WIPE MY EYES

second chapter. Are you proud? If I can get past the third chapter I'll be really happy!

He didn't cry. He never cried when his sister beat him. He never begged for her to stop. He let her because he loved her. He only held her down when it was going to far. He let her scream at him and curse at him and burst into tears. He held her tight when she started babbling.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I love Hichigo, I love you. I'm sorry." he held her tight. He knew this was going to happen tomorrow. He knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself.

"It's alright, nee-chan. I'm not mad at you." no. he was never mad. But he was saddened. Saddened because it was all daddy's fault. If daddy hadn't beaten her, if daddy hadn't left them, maybe Saho wouldn't have to cry.

Saho struggled through life. Tried hard to keep them housed and fed. If her only escape was beating him, then that was alright.

"You're beat up again." Ichigo said as he sat at his desk. He turned when someone called his name.

"Yea..." he took out his notebook, carefully studying the expression Ichigo made. He flipped through. This note book was getting filled up, it had only been a few months. He traced out the curve of Ichigo's neck, the way his eyes searched for whoever was called him and then the way his lips twisted upwards when he found them. When he had finished, he flipped to the next page and began drawing what Saho-nee-chan looked like when she was younger. The way her dress flowered out, the way her hair swept beautifully passed her shoulders.

And then he thought about daddy. And the look of fear when nee-chan saw his face, the way she hurried him into the closet where his father never looked for him. Because all he wanted to see was his beautiful daughter. Daddy never loved him. All those years, if Saho-nee-chan hadn't done what she had, he might've been dead...

"She looks evil." he heard Ichigo comment. And when he looked at the drawing, he saw her fearful, teary-eyed face, and the rage and misery that lay behind it.

He quickly turned the page. He began drawing a broken winged bird instead. But that picture stayed in his mind.

Home again home again. He could hear crashing coming from the other side of the door. He wondered if Saho and her boyfriend Takanawa were having another fight. The door burst open and Takanawa stormed out of the house, hell's fury written all over his face. When Hichigo stepped inside, he saw his sister kneeling in the walkway to the kitchen.

"Nee-chan?" Hichigo asked, voice tiny. "Nee-chan, are you alright?" Saho looked up at him, her eyes red from crying.

"You!" she grabbed his hair, pulling him up the stairs. "I hate you. I hate you! Look, what you've done! We were going to get married!" Saho threw him to the ground, and began kicking him mercilessly, all the while stinging his heart with her poisonous half meant words.

Hichigo curled in on himself, letting her hit his back repeatedly. He felt her thin hand on his arm, and she began dragging him. Where, he didn't know. He didn't risk looking up. She threw him with all her strength into the bathroom walls. "Hichigo, you look so much like your father." her voice was sickly sweet. She raised a knife that Hichigo hadn't known she had. He wouldn't scream yet though. Maybe she was only trying to threaten him. The knife came crashing down on him arms, his legs, wherever she could reach. He never made a sound. When he cried, he made it worse.

He reached up, stalling the knife and pushing her away. He grabbed her, taking the knife from her. When she saw his blood splattered face, she choked. "I'm sorry I'm sorry. What have I done? My beautiful little brother! I'm sorry!" she cried and cried, holding him.

"It's alright nee-chan. They don't hurt." She looked at him, smiled faintly and traced her thumb along the curve of his cut up cheek.

The class was just as bright when Hichigo came in, just as happy, as if they didn't care what had happened to him last night. And nobody did. Save for Ichigo.

He was covered in band-aids from head to toe. When Ichigo saw him, the boy blanched. "What in god's name happened to you?! Are you gonna be alright?!"

"Ichigo, leave him alone, he sucks." Rukia drawled, sitting in his lap and wrapping an arm around his neck. Hichigo hated rukia. He hated her very much.

"He's my friend. And get off me."

"He's a loser. All he does is sit there and draw. And he stares at you all the time. I bet he's gay. He a fag and a weirdo. You have a creepy friend. I bet he has a whole bunch of weird drawings and stuff about you in that note book."

With each word, Hichigo wanted to make himself impossibly smaller. Everyone in class was listening to Rukia and staring at him. He wanted to die. Because some of what she said was true.

"And he's so emo. I bet he did all of that to himself so he could get attention." Rukia grabbed Hichigo's book off his desk, and she opened it. Hichigo recognized the page from the doodle at the top. That was the story about him and Ichigo. The one where Ichigo kissed him, among other things. Before Rukia could start reading it out loud, Ichigo swiped the book away from her.

"So what?! If he wants attention, he's got mine. If he wants to draw me, he can. If he wants to stare at me, let him. But Rukia, if you dare say those things about Hichigo ever again, I'm going to snap every bone in your body!" Ichigo glared at the shock struck Rukia, who sat down when the teacher came in. He handed the book to Hichigo with a smile. "Here you go."

Hichigo stared down at his desk. The room began filling with chatter again as everyone realized nothing more would happen.

"Hey. Don't mind her. She just wants me to like her. She hates it when I hang around other people." Hichigo said nothing. His vison was suddenly blurry. He wondered why. "Don't cry." Calloused fingers wiped his face, coming away wet. "I meant what I said, yea?" Ichigo was smiling at him when he looked up. It felt good when Ichigo smiled at him.

/wipe me eyes, see my tears/

OWARI

so so, what dya think? Dya like? I love Saho. I love her very much. She may be unstable, but I still love her. Reveiw reveiw!