This chapter is dedicated to bookbug67 for being the first person to vote on my story! Thanks a lot! You guys make writing worth it!
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My back slammed into the mat for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. "Ri-chan, you have to focus! You know what to do, so get up and let's try it again, okay?" Honey was standing over me trying to get me to perfect the last defense move that he had been teaching me. It had been several days since I started learning, and I had several bruises from all the times I wasn't able to block a hit in time, but I felt proud of these bruises; they meant so much more to me than any of the other bruises I had gotten in my life.
"Mitzukuni, take a break, you've both been working hard." Mori stood up from where he was sitting on the edge of the room. He threw me my water and the sat back down, looking at me in concern. "You're unfocused, what's wrong?" I looked at Mori in surprise, then tried to cover it up with a smile, but before I could come up with any excuse Honey cut me off.
"Takashi's right, Ri-chan, you have been really distracted, and that has led you to getting knocked down more than usual." He looked just as concerned as his cousin, which made me smile a little to myself at how much they cared.
I started to come up with an excuse, "Guys, I really am fine, it's just been-" Mori cut me off with a grunt/growl type thing and I sighed. "I guess I should've known that I wouldn't be able to lie to you guys. Honestly, it's not a big deal, but my Father is coming home today and I am really nervous. I guess you could say that my Father and I don't have the best relationship, so I'm never quite sure what to expect when he comes home."
Honey looked at me with disturbingly perceptive eyes, "Ri-chan? Is your Dad the reason you wanted to learn self-defense?" I gaped at him, not expecting him to come so close to the truth. 'Crap, well now what do I do. I can't tell them that I have been violently abused for the last two years of my life, and that when I last saw my Father, he sexually assaulted me. No, that would just upset them and they would want to take my Father down, but he is my problem and I will deal with him.'
"Well, I guess you could say that, in a way. He can be really strict and always wants me to be perfect, so I thought that learning this would help him to see that I'm capable of getting things done on my own. There's more to it than just that, but that is one reason." I shrugged as I told them that; everything I said was the truth, but it wasn't the full truth. I sighed and jumped back up, should we keep practicing, Honey, or are we done for the day?" Honey smiled and stood up along with Mori.
"Let's keep going for a bit longer." We got into position before Honey called one last thing my way, "Oh and by the way Ri-chan, I talked to Mori and we decided that we wanted you to call us by our first names. You feel like our little sister, so you can call me Mitzukuni, and Mori; Takashi, all right?" My eyes widened and began to fill with tears. I nodded, unsure if I would be able to get anything else out past the lump in my throat. "Good to hear, now Ri-chan, let's fight!"
***
I walked into the host club after school; I was running a little late because I had to talk to one of my teachers about an assignment. The first thing I heard when I walked in was Haruhi's blunt voice saying, "Not really. I just don't see why you guys are so popular." The twins turned to each other and grinned.
They pouted a little, "Well that's not very nice." Hikaru picked up saying, "I'm disappointed." Kaoru nodded and said, "Apparently, you don't understand the merits of having a pair of twins as members of the host club."
At this point they looked at each other seductively and Hikaru said, "Listen up. Having a couple of good-looking guys with homosexual tendencies earns the club high points. It also helps that the two struggle between their attraction and their friendship." "And in our case, because we're twins, our relationship is taboo and therefore more intriguing" Kaoru smirked and then they turned to one of their guests.
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The Scars Unseen (OHSHC)
FanfictionRisa Soretzu has always been in the shadows, passed over at school and abused at home, she struggles to simply keep breathing at times. Ever since her mother and brother died in an accident, Risa's father has taken his anger out on her; sadly, this...