'Don't worry. It'll be over soon... The pain, the hunger...' Thoughts raced through the little blonde haired girl's mind. She had big uniquely violet eyes. She went by the name Satoko Houjou. She had had a hard past, her parents dying, then her aunt and uncle beating her and her brother. As a result of the beatings, Satoko separated from her friends. The last straw had finally been broken when her brother, who she called 'Nii-nii', disappeared.

No one knew what happened to Satoko's brother, Satoshi. Most fear the worst, that the curse of Watanagashi and Oyashiro-Sama killed him. But they all cover it up, saying he 'transferred.' Satoko knew better. Her Nii-nii wouldn't transfer and leave her here to suffer, with her uncle. He was lost somewhere, but she was sure that he was alive. He had to be.

After Satoshi disappeared, Satoko got hit harder, and her uncle began taking food away from her. But as this went on, Satoko's mind raced on. 'I deserve this... for not noticing whatever pain Nii-nii was going through. I deserve to get hit. To not see my friends. Not eat. I deserve this. I don't deserve to die. That is too easy.' Satoko would always think to herself, as her uncle whipped her, telling her that she was worthless.

After the beatings, and Satoko's uncle was nice again, he offered her food, which she politely declined. She was hungry, but she needn't eat. She'd be just fine without food. Besides, she would have to eat lunch at school tomorrow. She hadn't been to school in two days. Normally her uncle never 'let' her stay home more than 2 days, because then Chie-Sensei would begin to worry about her.

When she went to sleep that night, she tried to ignore the rumbling of her stomach, and relax back. She would need her rest for school tomorrow. She needed to come up with another lie, to cover her bruises, and her absences. Hmm, this time it could be that she fell down the stairs and has been too sore to walk. That should work just fine.

"Hey, Satoko!" Mion exclaimed as Satoko walked slowly into the room, prepared for whatever questions her group had for her. "Where have you been? Are you okay?" Mion asked, walking up to Satoko, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Satoko looked up at her, with her dead eyes, and shook her head, "I'm fine. I fell down the stairs a few days ago, and I hurt my legs. But they feel better now." she said, flinching a little at Mion's hand on her shoulder. Her uncle loved to grab her there, and it was bruised.

Rena looked at Satoko carefully, "You look like you haven't slept in a while... Maybe you should go to the infirmary and take a nap?" she said, nodded a little to herself.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Satoko said, annoyance lacing her voice. She really loved that they cared so much, but it would help sometimes if they wouldn't.

Rika, Satoko's best friend, chimed in. "You're a little pale too... I don't think skipping out on the infirmary is such a good idea. Or maybe you should go home... You really don't look very good, Satoko."

"I said I'm fine, okay!" Satoko yelled, before turning and sitting down in her seat, nearly making the desk flip over from her quick movement.

"Oh... Okay..." Rika said, softly, turning to look at Mion. She pointed to the door, and Mion nodded. Rika walked to the door, prepared to lie if needed.

Mion followed, just as prepared as Rika to lie. They needed to talk about Satoko's outrageous behaviour. When she stepped out of the room, Rika was looking at her with huge worried eyes. "I think that Satoko is lying." she said, without any hesitation.

"You don't think...?" Mion said, not finishing the sentence. Everyone in the school knew about Satoko's uncle and how he would beat the Houjou children, and now that Satoshi's gone, Satoko suffers more than ever.

Rika nodded, "I think so." she sighed. "And if that's the case, we need her out of that house."

Mion nodded. "I know... But how? If we claim to be having a sleepover or something, you know that her uncle will say no."

"Mii... I know..." Rika sighed and ran her fingers through some of her hair, "We cannot kidnap her either... We don't want Ooishi-San in this." she said, thinking out loud.

"Yeah... I don't know. Let's think up some ideas during class today, and then we can talk to Rena about this also." Mion said, her leadership showing.

"Mii." Rika nodded. They both re-entered the room, and Satoko was looking right at them. "Please don't talk about me behind my back." she said, in a sincere, quiet voice.

Both Rika and Mion looked at each other before nodding to Satoko and taking their seats.

Satoko on the other hand, was now studying her lap and nearly hyperventilating. 'They know. They always know... They probably even know about my personal punishment game... Mion would anyway. She is the one that knows all about punishment games.' Satoko thought, as she got ready for class to start.

Her own punishment game was basically where she punished herself for Satoshi's disappearance. She didn't tell anyone what she did, but everything got around in this town, even if it was something never spoken. Satoko's punishment game was to deprive herself of food. Not to look pretty, not to be skinny. She was already skinny. She did it, because it made her feel better. When she was in pain, she knew that that must have been a form of the pain that Satoshi felt before he left. She didn't want to die though, so at school, she would eat her bento, but that was it. Unless she was with people. To keep her cover.

