Konbawa minna-san,

I'm sorry for all my fans who don't like sad stories, but Iwrote this story to show that there are teens and sometimes even young kids who go through this and life is not always sunshine and rainbows.

Child Abuse, abusive relationships, drugs and alcohol problems are serious issues so please read this story till the very end because I put alot of research and emotion into this.

RxExR

Chapter 1: Tragedy

Mikans POV

I had my head pressed against the cool glass of my bedroom window, feeling the soft tapping of the rain outside. I shifted my sitting position so that I was sitting on my window seat with one leg straight and one bent. I propped up my elbow to rest on my knee. I watched the streets of Tokyo fill with rain and people who are trying to get out of it. It's Saturday so the only people outside are business people and other working pedestrians with somewhere to go.

I let out a sigh, that's probably the twelfth time today and it's only nine o' clock in the morning. I looked around my room the walls was a dark blue color, covered with posters of my favorite bands like Blink 182, FlyLeaf, Paramore and My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park and of course many more. My desk that was in the corner of the room stacked up with books. I like to read, no, I love to read. I read anything and everything from fiction to non-fiction and of course mangas. I read so much it made me really smart and helped increase my vocabulary. Most teachers hate me. Yeah that's right they hate and deplore me. Why? They say I'm a bit of a smart ass. Heh I always make my class erupt in laughter with the littlest comment.

My eyes drifted to my vanity which was cluttered with make-up and nail polish, mostly black and other dark colors like crimson, violet, navy and forrest green. My closet was right across from it, filled with my clothes that spoke about my personality. My bed was messy, just like the rest of my room, was a mess. Sheets messed up and misplaced hanging off the bed. I'll clean up later and by later I mean when my mom yells at me to do so.

Something on my night table caught my eye. It was a blue picture frame with a rose design around it. The picture it contained had five people. The first was a man in his early thirties with blonde hair and olive irises. On top of his shoulders was a nine year old girl with brown hair and olive eyes. She had on a orange sundress with yellow flowers. Next to him was a woman in her late twenties with brunette locks down to the middle of her back and brown eyes. In the woman's arms was a seven year old girl with blonde hair and brown eyes. She wore a light blue sundress wth white flowers on it. In the middle of the two was an eleven year old girl with blonde hair and green eyes wearing a pink sundress with purple flowers. All three girls were wearing identical straw hats.

The man and woman are my parents Kaito and Yuka Sakura. The seven year old is my youger sister Ichigo, the eleven year old is my older sister Asuka and the nine year old is me Mikan. Yeah that was us before...the incident happened. What incident? Well I guess I could tell you as long as you don't tell anyone. About two weeks after that picture was taken my father he was murdered. Yeah that's right murdered by some punk on his way home from work. He was walking down the street to his company parking lot to come home and help mom with dinner when he was stabbed three times in his chest by some guy. How do I know? Some guy witnessed it, but didn't lift a finger to help. The world sucks, but hey that's the way it works. Life's a bitch and then you die. Plain and simple.

I still remember the day when we got the phone calls from the police that dad was gone. My sisters and I were watching Inuyasha and mom was in the kitchen as usual chopping vegetables for dinner when the phone rang. I heard my mom pick up and answer in her cheery voice. I immediately ran into the kitchen and started tugging on my mom's aproning, jumping up and down sayig I want to talk to daddy over and over. Back then everytime the phone rang, to me, it was daddy calling even when it wasn't. My heart woud leap when the phone rang and my mom would hand the phone to me and my dad would say 'Hey honey. How's my little tangerine doing today?' Heh it all seem so distant now.

Instead I watched my moms face fall and her eyes go blank as she dropped the made a clack sound as the phone hit the tiled kitchen floor. I looked up at her with confused eyes as she gripped the kitchen sink to steady herself. I let go of her apron as she stood there shaking. My sisters walked in and we all stared at her. It was at that moment that my mom had a mental break down. She started screaming and breaking things. One of our neighbors who heard the commotion called the cops. We had to stay with our jii-chan for alittle while. Jii-chan explained to us what happaned to our dad and that's what caused mom to act that way. I couldn't believe it, I wouldn't beieve it. There was no way my dad was gone he just can't is what I thought.

