Blood Splatters and Blood Stains

Chapter 1

“Why is it so bright?” Cho mumbled to herself as the blinding light burned her eyes.

Burying herself in the cocoon of warm blankets, she attempted to return to the blissful state of slumber she had left. The attempt had to be abandoned as the alarm clock shrieked its usual good morning. Capitulating to its intense cry, she jolted upright, glancing around and finally finding her twin brother on the other side of the room. Cho then snorted at the peculiar sight.

Her brother’s hair was astrew, sticking out from his head at odd angles, while his limbs were sprawled out on the bed. The poor blanket was hanging for its life by his ankle. Rising from her bed, Cho lumbered over to his side and plunked down on the mattress. Waking up Sai had always been a chore that she has struggled with daily. Grabbing his shoulder, she shook it in a futile attempt to wake him up.

A groan reached Cho’s ears before Sai rolled over on his stomach. Growing increasingly aggravated she shook him harder. “Sai, come on! Wake up! You’re gonna make us late.”

He didn’t stir, as though he didn’t hear her. “Sai- kuuun~,” Cho whined, emphasizing her annoyance with each word. Apparently, her annoyance was noticeable; he then shifted on the bed, taking up enough space to nudge her off.

“Fine, be that way. Be as late as you wanna be; see if I care,” she muttered to herself, stalking out of the room to the bathroom. After preparing for the upcoming school day, she made her way down to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat. However, when she entered the kitchen, the harsh smell of cigarette smoke assaulted her nose, making Cho wrinkle her nose. Cho noticed her grandfather sitting on the floor at the low sitting table. He was flipping through the newspaper with a cigarette hanging out his mouth.

“Ojiisan~!” she sang, strolling up to his side. She planted a gentle kiss on his papery cheek. “We’ve went over this a thousand times, Grandpa. You need to stop smoking. You’ll be six feet under before you know it.” Going to her appointed seat at the table, the buffet of food on the table caught her attention.

“I know you were concerned about our previous eating habits, Grandpa. The stress isn’t as bad now that our finals are over,” Cho persisted. She plucked out what she felt like eating from the spread and then tucked in, listening to her grandpa reply.

“Yes. Well, you and your brother have become too thin lately,” he jokingly said. “How can I trust that Sai can protect himself? How can I make sure you get a husband? Right now, the both of you are just skin and bones,” he continued, rasping a sound that resembled a laugh.

While the two were having a moment, Sai finally decided to make an appearance, clomping down the stairs completely dressed. “Good morning,” he muttered sullenly and tiredly. He then took a seat beside Cho, putting a variety of food on his plate. Sai left his hair purposely messy, as if he just rolled out of bed.

“I can’t believe the two of you have already grown up. It feels as though it was just yesterday that the both of you were hanging on to my legs, refusing to go into pre-school. Now you two are going to graduate in a month! Where did the time go?” their grandfather wondered in a melancholy tone.

“Grandpa, we’re not going anywhere anytime soon,” Sai replied, trying to convince their grandpa. However, if by the look on Grandpa’s face, he wasn’t convinced at all

Glancing at the clock above the entryway, Cho decided that if they didn’t leave soon, they wouldn’t make it to school on time. “It’s getting pretty late; we’ve gotta head to school now, Grandpa,” she announced, lifting herself from the floor. Heading to the front door, she laced up her shoes before slinging on her backpack.

“Alright, kids. Have a good day, you two! Sai, look after your sister,” Grandpa remarked nonchalantly. Of course, this was said every morning, so it came as no surprise.

“Okay, Grandpa,” they replied, eager to leave.

“Oh, I need both of you to come straight home today. We have some ‘important’ guests visiting us today,” he sneered, disdain and annoyance clear in both his visage and his voice.

Inquisitively, Sai and Cho shared a long look. Eventually Cho answered her grandfather with a timid “O-Okay, Grandpa.” As they hesitantly walked through the grand doorway, Cho began to mull over her Grandpa’s strange behavior.

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“I wonder what that was all about,” Sai said, keeping in step with his sister. Sai was completely floored by the sudden change in their guardian’s demeanor.

“I’m not fully confident about this either. Judging from the tone that he was using, I think that some wannabe gangsters probably stepped out of line, and now he has to rectify the situation," Cho said.

Cho and Sai gradually began to merge with the sea of pleated black skirts and blazers traveling in the same general direction. Neither had any desire to linger on the subject anymore. The two gradually became enveloped in a bubble of stagnant silence.

Abruptly the silence was interrupted as a loud voice hollered out, “HEY!!” They were almost thrust to the ground in unison.

“OW! Haru, what are you doing?” Sai yelled as he unwrapped the older boy’s arm from around his neck.

The boy, Haru, grinned widely as he laughed at Sai’s obvious discomfort. “Aww, come on, Sai. Even Cho isn’t complaining. Man up!” he jested while pinching Cho’s blushing cheek. She kept her eyes down towards the sidewalk, refusing to peek at him. His arm remained draped around her shoulders as they continued their trek to school.

Pouting, Sai turned around and sped up his pace, attempting to walk ahead of the two. Giggling at his ridiculousness, Cho caught up with him and hugged his arm. “You know Haru-kun was joking, right?” She queried, still trying to restrain her giggles.

Cho turned around to check out Haru, finally espying his current appearance. His bleach-blonde hair was just as agitated and disheveled-looking as Sai’s mop of locks. Haru’s white button-down shirt was untucked, the top three buttons unfastened. He was attractive, to say in the least, especially to Cho; she has had a crush on him since they were little kids. Surprisingly, though, his features weren’t the first thing that caught her attention. Upon his left cheek, a large bruise began to form, the purplish hue marring his otherwise handsome face.

“Oh my G-... Haru, what happened to your face?!” Cho questioned, a hysterical edge creeping into her voice. Hesitantly hovering over the bruise, she gently set her fingers on the tender flesh. Haru winced, causing her to yank her fingers away as if burned.

"Sorry!" she squeaked, blushing and lowering her voice.

He scoffed brazenly. “If you think that this is bad, you should see the other guy,” Haru quipped, trying to make her laugh or at least smile. However, her expression remained uneasy.

Abruptly, Cho grabbed Haru’s hand and led him into a nearby convenience store, startling the two guys in the process. Meekly she guided him over to the medical supplies aisle, briefly releasing his hand to grab a box of wide Ace bandages and bruising cream. With Haru close behind, Cho then walked up to the register and paid for her items.

Once outside, she opened the box and grabbed a bandage, stuffing the rest into Haru’s backpack. Twisting the lid of the tube of bruising cream open, she gingerly applied it to the mark on his face. However, no matter how softly she touched his face, he still flinched at the contact. Mumbling a quick apology, she continued with her work, eventually placing the bandage on his cheek. Once done, she tried to take her hand away from his face. However, as she did, he caught her hand, gently intertwining their fingers together.

Tugging her closer he placed a tender kiss on her cheek and whispered, “Thank You. You’re always there patching me up, aren’t you? I really appreciate that.”

Her cheeks burned a bright pink as she fought to keep a grin from spreading across her face. A spring was obvious in her step as she went ahead, finally able to let a small smile leak through. She was sure that nothing could spoil her good mood.