Underneath the Moonlight || Osorō Shidesu x OC

!!4 - A Normally Unwitnessable Scene

Week 1

(!!TW!! for physical abuse)

Luckily for me, the train to Shisuta Town arrived on time... but unluckily for me, I arrived to meet my father six minutes late.

He'd done worse to me when I'd been two minutes late. Hopefully, this time the damage would be less severe than the last...

I inhaled deeply before stepping into the alleyway he'd mentioned. There stood my father: tall, short-cropped dark hair, wearing a neat and expensive three-piece suit as he always did. My father ran a famous fashion line, leading me to own several of his pieces since he didn't want his only daughter disgracing him with off-brand clothing. At least he let me choose the clothing I wanted, though. The moment I stepped closer to him, he straightened and dusted off his suit, his piercing dark eyes boring into me like a predator spotting its prey.

The second I stood in front of him, he brought his hand up and slapped me across the face.

It stung, of course, but at this rate, the abusive action didn't surprise me.

However, the reason behind it did.

"I called the school earlier to ask if you had joined anything yet. The drama club?" My father sneered at me. "Tell me this is a misunderstanding. There is no way my daughter would join a drama club over everything else at the prestigious Akademi Academy. Do you even realize the strings I pulled to get you enrolled?"

I rolled my eyes, scoffing. "Please, father, you're practically a celebrity. I'm sure it wasn't too difficult getting the principal to agree to enroll me. Besides, what the hell is wrong with the drama club? With all the shit I deal with, acting has become a great skill of mine now."

He slapped the other side of my face, this time harder. "Don't you dare talk back to me!" He tugged on his jacket's sleeves. "Listen to me, young lady. If you land anything less than a leading role and disgrace me even further, I will home-school you for a year. You don't want me to do that again, do you?"

I flinched. Dear God, anything but that. In the confined space of our home, nothing and no one could stop him from hitting me as much as he felt was needed, and the one year I had to endure with him as my father and sensei... it was like a living hell, right on Earth, and no one could save me, not even my neglectful mother, who, though disapproving of his behavior, didn't care enough about my well-being to speak up against it.

He slapped a hand to his forehead. "Heavens, why the drama club? You could have joined something meaningful and important, like the student council. You could have joined something simple but practical, like the cooking club. Hell, you could have joined something as easy yet appealing as the gardening club!" He glared at me. "Must you always disappoint me? Must you always be so dramatic and rebellious?!"

I stifled a laugh at his unintentional pun, but he wasn't as amused as I was, evident by another hit — but this time, he punched me instead, and it particularly stung where his ring made contact with my face. I cupped my cheek, feeling some blood beginning to drip. My father scoffed and pulled out a small first aid kit and a black handkerchief. "I assume you have makeup in your bag. Clean yourself up before you return home."

He pushed me down as he headed towards the exit. "And do it quickly, brat," he added before he left.

I sighed, brushing the forming tears out of my eyes. While this wasn't a light beating... it was certainly far from the worst one.