Pink bruises - Soudam

Chapter 1

TW: physical abuse

"You hear me, boy? YOU HEAR ME? I payed for it, I get to choose who eats it."

Kazuichi felt a pain go through his leg as he fell.

"Now get out of my sight," his father spat. He scrambled to his feet and ran as well as he could up the stairs. The pain wouldn't leave his leg and just got worse as he tried to get away.

When he'd checked that his door was firmly shut, he carefully rolled up the leg of his jeans to check the damage. His bone didn't seem to be broken, but a big purple bruise was climbing up his shin. He barely had to touch it for another wave of pain to sear through his lower leg. Kazuichi sighed. This would take a long time to heal.

He rolled his trouser leg back down and attempted to stand up. It was painful, but he managed. He wobbled over to the mirror he kept in the corner and inspected his face. There was a light bruise around his throat and a cut on his cheek, but apart from that, he was fine.

He fished out a bandaid from his nearby drawer and patched it over his cut. Then he attempted to cover the bruise with foundation. Kazuichi had gotten very good at this over the past year or so, his father didn't even notice he was wearing it anymore. He honestly wished he could wear more makeup, but he wasn't going to try that again.

When the bruise was thoroughly covered, he hid the makeup back in his drawer with the box of bandaids. He needed to get more soon, he was running out of both foundation and plasters. At least he earned some money from his part time job. Kazuichi regularly worked at the nearby car repair shop. He was the youngest there, but was incredibly good at his job so no one minded.

He'd always been naturally good with machines. He loved taking them apart and putting them back together better than they were before, it entranced him. Kazuichi ran a hand through his hot pink hair. He needed to re-dye it soon, the black roots were growing back through. He shivered. It was cold. Colder than normal. He expected his father had turned off the electric heating again.

Wincing slightly, he pulled a black turtleneck jumper over his head and attempted to rub some heat into his limbs, ignoring the sharp waves of pain that shot through them every time he hit a bruise.

I hate this, I hate this so much. Could he run away? No, dad'll find me too easily. He knows where I work, and I have no one to stay with. It was times like this that Kazuichi wished he had a friend. There were some people who didn't hate him exactly, but he wouldn't be allowed at their houses.

I suppose I deserve this, my fault for ruining my image at school. In a desperate attempt to convince himself and everyone that he was attracted to women, he'd tried to force on himself obsession with the exchange student, Sonia Nevermind. Everything he'd done had just come off as creepy, and now most people didn't want to be around him.

In his defense, Sonia was a very beautiful girl, but he knew deep down that he didn't like girls. And the day his father, or anyone really, found this out, would possibly be his last. And he hated himself for it. "Disgusting people, against nature, against the way of the world, I can't believe this shit is allowed on tv," Kazuichi vividly remembered his father commenting on an lgbt+ friendly advertisement on tv.

He hated to admit it, but his father had said it so often that he'd started to believe it. He needed to get away from this house. He couldn't survive like this much longer.

Kazuichi groaned as he checked his phone's cracked screen. It was Thursday, he had school tomorrow. At least he could get away from his dad. He wished his mother was still here, but she wouldn't know what to do either.

She'd done what he wished he could do and ran away. She was living with her very close friend now. Kazuichi hadn't seen her in years. He texted her occasionally, but he'd started to forget what she sounded like, which hurt maybe more than the limited contact.

Did he have any homework? He couldn't remember. What does it matter anyway, he basically had a confirmed job, he didn't need to know any more Maths or English than he already did. If he could already fix up cars better than they were before, then what did he need a 'good rounded education' for?

What was the time? 10:34pm. Exhausted, Kazuichi collapsed onto his bed. Thankfully, he fell asleep almost instantly. The only good thing about sleep is it sped up time. He barely had dreams and wasn't upset by this fact. He just wanted to be unconscious for a while, and it worked. He just wished he got to sleep more often. Imagine if I never woke up? I wouldn't be dead, just... well, asleep. It sounded nice. The blackness enveloped him and he slipped into a deep sleep.

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So uh... this'll be fun

I hope you like Kazuichi angst

Song: As Your Father I Expressly Forbid It by Lemon Demon

(Note from future Squid: I changed it so it says it's Thursday and the days line up, don't worry)