**I'm still alive people! :D I'm happy that so many people are liking this fanfic, even if this was written on a random mood. So many people from different countries have read this, it makes me feel so special ; A ;**

X-x-X-x-N-E-S-S-A-X-x-X-x

Nessa watched Len wrap his arms around Rin when they were falling asleep. Those two were the cutest couple she had seen ever. Teto had already fallen asleep on the sofa. Neru yawned.

'Boy, am I tired… meh, at least your mom left us food!' said Neru happily, grabbing a sandwich. Nessa raised an eyebrow at Neru. Neru rolled her eyes at her and threw the sandwich back on the tray.

'OK, what the hell is wrong with you this time?' Neru asked.

'Well, mainly that you'd let Akaito shag you is what's bothering me. And you didn't use any kind of protection. I take it you haven't heard of pregnancy.' Nessa snapped. Neru blushed furiously.

'You're not my mom, Nessa-' Neru snarled.

'I'm doing a better job than her!' Nessa shot back. Nessa glared into the flames of the fireplace, her insides boiling. After a while, Neru sighed.

'I know what I did was stupid. But there was a reason.' Neru said. Nessa looked at her.

'And what was this reason? Or even, what is a good reason?' Nessa asked. Neru's cheeks went a little bit pink.

'W-well, Akaito said that if I have sex with him, it'd prove to him that I love him. He said that if I wouldn't do it with him he thought that I wouldn't love him.' She replied sheepishly. Nessa shook her head at Neru in a pitying way.

'Neru, you fell right into his little game.' Nessa sighed, lying back on the sofa. Nessa's frustration against Neru turned to pity: Neru was a little bit naļve with Akaito, and hey, actions speak louder than words. Neru yawned again.

'Promise me you won't tell anyone about this, please?' Neru asked desperately. Ness looked at her. Then she nodded.

'I'm going to sleep now...' Neru murmured. She rested her head on the sofa and fell asleep. Nessa watched her for a few minutes. Akaito was so dead tomorrow. But Nessa was getting drowsy, so she rested her head on the arm of the sofa and she felt herself drifting off…

Nessa woke up to Rin whimpering in her sleep. She sat up a little grudgingly, and saw Rin whimpering and shaking madly.

'P-please d-don't hurt daddy.' Rin whimpered, clinging onto herself. Nessa edged towards her.

'Rin, are you alright?' She asked. She knew it was a stupid question to ask, but she just wanted to make sure. Rin was shaking her head, tears leaking out of her eyes.

'Mommy, w-why won't you w-wake up?' Rin said, scratching her arms. She was starting to make some of her scars bleed. 'Oh God, what is she doing to herself?' Nessa thought to herself in horror. Rin's scars were bleeding slightly, but Rin just kept scratching them. Nessa went to stop her.

'Rin, you need to wake up-' Nessa said loudly. Rin screamed so loud that it startled Nessa. Len jerked up straight away. His face went pale, and he started shaking Rin by the shoulders.

'Rin, wake up!' Len yelled. Rin opened her eyes and stopped screaming as soon as she opened. Rin looked over Len's shoulder with her mouth wide open. Nessa was looking at her with a concerned look; Rin was sweating like crazy, and her mouth was frozen. Rin was probably so shocked.

'Rin, are you alright?' Nessa asked. She was terrified. What just happened just then? Nessa wanted to know what was so horrible and terrifying for her to be screaming like she was being killed.

'I-I'm fine, b-but I don't r-remember what h-happened.' Rin stuttered. She was shivering now, but she couldn't cold, sleeping by the fire for a long time.

'You were having a dream, and you were talking in your sleep. And you said… things…' Nessa muttered, looking into the fire. She didn't want to tell Rin what things she was saying. She knew that that would upset her anyway.

'Rin, what did happen to your parents?' Len asked gently. Rin looked at him. She looked like she was contemplating something. Then she looked at Nessa. Nessa did try to put on a brave face, but for some reason, she felt her eyes watering a little bit. She had to be strong; she wanted Rin to know that Nessa wasn't going to break down. She'd never do that again.

