A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, but I was pretty busy this weekend with Halloween and everything... But hey, here is chapter 7, enjoy!

Chapter 7: No Longer Alone

Shizuku's POV:

I wasn't sure where I was, but something about this place seemed very familiar to me...

It was a small apartment, not very big in size at all. The walls were painted plain white, and there were only a couple pieces of furniture in the room I was currently in, which seemed to be a type of living room. There were blinds on the windows, but they were all closed shut, making the room very dim, and giving it an eerie feeling.

"Where am I?" I asked out loud, although I seemed to be talking to no one. I was confused, I didn't have the slightest idea where I was or how the hell I had gotten here, and for some reason, deep down, I thought I knew this place, but I couldn't seem to remember at the moment.

I was still standing out in the open of the room when I heard the front door slam shut, and heard it being locked. One, two, three clicks of the knobs of each individual lock. Unsure what to do, I tried by best to hide from the person that had just entered the apartment, pressing myself against a wall, and behind one of the few pieces of furniture, although I had a feeling that I efforts would prove pointless.

"I'm back!" A harsh voice had yelled, and took a few footsteps into the living room, and from the tone of voice I knew it was a man, but other than that, I pretty much new nothing about the new person that had just entered.

Shortly after, I heard more footsteps, I noticed that they were smaller than the previous ones, and a little more rushed. Due to my curious nature, I peered my head a little out of position of my hiding spot, which allowed me to see what was happening in the room.

"Have you made dinner yet?" The older man asked a small girl, who must have been the one who had rushed into the room just a few moments ago. Her hair was a dirty blond color, which was starting to turn a lightish brunette at its ends, and she looked no more than 8 years olds. And for some reason, she seemed oddly familiar to me...

"N-No father, I just finished cleaning the house," She said, obviously very tense, "B-But I can start right now..."

But apparently, this was not good enough for her so called 'father', because before she could do anything else, she was smacked across the face, and fell to the ground in pain and shock. Although she did not dare utter a noise.

"You stupid girl, you can't do anything right, can you?" He said, sneering at the small girl as her as he uttered these words. But the small figure on the ground attempted to stand up once more, which just resulted to him flinging her across the room, and against the wall. A small groan then escaped from her lips, as she started to curl up into a fetal position, bracing herself for whatever might happen next.

It was hard and cruel for me to watch the event, but for some reason, I couldn't force myself to look away, as the father beat the smaller figure again and again, showering a series of punches and powerful kicks to her chest, despite her attempt to protect herself.

A couple seconds later, the male figure had stopped, and looked down at his daughter, who was no longer moving, and had started to breathe uneasy.

"Do you think I am playing around with you?" He asked her, but received no response. Seeing that she wouldn't answer him, he seemed even more enraged than before, and pulled something for out of his pants pocket, something of which I couldn't seem to make out at first. But then I realized what it was, and widened my eyes in sheer horror, it was a small pocket knife, but a knife none the less.

"Leave her alone!" I yelled, finding the courage to reveal myself from where I was previously hidden. But the man didn't notice me, he acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, or as if I wasn't even there. And he began to slash at the arms of the crumpled up figure on the floor, leaving marks that would probably someday turn into scars. The girl, made no sound, as she shed her silent tears down her face.

This was too unbearable for me to watch, I knew I couldn't just stand here and not try to help her. Because, I think that I finally had a feeling where I was, and who these people actually were.

"Stop!" I yelled, and this time tried to punch the man right across the face, knowing it was risky, but the only way. But as my fist had tried to make contact with him, it passed right through, as if I were some kind of ghost, and couldn't come in any kind of contact with them.

I tried again, this time to kick him in the back, but I got the same result as when I tried to punch him. This can't be happening... I thought in my mind, because I couldn't think straight. This girl was being abused right in front of my eyes, and I couldn't do anything else but watch her suffer.

Suddenly, I heard something else, one, two, three clicks of the locks of the door, and I heard it be shut, and the locks click once more. Indicading that someone else had entered this dreaded apartment. A couple of more footsteps later, another figure entered the living room. This time a boy, probably not much older than 13 years old. He had dirty blond hair that was fashionably scruffy, and was wearing a type of school uniform. He wasn't aware what was happening at first because he was looking for something inside his bag.

"Hey, I'm home..." He said, before looking up at the horrendous scene in front of him, and he dropped his bag to the ground, not caring about the contents that spilled out onto the floor.

"Dad!" He yelled, his hands not balled up into fists, and a glare in his brown eyes, "What the hell are you doing?" The boy yelled once again, before pulling the man he had called 'dad' off of the girl, the knife in his hand dripping with her blood.

