The Undeniable Truth

You walked towards your locker with a smile on your face. You had loved being at school, it got you away from your family. True it was only for six hours out of the day but hey, that was six hours of not getting yelled at or hit for their amusement. You shook your head as you closed your emerald eyes and let out a sigh. There was no way you were going to let the thought of them ruin your whole day at school where people admired your. Of course you werent conceded but you knew the girls wanted to be you and all the boys wanted to be with you. Truthfully, even though you thought it was nice, it annoyed you all the same because others that didnt really admire you, thought you were stuck up.

"Mai, how has your morning been going so far?" your friend, Ruri Iruka asked in her usually bubby way

"School hasnt even begun yet"

"I know but I figured I'd ask anyway" Ruri smiled making you smile back and shake your head. You had turned your attention back to your locker and grabbed the books that you knew you were going to need for classes before you shut the locker to see Ruri staring at you.

"you do realize that is very creepy, dont you?" you asked making her blink a few time. Ruri wasnt bad looking. She had baby blue eyes, with platinum blonde hair and pale skin. She was rather skinny but she looked fit at the same time. The two of you had been friends since you were in grade school and she was the only one that knew about your home life. Of course she had wanted to get you away from there all the time, she was afraid of your parents at the same time. You couldnt blame her, the first time she had met them, your mother had called you a 'dirty whore' and your father had grabbed you by the hair and threw you across the room. So you didnt hold it against her when she didnt want to go to your house. I mean come on, you didnt even want to be there. You let out a sigh and shook her head as a smile played on your lips

"come on Ruri, we're gunna be late for class if you keep standing here staring like some weird stalker person"

"HA, so it did creep you out!" she laughed

"well of course, you were staring in a werid stalker way"

"im not a stalker though"

"well you do follow me everywhere"

"I do not, Mai Valentine! i am your best friend and plus youd love me even though i was a stalker"

"ah, this is true" You laughed as the two of you started to walk to your class. Once you two had taken your seats, the room slowly filled with others. The guys would try to sit next to you but you soon got fed up with it and sat next to the window with Ruri on your right so that no one else could sit next to you. The two of you had gotten so caught up in the conversation that you didnt realize that your teacher had walked in and had tried to get your attention but she was failing miserably like she always did. So she had walked over to the door, opened it and then slammed it shut making everyones eyes snap forward. She smiled to herself as she walked to the front of the class once again. And you being the cocky girl in the class had to speak up but you were glad that this teacher loved you of else you would have ended up in detention

"you know, the next time you do that. the poor door is going to break" you told her making her smile at you

"well, if the class would listen when i tried to get your attention the first time then i wouldnt have had to do that" she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Class had flown by just like everyday and you and Ruri had packed your things and had walked out into the hall only to bump into the Prince himself. You looked down. even though you were outspoken, you were also very shy towards people you didnt really know

"I-Im sorry" you whispered while you tried to gather your fallen papers. He had leaned down to help you making you look up at him

"Its alright Ms. Valentine, are you alright?" Yuki asked in his smooth voice making you nod

"yeah, but it was my fault. I never watch where Im going" you laughed nervously. You didnt understand why you were nervous in front of him. He was Yuki Sohma. One of the most well known guys in the school. He had a fan club and everything. But then again, so did you. Yuki had handed you your lost papers as you both stood up

"here you are Ms. Valentine" he said with a smile

"thank you and please call me Mai" You told him as you took your papers and placed them in your bag. You had then noticed that Tohru had ran up behind him

"hey Tohru" you and Ruri said in unison

"hello Mai, hello Ruri how are you?"

"well if Mai wasnt a ditz then shed be better" Ruri laughed getting a playful glare from you but Tohru looked at you with worry making you sigh

"its alright Tohru, i wasnt paying attention to where i was going and bumped into Yuki here but there was no damage done" you reassured her. She had seemed to calm down and you looked at the group and then looked at the clock on the wall behind Yuki

"oh crap, sorry guys but we have to get going before we're late for biology again" you said as you grabbed Ruri by the arm and dragged her away while waving goodbye to your other friends.

While you sat in your science class, all you could seem to think about was what was going to happen when you got home. You hated to admit it but your were afraid of what might happen when you walked through the front door to your so called 'home.' You were so caught up in your own thoughts that you didnt realize that the teacher was in front of you

"Ms. Valentine, are you alright? you look very pale" He stated. You shook your head and blinked a few time before you were able to respond

"my apologies Sir. Im fine" you lied. Of course you werent fine, you were afraid of the last bell of the day to ring signalling that everyone had to go home. You were afraid to go home to find your father yet again drunk and your mother high off of some drug. That was your happy family alright. Dear ol' Daddy was always drunk and Mommy was always high on some form of drug....any drug she could get her hands on anyway. Your teacher had nodded and then had gone back to the front of the class and continued teaching. Ruri looked at you with a worried expression on her face but you have her the look that told her not to worry and that you were fine.

At the end of school, Ruri had tried to tell you that you could go to her house but you simply shook her head. You didnt want to put her in danger and you knew that if you didnt come home that whatever your parents had planned for you would be ten times worse. The two of you had walked home together and the whole way towards your house, Ruri had tried to convince you that if might be a good idea for you to stay with her but you stopped in front of her

"Ruri, I might sound like a good idea but do you realize that if I go to your house then you have the possibility of being in danger?"

"I know but Mai, but I dont want you to go to the hospital and use the same excuse you always use"

"which would be?...." you asked as you crossed your arms over your chest

"that you fell, i mean come on Mai, how much longer can you use that excuse before the start to suspect something?"

"do i really use that one a lot?"

"yes, but Mai" Ruri whined and you sighed. You hated seeing her upset and she was upset and afraid for you.

