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Atsushi didn’t remember a lot from his years in the orphanage, but what he did remember was horrible and he’d seriously prefer to forget it.
All his memories made him sad and conflicted, the conflict was over whether or not he should even be alive.
He didn’t like to admit it, he truly didn’t think he deserved to live, to walk on this earth, to have people who seemed to care about him.
But he never shared his feelings. He didn’t want to burden anyone with them, he’d rather just be the cheerful guy that everyone liked.
What did he do with his feelings instead of expressing them? He cut himself. He knew it was extremely unhealthy to do, yet it made him feel better. Plus, his special ability just healed the cuts anyway.
That was what he was currently doing. Sitting on the bathroom floor, staring at his blood-stained wrists as they slowly began healing themselves.
The healing was a major convenience, though the blood didn’t go away and he still felt the pain. It was still a good convenience.
He had already put the razor blade in a tissue and thrown it away, that was the most important thing he needed to hide, after all.
He suddenly heard the bathroom door open, he had forgotten to lock it.
The person who walked in was none other than Lucy Montgomery, Atsushi’s close ‘friend’.
To be fair, he was bound to get caught cutting eventually. He just didn’t expect or want to get caught by Montgomery.
“Tiger-cat, what are you doing?” Lucy’s voice was quiet, not like how she usually addressed him.
Atsushi didn’t respond for a while, “Atsushi, why are you hurt?” Lucy insisted in her questioning.
He still didn’t say anything, his mind was racing to find a reasonable explanation. “Answer me.” Lucy stepped closer to him, to get a better look at him.
“I got hurt during an assignment, that’s all.” Atsushi finally replied, his voice a bit shaky. Lucy appeared to not believe him at all.
She grabbed his hand gently, looking at the mostly healed wounds analytically. Those were definitely self-inflicted, there was no doubt about that.
Lucy switched on the faucet and brought Atsushi’s wrist under the water, effectively cleaning the blood off.
Atsushi flinched slightly, the cold water over the phantom pain he felt stung. A lot. Lucy didn’t say anything.
She wasn’t going to ask, she didn’t need to ask when she already knew the answer.
He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, the stinging felt worse than the actual.
‘Why did it sting so much even though the wounds were already healed?’ Was the only thing he could’ve thought of asking out loud, but he didn't, the tension was too high right now.
Lucy eventually switched off the faucet, not letting go of Atsushi’s hand. “Come on.” She mumbled as she dragged him out of the bathroom.
Atsushi didn’t protest against it, he was fine with anything as long as she wouldn’t tell anyone. He hoped she wouldn’t.
She dragged Atsushi back to his dorm and made him sit down on the floor, he obliged.
Looking around the small room, Lucy spotted just what she needed, a marker that doesn't erase. She picked it up and grabbed Atsushi’s hand again.
“What are you..?” He questioned, letting the words for in his throat as Lucy started drawing on his wrist.
The drawings were slightly sloppy but it was still obvious that they were stars, Atsushi cringed at the scrapping of the marker against his skin.
Lucy moved on to his other wrist, drawing more stars before soon enough letting go of his hand.
“Listen, as long as those stars last, you can’t harm yourself again.” She spoke calmly but sternly, “And when they fade, I’ll be here to draw them again.”
Atsushi seemed to light up at that, he gave a little smile and said, “Right, of course.”
“I mean it.” Lucy persisted, making it clear that she was completely serious.