CHAPTER 6

THE FAMILY BREAKS

It didn't take long until the Hiiragi family was thrown back into anarchy and confusion when everyone woke up and realized Tsukasa was home. What made the family drama deepen was when Kagami showed herself to her family with a glowing red handprint across her face inflicted by Tsukasa. Tadao called to his youngest daughter to come out of her room and face the consequences for her violent outburst, but she refused. When the family decided to go upstairs and face her, they realized she had locked herself in her room when they tried to open the door.

"Tsukasa, why are you acting like this?" Inori called as Tadao gave up trying to open the door himself. "Why would you hit your sister like that? You're surrounded by people who love you, you know!"

Tsukasa didn't answer. She didn't reply or talk to them ever since she refused to come out of her room. Miki pushed forward and gently knocked on the door and said, "Tsukasa, darling, its mom. Please, none of us are mad, even Kagami said she's not mad. We just want to help you. Whatever's bothering you, please, tell us. We love you, Tsukasa; we know that you know that."

Silence once again was the only thing that emerged from Tsukasa's room. They listened closely but couldn't hear anything, not even the sound of movement inside.

Tadao had had enough and he pushed himself to the front of the crowd and gave her an ultimatum. "Tsukasa, either you come out and talk to us, or don't come out at all for the rest of the day."

Again, silence followed.

Feeling his anger rise for his daughters' sudden wave of misbehavior, Tadao removed himself from the scene. Inori followed as well as Kagami and Miki, leaving only Matsuri behind to try her hand at the unfolding problem. She tapped on the door and said, "I know you can hear me in there Tsukasa so just listen. I'm starting to worry about you. I'm going to be blunt with you and I believe you're acting this way because you're still in pain because you were raped. Am I right?"

Silence.

"I understand the pain you're going through and–" Matsuri began but never got the chance to finish.

Tsukasa's bedroom door suddenly flew open violently and Matsuri nearly let out a scream of terror when she saw her sister. Kagami had described Tsukasa's new wardrobe earlier but never in her strangest nightmare would Matsuri envision a shrine maiden wearing the dark clothing that she was. To make matters worse, Tsukasa had painted her face but only around her eyes with thick black eyeshadow, giving her an even more frightening persona.

"You know what I'm going through, Matsuri?" Tsukasa asked in a dark and heinous tone. "You know what it's like to offer your kindness to a stranger, only to have him throw it back at you by violating your body and making you feel the worst pain and suffer the worst humiliation imaginable? You know what that's like, big sister?"

It was then that Matsuri realized she had dug a hole for herself. All she wanted to do was comfort her sister but recognized she may have made it worse. She tried to explain herself but Tsukasa continued for her.

"Things happened in that shrine on that night that you wouldn't believe. Things you'd only see in your nightmares. Things that would make you puke." Tsukasa hissed again. "I'll give you an example. I was sodomized with the same goddamn broomstick I used to sweep the inside of that place while they laughed and took pictures with their phones."

Matsuri's eyes widened and deepened as she gulped and took a step back. Her stuttering ceased when Tsukasa revealed one fact about her rape that nobody knew and the doctors never told them about. It was a confidentiality protocol but it still made Matsuri's stomach churn and now she could feel pain like never before, but still incomparable to Tsukasa's. Her legs feeling like jelly, Matsuri tried to find the strength to back away but it was as if she was rooted into the floor.

"Tsukasa…I…I…I didn't know…I–" Matsuri continued to struggle.

"Shut up, Matsuri." Tsukasa snapped seriously, still glaring at her sister and her voice became more high-pitched when she hissed again with her look of hate tightening. "You don't know what it's like. You could never know what it's like."

Tsukasa suddenly slammed her bedroom door again and locked it, leaving her stunned sister in the hallway alone. Finally mustering the strength to move again, Matsuri lifted one leg up, turned, and began to walk away. She could feel her bones creak and crack, as if she was frozen and walking again for the first time in years. She struggled down the stairs and rejoined her family in the living room, where they continued to talk about their situation with Tsukasa. When they saw Matsuri enter with such an alarmed look pasted on her face, everyone turned to her and anxiously waited for her to say something.

"I uh…I second dad's idea to call a specialist for Tsukasa. Maybe…possibly…take her some place for awhile like a special hospital." Matsuri murmured.

Miki quickly stood. "No! How many times are we going to go over this?! Tsukasa isn't going anywhere! We're not going to be one of those families that sends one of their own away like they're a faulty product and just forget about them! We are going to keep Tsukasa here and we are going to get through this as a family! Nobody is going anywhere!"

Miki's outburst brought her to tears again and once again, Inori took it upon herself and calmed her mother. The oldest Hiiragi daughter wrapped her arms around her mother and pulled her back onto the sofa as Miki continued to sob with her hands covering her eyes. Inori whispered reassuring sentiments to her mother, which seemed to calm her down as Tadao suddenly stood and walked into the kitchen, which triggered Kagami to follow him.

