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Shadows Of Acceptance

First impressions

 On a Monday morning, Shibuya was bustling with students all over the place, trying to get to school on time, since it was the beginning of the first semester in a new class. But among all the schools in Shibuya, there was a highly populated one situated at the innermost part of town. It was a prestigious high-school, and the most popular in town.

But as everyone was rushing to school - some even already seated on their seats, a certain someone was still sound asleep on his bed. He finally awoke after what felt like eternity, only to find the sun so high up in the sky. The sleep immediately left his eyes as he tore himself out of bed and went to check the time, while silently praying that it was not what he thought it was. But lo and behold, the time was exactly 9:00am.

He hurriedly got ready and ran out of the house like a mad person off to school. When he got there, the bell had already rung, signaling the end of the first lesson. He ran like crazy, looking for his class, and with all the hastiness he was in, he opened the door in a way that caught everyone's attention, while panting like he just ran a marathon...which he did.

   "Oh? It looks like we have a late comer today. Could you introduce yourself to the class?" the homeroom teacher said, signaling him to come to the front of the class, which he reluctantly did

   "Uhm, hello, uhm, my name's Aki Saito..." He said and just stood there awkwardly. He felt so small under their gaze because, well, all the guys were jacked and looked like body builders, and all the girls were thick with big boobs and everything, while he was just skinny and barely tall, with no muscles at all.

..."Okay then, you can go sit at the back." The teacher, by name Akane said, and Aki obeyed....

...《 school over 》...

...ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ...

 Everyone was rushing to pack their stuff and head out of school-except someone who was busy taking his time to sort himself out, until....

     "Hey pretty girl, what's up?" One of his classmates said as he put a hand on Aki's locker, leaning close to his face.

   "Huh?"

   "You know, why're you so flat and all, you should be full and big, 'cause knowing me, I'd definitely root for you, especially if were thick."

Aki was confused. Did he just get mistaken as a girl?

"Oh, uhm, sorry to disappoint you, but, I'm a boy, not a girl." He said while scratching the back of his head nervously.

"What?! No, you've got to be kidding, how can you be...oh, I see, so you're gay, huh?" The smile on his face dropped instantly and was replaced with disgust.

"Gay? W…what does that mean?" Aki innocently asked.

"Ugh, the way you're trying to act all innocent is truly disgusting! Listen you fag, there is but one thing that I hate the most, and it's faggots. " He said as he lifted Aki up by the collar of his shirt with one hand and slammed him into the wall.

"Shits like you are just despicable! So you're just trying to seduce the guys with those looks of yours? Well then, I'll make sure no one would be able to look at your face anymore!"

"Please, I swear I have no idea of what you're talking about!"

"That's what they always say!" And with that, he punched him hard on the face, making his pale tender skin turn an almost purple colour.

"That's just the beginning, oh, and don't think that it ends here, I'm going to tell everyone about your disgusting scheme, so we'll see their reactions, so better get ready for hell, fag." And he walked away, leaving poor Aki crying on the floor with his cheeks red and swollen.

But little did they know that someone could be watching them from a corner.

Unseen struggles

Aki Saito, born on the 6th of August, was the second , and last child of the saito family. He had an older brother, by name Akira Saito. A normal life has never been in Aki's diary before. As a baby, everyone would swoon over his overly adorable looks, his shining emerald eyes and his bright ginger hair. It remained this way for some few years, till he turned ten. People began to look at him funny and his classmates began to pick on him, calling him a bisexual entity. He did not just slightly resemble a girl, he looked exactly like a girl, no matter what he did to change it. The only difference was that he didn't have any sexual features of a girl, but that was usually unnoticed, as he had very visible soft and fragile body, light and pale skin, and always appeared shy and delicate, just like most girls. His favorite colours were pink, yellow and orange, which he usually wore, and that's one of the things that made him a piñata for bullies.

But just as he thought that things couldn't get any worse, one day after school, he came home just to receive a phone call that his parents, and brother were caught in an accident and died on the spot. He just couldn't take it, he just couldn't get it. What did he ever do wrong? Where did he go wrong? When he needed people the most, he was left alone. When he needed care the most, he was robbed off of it. The emptiness he feels when he walks into that same house he used to run to just to embrace his family, it's nothing he can handle. But what can he do? If he invests in his emotions, he'll fall deep into a black hole of nothingness, he has no one to confide in, and no money for therapy. Even if he gets therapy, it won't change anything. It'll all remain the same, so why bother? He's just barely managing his school fees and three square meals with a shitty job that was so desperate to hire a 14-year-old.

And now he comes into a new school, in hopes of actually starting things in a correct way, but life is such a b***c. Ha, as if he was able to enjoy such luxury of actually having friends, talk less of a girlfriend. It's just the first day, and he's already going home with a bruised face and bloody nose. Who knows what would happen next when that guy spreads fallacies about him. It's just going to result in a gang up bullying right? It's nothing he hasn't seen, he would be able to handle it, hopefully.