I locked myself in my room in my jii-chan's and refused to talk or eat. When it was time for the funeral my sisters and I stood next to our mother gripping her hand with tears streaming down all our faces. For the frst time in about a week I spoke. 'Why mommy? Why? Why would someone take daddy away? What if he's just sleeping? He can't get up and do his work if they put him in the ground mommy! Tell them to stop it mommy!' My mother bent down and hugged me really tight as I kept asking her why.

I turned my gaze back to the window surpressing my tears. I haven't cried since that day even though things just got worst. After that mommy didn't smile or even talked to us she did all her usual things like cooking and cleaning, but the way she moved and talked was as if she was a robot. We didn't like it, but then there was nothing we could do. Every night when she thought we were asleep she would curl up on the sofa with her bottle of red wine and old home movies. That's how our life was from then on until...he came.

Who is he? He is the devil himself. An evil cruel man who wears a mask in public, but shows his true colors behind closed doors. When he first came into our lives we didn't suspect anything. We were young and naive. I never suspected him, but then again I never liked him. I was in the state of mind that my mom can't be with anyone else except my dad and no one can take his place. Despite my bad attitude him and my mom signed some marriage papers and he moved in. That's when the devil's true nature appeared.

When we were outside we acted like the perfect family, but inside our house was torture. He has everything in the house perfect. It's clean, tidy and organized almost like no one lives here. If we get anything out of place or order we'll be punished. If there is a speck of dirt anywhere he can see we'll be punished. We, as in, my sisters and I. My mother is not responsible for cleaning and cooking anymore. He has her so high she can barely function most of the time.

My mother is on everything from cocaine to heroine and on top of that she smokes and drinks. I used to yell at her to stop it and do things like hide or burn the drugs and pour all the liquor down the sink and put her cigarette's in the disposal. Now almost seven years later I don't give a damn about her would be in the living room hearing one of us get beat and she wouldn't do a damn thing about it.

I heard a door slam somewhere in the house. Most likely it's him again. He's probably drunk again. I turn my attention back to the window. We'll that's enough about my personal problems let's talk a little about me. I'm fifthteen and three-quarters. I'll be sixteen on New Years which will be in roughly five months, not like anyone cares. Today is Sunday so I guess-

BAM

I snapped my head around and faced my doorway that has been rudely kicked open. My eyes widen as my gaze landed on him.

"Persona." I said with sterness in my voice. I could feel my body heat up with rage as he stood there in the doorway surveying the room. Then as expected his cold violet eye rested on me. His blank expression turned into a smug smile as he made his way over to me. I never broke eye-contact with him. I was no coward. After what seemed like a long agonizing staring contest he finally spoke.

"I thought I told you to clean ths room before I got home?" He drawled.

"I didn't get the memo." I stated.

"Heh. I've let you get away with this shit too long." I could see my sister Ichigo who just recently turned thirteen, standing in the doorway. She knew what was coming as did I.

"What shit? I don't know what you mean. Shit goes in the toilet." I said turning back to the window.

I could feel him glaring at me. He has those dark malicious cold eyes that you can feel watching you. I hate his eyes. I can always sense them watching me folowing me, warning me not to put a toe out of line. At this point I had cross the whole border and was ready for him to deliver my punishment.

His punishments occured in three phases. First phase he closes the door and locks it. I heard the door click behind me. Second phase he removes his belt and then it starts.

I don't feel anything. I've stopped feeling these punishments years ago. The marks and bruises are evident. My body his mural, the beat or whatever he finds laying around is his weapon also his paint brush that he uses to decorate me to his tears flow freely, but it is only water from my eyes no sounds no movements. I just lay on the floor as he has his way.

I don't know how long ago he left, but I'm still laying here. My face is dry, but I feel like crying. I always feel like crying, but I haven't cried in years. My tear ducts are dry and they won't come when I beckon them. I stare at the wall of my bedroom blankly. In my head I'm screaming, but no sound passes my lips.

I curl into a ball feeling a slight pain as I do so, but I curl up completely. I close my eyes and and welcome sleep.

Hope you liked it! This is the darker side of my writing. It gets better then worse lol!

Lots of Love

Chi-chan