章 2: Wounded

-2 Days Prior-

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Zetuo awoke to the feeling of a small, blunt pole tapping his forehead, the repeated thumping of a wooden staff against his skull causing his head to move back and forth. His eyelids disappeared ever so slowly, revealing a pair of pitch black hues underneath them, a dark color as deep as an endless void. Letting out a sigh, the young adolescent attempted to gather his thoughts, bringing himself back to reality as best he could manage. His head ached and his ears were ringing, though none of it was from the bashing to his head.

"Oi, Zetuo," A male voice called out, the blunt object knocking him in the face a few more times. "You're not dead under there are you? We're gonna be late for school."

Eventually, after a few more jabs, Zetuo reached out and grabbed the stick, pulling it towards him, yanking the entire length of it under the bed where he was currently resting. There was only so much he was willing to put up with, especially when it was coming from his annoying housemate, someone who took every opportunity possible to push his boundaries and assert his supposed dominance.

"Its fine Zack," Zetuo said back calmly, easily hiding his annoyance behind a carefully controlled facade. "I'll be out there in a minute."

"Okay. Don't keep us waiting too long." Zack said, his ragged sneakers moving towards the door.

After Zetuo was sure that the nuisance had vacated the residence and there was no longer anything that could potentially kill or injure him, he tossed the stick to the side of the bed and rolled out. There did happen to be shards of glass lying around, possibly from one of the orphanage kids, but the teen didn't really mind it much, even when the small, almost indiscernible pieces jammed into his bare skin. He just pushed himself off the floor and onto his feet, completely ignoring the pain from the specks now sticking out of his arms and legs.

"Another day alive," Zetuo muttered happily as he stretched out his entire body, making sure everything was nice and loose. "That's already a win in my book. Maybe today will be a good one."

Once Zetuo was completely stretched out, he strolled over to the worn down wooden wardrobe situated at the corner of the small room. Stripping off the raggedy clothes he already had on, the black haired teen began to rummage around, searching for something decent to wear whilst humming aloud a pleasant tune. Most of the clothes were ripped in multiple places and were on the verge of becoming nothing more then rags dangling from a hanger, but Zetuo didn't particularly care about any of that. As someone who grew up poor and had lived frugally his entire life, trash clothes to others was simply the norm to him, a pile of rags being a simple day to day outfit while a new set of clothes seemed like a luxury he could never afford.

As Zetuo donned his clothes, he took the time to make sure none of his wounds had gotten infected, the injuries sustained from last weeks excursion still as fresh as ever. He had already made sure to change the bandages and keep the area clean, but it never hurt to double check his own work.

A little under a week ago, Zetuo had been ambushed in one of New Yorks intersecting allies before being subsequently captured and sold to a pedophile who loved to torture then r*pe his victims. The sadistic fuck had tied up the youth next to the bodies of two twelve year old girls, of who looked to have died due to blood loss, before ripping into him like a fresh piece of meat. He had managed to cut pretty deep and cause some severe damage before ultimately stopping once Zetuo faked his own unconsciousness, clearly losing interest after the youth stopped showing signs of pain.

Following that, the man brought him down from the wall, and tossed him into a cell, most likely to wait for Zetuo to awaken before continuing. Using the time frame for when the pedo left, Zetuo gnawed his way through the thin ropes on his legs and then used his newfound freedom of movement on the fat bastard when he came back to finish the job. After choking the fool out by jumping on his back and gripping his throat, Zetuo stole the gun the pedo had attempted to use and fired It dead into the mans forehead, ensuring that he'd never wake up again.

In the end, the rapist had lost due to own carelessness and idiocy, as well as underestimating someone who had no problem putting a bullet through the skull of someone who had tried to kill him.

Still though, he had to go through the whole process of erasing the evidence that he was there, cleaning up all of his spilled blood and cleaning up the DNA. With the cops being just as corrupt as the the pedos, he had skipped them entirely and went straight home.

But that had also meant that he had had to skip the hospital and was forced to tend to all injuries himself, meaning he needed to stay on the lookout for infections as well as any signs of tetanus after getting the proper stitches. Having loads of experience fixing himself up after similarly annoying incidents came along, it was rather easy to do, however it was still time consuming, time he could have been using to do practically anything else.

