True to my word, I'm completely rewriting Freedom Seekers. I'm sorry about all the waiting for nothing, but hopefully you'll enjoy this story even more so :)

A soft thud sounded throughout the small hallway as a door was carefully shut. Unfortunately, the wood was old and worn, and when it slammed shut it scraped against the floor, causing a shivering screech.

Taking a deep breath, Mikan glanced cautiously around the corner, peeking at the man who lay collapsed on a raggedy old couch. Relieved that he was still passed out, she tiptoed across the room, stepping carefully so as not to step on the creaky boards she knew were there. Making it to her room, she creaked the door open and slid inside.

"Yoichi," she whispered, "it's okay to come out now." Sighing, she dumped her backpack in the corner and bounced onto her bed. As she lay there studying a book, a young boy came out from the corner. His hair was a soft silver, matching his eyes. When he saw the girl laying on the bed, he walked over to her and stared silently until she noticed him. Chuckling, Mikan pointed towards her backpack. "There's a sandwich in there."

Watching her younger brother eagerly devour the food, Mikan gave a sigh. "Persona forgot to feed you again, didn't he…"

Yoichi gave a solemn nod, not wanting to interrupt his meal with words. Holding back a growl, Mikan just glared at the door. That moronic drunkard had done it again - passed out, not even thinking about his five year old son.

Once his dinner was gone, the silver headed boy crawled onto Mikan's lap, and swiftly fell into an exhausted slumber. Combing his greasy hair with her fingers, Mikan couldn't help feeling that this was unusual for him. Usually the boy would keep to himself, and only cling to Mikan when it was absolutely necessary. A pang of guilt caused her to stop combing his hair. No, this was her fault for always leaving him alone all day - no wonder he was lonely.

"Mikan, did you finish your homework?"

Hearing her mother's voice, Mikan groaned. In as soft a voice as she could manage, so as not to wake up the boy sleeping on her lap, she replied, "I just got home so I haven't yet, sorry!"

Her door was opened, and a woman walked in, eyes narrowed. Her hair was in a mess, and her eyes were puffy. "You're just laying on your bed, so why aren't you getting it done? I can't have you failing your first year of high school!"

Sighing, Mikan didn't look at her mother. "I'm a Sophomore Mom, I already finished my first year."

Eyes narrowed in confusion, Yuka slowly massaged her forehead. "Er.. Yeah, I knew that. Don't contradict your mother… Anyways, just get it done right away."

Nodding, Mikan continued to avoid looking at her mother. After a few minutes of silence, Yuka stumbled out of her daughter's room.

Glaring at the place where her mother had stood a few moments ago, Mikan felt a rage filing up her heart. She was still lost in thought, when all of a sudden a hand reached up and gripped her chin. Surprised, she let the hand pull her head until she was staring into the silver eyes of her little brother. Forcing a small smile, she shook her head in reply to his unspoken question. Of course that hadn't been Persona, because otherwise…

That night, the two siblings spent the night in the dark, huddled together on the bed. The house they lived in was falling apart, and their shared room was as small as possible without being a closet. Like the rest of the house, the paint on the walls was flaking, and the carpet was filthy and ratted. As for furniture and decorations, they had none. A pile of clothes made up their 'dresser', and their few but treasured possessions were kept safely under the bed.

Groaning, Mikan woke up the next morning to find that it was already 8:17. Shoot, she only had ten minutes to get to school! Struggling into a pair of shorts and a teeshirt, she kissed her brother on the forehead and practically tripped into her shoes. Grabbing her bag she dashed out of her bedroom and headed for the front door, only to be stopped by a loud snore. Inwardly groaning, Mikan slowly turned her head to stare at the man who was slowly starting to wake up.

Rubbing his head, Persona slowly sat up. Mikan cursed herself for having woken up so late, but could do nothing as the tall man lumbered over to her, eyes hazy and dull. When he caught sight of the teenager who had frozen in the middle of her tracks, he pulled a lazy smirk. Reaching out a hand, his spidery fingers stroked her arm. The girl flinched at his touch, holding back a scream. "What's the matter, girl?" Suddenly groaning at the massive headache he had received from his hang over, Persona gripped the girl's shoulders to steady himself.

