A Rush of Blood: Arc 2, Ch. 2

"So how about we play some Old Maid?" Mion suggested as school was ending, raising and lowering her eyebrows.

Everyone voiced his or her approval except for Yuuki. "Sorry. I don't know how to play . . ." against her will, her stomach growled softly.

"Rena . . . you can help Yuuki, right? Well, basically . . . here . . ." she dealt out the deck of cards, giving everyone a signal to act like you don't know which cards are which. The group tried to hide a collective snicker. They weren't going to hold back for anyone.

"Yuuki, pick up your cards. Do you have two of the same card?" Mion picked up her hand of cards, and picked out the pairs she had and threw them onto the table. "If you do, throw them onto the desk. You want to get rid of all your cards."

Yuuki's eyes lit up. "Oh! Okay. I got it." Almost instantly, Yuuki threw down five pairs. "How's that?"

Everyone's jaws dropped to the floor. How could she have learned so quickly? It took Keiichi at least three months before he grew wise to their games.

Mion's eyes widened. "Whoa. Good hand. You're not as blonde as you look."

"I resent that!" Satoko bellowed openly.

"The rest of the game goes as follows," Mion continued, ignoring the little girl's outburst. "You pick a card from someone else's hand without looking and add it to yours. You're out of cards so you're out. Looks like Yuuki win this round." How is that possible? I know all the cards!

The new girl laughed and leaned back in her chair, grinning. "Looks like I'm the new sheriff in these parts."

Rena was amazed. "Wow. You're really good for someone who doesn't know the game."

Keiichi examined the cards curiously. "Huh? That's impossible. This game must be rigged. Mion, what kind of cards are you using?"

Mion looked at the cards again and shook her head, laughing. "Sorry, kiddo. You just through down some of your cards, you only have one set that matches!" she laughed again and re-explained. "A pair is like: two sixes or two jacks not a seven and a two! Want to try again, Sheriff?"

Yuuki blushed with embarrassment, but then blanched as her belly gurgled softly. "No, that's okay. I'm gonna go to the bathroom for a minute, k?" Her stomach roared its approval at the excuse and she hit it lightly. "Nobody asked you," she hissed and zipped away.

The group looked up, confused. "Who leaves in the middle of a game?" Satoko asked. "I was on a roll!"

Rena shrugged. "Well, when you gotta go you gotta go!"

Rika narrowed her eyes, staring at Yuuki's retreating back. "Somehow I think there maybe more to it than that." She looked to her right and gave a slight nod. "Hanyuu."

Hanyuu nodded in response. She excused herself for a brief moment and retrieved a bento from her bag and left the room. She located the bathrooms and left it outside the door along with a small note taped to the top:

"してください." ("Please.")

Yuuki slipped away into the school's kitchen and started rummaging around. Her eyes went wide when she found the mother load of refrigerated food. It was as if a supermarket exploded in the frigid chamber with food literally bursting out at the seams. "Jackpot!" She grabbed the thing closest to her, an ear of ivory corn, and set to work devouring it. Her mouth crackled with flavor she hadn't tasted in a long while and she couldn't help but almost break into tears. "Oh my goodness, happy birthday to me!"

Hanyuu sat herself back down in her seat, exchanging side glances with Rika. "I hope she eats it," the horned girl said quietly. "She looked starved to death!"

"Where we you going with that bento?" Rena asked in a curious tone. "Did you want to have a little snack? You could have just asked and we would have let you eat it here."

Hanyuu shrugged. "Gomen. I'll remember that next time, nano desu!"

"It's alright," Shion said without looking up from her cards. "You must've been hungry seeing as how it's not with you."

Hanyuu blushed, but it wasn't from Shion's comment. "Yeah! I eat a lot! Like, almost enough for two people!"

Everyone laughed. "Then it's amazing how you stay skinny," Satoko said. "Otherwise, when you came into class, you'd be sitting next to everybody!" She cackled manically.

"That's so mean, Satoko-chan!" she shrieked, blushing. "Hau au au!"

A loud bang interrupted the crew as well as cry of worry. Their heads jerked up and turned in the direction of the door, ears primed and ready to receive even the slightest rustle.

"Uh oh," Yuuki's voice carried. "Oh, that's not good . . . Ow! Is that supposed to do that?"

The group stood up but only Mion had the sense to rush into the kitchen. What did that oaf do?

