Kanji Tatsumi x Reader part 3

3. Bleed

"You wanted to see me sir?"

The principal looked up at you and nodded you in, allowing you to sit in the chair which sat in front of his desk. Normally kids would shit themselves at the thought of being called into the principal’s office, but this wasn’t scary at all for you. The principal of Yasogami high was a kind, elderly man. He was a good listener, wisened to the ways of the world and he never, ever raised his voice. So him calling you in didn’t scare you much.

Yet it was a whole different story when you saw the grave look he had on his face.

You sat, and gulped hard.

"I see that Tatsumi-san has been doing worse as of late, and skipping school."

Of course he wasn’t showing up for class… Kanji Tatsumi had deliberately been going out of his way to avoid you after realizing what a pest you could be. You had been following him to class for a long time now, nagging at him to show up to the library. Not even his yelling and screaming like a madman in your face was a good deterrent. Every time you approached and he began yelling, you would simply wait for him to finish, and then calmly tell him to get back to tutoring. You had been babying your voice as you would often go hoarse from shouting matches with him.

Threatening you didn’t even work, once when he raised his fist in preparation to sock you, your aggression and conviction only intensified and he was jabbed in the stomach with books and homework taken from his teachers, with stern instructions from you that he had better get to work.

That was two weeks ago, and you hadn’t even seen Kanji in his usual school hideouts since then.

"I'm sorry sir!” you said quickly, panicking at the thought of losing your extracurricular activity, “I've really been trying hard to get him in class, and in tutoring. It just keeps, going wrong..."

The elderly man surveyed your face, as though searching for something.

“I’ve gotten all the work from his teachers, followed him everywhere and he still won’t show up. I’m at my wits end, I’ve tried everything! Please don’t think I haven’t!”

You poured out your heart earnestly, hoping he wouldn’t take that extra credit. You deserved every bit of it, after all you had given this tutoring thing your best shot and it had worked so far. It wasn’t fair that one bad seed could just take it all away in an instant.

The principal nodded sadly, then sighed as he took his head into his hands, "Yes... I am aware of your efforts. But it isn’t your fault. Tatsumi-san is a big problem... The toll it must take on his poor mother, running a respectable shop and having a son like that... “

"Sir?"

You sat forward, completely intrigued. Just who was Kanji?

"His mother runs Tatsumi Textiles in the Central Shopping District, one of the few places that Junes hasn't managed to close down. She's had some difficulty with Kanji in the past, he beat up a group of boys once and his mother had to apologize to the families after he refused. He’s been thrown out of a previous high school for truancy as well as failure to comply with school policy.”

How could he have done it? You wondered. The knitting patterns and pictures of little kitties and bunnies with bright happy faces invaded your thoughts.

“He beat up an entire group?” you asked timidly, completely dumbfounded.

“Yes.” Was the reply, “I know it’s disturbing to hear you were teaching such a criminal. He was a problem from the beginning and you should have been warned. I take full responsibility for this, I won’t take away your credit but I will assign you another student for tutoring. I hope you will accept my apologies.”

You nodded once, still quiet and thoughtful.

“Now run along, I know you have your college exams coming up. You’re a bright young girl with a promising future ahead of you.” He smiled kindly as you both stood, “Don’t give this another thought. Rest assured Kanji Tatsumi will be taken care of.”

You nodded again and gave a deep bow, then exited the office and walked towards Naoto who was waiting for you. She casually nodded and you grimaced, causing her to wrap you in a slight hug before pulling away.

“Are you allowed to keep that credit?” she asked, searching your eyes. She seemed very worried.

The two of you began walking together towards the shoe boxes. You stayed silent for quite a while, and this made Naoto’s brow knit into a frown. She called your name once, and then you realized she had asked you a question.

“Yeah,” was your answer, and Naoto sighed with relief, “They’re assigning me a new student. It’s just…”

“Just what?” she asked, “Are you on some kind of probation?”

“No, it’s not that… It’s, kind of complicated.”

You glanced quietly Naoto in her crisp, male uniform clad figure with pristine dark hair and deep ebony eyes. Naoto no doubt had a bright future ahead of her. She wanted to be the best detective ever, and she sure had the smarts to do it. You had always thought of her as someone who would have it made for the rest of their lives, one of those who never have to worry about money.

And yet again, you thought about Kanji. He was promised no future of any kind from day one. He wasn’t cool, graceful Naoto. He was rough, angry, and definitely out of place with all those piercings and that bleach blonde hair. One of those who would inevitably never even leave their parent’s house, let alone get out and make something of themselves. He was cursed as the delinquent boy of Inaba forever.

It almost made you depressed.

“I’m just babbling on.” You muttered, pushing a strand of hair out of your face, "It’s nothing majorly important. I promise.”

“Ok.” Naoto said, "Do not let it go unattended to if it gets worse. You always have me if you need."

