"Let's see... Worst thing that has ever happaned to you?" Akane asked, looking staright at John.

"Being born?" he said, after a moment of thinking.

She laughed a bit and shake her head. "No... I mean, your worst memory. Something that, no matter how hard you tried, you were never able to fully forget and you doubt you ever will." she explained.

He took a moment to think, while playing with his finger on the beer can he had in his hands. Him and Akane had decided to spend the day together, so they went and grabbed something to drink and, after a small walk around, they stood back down in a park and started talking. John had never thought he could ever enjoy talking to someone so much. But he wanted to know everything about this girl. And for some reason, he didn't minded her knowing everything about him as well.

"Uhm... When I was around 12 years old, my old man came home drunker than ever. He started raging for no real reason, and I was able to see my mom get freaked out. After he fight with her for like an hour and beat her, he moved on to me. He beat me so hard, I wasn't able to move out of bed for the next 3 days. And even if after that it all just started growing worse and worse, is that time that I was never actually able to forget. Because it was so pointless, because I have seriously done nothing wrong that time. Usually, he has some sort of reason. And if he doesn't, he at least tries to invent one. But that time, he didn't even stressed on trying to find one... He just did it, as if it was fine, as if it was natural, as if I was made for the mare purpose of being his hitting sack. For some reason, it just felt so wrong and painful, more than usual... I guess that it was when I discovered he doesn't seriously need a real reason to do it..."

He looked straight up ahead while saying it all, his expression and voice betraying the real inner pain that he was holding in. He didn't look at her at all, but she didn't mind. Akane somehow knew and felt that it wasn't like him to confess this kind of things to people. Especially to strangers. But she wasn't a stranger... They both felt like that. And she felt so happy he actually already trusted her enough to tell her things he probably never told to even his closest friends.

"When I was 10 years old, my father took me to my uncle's villa from Shizuoka, in Japan... That house was huge, and it was very close to the ocean..." she said, looking at John.

"That is your worst memory?" he asked, raising his eyebrow. "What is so wrong about that?"

"He left me there..." she said, letting her had down. "I had to stay there for like a month. My uncle treated me even worse than my dad. And he made me do stuff to him... Like rub him and suck him off and things as such... But I was 10, I didn't understood what it was. I thought it to be a weird game grown ups play. He told me it was a game. I have no doubts that to him it really felt like just a game... I didn't knew what I was really doing while I was trying so hard not to choke with that thing in my mouth... I didn't knew what he was doing when he sticked it in me... I just knew I didn't like it. I knew it hurt..."

"Jesus Christ..." John said, his lips parting in a expression of amazement.

"My dad tried to do it as well, but I was always able to escape him or avoid it. But my uncle... I could never really avoid him or escape him. He was always able to do whatever he wanted and no one was able to stop him. No one even tried to stop him to begin with... After my grandfather died, he remained as the head of my father's family, cause he was the oldest one... Even my father is afraid of him..." She took a really big sip of her beer, to calm her nerves down and stop herself from saying anything else, sine memories were starting to invade her mind.

"How big is your family?" John asked, feeling as if this girl's case was a bit worse than his, since she seemed to have more people able to abuse her, unlike in his case, where it was just his father.

"My dad has 5 brothers and 2 sisters... They all have children of their own, I have around 20 cousins... My mom was an only child though..." Akane explained. "I have 2 brothers. One is 2 years younger than me, one is 3 years older... The older one moved back to Tokyo to go to college. My younger brother will attend high-school here as well. He is in the 9-th grade, his name is Shou..."

"Wow... That sounds like a big family... For me, apart from my mom and dad, I have no notion of any other family. I know my dad has a brother but I never met him, I have no idea where he is. My grandparents are all dead, and my mom's younger sister lives in England so I never met her either... I also have no brothers or sisters."

"That sounds awesome..."

"You believe?"

"The less, the better..."

"Could be... You and your brothers get along?"

