sacrifice - live on for me

chapter 1

Niragi knew getting into high school was not a good idea. He'd known it since he first stepped into the school grounds. He was the school nerd, the outcast, and the one who will definitely be bullied.

So he was not surprised when a group of seniors approached him, knocked him onto the floor, and laughed.

But those punches and kicks turned into baseballs and footballs within three months. And bruises and scars were getting harder and harder to hide. To a point where both his parents had found out. His mother just patched him up silently as his father stood behind them, his brain desperately searching for a solution. They knew nothing would work, a family with a low income that could barely afford the school fees. They would have to swallow up their pride and rage, and watch their son come back home with more and more bruises.

Niragi didn't care, nor did he wanted to care. These happened too frequently for him to waste his energy and emotion complaining about pain and unfairness. The only thing that he was concerned about was his parents. They gave him everything they could possibly give. And he didn't want to worry them. Life is not fair and he had learnt that since a young age.

But something had peaked his interest. As he had been seeing a cloaked figure in the corner of his eyes. Whenever the beating came to and end, the figure would look at him, wanting to approach but didn't dare to do so. At first Niragi had hoped they would at least make eye contact but as he looked towards the spot, the figure stiffed and hid back behind the wall he originally was.

It had been at least two weeks, and every time the bullying happens, they are always there, watching from a corner.

To be honest he was frustrated at them at first. They witnessed what happened yet they didn't even help him up nor ask if he's ok. But as time goes, he thought about that if he were in his position, he would do the exact same thing. He would observe, and when the time is right, he would take action.

Niragi, like every other teenager, had a diary. Diaries were supposed to be filled with interesting events of people's life, people they love or even crushes and friendships. And yet the one he carried around, is a shit talking trash can for him and his parents. The only thing they could do to express their anger and bitterness, was through the diary. There were sentences, drawing with crosses on them, a bunch of cursed words and many more. He prayed to God that the bullies would never get their hands on this diary.

And yet God ignored his prayers as he found himself getting beaten again. The bullies had gotten more relentless. Somehow, they had flipped through his diary and saw all the reckless shit he had been writing about them.
A punch was aimed directly to his face and it broke his nose. Another punch landed on the side of his face, bruising his cheek. A kick then landed on the sides, right on his ribs. The bullies sneered at him and proceeded to walk away. He was relieved. At least this was not half bad as the last few times. But just as he let his guard down, one of them decided to turn around and hit Niragi on the head with his very own hard cover diary. And he slammed his head onto the wall due to the unprepared impact, and knocked him half-conscious.

As he lied on the ground listening to his bullies walk away while he faded in and out of consciousness, he vaguely saw a silhouette rushing to him. The silvery hair dangling out the cloak... hoodie? Was it the cloaked figure he always sees? He could barely hear the other person but he figured he was trying to talk to him. Despite the ringing in his ears, he made out the words, "Are you ok?" Of course he's not ok, he had just gotten hit on the head and he is about to pass out any second, does he look like he's ok? Trying to sneer, he thought the guy was a dumbass.
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Niragi woke up with a start. He thought he heard some explosive sounds. Fireworks, maybe? But as he sits up slowly, his world spins. His head hurt like shit and he couldn't remember what happened. One second he was being abused by his bullies, and the next second he was in a dark place with no lights with his head spinning. Speaking of which, who saved him from there? What happened? Why is it all dark outside? Why is there no one here?

Niragi tried to focus his eyes in the dark. He saw a dark shadow in the corner of the place he was in. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"
The silver haired guy he had seen multiple times walked out of the corner. "The name's Chishiya. You must be confused. You got knocked unconscious by the bullies and I brought you to this toilet where we could have privacy. The sounds you heard were fireworks going off, then suddenly the power was gone. I tried to go outside to check, but it seems that there was no one in sight."
Upon hearing this, Nigari of course went out to check. As he looked out the window, he could feel his heart stop. The streets of Tokyo were completely empty. He yelled at the top of his voice for anyone to come for them, but no one replied, as expected. He turned around to see Chishiya calmly sitting on the bench, silently observing him. The frustration and fear in him built even more. He was suddenly reminded of his only reason for living-- his family. He ran towards the direction of his home, desperate to find someone, anyone, along his way. Chishiya just tagged along behind Niragi, with his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his hood over his head, with an unbothered expression on his face.

"MOM! DAD! ARE YOU HERE? HELLO, IS ANYONE HERE?? PLEASE, ANYONE AT ALL?" Niragi was scared, to say the least. He couldn't imagine losing the two people he loved the most. With tears already streaming down his face, he rushed to his home building. The guards that were normally at the doors were gone. The janitors, gone. The building was eerily quiet. Chishiya put a hand out for Niragi, inviting him to go in first. As they climbed up the damned stairs, they saw nothing but pitch darkness. They were squinting in the dark trying to see where they were going. After 10 minutes of trying to locate Niragi's house, they finally found it. Niragi broke open the door and walked inside carefully. "Mom? Dad?... Please, this is a joke right..." Niragi sank down to the floor by the wall and hugged himself for comfort. He was full on sobbing by now, only looking up when breathing seemed to be impossible as he heaved and panted. Chishiya was once again staring at him with the same expression he used to stare at him after he had gotten beaten up. An expression of pity? Perhaps mixed with a little sadness in them. Anyhow, Niragi had sat on the floor for who knows how long, just sobbing his eyes out, until Chishiya finally sat down with him and put a hand on his back, moving it up and down, probably to comfort him. Niragi leaned a little into his touch. After all, he hadn't been touched so gently by people other than his parents for so long that even his mind had decided that he definitely needed some comfort from someone.
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next update: 2-5-2022