Tadao poured himself a glass of water and he quickly inhaled it like it was his deprived fresh air. Setting the glass back down, he stood over the sink and gazed out the window and sighed with remorse and growing frustration. Kagami approached him from behind and said, "Dad, are you okay?"

Her father slowly nodded. "Yes, Kagami, I'm fine. I'm just worried about your sister…and your mother."

Kagami nodded and stepped forward again. "I don't think mom is seeing this problem for what it really is. Tsukasa is hurting and she won't let anyone in and if we don't do something, she might end up doing something she'll regret."

The troubled religious man turned to his daughter. "What are you saying, Kagami? Are you also in favor of calling a doctor for Tsukasa?"

To his surprise, Kagami was quick to shake her head. "No, because we don't know if it's that serious yet. We don't even know where Tsukasa was last night or what she was doing. For all we know, she just went clothes shopping and was calling our bluff the whole time."

Tadao reached up and scratched the back of his head. "I can see where you would say that, but Tsukasa was gone all night and that isn't like her at all. I think she spent the night at one of your friends' homes."

Kagami was now puzzled by this mystery. She had to disagree with her father because if that was the case, they would've called and told her. Tsukasa was always docile and followed in Kagami's shadow and didn't have any other friends aside from their usual group. It wasn't like Tsukasa to spontaneously branch out and make her own friends like that, especially so fast that they would crash together. Either way, it was possible that Tsukasa did spend the night with one of the girls from the usual group and the youngest Hiiragi twin asked them to keep it a secret. Knowing she wouldn't be able to pry any information out of Tsukasa any time soon, Kagami decided to contact all her friends and ask around.

Kagami's train of thought was interrupted when her father placed his hands under her chin and guided her face to his. He observed Kagami's face and asked, "Are you okay, Kagami?"

"What? Oh…you mean when Tsukasa hit me?" Kagami said with remorse and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. It scared me more than it hurt me."

Tadao nodded and to Kagami's surprise, he leaned down and kissed her forehead and added, "You know you make me very proud, right Kagami?"

Kagami smiled. "I know, dad. I love you very much. We'll figure this out together."

Tsukasa sat in her room and perched on her open window with one leg hanging out of the house and the other keeping her balance against the wall. Another burning cigarette sat in her mouth as she blew a puff of smoke into the fresh air that carried it away. With a passive but still bitter face, she glanced at the empty spot where the family's shrine once sat until she torched it. Sneering at the spot, she placed the cigarette back in her mouth and slowly removed one of her furry black and purple gloves, revealing a new secret hidden by Tsukasa. She was ready to try a new coping skill to deal with the mental pain she was feeling, but it wasn't going to do her body any favors. Tsukasa exhaled her last drag on her cigarette before she turned the burning stick around and extinguished it on her arm, burning the skin and damaging her arm as her lips quivered from the pain as a little bit of blood emerged from the wound.

"At least I have control of this pain," Tsukasa said to herself before she flicked the cigarette out her window and she retreated into her room.

The troubled Hiiragi twin reached under her mattress and once again began to write in her private diary. With quick and angry movements, she squinted at the words she wrote and could feel the burning emotions of extreme hate rise within her small body. This time, it wasn't against Ryosuke or his accomplices. This message of abhorrence was directed at each and every member of her own family. In its details showed the inside of a tortured soul who was filled with so much anger, yet somehow lost the motivation and the will to open to her family about it. Instead, the fantasies of their deaths filled the pages of her diary.

Tsukasa heard the conversations about her pick up again amongst the people downstairs she resented, prompting her to rip a blank page out of the diary and write a message for them. It was short and simple but cruel and grotesque in its words as Tsukasa hid the diary, placed the message for it to be found eventually, and she planned her escape. Tying her bed sheet to the edge of the window and using it as a rope, Tsukasa climbed out and knowing the area was clear, she began her trek back to her new friend.

With her eyes cast downward, Tsukasa navigated the city streets and walked the familiar path towards The Black Window. Having to walk past a few otaku stores like before, she approached one just as the doors opened and to Tsukasa's frustration, a familiar face walked out. Carrying a bagful of new manga, Patricia Martin turned and nearly collided with Tsukasa but the youngest Hiiragi twin was able to steer clear, or so she thought.

"Tsukasa? Tsukasa Hiiragi? Is that you?" She asked with her usual high-pitched voice only with more surprise.

Tsukasa stopped and slowly turned her head, revealing her painted eyes and paler complexion around the black eyeshadow with a piercing glare on her face. "What do you want?"

