Crimso's Notes V.2

(Note: Chapter was started Saturday)

Eee. Um… What is there to say here? I'll talk about current events in my life, then. Forth Quarter has started. Nothing really interesting is going on. I can't wait for summer. Today's Fate/Zero was so awesome I felt like exploding (also, Saber). Mirai Nikki ends tomorrow (but probably won't be subbed until Monday). That just about covers it…

~~~~X~~~~

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Dying Hope

The morning came much too slowly in Mion's opinion. The night seemed to have drifted on forever, with her lying with her eyes wide open, not even able to close them. Whenever she tried, she would find them flying right open at the speed of a rocket exiting the earth. Even before she went to bed, things weren't very comfortable for her. She would usually conclude the night with a friendly chat with Shion about one thing or another, but neither of them spoke to each other for the rest of the day after the incident with Satoshi. They exchanged glances every now and then, but those glances only lasted two seconds long at most. Mion wanted to talk to her, but there just wasn't anything to say after that incident.

She had thought all night about their relationship, or at least what remained of it. Neither of them were talking now. She didn't know how long it would last, but judging by the situation, probably a while. She did not want to speak to her sister at all, and she knew that if they did get into a conversation, it would not be her starting it. Unless Shion had something to say, Mion knew that they probably wouldn't exchange words for a long, long time…

She sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror, brushing a comb through her long strands of green hair. All she could think about was Shion, and how that morning she had just gotten right up without a word and walked out of the door, not even bothering to greet her sister or ask her how her sleep was. They didn't even look at each other.

Mion had skipped breakfast that day, for some reason not having an appetite. She was now completely dressed and ready to go, but it was quite early. She looked at the clock. Maybe getting there early wouldn't be so bad, now that she thought about it. Someone could be there and she could probably stir up a small conversation with them, getting her mind off of things. She usually waited for Shion to get ready to go with her, but… It wasn't like they were going to say anything to each other anyways, and being near Shion was now awkward and uncomfortable. Where there was once a warm fire laid ashes of that same fire, doomed to never ignite and give off warmth again. The ashes had long lost their heat from the burning fire it had once been. Now, it was just cold, black dust. That same warmth she got from being near Shion was just that now. All there was cold, awkward remains of what would never come back.

She wanted to piece things back together, but ash was not broken pottery. If you really wanted to put in the time and effort, pottery's pieces could be put together again, though it would take a long time and careful judgment to fit each piece back together so that the vase was complete. Perhaps there would be a few slight changes, but only someone with a careful eye could see them. Ash was not something that could be pieced together to form a warm fire. Ashes were nothing more than remains, not something that could ever become anything.

Perhaps their now broken relationship would prove to be something more than just ashes that could actually be put together, but Mion doubted it. She would never have the strength to say something for a while. Perhaps one day Shion would speak to her again and they could move on, but that might as well be in the far, far future.

I've lost everything. I thought that I had created a perfect world… but... maybe something that perfect just doesn't exist. When she was little, everyone would constantly remind her that no one and nothing was perfect. It was a saying that went around, though sometimes Mion had doubted it. What wasn't perfect about those beautiful art pieces that hung around the Sonozaki Manor? There were no flaws. However, now that Mion thought about it, it was true. Nothing could ever be perfect, and that also had to go for this world.

"It doesn't have to be that way," Rion told Mion, "there's a chance that it can come back. I think you are being a bit too negative," she pointed out. "If you look on the bright side, you'll see that your relationship isn't gone forever! Mion loves you, and you love Mion. Could this really tear you apart?"

Mion looked down at the ground. "I do love Shion, and she loves me, but Satoshi means more to her than anything else in the whole world. Since she lost him to me, I don't think there's much of a chance of anything good coming out of this, or her deciding that she will just forgive me." She turned around, looking Rion right in the eye. "You told me once that you had a sister. Don't you know what it's like?"

Rion blinked a few times. "Well, my relationship with my sister was a lot different from yours and Mion's," she said, a troubled expression on her face for a few moments. It seemed kind of… dark to Mion, which caused her to blink in surprise. It took her a little while to wipe that look off her face and replace it with her more usual cheerful, childish smile. "But I know enough about your relationship with Mion to know that this can't end it! You two have been together since forever! Nothing ever could change that."

