Just a little before note, this story has been rewritten and a lot of things have changed. I hope I gain my old reviewers back with this new and very much improved story.

I do not own the Inuyasha characters. I do own the plot for Scars and Cuts and the characters Akira Takahashi and Katsuo Yamamoto.

Scars and Cuts

Chapter One

Tormented Daily, Defeated by You

The alarm clock buzzing in my ear is what woke me up this morning. For once I was relieved of that fact than it being my actual father who would have yelled in my ear if it wasn't for the fact that yesterday I locked my door. I normally leave it unlocked since my brother Kohaku is right down the hall and he usually comes into my room and sleeps with me when my dad gets like this. Up until this day I'm not sure what started his abusive nature. He had always been very nice and compassionate. He used to talk to us and tell us what was on his mind. But something had snapped inside him and now whenever he would get angry he'd take his frustration out on us. Maybe it was the fact that my mother left him to be with another man. I can't say I really blame her, who wants to be with an abusive husband? Too bad she didn't take us with her. I had assumed any mother would, but I guess since I was already in my last year of high school and Kohaku was in his freshman year she figured we would be alright on our own. I don't get how she got that but I suppose we did do alright.

It had been already five years that he abused us. The first year was the hardest, we had never been subjected to that kind of pain before, and every time he'd hit me, I would cry. But now, it was routine, and I didn't cry that much anymore. The only one I worried about was Kohaku. He didn't get hit as often as I did, and that was mainly because I would block the blows with my body so he wouldn't get hit. But I knew that times I wasn't there, whether it be I was with my friends or getting something from the grocery store, my brother was being abused. I always knew because Kohaku would sit in my room with the door locked, the only room that actually has a lock (my mom thought it would be a good idea so I could change in peace) and wait until I got home, even if that was late into the night, he wouldn't leave until I got there. After the first year was up, my mom left. I guess she couldn't take it anymore either. This was her high school sweetheart and I'm sure the blows hurt a million times more than they did to us. That was what I had assumed. No mother on earth would leave her kids; at least I wouldn't leave mine with an abusive parent.

Nobody, not even my best friend, knew I was abused. The reason they thought my mom left was because she had simply moved on and wanted to start her life anew with no kids at all. I swore to my friends she called every week to check on us, and surprisingly they bought it. The truth was she never called. We didn't even know where she was at and that made my dad crazy which in turn made him hit us.

If you would have told me at age seven that my dad would turn around an abuse us, I would have called you a caca head and stuck my tongue out at you. My dad had been my hero until he started abusing us. The first time he hit me, I lost all respect for him. I guess that would only be natural.

After rolling out of bed I silently walked over to my door and unlocked it. I opened it a crack and the house was silent. Either my dad was at work or was passed out on the couch for drinking too much. I quietly crept down to Kohaku's door and pressed my ear against it. I could hear his light snoring so I knew he was safe, for now. I went downstairs and it was empty. Walking further into the living room I saw that his car keys were gone, so it was safe to say he was at work. Moments like this made me swell with happiness, just to know we would have a good morning with no fresh marks on our face and no last minute excuses to our friends saying what happened. It was such a handful to always have to lie to my friends. But the less people knew about our private life, the better.

I walked up the stairs with a spring in my step and when I reached Kohaku's room I opened the door and saw him sprawled out on his bed, his long hair which was usually kept back in a ponytail was down and facing in every direction. I walked over to his blinds and pulled them up and he grunted out his dissatisfaction.

"Wake up sleepy head!" I said in a sing-song voice. He simply rolled over and mumbled out something that sounded awfully close to 'fuck off.' I wasn't having that. "Alright Kohaku, if you don't wake up I'm going to tickle you until you pee!" that is what woke him up.

"You're being too nice, is dad not here?" he asked rubbing his eyes while sitting up.

"Nope, it's just you and I little brother," I said smiling while walking over to his door. "Don't go back to sleep alright? I'm going to get dressed and when I come back you better be dressed."

He flicked me off and I had to laugh. Seeing my little brother doing stuff like that always made me smile. I guess I still saw him as the cute little boy in his high chair who had cake all over his face and body then in his actual stomach. Where did our innocence go? Oh wait, I remember…

I walked back into my room closing the door behind me. I walked to my closet and began looking for my school uniform. I knew I had one more clean one…ah there it is. I pulled it out and sighed. I hated the short skirts more than anything. I walked over to my dresser and selected my nude colored bra and began to undress. I winced as the fabric from my nightshirt brushed too hard against my bruises from last night. I hated when he would beat us during the week…it made it harder to concentrate in school when you had to focus on not leaning to hard against the wooden chair. Once the uniform was on correctly I walked to my mirror and began brushing out my thick brown hair. The school dress code said I had to wear it either braided or pulled all the way up on top of my head. I usually pulled it all the way up but since I was in such a good mood I took the time to braid it nicely. Satisfied at my hair I put on my usual magenta eye shadow, some eye liner and grabbed my chap stick so I could put it on after I brushed my teeth.

Walking out of my room carrying my long white socks I headed towards the bathroom at the same time Kohaku was. Once we reached it he shoved me aside and grabbed his toothbrush and mine also. I thought he was going to give it to me but instead he stuck it inside his pants pocket. I glared at him, that once glare that would make the strongest of demons even surrender to my gaze. He gulped and handed it back to me before grabbing the toothpaste and began brushing his teeth.

