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ii.
bruises
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Harith had always hated Harley.
He hated how Harley treats others as if they were beneath him. He hated how he shows no respect to everyone, including his elders. But, what he hated the most was how Harley treats Nana.
There were numerous of times where she tried to befriend Harley. She would make an attempt to talk to him or try to give something to him. Though, she would always end up miserable after that, and it hurt Harith to know that Harley keeps hurting Nana's feelings despite her being nice to him. He doesn't deserve her kindness at all.
However, now, all that hatred towards Harley is starting to waver. After yesterday, Harith couldn't stop thinking about the mage. He still disliked the guy, but those injuries he had on his hands were very concerning. What had Harley been doing to cause his hands to be like that? And why, of all of places, was Harley sleeping in the restroom? He could just sleep on one of the couches in the training room if he had wanted. It doesn't make any sense.
"Harith!"
Harith was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Nana callling for his name. When he tilted his head, only then he realised that she was standing in front of him. Her eyes were large, full of worry, and he wanted to slap himself for not paying attention to her calls.
"Nana," he greeted, smiling at her. He looked around and found some students lingering at the hallway. This meant class hadn't started yet. "What's up?"
"I don't know what you're thinking right now, but you look really bothered," Nana said, crossing her arms. Her face then turned serious. "Spill."
Harith waved a hand nonchalantly in the air. "Ah, it's nothing."
Nana looked like she wasn't buying it. "What is it, Harith?"
"It's nothing," he lied. He was confused at the moment, so maybe it was best if he kept what he'd discovered from Nana. To distract her, he said, "We should head to class. It's about to start."
The two of them hurried to class, and they were surprised when they found Harley sleeping at his desk. It was unusual to find him this early—since he would always come a little late—but it looked like he had decided to come earlier. He currently had his head laid on the desk, his hat covering his face. Harith wondered what Harley would always do at night that would make him sleepy in class. Well, like Eudora had said, maybe he was the kind of student that would stay up late at night to study?
Nana stared at Harley for a while, but then she just sent him a wave before sitting at her desk. She sat a few desks away from him, at the other side of the classroom, next to Chang'e. It was hard to communicate with each other during class, but at least they could talk to each other during recess and after school.
"Well someone's early today." Harith turned his head to the side, and he found Cyclops sitting down next to him. The mage was eyeing Harley, and Harith knew that he was talking about the Mage Genius. Cyclops added, "Usually he walks in class late, like a boss."
"Yeah," Harith responded, nodding slightly. Whether Harley was aware or not, they always talked about him. Probably the whole class does the same too. Harley was just a person that could make himself become a hot topic. But, now, Harith doesn't feel like talking about Harley. He just felt worried instead.
Cyclops let out a huff of annoyance. "I hate him so much. The other day, he told me that my magic was weak. I'll show him!"
Harith nodded absentmindedly. In reality, he wasn't really listening. "Yeah."
"Just because he's smarter, that doesn't mean– Oh, Miss Aurora's here."
Harith was pulled out of his daze when Aurora entered the class. Everyone stood up to greet her, but Harley continued to have his head laid on the table. Someone was about to wake him up, but Aurora raised her hand, stopping them. The person walked back to their seat, and Aurora made a gesture to continue greeting her, despite Harley still sleeping at his desk.
When everyone sat back down, Aurora motioned towards Harley's table. She stared at him for a while before placing a hand over his shoulder. Her voice was stern when she spoke, "Vance."
Harley seemed to twitch. Seconds later, he lifted his head. Everyone let out a soft gasp when they spotted his face. There was a large bruise on his cheek, and Harith couldn't help but notice that there were dark circles under his eyes—a sign that he hadn't been sleeping well,
"What happened to you?" Aurora asked, her voice flat. Her eyes then turned into slits. "Did you get yourself into a fight?"
Harley glared daggers at her before batting her hand away from his shoulder. Casually, he placed his hat over his head. "It's none of your business."
"As your teacher, it is my business," Aurora said, moving her hands behind her back. "Being a top student means nothing if you're a delinquent."
Harley rolled his eyes. "And your accusations means nothing without evidence."
Aurora raised a brow. "What if I do find evidence? Are you planning to get expelled, Vance?"
