Ishida
By: Kawaii_Kitty

This was great! My family was going to be back together again! Mom would put Dad and Matt back in line and everything would be great once again. At least that's what I thought. I went to Matt's band practice that night to tell him the news.
He choked and crushed the blue can in his hand. "What?!" he practically screamed at me. "Mom and Dad are getting re-married? As in sharing the same house, wearing each other's rings?"
Note to self: Never give news to a sweaty blonde boy drinking soda; it can be suicidal and homicidal all at once. "What other way could it mean? Don't you see? This is great! We'll be a family again!"
Matt threw the half-empty, compressed can to the ground and grabbed my shoulders. "T.K., you're crazy! Dad's been drinking now worse than ever! He's flat broke!"
I pressed my hand to my brother's chest and pushed him off of me. "Matt, you're the one who's crazy. Mom and Dad love each other! I just know things'll be different this time."
Matt huffed and crossed his arms. "Tell that to Tracy."
This name didn't sound familiar to me. I raised my eyebrow and rubbed my shoulder. "Who's that?"
Matt gave me a glare. "Dad's whore for this week. Last week it was some girl who tried to get me to have a threesome with her and Dad." He closed his eyes and shuttered. "I've only got eyes for Sora right now."
I nodded. "Yeah. Should I tell mom?"
Matt gave a sigh and picked up his guitar. "She won't believe you. And besides, Dad said he'd be out tonight, he'll probably be at your place tonight. I'd buy earplugs if I were you."
I nodded again and looked at my D-3 for the time. It was nearly eight and mom was out. If Matt was right, dad would be over at my apartment, probably ready to pop Patamon in the oven and eat him.
Once I got home, I found dad at the dinner table, eating a bowl of ramen. The poor guy couldn't even make himself a decent dinner. Once I slid on my slippers, I walked over to him and examined him. He held his forehead in his left palm and his chopsticks in the other. It looked like he was asleep.
Upon further examination of the table, I saw an empty whiskey bottle laying on it with the remains of a shot glass strewn upon the hard wooden table. I looked at my father with deep sympathy, knowing that my mother and depression brought on this alcoholism obsession of his.
Slowly, without trying to disturb his sleep, I removed his pruning hand from the brownish water and noodles and took them to the kitchen, cleaning out the bowl and rinsing off the chopsticks, putting them behind the sink and clearing the table of any remnants of his drinking problem. I then took a pillow from the couch and set his head on it, scooting out his chair for more comfort. I walked back to my bedroom and took off my hat, ready to throw it on the bed when I heard a grunting sound coming from my father.
"Ungh... T.K.? Is that you?" he moaned in a harsh, raspy voice that filled me with fear.
I looked over my shoulder slowly, taking my hand off of the door handle. "Y-yeah. It's me, Dad. Don't worry, I already-"
He rose from his chair silently while I was in mid-sentence. I stopped my tongue and, so it seemed, my breathing. His slippers shuffled against the carpet as he approached me, a tired, anguished look spread on his face.
"You already what? Told Nancy? Does she know?" His haunting voice rung in my ears for a few seconds after they were said. I couldn't breathe, let alone talk. How was I supposed to answer him with words? Instinctively I shook my head for an answer. Apparently, his vision was blurred and couldn't see my action. "Well?" he hissed at me with his foul breath reeking of alcohol. I winced and turned my head away from the intimidating man before me.
"N-no. Mom isn't home yet, and she didn't take her cell phone with her. I don't have any way of contact with her." I tried to explain.
He didn't understand what I said and interpreted it for the opposite. "You TOLD her! You little bastard!" He grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward as he stumbled back.
I gave out a sharp cry of pain at this. I put my hand on his and used all my strength to try and pry him away. He growled and balled his hand into a mighty fist, bringing it hard and fast into my gut, knocking what little air I had out of me.
I tried to gasp for the air that I so preciously desired and moaned loudly as I dropped to my knees. He let go of my wrist and let me fall to the floor. A sharp pain in my stomach seemed to lurch into my lungs, making me cough loudly and spit up some blood. I never knew how much, for my eyes ached, darkness enclosing all around me, seeing far off stars and strange clouds of pink and green floating about.

Memories of my naïve childhood bubbled in my mind, remembering the night when the truth opened up to me like an overused book, flipping to a page that had been read at least a dozen more times than the others.
I remember pain. Glass was all around me and my mother was yelling.
"What have you done?!" A female voice, it had to be mom's.
The blurry figures above me moved swiftly and continued to yell. There was a blur of red being thrown from the shorter figure as my mother screamed and fell over the dinner table. While my parents fought for the second time that night, Matt leaned over me, his face was clear. He was concerned. He took one look up my parents and then picked me up. More red covered my eyes and dripped from my face. My head hurt like hell, and I couldn't understand why. Was it because of the thick red water on my face?
Matt set me down on his bed and looked down at me. "I told you that you weren't big enough to know." He folded up a blanket and put it on my head, which made me cry softly. "Hell, even I'm not big enough to know all the details."
He sighed down at me and gave me his favorite stuffed dog, inu. "Here," he said as I became dizzy. "You can have him for tonight, and my bed, too. I'll be fine on the couch."
He was always been such a great brother. He looked out for me since the beginning. He looked at the closed door to his room with tears in his eyes while the battle raged outside.
I never understood why he did these things for me. I still don't know if I do. Maybe it's that little puddle of red water on his pillow and blanket that was the answer. But it's just blood, I told myself, why would he protect me for blood? If I don't know now, I don't think I ever will....


A/N: Finally! I got down and finally decided to write another chapter on this horrid thing! The story's just getting good, I almost can't wait to continue it!