You stare at both Hana and Ayame, feeling confused by the false accusation Hana claimed.
"Huh? Why are you here?" Ayame questions.
"WAIT!? WHY ARE YOU HERE?" Hana shouts.
"My mom came to talk to your mom..." You softly say.
"..." Hana stares at you before sighing. She slides from under the table and walks towards her door, closing it on you.
"...?" You stare at the closed door, feeling confused. "Why did you close the door on me?" You ask.
"You can't come in when you aren't invited, besides... I'm still mad at you."
"Huh?"
"That's why I didn't invite you and Aimi to the sleepover." Hana huffs.
"But why are you mad? I don't understand...? What did I do?" You question. Hana opens the door, glaring at you.
"You don't remember?" She asks. You slowly shake your head. She sighs loudly and stomps towards the closet. She grabs a small box and shoves it into your arms. "That's what you did." She grumbles. You stare down at the box. It's a handmade-looking wand... but it's broken.
"What about it?" You ask.
"YOU AND AIMI BROKE IT!" She shouts.
"HANA! STOP YELLING!" Hana's mother yells.
"..." You stare at Hana, who grabs her box away from you.
"And for that- you can't come in... you have been banished- so go away." Hana shoos you away. She closes the door on you. You sigh and then slowly pull the desert from your pocket, staring at it.
"OOOKAAAY... I GUESS I'M JUST GOING TO EAT THIS YUMMY EXTRA FILLED DESERT AS I SIT OUTSIDE THE ROOM BY MYSEEELLLLFF... ALL ALOONNNEEE..." You say loudly. Hana slowly opens the door, peaking out at you. You stare at her as you hold the baked good in your hand. Her eyes widen, and she quickly opens the door.
"I'll let you in if you... let me have that- Then I'll forgive you." She nods and smiles.
"Really?" You ask.
"Really really."
"Okay then." You hand it to her, and she jumps up and down.
"Come in, come in, Visionary V!" Hana shows you in. You smile and nod as you sit beside the table. Ayame crawls out from under the table and sighs.
"Hana... you know- you shouldn't just be forgiving people with food... that wand was a one of a kind, and Yuki broke it..." Ayame says in an irritated tone.
"Mm- well... it's okay- I can always make a new one anyway... I'm not mad about it anymore... besides- Yuki's grandma makes the best treats."
"You don't even know if that's from Yuki's grandma... she could have just bought that from some place." Ayame huffs.
"That is from my grandma." You reply.
"I know what Yuki's grandmother's goods taste like..." Hana muffles, and she munches down on the dessert.
Ayame softly sighs and leans on the table a bit. You slowly stare at her, causing her to glare back up at you. You furrow your eyebrows a bit before looking away.
"Yuki... wanna watch some more of-"
"YUKI!" Your mother shouts. You quickly stand up and walk out of the room.
"Yes?" You say.
"Come on... we need to go home." Your mom says in a panicked tone. You furrow your eyebrows, feeling confused.
"Can Yuki sleep over?" Hana asks.
"No- I thought it would just be us..." Ayame softly sighs. Hana looks back at Ayame and swallows her food.
"It's more fun when Yuki is here." Hana bubbles. Ayame's eyes widen, then narrow.
"I'm sorry Hana... not tonight..." Your mother says. "Let's go now... Yuki- please, sweetheart." Your mother motions for you to come. You look back at Hana and wave as you walk down the stairs. You put your jacket and shoes on as your mother stands by the door and says her byes to Hana's mother. You look up at Hana and Ayame as they peek at you from the stairs. You turn, and your mother shows you out the door.
You stare out the window of the bus as the bus rides down the road. You stare at the park as the bus slowly stops in front of it. Your mother grabs you by the arm, and you both walk off the bus. You watch as the bus rides off. Your mother unlocks the back of the bakery. You stand beside her as she opens the door. She closes the door behind you. You quickly make your way up the stairs and into the living room. You take off your jacket and shoes, putting them away.