Yuuki threw handful after handful of water on the wildfire that was the stove. She didn't realize it was on and when she spilled that cooking oil . . . "Someone's getting fired!" she yelped as the flame lashed out at her, like a flaming whip. She crashed to the floor, scooting as far away from the blaze as possible. "Oh wait, that would be me!"

Mion panicked as her emerald eyes beheld a volcano burning at the stove. She ducked inside the doorway as a tongue of fire licked at her skin. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" At the opportune time, she rushed toward the flames, turned off the gas, and looked for an extinguisher. To her misfortune, there were none.

"PANICKING!" Yuuki barked. She located a bucket of potatoes, dumped them out and filled it to the top with water. With a mighty heave, she threw the water hitting the flames - and Mion in one shot. Yuuki stood there, dumbly, the bucket in her trembling fingers. "My bad . . ."

Mion blinked slowly and stood in shock of all the water dripping off of her. She didn't utter so much as a sound.

Slowly, Yuuki put down the bucket. "I'll . . . just go now . . ." Cautiously, she stepped over all of the spilled food and water, slipping past Mion and charging out of the door, never to return until the following morning. "Oh, I'm dead."

Mion cracked up laughing. "BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she doubled over with giggles. "That was PRICELESS!"

"What's going on here?" Shion asked. Her jaw dropped when she saw the mess in the kitchen. "Mion, what did you do?"

Mion held up her hands, inclining her innocence. "I didn't do anything." She stepped out of the kitchen, despite Shion's barrage of protests, and followed Yuuki. "Hey!" she called out in a friendly tone.

Shion grabbed her sister's shoulder roughly. "This isn't a game, Mion!" she yelled in her ear. "We need to get this cleaned up fast!"

"Hold on, Sis!" Mion pushed past her. "Yuuki!" she ran out the door, looking for her. Her expression fell when she didn't see so much as a glimpse of the new girl. Hm. She must've gotten scared and run off. Not much on the courageous side.

"Mion!" Shion quickly caught up to her. "She's gone. Come on, we need to get this straightened up before we all get in trouble!"

Mion looked around, knowing Shion was right. "Fine." She didn't want to fight - it was too late in the afternoon for that. "Let's go." She turned back toward the school.
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Yuuki looked back but for only a second. Oh, she would get it tomorrow! But she would get it at home is her mom found any hint of food on her! She looked around and found a drinking fountain back near the school. On careful feet, she tiptoed back to the school and gave her teeth a quick scrub, washing away the evidence on her tongue and being careful to erase any food specks in her teeth. She wiped her mouth of water and said, "It was good though!"

"Oh she's going to murder me!" Yuuki dry heaved over the toilet bowl, staring at the half-digested food worryingly. She had thrown up promptly after arriving home and it was against her mom's rules to eat anything without her permission. It was part of her control game that had lasted for nearly five months already. Quickly, Yuuki tried to flush it away, but froze when she heard an impatient tapping on the floor. Mom was home!

"Yuuki! Where are you?" a voice rang out semi-happily as she started up the stairs.

The blonde girl's hair stood on the back of her neck and she felt sick all over again. This wasn't going to end well. She stifled a shriek as she felt her mother's presence at the doorway, staring at the rank puddle of muck in the toilet. Any sudden moves and she may not live to see the next sunrise.

"What did I tell you about eating?" the mother asked in a sugery sweet voice.

Yuuki cringed. She knew the answer to that, but she learned long ago to hold her tongue. She yelped as she was roughly yanked towards the door by her hair. She was so close to her mother now that she could smell the booze on her breath. "What have I told you about eating?"

Yuuki cried out as her mother's hand slapped her across the face repeatedly while her voice shouted profanities. She knew how to handle a situation like this: disconnect and wait until it's over. She became numb to the beatings and waited until her mother walked out of the bathroom before scrambling to her own room to cower behind her bed. She panted hard and prayed for when he mom would be passed out drunk and she would be free from the beatings - for a time.
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Mion scrubbed the kitchen, making sure it was spotless, erupting in fits of laughter every so often, then composing herself. "Hoo, I wonder where she went? I hope she doesn't think we're mad?"

"A-a-a-and done!" Mion said, standing up, swerving her eyes around the kitchen, satisfied. Her expression dropped as her mind returned to the girl who had taken flight from the burning inferno. "Hey, Shion?"

