Happy Kagerou Days! (If that's even appropriate to say...) This is my first Kagerou Project fic. I'm so glad to finally officially join the KagePro fandom here on FF! I started watching KagePro early this year. If you want my whole intro on this, please check my profile!

Note: This revolves the fan theory about the type of abuse Kido experienced. I tried to incorporate an alternate theory as well.

Dedicated to my Ayano, Hei Ryung-unni. Thank you for being such a good older sister! Stay in touch!

R&R!

One, two, three, four, five, six. She counted the last flight of stairs, hopping up onto the landing on the fifth floor. Fishing in her school bag, she pulled out a key ring, a teddy bear charm and a single key dangling from it. Holding her breath, she slid the key blade into the lock, her hand trembling, and turned it as quietly as she could. She strained her ears for the almost-silent click of the lock. There, there it was. She released her breath, and it became a gentle puff of a cloud in the night that mingled with the still air. She pushed open the door slowly, minding the creak of the hinges.

The clock chimed. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. As she slid off her school shoes, her eyes fell on the familiar shiny, black shoes lying in disarray beside the door. Her shoulders began to shake. She tiptoed across the scuffed wooden floor, chiding herself when her slippery feet, wet with perspiration, squeaked.

The quiet sounds in the kitchen ceased, the radio's static becoming silence as the leg of a chair slid back and the glass clinked onto the table. As the heavy footsteps became closer and closer, she found herself counting again. One, two, three, four -

"Tsubomi!" the voice cried out angrily. "Where have you been all this time?!"

She barely kept herself from shuddering. "I've been at club activities, Papa," she replied, steadying her voice. She kept her thoughts to herself, but she knew this man was not her father. He couldn't be related to her, not with the cruelty he possessed. But she knew better than to say that, in fear of what would happen.

"You didn't call." His voice became slimy and she felt disgust wash over her. He knew she didn't have a cell phone; whenever she had asked, he had always been adamant in his refusal.

She wanted to clap her hands over her ears, but she knew there was no time. And she knew she would be beat. But her heart shivered as his last words met her ears.

"So now, it's time for a naughty little girl to get punished."

He pulled her down, hard, to the floor. She wanted to scream, but her mouth wouldn't open (and, besides, it had become dry). All she could do was watch numbly as his hands neared the bow of her school blouse, getting closer, closer, closer. She couldn't close her eyes, couldn't close her eyes against the nasty smirk on his face.

Her eyelids fluttered open as she sat up, her heart racing the shooting stars above. Her nightgown clung to her, sticky with sweat. She covered her eyes as her eyes filled with tears that spilled out at the rims.

"Why, why, why?" she whispered into the night.

But, as usual, there was no one to hear. It was rare that she got nightmares like this. And rarer still that she ever forgot one. Because it was too real to forget.

Because it had been her life.

Day after day, night after night, she had been terrified to go home. "Home" was a place of sickening dread where, each night, a bit of her innocence was stolen away. Her "father" had been cruel, and, every so often, when she was walking the streets, she'd think she seen his face and she'd conceal herself from the world. Because no man had the right to do to her what he had done.

Her "mother" had been an even more hopeless case. She had married him when Kido had just begun learning to speak. Only months into their marriage, he began hitting her. That was Kido's first memory: her "father" smacking her "mother" across the face and her "mother" standing still, defeated. When he began doing terrible things to Kido, her "mother" had gone and hid, taking Kido's "sister" with her. Behind the closed door they would be, hearing her screams until her throat was dry and her body battered.

At the thought, Kido trembled in her sheets. She needed to get up, needed to walk.

Standing up and stretching her arms, she stepped toward the only window in her room. Outside, the glow of streetlights dotted the sidewalks with light. Unfortunately, her window was angled so that, instead of looking out on the night traffic, it faced a dark alley (fortunately devoid of trash cans and the like). On most nights it was deserted. But tonight, there was someone out there. Two someones.

A man, his figure almost completely hidden in the darkness, grasped a woman's hand.

"Come on," his low voice growled. "Don't be scared. We're just going to have some fun."

The woman was struggling to get away from him, but her hand was caught in his hold.

"No! Stop! I don't know who you are!" she shrieked. "Don't touch me!"

Kido had heard enough. She knew what was going to happen, knew it all too well. But she was not going to stand there petrified, she was not going to go hide in her room like her mother had done; she was going to do something. Lacing up her high-tops, she threw on her hoodie and ran into the next room. There wasn't much time.

"Kano, wake up!" She pushed him, shaking his shoulders. "Shuuya! It's an emergency!"

The blond boy sat up immediately, almost knocking heads with her. "What is it?" His eyes shone dangerously red in the dark.

"There's no time! Come on! Outside, right now! Hurry!"

He pulled on his boots, and grabbing his hoodie, followed her as she ran out the front door. Rounding the corner, she pulled him back against the wall of their hideout. He could hear the screaming now.

"Oi, Kano, listen up! We've gotta stop him! Here's the plan..."

