Note one: Never Again

Kohaku sat in the back of the room wondering what was for dinner. She had always hated History class, especially American History. She sighed in frustration. The questions on this quiz were so simple. A three year old could probably figure it out. "And Paul Revere rode down the road screeching "The British are coming! The British are coming!" the teacher droned. She sat there about to shoot herself, when she saw movement in the corner of her eye.

Rika was dancing again, ear phones dangling from her ears, predictable. 'Oh dear God..' she thought back to her calendar she kept posted on her wall of the days for certain songs. She struggled trying to remember what Thursday was…then with a jolt Kohaku remembered. Ding dong song Thursday. She heard sudden gasps as Rika went for her hallmark pose. "Um. Rika..you might want to stop…" she whispered hoping the teacher didn't hear. Though she thought it odd that the teacher didn't see the spasms occurring on top of a desk anyway. Miss. Hillbury's usual pink face turned beet red and she stood in front of Rika's desk trying to catch even the glimpse of an eye. "Hello? Rika! Must we go through this over and over again? You need to grow up!" Then, there was a short groan and the desk gave way. "Oh no not again.." Rika muttered. "This is the tenth desk this week.."

"Rika Aoi! Sit your bottom down in a chair! And hand me that IPOD!" Miss Hillbury screamed.

Rika stared down at the tangled heap of wires protruding out of the top of the IPOD. "I have a feeling they aren't supposed to be do that…" she sighed "This is my third IPOD too…"

"Hello! Weren't you even listening to me?!" Miss Hillbury glared at Rika, wrinkling her nose for effect. "Do you really want to go to the principal that bad? That could be arranged."

"No. I mean no ma'am. I'm sorry for disrupting class again." The class erupted in laughter. Rika sat there her face turning a deep red. She looked over at her friend, Kohaku, and smiled. She was the only one who wasn't laughing. She knew why Rika was like this. It wasn't because she hated the class, though that did add in, it was because she wanted to escape any thoughts of home. And music did that for her. Both her and Kohaku came from broken down homes. "Miss Hillbury could you lay off? It's only her 12th offense."

"Kohaku, keep your mouth shut! You have no say in this!"

"Oh, and you do? You know nothing about her! You just criticize anyone who is a little bit out of the ordinary. You need to lay off. Now."

Rika's smile turned wider. Miss Hillbury stood strong on her case though. "You are but a mere child Kohaku. You know nothing about this world you live in."

"I know more about it than you do. Have you ever felt like breaking down? Have you ever felt out of place? Have you ever felt like no one understands you?" Kohaku said solemnly. Her sour demeanor was fed when Rika started to dance, "Rika please not now." Rika stopped, glancing up at Kohaku's angry face. "Right. I'll stop." she sat back down on the broken desk.

Miss Hillbury erupted, "BOTH OF YOU OUT!"

Both girls strode out the door feeling triumphant. Once outside the door, they gave each other high-fives. "That was awesome! Thanks Kohaku!" Kohaku grinned, "Mhm. Anytime!" they busted out in laughter.

Rika walked towards the exit, "Bye Kohaku!"

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

Kohaku folded her arms and shook her finger, "Rika you shouldn't be doing this.."

"Right. Well. Peace out!" she yelled over her shoulder.

Kohaku resigned, "Alright. See you tomorrow."

Rika walked in the middle of the street, ignoring the wheels screeching to a halt . And the various angry voices shouting all sorts of curse words at her vacant body. She didn't want to do this. But she had to. She had to survive and prove her mother wrong. She could take care of herself. She threw on a doctor's mask and threw on a hat, then put on some bright green sunglasses, all of which she bought at the local dollar store. "I'm ready." She pulled out the gun from her pants and rushed into the door, pointing it at random customers. "Alright, put all the money in the bag!" The cashier's face grew ashen, his hands flew into the air. She threw him an angry glare, which she realized a moment later that he couldn't see it anyway. "Just do this so I can leave! Now!" The man placed all the cash into a weaved sack and handed it to her over the counter. "Here sir!"

