Nightmares
All that can be heard is the sound of crystals crashing against the floor breaking into pieces, sometimes impacting against something else, provoking a loud and outrageous noise, and in between, piercing yells that make her blood run cold.
An endless amount of yells, insults and reproaches that make her tears flood down her precious little face non-stop as a torrent, wetting it while she crouches even more into a corner and presses her hands harder against her ears to silence those deafening yells and the sound of crystals breaking into pieces.
Next to her is her younger brother, hiding and burying himself more into her body to silent such grotesque sounds and feel, somehow, protected.
- We'll be okay – Isuke says softly, stroking his head to calm him down, sensing him nodding against her chest while he grasps her shirt tighter in his tiny fists.
And then she hears it, the sound of the flesh being hit hard, followed by more yells.
Isuke shuts her eyes even tighter and rocks both of them in their spot, trying to block the deafening noises, trying to hold her stomach in its place to not puke. She has to be strong for both of them.
A lightning illuminates her bedroom in the middle of the darkness and Isuke, scared, averts her eyes from her door for a brief second to gaze up at the starry sky and at the rain pouring heavily down through her window.
Please, somebody come and save us.
Isuke prays internally at the same time as another lightning strike, accompanying by the sound of the thunders roaring hard, reverberating against the walls of her bedroom. Suddenly, she hears a heavy thud and the echo of heavy footsteps going upstairs towards her bedroom, immediately sensing her brother trembling of fear against her, breathing erratically, gasping for air.
Her bedroom's door opens forcefully, frightening both of them, and before she can even react, her father has already crossed the bedroom, grabbing her brother by the wrist tightly to drag him towards the dining room in between yells and insults while her little brother just cries disconsolately and yells her name over and over again.
- Isu-neechan! Isu-neechan, please help me!
Isuke runs after them, stumbling on the stairs slightly, before she jumps over her father to prevent him from hurting her beloved brother any longer, but it's futile.
He just takes her by the hair and crashes her against the floor, hard.
Her head throbs with pain against the cold floor, staining the tiles with her blood as tears escape her eyes, seeing with a feeling of helplessness and despair how her useless mother doesn't do anything to help them, seeing how she's completely calm with how her father beats the crap out of her brother before she even has the decency to look away from that scene.
Isuke tries to stand up to stop him, but it seems like strengths have abandoned her, making her fall back to the ground while her vision darks briefly and her gaze tries to keep being focused on the scene developing in front of her.
Then, her brother shouts out a piercing yell that makes her blood run cold before he falls immobile onto the ground, in the middle of a sea of trash and dirt, and everything that reigns in the house is nothing but silence.
Nobody says anything, nobody does anything, his body doesn't move any longer, his chest doesn't move up and down…
He's already dead… and she... she's also dead.
The feelings of helplessness and despair she was feeling until then, slowly lead to one of coldness and emptiness as tears start to silently flood her eyes, spilling down her little face while she lays on the ground waiting for her end as she has already lost the only reason that was worthy to keep being alive.
The rain drops hit the window of her house at full force with rage as the sound of thunders reverberates against the walls like gunshots inside her head.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Three gunshots, two bodies falling flat on the ground, lying lifeless while their blood stain everything.
Isuke opens her teary eyes, seeing an ash blonde haired man kneel next to her brother's lifeless body to check his pulse and close his eyes gently, letting him rest in peace, to right after, get close to her.
His soft hand pushes her hair aside, putting it behind her ear then he dries her tears before crouching in front of her with his hand extended to her.
Isuke stares at his hand then at the man. He looks kind, so slowly but fearfully, she takes his hand and he brings her hand closer to kiss it gently, almost chivalrously.
- Save me, please – Isuke begs him weakly and he just smiles at her reassuringly.
- I'm Inukai Eisuke. From today onward, you're Inukai Isuke, okay? Starting today, you're my daughter, okay? – he tells her calmly, introducing himself and her future new life as he strokes her hair with his other hand.
