Illusions and Lies (A Super Smash Brothers fan fiction)

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE: TO KEEP YOU SAFE.

Warnings: Minor mentions of blood and racist remarks. This occurs toward the end of the chapter. Read at your own discretion.

"Don't forget. This is your fault." The Headmaster whispered. 

They raised their arm and brought the whip down on Corrin's back again, drawing an agonized cry of pain from the silver-haired boy. He was limp against the post, only held up by the chains around his wrist. His hair was damp with sweat, and the ugly lash marks on his back were bloody. 

Again, the Headmaster raised their arm and brought the whip down. 

Corrin was limp against the chains that held him up now. The Headmaster scoffed and tossed the whip aside. Sheik couldn't tell if Corrin was still breathing or not as the masked figure unchained him. 

"Go on, then." The Headmaster laughed. 

Sheik didn't need to be told twice. He moved forward and sat next to Corrin's limp body. Up close, the lash marks looked even worse. Slowly, Sheik adjusted him so that he wasn't facing the floor. His eyes opened, and he looked up at Sheik. 

"Don't... listen to them. This isn't... your fault." Corrin whispered, reaching up to brush Sheik's bangs out of his face. 

"I'm sorry." Sheik mumbled. He held Corrin's hand against his face and tried not to cry. He knew what would happen next, judging by the way his back looked. 

"You... have... nothing to apologize for." Corrin murmured. Then the light faded from his eyes and his body went limp. He died just like that. Because of the Headmaster. Because of him. 

"This is your fault. He wouldn't have died if it wasn't for you." The Headmaster said. They grabbed the back of Sheik's shirt and pulled him up, forcing him to look in their eyes. "You'd be next, if I didn't know better. You'd be glad to die. I won't give you the satisfaction."

And then Sheik woke up. 

He blinked once or twice, trying to get his bearings. This one had been so much more vivid, just like they all had been for the last few weeks. He could basically feel the blood on his hands, or see the way Corrin's eyes looked as he stared up at the ceiling without seeing. 

There were tears on his face. He hadn't even realized that he was crying. Angrily, he wiped them away. Gods. He couldn't even face these nightmares by himself. 

Sheik was so fucking tired of being this weak. It had been more than a year since it had happened, and yet he was still waking up with nightmares every night. Just when he thought he'd finally be rid of them, they were back. And with a vengeance, too. 

His hands were shaking, so he balled them into fists to hide it. 

"Damn it. Damn it. Damn it." Sheik mumbled. 

The panic wasn't anything new, but each time he woke up from one of these nightmares, the force of it caught him off guard. He knew it wasn't real, but his brain didn't seem to want to cooperate with him. 

Despite the fact that he'd spent a year waking up like this, he wasn't sure what the best way to deal with it was. So instead of letting himself feel the emotions, he just buried or fought them as hard as he could. Which probably wasn't a healthy coping mechanism, but he didn't know any other way.

Pathetic. That's what he was. Couldn't even face his own emotions. He had to learn how to stand on his own. 

Why did Corrin love him? He was a fucking mess. He didn't deserve someone so kind, so patient, so... perfect, really. Sheik knew that was unrealistic to think- surely nobody could be completely perfect? But in his eyes, Corrin was.