With Tragic Eyes and Bloodshot Dreams

Prologue: Disappointed Faces of Your Peers

The other members of the Five Virtuosos realize something concerning about their friend today.

Asano Gakushuu is backhanded across the face so hard he's bleeding, but he just smiles and snarks back to his father.

Just like always.

Almost like...he's used to this.

He was thrown all the way across the room, slammed into the wall, and yet, he tucked his chin in and threw his hands out to break his fall.

Like he's had practice being thrown across the room.

When his bleeding head is lifted, he says the words that put the nail in the coffin, "I'm finally seeing you act as a father."

Those words twist their way into their hearts, tearing them apart. That couldn't mean what they thought it meant, could it? Is this what the Principal is like as a father? Is this what Asano genuinely thinks a father acts like?

After hastily leaving the room, Ren voices what they're all thinking, "Gakushuu, does this kind of stuff happen a lot for you? Being hit?"

Asano raises his head. He seems so much less invincible being held up by Ren. It feels like they're looking at the real him for the first time. His shoulders are narrow and he no longer seems like a giant bestriding then all. He's only just as tall as the rest of them, if not a bit smaller.

"Isn't that normal in strict families?" He says, lavender eyes narrowed with confusion.

The room seems to freeze for a moment.

"That's not normal, Gakushuu." Ren speaks quietly. The entire moment seems so delicate. The tension is so high, no one wants to make a noise, in fear something might shatter.

"My family isn't normal," Asano shrugs. As if he didn't just admit to being physically abused. As if he didn't change things for the rest of them, forever.

Ren holds onto him a little tighter.

They get him to the nurse, and while he's getting patched up, they talk. There's an air of shame and disappointment. They were his friends, how did they miss this? At last, Ren is the one who suggests that they move on from their failures and try to be there for Gakushu in the future.

They decide to watch him more closely from now on.

And they notice. The subtle way he flinches when they raise their hands. The sudden tense in his shoulders and hitch in his breath when someone raises their voice, or when a door is slammed shut.

"Do you hate your father, Asano?" Seo casually asks him one day, as all five of them are studying together. "For the way he's treating you?"

"No, I would never." Asano replies, too quickly. His eyes dart up to meet his, "Why would I? He's my father, and he almost apologized to me for hitting me."

"Almost apologized?" Ren snaps, setting down his textbook with a bang. Asano recoils. It's barely noticeable to most people—Asano's trying his best to restrain the flinch, but once they knew what they were looking for, his friends could see it. It was obvious when you looked him in the eyes, those lavender irises widened with fear. Terror.

Ren's expression softens, "I'm sorry, didn't mean to snap at you. But your father owes you a real apology. Not just an almost apology. You can't tell me you're actually satisfied with how he's treating you now, is he?"

Asano doesn't meet their eyes, "It's better than before. I'm fine with it."

They knew that wasn't true, but they also didn't want to argue. There was nothing they could do about it, anyways. And besides, it's better now, isn't it? The Principal will stop hitting him, he's changed now, isn't he? The five Virtuosos each delude themselves into thinking that it's going to be okay. They deny all the signs of turmoil. They ignore the way Asano starts to zone out more and more. His eyes are glazed over, staring into space for long periods of time. He's slowly slipping away in front of them, but they feel helpless to do anything.