"Shut up boy!" The man yelled, and threw the knife to the ground, thinking he would no longer need it. "What does it look like? Your idiotic sister screwed up again, so I needed to teach her a lesson."

"You said that you wouldn't do this anymore!" The boy yelled up at the man, not caring that he was shorter than him, and probably weaker. "Just leave her alone, just, go to bed or something." He said, now looking away from his father, and at the girl, who still had not moved.

"Whatever, you should really learn to watch your mouth, you don't want me to treat you like your sister do you?" The man said, before storming out of the apartment, not bothering to lock the door behind him. As soon as the boy heard him leave, he rushed over to the girl, who I was now guessing was his sister, and checked her pulse.

"Don't worry sis," He said to her in a sympathetic tone, before he carried her over to a couch, and laid her down. He then left her there to find something inside his backpack, picking up the scattered contents, and looking for something else.

While he was doing this, I walked over to the couch and looked at the girl, who seemed badly bruised around her body, and cut in various places up and down both her arms, which were still drawing a bit of blood. I hoped that she would be okay, and I had felt a little guilty that I couldn't do anything to help her. She slowly opened her eyes, but like the others, did not see me, and she just stared at the ceiling, until her brother returned with some bandages.

"Sorry I wasn't back earlier," The boy said as he sat his sister up, and started to wrap her arms, "I really thought that I would be home before him, honest."

"It's okay, I upset father, it was my fault." The girl said in a whisper, wincing at the pain she was in.

"No, it's not okay," He said, his expression a little more tense, "He has no right to treat you like that, and you never do anything wrong, so stop putting yourself down all the time."

"B-But..." The girl began, but was soon cut off by her brother.

"But nothing," The boy answered as he finished wrapping her arms in the bandages, "Our father's a dead beat, and you know that. He even pulled you out of school so you could just work all the time. It's not fair, and I'm going to find a way to fix this, trust me." And then sat down on the couch, next to the little girl.

"I do trust you, I really do... But Seiji?" She said, now looking up at him.

"Yes?" The boy called Seiji replied.

"Promise me that you will never leave me alone," She said, tears wielding up in her eyes.

He then pulled the girl into a small hug, very careful not to hurt her, and whispered in her ear something I almost didn't make out...

"I'll never leave you alone, Himeko..."

I then woke up in my bed, and in a cold sweat, tear stains on both of my cheeks. I looked around me and saw that I was still in my room, nothing untouched or out of place.

"Just a dream, just a dream," I whispered to myself, inaudible for anyone else to hear, "But... it felt so... real." I said, talking to myself, which made me look as if I were crazy.

And I knew the reason that it had felt so real, it was because it wasn't only a dream. It was a memory... I thought in my head, the kind of dream you have lived, and can not ever wake up from. I thought again, now standing up on my legs.

I walked a short distance to my open window, and climbed up onto the rooftop once more, just longing for a place to think. What I wanted to think about, I was unsure of. Why? Because there was nothing to think about, nothing that I wanted to think about anyway.

Why would I have that dream? Why now? I've never had it before...I thought, (Okay, so now I was thinking about something) and my right hand had made its way to hold my left arm, since it was a bit chilly up here, and I was only wearing a short sleeved shirt and some pants. Although I never wear anything short sleeved in public, no matter what the weather.

Looking down at my arm, I saw the reason for my fashion choice, multiple scars up and down both of my arms, some larger than others, but they were still there. Yes, I was that little girl, the one that couldn't defend herself, the one that had been so cruelly abused. That dream was a piece of my past, the one I had tried so desperately to forget, but like the scars, the memories remained.

I then curled up into a ball, still sitting on the cold rooftop, my chin now on my knees, and my eyes looking out in front of me. Those memories had hurt so much, and that one was one of the most painful, because that day, a promise was made to me, one that had not been kept.

"You left me alone, Seiji..." I said out loud, knowing that he wouldn't hear me, but I didn't think that it mattered. It was the truth, no matter how much it hurt for me to admit it, he had left me all alone, by myself.

But now, I wasn't completely alone, not anymore. I had made friends, something that I'd never thought I would do. But Riku, Daisuke, and even... Satoshi. I felt a warmth rise up to my cheeks at the thought of last night, at the thought of what he said to me.

"I love you too..." Those four words had been swirling around my mind ever since he had said them, and the warmth on my cheeks became deeper and more intense. The only question was, did he mean them? I mean, did I mean the words that I had said to him? I thought that I might love him, maybe. I was never in this kind of position before, but then again, I never exactly felt like this before.

But, still, why would I say that to him? It just didn't make sense, me, a girl who has basicly gone her whole life without making friends, or bothering with stupid emotions like love, was falling for him? A boy she had barely known?

Like I said, it just doesn't make sense. But nothing seems to anymore, at least, not to me.