"dont worry so much Ruri, I'll be fine like i always am"

"but thats the thing! You're never fine after they hurt you!" she yelled. You closed your eyes and frustration. Ruri had then hugged you and told you that she was gunna go home and that if you needed to get away fast that you knew where she lived. You hugged her back and told her that she'd be the first place you go if your not hurt too badly.

Once Ruri was out of sight, you looked to see that you were in front of the Sohma Estate and just admired it

"what it would be like to be protected from all the pain behind those walls. To not have to worry about my parents ever again. I bet the head of house would treat me better than they do" You thought out loud. You didnt realize that someone was watching you in turn. They had seen you pass by many times and stare at the Estate with hope. You shook your head and sighed

"one could only hope" you said before looking at the house next to the Estate with fear. you didnt want to walk through the doors but you knew that you had to get it over with sooner or later. You walked away from the Sohma Estate. With every step there was hesitation. Part of you wanted to run all the way to Ruri's house and hide there forever but part of you wanted to keep your only best friend safe from the pain you endured on a daily basis.

You opened the front door only to see your father look up at you and smile his drunken, evil smile. You stood in your place knowing that if you were to run that he would make it worse for you. But you did look around to notice that your mother was passed out on the hallway floor.

"welcome home my flower" your father said as he stood up and stumbled over to you. He wasnt normally a ditzy drunk but you knew that he must have had something stronger than what he usually drank. He grabbed you by your raven black hair and pulled you to him. You could smell the beer and other various liquers on your father.

"What? no 'hello daddy'?" he asked in a taunting voice but when you gave him no answer, he slammed his half empty bottle against your head and then took the sharp piece in his hand and started to cut up your arm causing you to scream in pain.

As the hours of torture continued, you had lost a lot of blood making you feel light headed but you couldnt stop the tears from pouring. Before your mother could join in, there was a knock on the door. While your father had answered the door, your mother had continued to punch you. Your cries had become louder but you soon heard your father get thrown. Your mother stopped and turned her attention to the door. You took the time to look and see two males at your door and one look on the brink of freaking out. You had fallen on your side catching the calmer males attention

"what the fuck do you want?" my mother asked in a pissed off tone.

"Like i told your sorry excuse of a husband, I wish to talk to your daughter"

"Mai! what did you do now you dirty little tramp!?" she yelled as she charged at you and started to beat the crap out of you some more but you were too weak to defend yourself against her blows. But suddenly she was pulled away from you and you saw a man with shaggy hair kneel in front of you. You felt more tear well up in your eyes as he examined you

"please....help.....me" you barely managed to say. You were hurt more then usual and you just wanted to die. The man nodded towards the guy he came with and looked back at you with sad eyes

"we'll be taking her" the other said and even though you couldnt show it, you were happy to get out of there. The man in front of you placed one arm under your legs and the other under your shoulders and lifted you up bridal style. You fell limp in his arms and he started to walk out of the house with his companion. But you soon blacked out.

When you awoke, you felt the pain of last night crawl back into your body. You let out a scream but you soon stopped as it slowly went away. You kept your eyes closed until you couldnt feel it anymore and then slowly opened them and looked around. You knew you werent home but you also knew that you didnt know where you were. You had tried to sit up once again but quickly laid back down with a scream of pain. You heard the door slide open and closed once again. You looked to see the man that saved you. He had black shaggy hair that fell perfectly into his golden eyes. He was wearing a black business suit with a doctors coat over it. He had adjusted his glasses and then took a seat in the chair next to your bed. He didnt say anything at first but he seemed to take you in.

"w-wh-where am i?" you asked weakly

"the Sohma Estate, Im Hatori Sohma"

"Mai Valentine" you whispered but he nodded his head

"i know who you are"

"how?"

"I've seen you along with our head of House, Akito, stare at our Estate. May i ask why you do that?" he asked but you looked away from him. He got up and seemed to be looking from paperwork

"how bad is it this time?" you asked after what seemed like five minutes of silence

"what do you mean this time? has this happened to you before?" he asked. It had seemed that he was concerned about you but you didnt know why. He didnt even know you and yet her was concerned. His question made you laugh a little

"on a daily basis" you whispered before looking at him again "so how bad?" you asked again. He sighed as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes

"you have two broken ribs"

"would explain why i couldnt sit up"

"you also had a few deep cuts that i had to stitch and some minor cuts and bruising" he explained. You had tried once again to sit up but he gently placed his hand on your shoulder and pushed you back down

"you should really not move so much"

"Ive been through worse, trust me" you told him as you attempted to sit up again but it became too painful for you to bare. I had sighed once again and laid back down. You looked up at him to see him smile with satisfaction. You looked away from him and closed your eyes. You just wanted to have the pain go away

"who was the other man with you?"

"The Head of House, Akito. She had seen you stare a lot" he said. There was another long moment of silence before you spoke up again

"hope"

"excuse me?"

"you asked why i stared at the Estate all the time, Hope"

"Hope for what?"

"hope that i would one day be safe. actually be loved and feel like i belong there. Hope that i would walk through the gates and feel like i had a home" you told him. Hatori nodded

"you dont have to worry about going back there"

"why?"

"Akito told your parents that you'd be staying here, with us"

"but why? Akito doesnt know me"

"because Akito wants to change the way she once was. She could see the fear in your eyes and the way you walked towards your house. She wanted to help you" he explained. You were slowly drifting off

"Hatori?" you whispered

"yes?"

"I want to meet Akito and thank her for saving my life"

"you will"

"i want her to know just how happy i am that she did it"

"you need your rest"

"thank you....Hatori" you breathed out before you drifted off to sleep.