If one were to ask Syo Fukawa what the definition of a 'happy family' was, chances are, she wouldn't know how to respond. Sure, it sounds obvious on paper, but the small girl was a visual learner, i.e. in order to understand/properly process one thing, she must witness it first-hand. So, it's quite difficult, nigh impossible for one such as herself to learn from something that she's never experienced.

She had heard of families that would eat together at the dinner table each night, families that would all go out to the park together, families that could trust each other with secrets, thoughts, feelings… But surely, such a thing is too good to be true, no?

Syo seemed to think so.

The ten-year-old sighed, her back pressed flat against the white walls of her shared bedroom, which was sparsely decorated, save for a few scribbled drawings that Syo had made and taped up around the room. Lately, she had just been keeping her drawings safe and tucked away in her scrapbook, as she knew Mom didn't like them on the walls at all, and always yelled about the tape peeling the paint. She hated when Mom yelled. She hated when any of their parents yelled, for that matter.

She heard their Father yell something from the kitchen, which was quickly followed by gurgling.

She clenched the light-blue towel in her hand tighter, and closed her scarlet eyes. Bringing her free hand up to her shoulder blade, Syo began to softly drum against it, her hand balled up into a tiny fist. It never calmed her down, but it sure as hell gave her body something to do.

A few moments passed, before the girl heard a gasp for air, followed by a splash, and more gurgling.

She didn't deserve this. Neither of them did. It wasn't fair.

"You lazy, good-for-nothing whore…!" she heard their Father yell. "It's always something different with you, ain't it?!"

Another pained gasp, and more gurgling.

"Calm down, Kiryu," their Mother replied. "Just be thankful that she isn't nearly as daft as the retard."

Syo felt her body tense up, the drumming on her shoulder screeching to a halt.

"... Tch. Fine." came his response. It took a moment for Syo to hear even more gasping, before hearing soft cries.

"Bugger off to your room, you little brat." he continued, his attention now turning elsewhere. The girl heard the fridge door open, so she presumed he was grabbing a drink.

She had tried the stuff he drank years ago. It was bitter and disgusting. She much prefered orange soda.

It took another moment for her to hear quiet footsteps hastily making their way to the bedroom. The door opened, and Syo watched as her younger twin gently walked in, closing the door with a soft 'thud'.

Her hair and face was completely drenched with, what Syo presumed to be, dirty dish water. At least, that's what it smelled like. Their Mom had told her to do the dishes, so that would make more sense.

The dish water stinked, sure, but the water was never as deep as the bathtub. That was always far worse.

The older sister quickly stood up, towel in hand, and waited patiently as Toko Fukawa approached her twin, her head low, and her drenched braids dripping water all over the already stained beige carpet. As soon as Toko was in arms reach, Syo spread the towel out wide, and wrapped it around her sister's frail body. Toko immediately bundled up part of the towel in her hands, using it to dry her face as best as she could, though her constant flow of tears made sure that her thin face was always at least partially damp.

"... Th-Thanks…" Toko finally muttered under her breath, watching as Syo began to rummage through their closet, before pulling out a large, black hooded jumper.

"Don't mention it…" She replied, handing Toko the jumper. "... Dry your hair, then change into this."

Toko simply nodded. Her face now as dry as it was going to get, she brought the damp towel away from her body, and instead brought it up to her braids, squeezing it against her hair in an attempt to at least stop the dripping. Once the dripping stopped, Syo turned away and made her way over to their shared single bed, climbing under the purple quilt, and pressed her body tight against the wall as she waited for her sister to finish changing.

The younger twin, now much more warm thanks to the jumper, quickly followed after Syo, climbing into bed next to her. The light was still on, but neither of them cared; they were both exhausted. They always were.

Besides; they both despised the dark.

"... You feeling better, Gloomy?" Syo asked, turning her equally small body around to face her sister, who was drying off her glasses with the hem of the jumper. Syo was glad that she never needed glasses; they looked like a hassle.