"I get along with Shou. He is the only guy from my family that doesn't treat me like a slave. My older brother beat me up when he had the occasion... In my family, there is this tradition that says all women are slaves. From when we are born, we're seen as nothing. We grow up beliving we were brought to this world to serve men and they teach us that in the most brutal and harsh wasys possible... And in the same way, they teach the boys that they are better and superior and that they must become jerks..." she looked away again and took out a cigarette from her pack. She felt the need for a smoke. "My brother, Shou... He was the only one who ever asked 'why'... Why are women slaves? Why can't me and him play together like normal brothers, why does he have to be cruel? Our uncle didn't like that..."

"I assume the kid got it?" John asked.

"Yeah... He started making questions when he was 8. Our uncle said that if he likes women so much, he'll be treated as one... So, he's the only male from the family who was made into a slave, and that just because he doesn't like being a Master..."

"Your family is fucking sick..." John said, sounding deeply disturbed.

"Yeah, I know... I am just 16, but I already have my life planned by my family. I must grow up, learn to be a great slave girl, than marry a man that they will chose for me, who will become my Master. And take all his bullshit and accept all his abuse. And when I will have babies, if they are girls, I have to teach them to be slaves... And if they'll be boys, I have to treat them like Kings and make sure they become Masters..." She took a long puff from her cigarette and closed her eyes, trying hard to stop the tears that were ready to drop.

"What if you refuse? What if you run away?" John asked fast.

"I could try... But if they find me, they will murder me..." she explained. "And they won't even feel sorry about it..."

"That's fucking disgusting... Why is your family like that?"

"Is a tradition... It happened for generations and it keeps on happening. It's a huge, painful chain, filled of blood, tears and anger, that everyone is too scared to break... My father and all his brothers were grown to be Masters. It was all they knew. My grandfather was very strict and cruel... he turned them in some sort of... brainless, heartless machines, that only know to cause pain... My grand-grand-father did the same to his children, cause his father has done it to him... My brothers and cousins will do it to their children and it will keep going on..."

"But why? What for? What's the good in all this?" John was starting to feel revolted.

"You're asking me... I always wondered. It must have started from someone and it just never stopped..."

"If it makes you feel any better, know that I think all of that crap is bullshit. And that you're a really great girl... And you deserve much more than that." he said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

He was not good at comforting people or making compliments. He was used to offend and annoy everyone, insult them, make them feel like crap. And when he was not doing that, he was just being ironic. Even with Claire. He had never been nice to everyone, or tried to compliment someone, cause he never felt the need to do it, mainly because he had never seriously met someone who he thought would deserve that kind of attention from him. Everything about Akane was a first for him... First asian girl he met, first person who was just like him, first girl that he actually felt the need to treat nice...

"You're so unique..." he said, moving his hand up. He kicked away with the back of his palm the part of her hair that was covering her face, and started caressing her face with his thumb, looking deep inside her eyes. "More unique than you could believe..."

"I could say the same about you..." she smiled.

She went a bit closer to him, closing her eyes and waiting for a long kiss. That, however, did not happen. A voice called her name and she shivered at the sound, opening her eyes and nearly jumping up from the bench in a second.

"There you were! Thank you for leaving me alone!" the boy who just appeared said.

He was looking straight at the girl, with a pissed off expression. He was just a bit taller than her and he has short, spiky blonde hair. He was asian as well, probably japanese though, most certainly her younger brother, John thought in his mind fast. He was dressed in a pair of large jeans and he had a red and white letterman jacket on top.

"Sorry, I just didn't felt like school today... Please, don't tell dad!" the girl said fast, sounding scared.

"He was the last idiot on this planet I intended to talk to today." the boy said, still sounding pissed. "But you should have been with me there, damn it!"

"Sorry..." Akane said again.

"Who is this guy?" the kid asked, turning to stare at John.