Oblivious to Tsukasa's anger and cold reply, Patty-chan was amazed by Tsukasa's new look. "You…you look amazing Tsukasa-san! That is hands down the best gothic ensemble I've ever seen! And I always thought you were the soothing character type with maybe a little bit of moe in you! Where did you get this outfit?!"

Tsukasa wasn't in any mood for the otaku's games and turned as she began to walk away again. It only strengthened Tsukasa's growing frustration when her so-called foreign friend began to follow her and continue to flatter her over her wardrobe. She would spout hysteria over how good Tsukasa looked in it and continued to ask if she was trying to cosplay as anyone. Patty-chan also added that if Tsukasa grew her hair out a little more and divided it into two pigtails and allowed her to find the appropriate wardrobe, Tsukasa would look like Harley Quinn from the video game Batman Arkham City: Harley Quinn's Revenge.

"I said leave me alone goddamn it!" Tsukasa finally turned and screeched at the blonde-haired otaku, making her freeze and stand in statue formation as the troubled Hiiragi twin turned and continued walking. Patty-chan began to scratch her head and wonder what was wrong with Tsukasa as she watched her friend continue to walk down the street.

Patty-chan came to the naïve conclusion that Tsukasa was still a closet-case cosplay enthusiast and didn't want anybody to know. She smiled to herself and promised to do something nice for Tsukasa when she would see her in school the next day. Little did she know that she was digging a grave for both her and Tsukasa for the next time they would see each other.

Tsukasa arrived at The Black Window later that day and when she entered, her familiar bedmate in Yuka Miyakawa looked up from her front desk and her face instantly lit up. Laughing happily, Miyakawa approached Tsukasa and placed her hands on her hips and pulled her close into a surprise kiss, which Tsukasa allowed but didn't reciprocate and quickly pulled away.

"Is everything okay, Tsukasa?" She asked as the Hiiragi twin began to unwrap her red and black scarf around her thin neck.

"Yeah, sort of. I just needed to get out of the house for awhile. I was also wondering…what happened last night?" Tsukasa said sternly and removed her scarf, revealing several black, blue, and red marks across her neck in the shape of Miyakawa's lips.

Miyakawa smiled and giggled mischievously. "A lot. I never knew you had such an inner freak, Tsukasa. I could barely keep up with you and when it was over, I was wiped out but you were still ready to go more rounds."

Tsukasa's eyes squinted and she couldn't help but shudder as she replied. "I never thought I would do things like that. If my parents found out…I could never go home."

"Are you ashamed? Or do you have any regrets?" Miyakawa asked.

Tsukasa searched her inner being and was able to arrive to a definite answer in such a short time. "No. I'm not ashamed and I have no regrets. I'm getting sick and tired of living with those religious freaks. Before I burned down the shrine, I overheard my biggest sister talking on the phone to a friend and she said it was her religious duty to forgive those pigs."

Miyakawa rolled her eyes and groaned. "But hey, if they become too much and want to get out of there as quick as possible, you can always move in with me."

Tsukasa was reluctant. "I don't know, I'll think about it. I just need a place to hang out for a few hours."

Back at the Hiiragi household, Kagami sat at the bottom of the stairs with the phone to her ear and waited for the dial tones on the other end to cease. She readied herself for a conversation when a girl's voice on the other side answered and opened with, "Takara residence."

"Hey Miyuki, its Kagami." The oldest Hiiragi twin said.

"Hello Kagami-san, how do you do?" Miyuki responded with her naturally sensitive and polite demeanor.

"I'm fine; I was just hoping you could help me with something." Kagami continued and cleared her throat. "Tsukasa has been acting very strange since the incident and I was hoping you had advice for us. We don't know much about this kind of thing and I know you want to be a doctor and I know this isn't exactly your desired field, but anything you could offer at all would help."

Miyuki cleared her throat on the other side and began her reply. "I understand how difficult it must be, Kagami-san. Tsukasa-san went through a very horrific experience and it will take a long time to heal, but I actually do know a few things about this issue. I recently read a book entitled Guilt And Shame and it was written by an American professor of psychology named Dr. June Tangney. In it, she described all the possible ways a rape victim would deal with their trauma and it was pinpointed that self-blame is the biggest consequence psychologically speaking. It is possible that Tsukasa-san blames herself for what happened and her behavior is being shaped by that."

Kagami wrote her friend's responses on a piece of paper and replied. "Okay because Tsukasa has been acting very hostile, which is very out of character for her. Is that part of self-blame?"

"I believe it is. In the book, Dr. Tangney added that self-blame can manifest itself into countless symptoms with anger and aggression towards everyone being one of them. On more extreme levels, rape victims who suffer self-blame and show aggression can also display symptoms such as lack of compassion, becoming very resistant to seek help, fits of rage, and pushing away the people that try and become closer to them."

