Scars

~~Okay, I'm putting a warning here for a good reason. I have good sound reasoning to believe that nine times out of ten, Gojyo is a stupid drunk who would hit on a light post before realizing it wasn't a woman. However, I also think Gojyo has a mean streak, perhaps because of his mother. That one time, what if a little of the hatred he saw as a child showed through?

So yes, there is some "domestic" violence (if you want to call it that, they're only flatmates, after all) in this shortfic. Drunks aren't always weirded out people who stand on bars and strip, y'know, so... well...

Anyway, don't yell at me for this. I'm just a starving writer throwing my stuff out for you people to read and review, after all.~~

~~~~~

I'm not sure why I agreed to move in with him. Gojyo and I were two very different people. We still are. He Sha Gojyo, the scandalous rogue, coming home late at night smelling of beer, cigarettes, and sex. I Cho Hakkai, a quiet pretender, a fake smile plastered on my face, always waiting with some asprin and tea when he walked in with a hangover.

I remember what I said when I awoke as Cho Gonou in his home. Thinking I was in Hell, and wondering why Hell was so proletarian. I have to admit, I was not a lower class man. Gojyo was, from the moment I met him. And I admire how he's kept going through it.

Months after I moved in with him, taking in a wounded dragonet. He had been unsure about having a pet, but the pathetic look on the little creature's face softened even him, and so Hakuryuu came to be. He's always there as I tend to Gojyo, always watching.

Every night shows the same routine. I clean the house as he goes into town, gambles and wins some money for us to live on, sometimes stays out later than expected because a pretty girl has caught his eye. That's Gojyo.

There's times I wish he wouldn't occupy my mind as often as he does. During the day, as we sit and talk while Gojyo recovers from a hangover, I watch those haunted pools of blood, barely visible through the mass of ruby silk. At night, I sit by the window with my monocle off, trying to see a world now blurred to me, but only seeing crimson.

Most nights, though, things were the same. Over and over, the same routine. I shouldn't have wished that things would change. It was foolish of me. But I did anyway.

The very night that everything changed.

*****

I had been waiting up as always, boiling tea, setting out the painkillers... Gojyo often came in with a terrible hangover. I was always waiting to help him out of his clothes, normally barely even pulled on properly, and get him to bed. I didn't know that tonight, just this once, it would not be a hangover that Gojyo brought home.

The look on his face as he staggered through the door was unlike any I had ever seen. He did not reek of sex tonight. He stank of alcohol, and a lot of it. I should've known better. I shouldn't have gone near him. But for fear he could be ill with all the alcohol he drank, I moved closer, put my hand on his shoulder. "Gojyo...? Daijoubu desu ka...?"

That was my first mistake. Even Hakuryuu saw this from his seat on the table, puffing up his body a little and hissing. Gojyo pushed my hand away roughly and lifted his eyes to me. They were clouded with the alcohol, not seeing what he normally would see.

It was then and only then that I realized my dilema. I didn't even have time to dodge as his hand caught my shoulder, shoving me back against the wall (damn it, Gojyo, always being the stronger one...). "Whaddaya think's th'matter w'me?"

The words were slurred and the smell of the beer on him was positively nauseating. I shifted uneasily. I didn't like the way this was turning. I spoke quietly, trying not to provoke his anger. "You've had a little much to drink, Gojyo... let's just get you to bed, and you can sleep this off."

He drew back, pulling me from the wall with him. His hand left my shoulder, and for a moment I thought he was going to comply. I was wrong. I was so very wrong.

The back of a broad hand cracked against my cheek, the sheer force of the blow slamming me into the wall I had been shoved into before. My mind reeled... I knew I was in trouble now. What Gojyo lacked in speed he made up for in strength, and right now, I was in no position to run. Blocked on all sides, with nowhere to run without Gojyo easily being able to get ahold of me.

Hakuryuu was flying circles around Gojyo's head, chirping madly at him, angry at him for hurting me. He paid no heed to the tiny dragon and struck me again, this time landing a solid fist against my other cheek. I staggered a little, but he grabbed my shirt. Blood was trickling from my lips, and I knew my eye was blacking. I'd have to think of an excuse for this later. He wouldn't remember it, and I could not let him know. Another sound blow, this one into my stomach, made me choke and cough.

/I'm going to die.../ That thought managed to worm its way in. /He's going to kill me without even thinking about it... he's going to wake up in the morning and find me dead on the floor.../

I was barely aware of my back slamming into the end table, of the thin wood shattering under my weight, cutting my back and arms. I could barely lift my head as Gojyo staggered and slumped into the wall, now barely able to lift his own head. I forced myself to my feet as he dropped to his knees, passed out from the intoxication.

Despite the pain I felt coursing through my body, I managed to get Gojyo into the bedroom, undressed, and into bed. Then, I set myself about cleaning up the mess made and the blood staining the floor...

I had to think of a good excuse for this.

*****

I sat at the table with tea, a glass of water, and painkillers the next morning. I had tended to my cuts and cleaned up the mess. A story for how my eye got blacked and the bruises got on my face was already whirling in my head. And in he walked, in slacks and nothing more, his blood red hair falling about his face. His hand was pressed to his head, and smiling, I held out the water and pills to him. After accepting it and downing it gratefully, he turned to me to thank me...

And I watched as his eyes grow wide, his hands flying out and pulling me to my feet, capturing my face in a scrutinizing gaze. "The hell...?! Who did this to you, Hakkai?!"

"Daijoubu Gojyo." I brushed his hands away, putting on that fake smile that hides all, the one even he can't see through. "I tripped over a beer can and landed myself right into the end table. Some things that were on it hit me. I'll be fine in a few days."

No need to mention the internal injuries, or the blood I had coughed up. I had healed that easily myself. The exhertion, however, had made it impossible for me to heal the smaller wounds.

He frowned at me. He didn't believe me. Then, he sighed, his face softening. "...If you say so. You sure you're okay?"

I smiled and lowered my head. Life returned to normal at that moment. "Daijoubu. I'll make us pancakes for breakfast. I'm sure you must be hungry..."

~Owari~