"That's what I thought," I said smugly and I did the same thing he did. He pushed me away from him and I pushed him back harder. He laughed and at the same time gagged from the toothpaste. I tried not to laugh so much and finished brushing my teeth. I rinsed out my mouth and sat down on the toilet with the cover down. "Do you have soccer practice today?"

He spit out the toothpaste. "Yup, I have practice today and tomorrow,"

I nodded my head in understanding and began putting on my white socks. He left me alone in the bathroom after awhile and when I looked back in the mirror I noticed a bruise I had on my chest. I scolded myself for being so careless and buttoned up the very last button, even though I hated it. I applied my chap stick and when I was done I closed the bathroom door so I could do my business.

"Sango, I'm leaving early!"

"Are you walking with Souta?" I asked while flushing the toilet.

"I'm meeting him on the way over there," he said while walking back into his room to grab his backpack. "I just got off the phone with him; he said Kagome was going to meet you here."

"She's coming here!" I yelled. I opened the door and saw his apologetic face.

"I tried to change her mind but you know Kagome, she won't change her mind once she's set it to something. Sorry sis," he said while giving me a one armed hug before walking down the hall.

"Don't worry about it; I'll just wait for her outside." I said quickly while heading to my room to get my last minute things. After grabbing my bag and my charm bracelet I walked to the kitchen.

I grabbed Kohaku's lunch out of the fridge and handed it to him. He muttered a thank you and a goodbye and left the house to meet his best friend. I pulled my lunch out as well and placed it on top of the counter. Reaching for a nearby drawer I grabbed a pair of chopsticks and mentally slapped myself for not giving Kohaku some as well. I shrugged it off and figured I could just give it to him at school. Going towards another drawer I pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and began writing a note to my dad. It basically said that Kohaku had soccer practice and that I had a group project I needed to work on (that part was a lie) with my friends. I opened up the fridge again and placed it where the beer was at, knowing he would see it there. I also knew he would probably slap me for that, but I figured a minor slap would be alright.

I grabbed my lunch while closing the fridge with my foot then walked towards the front door and put on my brown shoes. I opened the door while locking the bottom lock and closed it, wincing when the sunlight was too bright in my eyes. I walked towards the end of the sidewalk and waiting for Kagome to show up. A few minutes of waiting and I saw Kagome jogging up to me. She smiled widely and waved over at me. I waved back and gave her a similar smile and when she reached me she began huffing and puffing.

"You know, with all those stairs you have to climb you would think a simple run wouldn't wind you that badly. Maybe that's a sign for you to stop eating fast food all the time." I teased.

"Shut…up…Sango," she said in between breathes. I couldn't help but laugh at her. When she looked at me she glared but I could tell by her dark chocolate eyes she was only playing. "So, how was your evening last night?"

How was my evening last night? Oh right, I remember. It consisted of my dad screaming at us for making too much noise when the house was deadly silent. I remember the sting of the belt as it hit me over and over; I was taking the blows for Kohaku again. My dad hated when I did that…it just made him hit me harder. I suddenly remembered that Kagome was waiting for my answer and I put up a fake smile as I answered her.

"Kohaku and I watched movies for most of the evening," lie, I'm such a liar. "After that we got take out and it was a real hit," kind of true, but I'm still lying. "My dad didn't like it very much so he just opted for a frozen meal," that's an understatement, I thought to myself bitterly.

"Sounds a lot better than my evening," Kagome said rolling her eyes. "Inuyasha came over, you know how Souta adores him, and we argued most of the night about everything! What movie to watch, what to eat, what to drink, everything!"

I laughed at her endless rant about Inuyasha; they had been friends longer than both of us. They were pretty much raised together. Kagome's mom was his baby sitter when his mother was still working and ever since then, they had been inseparable. Up until this day I'm still not sure how their relationship lasted with all of their bickering and little fist fights (it was mainly Kagome who threw the first punch and I had never seen Inuyasha hit her before). Maybe it was because underneath it all, they had a real understanding for each other.

"Hello, Sango? Did you hear what I said?"

"What was that?"

"I said, did Miroku say anything about our math homework. He usually calls you first since he's in love with you,"

"Shut up, Kagome," I said glaring. "And no he didn't call me last night,"

Oh Miroku…where do I begin with him? Let's just say when he transferred to our middle school sixth grade year he had a thing for me. He says it was 'love at first sight' but if you ask me, I think it was because I have a big backside, or at least that's what Miroku said. The day he 'introduced' himself to me was when he groped me in the hallway…ever since that first punch he kind of held back from touching me there. It didn't work all the time though, I still felt that familiar hand on my butt every now and then but he usually ran off before I had a chance to slap him and he would stay away long enough so that when I did see him I would only glare at him. But he'd smile with that same 'I'm innocent' smile and when he did, my knees felt like I would fall on the floor and melt into a nice 'puddle of Sango.' Alright, so I had a small, tiny, you need a very powerful microscope to find it, crush on Miroku. I would never tell him since he was such a womanizer and I would most likely contract some kind of disease from him. I frowned at myself for thinking that, it was kind of mean. I shrugged my shoulders and glared at the stop sign in front of me and decided it was okay to think that since he was my best friend.

"Um, Sango are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"It looked like you were arguing with yourself about something," she said while reaching over to touch my forehead. "You're temperature seems fine, is something bothering you?"

"Nope, not all at," I said stopping at the end of the street. I pressed the button impatiently to change the walk sign. It wasn't on my side this morning.

