Memories

Life One, Act Six

Warning: Violence and mature themes. Abuse.

Chapter Summary: "Bad children need to be punished, don't they?" - Sera Caine. "She was how young at the time?!" - Ganzorig, Mongolia. "I didn't mean... to hit her with... the soil... I was only... taking care of Mom's flowers... like always..." - Tino Väinämöinen, Finland.

/

"Alright. The show must go on, as they say... Right...?" America tried to lighten the atmosphere, but failed.

So he went ahead and pressed play.

/

Three Weeks Later

"Who left that open?" Sera asked. She had the children all standing in the living room. There was an open chest of toys and board games in the corner.

The room was silent, until Phuong spoke up.

"I did." Sera raised a brow. "Really?" "Yes. I thought I'd closed it last night. But I was wrong... I'm sorry."

The other children tensed at the words being exchanged. Yao very nearly took Phuong by the hand, but he knew his sister well enough by now.

"Bad children need to be punished, don't they?" Sera roughly pulled Phuong by the arm and all but dragged her to the storage room. The other children were frozen in the living room for just a little bit, before they hurried upstairs to prepare the first aid kit for their sister.

Sera pushed Phuong to the floor. The girl lay on her back, fighting back the tears and keeping herself from saying this outfit was her mother's favorite.

Sera grabbed an empty wine bottle.

She then pulled the girl's shorts down.

Phuong screamed at the intrusion.

After the deed was done, Sera flipped Phuong over. She pulled the girl's shirt up a little.

She took out a dull knife and proceeded to scratch a word onto the girl's hip.

Phuong only continued to scream...

/

Her siblings all stood in alarm as she came into their room. She was leaning on the wall for support. "Phuong! You're bleeding!" Kiku exclaimed as he shakily hugged her. "I'm fine. It'll stop soon. I promise."

"Here. Sit." William practically demanded as he pointed to her bed. "No. It's going to stain." Arthur gave her a cold look. "The floor is already going to stain. We can take care of it. As much as we can take care of stained sheets." He gestured for her to just sit down, already.

Hugo went behind her so she can lean on someone. Something from beneath the hem of her shirt caught his eye. He turned to Yao before speaking.

"Yao?" "What is it?" "What's a p-pro... sti... t-tute?" Yao's eyes narrowed at the question. "Where did you...?" He immediately went behind Phuong and pulled her shirt up a bit. "Fuck her!" He exclaimed in his native tongue. "Yao!" They decided to continue speaking in Chinese. "What did she do?!" "Yao, enough!" "You're bleeding so much!" "She had an empty wine bottle, okay?!" Yao took a step back as her words rang in his mind. "She forced...! That's...! She's dead." "Yao. Don't." "You're bleeding!" "I know, but-"

"Stop it! Stop fighting!" Feliciano's voice could have been as quiet as a mouse, but they would always hear him... and they always listened. "Sorry..." They both spoke, eyes focused on the floor as though they were being scolded.