Your mother hasn't come up the stairs. You look out from the stairs, peeking down towards your mother, who is holding her phone up to her ear and talking to someone.
You walk into the bedroom and slowly begin putting on your pajamas. You have a sinking feeling in your chest. Like a fear- a fear you recognize... but you can't really tell what the feeling is. You climb into bed and hide under the covers, forcing yourself to fall asleep.
THUD
Your eyes shoot open as you hear a loud thud coming from the living room. You lift the blanket up to peek out from it. The bedroom door is cracked open. You stare at your mother, who's on the ground, and a man is standing in front of her.
"Didn't I tell you to quit that job?" The guy huffs. "You don't listen to me... and wonder why I'm so pissed off." He says, holding his hand up to hit your mother again. Your eyes widen as you watch him hit her a few times. You jump off the bed, grabbing at his arm.
"LET GO!" You shout. The guy glares down at you, and you freeze when you see the darkness in his eyes. He hits you hard in the face a few times, causing you to fall.
"NO! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Your mother shouts, grabbing you and holding you tightly.
"If the bitch had stayed in the room... then I wouldn't have done that."
"Goken... please... She didn't mean it- I'm sure she was just scared... that's all. Please calm down... you're drunk-" Your mother cries. You hold onto your face tightly. You feel your head throbbing.
"I'm drunk? Yeah- because I have to deal with a whore like you." He grumbles. Your mother picks you up and carries you into the room and lays you on the bed. You watch her walk out of the room, closing the door behind her.
You hold your face and wrap the blanket tightly around your head, trying to muffle the yelling noises.
The sound of the door opening causes you to slowly open your eyes. Your mother walks in and lifts the blanket to see your face.
"Hi... I'm sorry..." She softly says. You stare at her, your eyes widening when you see the bruises on her face and arms.
I forgot it was like this in Yuki's past... of course, things won't be peaceful in this timeline... You think to yourself.
You sit in the bathroom as your mother runs her hands through your hair. You feel the sudsy bubbles cover your head, and you shiver as your mother washes the bubbles off with warm water. She grabs a towel and dries you with it, wrapping it around you. You walk out of the bathroom.
You stand in the kitchen staring at the man passed out on the couch. He's slumped, hanging off the couch a bit. Your mother motions you to walk into the bedroom, closing the door behind you.
She finishes drying you off. You put your pajamas on, and she places a Band-Aid on the side your eye.
"Your lip will heal..."
"..." You stare down at her arms. Your eyes relax as she speaks.
"I'm sorry about him... he's just upset-... it's my fault, so don't be too mad."
"..." You move from her touch, climbing into the bed and burying yourself under the blanket. She stares at your silhouette before standing up and exiting the room, closing the door behind her. You lie in bed, staring at the darkness under your covers.
The next morning arrives, and you wake up hungry. You climb out of bed, wondering if your mother has made anything to eat. You walk out of the room to see your mother sleeping on the couch. Her face looks more bruised than before. You stand still, staring at her. You walk into the room, grabbing your blanket and pulling it with you. You pull it over her, covering her nicely. You gently touch the wounds on her face. You frown when you touch the dried-up blood.
"Why does she let a guy hit her...? Who even is that guy anyway- my grandpa can beat him up real good!" You say in an irritated tone. You quickly look towards Eli, who is sitting on the swing at the park.
"I don't know..." Eli softly says. He tilts his head, pointing at your face. "Did he hit you too?" He asks. You slowly look towards him, rubbing your arm.
"No- I tripped and fell..." You lie.
"... you said that last time... I don't think tripping and falling would look like that-" He says, pointing to your face. You scratch your head and then look off into the distance. Your mother quickly walks over to you.
"Hi Eli." She smiles.
"Hi, Ms. Sato." Eli responds.