"Yeah, I-I think so…" she replied, before gently setting the round-rimmed glasses on the bedside table behind her. "... Thanks again, Syo." Toko gave Syo a weak smile, and Syo blinked in response.

"It's no problem."

Syo yawned.

"... I think that was the last clean towel, though." she continued. "I gotta wash more tomorrow before our parents get home, and-."

"I-I'll do it." Toko interrupted. "It's my fault we used the last clean one… I'll do it."

The older twin narrowed her eyes, before sighing. She didn't agree with it, but she knew better than to argue against her sister, especially when she had actually decided on something, which was always rare.

"... Alright, fine."

The two sisters laid down in silence. Well… As silent as the room could get. The girls could still hear their parents bickering from the living room, but to them, it was just background noise, with the same familiarity of leaving the television on in the background for hours on end until you can recite the various advertisements and crappy infomercials word-for-word.

The yelling was terrifying, but familiar, which perfectly summed up their lives living in this household.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes, Syo spoke up.

"... I've been thinkin'..." she began, her voice quiet.

"... About what?" Toko asked. The older twin leaned forward slightly, further closing the already small gap between them.

"... We should just run away…!" she replied, cracking a rare, excited smile. Toko's dull, grey eyes widened.

"W-What do you mean…? We can't do that!" she hissed, causing Syo to reattain her usual frown. "W-We wouldn't be able to do anything…!"

"... I know." replied Syo, flatly. "Which is why we won't do it straight away."

She rubbed her weary eyes before continuing.

"I think we should wait until we're like… Thirteen, or something." Syo continued, slowly chewing on the collar of her 'Pokemon' shirt, which was full of holes around the areas she chewed the most, the collar quickly dampening with her saliva. This always disgusted the younger of the two, though she understood why she did it. Syo always needed something to do with her body, otherwise she would get anxious. She would even spend hours on end making bracelets with brightly coloured wooden and plastic beads, only to chew them apart in mere minutes.

Toko saw nothing wrong with it, or her sister as a whole. Unfortunately, it seemed nearly everyone they knew saw her as nothing more than a sad, sorry case. Her sister was either treated as an infant, or a burden, and Toko wanted nothing more than to see Syo treated as what she was; an equal.

"Th-That's… Three years…!" Toko replied. "I-I know we're too young now, but... " She paused for a moment, before sighing.

"... I'm really not sure if I can wait that long, Syo."

"Gloomy, it'll be alright." the older twin reassured. "We can get through the next few years, and as soon as we turn thirteen, we can get outta here!" Syo's frown remained, but her eyes were wide with excitement. "I've got it all planned! I'll steal money off of Father, and then-"

"A-Are you crazy…?!" Toko interjected, causing Syo to pout. "Y-Y-You can't just… Steal from Father! What if he-"

"He won't find out."

Toko frowned.

"... How do you know?"

Syo thought for a moment, before shrugging.

"... I'll be careful." she quickly stated. "And then, we can get an apartment, and we won't hafta be here anymore… We won't have to see Mom, or Father, or… Mother, ever again."

"... Who would let a couple of teenagers live in an apartment…?"

"... I dunno." Syo admitted. "But there's got to be someone who'll let us." Toko sighed.

"... You're too hopeful, y'know?"

"Hey," It was Syo's turn to sigh as she turned around in the bed, her back now turned to her sister. "Aside from each other… Hope's all we really got."

The younger sister frowned, before closing her eyes.

"... I'm not gonna leave you behind, Toko." Syo murmured, exhaustion finally causing her to drift off.

"I-I know…" replied Toko. "And…"

She scooted closer to her twin, before wrapping her arm around her waist. When there was no response from Syo, Toko took it as a sign to tighten her grip.

"... I won't leave you, either." she finally said.

"... We… Got a deal, then…?" the older sister asked, wearily. Toko gave a small nod of her head.

"... Y-Yeah. Let's do it."