Chapter Text
Chiharu Sato was a well known guy at school but all for the wrong reasons. He was known as the cursed guy at school because of a rumour someone spread about him. Apparently, he was doing black magic on his classmates and was using his blood to make the magic work. Why would they spread rumours like that? Because anyone who talked to him got into a bad accident days later or got sick. It could have been just a coincidence, right? It was 1910, they believe what they hear. He was frowned upon by everyone in the school. Even the teachers didn't want anything to do with him. They made him sit outside of the classroom, close to the door to hear the lessons. They did not do anything to stop the rumours, they never did anything to the bullying, they instead turn a blind eye.
At home wasn't better too. His mother and father got a divorce and he was forced to stay with his deadbeat and abusive father. They were rich, yes, but because his mother is paying for everything. He wishes he stayed with her but she wanted to live a new life with her new family. She didn't want anything to do with her old life but still funded them because she knows how her ex husband was. Still, she made him stay with him because she doesn't know where else he could go. He couldn't go to his grandparents because they were dead and his relatives already hate him as well. What can he do to live a normal life?
---------------------------------------
It was dusk when school ended. Another day of him sitting outside near the door. He packed up his bags and went to his engekan to get his shoes. When he opened the engekan door, he saw that his shoes have been super glued tight to the engekan. This was normal to say the least. This has happened to him 8 times that school year and it had only been like... 5 months since the school year started. He put his uwabaki back near his shoes and the dried glue. He closed the engekan door and walked away with no shoes. He clutched his bag as he left the school grounds, noting how his classmates looked at him walking without shoes. They looked at him with mockery and disgust in their eyes. He tried to not notice their stares, but they made him feel small and shameful. His house was a 40 minute walk from the school, he didn't dare bother taking the train. Whoever sat next to him would probably get into a bad accident which leads to him getting called cursed once again.
He got home and opened the front door. He saw his father sleeping on the couch. The state of the living room didn't look like it was habitable at all. There were bottles everywhere, shirts and glass shards scattered all over the floor. He walked to the stairs while avoiding the glass shards all over the floor. His footsteps quiet from all the times he sneaked over his sleeping father when he came back from school. He headed upstairs and opened the door to his room. His room was the only thing clean in the house that time. His bed was neat, there were a few dusts on the floor, and a sock was sticking out of the drawer. He went to his desk and got out a journal he hid from his father. He opened his journal and started to write. He liked journaling, he wanted to be a journalist when he grew up.
I haven't told you about his appearance, have I? Well, I guess I can tell you now. He has long brown hair he didn't bother to cut, bangs that were clipped to the side, fair skin, and brown eyes. He has a mole underneath his lip and on his cheek. He has bruises all over his arms and legs but no one seemed to notice or care at all. His uniform managed to hide all of the beatings and scars his father gave him.
As he wrote in his journal, he heard his father waking up. He had this talent ever since he was a baby. He would always cry whenever something far away was too loud in his ear or anything above 40 decibels. He closed his journal and kept it back in it's hiding spot before his father sees. His father called out to him.
"CHIHARU. COME DOWN HERE YOU LITTLE FUCK." He yelled. Chiharu flinched at his dad's yell. It was too loud for him. Way too loud. He didn't want to upset his father anymore, so he went down stairs and was prepared for whatever his father had in mind. He saw his father holding up a beer bottle that was empty. Probably to hit him with. His father spoke again.
"What 'cha waiting for? Come closer." His father said. Chiharu didn't bother building up the courage to say anything, he hesitated going to his father but he knew he would have an even worse beating if he didn't follow. Before he could move a single step, his father stood up abruptly and walked closer to him. He stopped in front of him and without hesitation, he pulled his hair. Chiharu couldn't scream, he can't.
"You fucker told something to the cashier at the supermarket 4 blocks away, didn't you?" He said. His breath smelling like alcohol. Chiharu was speechless. He didn't say anything, but if he did, it wouldn't register in his dad's drunken state. When he wouldn't respond, his father got the empty beer bottle he was holding and smashed it into his head. The bottle shattered and the impact of the bottle to Chiharu was forceful. His head started to bleed. His father lifted him up by his hair. His father was a tall man, 6'3 foot tall. All while Chiharu was 5'4.
"If you tell another fucking soul, I will make sure your bitchy mouth doesn't speak ever again." He threatened as he dropped Chiharu to the floor. Chiharu fell on his stomach and a glass shards pierced through his eye. The pain wasn't anything he felt before.
"Oh get up, it's nothing serious. Now go buy me more beer, thats the only thing you're good at." His father ordered him. He couldn't disobey. He put on new shoes and started to walk to the super market. His right eye, which the glass pierced upon, was bleeding uncontrollably. Same with his head. He couldn't go to the supermarket like this. He went to his neighbor who was a doctor. Her name was Sasaki Rokima. Her doctor's office was next to his house. He went to her office and opened the door to it. He saw a line of patients waiting to be cured. When Sasaki called out for the next patient, she saw him bleeding out, she rushed to him and quickly took him to the office. She apologized to the other patients, saying she needs to treat him for a moment. She closed the door that lead to her office and saw him bleeding out.
"What happened to you?" She asked in a way Chiharu was not used on hearing. He stayed quiet, not knowing how to explain.
"... I tripped down the stairs..." He replied weakly.
