20. Daddy's Little Girl pt. 1: Sara

Sara could still remember the day her parents split up.
She could still remember seeing the pain in their eyes from when they were arguing.
Sara often wondered if, perhaps, her parents had over reacted and blown things out of proportion.
It was too late, however, to find out if they could ever get back together now; both were now with other people.

The first few weeks of her parents being apart, her father, Tseng, would often make time in his busy schedule just so they could spend time together.
To Sara, her dad was more than just her dad, he was her hero.
Her dad was everything she wanted to be and more.
He was kind, gentle, highly respected, understanding, and extremely patient. Not to mention skilled in the ninja arts.
Sara remembered trying to learn, but back then she was not good at all.

Not even a month later, Tseng stopped coming to see Sara.
It was sudden and unexpected.
She remembered sitting patiently at her favorite swing set until dark, just waiting for her daddy to come see her. Sometimes her step-father would wait with her, not wanting her to get lonely.
Sara had kept this up even in high school.

At least until the incident happened.

It was dark that night. A light shower of rain had begun to fall causing mist to form and make the surrounding area creepy and darker. Sara sat at her usual place with a distant look in her sad, honey brown eyes. The street lights had only just flickered on. Everyone else had left to return home, not wanting to get caught in the rain or lost in the eerie mist. Sara would have too, had she not locked herself out and had been waiting hopelessly for Tseng.

The rain soon began to fall harder, drowning out small soft sounds, such as stealthy footsteps moving swiftly towards Sara.

Before Sara could even blink, she felt rough hands grab onto her from behind. All she could see before darkness took over, was the bleach blonde hair of her attacker and his cruel green eyes.

When Sara woke up, she found herself bound and in pain. Darkness surrounded her even after she opened her teary eyes. Struggling against the chains that trapped her arms together, she recognized the sound of a man her age chuckling.

"I see you're finally awake," the man said.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

Sara could hear the man walk closer. She couldn't tell how close he was until she felt smooth, cold metal against the pale skin of her neck.

"Your kind ain't welcome here, princess."

"G-get away from me," Sara fearfully demanded.

"Ain't happenin'."

Sara felt the man's blade pull closer to her throat and warm liquid roll down to her shirt line. Fear and panic filled the teenaged girl's being.
Sara reeled back and bashed her head against her attacker's face, making him release her. Sara ran away from the man, frantically searching for an exit. It wasn't long for her hand to get cut on the doorknob to the outside world. Quickly, Sara threw open the door and ran out.

She remembered reaching her favorite swing set and falling before it.
She remembered seeing the retreating form of her father and then more darkness.

But before she fell unconscious, she remembered saying, "Daddy…d-daddy, don't go…"