The other twin wiped her brow and sighed with exhaustion. "Yeah?" she acknowledged.

"Do you think that Yuu-chan looks a familiar?" Mion asked, looking over her shoulder. "If only a little?"

Shion hummed in thought as she swiped the damp mop across the shining tile floor. "I don't think so. We might have seen her around town, but I don't think anything before that. Why? Do you know her?"

Mion looked down at the floor. "I feel like I should. I don't know how, but . . . I just feel really bad. It's like . . . Nah, forget it," Mion sighed and put away a collection of soiled cleaning rags with a weighted heart. It was clear that she was unhappy with her lack of memory. Which is strange . . . I can normally remember things really well. All except this . . . .

Shion pursed her lips and decided to lighten the mood. She smiled gently and gave Mion's weary shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Why don't we gather everyone up and call it quits for today? I think you're tired. And if you're up to it, I'll even treat you to some ice cream. Sound good?"

Mion couldn't help but smile at the offer. Sometimes she wondered how she was so lucky to have a sister like Shion. She sighed and tapped her fist to Shion's forehead, smiling. "Thanks, Sis."
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Yuuki waited until her mom was asleep on the couch before slipping out of her room. This was a risk in itself because her mother had brainwashed her into believing she could hear even the slightest footstep.

"I could smell your rancid stench coming a mile away," is what she always said. "And I'll always be there to catch you by your scrawny little neck."

Licking her lips, Yuuki stepped as heavily as possible to lessen the noise. She considered it a miracle when she got as far as the living room down the hall. She craned her neck to peek around the wall edge and stifled a sigh of relief when she saw her mother passed out on the beat up old couch, a half-empty bottle of wine on the coffee table. There were no glasses. A heaviness settled over Yuuki's heart as she scrutinized her mother's features. She used to be so beautiful with nearly flawless peachy skin and vibrant amber eyes; her strawberry blonde hair was always neatly kept. Now she was the exact opposite: her skin was drained and blotchy and her eyes had sunk deep into their sockets, the light they once held long gone. Her hair was tangled and had lost much of its color, now it was nearly all gray. the once beautiful, caring mother that Yuuki remembered from her childhood was gone and dead - and the girl knew she was never coming back.

Yuuki resisted the overwhelming urge to weep for her mother. There was nothing she could do about it now. All she had was right there with her mother (shelter, food, water, clothes) and if her mother was taken from her then so was her way of life. She was trapped, eternally, and deemed the daily beatings a small price to pay for all those necessities. Getting down on her hands and knees, Yuuki crawled her way to the garage, not bothering to put on even so much as a pair of shoes. As far as she was concerned, if she still had feet she could still walk. Stealing glances at her mother, she unlocked the door and turned the nob just enough to allow a small crack to appear. She inched the crack wide enough to accommodate her skinny frame and slipped through. She then scrambled to her feet and navigated her way to the back door, but not before being caught by a rake and hissed as the pale flesh of her leg was sliced open.

"I can't worry about that right now," Yuuki said to herself. Her fingers fumbled with the sliding door and successfully managed to break it open. She didn't hesitate one second and took off running down the road, hoping to reach the school before it closed, a crimson blood trail marking her path. At least there she would be safe. "Gotta hide. Gotta hide!"

She scrambled up to the front door and pulled with all her might and was nearly knocked backwards when it flew open. Someone was still inside, she determined. Hopefully it wasn't a teacher - that was the last thing she needed. "Gotta hide. Gotta hide. Gotta hide!" She padded silently down the hall to her homeroom class and found that it was still open. It was someone from her class; hopefully someone she could swindle into not telling her secret. Biting her lip, she got down on all fours and crawled towards the farthest end of the class where the shadows of dusk melted together. There, she sat, hugging her knees close, and waited.
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"I feel like I owe her something," Mion continued as she and Shion walked out of the kitchen and into the hall. Everyone else had gone home, leaving the Sonozaki twins as the only inhabitants of an otherwise vacant schoolhouse. The oldest leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed under her chest. "It's as if I promised her something . . . and it was important!" Mion explained. The last of the fiery sunlight bounced off her hair and glowed in her eyes. "Why can't I remember?"

Shion gripped Mion's shoulders and stared in her eyes. Now she was beginning to get worried. "Mion, calm down. What is there for you to remember? You just met her!"