"Well," mumbled Mion, "if you spent three seconds as her sister, you would know her and exactly what she is like. In those three seconds, I'm sure you would realize that Satoshi means everything to her. It's been that way for a long time, and since she's known him for longer in this world, I'm sure her feelings are stronger." She didn't know exactly when Shion's crush on Satoshi developed in this world, but it probably had more time to do so. "It's not something that can be fixed like how you're saying it is. You're making things seem too easy…"

Rion looked at the ground, staring at her feet. She didn't know what to say to that. "Please, just be positive…" she replied desperately.

Mion looked over to Rion. She didn't really want to talk to her about this right now, it was hurting her too much. She just went back to looking at herself in the mirror, deciding that it would be best to get going soon. Well, perhaps if she wanted to try mending their relationship, she could start out by at least waiting to her to show that it wasn't doomed. Maybe that would do something. So instead of leaving like she originally planned, she flopped backwards onto the futon.

Her heart felt like a lump of coal that had yet to be heated. It was heavy, and it had a strange chilliness to it that seemed to affect her entire body and cause every last drop inside of her to freeze over. I need to get my mind off of things. She pictured in her head Keiichi, and the events of yesterday before everything went wrong. She remembered how Keiichi had held her in those moments, and how he had told her how much he loved her and that she needed to stay strong.

"I love you, Mion," Keiichi told her, "and I never want you to forget that I love you. So whenever you feel down, I want you to remember that I love you, and that those feelings of mine will remain no matter what escapes you. Just as a little something to cheer you up." One hand on her back moved over to her long locks of green hair and began to run through them in an attempt to calm her. "Remember that for me, okay?"

Yes, I'll remember that. I'm remembering that… As she thought about those words, her coal heart began to heat a little and seemed to grow lighter. If she just focused on those words for long enough, the warmth would surely surge throughout her body and melt everything that had turned to ice. Those words made Mion's stomach tingle in delight, and a small smile went across her face. Yes, even in these dark times, she still had Keiichi, who had long ago told her that he loved her. Not only that, but he had promised that that love he had for her would never fly away and go off, and that it was something that he would always hold, and something for her to always hold next to her.

Just the thought of him made her a little happier. With that thought, she could enjoy things in her life. She could know that even though everything was crumbling apart, there was always something that was solid and unbreakable, something that could never be broken into pieces no matter how many times you tried to hit it.

When Shion walked into the room, none of them said anything to each other as usual. Shion quickly got dressed and ready for school as Mion tried to focus her mind on Keiichi and the words he had said to her before. Yes, she didn't need to focus on the bad things in her life. All she needed to focus on was what was good in her life, and perhaps with that she could make it by. After all, her relationship with Shion couldn't be broken forever, could it? Not even the tattoo incident in her world broke them apart. Sure, it shook them up, but Mion and Shion's relationship was anything but fragile. A little shaking wouldn't break it.

"We're going to be late," Shion told Mion, but her voice did not contain very much of it's usual cheerfulness or friendliness. "Let's go to school."

Mion just swallowed and nodded, telling herself that she shouldn't take note of the tone that Shion just spoke in. She had to think about something else and tell herself that that tone was just something temporary. Surely enough, in a week's time, or perhaps two, she would be back to her normal voice, which would be full of her sweetness and love. She could practically see it in her head… Yes, this Satoshi thing wasn't going to last forever. Besides, he could move on.

The two of them left the building, but as Mion had expected, they did not speak a single word to each other as they walked down the paths of Hinamizawa. Well, that was okay. It wouldn't heal instantly. She pictured Keiichi in her head as encouragement to move forward, allowing his words to echo in her mind over and over again. Yes, she just had to focus on what was good in her life right now. Rion was right, these things she was getting hurt about were not things that would stick.

Yet, when she had thought that, a wave of pain hit her heart. She quickly shook it off as nothing, though, and tried to walk forward. Maybe today's day at school would be good. Her friends could be in a good mood, and then they could joke around and discuss any random topic that came up. Having random conversations with her friends was enough to patch up any wounds. Even though they were sometimes pointless and had no meaning, they were just plain fun. Really, she was so glad to have friends like them during these rough days.