Own lacerations aside, Zetuo had to hurry up or risk running late.

(("If I was running there in peak conditions, I can make it in under 15 minutes,")) Zetuo muttered internally, closing the wardrobe doors as he ran the mental calculations in his head. (("Taking into account the state of my body, traffic, potential sidetracks due to my rotten fortune, and other potential anomalies, I'll get there in around 35 minutes.

I can make it as long as I leave right this instant."))

Picking up the bag situated near the room's door, Zetuo made his way out and into the hallway leading to the front door, where some people were gathered in wait. They were all of different shapes, sizes, and ethnicities, a diverse selection of orphans that could almost always surprise the feeble minded masses. Despite that though, they all bore the mark of an unwanted outcast, poor individuals who couldnt fight against the tides of change.

And from Zetuo's perspective, he was no different from any of them.

"Hey guys, sorry to keep you waiting." Zetuo said apologetically, a small smile spreading across his face. He always enjoyed conversing with the boys, them being the only family he had left. "Getting dressed was a nightmare. The bandages kept getting in the way."

The tallest one of the lot, the one everyone called Mike, probably after the tall basketball player Michael Jordan, let out a laugh. "Zack told us that you had nearly died under the bunks. He had to poke you over and over again with the bamboo staff before you finally woke up."

"I personally thought it was kinda weird," Justin, the youngest of the group, spoke up. "You usually wake up the moment someone calls your name loud enough. I dont think anyone has ever had to hit you to wake up, let alone multiple times."

"Yeah. It's not like you to oversleep," Zack said, placing his hand on the busted up door knob. "What happened?"

Zetuo grimaced slightly as he tried to remember, something which was amazing by itself what with his perfect memory. He remembered every single moment of every single day since the moment he was born, down to every last breath he had taken, even remembering dreams that had taken place while he was asleep. Yet, he couldn't call up what had kept him from waking up.

Flashes of white appeared before his eyes as images he had never seen before popped into his head.

"Yeah, it was just a dream that kept me asleep." Zetuo explained nonchalantly as he waved everyone out the door. He didn't bring up any of the images nor the voice that had briefly spoke to him in his head. "Let's get going, lest we be late and have to spend time in detention."

"Do you want us to go on ahead?" Justin asked politely, staying behind to chat with the black haired youth. "I know you dont like to travel with us.

"Yeah, but you know that's for your benefit and and not mine," Zetuo responded. "This time, I'll move on ahead and you guys can hang on back. I need to get my workout in anyways. Just be sure not to be too late okay?"

"Okay, we won't." the teen heard Justin say as he ran on ahead, leaving the other orphans in the dust behind him. The majority of the others also waved to Zetuo as he departed, the only exception being Zack who watched the unlucky youths receding back with an expressionless face.

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The school that Zetuo and the other orphans attended was known as WestCot High School, a public school for the lower class, a school filled to the brim with delinquents, drug addicts, and all around idiots. In other words, it was made for the dregs of society, for those that wouldn't fit in with the normal status quo. If one was sent here, it was basically the same as telling you that you had no real future, that you were already starting from rock bottom.

Within the confines of the school, the teachers didn't care and neither did the students. Lessons were interrupted constantly, the kids were unruly and impolite, and plenty of kids never even bothered to show up for their classes. Those that did in fact come to learn were usually picked on, taken outside, and beaten until black and blue.

The school was a lawless area where it was rule or be ruled.

Oddly enough though, the school was still probably the safest place for Zetuo given what he always had to go through. The school was a temporary safe haven from the fate that always attempted to screw him over and a welcome distraction from the shit show that was his own life. Hell, even on his way to the school, Zetuo was unable to catch a break, dodging three falling vases, two groups of rabid dogs, a fire hydrant that blew out of nowhere, and two malfunctioning cars that nearly turned his lower half into a pancake. If that wasnt enough, he also had a handicap due to his wounds, causing him to react significantly slower lest he reopen his stitched up wounds.

Despite the school being a hive for future criminals, Zetuo could think of no place better then school to relax and get away from everything.