"You think I'm gonna believe that? Tell me the truth." She said in a concerned tone. He continued with the lie though.
"... I tripped down the stairs and a glass shard was there because a window broke at my school..." He replied softly. He knew she didn't believe him, but he needed help.
"Here, let me help you, I'm no expert here but I can try." She said grabbing medical threads in her shelf. She sewed shut the bleeding on his head and managed to sew and bandaged up the wound.
"There. That should do it. It's free for now, but please, dont get yourself into more harm." She said to him in a gentle tone of voice, something Chiharu could never get used to. He nodded and gave her a small tip, he gave her 600¥ and quickly rushed off to the supermarket. He opened the supermarket door and went to the beer aisle. He bought 3 packs of beer and went to the counter to pay. The cashier saw his state and noticed he looked worse the last time he came.
"... You look even more worse than last week." The cashier said. Their tone soft. He didn't reply, just stayed quiet. The cashier sighed knowing he wasn't gonna reply. They scanned the beer and put it into a paper bag and gave it to him.
"That will be 800¥." The cashier said. He quickly grabbed his wallet and paid. He grabbed the paper bag and left the supermarket. He quickly rushed back home. He opened the door and gave his father the paper bag. When he opened it, he saw that there were only 3 packs.
"Why is it only 3 packs you piece of shit? I TOLD YOU TO BUY 6." His father yelled. Chiharu flinched, his father didn't tell him 6... He didn't tell the amount. His father stood up and grabbed the baseball bat next to him. He always kept a baseball bat next to him. He took a swing at Chiharu's ankle. He fell on his side, narrowly avoiding the glass shards. His father didn't notice he was treated which was good.
"You fucking piece of shit can't do anything right." He said before going back to the couch and putting the baseball bat next to him. Chiharu got up and limped up the stairs towards his room. The bat had too much impact on his ankle and he knew it. The pain stinged badly. He was used to it, but it still hurt. He opened the door towards his room and went to a cabinet that had medical supplies. He had bandages, disinfectant, tape bandage, hand sanitizer, gauze, and anything you can have at home. He grabbed the tape bandage and lifted up his uniform leg opening. He saw his ankle. The swelling was at his ankle where the bat hit. He wrapped the bandage carefully around the area. When he was finished, he limped to the bathroom to take a bath. He made sure to leave his wallet on his desk.
He got to the bathroom and stripped off his uniform. He put them in the laundry basket near the shower and then stepped in the shower. He turned on the shower and the water stung. The water was too warm for the bruises and other injuries on his body. Pain kept pulsing all through out his body and all he could do is endure it. Endure every single pulse of pain that went through his body. He kept wincing every time the hot water touched a wound on his body. His shower was painful, so when he finished, he was relieved the pulsing stopped. He grabbed the towel outside the shower and dried himself off. He was the one that did most of the work in the house. He wrapped the towel around his waist and walked to his room. He changed into more comfortable clothing and grabbed his wallet on his desk. He used the window to escape his room and go eat his dinner outside. He went to his usual ramen shop as that was where he always ate dinner, his father never bothered to cook.
He opened the door to it and saw how it was silent. No one was there except for the workers. He limped in, ashamed he would cause trouble for the workers.
"... Excuse me...? Are you guys closing early today..?" He asked. A waiter saw him and shook his head.
"No, we aren't. Come, sir here." He said, parting the table he cleaned. Chiharu limped to the table and sat down on the chair.
"What can we get for you today, Chiharu?" The waiter asked. Chiharu just pointed something on the menu. The waiter understood what he meant as that was how he always ordered.
"Okay, we will have it for you in 30 minutes! Is that okay?" He asked, Chiharu nodded. The waiter went to give the order to the chefs while Chiharu waited. He waited for 20 minutes and the waiter gave him the ramen with a free drink.
"Here, both are on the house, enjoy." The waiter said before leaving. He grabbed the chopsticks and started to eat. It was the first time he ate all day. He didn't pack anything for lunch at school and didn't have breakfast. This was his first actual meal. He made sure not to look like a pig while eating. The taste was wonderful and he finished it after 15 minutes which is fast. The waiter came and saw him finished. He smiled because he saw how skinny he was and is happy he is eating.
"Yknow, I'm happy you're eating, good for you." The waiter said to Chiharu. Chiharu didn't know how to react and just gave a soft polite bow and quickly left before his father noticed he was gone. He managed to be a good climber, climbing back to his room without being caught and only using trees. He managed to slip back inside and closed the window. He turned around and saw his father with the bat.
"Where did you go you fucking shit." He asked sternly. Chiharu didn't reply and that was his biggest mistake. His father walked to him, grabbed his arm and lifted him up. Chiharu couldn't even resist as his father started to swing the bat on his side. He couldn't yell out in pain at all. After 10 swings, his father stopped and dropped him to the ground.
"You little cunt trying to escape from me, huh? Absolutely pitiful." He said leaving the room. Chiharu crawled to the cabinet where he kept the medical supplies and grabbed more bandages to wrap around his waist. All of this would happen again tomorrow, so why bother trying to do anything about it? He thought to himself. He endured the pain while standing up and limped to the light switch to turn off the lights. He limped towards his bed and laid down on his bed. He tried to sleep but the pain was making it difficult. He managed to get a bit of sleep before his body started pulsing with pain again, waking him up after 3 hours of sleep only. Once the pain stopped fully, he managed to fall asleep again.