Chapter Text
"You can't make me go."
"Of course I can Shion, I'm your mother, we’ve been over this already and it's too late to back out. Now please get the rest of your stuff, we'll be on our way very soon."
Shion quietly groaned at his mother's response but obeyed her.
He was dreading this day, ever since his mother told him he was moving to a new school for the 3rd time in just under 2 years.
Shion had never had it easy at school. People teasing him for his 'freakish looks,’ scars and so on. Not one day would pass without him getting beat to death and teased.
‘I’ve had enough of this.’ Karen had said and decided to send Shion to a boarding school two hours away from where they lived. It was the last resort. There was nowhere else to go.
Shion manged to drag the heavy bags down from his room and into the car. He'd never really been away from home before, and going to a boarding school scared him.
He quickly went back up to his room to see if he had forgotten anything and Shion realised that -yes he had forgotten something, his actual school bag which had all the essentials in it for the year.
"You ready to go, Shion?" Karen called from down stairs.
"Coming!" Shion ran down the stairs and gave one last sniff of the bakery his mother owned. ‘I'll miss this.’ He thought to himself, as he put the extra bag in the back of the car with the others.
Shion got in the front of the car slowly and let out a nervous sigh.
"You'll be fine, Shion. I'm sure if you ever need anything, get lost or something like that, someone will help you out.”
Shion said nothing.
“Why don't you read this on the way? Read up about the school." Shion’s mother handed him the student handbook. "Make a good impression on your teachers before you even start classes. That’s what Safu always says, right?" She smiled
"Yea, okay." Shion said plainly.
He read through the introduction of the book which told him about the school’s visions and all the teachers’ names along with the subjects they taught. There were a lot of pages to read through; it kept Shion busy for the first hour drive.
He looked out the window and watched the beautiful scenery as it flew by the speeding car and listened to the soft sound of the radio playing in the background along with car engine.
He thought about what the school would be like (even through he'd just read through about 100 pages of the handbook).
‘Would they accept me? Laugh at my scars? Treat me with respect?’
Shion started to shake at the questions, 'what if it's going to be just like the last school...'
"Shion..." A soft and calming voice echoed in his ears.
"Please don't worry, they'll treat you kindly and with respect. It's one of the schools values after all isn't it?"
The white haired boy turned towards his mother, her hair beautiful brown hair done in a ponytail.
"It's just going to be like last time..."
"No, Shion. It will be different."
"Mum." Shion said. "I'll just be bullied out of this school, just like the other three. And I’ll be rooming with another. It'll be twice as worse."
Karen sighed at the reply. "You'll be fine."
"No, I won't and you know it. You're just as worried as I am."
Karen was silent for a good minute.
"You're right, I am worried. I'm scared you're going to do some stupid things."
Shion crossed his arms. "I won't do any stupid things, at least not if I don't go here. Why do you think this time will be any different than the other times?"
His mum cracked a smile.
"Because you much older and mature now."
"Why couldn't I just be home schooled? It'd be better for everyone. No one would have to look at my ugly scars." Shion grumbled.
"Because Shion..." Karen sighed. "We can't afford it and you know it. Also your scars aren't ugly, you need to embrace your scars, as they show that you're a survivor."
Shion sighed sadly and loosened his arms.
"Sorry, mum." He made his gaze out the window again.
"Look Shion." His mother said.
"Please just try this. And if it doesn't work out. I'll find another way. Okay?"
Shion made an 'mmhmm' sound and continued to look out the window. He was so grateful to have a mother like her. Always caring for him and doing all that she could so he could get a good education and still make friends.
Being a single mum and raising a child was hard enough for Karen. Working in the bakery that she owned was the only source of money income for the two of them.
After another hours drive they pulled into the drive way of the school. They went in the back entry since that was where the hostel dorms were -where Shion would be staying for quite some time.
He felt butterflies start to fly around in his stomach. 'I'll be fine.' He thought to himself and let out a sigh. ‘Let's go.’
"Do you need help getting your bags, Shion?" Karen asked getting out of the car.
"Yes, thanks mum."
They walked stood by side through the double doors of the boarding house and were greeted by one of the staff members.
"Ah, you must be Shion, correct?"
"Yes, Miss...?"
"Miss Caroline. I'll show you to your room."
Shion nodded and dropped his bags to hug his mother goodbye.
"You'll be fine okay, Shion." She petted the boys white head and Shion nodded in agreement.
"I'll see you later." Karen smiled. Shion kissed his mother’s forehead.
"Yea, see you and thank you. I love you." Shion glanced at his mother one last time, before picking up his bags and following Miss Caroline down the halls.
'I'm going to be fine.
I'm. Going. To. Be. Fine.'
"You'll be rooming with a boy named Nezumi. He does have a job down at the local theatre some nights, so I hope you don't mind a roommate who walks in and out of the room in the middle of the night. Although I'm sure it won't be a huge problem, he's pretty quiet."
'Nezumi? Odd name.' Shion thought to himself. 'And he works at a local theatre? Hmm. Sounds interesting.'
"Okay, thank you. I'm sure I'll be fine. He seems nice just from your description." Shion smiled.
They hadn't walked very far and Miss Caroline stopped.
"Your room is just here on the left."
"Thank you...Umm would be able to knock and opened the door for me please?"
She nodded and knocked.
"Nezumi, your new roommate is here."
There was a short silence.
"Come on in." A low husky voice answered.
Miss Caroline opened the door for Shion and he stepped in.
"I'll see you later to get your timetable and classes sorted out for tomorrow." She said and walked off.
"Thank you." Shion shouted back and stepped into the room.
It was rather big room, for a dorm room anyway. A bed and a desk on the end on the right side of the room and it was similar on the other side -although the bed was occupied.
"Hello? I-I'm Shion." He stuttered and turned towards the person on the bed. He was obviously reading a book, then turned to look at Shion.
He had a rather slender figure, but built nicely and his hair was dark blue -almost black and tied up tightly. His eyes were grey and they shone like pearls against the sun coming in from the windows.
He shut his book with a quiet slam and walked over to Shion and the white haired boy saw that this boy in front of him was a little taller than he was.
"Of course you already know my name."
"Mmhm, Nezumi. Right?"
The other nodded. "Indeed." He held out his hand to Shion to shake and Shion did so to.
"Looks like we're going to be roommates for a while." Nezumi smirked.
"Yea, I guess we are." Shion smiled back.