School Days | A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Surprisingly, Sunny found himself paying rapt attention to the history lessons that were being imparted to him. From tales of forgotten gods to the dream realm, each piece of information found itself being stored in a neat and orderly format within his head.

However, the only issue was his notepad eventually began ripping itself apart under the force of his pen. He tried lightening his strokes but to no avail, as he watched the paper begin to slowly rip itself apart beneath him. Sunny shot his book a glare of frustration as he crushed a sheet of paper under his hands before letting out a defeated sigh. Scanning around the room, Sunny searched for anyone who could possibly want to entertain a mongrel like him and spare him some paper.

His attention was so focused on the lesson that he didn't even notice the trail of blood that cascaded from his nose until it fell and hit him on the arm, painting a section of his pale skin a bright red. His attempts to clean it were halted prematurely as a pull from his side tore his attention off the blood, the silver-haired girl or Nephis if her book was any indicator was handing him a tissue and some pieces of torn paper.

Sunny didn't know why she would do such a thing, she didn't owe him anything, had he helped her in the past? Unlikely. His mind flashed through possibilities as he took her gifts in open arms, despite his suspicion Sunny wasn't going to let such grace go unnoticed, so he tried giving her his best smile. It was a crooked thing, he knew he couldn't smile properly till he had something to be happy about but he was sure it at least looked normal.

Thankfully, Nephis did not appear repulsed by his gesture and merely nodded her head before focusing back on the lesson. With his newfound equipment, Sunny's enjoyment of the lesson skyrocketed as he greedily took down notes to the best of his ability. If there was one thing the outskirts taught him, it was how to read and write. After all, one needed to leave their mark on the world somehow.

His train of thought was interrupted by a balled-up piece of paper barrelling towards his head, tilting it downwards meant it would hit his newfound equipment sponsor in the form of Nephis and that wasn't something he could allow. Instead, he simply extended a hand and allowed the paper to collide with it before unraveling the ball of paper.

The part of his mind that expected the note to be a pleasant message reporting useful information was quickly killed as he noticed a rock lodged in the center of the mass, these were supposed to hurt him. His unknown assailant took advantage of his distraction as another piece of paper smacked him in the side of the head. The impact was heavy, turning his head to the side a little however, he wasn't bleeding, and that was all that mattered.

Sunny's mind flashed through scenario's how he could stop the assailant, reporting them was out of the question, lest he gain an even worse reputation than what he had already managed to garner, and retaliation was out of the question entirely. And so, he had to endure.

Nephis had noticed Sunny being assaulted from afar since it began, her eyes shifted across the room to Caster who sat at the back of the class preparing another ball of paper to shoot at him. But, what intrigued her even further was the boy's lack of reaction. 'Doesn't it hurt?' She thought to herself, from the sight of him as he came into the lesson, she knew he was the type to get into fights, most likely losing. But to allow himself to be assaulted was preposterous.

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Nephis raised a hand into the air to get the attention of her teacher. She never did this, which made her sudden action even more impactful as she quickly gained the attention of everyone in the room, including her teacher. "I would like to take Sunless to the infirmary, he's bleeding." She stated, her tone made the request sound like a command. She wasn't going to allow the teacher to refuse.

With a nod of his head, Nephis shot up from her seat and grabbed Sunny's hand in her own, gesturing for him to stand. Sunny looked at her with confusion, suspicion or a mixture of both as he tentatively stood up. After all, after such a bold request it would only draw more attention to him should he refuse here.

'Her hands are soft' he thought to himself as she forcefully pulled him through the hallways. Eventually, he found himself not going to the infirmary, but rather to a secluded part of the school-owned field. Before he knew it, his back was pressed against the wall as Nephis shot him a glare of what appeared like annoyance.

"Why are you just sitting there and letting them throw you around?" Nephis asked, once again, Sunny found himself looking up at her slightly. The difference wasn't as stark as between him and Caster, but it was still present. Her question elicited a look of confusion from him, she didn't know him, or his situation. How could she try and lecture him on how to act?

"I don't have a choice," Sunny replied, his voice low and hoarse as he watched Nephis face turn into that of confusion. "Of course you do! Even if you won't win, letting them walk all over you isn't the right way to go about it, it's pathetic!" Nephis exclaimed, at this point, Sunny was getting to the edge of his patience. She was lecturing him without knowing anything, he wanted to lash out, but he knew that wasn't an altercation that would end up favorably for him.

"If I lash out, he'll hurt me more, if he hurts me more then I'll need to pay out of my pocket to get myself fixed at the hospital. Letting him do as he likes is the only beneficial method till he gets bored and leaves me alone."

Nephis couldn't understand him. How could he allow himself to get hurt simply because it was the easier method? Did he not value his health and safety at all? All these questions flashed through her mind as she looked him up and down for a moment. Only then did it strike her, she had been so enraged she had forgotten his situation.

