Strings Attached

by

dancingfingers

I am so sorry to update this late. Mind you, I have a writer's block no matter how I tried to type anything. Another reason is, I am SO trapped, entranced, and drowned in Inuyasha fandom. I never knew that Inutaisho/Kagome pairing could be so... right and smexy (and how drop dead gorgeous he is *sigh dreamily*). Anyway, enjoy this ~

Chapter 10

God, she really didn't want to be here...

She watched the little apartment she shared with her stepmother for three years now since her father passed away, joining her biological mother in heaven. Now she was just turning six and ready to go to school for the first time. Her stepmother had almost forbid her to go, since she said a girl like her didn't need it and just stayed at home, serving her like a good daughter she was. The problem is, she didn't want to be her daughter, and she had always felt an odd fear to the woman she called mother.

Saena...

Her name was enough to make her cower in fear. Ever since her father died, there was no 'happy family' setting in her home. Saena was a gold-digger and had male friends she often brought home and later, little Kyoko heard strange gasps and noises from the master bedroom. She didn't know it at first and asked the older woman, only to be backhanded roughly that she thrown to the wall. She cried afterwards, and it only fueled Saena's anger. She endured kicking from her stepmother, crying silently and dragging her little, limp body to her own bedroom.

"What are you doing here, bitch?!"

Kyoko's blood ran cold. She stood too long in the front door after running an errand for her mother. No...

"You're late! Come here and I'll punish you!"

No, she cried inwardly. No, please, don't...

"You..." Saena slapped her hard. "... little..." She slapped the other cheek, ignoring Kyoko's whimper. "... bitch..." Her hand reached out and grabbed Kyoko's black tresses, pulling it painfully that few strands of her hair fell to the floor.

No... don't punish me, I'll be good, Mother. I'll be good... I promise.

Still pulling her hair, Saena dragged her to the living room. Kyoko bit her lip and stifled her scream of pain as to not angered her mother more. Trickles of blood dripped to her chin since she bit her lip too hard and filled her nose of its metallic scent. She just prayed that her 'punishment' will be over soon. Opening her eyes that she subconsciously closed before, she watched in horror as Saena snatched a baseball bat near the TV.

Grinning wickedly, Saena let go of her hair and swung the bat to her stomach...

A pair of emerald green eyes snapped open in shock, as a loud, anguish scream echoed through the suite she and her mother currently stayed in. Her tiny heart pounded furiously against her rib cage and she jumped from her bed, ready to run to her only haven, Kyoko. Tears stung in her eyes as the second scream was heard and then, the next thing she knew, her feet dragged her limp body to Kyoko's bedroom.

She came to a halt just before the door when she realized that it was her mother's screams. Her whole body trembled and hot tears rolled down her cheeks as her mind went into frantic, fearing for her mother's safety.

Opening the door with a little difficulty, Sachiko peeked her head hesitantly. Her dull green eyes searched for her mother's figure and she sobbed as she saw her mother tossed and turned on her bed, with painful expression plastered on her sleeping face. "Okaa-san?" she called out tentatively, her voice still cracked from her crying state. She stepped closer to Kyoko's bed slowly and watched her mother cried in her sleep.

"No..."

Sachiko froze and tilted her head slightly. 'What?'

"I promise I'll be good girl... Please, please... Stop it..."

Gulping, Sachiko braced herself to wake Kyoko up from whatever nightmare she had. She remembered once, when she had bad dream, Kyoko would wake her up and rock her back and forth until she drifted back to sleep.

All she needed to do was doing the same...

She reached out both of her little arms and shook her mother's shoulders lightly, trying to ignore the cries and whimpers from Kyoko's lips. "Okaa-san, wake up."

"Kyoko! Kyoko! Wake up!"

Forest green eyes stared at her golden one in concern as she opened her eyes slowly. She backed away in reflex at the sight of a blonde man with green eyes she didn't know... or should she recognize him? He looked so worried, so scared, so – why would he feel that way? Who was he? Why was she here with him?

"Kyoko, Kyoko... it's me, Kuon. It's just me, my love."

Kuon who? Why did he call her 'my love'? Was he supposed to be her lover? No, wait. No one would take her as a lover since she was a prostitute. She's a disgrace to female population. And... and... this Kuon was very handsome. There was no way she had him as a lover, right?

But he looked so familiar...

"Kyoko..."

There was someone who called her softly like that... Who was it? Was it him?

"It's just a dream... Don't be afraid, I'm here for you."

And the way he hugged her, it felt so right...

"Sleep, koi. No one will harm you."

And she wanted to be in his arms forever...

Sachiko sighed in relief. It was one hell of attempt to wake Kyoko up and calm her. At first, her glassy golden eyes stared at her in confusion, as though she didn't recognize her own daughter. Sachiko then called her name instinctively and repeatedly until Kyoko calmed herself and drifted back to sleep in her tiny arms.

Why did she do that is beyond her...

Her own eyes started to close as wave of drowsiness came back at her. 'Okaa-san... what happened to you?' was the last thought in her mind when she finally fell asleep next to her mother, still hugging the older woman tightly.

I hope it satisfy you, my dear readers, followers and well, everyone who (un)fortunately stumble to this story.

And I want to thank all of you! Strings Attached got more than 6,000 hits so far! You guys rocks! *cry in joy* This officially makes Strings Attached to be the most popular among my other stories. I still wonder, though, why... why did my M-rated stories get more reviews (and more quickly at that) than my T-rated one? I just don't understand, people...

since I have yet to reply the reviews, I'll write it here.

minty30: hmm... well, Kyoko did nothing *shrug* I guess she's just insane.

CharNinja LOL: Yeah, grossssss. I hope it won't stop you to read, though.

regulusgal: indeed. we are S person... but hey, torturing the characters is fun! I now know exactly what Nakamura-sensei feels when she made that hickey scene... LOL

mrs. zala : ah yeah, I'm also getting impatient! I want it to be done soon, they meet, make up, and then get married but I can't do that. I still figure how they will meet... maybe you can suggest one? or any readers, you can suggest it :)

Kate : uwahh thank you, thank you!

pips111: You are the only one who like that scene. I, honestly, don't like it. LOL. I never imagine myself to write that bloody hand scene since I hate gory things and when I did write it, I feel like I accomplish something. And when you said you like it, I am so happy.

Daredevil girl: I'm sorry to update later than usual. Sadly, I won't update till next month for... uhm, just I can't do that for some reasons I'd rather not share. Thank you for your review!

KuroKanashimi: hello and welcome here :) OH yes, definitely, if I were in Kuon's shoes, I will be angry! Kuon is someone who takes honesty and responsibility very highly and when he knows the truth... oh, hell will break loose! I will take your advice/suggestion into my mind so I will remember it when I finally write that particular scene. Thank you for the review!

Guest: Hello, whoever you are. LOL. Here is the update. :)