Well, hello there, Stranger. AJ here, publishing for the first time in years, so welcome back ") I've got a brand new story, and it's on a more serious note - abuse. If you suspect abuse, always report it, kiddos. It was composed pretty fast, and I haven't really written in years - so bear with me, please. Sorry for the long absence - my computer crashed and I just got really busy.

ChibiAJ: Now, without further ado, here's Schmexy Kai with the disclaimer!

Kai: You're an excitable creep. Moonlight Serenity doesn't own and is no way affiliated with beyblade, or the Offspring and their song "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?"

ChibiAJ: If I were I'd have had the money to have my laptop fixed before now. I'm just a fan.

Tala: This fiction is rated T for violence, mature themes, and swearing.

Mariah: If you or a loved one is being abused, please talk to a respected adult or authority member and seek help.

Hiromi: No one has a right to put their hands on you without your permission.

ChibiAJ: Please excuse the short length of the chapters and any writing faux pas of my own. Review please ")

Kai: On with the fic.

Hiromi, Are You Doing Okay?

Prologue – There's a Moment in Time

I still remember when we joined the crowd that had stumbled upon her mangled body lying still on the cold street. Her skin was the same sickly shade of gray as the concrete beneath her, littered with purple bruises, dried blood, and patches of pale moonlight around her lips. Her finger tips were blue and stained with the same red of homicide under her stubby, jagged nails. A bone protruded awkwardly through the tatters of clothing that barely covered her rib cage. Her chocolate locks were in disarray.

Across town the world was buzzing, and nothing was still, but here time had stopped. A throng had gathered silently around the still body of Tachibana Hiromi, a sixteen year-old resident of Bakuten, Japan. She still wore her dark, navy school uniform, albeit damaged beyond repair, and one could only wonder how long she'd been lying there – alone and dieing in the cold. It was dark now, nine o' clock, and there was brown, slushy snow tainting the street, matting her hair, and soaking her body. She was stark in the winter air.

Rei was murmuring into my cellular phone, hand over the mouth piece, bidding the ambulance to come quickly before calling our teammates to let them know of the catastrophe before us. I could hear Takao yelling on the line, calling for Kyoju and Max to hurry. I'd come to see why she'd never made it to practice, and Rei had accompanied me on my short walk to Hiromi's desolate, dilapidated neighborhood. "Have you…" I heard Takao's hesitant voice over the phone, "have you checked her pulse?" He sounded as choked as I felt. Rei glanced again toward the body before moving forward and kneeling before her. He was careful beside her inelegantly arranged limbs, and breathed in deeply before brushing her wet hair away from her neck. Another bruise glared at us on the newly revealed patch, but he only paused for a moment before looking away and placing two fingers on her throat. Tiny, white snow flakes began to fall from the sky and landed on her dark lashes and blended with her white lips. He exhaled, covered his mouth, let out that wrenching breath, and turned to me, "she's alive, Kai."

ChibiAJ: wow, that was short.

AJ: And a little lot OOC, but if you've read me before than you expect that by now.

ChibiAJ: review please and tell us what you think ")

With Love to You and Thanks to Our Holy Father,

AJ