I looked in the distance, and saw the sun start to rise up into the sky. Indicating that it was the beginning of a brand new day, a day to help me figure things out.

At least I'm not alone...

Daisuke's POV:

I walked into class just a minute before the bell rang, and took my seat in the front row. But apparently, the teacher was going to be later to class than me, seeing that they were not in the room, even after the bell had rung. When everyone in the class saw this, they immideately broke into conversation. I walked over to Riku's desk, to talk with her, and possibly Shizuku if she was in the mood to talk. But when I looked over at Riku, the seat next to her was empty.

"Hi Riku, where's Shizuku?" I asked her, and in return, I recived a shrug.

"Don't know, she never showed up this morning." She said, "I hope she's okay..."

"You shouldn't worry too much," I said, because I hated to see her worry, "I'm sure she just had a cold or something, probably nothing to worry about."

"I guess you're right Daisuke, she probably just has a cold." Riku said, but she still seemed distracted about something.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, seeing that she still wore a worried look on her face.

"Nothing, I was just thinking..." She said, and started to stare out the window. "I was thinking that maybe... Shizuku might have moved away..."

"What?" I said, not really thinking about that possibility, "She would have told us if she was..." I told her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

I mean, she would tell us... Wouldn't she?

"You know what Daisuke? You're right, I was just getting worried over nothing!" I heard Riku say, "I mean, Shizuku wouldn't just leave all of a sudden without telling anyone, that's not really like her." And then she flashed me one of the smiles that I loved.

Just as I nodded, the teacher just walked into the classroom, apologizing for arriving so late. But all the same, every one took their seats as class began.

Shortly after class finished...

"Excuse me, Daisuke?" I heard the teacher say as I was packing up my bag to go home.

"Yes? What is it Sensei?" I asked her as I walked over to the teacher's desk.

"Since Shizuku is out today, would you mind bringing her today's homework?" She said, while holding a couple of papers out to me. "I mean, out of all the people in the class, she seems to have become most acquainted with you." The teacher told me, and in response, I nodded and took the papers from her hand.

Guess I will be seeing Shizuku today after all... I told myself, a smile emerging on my face.

"You should stop thinking about Shizuku like that, after all, you do have a girlfriend..." I heard Dark say, causing my smile to fade, and be replaced with an annoyed sigh.

"It's not like that Dark, Shizuku's just a good friend, and you know that." I told him, repeating the obvious. I don't know why, but Dark has been teasing me much more than he usually did in the past.

"You sure have a strange taste in friends, Daisuke..." Dark told me, sounding a little more serious than before. It was hard to tell if he was still making fun of me, but there was a certain tone in his voice that gave me the impression that he wasn't.

"What do you mean Dark?" I asked him, but then remembered something that Dark had said a long time ago. "You still don't think that there's something wrong with her, do you?" Recalling when the four of us went to the mall, and Dark was telling me about being careful around Shizuku.

But after I had asked my question, Dark had become silent, which was rare for him to do when we were in the middle of a conversation. Is Dark hiding something from me? I thought, because it seemed to be a logical explanation for his sudden change in behavior.

"Hello Daisuke," I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. Turning around, I saw that it had been Satoshi who was talking to me. "Are you bringing Shizuku her homework or something?" He asked me, before I could even say a hello in return.

"Hi Satoshi," I finally said, "Yea, I am bringing Shizuku her homework, how did you know?" I asked him, since it was a little peculiar that he already knew.

"I heard the teacher ask you too..." He said plainly, "Is it alright if I come with you? Her house is on the route to my apartment, so it's not out of the way for me." He asked me, probably already expecting me to agree.

"Of course." I said, not really knowing how to say no to him. And with that, we started to walk down the street together, both of us keeping silent. Which I must say felt very awkward...

"So, why did you want to come?" I asked, Satoshi now looking at me. "Is it only because this is on your way home?" He seemed to be subconsciously glaring at me, but then looked up at the sky, avoiding eye contact.

"No reason, just thought that I'd tag along..." He said, but something in his voice seemed off. It was like he was lying straight to my face, but I couldn't tell why he would do such a thing. So we walked on, not daring to say anything else, I kept my mouth shut for the rest of the way.

I walked up to the house, like I had done a couple of days ago, and knocked on the door a couple times.

"Coming..." I heard a small voice say from inside, and the door opened up to reveal Shizuku. She was dressed in baggy, oversized clothes, and a white hoodie, which I didn't understand why she was wearing, since it had been particularly warm out today, but I just decided to ignore that little fact.

"Hey Shizuku, we came over to give you your homework..." I said, and handed her the papers. She took them from me and looked at them briefly before she spoke.

