Its just a scar... Pv Closed

Kazuo’s morning routine had also been disrupted, though thankfully not because of clumsy students and caffeinated beverages. His decision to join the organizing team for the Blossom Ball had been eating up his free time so he had been staying up later to study and it had finally caught up with him. He’d actually slept in. If it weren’t for one of his dorm mates waking him up, he’d probably have slept straight through his first class. He’d barely had enough time to throw on a haphazard combo of black joggers and a hoodie with a kitsune mask on the front. It was definitely not up to his usual fashion standards but being late to class was a far worse option.

Ducking into the washroom near his first class to fix his currently disastrous mess of hair, he wasn't expecting a scrawny shirtless boy staring at himself in the mirror. He definitely wasn't expecting said boy to be a certain Slytherin who he hadn't really seen more than a glance of since February. He opened his mouth to crack a joke at Miller's expense then paused, eyes narrowing as he studied the boy. He let the door close behind him as he stepped fully into the washroom, eyes landing on the spot Miller seemed fixated on.

"That looks like it was nasty." He commented on the pale scar. "How'd you get it?"

Scars were a rare sight around Hogwarts. With the wide array of magical healing available to the students, there was very little that would leave a permanent scar and most students were more than happy to visit the nurse for a quick fix. The next question he wanted to ask was why didn't you get it healed? but he didn't think Miller would give him an answer. They didn't know each other well enough and after Kaz chased him off on Valentine's Day, there was no reason for Miller to want to share. So he simply moved to the mirror and pulled a comb out of his bag, casually styling his hair as he waited for a response.

Reducio

@Michael Miller

Michael was used to being shocked by someone's presence, but having such a deep moment with himself made the boy yelp and try and cover himself. He swallowed, breathing out in pants from slight fear and shock.

"Fell" was the only reply he gave as he looked down at his shirt, nose scrunching up at the deep smell of coffee still in it. He signed, he didn't want to be late to class but he couldn't wear this shirt.

Michael looked over at Kaz, "It's not really any of your business, Shimada." He said. He looked at him for another couple of second, letting his mind run wild with how the boy would react to know that barely 20 hours from their 'date' with Percival Rainwood, Michael was getting held up and burnt by said boy. He quickly dismissed the thoughts before getting his outter robes and sliding them on covering his scars. He didn't need the other to jest him about them.

He rolled up his sleeves some to ring out the wet shirt of his, trying his best to ignore the other boy as he struggled to not soak himself with the water coming from his shirt. He sighed before letting it drop back in the sink. He felt weak.

@Kazuo Shimada

”Fell.” Kazuo repeated with a snort of disbelief. He had caught Michael by surprise whatever thought the boy had been immersed in making him oblivious to his surroundings. His noncommittal one-word answer was so obvious in its avoidance that Kazuo clicked his teeth in scorn. As Michael went on to point out that it was none of his business he merely gave a graceful shrug of his shoulders as he “Probably not. But that has yet to stop me from asking questions. I would have thought you’d noticed that about me by now. Looks recent. At least compared to those other scars.” He tucked the comb back into his bag as Michael pulled on his robe, revealing how self-conscious he was of his scars. Kazuo couldn’t blame the boy; those scars told a story and the number of them gave the impression that it wasn’t a happy one.

“What happened to your shirt? He asked, watching Miller attempt to wring the water out of it. “You could probably get away with no shirt if you just close your robes. Doubt the professors would notice.” It wasn’t much in the way of advice but, as he was just as late as Michael at this point, he knew the boy wouldn’t be able to change before class started. “Or just skip class, they probably wouldn’t notice that either.” He added with a snicker. “Better than wandering around all morning in a wet shirt.”

@Michael Miller

Michael looked down, how long has it been since he got it? A month . . Almost. He sighed and closed his eyes, "It's really nothing to focus on" he said, he moved to rub his eyes. Night of barely any sleep going to him. Maybe he would skip class, just for today so he could sleep with having worry about Percival being so close. "Just something that happens when you get to close to slytherins" he said.

He immediately regretted the statement, as slytherins weren't too bad. "Ignore that last statement please" he said opening his eyes and looking at the other boy.

"I think I will skip my next class and rest a little bit more." He said, he looked into the sink again. "Though I still wish I knew a drying spell." He said.

He hoped Kaz would just nod and not comment on anything else, but the boy didn't seem to know what just 'going with it' was. Hopefully he could make it out of the room without telling someone else what Percival did. The looks of pity shouldn't come from everyone who knew his name, after all.

Though looking over at Kaz, he wondered if the boy would pity him, or see him a weak.

@Kazuo Shimada

Miller was obviously tired and it showed in the way he said things he probably hadn’t really meant to admit to. Odd things that didn’t entirely make sense to him. Not that he hadn’t met a few boys who might resort to bullying but it hadn’t been clearly as violent as Miller was implying, nor specific to Slytherin. He had met plenty of Slytherins who wouldn’t even consider resorting to such behaviour.

“Any particular Slytherin?” He asked, arching a brow. He chuckled when Mic added the request to ignore what he said, shaking his head slightly. “No, I don’t think I will. I’ve quite a few friends in Slytherin and most of them aren’t actually the kind of bullies who would actually hurt someone, as much as some of them like to posture.”

He watched as Mic stared into the sink, taking his suggestion of skipping class. “Would be useful. I believe you will learn one next year. Won’t save you from being picked on, though.” He shifted, leaning one hip against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest as he gazed at the boy. They might be the same age but Kazuo felt practically adult compared to Miller. He seemed so sheltered, so naive. Yet the scars he had glimpsed on Miller were a strange contradiction. The marks implied a life that should not result in a sheltered, naive child. He hummed softly as he considered this contradiction.

“Which one hurt you?” He repeated the question. “And why?”