"Here is some money. I will see you tonight- If I'm not home before you go to sleep, then I will see you when you wake up." She hands you money and kisses you on the forehead. You look at Eli as she does. "I love you..." She smiles. You watch as she rushes towards the bus stop. She catches the bus before it leaves. You stare at the bus as it disappears down the street.
"... Is the guy a yakuza or something?" Eli asks. You slowly look towards him.
"I don't know- I don't know anything about him..." You softly say, looking back in the direction the bus went.
"... well, that guy did beat her badly... even though she's hiding it all under makeup- you can still clearly see it."
"Mm-" You hum, still staring off into the distance.
"Why didn't you want Hana and Aimi coming with us...?" Eli asks, standing up. You quickly look towards him, rubbing your arm again.
"I didn't want to involve them..." You say turning away. Eli follows you.
"But why? Wouldn't they just get mad that you didn't include them in the first place?" He asks.
"Maybe... but I don't care." You sigh. You walk into the bakery, walking past a customer. Eli follows behind you.
"Grandma... do you know where Hikari would be right now...?" You ask, looking up at her. She looks at you from over the counter. She pushes a pastry to you.
"She's most likely with friends... why?" She asks. You shake your head and smile.
"Just wondering."
"Here's one for you, too Eli." Your grandma waves a pastry in his direction. He takes it, then bows.
"Thank you, Mrs. Sato." He smiles. You walk out of the bakery, Eli walking beside you, eating the pastry.
"Why did you ask your grandma about your Aunt?" Eli muffles, food filling his cheeks.
"I want to ask her something." You answer.
You stand outside the bike shop that you went to yesterday. You see Hikari standing beside Shinichiro, talking. Eli furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head to the side.
"Is that her boyfriend? He looks kinda old-" He gasps and looks at you. "DO YOU THINK SHE'S-"
"Whatever you're about to say... don't say it..." You raise your hand to stop him from continuing. "That guy is her crush, I think..."
"Ah- You know what... that makes sense... she seems like the type to go for older men." He nods. You pull the store door open, walking in. Eli follows behind you. Hikari looks towards you, her eyes widened.
"Yuki-" She says with a shocked tone.
"Hi Hikari!" Eli says, a huge smile on his face.
"Ugh... Eli-" She sighs.
"Oh... this is your cousin- right?" Shinichiro asks.
"No-no... my niece." Hikari corrects. "What are you doing here...?"
"I came here looking for you, obviously..." I listlessly say.
"What happened to your face..." Hikari asks, leaning towards your face to examine it.
"I fell..."
"You got that from falling?" Shinichiro questions.
"Her mom's boyfriend did that..." Eli answers.
"HUH!" Hikari backs away in shock. You slowly look at Eli, glaring at him.
"Snitch..." You huff. Shinichiro grabs a hand towel and wipes his hands with it.
"A grown man put his hands on you?" Shinichiro asks. You stare at him a bit before looking at Hikari. You stare at the ground.
"I doesn't matter... he hit my mom... so I'm upset- that's why I wanted to know where my mother met him..." You say, looking back up towards Hikari. She stares at you with wide eyes.
"Huh... I mean- I don't know how your mother met him... how would I know?" She questions.
"Ok..." You slowly turn away, preparing to walk out of the shop.
"I think she met him at work... that's what our mother said..." She quickly says.
"Work?" Eli repeats.
"..." You stare towards the floor.
"How long has she been with this guy?" You ask.
"I don't know- wouldn't you know this?" She questions. You stare back at her, your eyes relaxing as you can't clearly remember who he is... no matter how hard you think- it's like the real Yuki doesn't remember either. You shake your head and walk forward, bumping into someone. You feel the person push you back a bit. Their dark eyes glare down at you.
"Mikey-" Shinichiro starts. Mikey's eyes bore down at you. You push past him and out of the shop. Eli quickly follows behind you. Mikey looks out of the shop, watching you disappear out of view.
TO BE CONTINUED JANUARY 18TH!