He was poor.

"Don't you have…parents to tell about this? Or a family friend? You can always leave and report the situation to them."

Her tone was drained of the fury it was once filled with as she watched Sunny's eyes fall upon the mention of family. She knew that she had brought up something uncomfortable and there was no way to avoid him talking about it, now she felt horrible. His expression quickly turned irate at the question as he pushed himself away from the tree his back was once pressed against.

"I don't have parents, I don't have friends. I'm alone, ok? Stop trying to judge my life and how I do things based on your warped perception of how reality is! It's not fair, and I understand that much better than you ever will. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the lesson."

Sunny slipped away from her as he slowly made his way back to where he came from, it didn't matter if he had forgotten where he had come from, he just wanted to gain as much distance between himself and the woman he sat next to as quickly as possible. Two steps in, however, the bell marking the end of the lesson resounded through his ears.

A sigh escaped his lips as he turned around to see Nephis making her way towards him. "You don't know where you're going, and there's no point leaving you alone if you're just going to hurt yourself." Taking his arm in her own, this time less forcefully, Nephis took him to the infirmary. She watched as Sunny removed his shirt so the nurses could analyze his wounds with abject horror.

His torso was purple with bruises and his ribs were entirely visible, a tattoo of a snake coiled around his body as she watched Sunny since upon ice being applied to his body. This went beyond poverty, the boy who stood before her's life could be in danger if something didn't change about his physical situation. Yet here he was, poor as ever and entirely aloof.

Once he had finished his evaluation, the nurse placed a few bandages where he had been seriously cut and gave him an ice pack to place on his bruises, but her next words sent horror flashing through his face. Upon the mention of the fee needed to pay for continued use of the infirmary, Sunny's eyes shot open as he searched for a way to bolt past the nurse and flee the scene. However, Nephis simply put a hand on his shoulder, halting his thoughts.

The sudden contact made him wince but also served to calm him down as he could now focus on Nephis paying his fee for him. However, this only serves to frustrate him further. He wasn't a charity case or a stray dog that needed looking after, yet, he found himself as helpless as either of them. "Thank you." He mumbled as Nephis led him out of the infirmary.

Nephis glanced back at him and simply provided him another nod as she pulled him into what appeared like a cafeteria. Sunny's eyes widened, there were too many people, and too many smells. He had seen foods he had only ever dreamed of, yet people threw some in the trash without even offering it a second thought.

'Privileges of the rich I guess.' he thought to himself. Nephis hand didn't leave his own for even moments as she found a secluded section of the cafeteria to sit at before rising from her seat. "I'm going to get you something to eat, don't move." She didn't wait for a response, simply walking away without even glancing back at him. Sunny did as he was told, who was he to refuse free food?

It only took moments for everything to go wrong. Four silhouettes emerged from behind him, Sunny wasn't even offered the chance to turn around as a hand firmly grasped his head and slammed it into the table with a thud. Enraged, Sunny spun around to try and fight back but was caught by a punch on the jaw by another assailant. He knew who it was without needing to turn around.

Their blows were heavy yet swift, they couldn't have anyone of authority noticing Sunny's situation. After a few moments, they left. Sunny was left with his head lying in the bloody pool that they had created with an impassive expression on his face, there wasn't anything he could do so why get angry at things he couldn't change? Raising his head from the table, his attention shifted to Nephis who had just dropped their meals on the table roughly out of shock.

Shooting to his side, her eyes glanced over his face, where the majority of their attacks had been directed before grabbing his arm and roughly dragging him out of the cafeteria. Sunny's mind wasn't focused on anything in particular, there was too much pain to do something like that, so instead he tried falling asleep as he walked with Nephis.

Soon enough, he found himself near a tap. Turning it on, Nephis grabbed him by the shoulder before forcing him to the ground. Her movements were quick yet focused, she ran water over his face, removing the mask of blood that he wore across his face before quickly drying his face with some tissues. She wanted to cry, the amount of blood that she had just witnessed was too much to be normal, and it felt like her fault.

"I shouldn't have left you alone," Nephis stated, her tone as impassive as ever. Allowing herself to show weakness to someone who had been put through this much without tears was absurd. She didn't receive a reply immediately, instead, she lowered a hand towards his face before pressing her thumbs against his skin gently.

Despite his injuries, his skin was still soft and pale, making it addictive to the touch. "Does it hurt?" She asked, Sunny shook his head continuing to stare at her, his expression confused. Speaking hurt, more than he'd like to admit but he had to force himself to do it anyway.

"Why do you even bother with me, isn't it detrimental to be seen with a mongrel like me especially with someone who has status like yours?"

