Seeking Retribution
By xAvenging Angelx

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Only the strongest will survive- Blow Me Away (Breaking Benjamin)

Youichi Hijiri - Present Day

"You're stupid," I drawled as I watched my older sister prepare herself for her babysitting job. She was fixing her hoop earrings using a small mirror from her compact hairbrush. After she was satisfied with her earrings, she ran her fingers through her dark hair before tying it up and pulling a dirty blonde wig over it.

She cast a glare at me, silently telling me to shut up. Obviously, I took no heed in stopping my voice of opinion, "I mean really. It's been four years. No one would recognize you and turn you in."

In a rare move, she spoke up quietly, "Youichi, you stupid idiot. These are clients that I've had since our first year of living here. Obviously, I can't suddenly show up at their front door decked out in an outfit that is a different style than what they are accustom to see me in and have dark hair."

With that, she stood up in a fluid motion and she straightened out her red plaid skirt, which by the way was extremely short. Though she covered up her legs by wearing black tights. Smoothing her white button up polo shirt, she then adjusted her tie that matched her plaid skirt, and fetched a pair of shiny Mary Jane pumps.

I rolled my eyes, I remember when she bought that outfit and I'll tell you. It cost more than all of our furniture that we had accumulated put together. Picking up a purse, she stated her departure, "I'll be home by four. Make it five because I want to go grocery shopping. Please don't get yourself or Rena killed while I'm gone."

As I heard the echoing of her footsteps get quieter and quieter, I glanced at the little girl who was sleeping in the cot two meters from me and I sighed. You see, Hotaru wasn't my actual blood older sister, but I preferred to call her as my older sister. We both came from the same foster home, but ran away from it four years ago. Then a year after, we found Rena outside of the abandoned factory that is our current residency and tah-dah! She's part of our family.

Though the way we found her was kind of disturbing… She was laying on the ground, knocked out unconscious, and when she woke up… She came back to her senses with a case of amnesia. Rena isn't her real name, but Hotaru called her that.

My thoughts were what kind of monster would leave a young child at her age on the streets unconscious? Whenever I thought about it, the angrier I got. Rena never deserved to be treated like that, and it was a miracle that she had amnesia because I had a strong feeling that her childhood wasn't exactly filled with sweets and happiness.

"Hey Youichi, is she gone?" I heard an eager voice call for me. I glanced behind me and Rena was no longer lying down. Instead, she was sitting upright and her eyes were bright. I chuckled to myself; she was so innocent despite the fact that we basically live on the streets. She stayed oblivious to the cruelty of the world and always found the bright side to horribly depressing situations.

I nodded as she squealed and jumped off of her cot. Her dark hair was tied into a high ponytail and she was dressed like she's been waiting to get outside. She asked in her best I'm-a-good-and-innocent-girl-who-deserves-anything-that-I-asked-for voice, "May we walk outside? I haven't been out for like two weeks and my legs are itching to walk around."

"No, Hotaru would kill me if she found out that I let you walk around," I grumbled.

She pouted and whimpered, "But she said to take care of me and as long as we don't get killed she wouldn't know…"

"No."

"Please, please, please, please, PLEASE!"

I shook my head in a firm no. She whined, "C'mon. Please. Or I'll… sing and dance."

I shot up immediately and told her, "Whenever you are ready."

Okay, that was mean, but I'll tell you. Rena can sing and dance beautifully… But that is only when she wanted to. If she didn't want to try to sing and dance… My God. You'd go deaf and blind just from watching and hearing her…and that was within thirty seconds if you're lucky.

She giggled and dragged me out of our shelter.

Her arm still on mine in a semi-dragging and semi-holding onto fashion, it gained us a couple of knowing glances. But seeing that Rena is an idiot… She didn't notice, she just smiled and waved hi. I hissed to her, "Why are you still holding onto me? I'm out in public just like you wanted."

She scoffed at me, "Youichi. I know you and you're going to end up going back and leaving me to feint for myself in this cruel… very dark world. "

I rolled my eyes, such a drama queen, but I found it funny how she called it a cruel and dark world. Maybe she's growing up to see the world as it is and not as rainbows, magic, and unicorns for once. No, she probably hasn't. She's just being dramatic.

"Drama Queen."

"Am not!"

"Are too! No one except the stupid girls on TV and in movies go 'oh such a cruel world,'" I stuck my tongue at her as she did the same.

