(Writer's Note: This is a very gruesome chapter and may make you feel queasy. It contains the sensitive topic of abuse. If you are uncomfortable with this then I wouldn't suggest finishing this story.)
I finish my fifteen-minute detention and walk out of the school. As I walk through the gate, someone exclaims, "Kosa-chan, Kosa-chan!" I look to my side and see Fukawa sitting on the floor next to the gate. I give her a wide smile as she stands up. "Nanami?" I think she's guessing who I am. I nod, confirming her guess, and she starts walking. She grabs my hand when we cross roads and makes sure I don't step on anything sharp. Whenever Fukawa talks to me, I can tell that she gets bored because she can only ask yes or no questions. I do feel bad sometimes, but I'm still not going to talk.
We walk through the front gate and I skip across the paving in the garden. I open the door and bounce in. I sit cross-legged in the porch and begin taking off my shoes.
"I heard you were in a fight today," my father asserts from the living room. Fukawa looks at me with dread in her eyes and I know what's about to happen. I hold my breath and continue taking off my shoes. I can hear my mother shuffling across the kitchen floor and I can feel Fukawa's deep breathing. I stand up and walk into the corridor. Sneaking upstairs should be easy, but our house has an open floor plan, there's no walls separating the kitchen, hallway and living room. "Did you think I wouldn't notice you?" Father snaps from over his newspaper. I just look down and Fukawa approaches me from behind.
"Nanami can't speak... remember dad?" She stutters. She puts her hands on my shoulders and I flinch. I can feel her nervous quirk activating. Father throws the newspaper onto our table. "Stop speaking nonsense Fukawa, who even is Nanami?" He snarks. I look up and try to stare at Father, but look away again. "Can't even make eye contact, huh? Too ashamed?" He snaps. Fukawa's nervous quirk disappears and she takes her hands off my shoulders. "Quit it, Dad. You know he has autism." I look up and see that her angry quirk has been activated, swords flying above her head.
"Fukawa! Just... Go upstairs dear, ok?" Mother shouts from the kitchen. I hear my dad grunt, quietly telling Fukawa to listen to Momma. She sighs and hobbles upstairs.
In a flash, my hair is being pulled. I yelp and Father forces my head to face him. "You just want attention," he mutters, yanking my hair this way and that way. I look at him and bare my teeth. He gets closer to my face. "Go on, say something! I know you won't, because you're a good-for-nothing, waste of space!" I hear Mother gasp in shock as I stomp down on Father's foot with determination. He starts yelling in my face and yanks my hair forcefully, this time causing me to fall over. I sit on the floor while Father continues scolding me. He seems angry that I'm not reacting and gets into my face. He starts using his quirk to make his joints click, attempting to overload my senses. My hands ball into fists as I try to hold back tears. Father sees the tears in my eyes and gradually quiets down, seemingly satisfied that I've learnt my lesson.
He starts to stand up, but in that moment, I feel a surge of adrenaline and throw a punch, which hits him in the face. My eyes widen as a wave of realisation rushes over me. My heart races and my limbs go limp. I brace myself, prepared to be shouted at, but to my surprise, Father stays silent... eerily silent. With a firm grip on my arm, Father drags me to my feet. Pain pulses through my chest and a cold sweat washes over me while he pulls me over to the kitchen.
"Kogen, leave it!" Momma yells.
"He needs to learn that his bullshit won't be tolerated!" Father argues back. Tears prickle in my eyes and I make eye contact with Momma. She's staring at me compassionately. I keep eye contact until I hear metal scrape on the counter. My head jerks towards the sound and I see my Father taking a knife from the counter. "KOGEN!" Mother screams. He says nothing and wipes the knife on his pants.
"Koge-" He cuts my Mother off, "Jomei, go upstairs."
"What!?" She exclaims. He glares at her. She goes pale and hesitantly complies.
As soon as Mother leaves, Father pushes me onto the floor. He grabs my chin and threateningly puts the knife to my face. "Apologise," he says menacingly. I say nothing. "Apologise!" He yells. When I still say nothing he grips the knife harder. He puts the knife to the edge of my mouth and...
Screams could be heard from upstairs. Father cut all the way through my cheek, yelling at me to apologise. I grab the wrist that is holding my head up, silently pleading for Father to stop. Instead of stopping, Father goes to the left side of my mouth and starts to cut... The pain is unbearable, it's like I'm being burnt alive. "I'LL ONLY STOP IF YOU SAY SORRY!" He screams in my face, adding insult to injury. He moves the knife slower, making the pain last longer. All I can taste is blood, this is unbearable. "I'M SORRY! JUST MAKE IT STOP!" I cry. He finishes the cut, drops the knife, and walks away.