DISCLAIMER: Someday, I'll take over the world and everything in it. But in the meantime, I don't own Vocaloid.

Chapter 5

Miku's POV:

No…please…don't hurt me…PLEASE!

On Saturday morning, I woke up at three-thirty a.m., lying on the floor of the filthy kitchen and covered in dust and bruises. Pale sunlight streamed through the unwashed windows, and as I painfully lifted up my head, I felt a thin trickle of blood trail down my cheek. My hair was tangled and plastered to my face with sweat, and my clothes were in tatters. With my body aching so much that I could barely move, I tried to stand up but fell to the floor again, groaning. It seemed that yesterday, I received a harder beating from him than normal…

As soon as I got home, I went to my bedroom and put my backpack away. I was in a good mood for once. Rin Kagene had just joined Crypton Club, and was becoming a close friend of ours. The only doubt I had, was…she seemed familiar. Too familiar for me to trust her. Just looking at her face made me seem guilty, for some reason. On top of that, she seemed too close to Len. It wasn't like I didn't want them to be friends; it was just that it seemed strange how quickly they struck up a friendship. Rin and Len…have they met each other before?

I had spent most of the week at my best friend's house, to avoid my parents. Yesterday, since it was Friday, I decided to go back home for the weekend. My friend had already helped me enough, even though she didn't need to.

"Are you sure you'll be alright, Miku?" she had asked me, eyebrows furrowed with worry. "You can spend the rest of the weekend with us, you know. Also, my mom thinks that we should call the police."

At that time, I had foolishly laughed and shook my head. "No, I think I should give him another chance…no matter what, he's my father, and I'm sure that he actually loves me, deep within his heart. I just have to keep trying to warm up to him. Someday, he'll come to his senses and apologize…"

She knew from experience that I was stubborn, too stubborn to argue with. She nodded reluctantly, and added, "Good luck. If anything happens, call me, and my dad will come over and pick you up."

Why? Why was I so stupid? How could I think that my drunken father would ever treat me properly?

The pounding footsteps made me tremble, and my good mood instantly faded. Would he…would he beat me again? Or could I hope for a change?

The answer came when the door was flung wide open, and my hair was seized roughly, so hard that my pigtails came loose. SMACK! I winced as the searing pain spread up my thighs. SMACK! Now it was the middle of my back. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! I gasped for breath as I felt agonizing fire creeping up my body.

SMACK! I saw my mother in the doorway. With an indifferent expression on her face, she shrugged and quickly left, obviously not wanting to be caught up in his violent fit.

No, I wouldn't cry or scream. I would NOT give him the sick pleasure of seeing me in pain.

My teary eyes widened as I saw him reach for his leather belt.

Sobbing to no one, I knelt down on the floor and cursed at how pitiful I was. What did I do to deserve this?

My parents were out at who-knows-where, and they would not come back for at least a few hours, most likely. With shallow breaths, I crept to the front door and slowly opened it.

Only to be met by a fist that sent me sprawling backwards, onto the ground.

"Where d'ya think you're goin', girl?" The dreaded voice sent chills up my spine. "ANSWER ME!"

"I-I…just wanted some fresh air…" I mumbled, wincing at the pain in the back of my head where I had hit it.

"LIAR! You wanted to go to that worthless friend of yer's, eh? Wanted to call the police? Call them! Call them, and the last thing I'll do is scar yer pretty little face so badly that she'll never wanna look at you again! No, how 'bout I scar her face! I can burn her house and kill her parents! How would you feel, then, eh? Still would wanna go running to her for help, like the cowardly little rat you are?"

"P-please! You can do anything to me! Just don't hurt them!" I begged in vain as he dragged me by my ear and threw me to the ground. My mother, still standing at the doorway, tucked her short brown hair behind her ears. Shutting the door, she briskly walked right past where I was being beaten, and into the master bedroom. "Don't touch her face. Everybody will notice," she called over her shoulder. He only sneered cruelly in response.

I curled up in pain, coughing out blood and seeing spots. "Ugh… stop. Please! STOP-"

Deciding that he wasn't beating me up hard enough yet, he kicked me in the stomach. Hard.

"That should teach an ungrateful kid like you a lesson! Don't go speakin' to yer elders in such a disrespectful way," his foul breath, stale with alcohol, made me gag on my own blood.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! "Why don't you scream? You want more? I'll give you more!"

He pulled me up by my hair and dragged me to a wall. I struggled as hard as I could, and almost broke free. But then, he tightened his grip on me and put on hand on my throat, nearly choking me in the process. Yet, I knew that he wouldn't kill me, because he enjoyed torturing me in hid drunken fits of violence.

Smash. My head was rammed against the wall, and my vision turned black for a second. Smash. I could barely even whimper anymore. Smash! It was getting worse, now. Maybe he had changed his mind about not wanting to kill me.