When she walked into school, things seemed rather silent, which provided absolutely no comfort for Mion. As she entered the classroom, she spent a moment just standing in the doorway and allowed herself a moment to look around. The younger kids were chatting a bit as usual, but there really wasn't too much conversation going on. Then again, the children in her class sometimes just didn't have chatty days, and it was possible this was one of them. She focused on the back, to where Shion was going. Rena and Keiichi were striking up a conversation, and they both seemed to be perfectly happy. This should have calmed the storm of a turmoil growing in her heart, but for some reason, it was oddly unsettling. The next thing that caught her eye was Rika, who seemed rather dark and down as she ran her finger across the smooth top of her desk, not even bothering to talk to anyone who went up with hopes to speak with her, such as the very eager boy who was trying to encourage her to help him with his art project. The last thing that Mion noticed was the strange absence of both Satoshi and Satoko. She felt worried for a moment, but she shook that off. They were just late, she figured.

Sighing, she entered the classroom and slammed her bag down on the desk. She didn't feel like talking to Shion still, so she found herself moving over towards Keiichi and Rena to join in on their conversation. She didn't know what they were discussing, but it didn't matter. Just something would cheer her up, she supposed. Besides, maybe some conversation with Rena would make her feel a little less off about the girl.

"Hello, Shi-chan!" Rena greeted, smiling. "It's been a little while since we talked. Are you feeling okay?"

No, her mind instantly answered. "Yes," she lied. "I just haven't been interacting too much with people, I suppose! You know, I've been working hard on that math packet that Chie gave to me centuries ago."

Rena blinked in surprise. "Keiichi-kun was telling me before that you didn't like math too much, but it's good that you're trying your hardest!" she said cheerfully, switching her expression to a more friendly, happy one rather than confused. "I'm not the best at math either. Keiichi-kun was telling me about how he wanted to help me some more with it." She turned her head over to the boy on her left, smiling. "Right?"

Keiichi nodded. "Rena's a really good listener! She really understands something when I explain it to her. I suppose that the book doesn't explain it well enough, huh?" he said, grinning.

Rena nodded. "Whoever wrote those should have overlooked them to make sure that they made sense. I'm sure you agree with me, Shi-chan. Aren't those descriptions in the book a little confusing?" she asked, focusing her blue gaze on Mion and smiling, much like how the Rena from the older world would smile.

Mion didn't know what to say to that. In truth, she didn't even look at the explanations on the book. She really couldn't be bothered, as she knew that even if she did, they wouldn't make any more sense. "Aha!" Mion finally cried. "Yes, that book isn't that good at all! I mean, who wrote those instructions anyways? They should be fired!"

"Maybe not fired, but certainly told to make things more clear," Rena responding, smiling. "I don't think I would want to make someone lose their job over it. Besides, Keiichi-kun here fixes everything by being such a great teacher!"

Keiichi wore his usual nervous grin. "Well, I don't know if you could say that—"

"—Oh, Keiichi-kun! You don't need to be so bashful about your talents." She took a good moment to show her bright smile to the boy before she directed another one at Mion. "You know it too, I'm sure! Keiichi-kun told me about how he had to teach you several problems in math. I don't blame you! I had trouble with the same things! I really don't get math sometimes, but it's a skill that I need to learn, so I'm going to work my hardest! You should, too."

"Yes, of course." For some reason, Mion was still unsettled by this conversation. Every time that Rena said something complimenting Keiichi, and whenever Keiichi complimented Rena, she would feel an uneasy shudder down her spine. She tried her best to ignore it, though, telling herself that it was nothing and that her body was just being silly and giving her warnings that didn't even matter. They probably had no meaning at all. Yeah, stupid self! Stop doing that and ruining my time. I love Rena, she's a great friend and she has always been very supportive of me. Why are you trying to make me hate her?

"So," Mion said, feeling the need to switch the subject, "Satoko and Satoshi are late today."

Keiichi nodded. "It's not like that to happen. You know, Satoko's been recently coming her quite early in order to set up traps, so I would think that she would be here already." He began to carefully scan the classroom, and as he did so, he spoke, "unless she is here already and is hiding for some elaborate trap that involves scaring someone half to death."

"If that were true, you would think that Satoshi wouldn't be in hiding. I don't think he's the type to help out on Satoko's pranks," Mion pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe." Keiichi leaned back in his chair, sighing. "But it's probably not anything, I don't think we should get very nervous or worried about it. Do you remember the time when Rena first came, and how Chie was very late? That turned out to be something good, and it was nothing to be worried about at all." He grinned. "Besides, who knows! You and I both know Satoko well, and I'm sure Rena does too even though she hasn't been here for nearly as long. Satoko may be coming in late for some kind of prank…"

Rena scratched her head. "I wonder what kind of prank involves coming in late, I wonder…"

"Maybe she'll burst in in the middle of class and start singing at the top of her lungs and scare us all?" suggested Keiichi.

Rena couldn't help but let out a small giggle. "Oh, Keiichi-kun…"

Keiichi frowned. "What? ! It was a valid idea!" he cried.

