Kaito had always been different.
From the moment he entered the prestigious Saint Lirius Academy, tucked away on an emerald mountainside, he stood out like a patch of snowfall in summer. With his delicate face, silvery-blue eyes, and perpetually soft, pastel cardigans, he didn't look like he belonged in the rough-edged hallways of the boys' dormitory. He looked like something out of a picture book—all fluff, sweetness, and innocence.
And that's exactly why they hated him.
At first, it began with teasing. "You lost, little princess?" they'd say, as he walked through the halls hugging his stuffed bunny, Toty. He'd smile, blink slowly, and pass them without a word, not understanding why laughter followed him everywhere.
Kaito had grown up in a quiet seaside town, raised by a grandmother who believed softness was a strength. He liked ribbons, marshmallows, warm tea, and animals. He didn't see anything wrong with crying when a bird got hurt or clapping his hands when he saw something cute. But in the dormitories of Saint Lirius, where ambition and masculinity were worn like armor, there was no place for softness.
They started hiding Toty, his plush bunny. One day, he found it torn, its head half hanging by a thread, floating in the toilet. He stitched it back together, hands trembling, whispering apologies to the fabric creature as if it were alive.
Then came the physical pranks. A bucket of muddy water above the door. Thumbtacks under his sheets. His locker smeared with ink. Still, he said nothing. He only smiled with smaller lips, walked with shorter steps, and curled tighter into himself.
The worst of them was Kairos—a senior from Class A. Broad-shouldered, cruel-eyed, and adored by many. Kairos took a special interest in Kaito. Perhaps it was the fact that Kaito never reacted, never fought back. Maybe it was because when Kairos shoved him, Kaito would just stumble and bow in apology, even when he wasn't at fault.
Kairos' torment grew bolder. He'd yank open Kaito's closet and toss his things out the window. He'd mimic Kaito's soft-spoken voice in front of others, flapping his hands mockingly. One day, he pinned Kaito to the wall and hissed, "What are you, huh? A girl? A freak? Do you even belong here?"
Kaito didn't cry.
He just hugged Toty harder.
By the end of his first semester, Kaito had learned to shrink. He walked with his shoulders hunched, eyes down. He stopped attending club activities and avoided the library during peak hours. His meals were taken in the corner of the canteen or skipped altogether.
But the bullying didn't stop. The others saw his silence as permission.
He started hiding his bruises beneath oversized sweaters and high collars. Long pants even in summer. He learned to smile with his eyes because his lips had forgotten how.
Only two people ever treated him kindly—Ren and Azel.
Ren, his cold but brilliant dormmate, would sometimes hand him things without comment—an umbrella, a new notebook, a box of tissues when he had a cold. He never spoke much, but Kaito always felt a strange comfort around him.
Azel, the troublemaker with a sharp tongue and sharper grin, had once punched someone for calling Kaito a "doll-faced freak." Azel was loud and chaotic, but he'd ruffle Kaito's hair gently whenever they crossed paths, always saying, "Take care of yourself, Cotton Ball."
But even they didn't know the truth.
Kaito had never told anyone. Not even them.
Because he was afraid that if he spoke it aloud, if he admitted how broken he was, they'd leave too.
So he learned to speak with silence.
---
Some days in class felt like slow torture.
Kaito would sit in the back corner of the lecture hall, chin tucked into his scarf, pretending to take notes. The physics teacher's voice droned on about gravitational vectors and frictional forces, but his vision would blur the longer he stared at the board.
My head hurts again... I shouldn't have skipped dinner last night. But the hallway was loud... too loud.
His pen trembled slightly.
Maybe if I don't move, they won't see me. Maybe I can disappear today...
The lights overhead made his temples throb. He shifted in his seat and felt a dull pain shoot up his side. The bruises were blooming again, hidden neatly beneath his uniform.
One of the students tossed a crumpled paper toward him. It landed on his notebook. He didn't look up. Didn't flinch. Didn't even unfold it.
I think the pain is worse on the left today. My ribs feel like they're grinding together. Toty... remind me not to breathe too deep, okay?
Despite the ache, he kept writing. Lines that meant nothing. Scribbles in perfect form. Anything to pretend.
Outside the window, it was cloudy again.
Maybe it will rain. If it rains... I can say I got wet again. That would be easier.
---
The day everything cracked had been an ordinary Thursday.
Rain was tapping gently on the windows. Kaito had returned to the dorm early, wanting to avoid the louder students. As he made his way past the shower rooms, someone called his name. A familiar voice.
When he turned, someone shoved him hard. He stumbled into the washroom, the door slamming shut behind him. A click. Locked.
He knocked softly. Then again. "Please..." he whispered, for the first time in days.
No one came.
Then, ice.
A bucket of freezing water was dumped over the door. It splashed down onto him, cold and brutal, seeping through his clothes, drenching his skin.
Laughter.
"Oops! Rainstorm in the toilet!"
Footsteps receded.
Kaito sat down on the wet floor, shaking. Toty was clutched under his arm, soaked too. The air was frigid. His teeth chattered. He buried his face in his arms and whispered apologies to no one.
It was hours before someone found him.
Ren and Azel had returned from class, noticed his absence, and eventually tracked him down. They didn't ask questions. They just took him back, wrapped him in towels, and let him lie.
"I got caught in the rain," Kaito had murmured, voice hoarse.
They believed him.
That night, the fever came. His body gave out. He whimpered in sleep, curling and uncurling like a broken toy.
And that's when they began to hear it—his thoughts.
Not spoken words, but aching fragments.
"Toty… I'm sorry you're wet too… We should've been more careful… But we didn't do anything wrong… Did we?"
"Ren… Azel… Please don't go away too… Please don't find out… You'll hate me… You will… Everyone does…"
"I just want someone to hug me… tight… even once… Just once… I'll never ask again… I promise… I promise…"
Their hearts shattered.
And from that night on, they never looked at him the same way again.