Recognizing the signs of a hangover, Mikan guided the man over to the bathroom and helped him to throw up into the toilet. Retching, Persona held his stomach and leaned over the sink, attempting to wash the horrible taste out of his mouth. Eyes glaring, he turned to Mikan, who backed away. She knew that he was still drunk, but even now he didn't have any reason to be mad at her, right?

Mumbling incoherently, Persona pushed her aside and headed for his bedroom. When he saw that Mikan wasn't following him, he shouted angrily. "Go find Yuka!"

Trying to hold her temper, Mikan looked away angrily. "She's at work right now, just like she always is this time of day."

"Go…go…go get her…" he mumbled back. Mikan frowned. "She's not here right now! Go lay down, before you pass out on the floor!"

Suddenly she was on the ground, her cheek stinging. Holding the side of her face, Mikan looked up at Persona in shock. The drunk man was struggling to stand, but he still stood over her, a cruel look on his face. "Don't talk back to me, girl. If I tell you to get Yuka, then you do that!"

Trembling, Mikan tried to glare back at him, but her nerves got the best of her and she closed her eyes. "Alright, alright! I'll go ge… get her, okay?" she tried to stand up, but she was stopped by a hand gripping her shirt. She was pulled to her feet and held against the wall. Struggling to breath, Mikan tried wrenching the firm hands off of her, but the man's grip was stronger by far.

Unable to speak, Mikan stared wide-eyed at Persona, who kept a calm look on his face. "Don't speak back, don't disobey, and get good grades in school. That's all you're supposed to do, right?"

Mikan nodded hurriedly. Persona smirked. "Then explain why you're not leaving for school until now!"

Choking, Mikan felt her senses clouding. She swore, one day she was going to kill this man! He was purposely making her late, and punishing her for it! A sigh escaped her as she slumped against the wall, unconscious.

A tall shadow loomed over her, as Persona stared at her silently. Without another word, he stumbled into his bedroom.

Her shoulders trembling, Mikan stumbled into her bedroom late at night. When Yoichi cast her a questioning glance, she didn't even notice. Instead, she just collapsed on the floor and covered her face, ashamed of her tears. All day had been a nightmare. As soon as she was conscious again, she had been dragged to school by the now-sober Persona. She got into trouble with the Principle for being so late, had to make up excuses for her bruises, and when she got home she had a furious Yuka waiting. Her mother had just arrived from work, and heard all about what happened from her husband. Now it was late, and Mikan hadn't eaten since lunch time.

Yoichi was used to his sister coming home like this, so he simply left her on her own. The girl always took their parents anger and punishments, never letting anything happen to her younger brother. At times like this, she just wanted to be left alone. By the next day, she always turned out fine, smiling like usual. Yes, tomorrow everything would be back to normal.

"Why can't you do something of use for once, instead of making things worse?"

Sobbing, Yuka sank to her knees, sobbing helplessly. "I don't know how much longer I can support the family on my own, I need your help wether I want to admit or not!"

Persona sighed, staring at his emotional wife. "Just shut up for five minutes, woman! I'm getting headache!"

Eyes wide, Yuka shook her head. "Persona, would you listen to me for five minutes? You don't even care that our house is falling apart, as well as our family! All you do all day is get drunk at the bar, then come home expecting me to take care of everything!"

Growling, Persona stood up, causing his wife to back up worriedly. "Who's the one who brought you and your pathetic daughter out of the slumps in the first place? If it weren't for me, then you two would still be living out on the streets!"

Shaking her head, Yuka let out a whimper. "You to-told me that you wanted to start a family, and that's why we had Yoichi! Why would you say that, if all you really wanted was a bottle of beer?"

Glaring, Persona clenched his fist. "Shut it, you hag! It was your idea to have the brat in the first place, so it's your duty to take care of him!"