"But I feel like I met her before!" Mion countered, almost yelling. "I don't know how, but I do. I feel like I made a promise. It was really important! I think it was to not forget! I don't know!" She heaved a frustrated sigh as she grabbed a handful of her hair and sat down, her knees close to her chest. "I don't know what's going on, Shion . . ."

Shion kneeled in front of her and placed both hands on the side of her face, forcing her sister to look up. "Are you okay?" She inched forward and touched their foreheads. "You don't feel like you have a fever . . ."

"I'm not sick," Mion grumbled. "Just a lot of Déjà vu." She dropped her hands wishing she could retain a memory she wasn't sure even existed. Frustrated, she tilted her head against the wall and closed her eyes, drained.

Shion gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze and a pitiful hug (she couldn't fully get her arms around Mion's shoulders). "You're probably just tired, Sis," she decided in a soft voice. "We should go home. It's been a long day."

"Maybe . . . Hey, Shion? One more thing," she said as she stood up, using her sister for support.

"Yeah?" Shion still kept a steadying hand on her. She wasn't entirely convinced that Mion was just exhausted.

"Do you think there are other worlds or universes just like this one?" Mion scratched the back of her neck nervously, now knowing how crazy she sounded. Still she had to try . . . and make sure.

Shion scratched her head in confusion. Where did this come from? "Mmm . . . I believe anything's possible. What's all this about, Mion? Are you saying that you met Yuuki in another universe?"

"Maybe. I don't really know. I just have all of these really bizarre figments of memories. And all of them concern her. Some of them are happy, but most are very sad and . . . filled with blood . . . And like you said, she just moved here." Mion sighed and gave a sharp, sarcastic chuckle. "I sound pretty crazy right now, don't I?"

"No!" Shion assured. "No, not at all. It sounds a little farfetched, but like I said, anything's possible."

Yuuki crumpled her face in confusion as she listened to the conversation. "Another universe? She's off her rocker. How can that even be po-?" She groaned a massive headache hit her. She crumpled to the ground, fingers gripping her throbbing temple. It was odd to get a headache out of the blue, especially one this severe - and she immediately remembered when her mother smacked her head against the bathtub. Her eyes went wide as the pain increased tenfold and it was all she could do to control her cries of anguish.

"Okay," Mion said, not hearing the groan outside the door. "It's just . . . I swear we were . . ." Mion titled her head to the side as she thought, Best friends? Her eyes widened as she doubled over in complete agony, hands to her temples, screams tearing her throat.

"Mion!" Shion cried as she gripped Mion's hands. "What is it, what's wrong?" A loud cry erupted from the classroom and Shion turned her head towards the noise.

Yuuki was on her knees, her hand gripping her skull tightly. Her own cries pierced high and loud as red coated her vision. What was going on? Did she develop a blood clot in the brain? Her eyes shot open. If that's true, then I might be dying!

Dang it - what was this? This had never happened before! "D-dang it . . ." Mion murmured through a haze of . . . What are all of these . . . pictures? Photos? What?

Yuuki slammed her fist into the wall, trying fight down her panic, but to no avail. I need help! This is serious! I need help! "Help!" she cried out, hoping whoever was here would hear her. "Help me!"

Mion's eyes snapped open, trying to catch her breath. Shion . . . what was she doing with a knife? Mion paused then shook all thoughts loose when she heard the banging on the wall outside as well as the desperate cry. Grief struck her hard and for no apparent reason Mion began to cry. "Yuu-chan . . .?" She wobbled to her feet, but didn't stay balanced for long. She collapsed to the ground, a prisoner to the onslaught of . . . Memories?

Shion ripped away from Mion's side and followed the sound of the pounding to the classroom. She looked around and found Yuuki crouched over on the ground, purple bruises all over her body, her leg bleeding profusely. She crouched by the blonde girl's side and placed a hand gently on her back. It was all she could do not to panic. "Yuuki! What's wrong? What happened?" She touched one of the bruises tenderly. What happened?

Yuuki hissed and jerked away from Shion's grasp. She hit the wall and smashed her forehead against it, tears of anguish and confusion gushing from her eyes. "MAKE IT STOP!"No sooner had the words left her mouth had the headache stopped and she crumpled to the floor, shocked and confused.

Mion trembled relentlessly and her breathing came hard and fast. She didn't bother getting back up. "Yuu-Yuu-chan?" Mion said slowly, holding her head. Knife . . . Threw herself in the swamp . . . Blood . . . What happened to us in the last world?

