Kaiju Busters Online

Level 5: Settling Differences

"Takara, who do you think the stranger is in chapter three of the Scarlet Letter," my homeroom teacher asked.

"I think it might be the baby's father," I replied.

"What is the evidence?"

"Well, he seems to recognize Hester and she seems to recognize him as well. When she sees him, the strange man puts his finger to his lips to signify silence."

"Very good! The stranger does seem to have..."

"Hey, nerd," a voice whispered from behind. "Why not do all of our homework? You seem to answer every question in class anyways." I shifted in my seat and tried to focus on the lesson. "Don't ignore me, nerd." I wrote down a few notes for the lesson.

After class, a tall student grabbed the collar of my shirt and slammed me against a wall. He pulled out a switch-blade and looked me in the eyes.

"Don't you ever ignore me!" He rolled up my sleeve and saw all the cuts on my arm. "Seems like the guys already tagged you, huh?" He grew angrier. "Answer me!"

"No. I did this to myself." I felt tears waiting at bay but I bit my lip and went on. "You sick punks just pick on me everyday as if its routine so I began cutting myself as if it were routine."

The knife cut a line down my arm and a large amount of blood began to crawl down my arm. The bully dropped me and walked away.

"Screw you," he said.

I grabbed my arm and walked to my fourth hour. Eyes fell upon me when the red fluid leaking from my arm dripped onto the clean floor. Angry eyes stared at the floor, knowing that the host would have to clean that later. I set my bag down beside my desk and sat down. The room seemed to get smaller as all eyes poured themselves on me. The bell rang and the teacher walked in. The class stood up and quoted the usual greeting.

"Good afternoon!"

"Good afternoon, students," Mr. Hiru greeted. "Please sit down. Today we will be studying the-" Hiru paused in mid-sentence when he spotted my bleeding arm. "Mr. Fujikara."

"Y-yes sir?" I replied.

"Would you like to explain why your arm is bleeding in such a terrible way?"

I drifted my eyes from his penetrating pair. "No sir."

"Would you like to see the nurse to clean the wound?"

I looked around the room and then at my bag sitting on the floor beside me. "No sir. I don't want to miss this lesson."

"Mr. Fujikara, are you okay or are you hiding something?"

"I... don't want to talk about it."

Mr. Hiru walked up to my desk and lifted my hand from the wound. He lifted my sleeve slightly and instantly rolled it back.

"Go see the nurse," he managed.

I grabbed my backpack and walked to the nurse, small blood drops making a trail that followed me down the two flight of stairs leading to the nurse's office. I opened the door and signed myself into the check-in table and took a seat in the waiting area. When Ms. Ryuko walked into the waiting room, she saw my arm and a look of horror crossed over her face. She led me into the treatment room.

"C-can you please roll up your sleeve?" she asked.

I hesitated but I did as I was told and revealed my cuts to her for the first time. She froze at the sight of the countless scars lining up and down my arm.

"Ms. Ryuko, I can explain-"

"Why are you doing this to yourself? If its that bad then tell somebody! Tell your parents!"

"I can't tell them about this. They think I'm living a very happy life right now!"

"You can't leave them in the dark! Someone is going to kill you!"

"I don't care!"

Silence came down like a terrible storm and Ms. Ryuko treated my arm. She wrote me a pass and I walked back to class.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I checked my connection and plugged my Nerve Gear in. The computer confirmed the Nerve Gear's connection within a few seconds and the game began launching. Just as I slid the helmet onto my head, a few knocks hit my door. I placed the helmet on my bed and opened the door. My parents stood in front of me with worried looks burned onto their faces.

"Hey mom. Hey dad," I said in my staged voice of excitement. "Is something wrong?"

The two looked at each other and then back at me. My mom spoke first. "We got a call from the school today concerning the bullying going on there."

"What are you talking about?"

"Son," my dad said as if annoyed by the fact that my voice was joy filled. "We were told you are bullied daily and constantly sent to the nurse's office from beatings."

"Why would-"

"We also heard that you are cutting yourself." Mom was practically crying now, the weight of the truth squeezing her.

I sighed. My act was over. The show lasted longer than I had anticipated but now its time for the truth.

"Its true." I rolled up my sleeves and my parents gasped at the horrifying sight. "Its been like this since elementary school."

"Why would you-"

"You guys care so much about me with overwhelming joy and pride. I didn't want that to change. I'm bullied for not playing video games and hanging out with the girls at school. Thats why I was so hesitant about the games." I turned away from them, my eyes burning like hot coals and my stomach going through a hurricane. "I couldn't crush you like this. When Tomiko introduced me to Kaiju Busters Online, I felt reborn. In the game, I go on missions bigger than I am to level up. In the game, I can stand up for myself, state my opinions with meaning. Here, I'm just a nerd who can't talk to guys because they don't understand." I wiped my eyes and sniffled. "I need a few hours. Please excuse me."

I shut the door softly and locked the handle. I laid down on the bed and initiated launch. I spawned in a small room with three beds. The walls were metallic but it was colored to feel like a normal room. Tomiko sat on her bed with her menu open beside me and Tyler's avatar was fast asleep, representing the fact that he was offline. When Tomiko noticed I was online, she closed her menu and hopped off the bed.

"Hey Takashi! Are you ready?" I sat up and looked her in the eyes. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. My eyes watered as I tried to get the words out but nothing was working. Tomiko's eyes filled with concern. "Whats wrong?"

I felt my heart skip a beat and my words became clear. "My parents found out."

"What?"

I clenched my fists as I felt the virtual tears roll off my face. "Someone at school told my parents... about the bullying, the nurse visits, and even the scars on my arms." I closed my eyes and their faces flashed in my mind. "They're crushed..."

I felt Tomiko's arms wrap around me, giving me a gentle squeeze. "Go ahead and let it out. Its best to get the tears out while you're here instead of the real world."

And so I did. I cried and cried and cried and cried... My tears dripped off my face endlessly and my voice grew hoarse from the sobs. My body felt weaker with each second passing and my wounds deeper with every minute. Although I cried in a game where no one hears you, I could hear the sobs of my parents as if it were in the distance.