The oldest Hiiragi twin continued to jot down Miyuki's phone lecture. "Tsukasa has been pushing us all away and even disappeared yesterday morning and didn't show up until early this morning."

"My, that must have been utterly frightening." Miyuki added with concern.

"It was, so this self-blame turning into anger thing…what could it lead to in the long run?" Kagami asked and dreaded the response.

Miyuki cleared her throat again. "If not properly treated, it could lead to dire consequences such as permanent promiscuity, substance abuse, self-mutilation, eating disorders, violent outbursts and even suicidal and/or homicidal thoughts and tendencies."

Kagami shivered as Miyuki informed her of these and she continued to write them down. "One more thing, Miyuki. Ever since it happened, Tsukasa kept asking if she's a baby and the other night, she had a bit of a meltdown and kept shouting that she's not a baby and doesn't need anyone. Does that mean anything to you?"

Miyuki hummed with intrigue as she thought and eventually gave a response. "It could be that Tsukasa-san blames herself for what happened like I said and because of it, she sees herself as weak and is undergoing a dramatic psychological change to try and fix that. Maybe her meltdown was her way of saying that she doesn't want to be seen as the weakest and youngest of the family anymore and is seeking a more assertive personality."

Kagami nodded instinctively as she heard this and it began to make more sense to her. "Okay, I think I understand now, but my mother has been a little hysterical since the incident and I should probably ask for her sake…how do we help Tsukasa if she won't let anyone in and every time we try, there's always a fight."

"A very good question, Kagami-san." Miyuki said and added, "The truth is that while Tsukasa is blaming herself for this, I'm afraid you cannot do much for her on your own. It has to be Tsukasa-san who must decide that she wants help because only she can let people into her mind. If I may be so bold, Kagami-san, upon reading Dr. Tangney's book, I believe the more you try and help Tsukasa-san on your own, the more you will push her away. Tsukasa-san must ultimately decide she wants help and when that time comes, she'll come to you."

Kagami was silent as she tried to take in everything Miyuki had told her. Kagami still loved Tsukasa dearly and wanted to do everything in her power to help and now her latest advice was to disconnect with her sister until she would come to them. Based on what happened this morning, Kagami had no idea how long that would take but she was beginning to think it would be awhile.

"Thank you, Miyuki. I knew I would be able to count on you for help." Kagami said through a fake voice of gratitude as she shook her head and rubbed her eyes.

Miyuki bought the act and replied, "You're very welcome, Kagami-san. My family's thoughts and prayers are still with you and your family."

Their conversation ended there and when Kagami hung up the phone, she sighed loudly with mounting agony for her sister. Reading over her notes again, she decided she had no options left but to take Miyuki's advice and stood to face her sister again. She walked up the stairs and knocked on Tsukasa's door again, only to be answered by silence.

"Tsukasa, listen, I just want you to know that I'm no longer going to try and help you." Kagami said to the closed door. "I know you're hurting and you probably blame yourself for what happened to you but ultimately, you need to come to us for help. When you decide you want to change, you know where to find us."

Kagami placed her ear to the door and tried to listen for any signs of life but couldn't hear anything at all. She sighed again and began to walk away when a thought suddenly struck her. Miyuki had mentioned that rape victims who self-blame have a tendency to have suicidal thoughts. Oh god, what if she's hurting herself in there? Asking herself this question was enough to make Kagami quickly return to her sister's door and try with all her might to open it.

To her surprise when she used every muscle in her body to open the door, she realized it was now unlocked when it flew open and she lost her balance and fell into Tsukasa's room. Quickly springing to her feet, Kagami looked around and before she noticed Tsukasa was gone, she noticed the sudden change to her room. All her get well gifts were gone, as well as all remnants of pre-rape Tsukasa including pictures of cute animals and motivational posters. The only thing left in her room was a bare mattress and it was then that Kagami noticed the bed sheet tied to the window.

She quickly rushed over to the open window and looked down to see the bed sheet dangling and acting like a rope and it was clear Tsukasa was gone again. Kagami turned but before she could announce Tsukasa's departure to the family, she noticed a folded piece of paper sitting on her bed, which was the note the youngest Hiiragi twin left to be found. Kagami took it and when she read the simple four word sentence, she trembled and felt sick. She instantly dropped it and called to her family as she ran out of her sister's room and the note landed on the floor and opened, revealing its message.

You will all burn.

Déjà vu repeated itself for the Hiiragi family when Tsukasa didn't return home that night again. Instead, she spent the night with Yuka Miyakawa and indulged herself in yet another night of debauchery. Without any moral sense of right or wrong anymore, Tsukasa woke the next morning and for no particular reason at all, decided to board the train that would take her to school. She didn't even think about the previous day or care about what she was doing to her family, especially her mother. To make the prelude to her day even more interesting, Tsukasa disregarded her school's dress code and was wearing her dark outfit, earning a few curious and even disgusting looks from others on the train. She wasn't seen as a traditional Japanese schoolgirl anymore who wanted to do her best and make her family proud. It was when she felt those looks across her body that made her feel pride in herself for the first time since she was violated. She knew the looks from her classmates would only be more perplexing.

