Guest: Thank you so much! You don't know how much that means to me!
Rebellious Lover: Thanks! I got Raven Dancer from the one-shot since I think it suits Kanda, even if he doesn't dance. You'll find out about Road later on. You'll find out about Allen's name in this chapter. Others you'll have to wait for. And I love "Unknown Soldier" and "World So Cold"! I have the CDs with them on it! And long reviews are very much encouraged!
MaxAngelOfDeath: Thank you for your review! Something will happen to his arm, but I will not say what. And yes, I love those songs!
Guest: Thanks!
Hanashi o suru: Thank you! I thought about rating it M to be safe, but I disliked the idea, so I tried extra hard to make it less graphic as far as the sex and violence, mostly violence.
SisBloodCarnivalOtaku: Thank you so much! You'll have to find out!
Lassenri: Thanks! And I'll take those songs into consideration. Love them! And you'll have to wait and see!
Guest: Thank you for your review!
Inuyashamunkey: Thanks! I plan to!
Adelsaro: Thank you!
Akiraki: Thank you so much! It means a lot for you to say that, as you and all my other readers inspire me!
Lavenderbunny: Thanks!
FionaEve-chan: Thank you so much for all the reviews you have left! You've left me in tears several times, and there is no doubt in my mind that you will again! Thank you again, and I love you, too!
Chains
Chapter 2: Burned
Borderline. Dead inside. I don't mind falling to pieces. Count me in. Violent. Let's begin feeding the sickness. How do I simplify? Dislocate. The enemy's on the way.
Show me what it's like to dream in black and white. So I can leave this world tonight.
― "Unknown Soldier" by Breaking Benjamin
It's been two months since I last saw Mana. Since I last saw Mr. Tiedoll. Since I last watched Criminal Minds. Since I last had a decent meal. Since I last slept in a bed.
Since I was kidnapped and forced into prostitution.
But with the others with me, it wasn't as bad as it could be. I hate it. I really do, but at least I have a family of some form.
I sit behind Kanda and run a fish spine through his hair, our makeshift brush. It worked well enough, I guess. I liked to brush his hair. It was soothing.
"Why don't they ever give you day shifts?" I ask as Daisya and Fou leave with Tyki.
"Tried to get away. Nearly made it, too," he said.
"What happened?"
"After about four years, they let me work a corner since I hadn't tried to escape for a few months, though I was being watched the whole time. After I took a client into a hotel room, I knocked him unconscious and crawled out of the bathroom window. Ran to the police. They arrested me for prostitution, but Tyki bailed me out and brought me back." Kanda sighed. "I never figured out whether they beat me into unconsciousness or if it was blood loss, but I was out for five days. That was the last time I tried to escape."
"Really?" I ask. "I figured you wouldn't have cared about a beating."
He stood abruptly and stalked towards the other side of our prison. I frown as he sits in the darkest corner.
"How'd you aggravate him?"
I look up at Lenalee. After I set the fish spine down, I lean against the wall. "Not sure. I only asked why he stopped trying to escape."
"They found out that his weakness is us."
I give her a confused look, and she explains, "I had been here for about a year when he tried the last time. After he woke up, they tied him up and forced him to watch while they made these." She pointed at the burns marks on her legs. A tear slipped down her cheek as she sat beside me. "I'm not even sure if my physical pain was greater than his emotional pain."
After she said it, the tunnel light came on. Tyki opened the cage door with his usual belt in hand. "I want some entertainment. Ecstasy, come on."
That's Lenalee's name….
"Do you really want a girl who will follow your every demand?"
As Kanda walks towards Tyki, I try to close my eyes, but can't. I've seen him seduce our owners before. Both times I nearly vomited, but I didn't have anything in my stomach to throw up. Lenalee looks down and whispers, "Kanda…don't…."
Tyki smirks. "Maybe I do. Though I like having to fight for my prize." He runs his tongue over his lips.
"She gets tired out too quickly." Kanda pressed himself against Tyki and moved the man's hands to his butt. "I can keep up with any treatment I'm given. She can't take it like I can."
In one lightning fast movement, Tyki wrapped his belt around Kanda's neck, not enough to choke him, but the bluenette went still. Tyki growled, "If you try to do anything, even hint at it, one of your little…clan members will get the beating for it. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Say it!"
Kanda gasped as the belt tightened. "I…I understand."
Once Tyki had taken Kanda to his room, Lenalee leaned against me while tears flowed down her cheeks. I wrap an arm around her, and she cuddled into my side. A scream resonated through the hall, though cut short. Lavi held Road while she cried. Everyone paired up, keeping each other strong.
That's when I see it. The cage door wasn't locked.
I pry Lenalee off of me. "Go to Lavi. I'm going to try to get help."
Her eyes widen and tremble as she clings to me. "No! You can't get out! They'll beat you!"
"But I have to try."
"Lenalee." Lavi gestured her to come to him. "He's going to try regardless of what you say."
