fisticuffs
@xvmallory
Having grown up amidst violence, Haneul could definitively say that he didn’t like it, whether it was done to him or to someone else. But having been on the receiving end of violence for most of his life, he could also say with utmost certainty that he would rather be the violent one, than end up being the victim ever again.
So when one time, his claws manifested and sank into one of the bullies, and they had left him alone for two weeks, Haneul had taken that as a solution. It was a temporary one, but after enough recurrences, the incidents were much less frequent. That was probably not the right train of logic to follow, but Haneul had had enough of being a victim.
It had led to two very opposing opinions of him amongst people who didn’t really know him, and it had also led to many hours in the power negation room the school used for detention.
It was also why when he heard a familiar voice shouting out “Angel!” in the halls, Haneul’s shoulders tensed. He had never loved that alias, and he hated being called it by the people who picked on him. And they knew it. He kept walking, head down but senses trained on the space behind him, where the voice had come from. A few seconds later, he felt a heavy hand drop onto his shoulder, and instantly, he saw red.
Whirling around, he sank his claws into the back of the bully’s hand. and pulled, causing the offending student to scream. Nausea bubbled as he felt his fingertips moisten with blood. The scent of the other’s blood wafted over, and Haneul could taste the bile in the back of his throat. He would feel bad, but knew that a flesh wound like that would be taken care of easily by the school nurse. Besides, it would buy him another few weeks of peace. The bully was already glaring daggers at him, cradling his hand against his chest.
He tried his best to glare steadily back, but had no idea how believable it was. After a few tense moments, the bully decided he didn’t want another wound, and backed off. Haneul let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. One problem was temporarily taken care of, but he didn’t count on so many people having gathered.
He was already feeling sick, so he put his head down and got out of there as quickly as possible. He beelined towards one of his safe spaces, the roof. It was typically void of people, and not many people were interested in getting even higher up than the school already was. He just needed a moment to clear his head, then he’d go back and face the world.