"Ugh-so stupid!" The boy spat, as he kicked the girl who was on the ground in front of him. His friends laughed as the girl wiped her leg. Blood coming off of it and on to her hands.
"Stupid Kaori, you can't even afford to buy new clothes once in awhile?" One of the girls giggled.
"True, she always comes with the same rags everyday!"
"Her parents must be broke! You poor thing." They all cackled as Kaori stood up, dusting herself off.
"Are you done? If you are then I'm gonna leave." Kaori said, as she made her way out of the hallway. But she flinched as she felt one of them pull her back, the girl who laughed at her ealier.
She then slapped Kaori across the face a few times before pushing her to the ground..
Bullying...
Kaori was used to it. Being smart wasn't always a good thing..
Kids would always find her and bully her, thinking it was all fun and games. All just because she was smarter...better then they were..
"Dummy! We aren't done here!" She snickered, as she kicked Kaori in the guts.
"Maybe after a few more punches, we'll let you go."
Kaori slolwy sat up and wiped her dirty face. Holding her bag tightly as the kids started kicking and punching her again.
"STAY IN YOUR OWN GRADE!"
"WE DON'T NEED SMARTASSES LIKE YOU!"
"GO FALL IN A DITCH SOMEWHERE AND BE A SMARTASS THERE!"
"......"
She didn't do anything..
For some reason she just couldn't bring herself to do anything...
She just sat there....and let them beat her....
▪▪▪
The sun started to set as Kaori walked home, she lightly limped as she walked. Ignoring the stares and whispers as she passed by. She tried her best to hide the bruises and cuts on her body, but some were still visible.
"Dang it....excuse...I need a excuse.." she mumbled.
Her father and everyone at the Agency, didn't know that these things happened to her. She'd always lie, saying she fell or tripped..
But with these bruises...
"Hm...maybe a cat?" She whispered, as she entered the building and made her way up the stairs. Taking a deep breath she put on a smile and opened the door.
"Hello!" She said.
"Hi Kao-WOAH-WHAT HAPPENED?" Atsushi cried, as he ran to her and examined her visible bruises.
"Oh-um...A cat."
"Cat?"
"Mhm, I tried to help a cat but ended up falling off a tree it was stuck on." Atsushi shook his head as he grabbed a rag from his pocket, and walked towards a sink with Kaori following him.
"Oh..what will your fa-,"
"I'm back!" To Atsushi and Kaori's dismay, Dazai walked in...
"Jeez that was some difficult work!" He glanced at Kaori, it only took him a second to see the bruises and cuts. His eyes widen as he ran towards Kaori, examining them.
"Oh darling....what happened?" He cried.
"C-Cat...I tried to save a cat from a tree..and fell." Dazai squinted his eyes sadly, as he kissed the bruises on his daughter's left arm.
"My poor baby....please be more careful next time.." he whimpered.
"Mhm...I'm sorry."
Dazai spent the rest of his day cleaning and wrapping Kaori's wounds, with Atsushi's help of course. But Kaori did her best to not show too much of her wounds, so that her lie would still work out.
"Hm...maybe we used to many bandages?" Atsushi said, as they finished wrapping Kaori's wounds. She giggled and twirled, her arms all wrapped up with bandages.
"I look like you daddy!" She giggled.
"Hehe, you do!"
"Dazai-san...."
"Oi Dazai." Kunikida walked up to them, a frown on his face.
"Hm? Yes Kunikida-kun?"
Kunikida shoved a paper towards him. Dazai glanced at it, reading every single line.
"Um...is this my report?"
Atsushi and Kaori instantly knew what was gonna happen. Backing away as Kunikida looked more deadly and scary now.
"And? Why do you think I gave it to you?" He asked.
Dazai pondered for a moment before grinning, "To tell me how much you love my repor-,"
In happened in the blink of an eye. Dazai was sent flying in the air, then plummeted into the ground. Kunikida fixed his glasses before glaring at the pained Dazai.
"Fix it...now."
"Yessir..."
Kaori giggled as Atsushi shook his head dissapointly. Dazai crawled towards his desk as Kunikida made his way towards them. Noticing Kaori's wrapped body.
"What happened?"
"Oh, I tried to save a cat but got hurt."
Kunikida sighed, "Be more careful next time, okay?"
"Mhm!" Kaori clenched her fist, "I promise!"
But she knew..
That would be a hard promise to keep..
▪▪▪
"A gift?" Kaori glanced at her father, who smiled as he sat next to her.
"Mhm, a gift!"
"But...my birthday passed dad."
"And? I can't buy you stuff if I want to?" He asked, as he placed a small little box in front of her. Kaori grabbed it and opened it gently..
"Isn't this..."