As she quickly whispered the plan to him, he nodded his head. He knew there was no room for mistakes. As tired as he was, this wasn't about him.

Leaning away, she let her eyes turn red. Kano watched, then turned away. It was his time now.

The red in his eyes brightened as he grew taller and his clothes became a blue uniform. In his hands, his phone (he was never without it, even when he slept) became a flashlight. The transformation almost complete, it was only a fraction of a second before his skinny arms became muscular.

He strode out into the mouth of the alley, beating his phone against the palm of his hand, as he assessed the situation. It wasn't good. The man had his hands on the woman's shoulders and had pressed her against a wall, even as she was fighting him and kicking at him. Kano was pretty sure the guy hadn't done anything yet, so it wasn't too late for their plan to be executed perfectly.

"Hey, you over there!" he shouted in a deep voice. As the man turned, Kano aimed the phone so the flashlight's light was directly in his face. "What're you doing?"

As soon as the attacker saw the uniform, his eyes grew wide and he released the woman, taking off running down the alley. Kano chased him, keeping his legs wide apart to give the illusion of a longer leg span. As soon as the man had run out into the main street, Kano let down the glamour. Becoming himself, he ran back to where the woman lay, sobbing on the concrete ground. Kido had already reappeared and was holding the woman by the shoulders, rocking her back and forth.

"I was so afraid," the lady cried. "I-I-"

She broke off, a set of loud, unseemly sounds coming from her throat. Regaining her composure, she began again, her voice still shaky, "I-I was j-just walking home. I-I w-was at a p-party at my f-friend's house a-and it h-had been g-getting late. I-I w-was c-coming d-down the street, when h-he came out o-of - ou-out of nowhere. I-I was so s-scared. He g-grabbed me and it was h-horrible. He w-was d-drunk and he just k-kept t-talking and c-calling me-" she hiccupped and her voice became hushed. Kano couldn't make out whatever name she had been called, but whatever it was, it must have been bad because Kido gasped.

He approached them loudly, letting them know he was there. Like a switch, his eyes were red in an instant.

"What's going on?" He made himself seem surprised to see them there, his eyes wide. "Oi, Tsubomi-chan, I thought we were going to meet - oh, hi."

"Shuuya-kun!" Kido looked up from the crying woman. Pulling the lady up to a sitting position, she said to her, "This is Shuuya-kun, my friend." The woman only nodded, gasping. "Ah, I'm sorry, Shuuya-kun. Emi-san...well, something happened. It'd be a long story, but, for now, she needs me."

He put on a concerned face (not that he wasn't already concerned; he just wanted to make sure it showed). "Is there anything I can do?"

Kido shook her head. "No. It's okay. Emi-san just needs someone to talk to and I don't know if-" she hesitated. "Emi-san, would it be alright if he listened?"

The woman nodded mutely, still leaning on the girl's arm. She murmured something incomprehensible to Kano's ears, but he figured it must have been agreement of some sort because Kido nodded.

As she pulled away from Kido's purple sweater, the lady's words came into focus. "B-but I w-was l-lucky...s-so lucky. T-the p-police, I-I don't know h-how, b-but it m-must have b-been a m-miracle, t-they f-found him. A-and an off-officer ch-chased him a-away." She wiped at her wet eyes with her hands. "Th-then, y-you found m-me, Tsubomi-chan."

"There, there; it's alright." Kido smiled warmly at her. "The police came in time. Nothing happened."

Left out of the whole spectacle, Kano couldn't help staring. He had never seen her this way; she could be friendly, yes, and welcoming, but Kido was never gentle. The way she held the woman made him think of a word his mind had never applied to Kido: motherly. And, in the dim moonlight, she was absolutely radiant.

In her arms, the woman kept sobbing, but the gasps were getting slower and slower and slower. Kido was becoming more and more concerned, the strain obvious on her face. "Emi-san, are you okay?"

"F-fine," she managed to choke out between hiccups. "I'm - hic - fine now. I - hic - think I'll be - hic - going now. My - hic - poor mother - hic - will be - hic - so worried. She - hic - worries about me - hic - even though I'm - hic - an adult." She gets to her feet, Kido following. "Thank - hic - you so much - hic -, Tsubomi-chan."

"It's no problem, Emi-san." Kano caught the tragic upturn of her lips that could never be mistaken as a smile (at least, not by him: he knew her too well). "It's what a friend does."

The lady grinned back. "Thank you." On legs as unsteady as a newborn fawn's, she made her way out of the alley and turned the corner without looking back. For the briefest moment, her face was lit and Kano realized she was much younger than he had thought: she looked

Kano stared in the direction she had left. He hoped she would be okay. He couldn't really compare anything he'd been through with what had happened to her, but he knew it must have been deeply traumatizing. Then he remembered something with a jolt: there was one person he knew who could relate to that, and that one person...

He turned his head to see her knees hit the ground.

Hard.

How did you like it? Please review! I'd like to get your opinion on what you think would/should/could happen next! (The next chapter will definitely include some KidoKano/KanoKido action.) Keep checking back for updates~!

~hisorako