Cold, Again.

Hola, this is a rewrite of Cold. I'm deleting the old story, that way I can show my readers what a couple of years has done with my vocabulary and whatnot. (Note that I made that story when I was 14, I'm almost 20 now…)

Thanks for all the support guys!

Tora.

I was about 13 when my mother and father had divorced. It was hard time for my sister and I, she was only 9 at the time and I did my best to keep her from knowing what was going on. She understood that daddy wasn't going to home as often, and momma would be gone a lot.

As it turned out, my mother had been embezzling from my fathers' company about 4 years into their marriage. She had stolen thousands of dollars from my father and he was going under from it. She was finally caught by the accounting department.

My fathers' lawyers told him to sue her, but he told them that if he did that, then he would never see his children again. I had never thought myself particularly close to my father, but he did love us. He kept my mother, sister and I supported as well as run his company.

With all our expenses paid, my mother never got a job. We weren't poor, but we didn't have any extra money to buy nicer things. My sister ended up attending the same middle school I went to, so I had given her all my old uniforms. She wore a lot of my old clothes, and I would tell her, "When I get famous, I'll get you whatever you want!"

She would just smile and say that she didn't mind.

Makiko was such an understanding girl.

It was about four years after my mother and father separated that my mother would start to leave for weeks at a time. Makiko and I had no idea what she was up to, but I made sure she had all she needed. I even shoplifted for her time to time. She never asked where I got some of the things I gave her.

I never told my father what my mom would do this, he would take us away, and I didn't want to go through it all again. Deciding between parents was easy for Makiko, and now that she knew more of the situation, it would destroy her.

One day, I had gotten off of school and I was making dinner for Makiko and I, when my mother burst through the door, "Where's your sister?" She said after she looked around the house, not even saying hello to me, "Where's Makiko?" she growled at me.

Now, normally, my mother was quite lovely looking. She had a long face and perfect eyes. Her hair cascaded to her back and her skin was pale and smooth, people found her beautiful. For some reason lately, she had turned waxy and fake. Her eyes were always bloodshot and watery, her teeth looked yellow and her hair had faded. I had always loved to look at my mother, but now her current condition was hideous. She almost had a dark aura around her.

"She's over with a friend," I told her, "She's studying for-"

"I don't give a damn what she's doing," she shouted, "Why did you let her leave?"

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked, "She needs to finish that project."

"Get your sister home, you little brat." She spat at me, "She's too young to be going to friends' houses this late!" I looked at the clock above the stove; it was only 5:00pm.

"Mom," I sighed, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Am I feeling alright?" She rolled her eyes, "Why in the hell would you ask me dumb question like that? Get your ass outside and bring your sister home."

I said I would, if I stayed another minute in there I would have went off on my mother. I grabbed my jacket, it was very thin since my father bought it two years ago, and put on my tennis shoes. It was getting colder, and closer to my birthday, December was cold in Kyoto.

My sisters' friend lived about six blocks away, it wasn't too far. I had met Kyoko a few times before and she was a sweet girl. She always did her best to help Makiko whenever she could, with school or even boy problems.

I knew she had an older brother about my age, he was in my class, but we never talked. He was in a different world than me, he had all sorts of friends and girlfriends, he was really unique, and I was so boring.

Pushing down that thought, I rang the doorbell to the Nishimura home, and Kyoko's mother came from it, "Hello Nishimura residence, how can I help you?"

"H-hi, this is Tora," I said, "I've come to pick up Makiko."

"Oh well, aren't you a little early?" she asked.

"I am ma'am, but my mother want's her home."

"Well it's not that big of a deal," she said, and she opened the gate to her home. I walked up and she opened the door, "How have you been? Makiko told me that you were looking at some art schools?"

"Uh, yes."

"Well I have some brochures in my office that you can look at." Kyoko's mother was a college counselor, "I'm sure you can find something in them, even if they are a little old."

"Thank you very much," I bowed a little.

She led me to the kitchen and left me to go search for the booklets. I sat down at the kitchen table and leaned my head on my hand. This home was so nice and inviting, unlike my home. I found myself a little jealous of it.

"Oi." I heard a loud voice from the stairs, "Who're you?"

"Ah!" I jumped, seeing Tooru Nishimura in his boxers and a towel around his shoulders, "I'm Tora Murasaki." I bolted from my seat and bowed, trying to look away from Tooru's naked chest.