"Because I want to." Surprisingly, Sunny found himself paying rapt attention to the history lessons that were being imparted to him. From tales of forgotten gods to the dream realm, each piece of information found itself being stored in a neat and orderly format within his head.

However, the only issue was his notepad eventually began ripping itself apart under the force of his pen. He tried lightening his strokes but to no avail, as he watched the paper begin to slowly rip itself apart beneath him. Sunny shot his book a glare of frustration as he crushed a sheet of paper under his hands before letting out a defeated sigh. Scanning around the room, Sunny searched for anyone who could possibly want to entertain a mongrel like him and spare him some paper.

His attention was so focused on the lesson that he didn't even notice the trail of blood that cascaded from his nose until it fell and hit him on the arm, painting a section of his pale skin a bright red. His attempts to clean it were halted prematurely as a pull from his side tore his attention off the blood, the silver-haired girl or Nephis if her book was any indicator was handing him a tissue and some pieces of torn paper.

Sunny didn't know why she would do such a thing, she didn't owe him anything, had he helped her in the past? Unlikely. His mind flashed through possibilities as he took her gifts in open arms, despite his suspicion Sunny wasn't going to let such grace go unnoticed, so he tried giving her his best smile. It was a crooked thing, he knew he couldn't smile properly till he had something to be happy about but he was sure it at least looked normal.

Thankfully, Nephis did not appear repulsed by his gesture and merely nodded her head before focusing back on the lesson. With his newfound equipment, Sunny's enjoyment of the lesson skyrocketed as he greedily took down notes to the best of his ability. If there was one thing the outskirts taught him, it was how to read and write. After all, one needed to leave their mark on the world somehow.

His train of thought was interrupted by a balled-up piece of paper barrelling towards his head, tilting it downwards meant it would hit his newfound equipment sponsor in the form of Nephis and that wasn't something he could allow. Instead, he simply extended a hand and allowed the paper to collide with it before unraveling the ball of paper.

The part of his mind that expected the note to be a pleasant message reporting useful information was quickly killed as he noticed a rock lodged in the center of the mass, these were supposed to hurt him. His unknown assailant took advantage of his distraction as another piece of paper smacked him in the side of the head. The impact was heavy, turning his head to the side a little however, he wasn't bleeding, and that was all that mattered.

Sunny's mind flashed through scenario's how he could stop the assailant, reporting them was out of the question, lest he gain an even worse reputation than what he had already managed to garner, and retaliation was out of the question entirely. And so, he had to endure.

Nephis had noticed Sunny being assaulted from afar since it began, her eyes shifted across the room to Caster who sat at the back of the class preparing another ball of paper to shoot at him. But, what intrigued her even further was the boy's lack of reaction. 'Doesn't it hurt?' She thought to herself, from the sight of him as he came into the lesson, she knew he was the type to get into fights, most likely losing. But to allow himself to be assaulted was preposterous.

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Nephis raised a hand into the air to get the attention of her teacher. She never did this, which made her sudden action even more impactful as she quickly gained the attention of everyone in the room, including her teacher. "I would like to take Sunless to the infirmary, he's bleeding." She stated, her tone made the request sound like a command. She wasn't going to allow the teacher to refuse.

With a nod of his head, Nephis shot up from her seat and grabbed Sunny's hand in her own, gesturing for him to stand. Sunny looked at her with confusion, suspicion or a mixture of both as he tentatively stood up. After all, after such a bold request it would only draw more attention to him should he refuse here.

'Her hands are soft' he thought to himself as she forcefully pulled him through the hallways. Eventually, he found himself not going to the infirmary, but rather to a secluded part of the school-owned field. Before he knew it, his back was pressed against the wall as Nephis shot him a glare of what appeared like annoyance.

"Why are you just sitting there and letting them throw you around?" Nephis asked, once again, Sunny found himself looking up at her slightly. The difference wasn't as stark as between him and Caster, but it was still present. Her question elicited a look of confusion from him, she didn't know him, or his situation. How could she try and lecture him on how to act?

"I don't have a choice," Sunny replied, his voice low and hoarse as he watched Nephis face turn into that of confusion. "Of course you do! Even if you won't win, letting them walk all over you isn't the right way to go about it, it's pathetic!" Nephis exclaimed, at this point, Sunny was getting to the edge of his patience. She was lecturing him without knowing anything, he wanted to lash out, but he knew that wasn't an altercation that would end up favorably for him.

"If I lash out, he'll hurt me more, if he hurts me more then I'll need to pay out of my pocket to get myself fixed at the hospital. Letting him do as he likes is the only beneficial method till he gets bored and leaves me alone."

Nephis couldn't understand him. How could he allow himself to get hurt simply because it was the easier method? Did he not value his health and safety at all? All these questions flashed through her mind as she looked him up and down for a moment. Only then did it strike her, she had been so enraged she had forgotten his situation.

