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Blood. Kokichi tasted blood. Which wasn’t unusual nowadays. He honestly grew used to such a metallic taste in his mouth. All that could be done was to empty himself. Which he did.
All he was able to force out of himself was blood. He rarely ate, so not much food substance came out of him. He wiped his chin off after finally finishing his hacking into the sink.
Nothing could describe how much he hated that bathroom. It always smelled of bleach and dust. Nobody really used it. Unless they wanted to beat him up.
Was beat the correct word? To be kicked and punched till they got bored? Is that what it means to be beat up? He didn’t understand. Kokichi didn’t understand a lot of things.
The only good that ever came out from these terrible moments was the school nurse. Mikan Tsumiki.
Kokichi left the bathroom as he usually does. His feet moved all on their own, confident in the direction after many times of walking there. He knew every twist and turn in the hallways. Everyday he went to that office. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration. But to him it felt like it. Days with no school felt empty and nonexistent. It felt like a blank. Just nothing. So he never really counted those as days. They were just a void. Therefore, to him, he went to Mikan everyday.
Finally the lightly pink tinted door came into view. He knocked on the door quietly, knowing how startled the nurse seemed to be around loud noises.
It didn’t take long for the door to slowly and quietly crack open. Glassy purple eyes stared back at him. He saw a small smile on her face.
“Why hello Ouma. I-I was wondering when you would come.” Her stutter had nearly disappeared around him over the countless times they met. Sure there was a small stutter here and there, but she had made progress. She opened the door fully and Kokichi stepped inside with a breathy laugh.
As usual, as soon as Kokichi had seated, she made sure he wasn’t wounded. He always was, but that wasn’t always the case on why he had come. He tended to just love to be in the presence of Mikan for no reason.
Mikan made a small tsk noise at the forming bruise on his cheek. The flash of care and worry that always flashed through her eyes was there. She never really mentioned the injuries. Mikan would just tend to them and maybe explain how to do such for future wounds on his own. She was a great teacher when it came to medical subjects. Nobody usually let her ramble besides Kokichi and he assumed it was nice to have someone to talk to about what you do best.
Kokichi didn’t really ever have any friends. He was always a burden and annoying to others with his personality. Well, his fake one. He was intolerable. Maybe that was why the bullying had started.
They wanted to bring him down. To break him. Little did they know, he has always been broken. He stood strong though. Never breaking that façade until they left. Breaking down in the bathroom. Tears stinging his eyes and blurring his vision. The knife under his pillow. The dripping noise he heard as red hit the floor. The pills hidden in his cabinet. The ones he promised himself never to take. He was messed up.
Until there was Mikan.
He had met her almost a year ago, for once deciding to reluctantly go to the nurses office after a really bad session of abuse. The memory of the wound he got was hazy. His head really hurt. One of the more aggressive bullies had bashed his head into the wall and he could slightly feel the blood dripping down his face. Mikan had been kind. She was very nervous though clearly. Thinking she would mess up. Unlike in the present, where she felt comfortable tending to Kokichi.
Mikan snapped Kokichi out of his train of thought. She held a small ice pack onto his head with little pressure.
“Hold this here. T-try not to press it too hard!” Mikan slowly moved her hand and Kokichi replaced it with his own. He had hardly noticed the aching at the side of his head, but Mikan sure did.
The two sat in a comfortable silence for a moment. School was nearly over and the two would have to leave in almost an hour. They always made sure they had at least a little time for soft small conversations.
“Does it hurt anywhere e-else?” The nurse quietly spoke up. Kokichi thought for a moment. Other than the bruise she had treated on his face and the spot under the ice pack, he felt fine. Maybe his arms stung a bit. Which he told her.
Mikan nodded and slowly lifted up his sleeves.
He can still remember the first time she saw them. Finally after months of their visits he had trusted her with the knowledge. Kokichi honestly expected her to mouth off to him about doing such a thing was unhealthy. Though all she did was stay silent as she slowly lifted up the bandages. He noticed the look of... understanding in her eyes. That was when he took more thought into the bandages covering her whole left arm. After she had disinfected the small jagged cuts they both cried into each other’s arms, only separating when they were forced to leave the school.
“I-I see you’ve been getting better at cleaning them.” She praised as she got out a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide, much like the one in his own bathroom.
“Well, you’re great at teaching me more about medical treatments” he smiled and he could see the visible happiness on her face.
Nobody appreciated her enough and just saw her as the weird clumsy nurse girl at school, but she was so much more than that.
From what Mikan told him, she never was liked by people. She had been bullied when she was in school like him. When she would tell Kokichi what things they had done to her, pain was evident in her eyes. Remembering hurt her. He felt bad for feeling so terrible when he barely had it as bad as she had. When he had told her this she had lectured him (which was something she rarely did) about never comparing your experiences to someone else’s. It was okay for him to hurt, she had told him. That had made him cry. And she let him into her arms, whispering sweet nothings into his ears.
When Mikan finished rewrapping his arm in bandages and making sure they weren’t too tight, she shared Kokichi a small smile. The one she always gave him after she finished cleaning his cuts. Like always, he smiled back.
Mikan always tried not to cry after cleaning them. She tried to be strong. Yet she couldn’t. She felt so bad that Kokichi had to deal with her same struggles. But it would be okay. It would all be okay. She told that to herself and Kokichi.
The school bell made a small chime noise as the clock strikes five. Their time was up. Another day, another week finished. Friday had ended, the weekend will begin. He won’t see Mikan till Monday.
Mikan can sense Kokichi’s thoughts and she squeezes his hand. It will be okay.
Kokichi never wanted to go home. It was hated more than school. At least school had Mikan. Home didn’t.
Home was filled with screaming and disappointing looks. Things were thrown and tears were shed. Nobody could protect him there. Not even Mikan.
Mikan slightly tightened her grip as the tears fell down Kokichi’s face. She rushed him into a hug and he cried into her shoulder.
It’s okay. Shh. Everything will be okay. The future holds a better place for you Kokichi. You’ll be okay. You are okay.
Mikan whispered comforting things into his ears as he sobbed. She never thought of herself at good at comforting others but Kokichi knew she was so, so wrong.
He felt himself feel empty as the tears dried. Empty in a good way.
Escaping those comforting arms had always been the hardest thing for Kokichi. He never wanted to leave them.
They said their last goodbyes and Kokichi headed for the door, turned the knob, looked back and smiled. Leaving the room itself was just as hard. He didn’t want these moments to ever finish
but all things must come to an end.