"So Kagami called you yesterday and asked all that stuff, eh?" Konata said to Miyuki as they sat in homeroom together while the rest of their classmates filed in.

With her hand on her cheek, Miyuki replied, "She did indeed. I'm worried about her and her family, though. I'm also worried about Tsukasa-san. Kagami-san sounded very worried about her."

"Kagamin is one tough cookie. If anyone will pull that family out of that bad situation, it'll be her." Konata replied with ecstatic confidence. "You know how it goes when you're part of a bigger cast. The bigger the cast is, the more heroes will rise from it. But then again you also get that kind of cast where there's only one hero and they don't even know they're the strong one until the climax."

Miyuki smiled. "I'm sorry Konata-san, but I don't think I follow."

Konata formed a fist and softly pounded it into her other opened palm. "That's it. I say we band our whole group together and become the support that Tsukasa already knows she has. When she truly sees how dedicated we are to her, there's no doubt things will turn around."

A new and bitter voice suddenly broke the classroom harmony. "How touching."

The classroom attention was suddenly redirected at the doorway where the voice came from and no one could've prepared the students for what they would see. Tsukasa stood before them in the open doorway with her arms crossed, her back leaning up against the doorframe and one leg propped up on the door. What horrified the class more than her anti-establishment wardrobe was the fact that she wasn't wearing any underwear as her skirt slid up her leg propped up on the doorway. After several people quickly turned away in embarrassment and some of the other girls in the class tried to signal to Tsukasa about her wardrobe malfunction, she dropped her leg and walked into the class, a deadly scorn burned onto her face.

When Tsukasa sat in her seat, she stuck out like a sore thumb in her wardrobe of anger surrounded by her classmates in their school uniforms. Deep and disturbing silence fell upon the classroom and no one wanted to open their mouths to break it for fear of saying the wrong thing. No one would admit it, but they were officially freaked by the awkward scenario that waltzed into the room.

"So…you're looking better." Konata finally announced, shattering the silence and making the classmates lean forward for what would come next.

When Tsukasa opened her mouth, what came out shook the classroom more than Japan's most powerful earthquake. "Your mother is dead, buried, and rotting. What do you know?"

Konata's eyes shot open again as Miyuki quickly covered her mouth with her hands, also with an expression of horror. Despite the fact that Kanata passed when her daughter was very young, Konata still felt as if a knife was driven into her petite body and her heart was ripped out. The blue-haired otaku felt tears form in her eyes as she began to shuffle away in her desk and closer to Miyuki, who wrapped her arm around Konata. The emotional gap between Tsukasa and the rest of the world deepened and as the haunting quiet settled back into the classroom, it was broken again when Patricia Martin burst into the room holding a folder.

Upon seeing Tsukasa wearing her wardrobe again, her expression exploded with jubilant enthusiasm. "Ah, perfect! I knew you were a passionate cosplayer underneath that droopy exterior! I applaud you, Tsukasa-san for wearing it to school!"

Patty-chan invited herself over and pulled an empty chair over to Tsukasa and opened her folder. Several pieces of paper sat inside, each one with drawings on them of different costume designs. Tsukasa squinted at the drawings and was instantly annoyed by where this was going and once again, she felt animalistic anger rising inside her.

"I think you would look great in some of these outfits, Tsukasa-san! As you can see with this first one, this has more of a little sister feeling to it but with just enough moe in it to add to your natural personality! It's you all over!" Patty-chan exhaled and struggled to keep up with her excitement. As she continued to talk, Miyuki and Konata could see Tsukasa begin to hyperventilate and grit her teeth, believing that Patty-chan was about to open Pandora's Box.

By the time Patty-chan got to the fourth drawing, Tsukasa couldn't take it anymore as the foreign student continued to ramble and presented the next wardrobe desing. "I can see you're already vested in gothic ensembles so I don't have to explain to you that this one is—"

Tsukasa raised her boot under her desk and with angry force, kicked the chair out from under Patty-chan's body and she fell downward. Her lower jaw struck Tsukasa's desk first, followed by her tongue, which was crushed by the teeth in her upper jaw, drawing blood. Before Patty-chan could fall to the floor, Tsukasa grabbed her by the hair and with as much force as she could, slammed Patty-chan's face into the desk and broke her nose instantly, making more blood flow from her nostrils as she collapsed to the floor and immediately retracted into the fetal position while holding her nose and mouth.