Naoto gave you a rare, genuine smile, one she usually gave when she could tell you needed cheering up. You gave one in return, and for once your thoughts seemed to temporarily take leave as you two simply grinned at each other.

Your little moment came to an end however when you saw the small yellow post it reminder on your shoes that you had written that morning.

“Oh yeah… I have to go pick up some mushrooms for the sukiyaki we’re having tomorrow.” You said, taking off your school shoes and placing on pretty Mary Janes with a low heel, “Want to come with me to Junes Nao-kun?”

“I can’t,” She said, “I have some work I need to take care of. The student council is meeting today.”

“Damn, ok. That’s fine. You can come to dinner tomorrow and eat with us if you like?” you looked hopefully at her.

Her face instantly lit up.

“I would be delighted.” She said with a smile, “You know I love how you make sukiyaki.”

“Yay!” you said, smiling and waving at her as you picked up your school bag. “Later Nao-kun!”

Naoto grabbed your arm and pulled you back before you could head out of school. You turned quickly and then groaned, it figured that you couldn’t get away from a lecture.

“Hey, call me please when you get to Junes and then again when you arrive home.” She said, looking into your eyes with worry, “I do not need you remind you that it’s very likely that you might-”

“Nao-kun…” You whined, “I’m not a child! I can take care of myself!”

Naoto said your name with a stern, scolding voice. For a moment you thought she might spank you or make you stay until she was finished up with work here. When Naoto worried about you, she became crazy over protective to the point where she was almost unpleasant to be around.

You knew she meant well, but shit… She acted downright crazy sometimes.

So tiredly, you acquiesced. You didn’t feel like incurring her wrath today.

“Oh alright… I will…” You said, "I'll talk to you later.”

“Call if anything happens!” she cried after you, “And if anyone bothers you remember what I told you! Just call me and I’ll leave early if I need to! Please be careful!”

She was still shouting about your safety when you exited the front doors to the school and made your way home, you sighed and began thanking God that your street was only a little ways from school. After a short walk and pleasant chatter with classmates who were your neighbors you entered your house intending to change out of your uniform. You slipped into a nice white long-sleeved blouse with shorts, and headed out the door with your money, keys and phone to Junes.

It was a lovely little walk to Junes. You couldn’t help but admire the streets and the summer foliage, wondering to yourself if college in the city would look this happy come time to go. College thoughts were a double edged sword. You were excited to graduate and continue the next phase of your life, but again, those doubts that you would never be good enough to get in came with the happiness. It dampened your mood, and you shoved the thought out immediately as the looming, fluorescent lights of Junes flashed in the distance. Oh well, you could reminisce about the lovely day another time.

You entered the food court presently, ready to head across to the supermarket when a familiar blonde head caught your eye. You couldn’t believe it.

"Tatsumi-kohai!"

Kanji was eating lunch by himself at a lonely table in the food court, tucking into a bowl of grilled steak and seeming to be deep in thought. You originally hadn’t meant to call out his name and disturb him, but that familiar old feeling of seeing his grouchy face caused you to open your mouth.

You could literally see Kanji seething with anger when he saw you approach him, running like a fool towards his table. Immediately, the tall boy sprang up to his feet and tossed his half eaten meal in the garbage before stalking off, brushing past you and walking away very fast.

"Wait up!" you called, running after him.

He swerved to the left and entered the boy's bathroom, knowing that you couldn't follow him in there.

You were angry when you realized he had found the one tactic that would get rid of you once and for all. He would use the bathroom tactic, almost everyone did. Boys did it at school to girls who were annoying them, or vice versa. It was a cheap shot, done only by those who were extremely desperate to get away from someone.

Yet you remembered the principal’s words. Kanji was a problem, he was always going to be and wouldn’t be able to fit in. Kanji was a criminal, and he would be taken care of.

Boldly, you walked into the men’s room and approached the stall he was hiding out in, there were no others in the restroom. Words would never be able to describe the shame you would have felt if there had been other men in there.

You approached the stall door and began banging your fist against it.

"Tatsumi-kohai!"

"Are you shitting me?!" he yelled, you could hear him sputtering curses and other inaudible words when he realized you had followed him in.

"What the hell do you think you're doing you dumbass?! This is the men’s room!"

"Like I care!” you said, ramming your hand against the door again, “You have to do your homework! You’ve been gone two weeks and a lot of shit has gone down… I got pulled into the principal’s office today because you haven’t shown up to classes!"

“Get the hell out!”

You grabbed the doorknob to the stall and pulled, jiggling it roughly and causing it to rattle. “Open the door kohai dammit! You have so much work to catch up on… If you don’t come out I’ll just start tutoring you in here, I've got all kinds of notes on my phone and nowhere to be for the next three hours.”