Mikan huddled as she listened to her parents arguing. It always turned out like this after she somehow screwed up. After all, the two adults had very different views. As far as she knew all Persona wanted was a carefree life where he could get drunk as much as he wanted, which is why he married her mother when Mikan was five. They had been living on the streets for over a year, after her real father died, and Yuka had been blinded by her desperate need for attention.

And as for Yuka, she was in a mess after taking care of the family for so long. Her job was exhausting, and all it made was barely enough to pay the bills. That's why she was so dependent on Mikan getting good enough grades for a high paying job. Mikan was aware of what was expected of her, and she also knew all the stress that was piled on her mother, but it hurt to know that Yuka knew exactly how horrible Persona treated her kids while she was away, and yet she did nothing more than yell at Persona.

Why couldn't she have just been born into a loving family like the kids at school? Two parents who loved her, and siblings that she would lovingly tease, like she'd heard of. Or better yet, why couldn't she just have never been born at all?

Yes, it would be better if she had never been born at all!

Glancing at Yoichi, who was restlessly sleeping on the bed, she was careful not to wake him as she tiptoed out of the room. Her parents were done arguing and had gone to bed, although they slept apart like always. Persona was passed out on the couch again, and he slept like a log so it was easy for Mikan to sneak out of the house without disturbing him.

Outside, she took a deep breath. The night air was something she was very familiar with, since she would often sneak out during the night to escape her family. The stars twinkled merrily at her, and she closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see them. Wasn't life hard enough without being laughed at by the universe? It was like they were mocking her pitiful worries. After all, what was an abusive father supposed to matter in such a large universe? Even on all of earth, her very existence didn't matter. Would anyone care, or even notice if she were to disappear?

A hot tear trickled down her cheek, and she hurriedly brushed it away. Instead of crying, she glanced around for a rock, anything sharp. Catching sight of a shard of glass from a smashed bottle, she slowly grabbed it and held it to her heart. All her life had been spent in misery, she couldn't remember a single happy memory. What did it matter if she was gone? At least then, she might have a happier life in Heaven or Hell! Whichever one she went to didn't matter, because nothing could be worse than what she was living now.

Gulping, she pressed the sharp blade to her thin shirt, heart pulsing rapidly. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and…..!

"Yo…Yoichi!" She whispered in surprise, staring at the young boy who was standing before her, gripping her hand tightly. Trembling, she allowed the glass to fall from her hand, before collapsing on the hard ground. Overwhelmed by emotions, she couldn't even think to wonder how Yoichi knew what she was doing this late at night.

"Nee-chan!" Yoichi said firmly, glaring at the stunned girl laying in front of him. Her eyes flickered towards him, and Mikan was surprised to see the amount of pain in his eyes. Sitting up, she frowned. Seeing that she was confused, Yoichi was at a loss for words. "I… You were going to leave me…?"

Now she was full-out crying. Sobbing, Mikan held her bother close. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry… I don't know what I was thinking…" Touching her shoulder, Yoichi stood up and held out his hand. Mikan took it and stood up, still crying. Together they stared into the night, knowing that they were the only two people who cared for one another. Mikan glanced down at the five year old. How could she have been so ready to just abandon him? No, if they were ever going to escape this painful world, it would be together. Before dying, she would at least show this child what it means to truly be alive, and maybe even experience happiness for herself. That might be asking a lot of this unforgiving and merciless world, but she would try her hardest.

"Mikan, what are you doing outside right now?!"

Hearing Yuka's angry voice from the doorway, Mikan and Yoichi shared a glance. It was now or never, before they lost their courage the chance had to be taken right away! Taking a deep breath, Mikan held the boy's hand tightly and immediately started running. The dirt road was empty, and everything was pitch dark, so Mikan relied on her instincts to lead them safely away from that pit of despair. She could hear the horrified cries of her mother, but this time she wouldn't be swayed by that woman. It was time to take her life into her own hands.

Please let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!