"Murasaki?" He asked, when I looked up, he had an eyebrow raised. He paused in thought for a moment, then continued walking down the stairs, "Are you Maki-chan's sister?" He got very close to my face.

"Maki-chan?" I said, realizing he had used a pet name for my sister, "You mean Makiko."

"I mean Maki-chan," He smiled at me. "Oh well, I like this one better." He turned away, "What school do you go to?" He dried his hair while talking to me.

"Eh?" I exclaimed, "You really don't know what school I go to?"

"I've never met you in my life."

"Tooru…" I shook my head in disbelief, using his name for the first time, "We've been in the same class since freshman year…"

His eyes widened in shock, "No way!"

"Yes, we have." I pressed, "You're friends with that Senior Kaoru Niikura."

He pursed his lips together and grinned, "Ha, well, that just goes to show how much I pay attention. How did I look over someone as pretty as you?" I felt myself blush. He walked over to a bag lying on a chair and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, "You want one?" he asked.

I scrunched my nose and nodded no. He took one out of the pack, put it in his mouth and walked back upstairs. His mother came out from the back of the house just as he left. "I found them, there's one from this year too!" she exclaimed.

I took the pamphlets and thanked her graciously for them. She asked me questions about my grades and if I had a boyfriend, little things like that. We chatted while I waited for Makiko to finish up. I had waited for a while, until I finally asked Nishimura-san when Makiko would be done.

"Oh!" She laughed, "I was having such a nice time talking with you, I forgot to tell her you were here!" I tried to hide my disbelief, but I knew that I had a habit of showing what I was thinking. She smiled and walked upstairs.

Nishimura-san was a nice lady, she was a little spacey from time to time, but she had good intentions. I wondered how she managed to raise someone like Tooru. To be honest, he seemed a little out of control.

Makiko came down after a few minutes of me waiting; she looked out of sorts, "Ane-chan!" she wined, "Why do I have to go?"

"Mom's home." And I gave her a stern look.

She took the hint and changed her attitude at once, "Thank you so much for have me over Nishimura-san. Hopefully I can enjoy your daughters company again sometime. Give Mr. Nishimura my best regards as well."

"It was very nice having you over Makiko." She bowed, "And don't be a stranger Tora."

We bowed back and exited the building. Makiko was the first to speak, "So what does mom want?"

"I haven't the slightest clue," I sighed, "But she wanted you urgently."

"Does she still think I'm six years old?" She teased.

"I wouldn't put it past her." I closed my eyes, "Don't let her jerk you around." She nodded and we continued walking in silence.

We reached the house, and it looked silent. "Be careful Maki." I walked in first, the smell of the dinner I was making was still in the air, but all the lights were turned off. I flipped the switch, and the sight before Maki and I made Maki jump a little.

The place was trashed. Everything was flipped over, all of our electronics were stolen, and our family's golden shrine incense piece was gone. We both looked over the house and even the fine silverware and china was gone. Maki looked on the verge of tears, "Go check our rooms, make sure our Kimonos are still there." I told her.

The Kimono that our father had bought us were vintage and very expensive. They were worth thousands, and our father had told us to hide them. We did our best, but our house was very small. There weren't very many places to hide things. Maki and I found a small nook underneath our bunk bed and hid them in boxes underneath the house.

I looked at the only thing that wasn't turned over, our small dining room table. There was a note and I instantly recognized my mother's calligraphy. Makiko ran from the hallway, "She found them! They're gone!" Right as she said this, I read the note. It simply said, 'Thanks girls. Maybe you aren't too useless.'

"That explains why she wanted me to leave so badly." I crumpled the paper in my hand and threw it into the garbage bin. "Let's fix this place up and then I'll finish dinner." Makiko nodded and wiped her tears from her eyes.

I wrapped my arm around her and squeezed her, "Ane-chan, why does it have to be like this?"

"I don't know…." I lowered my head, "I wish I could give you a better answer."

"We'll get through this." She said, "Things will get better…"

Kyo

"Tooru, stop texting." Mother said to me while we were eating dinner. I was busy talking to my best friend, trying to arrange a time when we could hang out, but my mother could see through my blank stare.

"Mother, I have no idea what you're talking about." I tried but she rolled her eyes, grabbed my arm pulling it over the table to take my phone from me. "You're good mom." I laughed, but she didn't seem to find it very funny.

"That's disrespectful, stop." She gave me a very stern look. Kyoko laughed and I gave her a dirty look. "You're going to help me with the dishes." Kyoko laughed even more, because it was her turn to help.