"Sure, you can't lie to me Sango," Kagome said while staring at me from the corner of her eye. Oh, if she only knew how much I lied to her.

"I'm seriously fine, I just want to hurry up and get today over with," I sighed. I looked over at her. "Did you have any plans after school today?"

"Actually, Inuyasha wants to go to this new ramen store," we both rolled our eyes. "I swear that's all that boy eats. He said the store's supposed to have five new flavors that have never been introduced before. I think he's lying but he still wants me to go,"

I made a small noise but I wasn't sure if Kagome caught it or not. When the pedestrian sign turned green we walked across quickly, after a few more feet of walking Kagome began talking again.

"Why did you ask anyways?"

"I have no plans for tonight and my dad gave me permission to go out," lies, lies, and lies! "I had wanted to go out with you but you're ditching me for some new flavors of ramen," I teased.

"That's Inuyasha's idea! Not mine!" she exclaimed defending herself.

"Chill, Kagome, I was joking." I said laughing.

"Sure you were," she said letting out a small giggle. "Why don't you ask Miroku if he's doing anything? I'm sure that pervert would love to take you out."

"Like I'd really ask him, I'd rather go on a date with Hojo then him!" Kagome laughed at my joke and I had to join in. It was so easy to forget my home life when I was with Kagome, almost easy.

The school building finally came into view and we began looking for our friends. It wasn't hard to find Inuyasha or Miroku. We usually looked for Inuyasha's silver hair, always braided behind his back and his cute dog ears. The only person allowed to touch them was Kagome. Although, when I first met him, I just had to touch them also. And, right next to him on either side was Miroku and Kouga. Those were our friends; we were a really weird bunch. Kagome and I both saw Inuyasha's ears twitch and he turned around just in time to see Kagome squeal about his ears moving. This made Inuyasha's face turn red and even though we couldn't hear it, we knew he simply replied 'Feh!' it was his favorite sound after all.

"Hello Inuyasha!" Kagome said rather loudly making his ears go back.

"Do you have to yell so loudly?" Inuyasha barked back.

"I didn't think I was that loud, and you better watch how you talk to me or I won't go to that new ramen store with you," she threatened while crossing her arms.

I laughed quietly to myself; I didn't feel like drawing Inuyasha's anger towards myself. I stopped laughing when I felt a familiar presence surround me. I tensed up and turned around slowly to see Miroku standing next to me. He had his 'I'm innocent' smile and my heart did a flip. Curse this dumb crush!

"Houshi, you have one second to get the hell away from me," I growled. I saw him move a few inches away from me but other than that he stayed close to me. "Inuyasha, I have a question for you,"

His ears twitched and I tried to stifle a giggle, in which I failed miserably. He crossed his arms and glared at me. "What do you want?"

"How is Akira doing? I haven't heard from her in awhile," I said trying not to break the gaze. After awhile of staring he would squirm then look away, he's such a pansy ass.

"She's doing fine, she misses it here, that's what she tells me anyways," he said as his ears drooped.

The whole group got quiet. Akira is Inuyasha's younger sister who was not exactly an accident but she wasn't planned either. Needless to say, at one of the Takahashi's grand New Years parties Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi had a little too much to drink and thus, Akira was conceived. She was only a year younger than Inuyasha and ever since she was young, showed a great display of musical talent. As of now, she was attending Julliard, a music school in New York. Her father had to pull a lot of strings to get her in, but when Julliard finally confirmed that she could attend, she was on the next flight out. Well, after they thru her a big going away party. There were a lot of tears that night. She had been gone already three years and it seemed everything was going well for her.

"Maybe she'll be back when school ends," I said hopeful. I really missed that silly half-demon.

"Hopefully," he said while kicking the ground.

I thought all hope would be lost bug luckily, Kouga had something to say.

"Stop being so down mutt, it's not like you,"

"Fuck you, you mangy wolf," Inuyasha shot back.

Kagome was the first to break the silence with her laughter. At least our loveable Inuyasha was back. I looked to the side of me and Miroku was laughing too. For a pervert, he had a beautiful smile. Unlike any other smile I had ever seen. Oh and his eyes…so beautiful. Uhh I need to get a grip! There was a shrill noise and when we all groaned. School was about to start.

"Well, I'll see you guys at lunch!" Kagome said waving goodbye. Inuyasha followed behind her and Kouga, being a jerk, jumped on Inuyasha's back nearly making him fall over in the process.

I shook my head as the two began arguing while an irritated Kagome marched into the building leaving the two immature boys alone. I was still very much aware of Miroku beside me but I was so paranoid to say anything to him. That was until he spoke first.

"So, what are you doing today?" he asked while motioning for me to follow him into the building.

"Nothing actually, I need something to do since my dad gave me permission to go out," and yet the lies keep spilling out. It's hard enough lying to Kagome, but to Miroku, it's almost impossible. "Kohaku has soccer practice so we can't have our annual brother and sister time."

"Well, if it's alright with you, would you want to do something with me?"

I looked up at him and nearly tripped over my own feet in the process. He had to grab onto my arm so I wouldn't fall over. I got tingles up my arm and I had to calm myself down. I looked back into his blue/purple eyes and I saw pure adoration coming from his orbs.

"Uh, sure that would be alright. I was actually going to see if you had anything you would want to do…"

"We can always go to my house, if you want to," he said smirking.