"Oh... His name is John Bender. John, he is my brother, Shou..." she introduced them.

"I was pretty sure that he was your younger brother. You too kind of look alike." John said. "You're a jock though, huh? After seeing Akane I was picturing you more like a heavy rock kid."

"You told him about me?" Shou asked his sister, ignoring everything else John said said.

"Yeah... Just a bit." she said.

"What else have you said to him? Where did you took him from anyway?"

"Can you stop it already? He's just a friend. And I didn't tell him much! Just some...basic stuff..." she said, sounding like she suddenly felt guilty.

"Basic stuff?" John asked, raising his eyebrow.

"You can't go around talking to people like that, Akane! Especially men! You know that you've been promised to Akira!" Shou said, coming closer to his sister.

"I am NOT dating that guy, no matter how much dad wants me to. He's a fucking jerk and I don't like him at all and he's a Yakuza, for fuck's sake!" Akane answered revolted.

"He's a what?" John asked confused.

"A Yakuza... Japanese gangster." the girl explained fast.

"Oh..." John said, nodding in a understanding way.

"I know you don't like him, I don't like him either. But he's the one that they chose for you! If dad finds you going around with other guys, you'll get punished!" the japanese boy continued, his voice tone changing from raged to worried.

"I know what I'm doing, Shou, I am a big girl. And I am sick of all this bullshit... And I will date who the Hell I want to!" she said. "And stop staring at me like that, I am not dating John. We just met and he already has someone anyway!"

"That's true.." John said, feeling as if reality had just stroke him when Akane said that.

"I don't care. You're coming with me." Shou said, grabbing the girl's wrist.

"Where?" she asked confused.

"Home? School is over!" he said, starting to get pissed off once more.

"...Is it?"

Akane and John looked at each other confused and then started to laugh. "I can't believe we've been sitting around for 8 hours and we didn't realized." he said.

"Yeah... It was fun." she admitted, with a smile.

"It sure was..." he smirked back at her.

"Okay, now let's go!" Shou insisted, started to drag Akane away by her hand.

She walked together with him, but continued to look back at John. She pushed her brother away fast, running back to John and jumping in his arms, pressing her lips over his in a long kiss.

"Don't you forget me..." she said in his ear.

"I won't..." he whispered her back.

"For the name of Satan, come on already! If we're late we'll both get punished and I am not getting my ass kicked because of you!" her brother said, grabbing her a second time and pulling her away from John.

She laughed and walked together with him. "See you tomorrow, my Criminal!" she said loud.

John giggled and waved his hand to her. 'My Criminal... I like that. Sounds good.' he said in his mind, with a smile on his face. He started walking away, thinking only about her and her kiss, her voice, her words... He was also wondering if he should go around and find something to do or just return home. Home was never a place he felt like going to, so if he'd get a second option, he was going to take it without thinking much. Sometimes, he would rather hang around outside without doing nothing at all but pretending he's busy, just to avoid going back home. It was something normal to him.

Passing by the front of the high-school, he saw Claire stading there, looking all over the place, and it was then when he finally recalled that he had promised her he'd go to school that day. She was probably now pissed and worried. The last thing he needed...

"Where have you been? You promised you'd come! I waited for you!" she started screaming, as soon as he got next to her.

'God, she's acting just like Akane's brother...' he thought to himself, rolling his eyes. "Look, I've been busy with stuff. I always skip school, you should have realized that by now. You know me for 3 months and you don't understand shit about me..."

"That is because you are not letting me! You never talk to me about yourself and you keep lying to me all the time... How can I understand when you are never honest?" she almost yelled.

"How about we discuss this later?" he said, placing his hand on her shoulder and moving a step foreword, desiring to leave.

"No, John!" she said, grabbing hold of his hand to stop him from leaving. "You always say that and the 'later' never comes! Why do you treat me this way?"

"Look what, Claire. Even if you tried your best you wouldn't be able to understand me, so why don't you just stop trying?" he said, turning back to look straight in her face.

