Arron and Trexx

Chapter 20

Third person pov

Arron's whole body was rigid as Shikamaru lifted her shirt slightly, exposing a part of her stomach. He almost dropped the cloth back down at the sight, and he had to look away, his coal eyes wide. Doctor Akiguru sucked in a deep, slow breath of air that confirmed to Shikamaru just how bad it looked. That it hadn't been a trick of the light.

Purple. That's the color her stomach was for the most part. Splotches of a color close to black and an odd greenish egg color surrounded the bruises, and there were some patches of peachy skin that looked tinged red with irritation. Cuts that weren't healing right were somewhat visible, hidden some by her sagging shirt that Shikamaru barely had the willpower to hold up.

"It's worse than I imagined. Yoshino described it... it's much worse." The doctor cleared her throat slightly, and Shikamaru shakily dropped the shirt, looking at Arron. The girl was teary eyed and ashamed, as though she'd done something wrong. Her grip on Shikamaru's shirt tightened as she looked at the floor, her toes curling self consciously. 

"Arron, I'm so sorry this happened to you." Shikamaru gingerly hugged her as though she were glass. She didn't tense, resting her forehead against his chest as though it gave her a sense of peace. Her legs shook and her shoulders trembled. Tremors ripped their way down her back. 

"Poen." She muttered just so he could hear. She quickly realized he wouldn't understand. "A-Ah... p-pain, hurt."

"Where does it hurt?" Shikamaru pulled away, and the doctor seemed to snap out of whatever daze of thought she'd been in. She pulled out a pen, gripping her clipboard tightly. Her bag thunked to the ground next to her as Arron gazed up at Shikamaru with the saddest eyes.

"Everywhere." 

The doctor flinched, and so did Shikamaru, who winced. This was horrifying. This girl he'd befriended, Arron, was in so much pain. She'd barely escaped, but she was reliving the horror everyday. Everyone seemed to scare her. The pain she had had to be a harsh reminder. It was keeping her from escaping what she'd ran from. What she'd barely gotten away from.

"You'll be okay, Arron. Please, just let the doctor look at you. Let her make sure nothing is broken. I'll be here the whole time." Shikamaru swore to her, staring down and into her dark eyes. Shadows seemed to dance in them, trapped, and her grip on his shirt tightened. She glanced at the doctor.

No old ladies had ever hurt her. None that old, and that small. None that were doctors. Doctors had only ever helped, even if they did not save her, they did not hurt her.

"...Looking." Arron pleaded. The doctor barely heard the murmur

"How about we just look for now, and we can decide if we need to touch anything, okay?" The doctor smiled at her, and Arron didn't respond, looking up at Shikamaru. She could trust Shikamaru. He fed her and gave her water and protected her. Shikamaru was her favorite. He was good. 

Arron nodded hesitantly. 

Still looking up at Shikamaru, her back facing the doctor, Shikamaru lifted her shirt slightly. About the same height it had been again, exposing her stomach and lower back. The doctor froze, her eyes widening in surprise. Her clipboard clattered to the ground, startling Arron, who let out a shriek. She buried her face in Shikamaru's shirt, and the boy peeked over her shoulder. He froze.

Slashes, some red and irritated, some mere scars, covered her lower back. There weren't many bits of normal skin anymore, just built up scar tissue. He froze. He knew these had to be from a whip. He wasn't sure what other weapon could make so many marks that looked so... identical. It was a pattern. Left, right, left, right, left-

Shikamaru dropped the shirt and hugged the girl again, tears in his eyes. 

He imagined Arron in the dark, crying and alone. Shivering and thin from lack of food. She had nobody to trust anymore. It was absolutely freezing, and he imagined how much it had to hurt. How scared she had to feel. It was only then that he realized just how valuable her trust was. How major it was that she'd given him something like that.

"It's going to be okay." He muttered to the shaking girl. "You're going to be okay, Arron. I won't let them take you." He assured.

"Hurt." She whimpered.

"I know, Arron." He wiped his eyes. "I know."