The violent outburst cleared the students of their desks and they backed up against the wall with fear as Tsukasa stood over Patty-chan. Hoping the fight was over, they were soon proven wrong when the youngest Hiiragi twin grasped the same chair Patty-chan was sitting in only a few seconds ago and lifted it above her head by the legs. With quick and violent force, Tsukasa swung the chair downward and beat Patty-chan over her pained body. Not once, not twice, but after twelve consecutive swings of the chair across her body, Tsukasa breathed hard from the labor and stood above Patty-chan as she whimpered and cried in the fetal position.

"Patty-chan…shut your mouth for one goddamn second for once and listen. You have always annoyed me but since you had become friends with my sister and the others, I endured it." Tsukasa growled with hate in her deep voice. "But all of that is now old shit. You, just like everyone else, are nothing to me. If I hear your worthless and tedious voice one more time, this chair will become your new boyfriend. With all that said…I respectfully refuse to buy into your otaku bullshit."

Tsukasa finished her message of hate by filling her mouth with as much saliva as she could and when it was ready, she spat the massive wad and it landed on Patty-chan's trembling torso as she continued to bleed from her mouth and nose. Standing in complete and utter shock of what happened, the school bell rang and simultaneously, Miss Kuroi slid the door open and entered.

"Good morning class, I hope—" she began but halted her words when she saw the bloody mess on her floor. Tsukasa still stood above Patty-chan with the chair still in her hands and when the teacher was locked on the Hiiragi twin, she looked up from her latest victim and gave Kuroi a scowl that made her blood run cold. "Ts…Tsukasa-san? What in the…how did…where…"

"You're speechless, Miss Kuroi. I bet your boyfriend loves this part of you. Oh wait, that's right, you're alone." Tsukasa spat as she dropped the chair and one of the legs landed on Patty-chan, making her curl tighter and cry louder as the class tried to press themselves further away from the situation.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The Hiiragi family was a united front when they arrived at Ryōō High School after they received a phone call that Tsukasa was there. What they weren't expecting was to also hear that Tsukasa was in serious trouble and sitting in the principal's office and that one student was in the nurse's office after an altercation with her. Upon hearing the latter, Miki Hiiragi could only ask, "Are we still talking about our Tsukasa Hiiragi?"

When they arrived at the principal's office and entered, the first thing they saw was Tsukasa with her arms crossed across her chest and it was her wardrobe that nearly made Miki faint on the spot. Tadao stared wide-eyed at his daughter while Kagami, Inori, and Matsuri wanted to look but almost felt too ashamed to do so.

"Hiiragi-sama, please sit down." The elderly principal said. "As you can see we've had quite an episode with your daughter today."

Tadao lowered his head in shame as he sat. "I understand that my daughter was physical with another student, sir."

The elderly man with salt-and-pepper hair closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. "That would be an understatement, Hiiragi-sama. Our school nurse has already confirmed the poor girl's nose is broken and she may need stitches on her tongue. Unfortunately, I spoke with her parents back in America and they wish to pursue assault charges."

And Tadao thought Kagami's early quarrel with Hiyori Tamura was bad. "I guess it goes without saying that Tsukasa is suspended, too, correct?"

The principal's look deepened with regret. "Hiiragi-sama, brace yourself for this. I know your family is well-respected in our community and your spiritual services are renowned to many of us here. In addition to that, I once again cannot describe in words my sympathy and condolences to what happened to Tsukasa and your family. However, with all that aside, I'm afraid our school takes these issues very seriously and the board has already made their decision. Tsukasa Hiiragi as of now is expelled indefinitely from Ryōō High School."

It felt as if a massive arm reached through the ribcages of every Hiiragi family member and tore their hearts out. All except for Tsukasa, who remained emotionless the whole time with her permanent scowl tattooed on her face. Tadao pleaded with the school's principal to reconsider but his foot remained planted on this issue. Their meeting eventually concluded and they stood and bowed to each other.

Miki wiped away her tears as they walked out of the office and Tsukasa took the lead, anxious to get out of there as quickly as possible. She was stopped when she felt the strong grasp of her father's hand wrap around the back of her neck and she could tell it was taking all his willpower not to strangle her on the spot.

He commanded his daughter, "We're going to the nurse's office right now and you will apologize to your friend."

Tsukasa didn't argue and actually obeyed for once. Not because she wanted to apologize to Patty-chan, but because she had something else in mind she wanted to say to her. Before Tsukasa came to school, she and Yuka Miyakawa were blasting rock, heavy metal, and grunge music across the store and one song from a former all female metal band called "L7" from America caught her attention. Though she wasn't fluent in English, Tsukasa could still feel the anger in the lyrics and memorized one line in the foreign language so she could repeat it to taunt her former friend as she was the only one of the group who was fluent in English.

