Comfort (Ishimondo Fanfiction)

Chapter 20: Unspoken Nightmare

(Trigger Warnings: This chapter will discuss some sensitive subjects like bullying and death, feel free to skip this chapter and the next if you feel uncomfortable)

Taka opened his eyes to see that he was in an unfamiliar room.

'H-Huh? Where am I? This place seems familiar...' Taka thought to himself.

"Hey Taka! It's time for school!" A voice called out, Taka looked to the source which came from downstairs and it was Kiyondo, except he looked younger.

"S-School? Oh yeah I'm coming!" Taka getting out of bed.

He looked around the room he was in.

'Is this... My old room?' Taka thought and then he realized what was happening. 'Am I back in middle school!? Why am I here? Is this a dream?' Thoughts kept flowing in to his head but he worked up the courage to get ready and embrace what happens at school. He came downstairs and saw Kiyondo with Takaaki sitting at the dinner table.

"Taka, you woke up later than usual. Is there anything wrong?" Takaaki said concerned.

"Nothing is wrong dad. I just overslept..." Taka said.

 He ate his breakfast and walked to school, the place he hated the most because of the relentless bullying he gets from the other kids. Luckily, most of the bullying consists of name calling and getting things thrown at him. But there was a group of boys that loved spending their time making his time there a living hell. He got in the school and opened his locker; there was a note in it. He knew what the note would say but he opened it anyway, 'Faggot' was written on it. He crumbled up the paper and threw it in the trash. After he closed the locker, he knew who was going to show up.

"Oh look! It's the boy who thinks he's a genius, Ishimaru!" A male voice mocked.

''Genius...' I hate that word...' Taka thought to himself trying to ignore them and walk to class.

"Where do you think you're going faggot?" Another voice said.

"I'm going to class..." Taka responded not wanting to be rude.

"But you haven't gotten your daily beating yet!" The male said.

"Yeah! Come on! We gotta stick to our schedule!" Another boy said and grabbed Taka by his collar, choking him a bit. "And you ain't breaking it!"

 The boy slammed Taka to the floor; he looked up to his tormenters and saw three familiar faces. They were the boys that loved giving him despair whenever he step foot in school. They did what he expected, beat him. Kick him, punch him, and slap him. They stop after they have left many bruises on him. Taka struggled to get up after every beating; he got up and slowly went to class. No one acknowledged that he was hurt, no one wanted to associate with him, it was his hell. The only good thing that happens is sometimes the teachers would praise him for getting perfect grades on his tests and exams and sometimes get extra credit for his work.

 After class was lunch, of course he didn't sit with anyone so he went to his usual spot, on one of the benches in the school's courtyard. It was always vacant so he wouldn't bother anyone. After quickly eating his lunch, he went to the library to do some studying and to do his homework, but he knew he can't stay in one place forever. He knew that after the three bullies finish their lunches; they would come looking for him to continue their torment. Whenever he hears their chattering voices, he would quietly hide behind something and wait for them to leave, or quietly go to somewhere else to hide. This usually works but it isn't perfect. Luckily, they didn't go looking for him. The school day goes by normally, normal to Taka.

 Taka walked back to his house quietly, until he heard a sound come from the park; which was just a crosswalk away from where he was standing. He looked over to see a small white puppy hopping around. He was interested at how cheerful and playful the puppy looked; he walked over the crosswalk to the puppy. Once the puppy saw Taka, it ran up to him barking, not scared of him or anything.