He takes a look at her, seeing her unfocused and red eyes from crying, not sure if she even has understood him.
- Did you listen to me? Do you know what I mean? – his hand never ceases to stroke her hair in a soothing way, urging her to look at him – Look… if you help me then I'll help you.
Isuke slowly nods at him, looking at him attentively.
- They may have been your parents but they almost let you die, just like they killed your little brother… That's why I did it, that's why I chose you. Do you get it? J – Isuke nods slowly at him – Then let's get out of this place.
He squeezes her hand, caressing it softly and she looks at it, feeling his pleasant soft and warm touch then looks at him, still with unfocused and sad eyes, uneasy.
- My little brother… – she starts saying weakly, looking over his lifeless body on the floor.
Eisuke looks at her sadly, obliging her to look away from that macabre scene.
- We can't do anything for him... Come with me, I'll adopt you – he says, now pulling both of her hands to his lips to leave a gentle kiss on them – Please help me. Help me in my job and succeed me.
Isuke's dead eyes look at him once again.
- Your job…? – she asks him hesitantly.
- Yeah, a very important job.
Her little hands grab his tighter.
- I'm an assassin. It's about killing…
Isuke grabs one of his fingers tighter and nods slowly at him, and Eisuke, immediately, covers her with his coat, hugging her tightly against his body while they get out of the house, leaving behind them a trail of corpses of what her family was.
Isuke cries against his shoulder while he hugs her even tighter, wrapping her in his warmth, making her feel like she never felt before: safe, sound and loved, and Isuke knows she'll do anything for him and her new family.
The next round of deafening sounds of thunders roaring louder jolts her up in her sleep, obliging her to look dazed at her surroundings before flopping back onto the mattress of her bed. A heavy sigh escapes her lips as she gazes up at the sky grumpily through the window of the room before she goes back to stare at the wall, trying to keep those ugly memories and nightmares at bay.
Every time there's a strong storm, nightmares occupy her mind.
- Isuke-sama.
Isuke hears the voice of her roommate whispering her name softly.
- Isuke-sama… Are you awake?
She tries again, unnerving Isuke who just wants to go back to sleep.
- No! I'm asleep, idiot – Isuke snaps at her, annoyed at her.
- Are you okay? – Haruki asks her softly.
- Hah? What are you saying? Don't tell me you're afraid of storms so you're asking me that?
- No, but I heard you whimpering in your sleep so I thought that maybe you were having a nightmare.
Stupid Haruki.
- I am perfectly fine, idiot!
Isuke half-yells while she covers herself more with the blankets.
Stupid Haruki…
She hears a heavy sigh and the rustled sound of blankets as well as dragged footsteps crossing the room to stop next to her bed, then she feels a weight dip on her mattress.
- Are you okay?
Haruki's voice is so gentle and tender that almost hurts.
- I'm okay, go back to sleep Haruki.
Haruki stays there for a little while, before she stands up to go back to her own bed, when Isuke turns around slightly to look at her and sighs, uncovering her blankets, making Haruki turn around to look back at her because of the sound of movement.
- Just for tonight – Isuke says under her breath, pouting to then turn around again, being glad Haruki can't see the light blush adorning her cheeks in the darkness – Be quick idiot, Isuke is getting cold and might regret it.
She hears a light chuckle behind her and soon, she feels Haruki's body getting under her blankets and inside her bed, moving closer to her back yet still keeping a certain distance between them.
- Sweet dreams Isuke-sama – Haruki whispers tenderly, squeezing her waist lightly before Isuke hears her breathing soundly, indicating she already fell asleep.
Isuke turns around and snuggles into Haruki's body, burying her head on the crook of her neck, inhaling her pocky aroma.
- Stupid Haruki.
Isuke whispers against Haruki's neck, placing a light kiss on it as she feels Haruki wrap her tightly in her arms, helping her unknowingly to keep away the nightmares.
Somehow, Haruki makes her feel warm, protected and loved, just like her mama and papa makes her feel and Isuke, even if she doesn't want to admit it, loves it.