Chapter Text
Kaji Ren was a deep sleeper. It was an interesting fact considering how much turmoil he suffered. It wasn't like he didn't toss and turn in his sleep though — evident in how often he found himself in a tangle of blankets, several feet away from his futon. At school, when he napped, he never fully drifted to sleep so he was easier to wake. But waking him at night was near impossible. A train itself could crash through his room and it was likely he would never know.
It would have been good then if he had been asleep when the message came through. Because he only would've seen it once he woke up, in the hours of the morning when other people could be easily reached. When his mind worked a little bit better. As it stood, his phone pinged as he was just crawling under his blankets, having been up late already trying to study and dragging heavily.
Kaji wanted to ignore it. He usually muted the group chats when he was studying and Kusumi had told him good night ages ago. No one should be texting him this late. But maybe…Kusumi might've woken up, he'd been having nightmares still. A month had passed since the big ordeal, since the two had finally become a couple. The rest of the second years had nearly gone insane with joy when they had heard and Kaji thought he was going to implode on the spot. Thankfully the novelty had eventually worn off for the class and they had stopped pressing him about the relationship. But he and Kusumi were doing better than ever, even with the past an ugly stain on their memories.
He sighed and rolled over, grabbing the phone. He blinked at the blinding screen in the dark, trying to read the notification. It wasn't from Kusumi, but an unknown number. Kaji frowned. Who had his number that he didn't know? He knew he should ignore it now, let it be for the night. It wasn't Kusumi, it didn't matter.
Picture received.
Kaji yawned as he opened the picture, expecting a silly meme from a classmate with a new phone. He'd scold them for messaging so late and out of the blue and then go to bed. And then the picture loaded and all at once his stomach dropped.
The image was somewhat grainy, dimly lit only by the flash of a camera. But Kusumi's form was easy to recognize. He was wearing nothing but boxer briefs and a tank top and the way he was splayed out on the mattress did not look natural. His torso and legs were littered with fresh bruises, dark and obvious against his pale skin. Kaji couldn't see his face at all, couldn't tell if he was awake or make out any emotions — couldn't tell if he was okay. He swallowed through the fearful lump rising in his throat, the sparks already dancing in his mind's eye. He reached his thumbs to try and reply but another slew of messages came through.
Whatever will he do without his savior, Kaji-kun?
Keisei Street. You have 30 minutes.
Alone. Or else.
Kaji threw his blanket off his legs, stumbling into pants and a hoodie before he could even think a full, coherent thought. He should message…someone…for help. Enomoto. Sakura. Hiragi. Umemiya. But the last message seared into his chest.
Alone. Or else.
What more would Kuroda do? How far would he go if Kaji stepped further out of line? Kaji tightened his teeth together, fists clenched. He would really kill Kuroda this time. He would make good on his promise. How dare that filth lay his hands on Kusumi again? How dare he make the boy afraid once more?
Kaji had to be grateful he held onto some awareness, just enough separation from himself and the beast to maintain. The sparks were there, the anger in his veins boiling over like an unattended pot. But he was awake, he was himself.
Perhaps that was the problem.
He closed his front door as quietly as he could, not sure if his mom was home or not. But, Kaji had no sooner taken two steps away from his entryway before something was striking him across the face. Something hard, something violent. It sent Kaji reeling back against the railing, blood spurting from his nose. Before he managed to clear his vision enough to see his attacker, the 2×4 plank was smashing down into his skull once again. Kaji was driven to his knees by the blow, desperately trying to stand back up and block.
The beast wouldn't have fallen so easily. The beast would've seen it coming.
But Kaji wouldn't — couldn't — let the beast out. Not right now. Not here. Not again.
"You are such a predictable little brat, aren't you, Kaji?"
Kuroda's familiar voice grated on him, shaving at the last nerve he had remaining to deal with the other's shit. But — if he was here….where was Kusumi?
"Where is—"
Lights danced behind his eyes as another blow knocked him back, sending him sprawling against the stairs. Kuroda didn't answer with anything but crazed laughter as he descended upon Kaji, raining down blow after blow. He tried to hold onto consciousness, even as he felt everything growing dark. Usually it was way easier than this to power through, to get up, but maybe he'd taken a few too many hits to the head lately.
Whatever the reason, Kaji lost this battle, the plank smacking one more time against his temple, searing agony behind his eyes before everything faded into nothingness.