"You're gonna end up raping me if I go over," I said bluntly. Not only that, but my father would kill me if he ever figured out I went to a boys house. Hell he doesn't even know I have three guy best friends.

"I promise I won't rape you," he said crossing his heart. At this point we had made it into the school. I looked at him for a long time then finally sighed.

"Alright, I'll meet you in the front after school,"

He smiled at me again and here come the butterflies again. He said something about meeting me right after our last class, which was gym. He told me that he had something to do before he went to class (we all had the same homeroom) and would be there as soon as possible. I waved goodbye to him and headed towards our classroom and sat down in my seat which was in between Kouga and Inuyasha. They were bickering about something and even though I had sat in between them they still kept going at it. I put my head on my desk and sighed.

"You two fight like an old married couple, can't you just kiss and make up?" I muttered out, knowing their keen demon ears would hear that.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" they both yelled at the same time.

Instead of answering, I just ignored them and sighed heavily. I suddenly felt tired and it took me awhile to realize it was because of the stupid bruises on my back. They had bugged me all night and I usually sleep on my back but I had to sleep on only my stomach which got really uncomfortable. Not to mention my breast felt like they had been pushed to being an A-cup instead of my regular C-cup. I looked up just in time to see Miroku walk into the door and followed behind him was the teacher. He took his seat in back of me and in a matter of minutes, class had begun.

At Lunch

One thing about school, it sucks. If I hadn't been trying to get into a good college I wouldn't have even bothered going to school at all. But I figured since I was already going to graduate, might as well stay. We usually ate lunch on the roof of the school, along with a lot of other students. We had our spot that we always would sit in and Kouga, since he ran the fastest, would go and save it for us so no one else would sit there. He was very territorial of stuff like that. I was on my way upstairs with the rest of the gang when I remembered I had to give Kohaku some chopsticks. After explaining it to them, I headed off towards Kohaku's class. When I got to his homeroom, I knocked on the door, and then opened it while bowing.

"Excuse me, I need to see Kohaku for a moment, I must pass something along to him,"

"I'm sorry, Miss. Taijaiya but he was called into the office just a moment before you arrived. I think your father is here," the teacher said smiling.

I felt the color drain from my face. I stuttered out a quick thank you while slamming the door shut and I ran like hell towards the office. When I reached it, only the usual secretary was there. I cursed to myself and ran outside, even though it wasn't allowed. I ran toward the front of the school and when I didn't see his car parked out there I panicked even more. Was it possible he took Kohaku home? Why did he come to the school for anyways? I could feel my heart pounding harder and harder then it dawned on me. Kohaku had soccer practice, the field was far enough away that nobody would be passing by it during lunch and if someone did pass by; they wouldn't be able to see anyone. Without thinking I ran with all my might towards the field, hoping I'd get there in time.

When I arrived I didn't see anything at first, but once I got closer and closer I could hear my dad yelling at Kohaku about something, and I could hear Kohaku crying out in pain. Without thinking yet again, I ran toward the sound and when I saw them I felt the tears come to my eyes. I never liked seeing my brother in pain, and seeing him getting beaten by a stick was something so horrible, so unimaginable, that I thought I was imagining it. He only hit us with his fist, or kicked us with his feet; I had never seen him hit us with an object. When I reached my father, I pushed him so hard that he fell on his backside. I stood in front of Kohaku who was crying silently on the ground. When my dad looked at me, I knew I was in deep shit.

"Sango, how nice to see you," he said, his voice dripping with venom.

"The feelings mutual," I said with no emotion. I didn't move anything but my eyes as I watched him get off the ground. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to pay my son a visit, is that so bad?" he asked. "His teacher called me and said he got a failing grade on one of his test, I expected more from him."

I didn't say anything as he moved closer to me. When he was arms length away from me, his hand met my cheek in a sickening slap. I felt my head snap to the side and my eyes screwed shut so I wouldn't let any tears escape. I heard Kohaku gasp and I felt his hand grab my ankle.

"Why do you always get in the way, my dearest Sango?" I hated when he called me that. It made it seem like everything was ok, when nothing was ok. "How did you know I was out here?"

"I went to take Kohaku some chopsticks; I forgot to give them to him this morning. When I went to his classroom the teacher said he was called into the office because you were here." I said looking up at him. "I assumed you read the note so you took him over here so no one would see you,"

"Very smart, my little girl," he stepped back from me and when he did I reached down and pulled Kohaku off the floor. He winced in pain and I nearly lost it. It was one thing to hit me, but an entirely different thing to hit my brother.

"I think you should leave dad," I said in a quiet voice. "I'll be home a little late tonight, but when I get home you can punish me."

He smirked. "Sounds like a plan my lovely girl, I'll see you later on,"

I watched as he left the school grounds. I didn't take my eyes off of him until he turned the corner and was out of sight. I looked over at Kohaku and he had stopped crying. I could see the tears still in his eyes and when he looked at me he tried to smile. I reached out to him and he hugged me as tightly as he could without hurting my own bruises in the process. He began to cry again and I held onto him. We stayed like that for three minutes and when I pulled away he calmed down.

"Do you want to leave?"

