Chapter Text
"Matsukawa-kun, why is your head down? Are you sleeping? You always look so tired!"
"Matsukawa-kun, your hair is so curly! Can I touch it?"
Matsukawa-kun, Matsukawa-kun, Matsukawa-kun.
Issei kept his head down on his desk, blocking out the daily tormenting and giggling from his classmates. A group of them flocked his desk like seagulls, pecking and attacking him with their harsh words. He felt aggressive hands dig into his thick uncombed obsidian hair, their sharp nails scratched poor Issei's sensitive scalp. He was being pushed back and forth in his seat like a chew toy. The curly haired boy tried his hardest to just sit still. Ignore, ignore, ignore. If I ignore them, they'll go away like they also do. This is nothing but the usual.
"Everyone sit down; class is starting!" The booming voice of the teacher erupted all conversation as he strode into the room to his desk. He didn't bother to actually let the scurrying children sit down before giving out another order. "Get out your textbooks and turn to page eighty-three."
Issei slowly raised his head, looking around at all the children getting out their materials. They flip their switches so quickly... He mentally thanked the teacher for saving him, and reached into his desk for his textbook. He pulled multiple books out, but none of them were the one he was looking for. Issei frowned, and ducked to look inside the desk. Irritation was instantly replaced with fear when he noticed the textbook wasn't there. A wave of anxiety washed over the poor boy when he realized he would have to share with the kid next to him.
Issei glanced at either side of him. On his right was a girl with soft brown eyes and wavy amber hair. A boy who looked bored out of his mind with weird pinkish hair chewed his gum on Issei's left. Girls tend to be nicer, I'll ask her. Issei gently tapped on the girl's shoulder. When she turned to face him, his eyes instantly darted away to avoid eye contact. "Um, hi. I left my textbook at home, can we, like, share? Or something...?" he whispered, rubbing his hands over the nape of his neck.
She crinkled her button nose sightly, and her gaze went from Issei to her textbook like she had to seriously contemplate the pros and cons of sharing her textbook with the curly haired boy sitting next to her. "Fine, I guess," the girl replied with a sigh, and Issei scooted his desk closer to hers to see better.
The entire time the two shared the textbook, the girl, who Issei discovered was named Atsuko Yakimura, kept her distance like the brunette had a contagious disease. Various snickers from around the class at the sight of someone associating with Icky Issei floated around the room. The minutes ticked by like hours, and Issei constantly glanced behind him at the clock, but the long minute hand refused to budge an inch. The boy feared he would die before lunch came around.
After eons of painful silence and trying to pay attention to the boring lesson, the chime of the school bell graced the room. Issei didn't waste any time, and uttered a rushed "thank you" to Atsuko, scooted his desk back to its original position, got out of his seat to quickly bow to the girl, and ran to his cubby to retrieve his lunch like his entire life depended on it. He maneuvered around the kids putting their desks together and receiving their school lunches and sat back down in his seat.
He ate alone due to his lack of friends, but it didn't matter much to him anyway. I managed to survive nine years in school with no friends, I could go through three more, all of college, and the rest of my life without one too. Friends are superficial anyway, I'm fine without them. I don't need someone to eat lunch with; I like to eat alone. I don't need someone to talk about our favourite things to; nobody likes the stuff I'm into anyway. I'm fine without joining any clubs or joining a sports team. Being alone and friendless sounds... absolutely horrible, who am I kidding?! I've never had a legitimate friend almost my entire life, people thought I was scary or got held back because I'm so tall, everyone thinks my curly hair is ugly, everyone thinks my face is ugly, people make fun of me for my thick eyebrows and sleepy appearance. I'm a walking piece of garbage who's never going to have a friend in his entire miserable life...
Issei felt a lone tear streak down his face and land into his rice. He quickly wiped his face with his sleeve and kept his head down, but more tears began to flow. After the tears came the sniffles, then the silent sobs and shaking. Issei tried his absolute hardest to not bring attention to himself, for he knew that would cause nothing but trouble. The curly haired boy casually continued to eat, occasionally wiping tears from his cheeks off his glasses. I'm going to die alone. I'm going to die alone and nobody will ever love me or care about me.
"Hey Matsukawa-kun, what's wrong? You cryin' or something?" A narrow eyed boy with a neon green band-aid on his cheek asked with a leering grin. He was setting himself up to bully Issei, as they always do. "Did you confess your love for Atsuko while you shared a textbook and get shot down?" he teased, his voice lined with malice.
Issei avoided eye contact, and instead looked around the classroom. All eyes were glued to him, like a million small, giggling cameras that would hold onto moments like these forever. But he noticed two pairs of eyes looking elsewhere. Atsuko and the pink haired boy looked in different directions, avoiding eye contact like the plague.
"N-no," he croaked with a sniffle, and tried to clear his throat. His eyes stayed glued to the plentiful lunch his mom insists she pack for him every day, even though the curly haired boy swears he can do it by himself. "I don't know what you're talking about; I don't have a crush on Yakimura-chan."