Shion placed a cool hand on the side of the blonde's face She didn't miss how the girl winced at her soft touch. "You're covered in bruises. You're bleeding. What happened to you?"

"Call an ambulance . . ." Yuuki whispered, heedless of Shion's questions. "I think I have a blood clot."

Shion gasped. She knew how severe blood clots could be. "What . . .?"

Yuuki's heart hammered wildly against her ribs. She couldn't think straight, each thought mixing and blurring with the other. the only thing that was clear was that she received some help. And fast. "Go!" Yuuki barked. Shion rushed away to the faculty lounge.

Mion turned her head towards the classroom door as Shion rushed passed her. That was Yuuki's voice she heard. Yuuki was here and . . . was covered in bruises and bleeding? Her heart clenched in her breast and she shakily crawled into the classroom. "Yuu . . . Yuu-chan? You here?"

The blonde turned her panicked eyes to meet Mion's gaze. She swallowed hard, fighting her fear. "Mion . . .? Why-why are you and your twin here?"

"Cleaning . . . up after club," she said. On hands and knees she crawled over to her friend, wincing at the sight of the bruises on her body. There was even a small pool of blood trickling out of her slit leg. "What happened to you? Did you get into an accident?"

Yuuki hung her head, her long locks shielding her eyes in shadow. "You could say that." She winced as her leg spasmed, pressing against a bruise. "Hey, Mion . . . do you -?"

"Remember?" she guessed, tilting her head backward so she could breathe easier. "I think I do. What happened just now . . . I saw things I wouldn't want anyone on earth to see - not even my worst enemy." She closed her sparkling emerald eyes. "They were horrible. What happened to us. What Shion did. What you did. I don't know what possessed us to act that way or what possessed Shion. She and I have always been relatively close. What do you think has gotten into us?"

"A curse," Yuuki stated matter-of-factly. She made eye contact with Mion and stared hard. "What do you call it around here? When someone dies and someone disappears? I remember that bit and I'm disgusted with myself for it. I should have tried harder!" She slammed her fists down and winced as a fresh bruise formed on her delicate skin.

Mion let a single tear fall to the ground. "It doesn't matter now," she said honestly. "That was then and this is now. We're fine now. We don't have to worry about Oyashiro-sama's Curse or disappearing or dying. We're safe now and that's all that matters. It won't happen again."

Yuuki felt a painful twinge at the sight of the tear. "How can you be so sure? How do you know if we're safe? If I'm safe? I can't be safe anymore and I never will be!"

"Yes, you are," Mion said, gripping Yuuki's shoulders as the girl thrashed about, clutching handfuls of her fair hair. "You're safe now. no one will hurt you! Believe me, your brother won't hurt you anymore!" She felt insane. She just wanted to go home. She didn't want to remember anymore. Those look in Yuuki's eyes as a dark void swallowed her . . . Shion's insanity-laced eyes . . . She didn't want to see anymore.

"Brother?" Yuuki calmed down, if only a little. "I don't . . . have a brother . . ."

Mion blinked. "What?" That doesn't make sense. We came back before . . . now that I think about it. Nothing was missing from our lives. We all had the same things like before - Why would it suddenly change now?

Shion charged back into the room, stomping loudly. She had already informed the two girls the paramedics were on their way. "Sis? Are you okay?" She crouched down next to her, taking her face in her hands.

"I'm okay . . . I think . . . Just scared . . . That other world . . ." she looked up at her twin and hugged her. "We died, Shion," she whispered in her sister's ear. "You killed me."

Shion's eyes widened and her heartbeat quickened. "What . . .? Why would I? I would never . . ."

"We died in the other world," she repeated, crying. "I'm scared, Shion . . ."

Shion held her sister, rubbing her back comfortingly. "So am I . . ."

Yuuki turned her head and looked down, envy burning in her heart. Why can't I be loved like that? Why does Mion have parents and a sister that loves her when I don't? "I wasn't beaten by my 'brother' . . . I don't even have one," she said slowly, if only to gain attention. Her heart quickened and her mind immediately set up wall after wall. What am I saying? Don't let jealousy shatter your whole world! She'll kill you if you tell!

"Then who was it?" Shion asked, arms still coiled around her distraught sister. "This is important." I sound like Chie-sensei!