The last thing on his mind was a helpless grasp at his drifting thoughts. A desperate prayer that, wherever he was, Kusumi was okay.
Waking up was pure hell. Coming around after his many dissociative meltdowns had always felt kind of similar, but never this bad. A massive headache radiated from temple to temple and when Kaji tried to turn his head and look around, the world spun and churned and his stomach felt like it was turning upside down. He didn't mean to, but he heard himself groan — a noise that sounded way too loud to him, slamming against the pulsating in his head.
"Wakey wakey Kaji boy!"
A hand wrapped around his jaw, turning him roughly to the side. Kaji's stomach made flipping pancakes look like a game and he put all his focus into keeping the bile from rising up his throat. His vision danced with colored lights that he was sure didn't belong, eyes trying to focus on Kuroda's shifting features.
"Wow did I rattle your head that badly?" Kuroda laughed. "You don't look so good."
The man grinned wide and joyful. "Too bad. I need you to stay awake if we're going to have any fun!"
Kaji ripped his jaw away, a move that cost him in more ways than one. His vision blurred as the pain in his head pulsed, agony blinding him entirely for a few seconds. At the same time his stomach churned and he felt his mouth burn with the risk of bile. And third, Kuroda slapped him, hard, wrenching him back in with an even firmer hand.
"Kaji…Kaji…Kaji…let's not start off on the wrong foot here," Kuroda simpered, leaning in close. "I want to make your life hell, sure. But we don't have to jump right into the deep end or anything, not yet. I want to take this slow…"
Kaji watched the man's jaw twist into something vicious, a look that seemed all the more disconcerting with double vision and flashing bright lights. "You've been pissing me off and I'm going to make you suffer for it."
The blonde huffed out a breath. The feeling was mutual, but he didn't have the energy to voice it, not with Kuroda gripping his jaw shut tight. But finally, the man released him, letting Kaji lean back and get a feel for his surroundings.
He was restrained, that much was quickly obvious. To a metal chair that must've come from a school at some point, wrists and upper arms tied back and holding him taut against the back of the chair. This was probably straighter than he'd sat in a chair his entire life, and honestly the position was kind of uncomfortable. But that wasn't what he cared about at the moment.
Kaji tried to make out what was beyond him and the chair, beyond Kuroda and the table he had pulled up behind him. It looked like the empty, dark expanse stretched on for infinity. But notably there was nowhere that looked like the bed in the picture, and Kaji honestly doubted a place like this would just have a whole bed hanging out in some corner.
He blinked a few times, trying to turn to look over his shoulder and earning himself another pulse of pain across his head. Kaji faced Kuroda's amusement once again, grimacing.
"Where's Kusumi?" he hissed.
"Oh? Mimi-kun?" Kuroda teased, with a beaming smile. "You're all tied up and you're worried about him right now? Cute."
Kaji didn't know why the pet name sent violent twinges of anger through his skin, it didn't sound like one Kusumi would like all that much. But he hated even more how Kuroda seemed to laugh at his concern, as if he hadn't lured him out with exactly that.
"He's fine. I'm sure. You said to stay away from him and I did. I bet he's snuggled all safe in bed thinking about how he's going to make you smile in the morning," Kuroda gagged, mockingly. "You both make me sick. Lovey dovey bullshit, he doesn't deserve any of that. I know how to treat him right. I know how he really feels."
Kaji growled in the back of his throat, like a beast trying to rally against its prey. He wanted to know about the picture — if Kusumi wasn't here…if Kuroda had never gotten to him again…How…?
"That's the shit you did to him back then?" Kaji hissed through grit teeth.
The thought made his already violent stomach lurch uncomfortably. Kuroda had been hurting Kusumi that badly? He knew it had been bad, but he hadn't seen more than the faint hints of the bruises. And the few that had been receding weeks after. But worse yet — the way Kusumi had been laying, the way the picture had been taken — the fact that a picture had been taken of that vulnerable state at all. It all implied way worse events than Kaji wanted to wrap his mind around. And it pissed him off way more than he could ever imagine.
He gnashed his teeth together, violently tugging against his restraints, wordlessly establishing his hatred and intent. Kuroda let out a booming laugh, arms opened wide in a taunt.
"Come on then, Kaji." A threatening grin stretched across the man's lips. "Let's play."