Harley looked at her for a while, before a smirk crept on his lips. "If you find evidence."
Without even asking for permission, Harley just headed out of the classroom. Everyone glanced at Aurora anxiously. She was a very strict teacher, and probably the scariest among the other teachers, so everyone must be expecting an outburst. To their surprise, she just let out a sigh and walked to the front of their classroom. The next thing everyone knew, she was already starting her lesson, whether Harley was joining or not.
Harith was busy doing his work, when he saw Cyclops shaking his head. Cyclops said, "What a jerk. He's so confident that his parents will save him if the teachers call them."
Harith held back his tongue from commenting. Harley was still being rude to everyone, but there was something not right about him. Harley sleeps more often in class. There were cuts on his hands yesterday, and, today, there was a bruise on his cheek.
Everyone was probably assuming; Harley was a kid who loves studying at home but looks for a fight in school. That could be true, but, after what Harley had said to him yesterday, there was something that doesn't make any sense.
"How about you continue to assume that I'm just some spoiled brat."
Why would he say that?
"Wouldn't that make things easier for all of us?"
Why would he want everyone to assume that he was a spoiled brat? Why would that make things easy for them? No, wait, why did he use the word 'assume' in the first place?
"If you find evidence."
He sounded so confident.
Could it be that Harley wasn't involved in fights?
Harith had to find the truth, and that meant he had to find Harley. He raised his hand. "Miss Aurora, I need to go to the restroom."
With a nod of approval from Aurora, Harith exited the classroom. He wasn't sure where he could find Harley, but the restroom seemed like a good place to start his search. He found Harley there yesterday, so there might be a good chance of him finding him there again.
He entered the restroom and found the place empty. He checked each stall and found all of them vacant, except for one. He focused onto his hearing and only caught the sound of someone breathing. Its breathing sounded even, which meant, someone was sleeping inside. He could only guess that it was Harley, and he didn't hesitate to knock on the door.
There was the sound of rustling, and Harith's ears perked up when he heard Harley say, "What?"
"Harley, we need to talk," Harith said, making an attempt to unlock the door. "Open up."
"Piss off, leonin," Harley said, his voice gruff. "Can't you tell that I need some privacy here?"
"Sleeping inside doesn't sound like you need privacy."
Harley didn't say anything for a while. Harith assumed that the mage was waiting for him to go away, but he was going to stay here. He needed to find out what was really happening. He waited for a few minutes, and, eventually, Harley unlocked the door. Harith's eyes widened when he spotted the mage. Now that he was standing close to him, he realised that Harley looked really tired. His posture screamed fatigue, but his face was determined to mask his exhaustion.
"Harley," Harith said, his voice low, "Why are you sleeping in the restroom? What's happening to you?"
Harley just gave him a deadpan stare. Then, he crossed his arms over his chest. "What are you talking about? I'm fine."
"I think it's pretty obvious that you're not." Harith took a step forward, and he noticed how Harley had tensed. "You know, I can't help but feel like something's–"
Harith was surprised when Harley disappeared, leaving his hat. He whipped his head to the side, and he found the Mage Genius already running out of the restroom. Now that the mage was behaving this way, he could tell that something was definitely wrong. He dashed out of the restroom to catch up with him, and he was glad that the mage hadn't gone far.
"Harley!" Harith called, grabbing him by the arm. "Are you–"
Harley smacked his hand away and sent him a withering glare. His body was shaking, and his voice was filled with suppressed rage when he said, "I'm warning you, Harith. Just leave me alone. No matter what you do, it's all going to be useless anyway."
And with that, Harley disappeared, leaving his hat again. Harith could hear his footsteps not far from where he was standing, but he decided to not chase the mage anymore. He figured he got his answer.
"...it's all going to be useless anyway."
Harith had a rough idea on what was happening, but he needed to make sure that he was right.
He had to talk to this with Nana.
- ♛ -
It was late in the evening, and Harith was out with Nana, planning to buy some food. Since Miya and Alucard were out on a date and would be back late, they decided to buy some food for themselves. There were actually leftovers in the fridge, but Harith and Nana weren't going to have that as their dinner, especially since Alucard and Miya would be having some nice dinner at a fancy restaurant.
Harith still hadn't told Nana about what happened. The cat elf looked like she suspected something, but she didn't ask what he was hiding. He was glad that she was giving him some time. He needed all the time he could get to absorb the information he had and piece them out together. Then, once he was sure that his assumptions were right, he would tell–
"Okay, Harith, you really need to tell me what's on your mind now," Nana said, breaking the silence. Harith inwardly sighed. So much for thinking that that the cat elf would give him more time. The mage support added, "You've been awfully silent, and you look like you really want to tell me something. So," she stopped walking and turned around to look at him, "mind telling me what's bothering you?"
Harith opened his mouth before closing it. He was hesitant to tell her, but Nana was practically his sister. She deserved to know. He let out a sigh before saying, "I found Harley in the restroom earlier."
Nana gasped. "What's he doing in there?"
"He was sleeping," Harith said, averting his gaze. He couldn't stop visioning the Mage Genius' face. "Nana, I think... I think he's getting hurt."
"Hurt?" Nana asked, her lips twitching into a frown. "You think someone's bullying him?"
"Knowing how powerful his parents are, I don't think anyone would dare lay a finger on him." Harith didn't want to tell what he was really thinking, but, after watching the news shown on TV, he finally accepted that this world was a cruel place, and some things do happen. "I think... he might be getting abused at home."
Nana seemed to stiffen. "By his parents?"
"Yeah," Harith said, his voice lowered. He knew that he couldn't just accuse Harley's parents like that without evidence, but that was what he assumed at the moment. "I mean, I know it's too early to claim that when I have no proof, but there are some things he said that hinted–"
"Harith, wait." Nana moved him to the side and squinted her eyes. Confused, Harith looked at where she was looking. She was currently staring at a figure exiting the convenience store. "Isn't that Harley?"
Harith's eyes widened when it was the mage. Grabbing Nana's hand, he started running towards Harley. The Mage Genius, however, seemed to sense their presence, and Harith watched as he quickened his pace.
Harith knew that it won't be long before Harley leaves his hat, and it was going to be hard to find him on the streets. He whipped his head to look at Nana. "Nana, throw Molina at him!"
"What–"
"Just do it!"
"Okay, okay!" Nana dug her hand into her pocket and threw something in the air. A Molina appeared, and it started chasing after Harley. "Go, Molina!"
Harley looked alarmed the moment he spotted Molina. He left his hat to increase his movement speed, but it was no use. Since no one else was around to take the hit for Harley, Molina was going to continue chasing him.
It didn't take long for Molina to turn Harley into a cat. When he reverted back to his self, Harith took this chance to leap onto him, pinning him to the ground.
"Let go of me!" Harley yelled, sending his foot right at Harith's abdomen. Harith winced when it hurt, but he kept his grip firm onto the mage. "I told you already, just leave me–"
"Harith, look!" Nana moved next to him and showed him a plastic bag. Harley must've been holding it before he was turned into a tiny cat. She opened it, and inside it were bandages. "These are..."
Harley's eyes widened before he started thrashing around under his hold. Harith had to tighten his grip in order not to release him. He looked at Nana. "Nana, check his arm."
Nana nodded her head before pulling Harley's sleeve.
"No, wait, don't–!"
Harith and Nana were frozen when they spotted the amount of bruises Harley had on his arm, and it was all it took for Harith to immediately let go of the mage. The sight was so horrible, it was a wonder how Harley was able to hide his pain. Some of them looked like they were going to fade, but others were definitely new.
Harley scrambled away from them before standing up. He pulled down his sleeve, and his body was trembling when he whispered, "Why?"
Harith didn't know what to say. "Harley, I–"
"I told you to leave me alone!" Harley shouted, holding his bruised arm. His eyes were shimmering, and it didn't take long before tears start to flow down his cheeks. "Which part of leaving me alone do you not understand?!"
Before Nana and Harith could stop him, he had left, leaving his hat and bandages behind.
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note: i'm sorry for the ending. :") hopefully we'll get to find out more soon~
and yes, i'm updating this story early because i actually had two chapters written before i publish this. however, the next chapter will take a while because i need to figure out what i'm going to write next. sorry if i end up being slow, because i'm actually working on another oneshot for my harihar oneshot collection while writing this xD