"I bet you're lying~," the boy sang. The satisfied smirk on his face slowly fell when Issei seemed to be ignoring him, and a scowl formed on his lips. "Hey, it's pretty rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you."
Issei payed the bully no mind, and put a piece of salmon in his mouth, chewing slowly. These guys really are a pain... How often do I have to ignore them for them to get the picture? Jeez. The curly haired boy's tears had dried by then, and all he wanted was to eat in peace.
But it seemed as if Issei wasn't going to get the peace he longed for. The bully was getting increasingly agitated as the string of silence between him and Issei grew, and everyone was dead quiet, waiting patiently for something to happen. The scowl on his face grew to be more and more gruesome as the kettle of anger began to boil and heat. Eventually, as kettles do, it reached its peak.
"Stop eating and ignoring me you fatass!" The infuriated bully fumed, and flipped both tiers of Issei's bento onto his pristine cream uniform. Everyone in the room gasped, some people howled, others took photos and videos.
Well there goes all of Mom's hard work. Issei stared at the mess of rice, meat, and vegetables that tainted his uniform. He slowly looked up at the other boy who was panting with rage. "That wasn't very nice," he deadpanned.
"You little piece of shit!" The furious bully grabbed onto Issei's soiled shirt and was about to punch the living daylights out of the emotionless boy, but his arm was caught by the teacher who finally decided to step in.
"Hayashi-kun! Go to the principal right now!" He demanded, pulling Kenta Hayashi away from Issei and pushing him in the direction of the door.
Kenta stomped the rest of the way out the classroom and everyone's eyes followed him as he violently slid the door open and slammed it closed behind him. Once he was gone, the focus instantly returned to the curly haired boy with thick rimmed glasses and his mother's carefully prepared bento decorating his clothes.
"Matsukawa-kun, please go to the infirmary and get a change of clothes." The teacher said to the boy gently, like he was overcoming some kind of trauma.
"Okay," Issei responded, and stood up from his seat. He brushed off the rice on his uniform then swiftly and quietly walked out of the classroom. He didn't bother to look over at his classmates, because he knew all the eyes were on him, recording everything through their camera eyes. But Issei looked over anyway, and instantly noticed Atsuko. He saw her mouth a small "sorry" with an apologetic look on her face just as he was about to close the door. Issei just wanted to go home.
Issei gently closed his locker, and picked the plastic bag with his ruined clothes off of the floor. He sighed, and started walking home. Sports teams were outside practicing, running around the school to warm up. People stood around talking and laughing, telling stories about their day. Friends waited for each other to walk home together, busily chatting about anything and everything. Issei just kept his head down, weakly waving when a teacher tried to say goodbye.
Once he was past the school gates and the sounds of kids and activity faded out, Issei reached into his backpack to pull out his phone and headphones. He placed the headphones on top of his tangled hair, and sifted through the plethora of songs in his library as he walked. Eventually he found a song and put his hands in his pockets. Nobody approached him on the way home which was a blessing, and the boy was able to casually walk home as his favourite songs filled his surroundings.
When he reached his house, he was greeted with silence. Mom must still be at work. She'll have fun hearing about what happened today... Issei collapsed on his bed and sunk into the soft comforter. He laid there for well over thirty minutes, and at some point in that time frame, he started screaming. A steady, muffled yell broke the silence of the room as the stress from the day slowly left Issei's body. His throat felt raw and his chest was on fire, but he kept on screaming.
After de-stressing as much as the boy could bear, Issei rolled off his bed and landed on the floor with a dull thud. He sighed, got up, and wandered around the house to the laundry to put his ruined uniform in the wash. He lazed about, checked the fridge and pantry for food, found some chips and ice cream, and returned to his room. Disregarding the homework and studying he was supposed to do, Issei turned on his TV and Wii U. The game he wanted to play was already in the console, so he just grabbed the controller and pressed play.
Issei's mother came home a few hours later, and Issei left his comfy room to greet her when he heard the front door open. "Hey Mom," he said as he approached the front door, opening his arms to give her a hug.
"Hi Issei," Yasu greeted with a smile, enveloping herself in her son's arms. "You must get a kick out of being able to rest your head on top of your short mother's when you hug, huh?"
"Not really, it just happens," Issei replied with an embarrassed smile, letting go of his mother.
Yasu grinned, and bumped Issei's hip with hers. "Come and help me make dinner, I'm starving."
Issei followed behind Yasu into the tiny kitchen, and awkwardly watched as she dug through the fridge. "What're you making?"
"I don't really know! We can search the fridge and see what we can cook up."
"Again?"
Yasu laughed. "Unless you want to go to the store and buy groceries?"
"I can't drive!"
"Nothing says you can't walk."
"You would let me walk alone at night? Do you not love me, Mom?"
"Jesus Christ Issei, you're so dramatic!" Yasu laughed, pulling out random foods and leftovers.
