Abi

I awake when the sun beams on my eyelids. Rubbing them, I slowly open them and glance around the room. The curtains that had been shut the previous night were now wide open. The whole room looked bright, being the walls were white and the carpet matched it.

I ease myself up and feel my bruised eye begin to throb and lightly place my fingertips over it. Just another mark that would fade from my body in a few days…the bastard my mother married probably already came up with an excuse for it. I shake my head to dismiss the thought of him. That was the last thing I needed. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and slip my feet down to the fluffy carpet. I try to fix my hair a bit by running my fingers through it. Normally, I wake up and shower right away, but this wasn't exactly my house nor did I have a pair of clothes with me to change into.

I let my hand slide beside me on the wall in the hallway to the staircase. I wasn't dizzy, just still a little sleepy. I get down the stairs and smell food…good food. I poke my head into what I think is the kitchen and see him standing by it, Sesshomaru I mean.

"You slept well?" He asks without facing me. I blink and jump slightly at the sound of his voice. I nod, and then realize he's still not facing me.

"…yeah."

"Would you like to shower before you eat?" He glances over his shoulder I nod slowly, seeing that he's fully showered and dressed. He nods and goes down a random hall, there are too many in this house for me to have memorized. He comes back with a towel and the outfit I had worn yesterday folded on top. "I managed to wash your clothes with mine so they're clean." He places the towel in my arms and I blink. He sighs and extends his arm; pointing his finger in the direction his arm's pointed. "Last door on the left." He reminds and I blush slightly out of embarrassment.

"Thank you." I mumble and he nods before returning to where he was by the stove. I find my way back to the bathroom and instinctively lock the door. At home, my mother only has the decency to knock on her own accord and my stepfather…he's his own story.

I lean over the sink so my face is only inches away from the mirror and slowly lift my bangs from my face to look at my bruised eye. I cringe slightly and poke it…though I'm not sure what influenced me to be stupid enough to do that. I hiss at the pain and pull away on contact. My eye's only slightly swollen and there's a light black rim around it…I guess it isn't black then, but I'm not sure how else I can explain it. I strip the pajamas and get in the shower, washing up quickly. I should probably get home before my mother does to avoid questioning.

Sesshomaru.

I finish setting up the girl's plate, Abi's, as she comes out of the bathroom. All her hair's thrown in a careless bun as she looks around the floor for her shoes I presume.

"You aren't eating?" I ask calmly and she looks up, though her eyes looked uneasy and worried. I notice she brushed her hair so her bangs are covering her eye.

"No…I should probably …." Her voice trails off and she frowns when I offer her the plate.

"Eat." I nod and place it in her hands before setting my own up.

"Oh…ok…" She goes to the dining room and sits. I soon follow and sit across from her, eating contently. I notice her cut her French toast into small bits, taking her time.

"Do you eat much?" I look up to her and see her nod, focusing on her food. "But not enough?"

"…why do you ask?" She looks up, taking her bite courteously.

"You just don't seem to be a fan of…eating." Came out more blunt than I expected but there was no sense in apologizing for what I meant. It was honest, not necessarily rude.

"...I eat, just not hungry that much." She shrugs…oh god she was a 'fat' girl. Nothing irks me more than self-consciousness, I don't understand it, but it's always bothered me. This was a beautiful girl and she's concerned about her weight.

"Who said you were or would get fat?" I ask and she arches her brow.

"I never said anyone said anything." She argued, though her tone was still soft.

"Alright…could I ask you a slightly personal question?" I could tell her eating habits were making her uncomfortable, though I wasn't sure how what I was about to ask her would affect her.

"…depends." She was wary of my questions now.

"The scars I noticed last night…around your legs and back, were those from your stepfather?" I ask and I see her bite her bottom lip, as though hesitating. I watch her with a blank expression and continue eating. Why that was a concern of mine I wasn't sure. She was a girl I hardly even knew.

Several years ago I had lived here…I was probably around 12 when we moved, that's how I knew of Naraku and the others. And apparently, that's how Abi's mother and my own knew each other, that or the old hags went to school together or something irrelevant. But this girl…seemed innocent. Maybe she was deceitful or just putting on a polite cover, but I find it highly unlikely that she deserved to be hacked up by some loser.

"…no." She reluctantly answers and I arch my brow, and she seems to get that I'd like for her to explain a little. Surprisingly, she does. "My boyfriend…has this kind of knife obsession…and I think a possible personality disorder but that hasn't been verified." She begins taking her bites faster, proof she wants the subject dropped.

"...where is he now?"

"Danny? He's in juvi." She says quickly and I presume 'Danny' is her boyfriend.

"And you're still with him?" I ask, partially in disbelief.

"...it's complicated." She shrugs and I sigh, letting the subject go…for now. "I'm full." She fidgets with the end of the napkin and I shake my head when I see she ate hardly half of what I gave her. There's a knock at the door and I finish washing both her and my plate. "..I should get going…before my mother gets back and starts lecturing and …" I cut her off before she goes into a nervous ramble.

"Alright, I'll walk you out." I lead her to the front door and open it, not surprised by what I see. Naraku stand facing me with a scowl on his face, behind him are Hiten and Bankotsu. I don't have to look behind my shoulder to know Abi's blinking, probably in confusion.