"Yes mother…"

After dinner I was standing shoulder to shoulder with my mom. "Tooru, what do you know of the Murasaki family?" she asked, handing me a pot to rinse.

"Not much." I said, "I didn't even know that To-chan was in my class until she told me today."

"Oh, so you met her? What do you think about her?" Now, when my mother had something on her mind, she always had to get to the bottom of it. It was just her character, but this time I thought it was more of feeling then her just being nosey.

"She's beautiful. I like her eyes… um." I was struggling with what else to say, "So far all I have done is talk with her."

My mother paused from washing the dishes and stared off for a few minutes. I nudged her a little and she snapped back, "Oh sorry, I was wondering if you could, you know, talk to her more."

"Why?" I asked.

"I feel like she needs a friend." My mother shook her head, "Whenever we speak, she's very cautious about what she says. She's scared about something, and she's hiding it. If she really wants to go to art school, she needs to get past these things."

"Mom, why do you care so much?"

She smiled, "Because she and I are alike in a lot of ways. Do this for your mother." She handed me a hand towel, "I'm not asking you to marry her. Dry your hands, and go do your homework."

I walked away and rolled my eyes, I never did my homework.

When I went into my dark room, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed for my best bud Kaoru. He answered instantly, "Hey man, what the hell? We were supposed to jam!" I sat on my bed and picked at my nails.

"Well my mother is the law for me." I stated, "Listen, we can do that tomorrow, that Makiko middle school girl is into you right? What do you think of her?"

"Last time I checked, I think so." He was obviously wondering why I was bringing this up, "and I think she's cute…"

"Well, has she asked you out?" I kept pressing.

"No, but why the hell does it matter?"

"When she does, accept." I almost laughed, telling my friend what to do with his love life.

"What?" he almost yelled at me.

"Dude, you owe me!" I said, reminding him of the time he was really trying to lose his virginity one night a couple years back, and I took one for his team, "Remember that one time in Okinawa?"

"Yes, yes!" He growled, "I remember! I'll do it, but you better tell me why!"

"Tora Murasaki, my friend." I stated, "I need to get closer to her."

"So this is for you, personally?" He could almost hear his grin, "She's a looker now that I think about her. Isn't she sort of poor though?"

"Doesn't matter." I brushed that aside, "My mom is worried about her."

Kaoru was silent, "Your mom really does rule your world…" he sighed, "Okay, I'll date that Makiko girl if she asks me."

"You know, better yet, how about YOU ask her out." I said, thinking it was a swell idea.

"Kyo, she's like thirteen years old!" he finally yelled at me.

"Never stopped you before." I stated.

"I was drunk!"

"Yeah, and you were 15 and drunk." I threw at him, "Kaoru, you're not innocent. I've actually talked with Makiko a few times, and she's smart. Give her a real chance please, she may need some help."

"Why do you think those girls need help?" He calmed a little.

"Do you ever see Toras family at parents' day?" He was silent, "Exactly." I confirmed, "Listen, this will be fun, I think. We'll walk over to Makiko's school during lunch tomorrow, and you can do the deed. My sister goes to the same school as Makiko." I heard him sigh, "It's not like I'm asking you to sleep with her to get to her sister." I laughed, "It's not like that one time when the roles were reversed and the sister was really old!"

"Kyo, after this we are even." He yawned, "I'm getting off, I'll see you tomorrow." He hung up and I looked at my clock, it was only 8:00pm. I had a semi-big day ahead of me.

"Kyoko!" I yelled as I walked out of my room and by her door, "I need a favor!"

She swiveled around in her computer chair, "What do you need? Did mom not give you enough work, cause I have a ton of stuff you can do!"

"No," I rolled my eyes, "I want to know what class Makiko is in."

She gave me a blank stare, then finally asked, "Wait, why?"

"Just tell me." I demanded.

"I'm not going to tell you unless you give me a valid reason." She turned back to her computer and continued her work. I stood there, unsure of what to say. Then again, I had told my sister a lot of things, and she never told mom.

"Kaoru is going to ask Makiko out tomorrow and he wants me to be there." I blurted out, "He doesn't know what classroom she's in and he needs to know." Kyoko turned around again fast, her face in shock.

"Kyo, Makiko has liked Kaoru for ages…"

"I know, and he's liked her too," I smirked, "Now what classroom is she in?"

Kyoko hesitated for a moment, she spaced out in thought, like mother did. They were both very alike, finally she said, "She's in classroom A-1. Their lunch break is at 11:15pm, and they get off at 3:15pm."

"Why so early?" I asked.

"She's in the honor class, they get privileges and things like that." She clicked her pen a little, "You're not messing with me are you, about asking Makiko out? If you were, that would be seriously messed up, Kyo."

I smiled at her, "C'mon sis, it's me we're talking about. I could never mess with anyone." She rolled her eyes and turned back to her computer."

The next day at school I got a good look at Tora. I felt so dumb for not knowing that she was in my school, yet alone my class. She always sat very quietly, doodling in her notebook. We were going to change seats soon, and she was going to be right next to me. I was sort of excited because I wanted to see what she was drawing in her book.

During lunch I regrouped with Kaoru, he sat at his desk, head in his arms. I tapped him on the shoulder, and he jerked upward, "What do you want Kyo? I'm already committing statutory rape, what else do I need to do?"

"Dude, we live in Japan, it's not uncommon for older men to date younger women." I stated. He just rolled his eyes and scratched his nose, "So I know what class she's in, and she gets off earlier than most kids, because she's in honors. So we need to ditch at second break, and walk over to her school."

"You want me to ditch again?" he sighed, "Will I ever see the end of your tyranny?"

"Probably not." I nodded my head a little.

He sighed again and put his head back down on the desk, "I'll meet you outside the gate at break."

For the remainder of class I mainly looked at Tora's notebook as she drew. She seemed to be in her own little world, but whenever the teacher would call her an answer, she would always know it. She seemed to be only halfway listening, and halfway in her world.

She was such a fascinating girl.

Fourth break ended, and I went down to the gate to meet Kaoru. He looked a bit on edge, climbing over the gate was a big violation, but I didn't really care. I had done it several times, and even some of the teachers saw me do it. They never did anything because my mother was in such a high position on the school board.

Sure, my mother never did like when I skipped school, but she knew she couldn't stop me. School wasn't that important to me at all. I wanted to be a performer, a singer, an artist. I didn't need to know complex math equations to know that my voice was amazing.

We made it to Makiko's school with then minutes before she was getting out, so I tried to give Kaoru a bit of a pep talk, "So look her in the eye, and say it like you mean it." He looked away from me, "I'm serious here man, this is a big deal. I want her to believe you."

"Can I tell you something, without you laughing at me." He said through gritted teeth.

"What is it man?"

"Well," he hesitated, but I urged him to speak, "I've always found Makiko cute. She's very smart, and well… the fact that I'm asking her out for you…."

I punched his arm, "You bastard! You've liked her all this time!" I exclaimed, "Why didn't you just tell me that?"

"I knew you would have given me a hard time about it!" he smiled a little, "But now I have to for a friend, so I don't mind."

I scowled a little; I thought he was an idiot for not acting on his emotions. I looked down at my phone, and it was 3:14, "You ready?" I asked, showing him the time on my phone. He nodded, and the bell rang. The courtyard was quiet for a moment, but soon a small group of students entered.

"There she is!" Kaoru said, pointing her out. She had her hair in pig tails. She soon took notice of us and walked over. I could see Kaoru starting to sweat a little.

"What are you two doing here?" She asked, mainly looking at me.

"Kaoru here wants to talk to you!" I almost laughed, "He has something really important to ask you."

She looked up at Kaoru, blushing slightly. I could tell she liked him; Makiko was bad at hiding her emotions, "What's so important?"

"I…" Kaoru began, "I wanted to know if you were…." He started to look away, but I kicked the back of his foot, and he snapped back, "I wanted to know if you would like to go out with me!" I blurted out.

Makiko looked shocked, losing the color in her face, "R-really?" she asked, "You're not messing with me?"

He nodded, no, and she jumped up and grabbed him a hug.

Tora

"Hey Tora," my friend said to me right before break ended, "Look outside." I glided over to the window, and Kyo and one his friends were climbing over the school gate, "I wonder where they're going…"

"Nowhere good, that's for sure," I said, going back to my desk. Class was over in forty-five minutes, so what was he rushing for? Makiko was going to Kyoko's house again, so that she could finish her project, and I needed to have dinner done when she got home. Hopefully my mother wouldn't make another appearance.

One my way home from school, I walked by a store with lots of new jackets and shoes. Makiko and I really needed some new winter wear, but even our most valuable item was lost. I thought about going in to steal some, but I thought against it. I felt like it was an unlucky day.

