Chapter 4: Kaito Tanaka.

The sounds of fists hitting against flesh resonated through the apartment complex as Kaito was thrown against the wall. His face was still bruised from his last beating. But that didn’t make this one any less brutal.

Their punches hurt and every single punch he took would send excruciating pain throughout his whole body. But by this point, his body had become so full of scars and bruises that it was nothing new. He just accepted the beating.

“It still surprises me how resistant this kid is. He just doesn’t go down no matter how many times you hit him.” The voice of a drunken man called out.

“It’s great right. Too bad his mother wasn’t like this. Maybe she still would have been able to give me children of my own.” The voice of Kaito’s drunken stepdad called back to the man before he kicked him in the chest.

CRACK!

As the kick hit Kaito, It soon felt less resistance as two of his ribs gave way under the force. He hunched over and screamed out in pain as shards of bone splintered inside his body. His breath became raspy as he tried to control his breathing to reduce the pain of each breath.

“I hope you learned your lesson this time. You little shit. If you criticise me again I won’t go so easy on you!” His stepdad called out as he walked into the kitchen followed by his friends.

“Why are you still letting him live here? It’s not like you are related to him.” One of the men asked as they disappeared out of sight.

“Hahaha. You guys are so dumb. I get paid for looking after him. His grandparents thought that I actually loved their stupid daughter so they are giving me money every month to support their grandson. How do you think I can afford to get you guys drunk every night. I have to get money from somewhere.” Kaito’s stepdad bragged.

“That’s an evil, man. Haha,” One of the other men said before taking another drink.

“But what if he tells them what you're doing? Do you still think they will give you money? They would probably call the police too. We would have to shut down business for a while.” Another one of the men said whilst shovelling white powder into a bag.

“It’s fine. I trained him from young. He knows the consequences if he ever tells anyone. I will just make him disappear just as I did with that whore of a mother.” He laughed and then slammed the door so Kaito couldn’t hear any more of their conversation.

He lay on the floor regretting his actions. If only he didn’t say anything he wouldn’t have two broken ribs. His stepdad had just come in with his friends after a long night of drinking.

It was six o’clock in the morning and he was getting ready for school as the door opened. He walked over to greet the man who was letting him stay in his apartment. He saw him stumble and then walked over to help him walk through the door.

“Good job son. You caught me. Now help me sit.” He said as with a drunken smile as he leaned on Kaito’s shoulder.

“You’re drunk again?” Kaito said under his breath as this was starting to become a familiar scene since his mother had died.

The weight he was carrying suddenly got lighter as he felt a sharp pain in his cheek. “You dare to disrespect me, boy?” He called out as he slapped him. That was when his step dad’s friends came in and joined the fun.

Kaito was still lay on the floor. He hadn’t even considered getting up yet. He was still in too much pain. When suddenly his phone chimed out.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Beep Beep.

A single double tone as it notified him he had gotten a message. He reached down to his pocket and then put it up to his face to read it.

“Hey, I’m waiting outside. I’m not sure what’s taking you so long but if you don’t get your ass out here soon I’m coming up. Mary.”

The last thing he wanted was his stepdad and his drunken friends to meet his best friend. Especially when they were in that state. He used all of his strength to pull himself up, Using the wall as a stabiliser. He finally stood upright and shuffled his way into his bedroom.

He picked up the towel he had used to dry himself from his morning shower and began to wipe the blood from his face. He walked to his mother’s old dressing table. There was a mirror so he could see what he looked like as he cleaned himself up.

He opened the drawer where he kept an antiseptic spray and then sprayed it on the sight gash on his cheek. A burning sensation enveloped his face as it entered the wound. He then finished up by putting a bandage over the small cut.

He had gotten so used to patching up his own cuts he had begun studying medicine in secret, He wanted an advantage for when he went to university.

Despite Kaito’s current home life, he would always take the top place in his exams. His only hobby was studying. It was the only escape he could get from his daily abuse.

His stepfather thought that if his grades dropped the school would get suspicious about his family life so he forced him to study every day.

Little did he know that the driving power of Kaito’s studying was in hopes of going to a university far away from his current life in Tsu city.

Tsu city was located near the port. Every day as he walked toward school he would look out at the ocean and dream about going into the horizon without ever turning back. His reality was always brought back to him by the constant pain in his body.

Kaito looked at himself in the mirror. ‘Luckily they didn’t hit me in the face as much today. I really hate putting on makeup to hide the bruises.’ He thought before picking up his backpack and then walking to the door.

He put on his shoes and made sure he closed the door behind him as quietly as possible. Once the door was closed he limped his way down the stairs and then out into the reception area.

As he walked past the receptionist nodded his head at him. It was a subtle way to make sure that his stepfather hadn’t gone too far with the beating. Kaito nodded back in return to let him know it was okay and then he walked outside clutching his ribs.

The cold air made him gasp, Only causing more pain as one of his ribs poked against his lungs.

“There you are! I was starting to think you had died!” Mary joked as he came outside looking like he had just been in the ring with a heavyweight boxer.

“And you look like shit too, Mary.” He complimented her on the makeup she had used to hide her own bruises. They were both in the same situation so they found comfort in seeing each other each morning.

“Aw, Thank you. I’m glad you noticed.” She said high spirited and then patted him on the back.

Kaito winced as the pain surfaced again.

“Oh, Shit are you okay?” Mary panicked as she saw the look on his face. They both laughed about each other’s abuse but they both felt like it was better that it was happening to them than anyone else. The last thing she wan;t to do was cause him any more pain.

“It’s Okay, I will heal eventually,” Kaito said and then looked at Mary confused.

“Uh. What’s up with that hat?” He asked as he noticed the bright pink baseball cap with two cat ears on top.

“It’s cute, right? My little brother got it for me.” She closed her eyes as she smiled.

Kaito could never get used to the feeling. He knew what Mary was going through but every time she smiled at him like that he would get nauseous. It felt like a knot was tied in his stomach. He just stared at her as little snow flaked dropped down from the clouds.

Her long black hair fluttered in the wind and her eyes became full of joy as she looked up toward the sky.

“That’s right, It’s nearing Christmas. Have you thought about what you’re going to buy me?” She smiled gleefully as they both began to walk to school.

As they arrived at school, They Both went their separate ways. As Mary was a year younger than Kaito, They didn’t share any classes together. They waved each other goodbye after they promised they would meet for lunch.

Kaito felt happy as he made his way into class. He opened the door and instantly felt the gaze of everyone in the room.

All of the students in his class knew what he was going through at home, But his stepfather was a known criminal in the area. None of them dared to do anything to help him so they did the next best thing.

They silently judged him and would openly discuss it when they saw him each morning with new cuts and bruises. He hated the stares.

The stares from his peers were worse than the abuse. It was always the worst part of his day. He tried his best to ignore them and then found his way to his seat.

A few minutes later the homeroom teacher came in and began reading out their names.

“Kaito Tanaka?” She asked as a blinding light filled the room.