SMASH- He was interrupted by the sound of the front door being kicked open, and someone gasping in horror.

My vision fully darkened and I sank the ground, nauseating blood dripping across my face.

"…Idiot," a voice scolded me.

I opened up my eyes, and realized I was on a comfortable, clean bed, wrapped in bandages. My best friend, Yowane IA, was standing next to me, with her arms crossed. This was her room. Although she was a year younger than me, she often acted like my older sister, always looking after me and making sure I was alright. Her silvery, platinum-blond hair flowed down all the way to her feet, and her piercing blue eyes glared at me as if wondering why I was so stupid.

"…"

"…"

"You know…my parents have been thinking…this can't go on. We HAVE to call the police," she said.

"B-but…"

"No buts. This is child abuse, it's against the law, and it has to stop. Why didn't you tell me it was this bad? I never knew, or I would have gotten you out of there much sooner! You can trust us, Miku. You're like a daughter to my parents, and we will always protect you. After the police deals with your…your parents, we'll adopt you. Then, you don't ever have to worry about them again," she placed her hands on her hips, as if daring me to refuse such a sensible offer.

I took the dare and shook my head. "Thank you, IA…but I can't. Your family is just so…so perfect, and I can't ruin that! Besides, my father might be abusive, but he's still my father. I can't just get rid of him like that. Besides…my mother isn't that bad. She actually doesn't beat me at all."

"That's bad, too! Miku, you are being repeatedly injured by your dad, intentionally. Not calling for help is like asking for him to beat you up!"

"He'll stop eventually…I'm sure of it!"

"Miku…just let us call the authorities! We can sort this out! I promise." She said exasperatedly.

"No! I can handle it. Please don't throw him in jail. He's a human being, and all humans, like you and me, always make mistakes!"

IA grinded her teeth together angrily. "Miku, what's wrong with you?! You've been unconscious for a whole day! All the time, you were mumbling in you sleep, 'Stop! Please stop! It hurts!' This is unacceptable! How do you expect me to just stand by and let you get hurt?"

"I-"

"Do you have any idea how hard Dad tried to nurse you back to health, even though he's a doctor? He said that you almost died! Why, Miku? Why won't you trust us?" she pleaded, tears filling up her eyes.

The bedroom door opened, and a soft voice said, "IA, calm down. She's probably still in a daze, after all that she's been through. Please leave the room for now; I have to check up on her wounds."

IA grumbled, "Fine," and left the room, after closing the door.

I blinked up at the kind face of Dell Yowane, IA's father. If only my dad was like that.

With quick, gentle hands, he unwrapped my bandages and rubbed ointment on my wounds. After he was done, he put new bandages on and put away his medical tools.

"Listen…IA's right. You have to let us call the police. Child abuse is a crime and violation of human rights, Miku. Why won't you let us help you?" he looked straight into my eyes, seeming to gaze all the way down into my soul.

"LIAR! You wanted to go to that worthless friend of yers, eh? Wanted to call the police? Call them! Call them, and the last thing I'll do is scar yer pretty little face so badly that she'll never wanna look at you again! No, how 'bout I scar her face! I can burn her house and kill her parents!"

"…" I tensed up, trying to keep from crying.

"…So what? He wouldn't dare to just attack us, would he? We live in a gated community with an elite security system, and he's fully aware of that," Mr. Yowane said, as if reading my mind. He must have figured out that the reason I couldn't report this to the authorities was because his family was endangered.

"Still…he's my family. I can't just give up on him like that." I insisted.

He sighed, "I knew you would say that. Anyway, for now, we won't call the police. Yet. I'm pretty sure that he's too scared to do anything at the moment, since he knows that we can report at any time."

Mr. Yowane grabbed his medical kit and got up. At the door, he paused, and looked back. "By the way, you're living in our house for now, like it or not. IA said that she would share her room with you. You should stay inside for at least a week, and then go back to school, if possible. Other people might find out, so if they ask, say you had the stomach flu. Haku and IA will come at dinnertime and help you eat." He shut the door.

Touched at this family and its kindness toward me, I started crying. They cared for me so much, yet I always pushed them away. Was I selfish? Did I deserve to be abused?

Remembering IA and her parent's tender smiles, I shook my head slightly. I would be selfish to push them away now. They loved me like a family member, so I would become a family member and love them back.

Satisfied with this thought, I drifted into a peaceful, deep sleep.

Muhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! You didn't expect that, did you? :D

So basically, Dell and Haku are IA's parents. Dell is a doctor. IA is Miku's friend. Miku's mom is Meiko and her "dad" is Meito. Why did I use quotes? You'll see...

Please review, everyone, and stay tuned for Chapter 6! Thank you!

~Rikasa