Issei smiled. "So what's in there?"
"Let's see," Yasu inspected her findings. "There's fried salmon, white rice, a couple onigiri, some curry, oh! There's some pizza in here too."
"Sounds good to me."
Both Issei and Yasu began heating up the leftover food that they wanted to form the most of a meal that they could. Mom will cook a lot over the weekend and then we'll probably survive on what she cooked throughout the week, depending on her mood. It's kind of fun. Once the two had made their meals, they sat down together at the table. The two of them gave thanks for their meal, and dug right in.
After a lengthy period of comfortable silence, Yasu asked, "So, Issei, how was school? I heard something interesting happened."
Issei nodded, continuing to eat his pizza. "Yeah, some guy I think named Hayashi spilled my bento all over my uniform..."
Yasu frowned. "How did that happen?"
Issei briefly explained the background of the situation, not omitting any details. There's no point in lying to her...
Yasu's frown deepened. "And you let that happen? You just let that kid ruin your lunch like that?"
"I didn't really care, honestly. I just got a uniform from the Infirmary and was fine."
"Issei, sweetie, these kids are just going to keep picking on you and bullying you because you're so tolerant. You're like their human punching bag. You gotta fight back! Say something!"
Issei was silent. She's right... but I really don't want to fight anyone. It's too much work and I don't want to break a bone or anything. "It just seems like so much hassle," the curly haired boy shrugged, taking another bite of his pizza. "It's better for me to come home with a ruined uniform than a broken nose."
"Jeez, you're such a softie, just like your father. I swear, you look more and more like him every day," Yasu said softly, her fiery attitude began to smolder. "That man would never want to hurt a fly if he didn't have to. It's a wonder we got along..."
Issei never knew who his father was, for he died on his second birthday, but Yasu constantly claimed that he was just like his old man every chance she could. The only thing Issei inherited from her was her dark curly hair and beige skin, but that was where the similarities ended. She was beautiful and short, fiery but collected, driven and careful. Issei was tall and lanky, always looked sleepy (his mother swore he didn't cry at birth and was born with bags under his eyes), quiet, passive, and extremely boring.
The boy decided not to respond, and the silence resumed. I think I should try out a new weapon in Splatoon... being a sniper all the time is kind of boring. Maybe I should be a roller? Nah, it's too much hassle. The Sloshers are kinda cool, but they're only good for regular battles and Splat Zones though... I could probably do well with like a Luna Blaster or something. No harm in trying it out. I'd probably have to change up my gear. But what would I need? Maybe some Damage Up? Bomb Range Up would be nice too-
"Hey Issei, what'cha thinking about? You seem to be drifting off somewhere," Yasu interrupted Issei's train of thought, and he snapped back to attention.
"Nothing really. Just Splatoon stuff," He mumbled, standing up to reheat another slice of pizza for himself in the microwave.
"You sure do love your video games, huh? Aren't you in the Gaming Club at school?"
"Nope."
Yasu gave him a bewildered look. "Why not?"
Issei shrugged, sitting down with his reheated pizza. "Just not my thing."
"You could make new friends! That's what clubs are for, aren't they?"
"I guess, but nobody would be friends with me."
"What makes you say that? I bet you could make some awesome friends if you try."
"I'm 'Icky Issei', nobody wants to talk to me." Issei tried to take a bite of his pizza, but it was too hot, and he quickly pulled it out of his mouth and blew on it gently.
"Come on Issei, there's gotta be some nice kids in your class, or at least your school." Yasu's frown lifted slightly when she saw Issei try to take a bite of the hot pizza, but her stern look gently fell back into place.
There really isn't. Everyone hates me. "I don't know about the underclassmen, but nobody in my grade seems to like me that much."
Yasu hummed solemnly, and continued to eat her rice. A cloud of sadness tainted the uncomfortable silence like a thick fog. Neither of them dared to speak. What is she thinking? She's gonna say something I swear... Issei sighed, and took a bite of his now cooled pizza. This is some pretty good pizza, too bad there aren't any more slices left.
After a while of painful silence, Issei had finished his pizza and got up from the table. "I have some homework I need to finish," he lied, and put his plate in the sink before walking upstairs to avoid the unusual quiet. He grabbed his 3DS XL off of the floor and rolled onto his bed. He scooted over to the desk next to his bed where a small tupperware container filled with game cartridges sat. What to play, what to play... Issei dug through the container, blindly pulling out a game. After deciding he didn't want to play it, he would pick another. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope! He rejected game after game, until finally settling on one to play. He placed the cartridge in it's slot and turned on the DS, rolling onto his back and holding his prized gold limited edition Legend of Zelda 3DS XL above him. Can I just stay in my room and play video games for the rest of my life? I don't need to go outside or anything, it's just a hassle anyway. I wish I could just make money off of playing video games and go to cool gaming conventions in America. If only... but I'm forced to go to school and associate with people who couldn't care less about me instead. Fate is out to kick my ass, apparently.