Mion just laughed along with her. No, that was not something Satoko would do. Even though she was a prankster, the last thing she would do was that. "Anyways, I think that what is more likely would be something involving setting off a smoke bomb in the middle of class or something like that."

"She could do that without coming in late," Keiichi pointed out, "she couldn't do my idea without coming in late."

"Yeah, but your idea was ridiculous," Mion said teasingly, sticking her tongue out at him in order to mock him.

Keiichi grumbled as he placed his chin on his folded arms, whispering something about how he thought his idea was a good one.

"Anyway, class is just about to start," Rena said, looking to the clock. "It's not going to be long until Chie begins class. Satoko and Satoshi will have to hurry up, since Chie doesn't take too well to people being late. I've only been here a few days, and I already know that!" she said, laughing just a little bit at her comment. A few days ago there had been an incident where a boy walked in an hour late, only to meet Chie's fury. That certainly was enough to give Rena an impression, and Mion was sure now that she would probably never be late for class after seeing that display.

"By the way," Rena whispered to Mion, leaning in close to her ear. "Why is Rika-chan acting like that today? She hasn't interacted with anyone. I greeted her this morning, but she only waved a little bit at me. Usually, she starts up some sort of long conversation about her toys at home and how Mr. Cat hasn't been getting along with Mr. Walrus or something along those lines. She seems to be pretty down…"

Mion could only shake her head. Really, why was Rika acting the way she was? It was just plain odd for the Rika of this world. This behavior was definitely a sign that something pretty odd was going on with her. But what could it be? She didn't have the slightest clue as to what the answer to that could be.

She took a moment to watch Rika. The girl was tapping her fingers up and down on the desk as she looked at the wall, though she probably was more focused on whatever was in her thoughts than the work that had been hung up on the wall. There was a slightly dark look in her purple eyes that Mion had only seen during the harsh times in her own world. She didn't even acknowledge a boy as he passed by her, happily greeting her before moving on to get whatever he needed from the drawers near by.

That was unlike Rika, who would usually respond cheerfully to anyone who walked by her, and more often than that was the first to greet anyone who walked by, whether or not she was good friends with the person (though it should be noted that as the Furude Head, Rika knew people in Hinamizawa better than most).

"I don't know, I would think that she would be cheerful…" Mion could only respond. "You've only been here for a bit, and I know you know just from that that she doesn't act like this usually…"

Rena nodded. "It certainly is strange. I wonder why, then? I wonder."

Before Mion could answer to that question, the door opened, revealing Chie. Mion glanced to the clock, realizing that it was indeed time for class. When Chie's body left the doorframe, Mion took a moment to peer into the hallway, a spark of hope lighting within her as she imagined Satoko and Satoshi and the possibility of the two of them being right behind her. Perhaps they had just been discussing grades with her or something similar. However, as quickly as the spark was lit, a particularly ice-cold downpour put it out. There was no one behind her, and certainly no Satoko or Satoshi.

"Okay, class, let's get started!" cried Chie happily as she stood in front of the classroom. "Today, we'll start with announcements…"

However, Mion was not listening. Her mind focused completely the image of Satoko and Satoshi, wondering where they were, wondering if they were okay. Had something bad happened to them? Knowing that Satoshi had gone through a dark period because of her rejecting him made Mion wonder if him not showing up had something to do with what she had said, and what she had done. …No, she told herself. That was ridiculous! There was no way that that had anything to do with this! She mentally slapped herself, telling herself strictly that she could not think like that, or even about that incident anymore. It didn't matter anymore... He would get over her, and then Satoshi and Shion could be together, and then maybe, just maybe she could speak to Shion again.

However, the moment her mind got away from that topic, it decided to drift towards another. An image of Rika popped up in her head, though this Rika was not the cheerful Rika that she had seen during her months in this world. She was depressed, dark, and very distant.

Mion looked down at the wood that made up the top of her desk, burying her fingernails into the rough material, though she couldn't really dig very deep in the first place. What in the world was going on here? Why was Rika acting like this suddenly? She didn't hear of anything bad happening to the Furude family recently, which would be the one reason Mion would think that she would be upset. Then, why?

The next question that came to her mind was why her mind was constantly drifting towards one bad thought. Was it caught in water current or something? …No… Water currents only went in one direction, and they didn't suddenly change directions. Well, whatever it may be that her mind was caught in, it certainly wasn't making things easy for her. When a bad thought was chased out, another would appear.

Yes. This is just some sort of dark, endless loop…