When they entered the nurse's office and saw Patty-chan on one of the beds, it nearly made the whole Hiiragi family sick. Large bruises were on her face, her lips were fat and bruised, a large cast was stuck on her nose, and massive black and blue gashes and red bruises painted her arms and legs. Minami Iwasaki was sweeping the floor and when she saw Tsukasa, she held the broomstick in front of her body like a weapon, which only angered Tsukasa. Unknown to Minami, when Tsukasa looked at the broom, she could only see an instrument of pain and humiliation and it triggered her to exchange a threatening look with the minty green-haired girl.

Tsukasa turned back to Patty-chan, who looked away and trembled more and more with each step the former shrine maiden took. Bending closer to Patty-chan's ear, Tsukasa formed a sadistic grin before she whispered her "apology," which was the lyrical line from the song.

"You've made my…shitlist." She whispered in English, sending Patty-chan into a full-blown meltdown of panic as she screamed and tried to get away from the youngest Hiiragi twin.

No one in the room aside from Patty-chan knew what Tsukasa said but whatever it was, they knew it was no apology. Tadao had enough and grabbed his youngest daughter by the shoulder and dragged her out of the nurse's office but not before Tsukasa and Patty-chan exchanged one more look with each other and Tsukasa grinned and winked at Patty-chan, making her meltdown worse as Minami tried to calm her down.

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Tadao wasted his breath that night. With Tsukasa sitting on the same spot as Kagami only a few days ago, he vocalized his anger, only this time it was worse. Kagami's punishment would be over in a few more days. Tsukasa on the other hand was now out of an education, a serious problem for someone her age in Japan. The second and biggest difference between Kagami and Tsukasa was that Kagami heeded her father's words and was looking forward to getting back to school. Tsukasa on the other hand had given up hope.

"And you better explain this right now!" Tadao added as he dropped the familiar note Tsukasa wrote for Kagami to find in front of her.

Tsukasa gazed at the note and eventually shifted her cold eyes back to her father. "Call it a hunch."

"If that's a threat, Tsukasa, I'm going to march straight into that kitchen, pick up the phone, and have you removed from our house and by force if necessary!" Tadao added. "I will not let this change in you hurt the rest of your family! I just want to know one more thing Tsukasa! What now? You have no friends, your entire family is afraid both for you and of you, and now you've been expelled from school! So tell me, what now?"

Tsukasa still sat on the sofa with no emotion and paused for awhile until she opened her mouth and answered softly. "I don't know what's next. I have no idea and yet…I'm not afraid at all. I'm not a baby anymore."

Tadao squinted at his youngest daughter. "You're right. You're not a baby. Since that's the case, would you mind explaining to me why you won't stop acting like one?"

Life suddenly reappeared in Tsukasa's eyes but it was in the form of a hateful frown, a look she never gave her father before. It took him by surprise and it angered him once again, thus prompting him to tell Tsukasa to go to her room and not come out for the rest of the night. He had enough drama for today…but unfortunately the night was still young and ripe for it. Tsukasa stood and walked out of the living room and had to pass through the kitchen to get to her room.

Miki, Kagami, Inori, and Matsuri sat at the dinner table as Tsukasa graced past them without even glancing at them through her angry scowl. As Tsukasa walked in her frightening wardrobe ensemble, Miki knew that was her baby girl in those clothes and on that downward spiral. She knew her daughter was hurting and as a mother, she wanted to do everything in her power to help her, but she couldn't. Tsukasa wouldn't let them in and every time they tried, she pushed them away and it resulted in more trouble. Even though it wasn't her fault, Miki felt as if she had failed Tsukasa.

Tears came to the mother's eyes and she covered her face again as Tsukasa's boots thumped against the wooden floor. Matsuri Hiiragi, the middle child and traditionally the most masculine and bullheaded of the family, was sick and tired of watching her mother cry. Feeling her anger boil and eventually burst inside her mind, Matsuri stood.

"You've got a lot of nerve, Tsukasa!" Matsuri yelled, grabbing everyone's attention and halting Tsukasa in her steps. "All we've tried to do was help you and get you through this! We cannot express how sorry we are that that happened to you, but damn it, stop taking it out on us! Look at what you're doing to mom!"

Tsukasa slowly turned her head and leered at Matsuri while disregarding her own mother's grief. "Eat me."

As Tsukasa turned and began to walk away again, Matsuri took several steps towards her little sister and continued her rant. "I don't think you appreciate the full depth of your problem, Tsukasa! You've been expelled and since your friend's parents want to pursue charges, that means you could go to jail! Do you know what that would do to dad's name in our community?! To have a spiritual leader's daughter go to jail over assault in addition to her running away doing God knows what and coming home dressed the way you are now?! You're being so selfish, Tsukasa!"

"What do you care, Matsuri? You're not me so this isn't your burden to carry." Tsukasa snapped back as she stopped and turned her head again. She turned around completely and faced Matsuri before adding, "I don't know how many times I have to keep saying this to your worthless ass, but you don't know what I feel!"