'W-well, it happened on New Year's Eve… but if I tell you promise me you won't say anything to anyone.' Rin said in a pleading tone.

'We won't tell anyone, right Nessa?' Len said reassuringly, glancing at Nessa. Nessa nodded. She still couldn't get over the things what Rin was saying in her sleep. Please don't hurt daddy; Mommy, who won't you wake up? It hurt Nessa to see Rin like that. It broke her heart really. Rin took a deep breath.

'Well, I was woken up by yelling from my mom and dad's room. So I went inside to see what was going on. I saw these… mafia guys beating up my mom and dad. I-I didn't know w-what to do… I asked them what they were doing and then they started on me. It was horrible. During that I… I thought I was gonna die.' Rin croaked, looking terrified. Nessa looked at her. Was it her, or had Rin become really pale? She was shivering again, and Len grabbed her hand gently.

'It's OK Rin; you don't have to tell us anymore if you don't want to.' Nessa said softly. She never liked seeing any of her friends upset. Rin shook her head.

'I-It's OK, I can do it… I remember one of them shooting my dad in the shoulder and beating up my mom. I begged them to stop it, and at first, t-they ignored me. But then they… did things to me… horrible things.' Rin stammered. She started hugging herself desperately.

'My dad told me that everything was gonna be OK, but then… then-' Rin started crying suddenly, her hands covering her face. She wailed uncontrollably with Len hugging her tightly.

'H-he p-p-promised me everything w-was gonna b-be fine! B-but- THEY KILLED THEM! THEY KILLED MY MOM AND DAD LIKE SCUM!' Rin wailed into Len's chest, tears streaming down her cheeks. Nessa glanced at Neru and Teto. Why the fuck weren't they waking up?

'I-I saw them d-die, a-and t-then, tho-those guys l-left… an then… then… everything was on fire. A-and…' Rin started crying again.

'Rin… Rin! Look at me!' Nessa yelled. Rin stopped wailing and looked at Nessa with wide eyes.

'You don't have to worry about them anymore! Yeah, they took your family away, but you're still here. Don't give them the satisfaction of remembering them. You're only letting them win by being scared of them! My mom always says that God does these things for a reason. He's got something planned for you that can make you better than ever!' Nessa said defiantly. She hugged Rin tightly.

'I know how you feel… you feel that no-one can understand what you went through, that… that you'll never be able to pull through it… you feel so helpless…' Nessa murmured. She sensed Rin tense a little bit.

'Obviously I haven't been exactly what you've been through, but I've experienced the emotions and… similar experiences. My mom, she's sick. She won't tell me with what, but one day she collapsed and I almost lost her. But… no-one seemed to mind. I felt lost, like I had no-one to help me. My dad wasn't in a proper state to look after me, so I had to live with my uncle…' Nessa trailed off. She felt her chest getting tighter, but she tried ignored the feeling. But it wouldn't go away, and she didn't know why. She let go of Rin and looked into the fire again, trying to distract herself from the pain in her chest.

'N-Nessa, are you OK?' Rin asked timidly. Nessa blinked in surprise. She must have stopped talking for a good five minutes.

'Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. But I don't want you to be scared of them anymore. They won't touch you. Not while I'm around.' Nessa said in a determined voice. Rin's eyes started to water up, and she hugged Nessa again and started to cry. Nessa patted her on the head gently until Rin drifted off to sleep. Len smiled at Rin, and took her off of Nessa.

'I'm just, gonna go get a drink.' Nessa muttered to Len as he set Rin on one of the sofas. Len nodded. Nessa stood and walked towards the door.

'Hey, Nessa, what you said to Rin, you err, didn't have to mention about what happened to you with your mom and all…' Len said. Nessa shrugged her shoulders; the tight pain in her chest had come back.

'It's fine. I don't mind anyway. It's in the past.' Nessa said airily. She left the room and walked to the kitchen and grabbed a glass. As she filled the glass with water, she wondered why she felt so panicky and scared.