"You're mean to me," she pouted, waving her white flag of surrender.

Before I could smirk in victory and say 'that's my job,' I saw a familiar face that I hoped I'd never have to see again. He smiled formally to me. His blue eyes didn't hold that twinkle the he used to have when I first knew him. His dark hair was longer than it was two years back.

My reaction you ask?

I growled, slightly being held back from Rena who easily spotted my loathing for this boy. Though, I'm sure she doesn't get why. She never got to meet him before in the past and didn't see what Hotaru did to herself.

Youichi Hijiri - Two Years Back

Bang. Bang.

"Is that thunder?" I heard a soft murmur come from across the room. I glanced over there to the little girl who asked the question and stared at her with a puzzled look on my face. Since when did thunder make a banging noise?

I shook my head.

She questioned again, "Gun shots?"

"If so, then it must be from far away. I'm going to go check," I took a quick look back at the girl that asked the question with a quick knowing smirk, "And no you can't come with me."

She pouted, but didn't protest because she knew that it was fruitless for the cause that Hotaru would be outraged to see Rena out of bed. And no matter what, Hotaru always finds out if one of us does something we aren't supposed to… Always. Rena was usually sick with the flu or a fever during the chillier seasons, so we keep her confine indoors.

Slipping out of the shelter stealthily (no need to attract the public's attention that there are three youngsters living in an abandoned factory), I walked to the front of the place to find someone standing in front of a stop sign that was not too far from my position. The sign obscured his or her face, but judging by the silhouette, it looked like a girl.

I got closer and the silhouette started to take shape. A step closer was followed by another bang; I saw bits and flashes of her hair. Another step with another banging noise following it, and I made a crunching noise thanks to the dead leaves. Shoot, I just alerted that I was walking towards her. I saw her move a little sideways so she could see who I was and I caught a glimpse into the girl's eyes.

Just seeing the violet eyes, I scrambled over to the stop sign.

My mind was frozen in place.

The image of her stayed in my mind. Her eyes were so filled with emotion for once, it was the first time I ever seen her have a reaction so violent. I mean, I guess that she does need to have an outlet for all of her emotions, but I never got to see the day where Hotaru Imai cried. She was always so emotionless and so in tact…

"What are you doing here," she asked coldly, her voice steady… As if she wasn't crying, as if she was normal.

I shrugged, "Rena and I heard a noise and I wanted to go see what was going on."

"And… That's all?" she asked.

I nodded and she sighed, "Go back and go to sleep. It's past 10 o clock at night."

"Aren't you going to come back with me?"

She shook her head stiffly, "I have an appointment with this stop sign."

"Now shoo!" she waved me off with her left hand, which was a big mistake on her part. Yes, Hotaru making a mistake should worry you. She's like a robot, perfect and consistent.

I gaped when I saw the condition of her hand. Her middle finger's, forefinger's, and pinky's knuckles were more than doubled the size that they are supposed to be. I saw three big lumps that were supposed to pass off as her knuckles. She glared at me annoyed, "What are you looking at?"

"Your hand… is," I managed to choke out.

She shrugged. Emotionlessly. Coldly. Dejectedly.

She grumbled, "Hit dead center with all of your force. It causes the most damage."

"Why would you do that? Are you a masochist?!" my voice started to rise with each and every word until Hotaru glowered at me, telling me to shut up. How could I shut up after looking at her hand? It looked so painful, yet she acted like it was nothing.

"None of your business and what happens if I am? What are you going to do?" she chuckled darkly before she started to pace in a circle. For some reason her walking seemed off. Maybe I'm just seeing things…

Continuing hysterically in an uncharacteristic Hotaru tirade, "You can't send me to therapy without a whole lot of money. You can't put me in an anger management course or anything. They always need to know names and personal information to back it up and it'll endanger our existence. You wouldn't do that right? You want to go back to the foster home? And what happens to little Rena? We don't even know her name for Christ's sake! What are we going to tell the authorities? Oh yes, we found her on the streets with a case of amnesia. What are the chances of that happening, huh?"

I had no comeback for that, so I just looked at our surroundings. Laying three feet away from the stop sign was an empty beer bottle. I raised my eyebrow and tried to change the subject, "What's that bottle doing there?"

She looked at me surprised and acted as if she never seen it before, "I don't know…"

She was a good liar, but I was better.

