Seven Weeks: A Seven Days Fanfiction

WEEK FIVE: Monday (Touji)

Yuzuru's face hovered over mine in the dark, his left eye swollen shut like a plum, his right cheekbone gashed and scabbing over, his beautiful, plush bottom lip hanging loose with purple bruising and a deep red split. There was a feverish shine to his forehead and eyelids, the skin around his nose was red and raw, and where he wasn't black and blue he was sickly pale. He appeared unconscious, but was probably just sleeping.

The picture had gone up on the school message boards yesterday morning, along with a mug-shot-looking photo of Tanaka and the furious accusation that the school hadn't done anything to stop the bullying that was going on. The anonymous poster had included an inventory of Tanaka's alleged crimes, mentioning the wet uniform, desk graffiti, and last week's gym "accident," but also some things I hadn't known about... tripping and spitting and vandalizing his homework, getting him kicked out of class, breaking his cell phone.

It had quickly been cross-posted to the Instagram site, and now it was all over every social media feed I had. My inboxes had blown up with messages, everyone wanting more details, asking what I was going to do about it. A few gleeful threats that I would be next. Most seemed to assume I was the one who'd posted the picture. But right now the internet at large knew far more about what was going on than I did.

I'd had no idea it was so bad. He hadn't told me. I stared at his photo until every lump, cut and discoloration was seared into my brain, until I was still seeing it when I closed my eyes. I was no stranger to sleepless guilt, but now I had entered an entirely new dimension of self-loathing. How could I not have known? Why hadn't he said something? No wonder he no longer cared to defy Houka's ultimatums. All this, and the threat of expulsion too? If I were him I wouldn't think I was worth it, either.

My eyes stung hard, but it didn't seem they could make tears anymore. I must have cried my weight in them yesterday, and now my eye sockets felt like they were filled with rotting fruit.

I heard a door open down the hall, which meant Natsuki was finally up and going to shower before work. My phone said four A.M. If he was getting ready, my parents were too.

I got off the bed, already dressed in black pants, a buttoned shirt, tie and blue sweater vest, and padded down the hall to my parents' room. I could hear their muffled voices inside, and knocked.

"Come in," my mom said, and I pushed the door open. "Touji? Honey, what are you doing up? It's winter break, you should be sleeping late and enjoying yourself."

I was probably never going to sleep again.

"Can I work with you guys today?" I needed something to do. Something to make me feel like I still had purpose, was still useful somewhere. It was utterly pitiful, but... I wanted my mommy and daddy. And since they had to go to work I wanted—needed—to stay close to them.

Dad grinned. "That's a fine idea," he said, securing his tie. "The more you learn about the company now, the better."

"Are you sure, Touji?" Mom said, surveying my attire and the bags under my eyes. "You don't want to go out with your friends, or sit around eating snacks and playing video games? You're still a kid, you know."

"Nonsense," Dad said. "He's our son, there's not a lazy bone in his body."

They both knew, and weren't saying it. They knew I was heartbroken. "I want to go with you," I said. Please don't leave me here alone.

"Okay, then. Meet us downstairs in twenty minutes, your brother's driving."

The Yokohama Happy World Coffee headquarters was in south Yamate, not more than fifteen minutes from our house. Like our headquarters in Tokyo, the offices were located above the coffee shop that sat at street level. Unlike the Tokyo location, though, this building was shared by multiple other businesses, mostly retail stores on the ground level and various law firms, real estate agencies and government offices occupying the upper floors. We parked in the underground garage and headed up via the elevator, stopping at the retail level so Natsuki could go oversee the coffeehouse for opening. I went with my parents up to the business offices.