He was poor.

"Don't you have…parents to tell about this? Or a family friend? You can always leave and report the situation to them."

Her tone was drained of the fury it was once filled with as she watched Sunny's eyes fall upon the mention of family. She knew that she had brought up something uncomfortable and there was no way to avoid him talking about it, now she felt horrible. His expression quickly turned irate at the question as he pushed himself away from the tree his back was once pressed against.

"I don't have parents, I don't have friends. I'm alone, ok? Stop trying to judge my life and how I do things based on your warped perception of how reality is! It's not fair, and I understand that much better than you ever will. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the lesson."

Sunny slipped away from her as he slowly made his way back to where he came from, it didn't matter if he had forgotten where he had come from, he just wanted to gain as much distance between himself and the woman he sat next to as quickly as possible. Two steps in, however, the bell marking the end of the lesson resounded through his ears.

A sigh escaped his lips as he turned around to see Nephis making her way towards him. "You don't know where you're going, and there's no point leaving you alone if you're just going to hurt yourself." Taking his arm in her own, this time less forcefully, Nephis took him to the infirmary. She watched as Sunny removed his shirt so the nurses could analyze his wounds with abject horror.

His torso was purple with bruises and his ribs were entirely visible, a tattoo of a snake coiled around his body as she watched Sunny since upon ice being applied to his body. This went beyond poverty, the boy who stood before her's life could be in danger if something didn't change about his physical situation. Yet here he was, poor as ever and entirely aloof.

Once he had finished his evaluation, the nurse placed a few bandages where he had been seriously cut and gave him an ice pack to place on his bruises, but her next words sent horror flashing through his face. Upon the mention of the fee needed to pay for continued use of the infirmary, Sunny's eyes shot open as he searched for a way to bolt past the nurse and flee the scene. However, Nephis simply put a hand on his shoulder, halting his thoughts.

The sudden contact made him wince but also served to calm him down as he could now focus on Nephis paying his fee for him. However, this only serves to frustrate him further. He wasn't a charity case or a stray dog that needed looking after, yet, he found himself as helpless as either of them. "Thank you." He mumbled as Nephis led him out of the infirmary.

Nephis glanced back at him and simply provided him another nod as she pulled him into what appeared like a cafeteria. Sunny's eyes widened, there were too many people, and too many smells. He had seen foods he had only ever dreamed of, yet people threw some in the trash without even offering it a second thought.

'Privileges of the rich I guess.' he thought to himself. Nephis hand didn't leave his own for even moments as she found a secluded section of the cafeteria to sit at before rising from her seat. "I'm going to get you something to eat, don't move." She didn't wait for a response, simply walking away without even glancing back at him. Sunny did as he was told, who was he to refuse free food?

It only took moments for everything to go wrong. Four silhouettes emerged from behind him, Sunny wasn't even offered the chance to turn around as a hand firmly grasped his head and slammed it into the table with a thud. Enraged, Sunny spun around to try and fight back but was caught by a punch on the jaw by another assailant. He knew who it was without needing to turn around.

Their blows were heavy yet swift, they couldn't have anyone of authority noticing Sunny's situation. After a few moments, they left. Sunny was left with his head lying in the bloody pool that they had created with an impassive expression on his face, there wasn't anything he could do so why get angry at things he couldn't change? Raising his head from the table, his attention shifted to Nephis who had just dropped their meals on the table roughly out of shock.

Shooting to his side, her eyes glanced over his face, where the majority of their attacks had been directed before grabbing his arm and roughly dragging him out of the cafeteria. Sunny's mind wasn't focused on anything in particular, there was too much pain to do something like that, so instead he tried falling asleep as he walked with Nephis.

Soon enough, he found himself near a tap. Turning it on, Nephis grabbed him by the shoulder before forcing him to the ground. Her movements were quick yet focused, she ran water over his face, removing the mask of blood that he wore across his face before quickly drying his face with some tissues. She wanted to cry, the amount of blood that she had just witnessed was too much to be normal, and it felt like her fault.

"I shouldn't have left you alone," Nephis stated, her tone as impassive as ever. Allowing herself to show weakness to someone who had been put through this much without tears was absurd. She didn't receive a reply immediately, instead, she lowered a hand towards his face before pressing her thumbs against his skin gently.

Despite his injuries, his skin was still soft and pale, making it addictive to the touch. "Does it hurt?" She asked, Sunny shook his head continuing to stare at her, his expression confused. Speaking hurt, more than he'd like to admit but he had to force himself to do it anyway.

"Why do you even bother with me, isn't it detrimental to be seen with a mongrel like me especially with someone who has status like yours?"

"Because I want to."