"…Kagura's boyfriend followed me home." Naraku pointed to Bankotsu who waved and grinned at the sight of Abi, leave it to these animals to scare her off. "And his boyfriend just happened to be with him." He then pointed to Hiten, who put his cigarette out and waved casually…though his behavior was off. Rather than a comment or perverted grin, like the one Bankotsu was wearing, he was standing calm and had his eyes locked on Abi's, I couldn't tell if she was responding to him the same way or if she was just disturbed from Naraku's 'friends'…I would never take ownership to them.

"Why, hello there." Bankotsu winked.

"I just said my sister's boyfriend." Naraku glared at him.

"I'm being friendly." Bankotsu rolled his eyes.

"A little too friendly." Naraku growled a bit. The only time I ever really saw him hostile was around his father or…Bankotsu. He just had his way of making it on people's shit list.

"This is Abi, my neighbor, she was just heading home." I sigh and let Naraku push him aside.

"…want me to walk you?" Hiten asks, surprisingly his first comment isn't disturbing…in any sense.

"No, she's fine, a neighbor." I blandly point to her house on the side of mine. She squirms through them and waves to me before going inside her own house. I shake my head as Bankotsu calls out goodbye childishly and can read the hints in Naraku's eyes that say he wants to kill him. Hiten remains quiet and watched her house…even though it is slightly creepy.

-

Abi

It's around ten at night now. My mother declared she was going away for the weekend with her beloved husband…I just counted down the days to divorce now. She didn't even notice my eye which was not only a relief to me, but I'm sure it was a relief to him as well.

Right now I'm watching some dumb outplayed movie on TV, I feel I've already worn my welcome at Sesshomaru's and seeing my car is broken, it'll be a quiet night by myself. I hear the doorbell ring and feel myself tense. The only late night visitor is usually my boyfriend, who isn't even around at the moment, or so I've been told. I crack the door and blink.

It's a close friend of mine, Kikyou. Her arms are crossed and she's shaking, despite the warm weather outside. She's dressed in her usual attire, a white tank top and red Capri's, white flip-flops but today her hair is loose, a little out of place, and her bangs are covering her eyes. It looked as though mascara had been running down both her cheeks but I couldn't tell in the dark.

"What's the matter?" I ask and lightly touch her shoulder. She grabs and latches unto me, burying her face in my shoulder and trembling. It takes me a few moments to react and lightly stroke her back. She isn't usually a 'touchy-feely' person, and very rarely is she emotional. She's shaken in tears and trembling so much I can hardly understand her. "Kikyou?" I ask and try to get a peek at her face.

"H-He's gone." She whimpers a little with her mumble, making her harder to understand but I think I got the statement.

"Who's gone?" I whisper.

"…my dad….he left me. He left m-me with her…" She whispers and now I think I get it. Kikyou had the worst relationship with her mother, who always seemed to favor her younger sister since she believed Lorenço, Kikyou's father, adored his daughter more than anyone. Kamiko, her mother, only lashed out when he wasn't around…though I think he knew that and don't understand why he'd 'leave'.

"Sh, come inside." I gently lead her in and shut the door. I ease her to the couch, sit beside her, and pull her head to lay on my lap so she's on her side. I stroke her bangs and give her the tissue box that was on the end table. She quickly wipes her eyes, smudging the running mascara. "What do you mean he 'left'?" I ask once she stops shaking.

"…my dad….he killed himself…" She whispers and my frown deepens.

"When?"

"Th-this morning…he left me alone with her. He took all his sleeping pills…" Her voice trailed off. I continue to stroke her hair. "…can I sleep here?" She looks up and I nod.

"C'mon, get you a bath ready." I lead her to the bathroom and do so, setting her towel on the stand beside the tub and hear her sit on the toilet seat to wait and light a cigarette. For that, I crack the window, I hardly let her smoke in the house but tonight will be an exception. I cough and wave my hand to deflect the smoke. "Come out when you're ready, ok?" She nods in response and I shut the door behind me.

I go upstairs and set the day bed up in my room for her before changing and crawling under the covers in my own bed. She eventually comes up in her towel, her face emotionless and a little pale. She goes through my drawers, already knowing what's where and that I don't mind her borrowing anything, and gets dressed. She crawls on bed with me and I blink. She shuts the light off and lies directly beside me so she's facing. The only light in the room is from the TV light.

"…talk to me." She whispers.

"Hm?" I whisper back.

"Talk to me." She repeats.

"About what?" I stare quizzically.

"Anything…anything that will take my mind off what's waiting for me at home." She bites her bottom lip and I sigh and think of something to distract her.

"Remember when you were seven? And your dad got you that cat your brother was petrified of?" I smile a bit and ask. I'm a little relieved when she snickers.

"Dumbass fell down the stairs running from him." She wipes a tear from her eye but she's still smiling…that's a start.

"What was his name again?"

"Lucifer." She grinned her mischievous grin and I sigh.

And somehow, we made a conversation from that that lasted the whole night. At least until she was asleep and at ease.

-

A/N: For those of you who don't read my other stories, my laptop has indeed crashed and I lost everything that was saved. Here's some facts so you're not puzzled the next few chapters.

~'Danny' is my knife wielding OC, he'd be awesome if he wasn't an asshole.
~Naraku's sister is Kagura, who is also Bankotsu's girlfriend.
~Kikyou has two brothers, both of which are also my OCs.
~I have two other posts related to Kikyou's father's death, Imaginary and Admiration of the Heartless. One story that has a part dedicated to it is Happy Father's Day, in case any of you are interested.
~I think this story will only go into Sesshomaru and Abi's POV, if you think I should add anyone else, let me know.

Sorry again for the wait, I'll try to update sooner, please review (: