The car slowed and turned into a driveway. Soujiro looked up at the house in front of him.

"This is your new home Soujiro. Doesn't it look nice?"

He stared at the house, while Ryuuzaki- san got out to get his things out of the trunk. Nice… A nice home. He got out to help her. He didn't have much; moving around as he did; he didn't accumulate a lot of stuff. He carried it to the porch and waved good-bye as she pulled out of the driveway. Then, he turned and opened the door.

Home…

Then the door shut, and the hell began.

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Megumi groaned and collapsed on her bed after Tomoe left. She was just too much to deal with. Such a tiring person… So self- centered. Megumi still had orders that needed to be filled out, but she didn't care. She considered not going to school the following day. But no, too many customers were expecting her. She sat up, and got back to work, carefully measuring out each amount, before placing it in a small bag and labeling it with the identification numbers of the customers and what was inside the bag. It was going to be another long night.

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Sano awoke on Kenshin's couch, to the sound of the redhead's mutterings. God, didn't that kid ever sleep? After sufficiently beating Sano multiple times in Soul Calibur, he had moved on to Ace Combat Zero. Now, he was playing some racing game. Sano shook his shoulder, and Kenshin jumped.

"Yo, it's morning. School's gonna start. We gotta get going. Come on."

"Yeah, I guess. Let me save first."

Sano yawned, and went to get his stuff. Of all the times he had come over to Kenshin's house, he couldn't remember him sleeping. Maybe he only slept when there was no one around? Maybe he slept during school. Sano didn't know, and he was too tired to think about it. The weekend was over, and school was beginning again.

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Misao sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in her hands. She wasn't even sure why she was drinking it, she felt perfectly awake, she had been for hours already. It certainly wasn't for the taste. After a moments thought, she left it on the table, hoping someone else would drink it.

She jogged down her driveway, and then did some stretches. Her mother was always saying she should join a sports team, since she seemed so athletic. But Misao's reasons for choosing art classes over sports went farther than not wanting to hang out with preps and jocks. It was more to the fact that her Aoshi- sama was an art student, and she created every situation possible for them to be together.

Even though he doesn't seem to know I exist…

But Misao was ever faithful that one day she would be discovered, if not for her art talent. She really wouldn't have minded art so much, if she had been any good at it. The fact simply was, she wasn't. She hoped to get up the nerve to ask Aoshi- sama to help her. But she hadn't yet.

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Aoshi glanced into Kaoru's room. Still asleep… she's going to be late if she doesn't get up soon.

He sighed and gently prodded her shoulder.

"Kaoru, it's time to get up, you're going to be late."

She groaned and rolled over, muttering to herself.

"I'm serious this time. You need to get up; we have to leave any minute. We're going to miss the train."

Still muttering, Kaoru sat up and stumbled out of bed. Aoshi left her groping for her clothes.

A few moments later, he returned, to find her back in bed.

"Okay, fine. You can stay in bed, but I have to go now."

At that Kaoru leaped out of bed. It's only when Aoshi says he has to leave that it means she really needs to get going. Scrabbling around, she called for him to wait, hopping down the stairs with one shoe on. He's already gotten her school things together, and made her lunch. He hands them to her as she yanks her jacket on.

"Kaoru, am I your mother?"

"No."

"Then why must we go through with this every morning?"

Kaoru shrugged. "Because you put up with it every morning."

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Soujiro's eyes snapped open. Morning… What time was it? The last echoes of dreams faded away, even as he tried to catch them. He was scared. A nightmare? He couldn't remember.

It occurred to him that he was lying on the floor, but he didn't know why. He started to sit up, hissing at the throbbing pain on his left side and along his arm. Pushing his sleeve up, he saw his left arm was lined with bruises. Getting shakily up, he stumbled to the kitchen. He had to get to a phone…

Hands trembling, he dialed the number and waited, feeling calmer already. On the other end, the phone was picked up.

"Hello?"

"Ryuuzaki- san? It's Soujiro. I need to-"

The line went dead.

Soujiro turned to face his new foster mother. The disconnected phone cord hung limp in her hand. Her other hand delivered a back- handed slap that sent him staggering.

"You are not to use the phone. You will earn your phone privileges. Is that clear?"

Soujiro nodded, unsure if he would get in more trouble by looking her in the eyes, or by looking away. He settled on a submissive, downcast look. She said nothing more, and he relaxed as her footsteps retreated. Then he tensed again as he heard another voice.

"So, you're the new one?"

He looked up to see a pale girl with smooth black hair and dark eyes staring at him.

"Who are you?"

"You won't do too well here with such forward questions as that. But, to answer it, my name is Tomoe, and I'll be your older sister starting today."

"Are you a foster child?"

"Nope. I got adopted by these psychos. But don't tell them I said that. Obviously you've experienced why. Speaking of which…" She strode towards him. Gently, so as not to cause further injury, she took his jaw in her hand and turned his head so she could see the damage.

"Yeah, she really got you. You're lip's split. And those damn manicured nails don't help. Hold on, I'll get you fixed up."

So saying, she sat him down at the kitchen table, and began to pull out all manner of bandages and disinfectants.

Soujiro was confused. In almost every house he had been in, it was a constant battle between the kids, as each fought for the parents' affection. But this house, and this girl, were different.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because I'm assuming that you'd do the same for me. Because, in this house, you need allies to survive. And because, for as long as you're here, it's going to be us versus them.

Chapter two, end.

Ahhh, good to have another chapter done! –stretches- Mmmm, questions?

How old are the characters?

Kenshin, Sano, Misao, Soujiro, and Kaoru are all 15-16. Aoshi, Megumi, and Tomoe are 17-19

Who is the protagonist of this story?

Uh, there isn't one. I tried to make all the characters fairly likeable, except Soujiro's parents. But they don't count. Tomoe you'll either love or you'll hate, depending on who you tend to favor more, Soujiro or Megumi. She doesn't seem that bad yet, but she'll get worse. ; I tried to have one character to represent each of the high school cliques.

Kenshin- gamer

Sano- tuner

Kaoru- punk?

Aoshi- artist

Misao- athletics?

Megumi- the girl people spread rumors about

Tomoe- She's sorta preppy, I guess

Soujiro- lonely, abused kid. (poor little guy)

Who's your favorite character?

Well, Soujiro's parts are, so far, the most fun to write. But I like Kenshin and Aoshi, because they possess my 'clique- defining' traits (gaming and drawing).

Do you like this story?

Uh, yeah. I'm not bored of it yet, at least. I just wish other people liked it… Second chapter and no reviews yet! sob

So, please people. Be kind. Review.