“Leave me alone asshole!” Kanji roared, “Like hell if some crazy bitch is going to make me do any work! I don't give a damn about your fucking grade!”

You heard the lock make a small click and then WHAM!, your face collided with the stall door, knocking you on your ass as you immediately placed your hands over your stinging nose. Kanji looked as though he was prepared to make a run for it, but he was frozen in place, his eyes widening when he saw you on the floor.

“Oh hell…”

The front of your shirt was bright red, blood from your hurt nose began seeping out from between your fingers and dripping down onto the cute outfit you had picked. Your shorts were next to be splattered, but Kanji dragged you up by the arm and pressed a white handkerchief to your nose.

“Tilt your head back and pinch your nose!” he barked. You obeyed, pressing bloody hands over the fabric and applying pressure to the bridge of your nose. It hurt, but it helped some.

“Lemme see your face.” He said, and took your chin in his hands. The boy inspected your still bleeding nose.

“Is it broken?” you asked timidly.

“Of course not.” Kanji growled, avoiding looking directly into your eyes.

Dread made your heart sink into your stomach. It must have showed in your eyes because Kanji gave an annoyed growl.

“I said it’s not broken!” he snapped.

“I’m sorry…”

“This is what you get for being an idiot and following me around.” He grumbled quietly. Kanji wiped blood from your nose, his tone softer as he spoke again.

“Stupid senpai… That’s why you don’t waste your time on punks like me. You’ll only wind up hurt.”

You said nothing, only clutched your nose and pressed more paper towels to block your nostrils.

"Do you wanna go see the doctor?” he asked. His face contorted into horror when he saw his handkerchief had begun to drip onto the floor. He offered you his hand and you took it, hoping he wouldn't care that your hands were red from all this. Kanji stuffed a wad of tissues into your hands before you two exited the men's room, walking quickly to avoid making a spectacle of yourselves. Thankfully, no one really said anything or paid the two of you much heed; they were too busy shopping for dinner ingredients or other needful things as they scurried around Junes. You were able to leave the department store without any hassle.

As the sky went from orange to dark indigo, it remained a quiet sprint to Doctor Ikari’s office. He was a local doctor whose family owned a small practice where the residents of Inaba often went for minor maladies such as colds or, in your case, nosebleeds. Kanji wouldn’t so much as look you in the eye and you couldn’t find much to say, your tissues were soaked through and already dripping onto the pavement.

Doctor Ikari was able to see you fairly quickly. He ushered both you and Kanji into his office when he saw the blood and sat you on a chair in the examination room. With a large cotton swab and several squares of gauze he swabbed the inside of your nose with a sort of petroleum-like substance that smelled mildly of disinfectant and made the inside tingle. He then pinched your nostrils shut for a while, examining your nose for any sign of damage. Kanji looked on expectantly, avoiding your eyes every time you looked back at him.

"What happened?" Doctor Ikari asked. You couldn't seem to find your voice, a taste of blood from when you had leaned back was making your stomach churn.

"She got hit by a door." Kanji explained, "It was pretty hard, and then she just suddenly started bleeding like crazy."

"I won't press for further details." Doctor Ikari said, cutting Kanji off, you were starting to turn slightly green and not being able to breathe through your nose wasn't helping much.

You all stayed like that for quite some time. It felt like forever until your color returned to normal, and Doctor Ikari removed his pincer like fingers.

“That’s the ticket, it’s stopped bleeding now.” Doctor Ikari said as he released your nose. He then shone a torch into your eyes, up your nose and then began asking you to follow his pen with only your eyes, if you could tell him the names of your parents and what you had for breakfast this morning. They were all nonsensical little questions that you knew the answers to, and indeed you were able to answer with ease. Had you been unable to, that would alone have been cause for worry.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her.” The doctor finally said, reaching into his pocket and placing a bandage on the bridge of your nose. “Just a small bump on her nose, and I imagine a bit of nausea from the blood. Try a bit of tylenol for the pain if you need it, but no blood thinners.”

You would have been relieved had you been feeling slightly less icky. You had just seen the aftermath of your ordeal bunched up and in the garbage, that and the mentioning of what you had swallowed brought back the nausea from before.

Doctor Ikari smiled up at Kanji, who had since moved to the corner of the room, “Thank you for bringing her in Kanji-kun. That was very kind of you to look after her.”

Kanji turned red, muttering “No trouble at all…” before turning his head away. He seemed relieved somehow.

“You don’t need to come back tomorrow.” Doctor Ikari said, taking notes on a clipboard before smiling down at you, “Just take it easy tonight and go to bed early, if you feel faint or dizzy and you start bleeding again I would recommend going to the hospital and having them check you out. It could be something I’ve overlooked, and it’s better to be safe than sorry. Well, I’ll leave you this in case you’re not up for school tomorrow. Have a nice night you two!”