@Michael Miller

Michael let Kaz speak as he stared into the sink, watching a drop of water go on a steady trail down the porcelain in front of him. He wondered if not speaking would cause the boy to keep going, endlessly. The boy seemed smart enough to give him a lecture on what would be good for him, and he bet it would help him too.

Michael sighed and took his robes off again, moving his arm to look at the scars, the newest not that big but still most noticeable, haven't had time to tan to his skin tone.

"Rainwood. He got upset with me" he said as he looked at it, running his finger over it as if he was looking at it for the first time. "A month ago by now. It looks rather good for 2nd degree, don't you think?" He asked, looking up from it suddenly. He had tears in his eyes but he smiled slightly, "The nurse healed it slightly, as much as he could without knowing about it." He said.

He frowned and dropped his arm, "I couldn't tell him about it, the nurse, I didn't want him to worry." He said. He didn't want them to see him hurt like that, especially by a muggle machine.

@Kazuo Shimada

The revelation came, reluctantly, yet eventually, Michael would share. Kazuo considered the admission head tilting slightly in thought. “I see. Rainwood does seem to be the spiteful sort. Got upset with you about what? This isn’t about that ridiculous ball thing, is it?” Kazuo’s eyes narrowed and he sniffed derisively. “Honestly, burning you over something like that?” He considered what he knew of Rainwood and it really wasn’t much at this point but he did find it a bit surprising that the older boy would burn Michael over something that seemed so pointlessly small to him. Then again, Percival seemed to take appearances very seriously and Michael had made a bit of a fool of him. Fascinating, really, to see how it played out. One never really knew just how cruel a person could be.

“You went to the nurse for healing but didn’t tell him what needed healing or why?” Kazuo arched a brow at Michael, clicking his teeth. “Tch. You know it’s his job, right? Why carry a scar like that if you don’t need to? Are you fond of the injury? Do you wish to remember Rainwood’s cruelty with a visible reminder?” He shook his head in disapproval. “Are you afraid that the nurse would have done something to Rainwood? And that you’d be labelled a snitch?” It was often the most common reason to avoid adult intervention, fearing that the bullying would grow worse if adults stepped in. He sighed and studied Michael from head to feet.

“Do you know how to defend yourself at all?” He asked finally, a bit resigned. He had thought very little of Michael since the boy had fled the Valentine dinner in tears. He had seen Michael make a mistake that had offended Percival and the entire thing had simply been action and consequence. Yet Percival’s decision to hurt Michael did not strike him as a fair and equal consequence for a mild embarrassment that most people had likely already forgotten. “Either physically or with spells?”

@Michael Miller

Michael signed as the other boy began to talk again. Yes Rainwood was spiteful, he was a madman. He was . . . Michael looked back at the scars. "Could have been many things. I invited him to the ball then left him. I invited him and another person. Or the fact he was invited by me, or by a boy for that matter. I honestly wonder if he realized it was a date or if he was clueless until I was being pushed against the door of that classroom, a lighter to my arm" He ranted out, getting angry at the fact it seemed to matter why he was burnt to the boy, like he could have done something to deserve it. Though as the boy kept speaking his anger died out. The boy was just speaking his mind, Michael figured, he didn't care why he was burnt, he thought it was stupid. Maybe it was.

As Kaz pressed him about the nurse, Michael laughed slightly, an emotionless laugh. "I hate the scar, Kaz, and I wish someone would. . . That someone would get Percy back for me." Michael let his arm drop back to his side and the shrugged. "I couldn't say it, I guess. I could barely keep myself together when Wyatt and Percival Gray took me to the nurse. When the man asked about it, I froze. I made some excuse about falling. He fixed it enough that it wasn't hurting as bad and it was healed over, but the scar was still there." He said, thinking back about that day. The hopelessness he felt when he looked up at Percy trying to coax him to the nurse.

Michael was so lost in his thoughts that Kaz's last question made his jump. He was silent at he thought over it, trying to find a clear answer. "Well. . yes I know spells and yes, I can throw a punch my grandpa made sure of that, I just. . . I don't think I could ever really hurt someone, self defense or not." Michael bite his lip as he imagined ever actually hurting someone. "I just. . couldn't."

Did that make him weak?

Kazuo listened to Michael rant, watching as the boy actually seemed to grow angry. A surprising change based on his previous interactions with Michael. The boy had every reason to be angry, of course. It was a shame he hadn’t channeled that anger at the time of the attack. Though as he finished his rant the anger seemed to dissipate as quickly as it had risen. Kazuo tapped a finger against his lips as he considered the situation. “Rainwood’s temper is quite savage.” He mused then shrugged it off as Michael continued. It didn’t really matter why Percival had burned Michael, the reasons could only provide motive and personal justification for the cruelty.

“Mistakes were made.” Kazuo replied to Michael’s explanation about the nurse. “Do you protect your bullies often?” It was a blunt question but, as he’d shown previously, Kazuo wasn’t particularly careful about the emotional fallout of his lines of inquiry. Bluntness was often an effective tool in drawing out honest answers. “Good to hear that at least some of your dorm mates have a fraction of common sense.”

Kazuo listened to Michael’s explanation of why he didn’t defend himself and shook his head in disapproval. “I can appreciate the sentiment of not wanting to hurt others. Certainly makes sense if you’ve been hurt yourself and don’t want to visit that experience on others. But that makes you a target around here. If not from your classmates, then from any number of other threats that lurk in these hallways. If you don’t want to hurt others, consider learning the spells that will immobilize, confuse or distract. But you need to protect yourself. You won’t be able to rely on others to protect you.”

He gave Michael a long look. “If you want to get Rainwood back for what he did to you, you should do it yourself. There is no lesson learned in hiding behind others. Punish him yourself.”

@Michael Miller