It was a necklace, with a small little bluebird as the chain in the middle. Kaori giggled as she put it on. Then, she stood up and ran to the nearest mirror, examining herself with it on.
"I love it!" She said.
"I'm glad..." Dazai stood up and walked over to her. "Daddy saw it and wanted to get it for you. I see it was worth the money.." he whispered.
"Thank you Daddy.." she turned around and hugged him. Dazai patted her on the head as he glanced at her arms again. He knelt down and looked at her in the eyes.
"Kaori...can you promise, to tell me the truth?"
"Truth? Mhm, of course!"
"......Where did those wounds really come from?"
Kaori froze. Tell the truth....about this?
No...
She couldn't...
"Yes I'll pay you back as soon as possible."
"No, um-please take half of my savings and put it away....yes...for my daughter."
"I already paid.....DON'T YOU....ugh...fine fine, just mail me the bill. NO Don't put it on the savings....yes....fine.."
"I wish for my daughter to attend....yes I am aware of my income...I can take care of my daughter...yes...but I...fine...fine..."
"No, I'm not allowing anyone to take her! How many....STOP CALLING THIS NUMBER!"
"Please....yes...no no...for my daughter...thank you.."
"She just fainted....oh thank god....no charge me whatever you need...I just want my daughter, to be okay."
If she were to tell him that she was being bullied...
To add something else to his worries..
"....Daddy...honestly...I don't wanna tell you."
Dazai's eyebrows raised as his daughter backed away from him. Her gaze not on him, but on the ground bellow her feet.
"You don't wanna?"
Kaori shook her head. Dazai sighed and raised his daughter's head up to look at him. She did her best not to show her worry, sadness, and guilt..
"I...I'm not ready...to."
".....I swear." He stood up and stretched, "Fine then, I won't ask." He glanced down at her, "But if it gets worse...I will do my best to learn the truth Kaori."
Kaori gulped, it's been awhile since she's seen her father's cold and emotionless expression...
"Okay daddy."
Dazai sighed and walked towards his room. Closing the door behind him. Kaori stood still for a few moments before kicking the air. Her and her father sometimes got into "arguments" like this one. But honestly, they wouldn't last too long.
She waited for a moment longer before tip-toeing near her father's room. She then slammed the floor wih her foot, and quickly fell on the ground.
"Owww! Ow it hurts!"
Dazai hurried towards the door and slammed it open, glancing down at Kaori.
"What happened!? Did you tri-,"
"Got ya!" Kaori pounced on Dazai, pushing him to the ground as she started tickling him.
"H-H-Hey-PPFFT-STOPP!" He cried, crying tears as he giggled. Kaori continued to tickle him for a minute more before stopping. Allowing Dazai to finally catch his breath.
"......I'm sorry." She mumbled.
"Sorry?"
"For not being able to tell you the truth."
Dazai sighed, "Well...I trust you baby. If you can't tell me yet, then I can wait. I should be sorry for pressuring you." He replied.
Kaori stood up and patted him on the head, "Well, I forgive you." She grinned. Dazai scoffed as he glanced at the time.
"It's still kinda early. Wanna go grab some ramen real fast?" Dazai asked.
Kaori nodded, "Mhm! I'm starving!"
Dazai and Kaori walked towards the door, holding hands as they opened it and closed it behind them. It was always like this. Whenever they had their "arguments" Kaori would always do something random to catch Dazai's attention.
So far, it has proved to work really well. The two of them would always eat somewhere after, as if to help forget what happened and move on.
This was the norm for them, for the Dazai's. To always keep your head up and don't look back.
That's what Dazai had always taught Kaori.
Never regret the past, but try and focus on making a future for yourself...
A future...that you won't regret...
▪▪▪
Kaori dodged as a kid tried to punch her in the face. It was already a fresh new day, a nice cool afternoon..
And already, she was being targeted.
"Little bastard, stay still!" The kid cried, as he tried to swing at her again. But his extra weight made him slow, allowing Kaori to dodge with ease. Sadly though, he was able to land a few on her. Adding a bunch of new bruises to her legs and arms.
"What do you want!? I literally did nothing to you!"
"Awww, the little baby is crying." He smirked, as he finally grabbed Kaori and kicked her in the guts. Sending her straight towards the ground in pain.
"A-Augh.."
The other boy grabbed Kaori by the hair and spat at her. Pullingnhard as he sent her flying across the alleyway.
"You think cause you're so smart you can do whatever you want, huh? Well your just a spoiled smartass-oh wait, from what I hear your family is pretty broke at that the moment." He cackled.
"Smart for what? Can't even get into college without money! Climbing up the ranks for nothing!"