She sneered. At least they couldn't identify her gender. This could work for her."Yeah. Whatever-" she then saw a little girl with big brown eyes staring up at her. The little girl looked so innocent, her dark hair was up in cute curled pigtails, her tiny frame draped in a dull blue dress. "Why do you want to hurt daddy? He didn't do anything to you."

"I'm not going to hurt him." Rika assured the girl, "It's just I need this money, badly."

The little girl started to cry. "B-but why?" she broke into sobs.

Rika's voice was emotionless, "To survive." then she left.

Kohaku walked through the park hoping to avoid anyone she might know, or her mother might be friends with. There were spies everywhere. She had to be careful. She started to hum "Rose of May" from the Final Fantasy nine soundtrack. She skiped and turned three hundred and sixty degrees in the general direction of home. "Hm. It feels a little too cold…" she rubbed her arms for warmth. Kohaku pulled a sweater from her backpack. She draped it across her shoulders, and wrapped it around her neck. She glanced around for people. There was a young couple holding hands on a bench, and they didn't seem too cold. She shivered against the freezing wind that enveloped her. "What the heck…?" a man stepped out from the shadows. Kohaku's eyes grew wide and she started to run the opposite direction. 'Oh no, not another pervert after a young innocent girl's virginity…"

"Hello, Kohaku."

Kohaku froze. He knew her name. She shut her eyes and kept running. "Leave me alone!"

The man chuckled. He was right behind her. How could he keep up with her pace? She was practically sprinting through the park..and he was right on her tail the whole time! "I don't want any!"

He laughed out loud. "Talk to you later then. If you need me, you know where to find me."

Rika stared up at the white paint peeling off the ceiling. She stretched her legs and sat up in bed. She rubbed her eyes to get a clearer focus of the world around her. She glanced over at the clock and leaped out of bed fully nude. She threw back on her underwear and cargo pants, muttering curse words under her breath. She grabbed her bra from the dark brown bed post, and ran across the room to find her shirt in a big heap of clothes on the floor. She pulled her shirt from the mess and shouted, "Dammit!" there was a huge tear on the shoulder that ran down her right arm. "How..?"

"Hey baby-cakes." a man pranced out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He wasn't particularly handsome…but he had a lot of money. And that was all she needed.

She winced at his obvious flirt tactic, "Hey..could I have my money now? I really need to be getting home." he grinned and grabbed a fat stack of money from his jeans pocket, "Here ya go darlin'"

"Um. Thanks." and she ran out of the room, back out into dimly lit streets.

Rika briskly walked down the street., hoping to evade any creep that thought she was easy. She sighed, she couldn't fool herself. If the man had money..she would do anything for him. An icy wind blew through her hair and she shivered against the sudden burst of cold. "Huh..?" She sensed movement further up the street, so she tried to keep a pace that would stroll right past this mysterious person.

Suddenly she fell flat on her face. "What the hell?! Who?.." she looked up into the eyes of a man. She lifted herself up to her feet, and gazed at the man who stood towering over her. "Why'd you do that?"

"You're better than this, Rika." the man said.

She stared at the ground, gasping for breath, he knew her name. His voice sounded smooth and confident. She shook her head violently, "No! No I'm not! I am just like my mother. I'm no better than her! I don't deserve a good-"

The man smacked her across the face, "You want to be a whore the rest of your life? You're just going to give up your life like that? You really are a coward."

"I'm not a coward-"

"Then prove to me you are above this" he gestured towards the prostitutes attempting to gain his attention, "trash."

"But-"

His eyes turned a fiery red in the shadows, "Fine! Be a whore like your mother, as they say 'like mother like daughter'"

Rika burst into tears. She had never cried like this before. It wasn't becoming. But she didn't care if she poured out her heart to this stranger. "You're right…I am like her..but how..can I be 'above' this?"

He flashed a grin, "You'll have to find that out for yourself." and he was gone.