"Satoko-Chan? I need to speak with you." Satoko heard Chie-Sensei say. Her heart dropped and she let out a fearful sigh. She stood up from her desk, and looked up at Chie-Sensei, "Yes, Ma'am." she said, in a soft fearful tone.

When she got over to Chie-Sensei, she felt her teacher's hand on her back, guiding her to her office. "Come on, I don't want the other students overhearing." Satoko knew that this was going to be about her uncle again. But she deserved this punishment, and she felt like if she endured it, then her Nii-Nii would be proud when he came back.

As Satoko stepped into Chie-Sensei's office, she closed the door. "What did you need me for?" she said, softly. She didn't want to make eye contact, because she had with her friends, and they had almost immediately known that there was something wrong.

"I'm worried about you." Chie-Sensei started, looking at Satoko with caring eyes. "I've noticed that you've been missing a lot of school lately, and alongside that, it seems as though you look much more unhealthy then you did before." she said, looked Satoko up and down. On her hands, Chie-Sensei could see every tendon, every bone. Satoko's face was sunken in, and Chie-Sensei could see the suffering that she rested with.

"I'm fine. I've just been a little sick." Satoko said, knowing that she couldn't explode on Chie-Sensei like she did her friends. That would've been bad.

"Is your uncle still in town?" Chie-Sensei asked. She knew that if the answer was yes, Satoko was still having a hard time.

"Yes, he is." Satoko said, holding her skinny arms tightly to her chest.

"Is he feeding you enough?" Chie-Sensei asked, noticing how little her arms where, when Satoko had crossed them. She had to look down, and nearly gasped at the sight of Satoko's legs. They were hardly holding her up, with how tiny they were. Chie-Sensei could've put her hands all the way around Satoko's thighs. She was so unhealthy and skinny.

"Yes. I eat three meals a day." Satoko said, lying. She hadn't eaten in three days.

"Well, you've gotten awfully smaller. I think you need to see Irie-San." Chie-Sensei said, watching Satoko's eyes. Chie-Sensei knew that Satoko was lying, but she still tried to follow along.

"I would rather not." Satoko said, in a monotone voice, looking down at her feet.

"Dear, you are extremely unhealthy looking. Seeing a doctor would be best." Chie-Sensei said.

"I'm fine." Satoko said, gripping her arms closer to her chest.

"You're very obviously not. Satoko, I'm calling Irie-San. I have to do what I feel is best for my students." Chie-Sensei said, earning an irritated scowl from Satoko.

"Fine. But I tell you, I'm fine." Satoko said, watching the floor. She felt like she was about to cry. If they found out, then she wouldn't be strong enough. She wouldn't be strong enough to face her Nii-nii. All of this effort would've been a waste.

"I'll tell him to come right away, so he can just do a quick check up here." Chie-Sensei said. "But, please, Satoko, tell the truth. It's important. If your uncle is doing anything he shouldn't... You could die any day." she said, biting her lip.

Satoko's eyes went wide. Die? She didn't want to die. She wanted to endure everything. Become good enough for everyone. Dying would mean giving up. Dying would be losing everything she had hoped for. "...Sensei?" she said, softly.

"Yes, Satoko?" Chie-Sensei said, looking up at Satoko, who looked like she was about to pass out.

"What would happen to someone if they one ate one meal only 2 times a week, and nothing else?" Satoko asked quietly.

"Well, after about a month or 2 they would be extremely dehydrated and sick, and would have issues just moving. After about 2 months, they would more than likely die." Chie-Sensei said, while trying to figure out why Satoko had been asking.

"What if I told you that I was doing that?" Satoko asked. She didn't want to tell on herself, but she had been doing this for at least a month, and she didn't want to die. She wanted to be alive to see Nii-Nii when he came back.

Chie-Sensei looked up at Satoko and saw that she had tears in her eyes. Chie-Sensei wrapped her hand around Satoko and carefully pulled her into a hug. "Then I would do exactly this, and then try to find out why. I would try to get you nursed back to health, and try to make things a lot better than they are now."

Satoko didn't respond. She was trying to hold back tears. She didn't want any of this to be happening. She was scared.

"Satoko?" Chie-Sensei said, softly. She pulled out of the hug, and looked Satoko right in the face. "Is what you are telling me true?" she asked.

Satoko still didn't talk, scared that everything would break. She nodded a little, and hid her face in her hands.

"Why?" Chie-Sensei asked, trying to know why this would be happening, "Is it that horrible uncle of yours?" she asked.

