeth as well alright?" Frustrated, I sigh shaking my head at him standing up, trying to deal with him, feeling my patience begin to falter.
"Sayako…Are we…?" Feebly, Hikaru begins bowing his head sadly.
"What do you think!?" Fed up, I snap at him anger laced in my tone taking him aback, his green hues beginning to water. He releases a loud sob and cry making me grimace feeling a wave of guilt flow through me from letting the dam slip, dammit, dammit, dammit.
"Hikaru wait no I didn't…" Feebly, I call out to him reaching out to him, but he runs away, tears freely flowing as he sobs, heading to bed making me groan, placing my head in my hands crouching down in aggravation at my stupidity. Urgh…for god sake! Seething, I scream raising my foot and slamming it into the table feeling the adrenaline burn through my veins, cradling my temple, grinding my teeth together trying to deal with it all before falling come to my knees, feeling nothing more than the guilt coursing through me at yet another mistake of mine…
"Hey Sayako chan…" Surprised, the girl snaps out of her reading to turn to the teacher kneeling down, furrowing their brow at the sight of her scarf.
"Hm?" She hums turning to them.
"Your neck what happened?" He questions making Sayako freeze from her question, glancing to the side.
"Oh, nothing just an accident." Coolly, she tries to play it off.
"Sayako. We need to know." Sternly, the teacher orders making Sayako grimace, wincing conflicted before elbowing her head as she reluctantly takes the teacher's hand being guided away, unaware of the eyes on them…
"Freak!" Pained, Basil whimpers, bloodied bruises littered all over his form. He shakily stands only to cry out when the children crowding around him sneer, the leader raising his fist to the high heavens and slamming it into the boy's cheek making him fall flat to the ground.
"Mutant scum!"
"Go back to your country hafu!"
"Stop it! What are you doing? You're hurting him!" Horrified, Sayako rushes over to the playground, her green hues widening when seeing the kids crowd around the bruised bloodied Basil, causing her heart to drop. She dashes over to his side glaring at the kids before them both, standing protectively in front of him.
"S-Sayako run…" Feebly, Basil whimpers out cradling clinging to Sayako who shakes her head at him.
"He hurt you Sayako chan!" The leader argues.
"Yeah, he's a villain!"
"No, he's not Basil wants to be a hero!" Resolute, Sayako barks at them unaware of Basil bowing his head, cradling his aching temple, the voices screaming, screeching, shooting. His fingertips comb through his ragged black locks, tugging at the strands of black, his nails now crimson crescents dig deep into his scalp. Hurt, he whimpers, his gold hues flickering from gold to baby blue, to purple to finally ruby red.
"Mutants can't be heroes my dad told me himself, mutants are just freaks!" The leader argues poison laced in his tone making Basil flinch whimpering under his breath.
"You're wrong!" Rebelliously, Sayako scowl at him.
"Then why did he hurt you?" He argues pointing towards Sayako's neck making her wince gingerly grasping her neck.
"He didn't…he just…" Feebly, Sayako begins glancing from side to side uncertainly laced in her tone.
"We overheard the teachers they agree with taking him out the class!" Another one adds making both Basil and Sayako's eyes widen when hearing the declaration.
"They can't, they won't! Leave him alone!" Strongly, she refuses shaking her head at him.
"Get out of our way Sayako!" Fed up, the leader of the kids scowls stepping forward raising his fist at her.
"No I won't let you hurt him." Stubbornly, she refuses shaking her head only making the leader smirk as he strikes at her, crimson spews out of her busted broken nose making her stagger back as the kids gasp when watching the girl comes crashing down. Stunned, a pair of gold gape at the scene before him, the thin slit in the pupil dilates, watching as they soon swiftly turn primal when she falls flat to the ground, hitting the end of the sandpit border.
"Sayako? SAYAKO!" Panicked, Basil lunges over to her side, fear laced in his quivering quaking tone as he holds her, tears leaking, freely flowing, his voice cracking as he clings to her side.
"Look at what you did villain!" The leader accuses as he grabs a spare stone, the other kids following chucking at the boy who keeps his back to them shielding the girl's body from the assault.
"I'm the villain? I'm not the one who hurt Sayako!" Enraged, he seethes venom laced in his cold curt manner clinging to the limp girl's side his now raw red peering through the strands of his messy coal black locks, his feral fangs peering out growing, glowering, glaring at the group of children when next thing he knows all he hears is ringing, screaming and crying…
"S-Sayako? Sayako!" Desperate, the boy shakes the girl who groans, slowly her eyes expand, her eyelids finally open as her blurry green focus begin to tighten up where she grimaces at the bright broad sky of blue, noting the pair of relieved gold staring down at her.
"E-Eh? Basil wha…what happened?" Moaning, the girl whimpers cradling her temple, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets when feeling a strange dampness in the side of her head.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry!" Finally, his voice cracks once more diving into her arms confusing the young girl who dumbly returns the embrace, blinking, her eyes narrowing further furrowing, trying to recollect what had happened as she notes the shy stream of ruby red descend down her temple.
"Basil?" Concerned, she questions him as he clings to her shaking his head. Her eyes widen when feeling the tears spew out of his sockets, soaking her clothes but she shrugs it off focusing on the boy before her.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Stunned, Sayako blinks taken aback by the tight constricting constraint of his arms coiled around her, feeling his body shake, quiver, quake, feeling the soaked dampness of her shirt as she is held in his arms. Confused, she clings to him only then to furrow her brow, her nose twitches at the stench of iron. She glances at the side trying to see his side but he only tightens his grip, refusing to let her see his feral fangs, the heavy tinges of crimson ooze out of his blooded blades and lips, smeared with ruby red.
Lost, her brow furrow as her greens glances over, her eyes expanding in shock, horror, fear, feeling her body stop, feeling time stand still as she gazes at the numerous bodies, ruby red bite marks on their throats, the bodies of both boys and girls, of both men and women lay flat on the ground before the little girl, staring stunned having no words, feeling nothing but fear for once in her life, being in the arms of her best friend, no longer feeling the warmth of their embrace instead she is trapped by the ice cold curt embrace of…