With a smile and a quick pat he handed you a note for school and left the room, leaving both you and Kanji alone. You weren’t sure what to say to him, so you kept your head down, focusing instead on keeping your eyes shut and your breathing steady.

Kanji came away from the wall and ushered you to the nearest one person bathroom found just down the corridor. As the two of you entered, he began taking wads of paper towels and wetting them before cleaning up your face. You stood still as he wiped your nostrils tenderly, and then held out your bloody hands as he put them one at a time under warm water from the faucet. He rubbed soap onto them, rinsing your hands clean afterwards while you felt like a five year old being cleaned up by an adult.

You grabbed a paper towel and dried them off yourself when you saw him prepare to do so.

It was then you noticed your ruined shirt.

“Oh no…” you murmured sadly, “My top…”

Kanji then handed you his school blazer, pressing it into your hands.

“Take off your shirt and put this on.”

Nodding towards you, he left the bathroom and shut the door. You locked it deftly before pulling your ruined top over your head and buttoning up Kanji’s blazer all the way to your neck. The sleeves were long and you felt as though you were in a tent, but that didn’t matter now. At least you had something on that wasn’t bloody. It was also warm, and smelled faintly of something sweet. It was comforting, and deep down you were flattered at the act of chivalry.

You opened the door and washed your hands again with hot water and soap as Kanji handed you a plastic bag from the nurse for the ruined garment. The bloodstains were dark red now; they would have to be washed out with bleach once you got home. If they didn’t come out, you would inevitably have to trash the shirt.

“Gimme your cellphone.” Kanji said, reaching out his hand, “If you still feel like you're gonna blow chunks, I’ll call your parents and have them come get you.”

“They’re not home…” you said, sighing a bit and wrapping your arms around yourself, “They don’t even have any service…”

You explained to Kanji why your parents were gone for the night. Both your mother and father were out in the boonies playing mahjong with your aunts and uncles, a strange little Friday night ritual that often left you alone on those nights. They wouldn’t be home until Saturday, and you didn’t want to walk home alone. You still didn’t feel better even though the doctor had reassured you both that the injury was minor.

“Shit…” he muttered darkly, scratching his head and thinking of what to do, “I can’t just leave you here… Do you have any friends who could come get you? Maybe I can call a group of them over here... 's a lot better than leaving you to walk by yourself."

“Will you take me home kohai?"

Kanji was silent, completely taken aback by your gentle little plea. You hadn’t meant to sound so pitiful, it was just that you were so tired and sore, and it was just too dark to walk home alone. To be completely honest, you were so sick and out of it you couldn’t even think of anyone who would get you right now…

Yet you finally got your answer when you felt Kanji’s warm hand slip timidly into the sleeve of the blazer you wore, and his hand enveloped yours, tugging gently towards the exit.

He walked you home that night, taking a well-lighted route to your home to make you feel better in the dimming evening sun. You grew uneasy when the streetlights flickered to life and the sun disappeared behind the mountains, but a reassuring squeeze from Kanji’s hand calmed you. The walk was spent in silence, save for the barking of a dog or a lone cricket beginning to chirp. Surprisingly, the streets were quiet. There was no one about.

In its own way the walk itself was the most romantic thing you could have imagined.

You thought of one of your cafe fantasies, and smiled silently to yourself.

When you two arrived at the door of your house, Kanji waited until you dug your key out of your pants pocket and turned the lock before he began to leave. Seeing his forlorn figure disappearing into the nightfall, you had to at least tell him something…

“Kohai…”

He didn’t turn around, but he stopped abruptly.

“What?”

“Thank you…”

He turned around to face you, looking down sadly and tousling his hair.

“Don’t thank me.” He said, “And, don’t waste time no more trying to get me to do work ok? I’m not cut out for school. Never was and I ain’t ever gonna be. I’m just a waste of your time, senpai. You ain't ever gonna get no grade out of me. ‘Night…”

“I don’t think you’re a waste of time.” You said suddenly.

Kanji froze. His back was turned to you, but you could see him trembling slightly.

You began clutching his blazer and picking at the buttons, face turning slightly pink, “I don't just see you as a free grade whenever I go and harass you. When I look at you now, after all you've done for me today, I think you’re a sweet, considerate person with a lot of hidden potential who should really seize the oppourtunity and learn, so that you can get out of this town and make something big of yourself. And I just want you to know that, even if you consider me to be a crazy pain in the ass, I hope that if you do need any help, you know that I will always be around if you need me. You’re not a waste of my time, and I'm not doing it just for the grade. I really want to see you succeed."

Kanji didn’t reply, but continued walking on into the night. Sighing and feeling as though your words were lost, you entered the dark house.

Yet carried on the breath of a small breeze in the night, you swore you heard his faint reply.

“I’ll see you tomorrow…”