"What an idiot." They cackled, it reminded Kaori of the sound of two dying dogs on the street.
She tried standing up but one of the boy's pushed her back down with his foot. But that's when he spotted something on her neck...
"What's this?" He asked, as he yanked off the necklace around Kaori's neck.
The one Dazai gave her...
"H-Hey! Give that back!" She cried, trying to teach for it.
"Or what? You gonna steal my money?" The boy twirled the necklace like it was a toy, slamming it into the walls around them.
"Damn, the stupid thing won't break-," but then as he finally slammed it as hard as he could, there was a crack. The tiny bluebird chain had broken in half. One part remaining on the necklace while the other fell to the ground. Kaori felt her heart break as the boys laughed louder then before.
"Your face is priceless!" He laughed. "Here, you can have this!" He threw the necklace back at her, making it land right in front of her.
"Why don't we break something else, make ya learn a lesson or two?"
The boys made their way towards the broken Kaori, as she backed away into the wall. She held the broken necklace close to her heart..
"S-Stop.....STOP-,"
"Oi, what's going on here?"
The three of them looked back, a boy stood there with a glare on his face. He wore a white shirt, with a row of buttons in the front, long jeans, black boots, his black hair shiny, and his eyes a light purple...
"Well, if it isn't Hoshi-kun." The fat boy chuckled, as he turned to the boy now. The boy, Hoshi, scoffed and placed his bag on the ground.
"If it isn't fatass-kun and his gremlin, did ya hear? They have some free food near the dumps for a glutton like you if you wanted some."
"Bastard, acting cocky aren't ya?"
"Well. You should know why I do. Also I thought you were done picking on the innocent already." Hoshi said, as he glanced at Kaori.
"Shut up!" The kid yelled, moving away from Kaori now.
Hoshi took that chance to get Kaori's attention and titled his head behind him. Kaori was confused at first but could eventually understand what he meant. She stood up and walked over to him, hiding behind him.
"Huh!? Runing away already!?"
"....."
"Hey, she's not the one you should be talking to." Hoshi jumped foward, punching the fat kid in the guts. He choked as he was sent half across the alley. His friend watched wide eyed before looking back at Hoshi.
"What? You wanna try too?"
The boy whimpered as he ran away, leaving his friend alone.
"B-Bastard..."
Hoshi chuckled as he walked over to him. Grabbing him by the collar as he lifted him up...his body glowing a light green as he did so.
Kaori then realized he was using a skill!
"Y-You! You're a stupid skill user!"
"Mhm...and I feel like using mines right now in fact." Hoshi then started glowing brighter, causing the kid in his grasp to panic.
"Y-You'll get arrested! Killed at most!" He cried. But Hoshi didn't feel affected by those words, if anything he just kept glowing brighter and brighter.
"Why should I care? I'll just hide your body, simple as that." He grinned.
"N-No! NO PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" He cried, his eyes watering with tears.
"Then promise....promise you won't hurt this girl again."
"I WON'T! SWEAR TO GOD I WON'T!"
Hoshi stared at the boy for a few seconds before finally placing him down. But as the boy sighed with relief, Hoshi kicked him in the face. Making him fall to the ground, and go out cold.
"Sorry...bug on your face." He smiled. As he placed his hands in his pockets and made his way towards Kaori.
"Let's go." He mumbled, walking down the pathway without glancing back. Kaori stared at him wide eyed for a moment longer before getting up and following him.
They continued to walk until they were far gone from the alleyway. The boy, Hoshi, stopped and turned towards Kaori. She stopped as he sighed and shook his head.
"Why did ya let em do that to you for?"
"H-Huh!? Well..." Kaori glanced at her feet, she honestly didn't have na answer for that question..
"You're that girl everyone talks about. The smart one...Dazai right?"
Kaori nodded, "Mhm, Kaori Dazai." She replied.
"I see....well be careful from now on. Next time you won't be so lucky." He was about to turn away but Kaori reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks.
"W-Wait!"
"Huh? What do ya want?"
"Y-Your arm..." Hoshi blinked before glancing down, his arm a light purple from a bruise.
"Where did you get it? You couldn't have gotten it while fighting those kids..."
"It's nothing." He pulled his hand out and placed it in his pocket. "I really need to leave, so see ya-," But Kaori grabbed his arm again, pulling him in the opposite direction.
"H-Hey! Stop it!" But Kaori didn't listen. She kept walking until she reached a place with no one. Stopping on top of a stairway that led down to a street. She sat down and opened her bag, grabbing bandages and wrapping it around Hoshi's arm.
"Damn it, I said it's okay!"
"Please...just let me do this.." she glanced up at Hoshi, who now stayed silent as her eyes pierced him right in the soul. "I can't think of anything else to do for you as a thank you.."