"Where can I go Sango?" he asked. "We have nowhere to go to escape that…that monster,"

"I know…I'm sorry I said that. You can always go to the shrine, I'm sure Kagome's mom would understand if you told her you weren't feeling well and you can't go home because dad isn't there,"

"I can't, I have soccer practice," Kohaku answered running his hand through his bangs. "Coach said that he really needed me to go today, I think he's gonna talk to me about being on varsity next year instead of junior varsity, which is really good, he only chooses two players and I think he's going to pick Souta and I,"

"That's great, brother," I said smiling proudly at him. "I'm sure you'll do great, and I promise right now I'll go to every single one of your games,"

He smiled at me and for that moment, I was glad to have my brother back. Kohaku waited a little while to calm down enough and after I gave him his chopsticks in which he laughed, he went back to his class. I decided to head towards the bathroom to look at the red welt on my face. It didn't look to bad, but when I touched it, it hurt like hell. I sighed in frustration and grabbed some paper towels and wet them with cold water then placed it on my throbbing cheek. The cold water felt amazing on my cheek and I let out a small sigh of relief. I took off my cold compress again and it looked less red than it had been earlier.

Smiling with victory, I threw the paper towel into the trashcan and made my way back up to the roof. Lunch would be over soon but if I hurried I would probably be able to finish most of my lunch. I reached the roof and my friends were laughing about something or other. I joined then and the minute the lid came off of my binto box I hurriedly began to eat it.

"Sango, hello, did you not hear me?"

"What is it?" I said looking up at Miroku.

"I said, what happened to your cheek, it's kind of red," he said reaching over and touching it lightly.

I shrugged my shoulders, "It must have been a bug bite or something,"

He continued to stare at me long after I told him that lie. Was it possible he knew what had happened? There's no way he could have seen from here, unless he went to look for me. Oh please let that not be the case. I don't know what I would do if someone actually knew about our home life. I would probably die of shame, if not from my father's hands. If anyone from my friends found out they'd probably kill him, namely Inuyasha and Kouga. Well, Miroku might kill him too…but just the thought of his innocent hands killing my father made me cringe.

Did I just say his innocent hands? Something is wrong with me, maybe I should take my own advice and go to Kagome's house and ask Ms. Higurashi to tend for me instead. I sighed and continued eating my food. The sound of the bell nearly made me jump. Everyone said their goodbyes and left the roof, Inuyasha and Kagome walked off together and I saw Kouga head off towards where Ayame was at. It was obvious that he liked her, and very obvious that she liked him. Why the two wolf demons didn't get together was beyond me.

"Sango, are you coming?" Miroku asked from near the door.

"I'll be right down," I said while closing my binto box. I packed it all and my stuff and stood stretching. Out of curiosity I walked over to where the soccer field was and grinned in satisfaction, you couldn't see anything from this angle, let alone any of the other angles.

Miroku once again yelled out my name and I headed back towards where he was at. I smiled at him widely and when he smiled back, I could see something was wrong. His eyes didn't shine with the usual mischievous they usually had. Did he really see what happened?

"Are you alright?" I asked him anyways.

"I'm just a little…" he said but stopped. I could tell he was searching for the right word but he was having a hard time finding it. "I'll be alright; did you still want to hang out after school today?"

I thought about it for a little while. If I canceled on him he would know something was up, and if I did go he would eventually bring it up. I was screwed either way.

"Of course, I said I would, didn't I?" he smiled again, this time his orbs shined with happiness and I nearly fell down the stairs.

"You're really clumsy today, you know that?" he teased. "I might just have to carry you all the way to class,"

"Like you really could, Houshi," I teased back. Suddenly I was up in the air and I could feel Miroku's muscular arms holding me. "Houshi what are you doing? Put me down!"

"I could hear that challenge in your voice, Sango. So I picked you up," he said while nearly running down the stairs. "And I'm not putting you down until we reach our class,"

"Miroku we're going to get written up for P.D.A. and it would be ridiculous since I'm not even you girlfriend now put me down!" I could feel him grab on tighter and when he did I let out a yelp. Curse these stupid bruises…

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked while putting me down. "Did I hurt you?"

"Oh, it's nothing at all," I said nervously. I fixed my skirt without looking at him and I began walking away from him. "Hurry up we're going to be late." I didn't once look behind me to see if he was following me, I was scared on what I would see. Because deep down inside, I knew that he knew my secret, and that scared me more than my dad beating me until I couldn't move anymore. My secret was out, and there was no stopping it now.

After School

The rest of the day I was nervous. I had been dreading this moment ever since my dad first hit us, someone finally knew who wasn't in my immediate family and it was Miroku of all people. I couldn't necessarily be sure if it was true or not and I didn't know what I would do if he asked me out front. I could lie to him, but what would be the point? If he saw what had happened, he would call me out and I would be forced to spill my guts to him. No, I wouldn't do that. I'll just tell him I said something in decent so he slapped me. Yeah, that sounds good. I'll just tell him that and—

"Hey Sango, are you ready to leave?"

I was interrupted with my thoughts by none other than Miroku himself. He had his bag slung over one arm and it made him seem very attractive…snap out of it Sango! I nodded my head to him and we headed off in the direction of his car. The walk was silent and I figured that the car ride would be silent to, at least by us. Miroku always had music playing in his car no matter what the occasion. Finally reaching his car (don't ask me what it is, I don't speak car and driver) he unlocked the door for me and I got in. When he joined me in his vehicle he started up the engine and sped off. Silent, like I assumed, except for the music playing.

"So, was there anything specific you wanted to do?" he asked while changing the song with a button on the steering wheel.

"No, we can do whatever you wish,"

"Whatever I wish, you say?" he said smirking.