Yuuki shook her head, fear twisting in her gut like a serpent. "No . . . can't tell . . ."

"It's okay. I told last time . . . too," Mion shifted in Shion's embrace until she faced the girl fully. "It's fine if you don't want to tell us. If you ever want it to stop . . . Just tell me or- or anybody, okay? We're here for you."

"I do want it to stop!" Yuuki howled. She gripped the floor, her nails catching on the wood. "I've always wanted it to stop! They didn't always used to be like this! Why can't things go back to the way they were?"

"Then tell us!" Shion pressed.

"I can't! She'll kill me!"

Mion gently pulled out of Shion's arms and crawled over to Yuuki, bringing her close. "It's okay. We'll protect you. Nothing will hurt you - I swear it," she promised. "You just have to trust us. Do you want it to stop?"

Yuuki collapsed in Mion's arms, her face buried in her chest. She nodded, but couldn't help but feel that maybe this was how it felt to have a sister. For once in a long while she felt safe. "Yes . . ."

"Then tell us," Shion said as she inched over to the pair. "Tell us and we will protect you. Everyone in this town is linked. We will protect anyone who needs protecting. We will not let anything hurt you." She stroked the blonde's hair.

Yuuki flinched under Shion's touch, like before, but gradually relaxed. "I can't . . . she made me not tell . . . She said if I did . . . she'd kill me . . ."

"We'll protect you."

"She'll kill you too!" Yuuki looked up at the green-haired girls, tears streaming down her cheeks. "She's crazy, Mion! She'll do it!"

"I think we can handle ourselves . . ." she said trying to hide a little smile. She added a small wink to Shion.

"Don't . . . I don't want you involved." Yuuki gripped Mion's shirt and lowered her head, her forehead crashing against Mion's chest. "I don't want you to do that . . ."

"Yuu-chan," Mion said softly as she stroked her hair. "This may sound insane . . . but I feel like I have to repay you. In that other world where . . ." - she swallowed hard - "you got involved. I remember wishing I hadn't gotten you involved. And promising you I'd help you if you were in trouble." She shook her head, listening to herself in disbelief. What was she saying? She sighed. "I'm going to be involved this time, regardless of the peril. No more waiting. Whenever you want it to stop, tell me and we'll make her leave."

Yuuki cried harder. "You can't. Don't you understand what I'm saying? She'll kill you! And I'll die . . ." she added quietly.

Shion patted the girl on the back and made sure she did it gently. fortunately, neither of the twins heard her last statement. "We want to help. We all do. You'll be fine."

Yuuki closed her eyes, touched at the girls' loyalty. "I don't know what you can do . . ."

Mion smiled and even gave a choppy laugh. "You'd be surprised."

A knock suddenly came at the door, causing all three girls to jump. Shion went to look and saw that the paramedics had arrived. They came in and were immediately floored by the number of bruises dotting Yuuki's body. They gently got her to her feet and put her in the ambulance and drove to the hospital, Mion and Shion riding with her. It didn't take long for them to arrive and in no time, Dr. Irie, or the Coach (he was the coach of the local baseball team, the Hinamizawa Fighters), was there to give the twins an unsettling diagnosis.

"I have good news: she has no blood clot," he said with a smile. "So you can rest easy on that."

Both girls sighed, relieved.

Then he shifted back into his seat. "Although it is quite apparent that she is being hurt, whether intentionally or not. Also, she's considerbly underweight. A girl of her height and age should have a body mass index of at least 18.5. Hers is 16.5."

Mion flinched. That didn't sound too good.

"Has she been eating at all?" he asked, concerned.

Shion lowered her head. "Hanyuu did take a bento once, but never came back with it. I'm guessing it was for Yuuki, but I don't know if she ate it. Now that I think of it, she hasn't really brought any lunch since she came here."

Irie licked his dry lips and cleaned his glasses, unsatisfied with the answer. "This isn't good for her. I would attribute it to the move - as I understand it she just recently came from America - but I hardly believe that that's the case. I marked down too many bruises to deem it accidental."

"She did say that she wanted help," Mion added, rubbing her arm, "but couldn't tell us who was hurting her. It's a woman because she kept referring to her as 'She'. Coach," - she looked up and met his eye - "I think it might be her mother."