She doesn't let go and whispers, "He knows what happened to Kanda. I…I don't want him to get hurt, too."
"I'll escape. And I'll send help for you and everyone," I tell her. Her grip slackens, and I wiggle away from her. She sniffles as she looks up at me with red, puffy eyes. "Be careful."
I nod and stand. When I opened the bar door, it creaked slightly. I wince, but don't stop. I glance at the doors to the different doors, unguarded. Raven Dancer for Kanda. Bunny Love for Lavi. Ecstasy for Lenalee. Sugar Berry for Daisya. Lioness Pride for Fou. Doll for Road. Chastity for Miranda. Black Beauty for Marie. And Snow White for me. It's disgusting.
Behind Kanda's door, I could hear a belt hitting skin and screams struggling against a gag. And Tyki's voice. "That's right. You're my toy. My little servant."
At the end of the tunnel, there's a flight of stairs and a door at the top. I held my breath and darted up the steps, for each footfall a creak. The door knob felt cold under my skin, but I couldn't focus on it due to the pounding of my heart. Just as I go to turn the knob, the door opens on its own. The force sends me to my back against the stone floor. My breath vanishes for a moment as I close my eyes. Once the initial pain left, I take a breath. Then a hand grabs my hair.
I cry out as my captor drags me across the floor, and he asks, "Where were you going? Tyki won't appreciate any unplanned day shifts."
I claw at the hand in my hair and scream, "Let go of me!"
A door opens, followed by a curse. The relief of the hand leaving lasts for a split second before my oxygen is cut off as I dangle over the floor by my neck. I struggle to make him release me, but it's useless. Sapphire eyes gaze at me from the bed in the room while their owner pants, legs covered in blood. Lacerations oozed crimson on his back. Tears created trails on his dirty face, but never got past the filthy rag in his mouth, tied behind his head.
Tyki's golden eyes lock on me. He smirked. "Chain him up. Get the bleach."
oO_Oo_oO_Oo
"It…it…h-hurts…" I whimper. I taste tears in my mouth, but it's hardly noticeable in comparison to the pain in my left arm. Five minutes. They put my arm in bleach for five minutes. I never knew it could corrode my skin away. I never knew something could hurt so much.
I let out a choked scream as something is wrapped around my injury. A tongue lapped at my face, where they had left artwork from a knife. Tears dripped onto my skin as well. I whisper, "L…Lena…lee…?"
"Don't talk," a deep voice grumbled. "Moron."
"Kanda, don't…don't be so mean," Lenalee sniffled between licks.
"If I had been here, I would have whacked him myself," Kanda muttered.
Then there's another male voice. The second oldest boy in the Noah's trade. "But you weren't. You decided to let Tyki play with you instead."
"The last time he touched Lena, she couldn't walk for two days, not to mention how badly she ripped. Everyone knows it hurts more for a girl's entrance to rip than either gender's backdoor, Lavi."
"You aren't the only one here! I could've―"
"Please, don't fight," Lenalee whispered. "This isn't helping anything."
Kanda sighed. "This blanket isn't either. They'll get something to wrap it sometime before the next shift. I know they won't let it get infected, or else no one will buy Snow White."
"Do you think they planned to bleach his hair the whole time?"
"Probably."
"I'm right here, you know," I say hoarsely. Kanda scoffs. "It's kind of hard to miss."
There's rustling beside me before small hands clasp my right arm. "You'll be okay, right? Right, Allen?"
I smile the best I can, probably more of a grimace, and I glance at the blue-haired girl. "Yeah, Road. I'll be okay."
At that moment, I hear Tyki say, "Here's some wrapping. Better make good use of it."
A minute later, Kanda says, "This'll hurt."
He was right. Cotton on raw flesh feels like sandpaper grinding salt into your eye mixed with a little bit of battery acid. Not pleasant.
Once that was done, I open my eyes and look at Kanda, panting. "Thank you."
He nods.
"Kanda?" Road asks. He glances at her as she crawls into his lap and curls up against him. She continues, "Will you sing for us?"
"Yeah," Lenalee says. Daisya and Fou had returned during my "surgery". The young boy asks, "Please?"
Kanda looks down at the girl in his lap, and I could barely make out her bottom lip poking out. He sighs. "I suppose one song won't kill me."
In the time I've been here, I never once heard him sing. Fou said he was good though, even if his voice is somewhat weak from starvation, dehydration, and pain.
Kanda asks, "What song?"
"'All These Lives' by Doggy," Road says. He runs a hand through her hair. "It's Daughtry, not 'doggy'."
She sticks her tongue out. Kanda closes his eyes and leans against the stone wall. "Doesn't come down when she calls, 'It's time for breakfast'. Mama can't get down those halls fast enough to see. Glass is sprayed across the floor from the broken window. She can't breathe anymore, can't deny what we know. They're gonna find you, just believe. You're not a person; you're a disease.