"That's right, I don't know what you feel! I don't know what it feels like to cause turmoil for the ones you love and act like a baby!" Matsuri spouted.

It all changed at Matsuri's last sentence and word. Tsukasa's frown was swept away and replaced with a short-lasting look of shock. It only took a few seconds until Tsukasa scrunched her face into a heinous scowl and nobody expected Tsukasa to do what she did next. Gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, she screamed and charged forward and collided with Matsuri with all her might. Despite her smaller stature, her tackle was strong enough to throw both her and Matsuri onto the dining room table and they joined together as they rolled off the other side of the table and caused more damage to the house.

Miki, Kagami, and Inori shot out of their chairs and backed away from the fight as Tsukasa kept a tight grip on her sister's shirt and was able to land a punch on Matsuri's cheek. Matsuri quickly countered by smacking Tsukasa across the face, which only intensified the fight. Kagami and Inori rushed in as Tadao also shot into the kitchen where the drama unfolded and they tried to pull the two girls apart.

"You bitch!" Tsukasa yelled again as she felt herself becoming restrained by Kagami but she continued to thrash. Instinctively, Tsukasa threw her bodyweight backward, throwing Kagami off balance and Tsukasa landed on top of her fraternal twin and wedged loose of her grip.

Inori pulled Matsuri up but Matsuri's time on her feet was short-lived when Tsukasa plowed into her again and the fighting intensified as the screams from everyone in the family grew louder. Matsuri was able to gain a quick upper hand and pushed Tsukasa off and the youngest Hiiragi twin backed with tremendous force into the dining table, knocking it over and a candle enclosed in a glass case fell off and shattered on the floor. Matsuri grabbed Tsukasa again in an effort to subdue her until Tsukasa spat at her older sister, distracting her long enough to wedge free again.

Tsukasa grabbed Matsuri by her auburn-colored hair and was able to push her into a china cabinet leaning up against a wall, breaking some of the glass panels and Tsukasa tried to follow it up with another punch. Matsuri saw the clenched fist coming for her face but ducked at the last second and Tsukasa's fist struck another glass panel in the china cabinet, shattering it and cutting Tsukasa's skin.

She quickly retracted it in pain as Matsuri grabbed onto Tsukasa again, only to be elbowed by her little sister in the eye socket, knocking Matsuri back and allowing Tsukasa to take advantage. She reached behind the china cabinet and with all her might, pushed the structure of glass and wood forward and gravity took care of the rest as the furniture fell. It struck the floor with a massive crash and every piece of china and glass inside shattered and Tsukasa jumped on top of the fallen cabinet and sprung at Matsuri again, grabbing her and tackling her again and knocking over more chairs in the process.

Miki retreated with the phone in hand and sat in the corner of the kitchen crying hysterically and screaming as her lungs ran dry as the shouts, verbal and physical assaults continued. Reluctantly, she stared at the phone and finally dialed the phone number she was praying she never had to call. After it rang once, a voice on the other side answered, "Police department, how may I help you?"

Tadao tried to push himself into the middle of the fight and separate his daughters while Kagami helped. The twin-tailed Hiiragi twin tried a desperate measure as the screaming in the household continued by grabbing Tsukasa by her black hair, which instantly proved to be a mistake. Tsukasa swung around with all her might and punched her older sister in the nose, drawing blood as he let go and fell back, holding her nose.

Matsuri, now seeing that Tsukasa wasn't going to stop, got up and tried to run away and made it as far as the living room entrance until the youngest Hiiragi twin tackled her again and the two connected bodies fell on top of another table, breaking it and sending more debris flying as Inori and Tadao followed and continued to try and stop them as they screamed and cried hysterically for Tsukasa to stop. Her only response to her oldest sister and father was to fight harder and it continued to last for three more agonizing minutes.

The fighting continued even when they heard sirens outside accompanied by red and blue flashing lights. It was followed by two men banging on the front door of the Hiiragi household, which Miki quickly scrambled over to, still in tears and opened it. Two policemen rushed into the house and quickly turned to their right where the fighting persisted. They saw Tsukasa was the instigator in it and they targeted her first and pulled her off of Matsuri, who had blood dripping from her nose and mouth at this point. Inori and Tadao also had scratches and marks of their own from the youngest Hiiragi twin and now the only noise left was Tsukasa's never ending fit as the policeman pinned her to the floor.

Kagami slowly entered with a bloodied tissue over her nose and tears in her eyes over that it had to come to this. Miki held Kagami close as she too continued crying while Tadao and Inori helped Matsuri to her feet and Tsukasa continued to thrash and kick under the heavy weight of the police officer. She stopped completely when she felt the metal pinch of handcuffs binding her hands behind her back.