"Almost anything…" I mumbled lower into my seat. Why did he have to be such a pervert all the time?

He didn't say anything, just kept his smirk planted on his face. I looked out of the window for most of the ride, only looking at him every few minutes or so. I wasn't sure of what he was thinking or what we were going to do, I just hoped it wasn't anything that would make me uncomfortable. He turned down the street that would take us to his house and when we reached it he parked it in the street, meaning he was going to be leaving somewhere soon. I hoped that is wasn't to my house to kill my dad. That would be the worst. Well…in terms of Miroku possibly going to jail that is.

"C'mon Sango, it's gonna get hot if you sit in the car the rest of the afternoon,"

Looking up I noticed he had the engine off and was out of the car, his gaze on mine. I quickly unbuckled my seatbelt and got out, my face turning red. This day was just getting worse and worse. I followed him up the pathway and when he opened the door I was greeted with incense. It was always the same smell; I could never remember the name though. I usually just called it 'Miroku's smell' and he would laugh about it. I breathed in deeply, thankful that it wasn't the smell I usually smelled when I would go home. It always smelt of beer and cigarette smoke. That smell usually would travel to my room and I would be forced to open my window to try and make the smell go away. It never worked.

I sat down on the couch and placed my bag on the coffee table. I could hear Miroku go into his room to most likely put his bag away and change out of his school uniform. He, Inuyasha, and Kouga usually always complained about it trying to strangle them. I giggled lightly and reached for the band that was holding my hair together. I was about to pull it out when Miroku came back wearing just a plain white shirt and a pair of blue jeans. I tried not look too much, but I wasn't very successful.

"My, my, Sango, it seems as though you are checking me out," Miroku said smugly.

"Shut up," I growled out. He put his hands up in a general defense and laughed at my expression I was guessing. He walked into the kitchen and I could hear him getting out a pot and two cups. How that boy loved his tea…

I grabbed for the T.V. remote and pressed the power button. I changed the channel to a cartoon station and watched the random show. A couple of minutes later Miroku came back with two cups of warm tea. He handed one cup to me and I smiled. No lemon, just how I liked it and I was sure there were exactly four spoons of sugar with one spoon of honey. I took a sip and sighed out my satisfaction. I heard Miroku chuckle, but I ignored him.

"Are we going to watch this the whole time you're here?" he asked.

"I had planned on it, why do you want to watch something else?"

"Now that you mention it, I got a new porn movie and I'd really want to watch it with you. There are some really interesting positions I would like to try with you,"

"You're hilarious, you pervert," I said trying to contain myself. I had this perfect mental image of me 'accidently' spilling my tea all over his groin. Oh how I could already hear him scream in pain.

"Uhh, Sango, that smirk is starting to scare me," Miroku said nervously.

"Oh, I'm sorry Houshi, I was just imagining what it would be like to spill my tea on you accidently, you know, right where it matters the most," I grinned in satisfaction when he grimaced and placed a pillow over said area.

"You really scare me sometimes, Sango,"

I smiled widely at him and he laughed. It went like this for awhile, Miroku saying some perverted thing to me, and me threatening his 'thing' every time he said such nonsense. We laughed at the kid show that was on for its corniness. How these anime people came up with all of their shows, we had no idea. After about two more cups of tea Miroku decided it was time for food. I wasn't really hungry so I told him to go ahead and make something only for him. He protested at first but when I assured him again that I wasn't hungry, he finally gave up and went to make himself something to eat.

I began to change the channels again and settled on a movie that seemed interesting enough. That was until I realized the young woman was being abused by her college sweetheart, now her husband. I quickly changed the channel, not wanting to watch such a movie when it was possible the man in the other room knew my secret. I wonder if he's actually going to talk to me about it…and if he was when? I couldn't stand this anticipation and if he didn't bring it up I was going to leave. Awhile later Miroku came back with a plate of I'm not sure what, but I didn't feel like questioning it. He ate it silently while I changed the channel. Figured the only good thing would be that movie about the abused wife. I admitted silent defeat to myself and put it back on the channel I was watching before. I tried to remain as calm as possible every time he would hit her, but I would flinch when I saw his fist collide with her face. It just reminded me of when that man would hit me.

"Are you feeling alright Sango? You're face is kind of pale," he said reaching his hand over to feel my forehead for a fever I knew wasn't there.

"I'm fine," I said in a small voice. He didn't buy it. He placed his plate on the coffee table and looked at me.

"Sango, I need to talk to you about something,"

I froze on the spot. I literally felt every single part of my body becoming numb and I knew what he was going to ask. I looked over at him slowly and just looking into his eyes, I knew.

"What do you want to talk about?" I asked him, trying not to let my panic show.

"I saw something, today that made me kind of…shocked," he said, his eyes never leaving mine. I waited for it; I waited for him to tell me he knew my dad hit me. "I saw that you wear black boy shorts for your underwear type,"

Black…boy…shorts? I felt my lips open up into an 'o' and I saw Miroku's face change from serious to playfulness in a matter of seconds. I had no idea what to say to that. After stuttering for a few seconds I finally found the words.

"Black boy shorts? Is that seriously what you were going to say?" I asked. I was surprisingly not mad at him. More like relieved that he didn't know.

"Yup, I saw them when you went to look over the rail at school on the roof," he said leaning back into the couch while putting his arms behind his head. "I must admit, Sango, I thought you were the type to wear little pink bikini style underwear, like Kagome wears."