Hoshi grumbled under his breath as he sat down, bringing his arm closer to Kaori. She smiled and continued wrapping his arm.
"How old are you?"
".....Six."
"Eh!? You're two years older then me!"
"Really?"
Kaori nodded, she then thought back to when he turned a bright green...
"Do you...have a skill?"
Hoshi was silent for a moment before nodding, "Yeah...I do." As Kaori finished wrapping his arm he lifted it up and clenched it.
"Skill....Dark Rise."
In a flash his hand was surrounded by black matter, that changed it's shape into a blade. Kaori flinched as it happened.
"W-Woah..."
"My skill, let's me turn any body part I want into a dark blade. I mostly use it on my hand though..." he then changed his hand back and placed it into his pocket.
"I see..."
Hoshi glanced at Kaori's hand, "My turn for the question now," he titled his head towards her clenched hand, "where did you get that necklace?" He asked.
Kaori opened her hand to reveal the broken necklace, it pained her to see it so she quickly closed it back up.
"My dad...gave it to me."
"Oh....is he dead?"
"Oh no, he's still alive!" Kaori cried, "It's just that..." she glanced down at the steps in front of her.
"My dad does so much for me...even though he's suffering. So whenever he gives me something...I make sure to protect it and treasure it...so that's why this necklace means a lot to me. It may look like trash to others but...it's treasure to me."
".....I see....lucky.."
"Huh?" Kaori tilted her head at him, what did he mean by that?
"Nothing...does your dad know you're getting bullied like this?"
Kaori gulped, "N-No...."
"Dummy, you should tell him." He stood up and stretched. "If what you're telling me is true, then you're old man would be broken to know his daughter didn't go to him for help when getting bullied."
"O-Oh..."
Hoshi turned back at her, "Be grateful to have such an amazing person with you..."
Kaori stared at Hoshi for a moment, taking in what she was seeing. No...she was trying to figure him out...figure out what feeling he was trying to show to her...
But she couldn't....his expression in front of her was the one puzzle she couldn't seem to solve. In fact, his entire being was something of a puzzle to her. Just what was he...why did he help her...why does he have...such emotionless eyes?
"Say Kaori, I'll also give you some peice of advice." Kori snapped out of her trance as he said those words.
"U-Um...okay." somehow Kaori could tell, this would be the last thing he would say to her for the day. He narrowed his eyes and slightly clenched his fist.
"No one in this world....cares about us losers. Which is why we losers," He grabbed Kaori by the hand, helping her stand from the ground. "Work together to stay alive."
At that moment Kaori could feel it. A strong yet small light of hope seemed to have been left by those words. But why....
She couldn't figure out...
▪▪▪
"D-Dazai-san please calm-,"
"NO! UGLY LITTLE BRATS ARE MAKING FUN OF MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER AND MAKING HER COME HOME IN A DEPRESSED MOOD! HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO STAY CALM!?" Dazai yelled, as he tried to reach the door but Atsushi and Tanazaki held him back.
Kaori had come home and ended up confessing many things to her family. They claimed to have understood and told her it's okay...however after she fell asleep...
"WHOEVER SLAPPED RI-CHAN IS GONNA GET A CANDY UP THEIR ASS!" Ranpo yelled, as he was held down by Kunikida.
"It seems I need to do some treatment on the poor things..." Yosano mumbled, as no one dared approach her.
"All of you please calm down!" Atsushi cried. Everything was silent for a moment, Atsushi standing there with pleading eyes as he continued to pull on Dazai's sleeve. Dazai then stopped and sat with a pouting face, Ranpo clicked his tongue and placed the lollipop he was holding in his mouth, and Yosano sighed before sitting down on her desk. Everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief.
"I know everyone's upset...and that Kaori doesn't deserve what happened to her...however..." all of a sudden Atsushi gave them a piercing glare then sent a chill down their spines.
"Are you all really using your brains here? Your loud noise will wake her up from her precious sleep time...so shut up and be mad when she's AWAKE."
"Y-yes sir..."
"Aye...."
"S-Sure..."
Atsushi sighed and glanced in the room near the back of the office, where Kyouka and Kaori were sound asleep. He smiled as the two of them were still sound asleep. In his mind he only wished for one thing.
Make Kaori's beautiful smile return tomorrow and from now on...
(END OF CHAPTER)
(I'm sorry I feel like I kinda rushed this chapter 🥲 I apologize if it wasn't too good TwT I also apologize for taking a VERY LONG TIME to update this ;-; but I'll do my best to keep working hard and finishing it up!
Thank you guys as always and hope you all have an amazing rest of your day/evening!! Bye byeee!!)