The Coach reached into his front pocket to take out a pen. He tapped it in thought against his thigh. "Well, you thinking it's her mother isn't the same thing as it being her mother. Do you see what I'm saying?" He sighed. "The Child Protection Services can't do anything about thinking. But it's clear something is happening to her. Let me call them over. And report this." He turned in his swivel chair to take the phone. "Believe me, I'll do all I can to help."

"Coach," Shion said, "can we see Yuuki? We want to make sure she's okay."

"I don't see a problem with that," he said glancing at the girls while his fingers dialed the number. "You are her friends, right?"

They nodded.

"Go on ahead."
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Mion stood and rushed into the room where Yuuki was suspended from the ground on a bed by the window. She chewed her lower lip as her eyes scanned the extent of the damage done by her mother. The fair hair girl sat on the bed, looking out of the window, with her shirt hugged close to her chest. Her heavily bruised back was exposed to the twins and for a moment they thought that purple was her natural skin color. Her spine and ribs were heavily prominent and they could faintly hear the gentle mewling of her stomach. The coach was right - she was in bad shape.

Mion walked up to her and did her best to be as optimistic as possible. "Hey, Yuu-chan!" she said with a smile and wave.

Yuuki nearly jumped at the sound of Mion's voice and immediately turned her back and threw on her shirt, hiding the bruises. "Hey," she said nonchalantly, as if the bruises didn't exist.

For Yuuki's sake, Shion played along and pushed the severity of the situation to the back of her mind. "How you feeling?From the sound of it, you don't have a blood clot!" She sat down in one of the nearby chairs and folded one leg over the other and smiled sweetly.

The blonde smiled a little, but there was no happiness in her amber eyes. "Yeah, good thing for that huh?" she returned to stare out of the window, the orange rays of the sun setting her face ablaze. A light breeze swirled in from the open window, ruffling loose strands of her flaxen hair.

Mion shifted from one foot to the other, unsure of what to say. Shion tapped her foot against the floor, uncomfortable with the sudden silence.

Yuuki licked her lips and swallowed. "So what'd the doctor say?" She already knew the answer.

"That it's obvious you're being abused," Shion said quietly. "He's calling Child Protection Services to look at it." It wasn't in her nature to lie.

Yuuki jumped up, startled. Her whole face was contorted in panic and worry. "What? You're kidding right? Tell me this is some kind of a joke!"

Mion shook her head. "No." She noticed Shion moving, ready to back her up if Yuuki wanted to make a run for it. "This is serious, Yuuki. If you feel like you need to protect your mother then -"

Rats! They know? The blonde paced back and forth around the room. This wasn't good. If the Services came to her house then she was really going to get it. Her mom would not be happy. And her whole way of life would be nonexistent! "Tell them they don't need to come," she barked, worry in her voice. "I lied. I did this to myself. I'm clumsy. I fall easily and bruise easily. I ran into a couple of doors. This is my fault. I'm not being abused."

"Yuu-chan," Shion said from behind her. Yuuki yelped in surprise, but Shion gently touched her arm, telling her she meant her no harm. "You don't need to hide anything from us. We want to help you - in the best way we can. We'll work something out; you can stay with us for a while if it'll make you feel better. We just don't want you to be somewhere where you might be hurt." She slowly took the blonde girl's hand. "We all care about you."

Yuuki clenched her fists. She knew what they were trying to do and she appreciated it to the depths of her heart, but she couldn't think about giving up on her mother. I have to believe that she can come back. "Shion, believe me I want all of this to be over, but I have to believe that things can go back to being the way they were before. This may all be temporary and any day now it could be over. If hurting me is the small price I have to pay to live at home then I can pay it."

"Yuu-chan!" Mion gripped the girl's shoulders and whirled her around to face her. "She's brainwashed you into thinking that. No matter how you look at it this isn't okay! You're starving to death! You're black and blue! If this continues you're going to wind up dead!" Mion cried out as a powerhouse fist connected hard with her jaw. She fell backwards and onto the ground, cringing. Shion leaped to her sister's side in an instant.

"You don't know anything!" Yuuki screamed as she hid her fist. "This will all go away and you'll see everything will be back to the way they were before. I don't need you to tell me what will and will not happen. I can shape my own future and I don't need you breathing down my neck about it. I hate you, Mion Sonozaki! You never were and never will be my friend!" The fair haired girl charged out of the room, running with all her might, not caring who tried to stop her. She could handle whatever came to her. She was tough enough to handle anything and everything - at least she hoped so.