Heal These Scars [Jack x Yusei]

Ch.8 Wounds

The next morning, Yusei's eyes slipped open, feeling heavy as a wave of pain washed over his aching body. He let out a soft moan in pain just before his door slowly opened, his little sister entering the room. Yuko had a sad look on her face at the sight of Yusei, finding his face had been bruised from last night, and she didn't even want to know about everything else. She crouched down at her brother's bedside, gently stroking his hair. This small act seemed to calm Yusei's nerves, but only a little. At least Yuko was trying to help, that much he was grateful for. Still though, he couldn't shake this uneasy feeling he had... Last night was truly horrible, and all Yusei wanted to do was burn his skin off, eliminate any trace of what happened, but he also knew he couldn't either. All the strength he had was gone, that seething pain stealing every bit of it away from him.

"Hey..." Yuko finally spoke, her throat a bit scratchy, which she tried to clear, but still kept her voice low, trying to be wary of her brother. "Why don't you stay home today? You're in no condition to go anywhere right now."

The elder sibling shook his head, attempting to push himself up. "N-no... I have t--nugh!" Yusei cut himself off when a wave of pain shot up through his body, forcing him to give a sharp grunt before collapsing back onto the bed, wrapping his arms around himself.

"No, you're staying home." She said firmly.

"B-but, Y-Yuko..." He tried to reason, but could barely get the words out with his hoarse voice due to all the screaming, crying, and choking he had endured.

Yuko shook her head this time. "No, Yusei. You can't even stand, let alone sit up on your own. Stay home. You'll be safe here, okay?" She said. "I think Dad is going out tonight too, so you should be alright. Just stay home."

Yusei shrunk a little, knowing his sister was right. Just look at him, he can't even sit up without pain coursing throughout his body, so what chance did he have as going to school, especially in this condition? He let out a soft sigh through his nose, giving a small nod to Yuko, saying he would just stay home. However, just as he glanced up at his sister, his red, bloodshot eyes widened a bit when he noticed a dark black and blue mark around Yuko's throat. He struggled to lift a hand, gently touching her neck, in which Yuko noticed.

"What is it?" She then asked.

"Y-your neck..." Was all he could muster.

"What?" She asked in a bit of shock, before bolting up from the floor and dashing into the bathroom, her eyes widening at what she saw. "Oh my God... What the hell...is this?" It was then the events of last night flashed through her mind, lightly gripping her neck. "Yeah, I remember now... Dad, he..."

Yuko glanced back up at the mirror to see a large, black and blue, almost hand shaped mark around her throat. She then lifted her shirt to see a large bruise on her chest before pulling her jeans down a bit to see another bruise on her hip. She grit her teeth before fixing her clothes and going into her bedroom, grabbing a black choker from her jewelry box as she wrapped it around her neck, covering most of the mark, but knew she would have to cover the rest with makeup as she went back into her brother's room. He glanced up at his sister, who had to force a small smile as she crouched down beside him again.

"Hey, don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You just stay here and try to get some rest, okay? And if you can, try to get cleaned up. I'll just ask Carly for a ride to school."

Suddenly though, the two heard loud, booming footsteps coming up the stairs. Both flinched violently, Yuko turning toward the door, as it was flung open, hearing their tormentor give a bitter laugh. "Tch... Look at you two. You're both fucking pathetic..." He then walked toward them, Yuko standing in front of her brother as his shield.