She stared at him for a second, with a confused expression. "Who... Who have you been with today?" she asked, after some few seconds.

"What?" he asked back, surprised by her question.

She placed her index finger on his lips and took it off, staring at it. "You have lipstick on your lips." she stated.

"Oh great..." he said, cleaning his lips with his sleeve.

"Is that what you were busy with today? Fucking some other girl?" Claire sounded as if she didn't knew if she was angry, sad or hurt.

"No, it was not like that..." John tried to explain.

"Then how was it like? Who did you kiss?" she asked, now starting to be annoyed.

"Just some girl."

"Just some girl?"

"Look, this is none of your business!"

"It is my business, you are my damn boyfriend, damn it! Or am I just another one of your 'considerations'? Like all those girls in your wallet!"

"No, you are not, so stop it!"

"Stop treating me like I am one, then!"

She started crying, crossing her arms on her chest, as if she wanted to be strong but she just couldn't. John's mind was filled of so much confussion that it was almost painful, feeling stuck in between the girl he had been dating for the past months and the girl he had just met that day, who already had drove him wild. He didn't knew what he felt anymore, what he wanted... Before, seeing Claire crying would have made him feel broken hearted, but now, after meeting Akane and realizing that there really are girls who cry for serious matters and who suffer for real, he didn't felt so much compasion anymore...

"You should stop crying. Your mascara will go all over the place and you'll look ugly." he said, trying to amuse her.

"Shut up! You really are a criminal. You just broke my heart..." she said, pushing him away.

"Some girls think criminals are cool." he said, smiling in his mind, thinking of Akane.

"What?" Claire asked.

"Nothing, just saying." he said fast. "When you pass over the drama moment and decide you seriously want to talk, you know where to find me." he added, before turning his back and leaving.

A small part of him felt really bad about doing this to Claire, but the bigger part of him, where Akane was, didn't gave a shit. He didn't understood how this girl managed to get inside his brain that fast. Was it seriously just because she understood him? It probably wasn't. Maybe it was much more than that... She liked him. She felt as if she wouldn't have wanted to change anything about him. She sounded as if she was so impressed by him. He didn't had to do anything special or stupid or silly in order to get her to like him. Just by being himself, he had her mesmerized. Maybe that was what created all the magic. She liked him for him...

'I want that girl... I want her.'

"That guy looked like a huge moron." Shou said, as him and Akane were walking together on the road back home.

"Oh, come on. He was amazing!" she said back, disturbed by his comment.

"He looks like the worst type of punk you could have picked from the streets." her brother continued, holding on to his opinion.

"He was kind to me, Shou... He was tender. He treated me nice and he made me laugh. He told me I am special... He understood me, brother." she said, on a dreamy and happy voice, a beautiful smile on her lips.

"You are having such a crush..." the boy said, looking at his sister's day-dreaming expression.

"Your point is?" she said, uncaring.

"My point is that you should damn wake up! Maybe he really is a good guy, but you said he already has a girl. And you have a guy you must stay with!"

"I can kick that girl out of the picture, do not worry. And I already told you that I will not date Akira." she said, decided.

"You are digging your own grave, Akane... And you're pulling this guy into it as well. Do you have any idea what dad would do to him if he found out? What uncle Akihito would do?" Shou said, sounding worried and kind of desperate.

"Father and uncle Akihito will not find out about John. He will be my secret. And you will help me keep him secret." she told him, smiling.

"You can not be serious..." the boy said.

"Oh, but I am. I just met him today, but this past 8 hours have been the best of my entire existence and he is the most perfect guy for me. I know if I let go, I will regret it forever... I want John, brother.. I really want him. And he will be mine. You will see."

I hope you will all like this! The next chapter will come out in a few days. If I have any mistakes, please forgive me, I am not a native english speaker. I am trying to write as good as I can though. Please review and enjoy ^^