The apartment was simple; it had a living room with two blue sofas facing each other, a glass table with metal edges in between the two. On the surface, a clear flower vase with blooming irises rested in the middle of it, several fingerprints on it. In the corner of the living room, near the kitchen counter, was a small wooden table with a mess of papers on it. Some were taxes, some were mortgage, and others were personal letters. A wooden chair with no back was under it, its four legs crooked. In the other corner of the room, near the door, was a Toshiba television screen, having a built-in DVD and VCR set. In the kitchen was a counter with a sink and dishwasher, the cupboards sticking to the roof and white wall. The immense refrigerator sat near the entrance. It almost seemed bare, but there wasn't much the inhabitants needed in a small, simple kitchen. Down the hall, which was near the kitchen, were three closed doors, two being on the right and one being on the left. The front door made a clicking sound and a figure opened the door, letting the cool dawn air blow in. Daisuke lightly threw the door closed and looked around the dark apartment. It looked the same. But nothing was the same for him anymore.

He impatiently waited for the slightest sound of movement from the hallway. All he heard was light snores. Daisuke smirked and walked down the hall, carefully avoiding the creaky places, and walked to his bedroom's door, which was on the right. He stared at the door for a moment. There was a poster with huge, black words. It read:

DO NOT ENTER IF YOU DESIRE TO LIVE

Daisuke lips curled into a frown. He didn't want to live. Not at all. He turned the door knob and pushed the door open, gazing at his room. It was slightly messy; the pillows were on the floor, the clothes were on the bottom of a bunk bed, the walls were painted black, and the curtains had holes. If one was to observe the area closely, they would see a cockroach or two crawling around. He smirked again. The one place he could think without be disturbed by his parents or sibling. Daisuke rushed to his bunk bed and climbed a small wooden ladder. Once he reached the top, he dragged himself into his black mattress and sighed. Daisuke was tired, despite the eleven hour slumber he had at the park. Then again, he stayed up all night the other day, so he supposed he needed much more sleep. In fact, he was more of a night person than a morning person now. It was his new routine.

He bit his lip as he felt a stinging feeling at his arm. Daisuke took out his right hand and slowly pushed up his left jacket sleeve. On his reddened skin were deep cuts, ones from knives. He had taken up cutting. His family didn't know, but because he didn't want them to know, he started wearing black jackets. One of his cuts was starting to bleed scarlet liquid. He frowned and sat up, his chocolate brown eyes having an amused look. Blood was nothing to be frightened of; it was more of an interesting thing than a frightening thing. Daisuke grabbed his black blanket and brought it to his mouth, momentarily opening his mouth to bite it. He pulled on the fabric and tore off a long piece of it, then wrapped it around his arm. He tied it into a tight knot, to ensure himself that it wouldn't fall off. He lied down again on the mattress and looked darkly at the shadowed ceiling. Daisuke's personality had changed to one of a Goth's, the 'act' angering his parents. Of course, he didn't care. Let his parents ground him for life or send him to some sort of military school. He didn't care at all. Besides, he'd just sneak out again.

The teenager wondered how he'd get punished this time for coming home late. No electronics for a month, perhaps? Or maybe they'd keep him in the house? Like that would do any good. A prison guarded by a trillion guards could hold him. But whatever the punishment was, he was sure it wasn't that much of a punishment. His parents didn't know how to properly punish him. Joon, his older sister, was a goody two shoes; but really, she wasn't. She'd sneak off at midnight to go meet her friends or go to a party. And she would never get caught. It was annoying to have his parents bully him when Jun was also being a troublemaker.

Daisuke moaned in provocation, scowling at the thought of his 'perfect' sister. One of these days, he would push her of Rainbow Bridge and say that the wind caused her to loose her balance. It wouldn't work, since almost all fingers were pointed to him if something happened. Once, a teenager named Ichiro had left a note on Ms. Sakura's desk, one that stated very mature words that should not be mentioned at all. Ms. Sakura had a seizure and told Daisuke to go to Mr. Akihiro's office, the principal of the school. The brunette said he didn't do it, and almost got expelled because of Ichiro's prank. Ichiro despised him for some reason, but the teenager didn't mind at all.

He sat up again and glared at the door for a moment. He almost expected his parents to burst in, furiously questioning him about his whereabouts last afternoon. Daisuke sighed and glanced down at the floor, thinking about picking up the pillow and resting his body once more. No. Daisuke didn't need sleep. He needed something else. He felt pain somewhere, but where exactly? The brunette frowned. Maybe it was the pain was ricocheting? No. Or maybe he was ravenous…that had to be it. But how could he eat when there wasn't any breakfast in the freezer? Well…he didn't have to eat breakfast. That chocolate cake his mother got from her sister's baby shower was fine. Daisuke raised himself up, his head barely touching the roof, and jumped off the divan. He grunted in as the familiar sentiment of pain struck him again. He stood up and turned the doorknob, forcing the door to open. His hand remained on the knob, Daisuke pausing to hear any redundant sounds. Silence. He frowned. A vociferous snore ranged to his rather sensitive ears, notifying him that it was okay to move. He exhaled a breath he didn't know he had held in relief, releasing his grip on the doorknob and entering the hallway.