~~~~X~~~~

Satoshi and Satoko didn't turn up for the rest of class, and Rika's mood never improved. When Mion went home, she and Shion didn't even talk to each other once. Throughout her time at home, they didn't even look into each other's eyes. That's exactly why Mion found herself wandering through the paths of Hinamizawa again, the rays of the golden sunset beaming down on her. However, the bright, sunny sky above her wasn't reflective of her inner emotions. Within her, it was as if the worst snowstorm known to mankind had swept through her heart, freezing it into pieces and destroying any source of warmth or happiness.

There was the empty sound of crunching beneath her feet as her shoes pushed pebbles into the dirt path, and the songs of the higurashi cicadas echoing throughout. However, the songs they sung today did not seem to be all that peaceful, and their rhythm certainly couldn't warm up Mion's mood.

Mion looked up at the sky, trying to focus on the colors above her. Pink, orange, yellow, and purple-blue danced about above, all four colors blazing through the sky. They were warm colors, something that Mion liked. Anything warm was of some comfort to her, but the amount was minimal.

"I want you to stay strong," Rion said, "this is the perfect world!"

Mion doubted it.

Maybe she should go home. The sunset today was beautiful, but all she could think about was how Satoshi's hands had grasped her shoulders that day, and how his lips had pressed forcefully against hers. She remembered how she struggled against him, how she pushed him away, how she broke his heart with her words. This was only making things worse. She couldn't look up at that sky anymore, for every time she did, the feeling of Satoshi's lips tingled against her own lips.

Yeah, that was it. She should go home right now and look forward, not at the sky. She turned around swiftly and marched back in the other direction, trying to focus on the path rather than the sky. She looked from house to house, trying to distract herself with them, attempting to find something remotely interesting so to drive off any bad thoughts she had. However, she had seen the village of Hinamizawa too many times for anything around her to be considered that interesting.

And when she tried to warm herself with Keiichi's words, the effect wasn't as strong as before. The warm flames of love only tickled her cold worry and depression, melting off icicles but not chunks. Yes, she loved Keiichi, and Keiichi loved her. That was something she could think about, because it seemed to be the only thing that was actually going right in her life.

Maybe I should go home and rest. Maybe then I'll have a sweet dream, and then… I can escape my thoughts for a bit.

That sounded like a good idea. When she got home, she would rest. She did need the rest, after all.

However, as she walked forwards towards her house, a thought popped into her mind. This was the image of Shion, staring at her with clear pain in her emerald green eyes. There was this way she held her body that told Mion that she was not being the confident, strong girl she usually was. Her body position made it look as if she had a fifty-pound bag strapped to her back, weighing her down and forcing her to drag herself. Mion bit her lip and shook her head. No, that wasn't Shion. She was just having weird images.

The crunching sound of footsteps grew louder.

The next image that came to her mind was of Rika, her usually happy eyes full of dull loss, as if she were some kind of lifeless doll. She too was just hanging there, her arms held flatly at her sides, swaying about. Mion shook that image out too. No, she couldn't think about that!

Crunch, crunch. The sound of feet hitting the rocks became more rapid.

Then, finally, there was the image of Satoshi sitting in a chair near his desk, his whole body slouching over. His eyes were directed at the floor, but if a close look showed one of his purple eyes. They seemed to be full of suffering of unimaginable amounts, suffering so strong that it made Mion's heart crumble and twist with the sheer idea of it. Surely, her mind told her, she knew why he had those feelings, why that pain was killing him on the inside. Surely, it was because of her…

No, no, no, no! Pebbles and dirt were kicked up behind Mion as she dashed. Come to think of it, when had she started running? Oh, that was the reason why the crunching sound became louder and more rapid, wasn't it? Then how long had she been running for, and what was she running from?

Home! I need to go home!

Yes, a voice in her head taunted her, home, where Shion will refuse to look at you, where your dear sister will not utter a single little "hello" to you…

Shut up! she commanded the voice as she ran faster. No, Shion would greet her! Yes she would. This wasn't something permanent. It wasn't like their relationship was gone. It was just something brief, something that would pass over faster than a flash of lightning.

Don't feed yourself lies! it shouted, are you trying to deny it, Sonozaki Mion? Or should I say, Sonozaki Shion? Such an unfitting name… you should have been born Mion.

No! I can't think about that! No, no, no…!