"No..." Satoko said softly. "I... I feel like if I don't eat, I will be stronger. For Nii-Nii..." Satoko said, tears beginning to come out of her wide eyes.

Chie-Sensei couldn't help but gasp. Satoko never seemed to be the one to starve herself. She seemed happy enough, and she seemed to eat at school. That must've been the only times.

"How long has this been going on?" Chie-Sensei asked.

"At least the last month..." Satoko said, watching her feet, "But Uncle... Uncle didn't give me a lot of food before, but I ate when I could then... Now... I only eat at school."

Chie-Sensei nodded a little. "I'm taking you to Irie-San. Right now."

Satoko's eyes went wide. "But..." Her heart was racing and she couldn't think straight. She had just ratted herself out. Now everyone was going to know something was wrong.

"No. Satoko, you need liquids. Food. You need it. Your Nii-Nii would do the same thing. Try to help you." Chie-Sensei said. She carefully grabbed Satoko's hand and guided her to the door.

She opened the door and guided Satoko out. "Mion-Chan, watch over the class. I have something I need to do."

"Yes, Ma'am" Mion said, standing up and bowing.

Satoko's face turned red, and she hid her face in her hair. 'I'm sorry, Nii-Nii, my plan didn't work. I hope that this works out for the best. I'm sorry to all of my friends, that you have no clue what is going on, and why Chie-Sensei is guiding me by my hand out of the class.'

She tried to relax once they got outside, and into Chie-Sensei's car. Irie's office was only about a five minute drive, but Satoko felt like she could hardly last another second. She began panicking, her breath speeding up.

Chie-Sensei seemed to be driving as fast as she could, noticing Satoko's behaviour.

Satoko was holding herself, as if to keep herself from falling apart. She couldn't stop her tears now, as she thought of what Irie-Sensei would do to her, what he would say. She couldn't stop thinking about how everyone was going to shun her even more now, because she hadn't been eating.

When they pulled up to the clinic, Satoko was shaking her head. "I can't. I can't go inside. Everything I've works so hard for will be gone. I can't do it." she said before looking up at Chie-Sensei.

Chie-Sensei noticed red marks on Satoko's neck, looked at her sternly. "How did those marks on your neck get there?" she asked.

Satoko touched her neck, unsure of what Chie-Sensei was talking about. "I don't know..." She looked away, as she slightly remembered scratching her neck as she was thinking. Satoko held on to herself tighter and said, "I'm not going in. He'll scold me. I'll get in trouble... And Nii-nii will never see how hard I've tried to be everything..." Satoko faded off into thought. She was holding herself tight, and swaying a little.

Chie-Sensei looked at her. "If you won't go in, I'll bring him out here." she said, plainly. Without a second thought, Chie-Sensei got out of the car, taking her keys, and locking all the doors. She assumed by the way that Satoko was acting, she was much too disoriented to find the lock and unlock the door.

Chie-Sensei hurried inside, bypassing the nurse in the waiting area, who called after her. She ignored her completely, and stormed into Irie's office. "Irie-San, it's an emergency. I have a student in my car, and she needs medical attention, now." she said, all in one breath.

Irie looked down at the paperwork he was doing, and didn't take a second to stand up and grab a stethoscope. "Who is it?" he asked, as he rushed.

"Houjou Satoko." Chie-Sensei said. "She, currently, is having a panic attack. I found out she's been starving herself for about the past month. She refused to see you, but I insisted and now she is panicking."

Irie nodded, as he approached Chie-Sensei's car. Satoko took one glance out of window and hid her face, and hit the glass with her free hand. "Go away!" she yelled.

Irie shook he's head. "Satoko, you need help." he said in a calm voice.

Satoko didn't even really respond. She screamed, as loud as she could, trying to block everything else out.

Chie-Sensei went quickly to unlock the passenger side door. She struggled for a moment, but unlocked it quickly none the less. Satoko almost literally fell out, stopping her scream.

She flailed around, trying to get no one to touch her.

"Chie, go in and get nurses. Tell them to bring something to help calm her down." Irie said, as he carefully made sure Satoko didn't hurt herself or anyone else. He quickly got her hands pinned down, and nurses soon came after to help him by pinning her legs down, as one injected something into her arm.

"Leave me alone! I can handle it all on my own!" Satoko tried to convince them. She struggled for a minute, but then her body felt heavy. Almost like she couldn't move. She couldn't really stay focused anymore. What was she doing again?

Hello, everynyan~!

I've been writing this story for a while, since probably about a month ago. I didn't wanna post til I was done, and now I'm done. I will post new chapters every few days, even though I want to wait a week for each.

Anyway, I really hope you like it so far! R&R pleeeaaasssee?

~Bri