PROTIP: Taku is short for Takuma Akihiko. He is a frail young boy with shaggy brown hair and emerald green eyes. Even though he is Japanese, he is also part German resulting in his unusual eye color. His weird appearance was one of the first reasons why he became a target for bullying.
(A/N: Keeping all the text italicized is too much work so I'm just going to write in normal font, please know that everything takes place in the past and is a flashback.)
WARNING: SLIGHTLY MATURE CONTENT AHEAD. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED IF YOU ARE EASILY TRIGGERED BY MATURE AND HARSH TOPICS SUCH AS SUICIDE AND OR DEPRESSION.
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"Sit down." Akira ordered as the brunette boy just nervously sat down on the lid of the toilet.
Takuma watched as Akira paced aggressively between the multitude of drawers within the bathroom before approaching Takuma with gauze, some medical tape, hydrogen peroxide, a pair of scissors and some other miscellaneous items.
"Arm." He demanded simply holding out his hand as Takuma gingerly placed his arm within it and gently rose his sleeves to reveal the cuts.
Akira was silent as he treated the wounds, although it was apparent he was very upset.
"A-Aki-chan..." Takuma's voice squeaked out, terrified of angering the already upset black-haired boy.
Akira gave him a hum in response as he treated the cuts, just letting him know that he was listening.
"A-are you..." Takuma hesitated, he really wanted to ask the question but in all honesty, he was terrified of the answer.
"A-are you..." He started once again, "Mad at me?"
Akira looked up with an unreadable face before letting out a long sigh.
"You idiot." He facepalmed before wrapping the brunette boy in a hug.
"You scared the living shit out of me! Of course, I'm upset!" He said confusing the brunette boy as he clenched him tighter.
"But I could never be mad at you." He finished before pulling away from the hug making the brunette even more confused.
"But you just said you're upset with me..." He pointed out rubbing his now bandaged hand and arm nervously.
Akira sighed once more, "I'm not upset...per se. You just worried me, that's all." Akira said before flicking him in the forehead.
"Oww! That really hurt Aki-chan!" Takuma pouted holding his forehead with a wince.
"You'll never do something like this again, ok?" Akira said seriously crossing his arms with a pout.
Takuma hummed in response.
"I want to hear it!" Akira demanded not budging from his spot until he got an answer.
"Fine! I'll never hurt myself again!" Takuma sighed holding up his hands in defeat.
"Promise?" Akira pouted holding out his pinkie.
"I promise." Takuma sighed wrapping his pinkie within Akira's.
Akira smiled a bit, "Good! Then let's get out of this grimy bathroom, I want food!" He groaned rubbing his stomach as Takuma just chuckled a bit.
"Me too, what did you bring?" He questioned feeling much lighter after making that promise with Akira.
"Oh you know, just spicy teriyaki chicken ramen..." Akira said nonchantly as Takuma's eyes lit up in surprise.
"Spicy ramen!?" He exclaimed excitedly hurrying over to the kitchen.
"Of course! And I got this too!" Akira smiled before holding up a small keychain with a blue cat on it.
The cat has blue fur along with blue eyes while a white pair of headphones were wrapped around its neck.
"I-Is that a Purrsona 3 keychain!?" Takuma exclaimed holding it up in awe.
"Yup!" Akira smiled before pulling out another one out of his pocket. "I got one too! Mine's of Junpurr though." He smiled before showing off his light brown cat who had a blue hat on as well as a galaxy colored scarf.
"Cool!" Takuma exclaimed looking at the two key-chains in awe.
"So next time you think of breaking that promise look at these keychains and remember the promise you made me." Akira said simply but by the slight tense of his shoulders, Takuma could tell he full-heartedly meant it.
"I will." Takuma smiled before pulling out the pots to fill it with water.
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"Mmm! This is delicious!" Takuma smiled slurping down the noodles at an aggresive pace.
"Agreed." Akira smiled joining in on the face-stuffing of ramen noodles.
"Ugh! Nothing beats spicy ramen noodles, I mean nothing!" Akira smiled feeling satisfied after his meal. He leaned back on the chair before resting his hand on his full stomach with a sigh.
Takuma chuckled a bit as he watched his friend before looking down at his hands.
"You know Aki... You're the only thing that keeps me sane anymore." He mumbled inaudibly as he stared down at his empty dish.
"Hmm? Did you say something?" Akira questioned before Takuma nervously denied it with a sigh.
"N-nope! Nothing at all!" He waved his hands frantically confusing the black-haired male. "Nothing important anyway." He said quieter earning a questionable 'Hmph' from the other male.
"Anyways..." He laughed off awkwardly as he got Akira's attention again. "How're your arms? Has the bruising gone down?" He questioned, curious about the bruises that littered his body after the countless fights he's gotten into on Takuma's behalf.
"A little." He said simply shifting a little as if he was slightly uncomfortable. "The bruising is still there but I'm not nearly as sore as I was."
"Oh. I see." Takuma said grimly as his gleam dimmed again.
After all, it was entirely Takuma's fault Akira was getting injured in the first place.
"Hey! Hey! I told you I was fine, remember? Getting into these fights were my choice. No need to get all upset about it." Akira smiled awkwardly sensing Takuma's melancholy atmosphere.
Takuma just nodded before finally lifting his gaze from Akira's arms.
The atmosphere became awkward again before Takuma spoke up.
"Please don't tell other people about this..." He said confusing Akira, "Like... about our promise and stuff." Takuma said awkwardly rubbing his arm gingerly.
Akira frowned, "If you keep your promise then I won't." He said simply, not too fond of the idea of keeping it a secret.
"Thanks," Takuma said softly not making eye-contact with the black-haired male.
Akira gave a light hum before speaking, "Yeah, no problem." He sighed before his back pocket buzzed.
"Aww, it's my mom. I have to get going." Akira frowned, obvious that he didn't really want to leave.
"O-oh ok. See ya Aki-chan."
Akira hummed with a wave before heading out. "Yup, see ya!" He smiled before exiting the house.
Takuma's gaze lingered on the door before he looked down into his hand.
He looked at the keychain for a while before clenching in his hand with a determined huff.
'I promise.' He noted before beginning to clean up the bowls.
-=-=-=-
The next few weeks were normal, Takuma stopped harming himself and the bullying died down somewhat.
Or at least they did until one incident occurred where Akira was caught red-handed fighting several bullies in front of the principal.
"Akira!" A voice beckoned the blackette boy as he waddled down the stairs in slight pain.
"What the hell is this?! I just got a call from your principal. Apparently you've been caught in a fight?!" Kurusu-san lectured waving her phone in her hand with an aggravated tone of voice.
"You almost sent a kid to the hospital!" His mom lectured as he looked away in shame.
Akira opened his mouth to speak but he was cut off by his agitated mother, "I don't want to hear your excuses. We're going to the school tomorrow to apologize to the families you've harmed!" She glared making Akira shrink in slight fear.
"I can't believe this. I thought I raised you better." She plopped down on the chair with a sigh as she rubbed her temple in aggravation.
"To believe my own son would be caught in such an atrocity." She sighed before looking back at the blackette boy.
"You know how hard I work to provide this family with a steady flow of income, Akira?" Kurusu-san clenched her teeth, obviously stressed out. "My job is already hard enough as it is, please don't make that more difficult for me with your unnecessary bullshit!"
"I already have enough problems, you don't have to be another one of them." She sighed before spinning around in her chair.
Akira sighed, he already knew all this. He had already been told a plethora of times.
"I'm sorry Mom." He said but it was half-hearted.
Because although he did feel guilty for making his mom more stressed, he was never truly sorry.
"Give me your cellphone." She demanded, holding out her hand.
"Wait, what?! But I said I was sorry." Akira exclaimed taken aback by her statement.
"I'm sorry but actions such as these cannot go unpunished. Give me your cellphone." She ordered as Akira hesitantly placed his device in the palm of her hand. "Good, you'll get it back in a week, after we apologize to the school and those families." She lectured holding the cellphone in her hand, anger still brutally apparent.
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"We are so, so sorry for any trouble we might have caused you and your son." Kurusu-san bowed as Akira looked away bitterly.
He glared at the bully who also just looked away is slight discomfort.
"Bow your head you undisciplined brat!" Kurusu-san hissed forcing Akira's head down with the palm of her hand.
"If there is anything we can do to atone for the mistakes of my son. Please let us know." Kurusu-san said as Akira just fidgeted underneath her grasp.
She shot him a glare before he stopped fidgeting, too afraid of the wrath of his mother to protest.
Eventually, they walked out reconciling with the bully's family.
"What the fuck was that you ungrateful brat?!" Kurusu-san yelled backhanding Akira on the back of his head. "Do you want to embarrass me?"
"-No..." Akira apologized lightly wincing in pain as his Mom began to lecture him.
He sighed once more, letting his mom rant to him about how stressful her life was and that he is just a minor stone in the mountain of problems she has.
'But his problems never mattered.' He thought bitterly biting his lip as his Mom pushed him into the car before slamming the door in rage.
"You better be glad I talked things out with your principal, you would've gotten expelled if it wasn't for me!" Kurusu-san said as she drove, gripping the wheel tight enough to make her knuckles white.
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"Kurusu-kun..." A familiar voice said sadly as the boy turned around to see his home economic's teacher with a slight frown on his face.
"I heard you got into another fight," Hiroshi-sensei stated sadly taking a seat next to the black-haired boy.
Akira just gave her a slight nod before pulling out a notebook from his bag.
"I told you this would happen if you keep it up." She said with a sigh. It was still early before classes so not many students had arrived yet.
"They were bullying Taku... they would have hurt him if I didn't step in..." Akira said retracting his gaze from his worried superior's eyes.
"And you didn't explain that to your mom?" She questioned not fully believing Akira's story.
"I tried but she didn't listen to me." Akira sighed fiddling with his thumbs. "I'm just worried about Taku... he's not the strongest..."
"I'm sure Akihiko-kun is strong in his own respect. He might be frail compared to the other kids but I'm sure he has spirit. Getting bullied once or twice won't break that." Hiroshi-sensei tried to comfort the boy but it only made Akira more depressed.
"You wouldn't understand..." He said dryly turning away from the teacher, uninterested in the conversation.
'Did... I say something wrong?' Hiroshi-sensei questioned silently to herself as she watched the boy turn away, clearly uninterested in the conversation.
She sighed before sitting up to return to her desk.
'Perhaps he's just upset because he got into an argument with his mom...' She waved it off not bothering to press Akira further for details.
It wasn't long after that when classes had begun but Takuma didn't show up all day.
Not many people paid attention to it but Akira was really worried.
He couldn't wipe the sickening feeling in his gut when he thought of Taku not showing up for school.
"Hiroshi-sensei, did Taku call in sick today?" Akira questioned, nerves slightly leaking from his voice.
She turned around with a questionable hum, "No, I don't believe he did. I just suppose he's feeling ill, it's nothing to worry about." She waved reassuring the boy.
Akira hummed in response but it didn't reassure him of his worries.
"I'll call him just in case," Akira mumbled to himself before reaching into his back pocket, only to realize he didn't have his phone.
'Damn! I forgot Mom took my phone away...' He hissed deciding to leave it be.
'Taku will be at school tomorrow, there's no rush.' He reassured himself feeling his steps become just a little lighter after that thought.
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Except Takuma didn't come to school the next day, nor the day prior. It was now the eighth day Takuma was absent and Akira was getting really worried.
"Mom, Taku didn't come to school for the last week," Akira said nervously sitting at the dining room table.
"Hm? Really?" She questioned holding the phone up to her ear, obviously on a call with her work. "Oh, not you. Yes, of course." She mumbled off invested in her phonecall.
Akira pouted.
It was like he was the only one who even seemed the slightest bit concerned at Taku's absence.
But yet again, he's the only one who has seen that side of Taku.
He felt sick again at the thought of Takuma cutting his arms, bleeding into the tiles of the bathroom floor, alone with no one to stop him.
Akira felt really sick now.
"Akira, honey, what's wrong? You're looking pale." Kurusu-san questioned patting the young boy on the head as she finally hung up her phonecall.
"Oh nothing, I'm just going to check up on Taku. I haven't heard from him in a few days." Akira hummed standing up from his seat.
"Is his brother still not back?" Kurusu-san questioned watching the young boy grab some instant ramen from the cabinet.
"No, not the last time I checked." Akira sighed before a hand was placed over his, making him stop from filling his bag up with instant noodles.
"How about this then, I'll come over and make a real dinner for you and Takuma-chan." Kurusu-san smiled making Akira's eyes widen in surprise. "I'm thinking...curry." She tapped her chin as Akira almost jumped up in excitement.
"Yes! Curry!" Akira smiled feeling much happier now that his mom was making food for not only him but Takuma as well.
"You go run over there now to tell him, I'll be right behind you once I get the ingredients." Kurusu-san smiled at her son acting like a little boy again as he danced around in excitement.
Akira hummed in response, "Sure thing, Mom!" He said cheerfully grabbing his bag and heading out the door.
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"Taku?" Akira questioned unlocking the door to the dark apartment. "I'm back and guess what? My mom is going to make us curry!" He smiled although he couldn't shake this eerie feeling that befell him once he entered the apartment.
It was silent.
Almost too silent.
"Taku?" He questioned walking back the kitchen, peering inside just in case.
He double-checked the knife holder to make sure none were missing and sighed in relief when he found everything in place.
"Maybe he's resting?" Akira said his thoughts aloud as he turned the corner to Takuma's bedroom.
He approached the closed door with this ominous feeling looming over him.
Something was wrong here.
It was like the temperature dropped 15 degrees as Akira's hand shook slightly over the doorknob.
"Taku?" He questioned slowly opening the door.
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