"Thanks, I wasn't feeling well this morning, but I'm better now." She said, looking at me, and taking a glance behind me, where Satoshi was standing. "Would you like to come in?" She asked, and took a side step to allow entrance.

"Sorry, but I can't stay," I said, since Mom had wanted me back home kind of early today, for a reason that I was unaware of, "See you later!" I said, before turning to run off. And left the two of them alone, not really thinking about anything that could go wrong.

Satoshi's POV:

Daisuke had left, so it gave me a perfect chance to be alone with Shizuku, to tell her that nothing could ever happen between us. And I hoped that she would understand, although I knew she never could, she would never know that I was doing this for her, and her safety.

"Can I talk to you Shizuku?" I said, as soon as I knew for sure that no one else was in ear shot.

"Of course," She said, and gestured me to come inside, which I did. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you too, Satoshi." She said, looking at he floor. It was obvious that she didn't look well.

"Are you okay Shizuku?" I asked, because she seemed very uneasy. She looked up at me with a confused look, as if she didn't understand my question. But before long, she was smiling again, just like she always did.

"Of course I am, I just wanted to talk to you about... last night." She said, the smile almost immediatley fading as she said the last two words.

"Listen, about that..." I started, knowing that I would have to tell her, since she had gotten right to the point.

"I understand if you don't really like me like that," I heard Shizuku say, her voice a little bit hurt. "Last night I put you in an awkward position, and I wanted to apologize... And I really would understand if you didn't really mean what you said to me."

I wasn't sure what to say to her, I mean what I said last night, I believed that it was true, I really did. But at the same time, I didn't want Krad to hurt her, I knew that if that happened, there might have been a chance that I wouldn't be able to protect her. And if there was a chance of her getting hurt, I wouldn't want to take it. But now, I was almost completely out of options.

What should I do? I thought, If I care for her, then Krad will hurt her, but if I tell her that I don't care, then I'm the one that's hurting her... Crap, why did I have to be in a situation like this? There was no way out, so I guess I would just have to come out with it, once and for all.

"Shizuku, I do like you, I really do..." I said, but once again she cut me off, not even letting me finish.

"You just don't like me in that way," She said, just assuming that I was going to say what she had been expecting. "And that's okay Satoshi, it really is..." Shizuku was now looking me in the eyes, which to me, looked full of sadness, but she still had a small smile.

"That's not it... Shizuku, I really meant what I said last night, honest. But, we just can't be together..." I told her, and then wrapped her in my arms, feeling her gentle heartbeat. She didn't move, she just stood there, as if she was paralyzed.

"I'm sorry, it's just... complicated." I whispered into her ear, not knowing how to explain the situation any better than that.

"I said that I would understand, and it's okay really..." Her voice sounded the slightest bit depressed, but I knew how she must have been feeling. Because honestly, I think she felt almost the exact way that I did, broken.

"No, it's not..." I said, and pulled away so that I could face her, and placed my hand on her cheek, feeling her soft skin on mine. "Listen, I'll find a way to make this work, no matter how long it takes." I told her, feeling confidence rise up inside me. Just being with her, just holding her in my arms, gave me courage. It gave me courage to fight, to fight for Shizuku. Because just looking at her face, seeing her smile, I knew that I wanted to protect that smile... To make sure that it would never get hurt.

She wasn't looking at me anymore, but just staring at her feet, as if she was afraid to look me in the eye. So I started to leave, I knew that I may have rushed into this, even more than she had such a short time ago, and I could tell that she wanted to be alone.

As I walked to the door, Shizuku still standing behind me, I turned around and told her one last thing.

"It's just... you always seem so independent, like you are always fending for yourself." I said, which had been proven true, since my... research on her showed that both of her parents had died a while ago, and she lived by herself.

"I just don't want you to be alone anymore, and I promise that I'll never leave you alone..." I said, before adding something at the end of my sentence, in case it would have to come to that, "...even if we're just friends."

And then, I walked out of her house, and before she closed the door, I heard her say one last thing with a sigh.

"You should never make a promise that you don't keep," And when I turned around, I saw her eyes glued to the ground, and a single tear falling down from her cheek.

"It just makes it hurt more. After all, I would be the one to know." And then, she slammed the door shut, and I heard her turn a single lock.

A/N: And here it is! Sorry if it seems that I'm rushing everything, but I actually had another idea for this chapter, but now that idea is going to be in chapter 8, so I guess you're just going to have to stay tuned to find out what happens! (Btw, at the end, when Shizuku was saying how you shouldn't make a promise that you can't keep, she was referring to when Seiji left her all alone, if you didn't already piece that together.) Oh, and just to give you a tiny bit of spoiler, Seiji, the person I said to be Shizuku's brother, is not dead, just to let you know... C ya!