****
His punch sent the little girl into the wall. She felt the blood fill her mouth, the salty taste almost pleasing.
"Get up Weakling!" He screamed at her, yanking her up, off the floor, by her hair.
Her eyes filled with fear as he growled at her, grabbing the child by the throat. She looked pleadingly into his eyes. She saw them sparkle as she tried desperately to pull away his hands. A demonic smile settled onto his face, noting with satisfaction the blue tint to her lips.
"What's the matter? Can't breathe?" he whispered teasingly. He suddenly released his grip and she fell to the floor, gasping for breath. "You're not worthy of anything, not even death."
The child's onyx eyes widened as she watched him leave the room. He locked the door behind him.
****
The small child curled up in the corner. She didn't dare move any further; afraid he would come back and hurt her if she did. She refused to cry. It was a weakness. Besides, tears would only anger him. He hated people who cried. Maybe if she fought back harder, she could win. It never really worked though. She was only six and he was older. He was stronger, too. She remembered the first time she had tried to fight back. He had come into her room, claiming he wouldn't hurt her. She had backed up against the wall, knowing exactly what he had in mind. He had lied to her. He had raped her.
This wasn't usually the way he did things. No, punching and kicking were more his style. He had once been a respected warrior of her clan. But he took his dedication to the extreme. He beat his wife and children, in public, until he killed them. This man enjoyed inflicting pain on others. After killing them, he miraculously managed to escape the death sentence, but was banished from the colony.
The desire to fight, to destroy, to hurt was never extinguished. Instead, it grew and over time, he couldn't control it. She just happened to get caught in his way.
Her parents had been killed on the flight from L5 to L15. He had been the one who murdered them on the shuttle.
Pretending to be family, he offered to raise her. After he got custody, the real terror began.
****
She stared at the floor. 'Father,' she thought. 'Why did you and mother have to die? Why does he hurt me? Why did he dishonor the clan? When will he stop?' Question after question came to her mind, none were spoken out loud and none were answered. She ignored the pain, which had significantly dulled. Yet, she couldn't move. The child pulled her knees to her chest and sat there, huddled in the corner, as the cold night air filled the room. She could almost hear the voice of her only friend comforting her. The voice calmed her. "Be strong," it told her. She nodded her head in reply, as she released her knees and closed her eyes.
"Wufei, help me find the strength that I need," she said quietly, knowing that her only friend couldn't hear her. "Please Wufei..." A solitary tear slipped down her cheek.
****
After several hours, he came back and stood at the door. 'She's being too quiet,' he thought. He knew she hadn't escaped. He had made sure that escape from the room was impossible. There were no windows and he was standing at the only door to the tiny room. He was not going to let her leave.
'If that little brat wants to leave, well, she'll have to fight her way out. I have no time for weaklings. She will not leave here alive!' He smiled to himself and cracked his knuckles. 'I guess I'll have to show her the hard way,' he thought as he reached for the door.
****
She watched the door slowly open, and glared. 'He's back,' she thought, feeling the anger and hate rise in her again.
"Come here." He pointed to a spot in front of him. She decided that if she did, he wouldn't hurt her. The girl started to walk over to him.
"I said come here, brat!" He reached out and grabbed her hair, jerking her towards him. She did not cry out as he proceeded to drag her by the hair. She kicked and clawed, trying to fight him off.
"That's better! Now, fight me!" he yelled at her. He punched her in the chest and the girl struggled to breathe. She cried out, once, as he kicked her in the stomach; causing her to double over on the floor.
He towered over her, watching the hate build in her eyes. His eyes filled with anger. "Stop it! You...Are...Just...Like...Her!" He kicked her with every word. He stopped to catch his breath. 'No sense in killing the brat, yet,' he told himself. "You are just like her. Just like your mother. That woman was as weak as they come. She's better off dead, don't you think!?" He laughed.
She balled her hands into fists. "My mother was NOT weak!" she said forcefully. After a few seconds, she added in a low whisper, "Now, you take that back!"
"Did you say something?"
"I said take that back you bastard!" she yelled, as she pulled herself to her feet. "Don't you dare talk about my mother that way!"
He blinked. "Well, I guess I hit a nerve, didn't I!?" He was pleased with himself. "See, you can be tough." He shoved her against the wall. "Come on. Hit me dammit!"
She glared at him, but didn't move. 'Father said to only fight fair fights and this isn't one of them.' She looked him in the eye. "No."
He back-handed her. "Fight me, you dishonorable little wretch! It's either that or you die." She only blinked. His anger growing, he picked up the child and threw her into the wall. Small pieces of stone broke off from the force of the impact. She quickly got back to her feet.
"Come here, brat!" He reached out for her, but she kicked his hand away. She ran around behind him and kicked him in the back of the knees, causing him to fall. She kicked out at him again, but he caught her leg. He twisted it, causing her to fall flat to the floor.
"You're...going...to...die!" He wrapped his hands around her small throat and squeezed harder with every word.
"Stop!" she pleaded. One of her hands searched around for something...anything. Her fingers wrapped around a small stone shard. With most of her remaining strength, she plunged it into him repeatedly.
He let go of the girl and stood up. She stared with amazement at the blood pouring forth from the wounds she had inflicted. She didn't know if he was dead or alive as she ran out of the room. Her instincts told her to keep running and she did.
****
"Oko!"
The sound of her name brought Oko back to reality. She continued to examine the huge bruise on her face in the mirror. The taste of blood in her mouth had brought back all of those memories.
"What!?" Oko yelled back.
"Open the damn door!"
Oko unlocked the bathroom door and Wufei walked in. She looked away from him, partially in shame. She had always believed that he was the only man who wouldn't hit her; especially in anger. He never hit anyone in anger, but his time it had been different.
She knew he had been drunk at the time and, as much she hated to admit it, it was mainly her fault. She had locked herself in the bathroom after he had hit her. She'd been in there for a day and a half. "What the hell do you want?" Her voice was low and dangerous.
Wufei took one look at her and saw the blood slowly dripping from where his knuckles had hit. He had never hit a woman like that before. Yes, he had beat Meiran, but he hadn't hit a woman since. Besides, he hadn't kicked her that hard.
Wufei didn't know what to say. He had never apologized to anyone, much less a woman. "Oko," he started.
"Fuck you! I don't want to hear it! Now, move out of my way!" she yelled at him.
"And if I don't?"
"You'll have a matching bruise," she said icily.
He could tell that she was serious. He slowly backed out of the bathroom and she followed. She took a look around their bedroom and glared at him. "How can you make this big of a mess in one God damned day!?"
"Maxwell and Bracken were over here last night," Wufei replied calmly. That, of course, explained it all. Oko walked over to her dresser and pulled out enough clothes to last her for six days. She stuffed them into her old, black army duffel bag along with her katana, 3 guns, 2 knives, and her wallet.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked her.
"Out. I'll be back in a week; I just need some time."
Hoisting the bag onto her shoulder, Oko walked over to the door of their bedroom. Before she left, she stopped. Something on the floor had caught her attention. She bent down and picked it up. It was the group picture that Duo had insisted that they all get a copy of. "Tell Sara that I'll be back in a week. When she asks where I've gone, tell her whatever you want. It doesn't matter. There's only one person I want to see right now."
Wufei knew that she was secretly making a promise that she wouldn't suicide and that she had just told him where she was going. "I'll tell Heero you're coming."
"I don't give a damn if you do or don't." With that, she left.
****
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