Creak.

Daisuke wanted to destroy the floor so bad for that. He forgot to stay close to the wall; there were softer creaks there. But either way, he would give himself away. Once he reached the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator door. Great. No chocolate cake or any sort of food. Not even water. Maybe Joon ate it all…

Growling indistinctly, he gently closed the door and looked towards the cupboards. Daisuke was completely out of his mind; why would cake be in a cupboard when it's supposed to be refrigerated? Then again, he's heard stranger things. He walked up to the counter and reached for the cupboard handle. Opening the door, he found…

Beans.

Such a dramatic scene to end in a disappointing way. Daisuke closed the door, not bothering to keep quiet. Just where did they keep real food, anyway? What, Jun ate the cake too? Biting his lip, he left the kitchen and went into the living room, collapsing by the time he reached a sofa. He could faint if he wanted to, but just because he's hungry, doesn't mean he has to be a sissy. Still, he was tired, and the hunger was getting to him…sleep would probably help ease the pain. Just like last night…

He half-smiled as sleep once again claimed him.

Sea blue eyes opened, her vision being nothing but darkness. Was she still asleep? No. She could see the faint outline of the fan, the wind lifting her brown bangs. A loud snore came from beside her. Her spouse was still sleeping. It was still dusk, by the look of things. No point in waking up now…

As Yuuko lowered her eyes, she slowly drifted to sleep.

Creak.

Her eyes bolted open. What was that? Maybe Jun was off to get something to eat, although she was pretty sure that there was nothing in the kitchen. Wait…Jun had a snack an hour ago. Jun didn't eat much.

No. It couldn't be…could it? Yes…it most likely was.

Daisuke.

Yuuko pulled the blanket off her and felt around the room. Feeling something soft, she grasped it and put the robe over her. She glanced towards a rectangular figure, stepping towards it. She grabbed the knob and turned it, opening the door to see an empty hallway. No sign of him. The woman went into the hall and walked towards her destination: the living room. When she nearly found her target, she hesitated. Something didn't feel right. Yuuko leisurely rotated herself to face the kitchen doorway, poking her head into the room. Everything seemed perfectly normal. But it seemed like it had been recently tampered with. Her blue eyes scanned every aspect of the room. Everything was in its appropriate spot. Yuuko grimaced, turning away from the kitchen. Her blue eyes twinkled as they spot something atypical. Dirt from sneakers. Sneakers were exactly what Daisuke was wearing before he went to school. That concluded it: Daisuke was here. But where exactly was he? He would never go into Jun's room, unless he wanted to steal her iPod or her telephone. Yuuko already knew he wasn't in her room. And she doubt he was sleeping in the bathroom, either. So where was he? Maybe his room…then again, Daisuke was in the kitchen. And knowing how early he woke up last morning, he must've fallen asleep somewhere nearby the kitchen. The only contiguous area was the living room. If he wasn't there, then he was most likely in his room. Departing the kitchen, Yuuko turned to face the living room. And what do you know? Daisuke was right there, sleeping peacefully on the couch. The mother smiled. There was no point in telling him off, let alone letting him know what was to happen in but a few hours. It was time for him to rest and forget all that was done. She took off her robe and covered Daisuke up with it, noticing his slight shivering. Yuuko quivered herself, making her way back to her room and to her bed. As she rested her head on the soft pillow, covering herself with the cozy blanket, Yuuko rested with ease. There was nothing to be worried about. Nothing at all.

Daisuke slowly woke up, finding himself on the sofa in the living room. As he sat up, a pink robe slipped off him, making him look down at the floor to stare dimly at it. The teenager slowly regained his thoughts of yesterday. But where exactly did his mother's robe come from…? Oh no. Just great. His mom, perhaps his sibling and dad, already knew he was back. Well, nothing he could do about it now. So what if he spanked, or lecture about many random things he had done. Nothing worthy of being called a retribution. He stood up, stretching his arms and yawning. What time was it anyway? Two in the afternoon or something? Daisuke glanced at his watch. It was much earlier than two. It was eight in the morning.

He jumped up as if a spider was crawling on him, ready to sink its venom into him. He wandered around the room, as if he'd never been at the area of the house. After wandering for five minutes, Daisuke found himself in the hallway. Everything looked normal...but why was his door open...?

He walked towards his door and slipped in. The room was as messy as it was last night. But he had the feeling someone was here...

His brown eyes scanned the area. He blinked as he caught sight of something; a black, large suitcase lying on his bottom bunk.

"Suitcase...?" Daisuke said to himself.

Daisuke went to his bed and glared curiously at the suitcase. Just why was a it there, anyway? Was his parents sending him to Military School or something? Numerous questions rushed through his mind.

Deciding to act, Daisuke reached for the zipper and was about to open the suitcase until the suitcase stirred.


I hope you all are enjoying this. Please give feedback and/or constructive criticism. Also, sorry for missing the chapter's 'deadline'. Life gets in the way, so I can't type as much. Thanks to CrazyEight for beta reading this.