"I'm gonna tell Inuyasha you were looking up Kagome's skirt," I threatened.

"He's the one who told me," he said picking up his hands in defense, hearing that I just had to laugh.

"I can't believe our Inuyasha is secretly a pervert,"

"Of course he is, I taught him everything,"

"Shut up, Miroku," I said smiling. I looked over at the clock and sighed, it was time for me to leave. "Can you give me a ride home?"

"Sure, do you have to leave right now?"

"Yes, I do," I said standing up and stretching. I was about to bend over and get my bag but I realized Miroku was staring at my rear and I decided against it. "Miroku can you take my bag for me? I don't want you to see my boy shorts again,"

"Damn, I was hoping you would have bent over," he sighed. He got up and grabbed my bag then handed it to me. "Let us be on our way, shall we?" I nodded my head and he led the way out.

The car ride was silent again. He was humming along to the song and I looked out the window at the familiar scenery. I was thinking about how he just changed on it like that. Did he actually see my dad hitting us? Or was he just trying to tease me because he knew I was so tense. Whatever it was, I'm glad he didn't say anything about the abuse.

"Alright, Sango, we are at your house," he said putting the car into park. He looked over at me and smiled. "Maybe you should give me your boy shorts some time; I would love to have them,"

"I bet you would, you per—" I didn't finish my sentence. Right by our driveway was a car I had never seen before. I could feel my spirits lift, had mom finally come back? I hope so! "Thanks for the ride, Miroku, I'll see you tomorrow ok?"

"Alright, bye Sango," he said while looking at the car I was looking at. Before he could ask any questions I slammed the door shut and ran towards the house.

I heard him drive away and when I looked at the car again I saw someone sitting inside. It was a man I had never seen before. I stopped entirely and stared at him.

"Excuse me, do I know you?" I asked him.

"Um, no, but I know your mom," he said nervously. "She's inside talking to your dad,"

Upon hearing the news I ran inside, I hoped he wasn't hitting her. I mean she had finally come home and he was going to start hitting her? The man in the car though, who was he? I had never seen him before in my whole life.

I walked into the house and everything seemed well enough. I could hear a voice coming from what I thought was my parents' bedroom, but when I came closer I saw that it was coming from Kohaku's room. I walked closer to the door and when I peaked inside I saw Kohaku sitting on his bed, his head in his hands, and my father standing there glaring. I walked a little more and I saw my mother.

When she was living here, she had long hair but now it was short, almost like Ms. Higurashi's hair. There was something else to; she wasn't wearing any make up. She always had to wear make up to hide all the bruises on her face and arms. But now, she was completely bare. I walked fully into the room and Kohaku sensed my presence. He looked up right away and I saw the tears in his eyes.

"What's going on?" I asked when I saw his eyes. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

"I came to take Kohaku with me," she said, she hadn't looked at me yet.

"Where are you taking him?" I asked again. I could feel something brewing inside me, and I wasn't sure what it was.

"He's coming to live with me," she still hadn't looked at me. "The divorce has been finalized and I've got a court order to take Kohaku with me."

"What do you mean by court order?" I asked once again. "How come we didn't go to the hearings?"

"There was no need for you to be there," she answered. She was packing Kohaku's clothes in a large suite case that was sitting on his bed. Kohaku was still crying and my dad was just standing there while she packed.

"Wait, am I going to?" I asked hopeful. Finally, my mother looked up at me, and I could see it in her eyes. "I'm not…"

"I'm sorry, Sango, the judge said that you are of age and I can't legally take you away. Kohaku has to come with me, whether he likes it or not."

"Can't I just go with you anyways? If I'm old enough to choose it for myself can't I go with you?"

"I tried that approach too, but the judge said that if you were to come with me your father could charge me with kidnapping," she moved back towards my brother's closet and I was just standing there.

"What will happen if I do leave with you?"

"I'll press charges," I heard my dad say. "It's bad enough she's taking that piece of shit with her, I'm not letting her take you too,"

"Don't call my son that!" she yelled at him. I had never heard her yell at him like that before and I was a little shocked.

"I can call him whatever I want! And if he was your son you wouldn't have left him here with me you filthy whore! You would have taken him with you with that bastard outside!"

I didn't say anything as they argued over Kohaku and me. I just focused on my brother who was just sitting there, in as much shock as I was. He looked up at me and tried to smile but he couldn't force his lips up. After awhile of arguing my mother had managed to close his suite case and she pulled it up, not even wavering once with its weight.

"Come on, Kohaku, Takeshi is waiting for us in the car." My mother walked passed me and when she did I could see the tears evident in her eyes.

Kohaku stood up and walked passed me. He stopped outside his door frame and I could see the guilt in his eyes. Guilt of leaving me here I guess. He kept on walking and when he was out of sight my dad pushed me out of the way and I nearly fell to the floor. I caught my balance against the dresser and I quietly followed behind him towards the window. I saw him yelling at my mother as she placed my brother's clothes in the trunk of Takeshi's trunk. Kohaku was already sitting in the backseat with his seatbelt on, just looking down at the floor of the car. Takeshi had the car running already and was standing next to his door, tense. My mother finally got into the car and so did Takeshi. I watched as they drove off and I couldn't help but let the tears fall from my eyes.

