The Two Sides of Survival

5

Hizashi had been dragged into the room by his hair and dropped carelessly on the floor. His hair was severely matted. There was a huge knot at the back of his head that had blood covering all the hair, making it stick together uncomfortably. His face was barely recognizable. His cheeks were purple and swollen, and there was blood streaming from a gash on his hairline. Both of his eyes were bloodshot, possibly from lack of sleep. He was also thin. Deadly thin. Shouta could see his ribs through his skin and ripped clothing. It sounded like he was having a hard time breathing. What horrified Shouta the most was the large, missing chunks of flesh that were supposed to be on his right arm. Shouta counted four.

Hizashi rolled over so that he was lying on his back instead of his stomach. He looked up at the ceiling. Looking at the selling, he thought about all that had happened to him. He didn't dare look at Shouta. He felt guilty, like it was his fault if Shouta was injured. The man would always tell him, "Every time you lie, I will chop off one of your husband's fingers and feed it to you!". It was always said when he was being beaten, stabbed, or worse, things he didn't want Shouta to know about.

The man slammed the door, then proceeded to step on Hizashi's chest, restricting his lungs even more. As he stood there, Hizashi hit weakly at his ankles in an attempt to get him off, tears streaming down his face. He had lost too much blood to do any damage. His voice choked out many pleas.

"You really are a dumb blonde, aren't you?" The man taunted. "How many times have you begged for me to stop?" The only response was another string of pleas. Shouta was too stunned to do anything. He had been trained to handle situations like this, but he hadn't been trained on what to do if someone he loved was being used against him. He froze. As he watched his husband get tortured, he began to disassociate. Everything sounded like it was underwater. The voices of the man and Hizashi sounded far away. Nothing they said could be heard by Shouta's ears. He was trapped in his own brain and memories. Everything he thought about was blurry, but he could still feel the pain and suffering associated with it all.

The man continued to beat and shout at Hizashi while Shouta was trapped. At some point, the pleas turned into screams. Hizashi continued to hit the man, but it did nothing to help him, in fact it made it so much worse. With every scream Hizashi let out, the man added more force to his blows.

"Please. . . Stop. . ." He begged. The man grabbed his shoulders and hoisted him up to his feet. Hizashi struggled to stay up, even with the support of the man holding him in place. He looked down, and the man grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up. He gently caressed his thumb over a large bruise on his cheek.

"Oh, Hizashi." He said sweetly. "I, I really don't know what to say. . ." He ran his hand through his tangled hair. "Wait, I know now." His hand stopped at the back of Hizashi's head. He kept it still for a while, but then he suddenly gripped his hair at the root, causing Hizashi to let out a pain-filled squeak. Keeping his grip tight, the man yanked Hizashi's head back roughly. "I don't care. I don't care if it hurts, I don't care if your husband's watching, and I certainly don't care if you have two kids at home waiting for Papa to come home." He said, in a very monotone and emotionless voice.

The bastard knew too much. Hizashi would blame himself, however, the man said something that he hadn't told him. Maybe Shouta had told him, but he highly doubts it. Shouts would never give out true, personal information about himself or his family. Hizashi needed answers. He knew the man had been watching the kids, but he doesn't think he would be close enough to hear their conversations.

"How did you know my kids call me Papa?" He asked. The man chuckled.

"Only one of them calls you Papa. The eldest called you Pop or Pops, while the youngest calls you Papa and Shouta Daddy, if I recall correctly." He told him. He kicked Hizashi in the knee, causing him to fall and grab that man's arms to keep himself from getting practically scalped. He looked at the man in pure fear. He knew way more than he thought he did.