The next thing that Mion knew, she had collided with someone in the middle of the road. She stumbled backwards, her mind and the voice inside her halting the battle and the bad memories temporally fleeing in fright of how sudden the incident was. Mion reached for her stomach, rubbing it gently. What had she crashed into?

"Ah… Satoko!" Mion cried out.

When she looked to the ground, she saw Satoko there, rubbing her head as she sat a little awkwardly on the ground. Slowly, she reached forward for the small, golden coins that had spilled out when they had collided. She collected them and stuffed them in her pockets, and then looked to her sides. The groceries she had bought had spilled out on the ground, some vegetables now coated in the dirt below.

"Ah!" Mion cried out. "I'm sorry about that! Here, let me help you—"

"—No, I'm fine…" Satoko responded, though her voice was not full of her usual Satoko spirit. It was raspy, weak, and tattered with pain. When Satoko looked up to her friend, Mion instantly realized that her cheerful purple eyes had been glossed over with a sheet of suffering and pain, so much that Mion felt as if it had turned into a blade and stabbed her directly in the heart, seeping out unbearable pain, but not blood.

Mion had seen that look in her eye before. but it had been so long ago. And she only had that look when… "Satoko, what's wrong? !" Mion cried out.

Satoko tried smiling at Mion, but her eyes remained without a single happy emotion. "Oh, I just bumped into you. And I spilled the vegetables, silly me… Now aunt's going to get all mad that I ruined dinner…" she spoke. It was odd to hear her little voice tattered with so much pain, even when she was trying to hide it. But Satoko… she just made it too obvious…

She bent over and collected the dirty vegetables in the bag, then lifting them up in her hands. They looked heavy, and Mion doubted that she could carry all that without falling over.

"Here, let me help you," Mion said, reaching forward to take one of the bags from the girl.

"Don't," Satoko responded, jerking the bag backwards and causing the contents to swing. "I'm fine, I'm good… I can carry this all by myself. So, you don't need to worry…" Her voice was dull and not at all reassuring. "I can do everything on my own…"

She began to walk forwards, and when she passed the older girl, Mion noticed that there were bruises near the endings of her sleeves that seemed to extend further, perhaps to her shoulders. This caused her to cringe up in pain, and her teeth to clench together so tightly that they felt like they were about to shatter.

This was exactly how she had behaved when her uncle and aunt were treating her badly years before. All that had lead to the incident with Satoshi disappearing, but… that was her regret. She regretted not being strong. So why was this happening suddenly? Was everything breaking to pieces before her eyes?

"Satoko!" she yelled out to the girl, pure desperation in her voice. "If your aunt and uncle are doing something bad to you, tell me!"

However, Satoko just slowly turned around, looking at Mion again with those dull, purple eyes painted by countless incidents of abuse. "They are not. I am perfectly happy… They are good caretakers. I just happened to get those bruises when I fell from a tree…"
What a terrible lie… Mion thought. "Don't lie to me, Satoko!" she demanded.

Satoko giggled a little, but it was clearly faked, as there was no joyfulness in her laugh. "I'm not lying. Huh, are you calling me a liar, Shion-san? Hehe… well, I'm not. So don't worry about me. I just didn't come to school today because I had a cold…"

Another terrible lie. Her uncle had told her to say that, probably.

"Well, see you," Satoko said.

Mion's heart would have probably froze, but it already was iced over far too much to gain more. While her uncle and aunt were horribly abusive, the Satoko of this world had been able to put up with them. She would take their beatings, and she would yell back. She would stand up to them, and she would not let them hurt her. She would protect herself without a problem. But now… suddenly…

In the jumble of her thoughts, there was only one clear thing that she could here her mind speak to her.

What in the world was going on here?

~~~~X~~~~

Crimso's Corner V.3

My computer broke. That's why I didn't update this week. I have no idea how it broke, but the RAM got dislodged somehow (maybe it's because I spilled some drink on my keyboard? That could have caused water damage, not dislocation, but… whatever) which caused my computer to go gray and start beeping. So I had it taken in, and I just got it back. I got really frustrated at them for not fixing it faster. Oh yeah, and it broke IN THE MIDDLE of this chapter :/. Argh. So that's why I didn't update.

This will never happen again.

So I didn't do too well this quarter. Yes, we got our grades today. Whatever, I'll do better next quarter, I'm sure! Yes, I'm going to try my best this time! Gee, I was in a pretty awful mood all day, but at least I'm feeling a lot better now. Let's not talk about these things, I'm happy now. Let's leave it at that!

Thank you for waiting, everyone.

~Crimso