When I approached my house, there was a big black car in the drive way. I wondered who was here, so I walked up to the car. When I got close, the window rolled down. A man in a suit and dark glasses looked at me, "Hey there, how are you?" He asked, smiling.

"Uhm," I tried using my manners, "Good, how are you?" He just smiled at me, "How can I help you?" He got out of the car, and smoothed out his suit a little. He took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. "Sir, how can I help you?"

"You're name is Tora, right?" He asked, releasing smoke from his mouth.

"Y-yes sir." I said.

"Where's your mother?"

Instantly there was a cold feeling coming over me. He grabbed my shoulder, and three other men came out of the car. They were large and all dressed in the same suit, they were Yakuza. How in the hell did my mother become involved with them?

"I don't know where my mother is." I tried to be as respectful as I could, "She was here yesterday, and then she was gone."

"For some reason, I don't believe you." He blew smoke in my face, keeping his grip tight on my arm, "Tell me where she is, and you may get away without any trouble."

"Sir," he squeezed my shoulder tighter, and I cried out, "I swear! She's not here!"

Suddenly, the man picked me up over his shoulder and started carrying me up to the house. I screamed and kicked and tried to get free, but he was much stronger than I was. He kicked the door open and the three other men followed him.

We were inside the apartment, and he threw me on the ground hard, "Where's your mother, Tora?" He started unbuckling his belt, "Tell me, and we don't have to do this. You're a virgin, right?"

"How in the hell do you know so much about me?" I screamed. He kicked me in the gut hard, and I toppled over.

"You'd be amazed what your mother says when she's drunk." He smirked, "Get up." He grabbed my hair, and yanked me upward, "Get up, you're a whore just like your mother, right?" I heard fabric rustle, and his pants fell to the floor.

I started to shake, and I lost control of my body. Lying on the floor, I started to cry. I knew what was going to happen, I just didn't know why. I had done nothing to deserve this, and yet I was receiving the punishment my mother deserved.

The man got on top of me, and ripped open my uniform, revealing my bra. He grabbed my breasts, and squeezed them. I tried to push him away, but he punched me in the head hard. My eyes saw stars, and he was back at my chest again. He pulled my bra off and worked at my bare skin.

I started to feel dirty, like he was tainting me. He twisted my breasts and sucked at them more, and soon he grew bored of it, "Come on girl, start acting like you enjoy this." He whispered in my ear. He looked over me, and I spat in his face.

He didn't take kindly to this, and he punched me hard in the eye. I saw stars again, and my face hurt. I could feel my tears falling over my hot face, cooling where they traveled. The man turned me over on my stomach and pulled off what remained of uniform top. He rubbed my back, and I tried to crawl away, but he pulled off my skirt with my panties.

"Tatsu," one of the men said, "What if she gets away?"

By this time, I was pretty much naked, "Grab her." He said to him, "Make sure she doesn't get away." He laughed and grabbed my legs. I could feel him press against me. I cried out, screamed, pleaded for help, but the two men held my arms and the other one watched.

Things turned blurry after that part, but I do remember him entering me. It was disgusting, and it hurt. Tatsu said something about blood, but I lost the rest. I saw red in my vision after he pounded into me several times. No matter how loud I cried, no one came to help me.

He rubbed me raw. With each thrust I cried out, but he never stopped. Somewhere in the middle of it, the other men started to masturbate over the top of me. One of them came on my back; I could feel it trickling down my side.

Tatsu turned me around on my back, "I want to see your face…" He said huskily, his face was flushed and covered in sweat. He went inside me again, thrusting hard than before. I closed my eyes, and covered my face with my hands. When I did this, he stopped and snatched my arms away from my head.

The other men grabbed my arms and forced them down with their feet. I could hear one break as one of them stomped down hard. I cried from the hot pain of my bones snapping. With that shriek, the man came inside me, and the other two came onto my face.

When he pulled out, he pulled out a small knife, and cut a piece of my hair. Tatsu pulled the lock to his nose and smelled, staring into my eyes, smiling. I started to fade, there was too much pain, but before I passed out he grabbed the back of my head, kissed my lips, and then cut from me from my ear to the upper part of my breast.

I blacked out afterwards, but when I awoke, I was laying on my couch, a blanket over me. The house was quiet, but there was a light on in my mothers' room. I sat up, my arm was like hot pins, and I cried out, "Tora?" I heard from my mother's room.

A man walked into the room, and when I looked up, Tooru looked into my eyes