"You're drunk."

No response. I asked angrily, "How the hell did you obtain that? How much did you drink? Goddamn, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE RESPONSIBLE ONE!"

"Responsibility. Blah. Blah. Blah. Why did I get stuck having that title? Why can't I have my own fun? Dude, I took care of you ever since you were ten years old. Ever since then, I couldn't stop being perfect. Why can't I just be imperfect for this one night," she rolled her eyes, "I mean, Hayate knows how imperfect I am. He can tell you a whole rant saying shit about me."

With that, I knew what wrong with her. I growled, and thought: stupid Hayate. He's the reason why Hotaru was acting like this. I have a feeling he didn't just dump her, but probably crushed her inside and out. Clenching my hand together into a fist, I asked through gritted teeth, "How. Much. Did. You. Have?"

She just shrugged, "About a bottle and a half and two shots of vodka."

I groaned. Well, isn't she going to have a lovely hangover tomorrow morning? My actual question that I was dying to find the answer to was how in the world she managed to get vodka and beer, but oh well. This is HOTARU we're talking about. She can do the impossible. She mumbled to herself, "Speaking of beer bottle…"

She stumbled her way over to the bottle lying close to the stop sign and smashed it to the ground. She sat down besides it and started to examine the broken bits of the bottle.

"Hey! What the--!" I exclaimed as I dashed after her.

I watched in shock and horror as Hotaru picked up a shattered piece of glass and started jamming it into her calf and cutting herself. When I say cutting, I don't mean the simple 'emo' cutting. I'm talking about 'holy shit suicidal' cutting where the blood madly gushed everywhere. I grabbed her hand and pulled it away from her leg and I started to hiss, "What is your PROBLEM?! Can't you feel it? My GOD! Saying that you're bleeding is a horrid understatement!"

Not even paying the slightest attention to my scolding, she lifted up a finger and coldly commanded, "Give that back."

"NO!" I yelled, "You're just going to pick up where you left off!"

I had to grin wryly and tiredly inwardly to myself.

Who could imagine that the downfall of the great Hotaru Imai was triggered by just a shard of glass?

She glared at me chillingly, "Fine, have it your way."

She just fingered another piece of glass and slammed into her other calf and dragged it upwards. And you know what scared me to the most? She started to giggle at it and said in an excited voice, "Look at the blood!"

I wonder if she had a personality disorder or bipolar. I'll ask her when she's not moody and then maybe go do some research at the public library on those disorders to get my facts straight. From what Hotaru has told me when she was sober, she said that so many kids these days think everyone is bipolar, but they aren't.

I made a grab for the shard for a second time that night and it was successfully. Taking her by that hand and her left wrist, I dragged her to the factory. She was defeated and out cold by then, thus letting me drag her. If she was still conscious, who do you think is psychically stronger: a healthy and strong thirteen-year-old boy or a drunken fifteen-year-old?

Youichi Hijiri - Present Day

"Long time no see," I managed to let escape from my gritted teeth. The mere sight of him made me want to tackle him to the ground all over again.

His laugh sent shivers down my spine, "Not long enough, little buddy."

"I couldn't phrase it any better."

Rena tugged on my sleeve and innocently asked, "Who's that, Youichi?"

Hayate looked at her and smiled. He then turned to face me, "Who is that charming young lady that you have there? Your girlfriend?"

"Don't even think about it," I growled, "That's my sister."

He nodded as he smiled again. He sweetly commented (not!), "I see the resemblance between the two of your sisters… Oh yes. Between the dark hair and the horrid attitudes. I'm sure underneath her charms; she'll be the same as Hotaru… A conniving bitch."

Anger seized me. His stupid little comment reminded me about how much he pisssed me off and with that… I lifted up my fist and punched him in the face. I hope I break his nose this time.

Youichi Hijiri - Two Years Back

"Yo Hayate," I called out when I saw the back of my sister's ex-boyfriend walk down the street that I just got onto. Going out on an errand to get Hotaru some Tylenol turned out to be more interesting than I had originally thought. He turned around with a big smile that was completely wiped away when he saw me just glaring at him. He tilted his head in confusion and stopped his tracks just to allow me to near him.

Once I did, I raked my silver hair with my right hand and snarled, "What the hell did you do to Hotaru?"

He laughed bitterly as he vaguely responded with a cluck of his tongue at the end, "She deserved it. She's just a conniving little bitch. The girl has no respect for herself."