It took me awhile to realize my dad was standing right next to me. What did finally wake me, was when his hand reached out and slapped me on the same cheek he had hit earlier today. I nearly fell to the ground again and when I was trying to fix myself my dad hit me again, this time with his fist. I cried out in pain, which must have set him off more because he hit me again right in my ribs knocking the air out of me. I tried crawling towards my room to put some distance between us but he grabbed my leg and pulled me back, kicking me in the process. I cried out again and he kicked me harder. The bruises were going to be bad this time…and I was too busy trying to figure out how I was going to cover the bruises on my knees and lower thighs. I heard him take off his belt and then I felt it collide with my back again. Tears sprung from my eyes as the belt hit me over and over again. He hit me a few more times then he stopped completely. He went to the kitchen and I figured I was safe for now. I began to get up but it hurt too much to even apply pressure to my arms. I began to pull myself across the floor instead. When I was near the hallway I felt my dad step on my back. I let out a cry of pain and he stepped down harder.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I didn't answer; instead I just lay there, waiting for him to say something. I heard him open his beer can and take a long drink from it. When he was done with it he threw the can and I felt it hit the back of my head. It could already feel a headache coming on from it. He removed his foot from my back.

"Go to your room, I can't even stand to look at you!" he went back into the kitchen, grabbed another beer, and sat down on the couch to watch trash T.V.

I tried once again to stand up but my legs weren't having it, instead I crawled like I had been earlier and I finally made it to my room. Once in I reached up and locked the door then crawled over to my bed. I used the edge of the bed to pull myself up and I had to bite my lower lip to keep from crying out in pain. I could taste blood from my lip and when I was finally on both legs I slowly made my way over to my mirror. I began to undress myself and when all my clothes were off, including my bra and underwear, I began to cry again.

Almost every inch of my body was covered in bruises. Big, dark, black ones covered my sides, and when I turned around the bruises on my back were a lot worse than they had been before. I could see around my right ankle the bruises of fingerprints. I didn't think my dad grabbed me that hard… I looked at my face and that same cheek from before now had a bruise on it from being hit three times. I grabbed the hair tie and pulled it off and I began to unbraid my hair. It landed lightly over my bruises but even that made it sting from pain.

I walked over to my closet and pulled out some stretchy pants and a long sleeved loose shirt. I returned to my dresser and pulled out clean undergarments. I carefully dressed myself and when I was done I went to lie on my bed, slowly getting on and lowering myself. I lay there for a few minutes and I remember thinking, thank goodness Kohaku isn't here anymore…

A Little after One

I'm not sure on what woke me up, but I was glad. I looked at the clock on my end table and it said it was fourteen minutes after one. I slowly got up and winced when my back arched a little, making the bruises hurt. I went towards the door and unlocked then opened it. It was dead silent in my house. I could hear my dad's heavy snoring coming from his room and I was glad he was sleeping.

I quietly made my way over to the bathroom and when I walked in there was a mess everywhere. What I mean by mess was well…it seems my dad had some company over and he got his 'mess' all over the floor. I felt the vomit start coming up so I turned around and went as quickly as I could to my room, shutting the door quietly behind me.

Once I had locked it I looked around my room. There was a picture on my wall of when Kohaku was first born; I was holding him in my arms. I was proud to be a big sister. There was another of him and me at a carnival. We were just getting off of a ride and we smiled real big just for the camera. For some reason, I reached over and took them down and placed them on my dresser. Why couldn't it be like this now? Why did we have to start getting abused? Why did my mom have to leave then come back just to take him away? Why did I have to stay here?

All these questions were swarming around in my head. I didn't have the answer to all of them, but I did to one. I didn't have to stay here and be abused. I could easily move out if I wanted to. I didn't know where I could go, but I'd rather live on the streets than in this hell. I went to my closet and grabbed out a bag big enough to carry all of my school uniforms and some of my regular clothes. After placing them all in there I went to my dresser and grabbed all of my socks, underwear, and bras and placed them in there as well. I went around my room grabbing all of the items I knew I would need, including my laptop. I exited my room and retrieved my toothbrush quickly, to disturbed to stay in there long enough because of the mess. I went back to my room and locked the door again and continued to pack everything including my shoes. I went to my jewelry box and pulled out various items from in there as well. One thing I left behind was the necklace my dad had given me when I was younger. It said 'daddy's girl' in cursive and ever since he started hitting us I refused to wear it.

I returned to my dresser and carefully took off the shirt I was wearing and placed it in my bag as well. I pulled out a spaghetti strap black shirt and put it on carefully then put on a black jacket. I grabbed my black vans and my bag and carried them all to the living room as quietly as possible. I placed them by the door then went back into my room for the last time. I picked up my school bag and when I was about to turn off the light I saw the two pictures of Kohaku and me. I walked back to my dresser and grabbed them, and then I turned and walked out of my room, turning off the light behind me and locking the door before I closed it for the last time.

When I reached the living room I placed my school shoes and house shoes into my bag and put on my vans. I quickly entered the security code so I could exit my house and took one more look around. I prayed I would never have to come back to this house. Without hesitation I opened the door with all of my stuff and closed the door to my past behind me.

I would like to thank my cousin Samantha for yelling at me to update on my stories. If she wouldn't have yelled at me then I would have never gotten off my lazy ass to write this. So I think you, Sammy-chan. This chapter is for you!

Remember, reviews make the world go round,

Inumel-mel

p.s. Follow my story on twitter! (at)Inumel(underscore)mel