There was a sudden thought that came into his head. What if he gets hit by a car and lucky enough he dies? Hell no, he mentally smacked himself for thinking such. Likewise, he clutched his hands tightly onto his bag as he walked home. He didn't even have a spare change to take the train, so he was forced to walk all the way home, which was quite a long distance. He dug his hands into his pocket only to find one little coin. 'I guess there's no dinner today.' He said to himself.

Finally, after what felt like an endurance trek, he reached his house and after struggling with the keys, stumbled in.

"I'm home." He said in a rather monotone way as he kicked off his shoes. Sighing, he headed straight up to his room and flopped on the bed. There's barely anything to do. Scrolling through his phone, he has absolutely no one's contact except his boss. So usually, he just lies there till he falls asleep, or he just reads a book or something.

Day in, day out, his only hopes, wishes and dreams is for things to someday change. He wishes that someday, he'll scroll through his phone and be bombarded with millions of messages from friends, he'll one day hang his hand on someone's shoulder and laugh at silly jokes, he'll one day, someday call someone his girlfriend. Is all this really within reach, or would it just remain a fantasy?

The world from our own perspective is the outermost reflection of our inner minds.

Building trust

Aki woke up the following day with a headache. He had slept on the floor again, but he was sure he went to bed...on the bed, so how come? Whatever, he must have turned in his sleep and fallen onto the floor, maybe he hit his head or something, who cares? It's not the first time. Sighing, he got ready and went off to school. Of course, he didn't have breakfast before leaving, and he didn't have dinner the previous night either.

He dreaded every single step he took to school. Who knows what would happen there? Oh well, it'll be nothing more than a few bruises or a bleeding nose or a black eye. Worse case scenario, a broken bone.

Just like yesterday, he was bloody late, and words can't even describe the version of hell waiting for him in class. As soon as he stepped in, a bucket filled with water landed on his head and pored all over his body, drenching his hair and clothes. He didn't react, but just stared at his feet. Everyone burst out laughing, some even pointing fingers at him.

"Now let's watch as his ugly gay-ass makeup washes off." A girl with long blonde hair and dark blue eyes sashayed up to him and forcefully lifted his face up by his chin.

"Wow, would you look at that, he's a natural underrated fagg0t! How gross!" She yelled as she gave him a hard slap across his face and with all the wetness, It hurt like he'll.

"You son of a b*tch, how dare you lay your filthy hands and eyes on the guys in this class? You're a disgrace to nature! Are you that pathetic that you started chasing men because women rejected your ugly face? Ew! Don't you ever come NEAR me!" She said as she angrily sashayed away. The others, especially the guys were shifting and running as he passed in order to not make contact with him. who knows what lie that guy told the class.

After school was still the same thing, but this time, they threw him into a corner behind school and ganged up on him. They used him as their training dummy and beat the hell out of him, and even started having fun with him. They battered him till the sun started to set, then they all went home happily, leaving Aki in a bloody mess. He could barely pick himself up, and to add to it, he hadn't had anything since yesterday morning, where he had just two slices of bread, so he just laid down there, waiting for some energy to head home with. Ah, of course, how would he be able to go that distance with a twisted, if not broken ankle, severe hunger and general pain and wounds all over? He just gave up. Hopefully he'll die there.

'How long are you going to lie there?' A voice said. Wait, a voice? From where? It's almost nightfall, so what's a person still doing in school? He tried his best to lift his head as high as his headache would allow, but he only saw the blurred image of someone's legs.

"You need to head home, it's getting late." The person said again, but this time, crouched to his eye level. All he could make out was black hair and something blue. Maybe his eyes?

"I c...can't, t...too... far." Was all he could say, as he tried his best to remain conscious.

"so you'd rather sleep here? I can drive you home if you like."

Aki's head snapped up immediately and his blistered eyes opened immediately. Someone is offering him a ride? impossible, no, there has to be a set up somewhere. But before he could argue, the person helped up to his feet and put his arm around his own shoulder.

"You're badly wounded. we'll have to stop at a pharmacy to get you some bandages and pain killers. And before he knew it, he was inside the person's car. 'It's another trap.' He thought. 'I wonder if he'll take me to a cult site and kill me for real....That sounds nice.' But he was shocked when they actually drove to a pharmacy, and the mysterious guy actually bought him painkillers and first aid supplies.

"Take them now, so it'll relieve the pain." The guy said as he handed Aki the painkillers and a bottle of water. Aki collected it and just stared at it. He knew he couldn't take them on an empty stomach.

"What's wrong?" Aki just shook his head and looked away.

"So, which way then?" The stranger asked.

"Straight, just straight. " Aki responded. After what felt like an hour, they finally arrived. Aki git down and bowed, and was about to leave, but just then, his hand was grabbed by the same guy.

"Let me patch you up, you can't do thst yourself can you?" Aki did not understand where all this was going, so he just answered.

"I...I don't think so..." As he said that, he saw the guy smile from the corner of his eyes. He decided to ignore that and just led him inside.

The said person carefully cleaned of his wounds one by one, with a commendable amount of gentleness.

'Who on earth is this guy? Why is he being so nice?' Aki thought to himself. he decided to actually look at his face, and when he did, he..was..shocked, infact, that was an understatement.

"N..NATSUO?!"

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