Those three sentences made me fume. Hotaru knows how get her way and control people, but she's not like that to people that she holds dear to her heart. I know Hotaru better than Hayate, so he shouldn't be talking about my sister like that…especially to ME, her brother.

Calmly, I asked as I mentally rubbed my temples, "What did she do to you?"

He grinned wolfishly as he proclaimed proudly, "Ah. I see that you agree with me that she is a scheming bitch."

I glowered at him, annoyed. I retorted, "I asked what did she do to you. It's asking for facts, not implying the side I stand on, which by the way is my own."

"But I am right!" he insisted.

I growled as my patience started to wear thin with this idiot who broke my sister's heart, "Dude. I don't know what the hell happened, so fess up."

He started to explain, "I saw her kiss my best friend at the party we went to! And not only that, I saw him hand her like… a wad of cash."

I raised my eyebrow and questioned, "And…"

He sighed in exasperation, "So! Obviously she's whoring with him to get some quick cash! She's a fucking prostitute! And what is she going to do with the money? Like really, you guys have enough money as it. And she's probably only going out with me because I'm so popular and she wanted to gain some fame too."

"And what did you do to get even with her?"

I closed my eyes, boiling inside with what he was saying. If I opened my eyes, I knew I was just going to see red.

Red stood for anger.

Resentment.

Bloodshed.

He grinned at me wolfishly, "I made out with the girl she hates- Luna, called her a fucking whoring slutty prostitute in front of everyone, then trashed her, and broke up with her publicly. It's a good save to my reputation right?"

He nudged and I just glared at him, as he said, "Whoa. No need to get upset. I mean we're both men. We know how to deal with ladies like that."

"No," I stated coldly, "You don't know how to deal with ladies. And my sister isn't like that. I thought you guys were together. If you're together, you're breaking up with her on an assumption! You don't even get your facts straight! Isn't my sister more important that YOUR STUPID REPUTATION?!"

"Hey chill, man. Your sister is a whore I'm sad to say."

"Repeat that again," I commanded him again, my eyes opened in a flash and bored into his.

Looking me dead in the eye, he spoke, "Hotaru Imai is a slut."

With that, I tackled him to the ground. I fell on him first, but that didn't slow down my movements. I punched him in the lip, causing it to bleed and stood up. Before he could get up, my foot slammed down onto his balls… I hope he can reproduce after that. I smirked to myself, yeah right. I hoped for the exact opposite.

"That's for calling my sister a slut and next time I see you. I'll do even worse," I hissed at him and threw him a scornful look.

Youichi Hijiri - Present Day

Remembering my threat, I kicked his balls and waited for him to kneel in pain… He did that action shortly. As he began to wince in pain, I hit his shoulder pressure point and twisted his arm in a painful position behind his back, until he cried out in pain.

"This better be the last time I see you, or else I might as well kill you," I threatened in his ear. I felt him shudder and I smirked to myself.

How could a boy who was 2 to 3 years younger than you be so intimidating?

I let go with a jerk and grabbed for Rena's hand and stalked off in the direction we were walking in. Hayate might end up finding out that we were orphans if we saw us enter the back of the factory.

"Was that Hayate…?"

"Yeah," I replied without looking down at the little girl.

She glared at me, "Why did you do that to him?! It's been two years since Hotaru and him broke up! Get over it."

I swirled around to face her. I griped her upper arms and snarled, "You don't know what he did to Hotaru, okay?! He deserves to die and rot in hell."

"So? You can't be nice?" she growled at me.

"HE CALLED BOTH YOU AND HOTARU BITCHES!" I raised my voice at the girl.

"What's a bitch…?" she tilted her head innocently and looked at me with question marks in her eyes.

I slammed my face into my palm.

This girl is WAY too innocent for her own good.

Ending Notes: Most of the events that have happened in this story are parallel to my personal life along with the lives of my close friends. In some form or another, hence the reason why I don't really update much. So I hope this makes up for it. And I promise to update all of my stories at least once during the summer, okay? ( :

Okay, I realized that the format is slightly like November Romeo's, but please. I'm not trying to copy her or anything, so don't criticize on that? Find something else to criticize me on. Like how I can't spell or how bad my grammar is. Lol. The titles help me keep track on which time period I'm in.

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Love & Peace,
ST