"All these lives that you've been taking. Deep inside, my heart is breaking. Broken homes from separation. Don't you know it's violation? It's so wrong, but you'll see. Never gonna let you take my world from me. The world outside these walls may know you're breathing, but you ain't coming in."
Kanda coughed and rubbed his chest. Road yawned. After a few breaths, the bluenette wraps his arms around her, kissing her crown. "Go to sleep. We still have a few hours before the nightshift."
Road went out more quickly than a candle dropped in the ocean. Eyes closed, I heard rustling and felt blankets pushed around me and under my head. Hands clutched what was left of my clothing or slid over my waist and chest. It didn't bother me. Everyone stole each other's heat, and in this case, everyone wanted to be next to an injured brother.
"You're a moron, you know that?"
I sigh. "Lenalee might smack you if she hears this conversation."
"They're asleep," Kanda says. He pauses. "Except for Lavi."
"Nothing gets past you, does it?" I feel a jaw moving against my thigh as the said thigh is used as a pillow.
"You never sleep with bent legs. Even if you drift off that way, you straighten them afterwards."
"Good to know."
I feel Kanda's eyes on me as he says, "I don't expect you to try that again. It was stupid to begin with."
"You're a hypocrite," I say.
"He just doesn't want anyone getting hurt. Other than himself, that is," Lavi said.
"For some reason, I think his reasoning is flawed," I reply.
"You and me both."
Kanda says, "Go to sleep. Moyashi, you especially need it, though I don't think they'll put you back on duty for a few days."
I nod. I'd learned early on not to argue with him, but I usually do anyways.
Oo_oO_Oo_oO
The next day, after Kanda split up the food evenly, we ate in silence, chewing the white parts of our molded bread. The leaky pipe in the ceiling was our source of water, which we collected with a bucket. On the Noah's bath nights, Tyki leaves us a bucket of used, soapy water and another of clean water. Of course, we drink the clean water and use the water from the pipe to clean up with.
Miranda and Lenalee always took care of washing the others. Three months ago, a girl washing every part of me other than my private area…it would never happen. Yet I sat on a blanket while Miranda carefully scrubbed me down. No awkwardness. No embarrassment. Just a girl taking care of her brother. Plus a little massage at the end.
After everyone else, Lenalee and Miranda doubled their efforts on Kanda, who had the most wounds and dirt on him. I wouldn't want to be the big brother of this family, even if I would get special treatment during bath time.
Road always seemed the most content after a bath. She and Daisya get treated first and are always given special attention, but it was sweet to watch Miranda and Lenalee act like little mamas.
Kanda hissed quietly. Lenalee quickly said, "I'm sorry!"
"It's fine, Lena."
Kanda reached for his jeans and dug out something yellowish-orange. "Road and Daisya, come here."
The youngest children sat in front of him. He handed the pack of crackers to Daisya. "You each get three."
"Thank you, Kanda!" they said in unison and each hugged one of his arms.
"You, Lavi, and Marie are the biggest," Lenalee said quietly.
"Road and Daisya are still growing."
"We're all still growing."
"They need it the most."
I sigh. "It's useless to argue with him."
"Yes, listen to Moyashi."
"It's Allen, BaKanda."
"You know Japanese?"
"A little from traveling. How do you know it?"
He went quiet for a moment. "I was born in Japan. The Noah kidnapped me on the way home from school."
"I'm sorry."
Kanda doesn't reply. After he got dressed, he moved to my side. While he unwrapped my arm, he asked, "Do you remember Jack?"
"The guy from my first night?" I ground out.
"He said he'd bring fresh wrapping every night."
"Tell him 'thank you' for me," I whisper. It didn't hurt as badly as the night before, but it still hurt. I bite my lip until the metallic taste of blood taints my tongue. Kanda growls, "No. If men like him didn't exist in the world, there would be no money in sex trafficking, and if there's no money, no one would do it."
She puts on her work clothes, fishnet pantyhose. She's got a nickname everybody knows at the gentlemen's club. She clocks in at midnight, even though it never feels right. Makes her money one dollar at a time. Without the makeup, nobody knows her name. And she wears the pain.
Black tears rolling down from the eyes of an angel in a sinner's town. She reveals, and they all cheer. And she cries black tears.
― "Black Tears" by Jason Aldean
Author Note: Yay, an update! If you're happy about it as much as I am, please, Please, PLEASE REVIEW!
By the way, I haven't had this happen to this story, but in the past two months, I've gotten several reviews with criticism. Not constructive criticism. Just criticism. Maybe this isn't the same for everyone, but I consider constructive criticism as advice for writing, not the story. I got someone who PMed me saying, "Please, warn properly…" My first thought was, "If you read the big letters at the top that said "WARNING", maybe you would have been warned. Anyways, just saying that as soon as I figure out how, I will delete all stupid reviews. Thank you, and I love you all!