Upside Down

There isn"t a lot that happens this evening that is of any real importance, except for the fact that Dr. Sato called Dad and wants Mama, Dad, and Honoka to come in for blood tests Sat.u.r.day.

So, after eating, cleaning up and taking a bath, Chinatsu and I went right back to bed.

I woke up with a rather urgent need to use the bathroom at 5 the next morning. After using the bathroom, I ran into Mama, who asked me to help with breakfast. Business as usual so far, right?

I understand a lot of kids gripe about having to help around the house, but I actually love helping Mama cook. Not only do I get to spend time with her, but it allows me to learn too. Normally, a two-fer, as the saying goes.

Mama asks me to make some miso. Fairly simple in and of itself. I had already diced up the tofu and dropped it in to start simmering. Then I started dicing some green onions as well. While I"m busy doing that, I hear the sharp crack of gla.s.s shattering, immediately followed by Mama falling bonelessly to the floor.

By no means on G.o.d"s little green Earth am I a fighter. How could I be? I"m tiny at 153cm and 46kg. Plus, I hate violence of any type. Regardless, I literally lost my little mind when I saw a dart sticking out of mama"s chest and four people burst into the kitchen where we are. Honestly, the last real thought I remember having was, "How dare someone do that to my Mama!"

It still sickens me to remember what I did that morning. After the man closest to me grabbed my left arm and roughly yanked me toward him, I rammed the butcher knife in my hand into his stomach, opening him up to gut him like a fish. His blood and entrails flood across my arm and soak me in his blood from my b.o.o.bs down. Momentum carries me to the man beside him. I feel his blood spray across me after I slit his throat open and hear the gurgling rasp of him drowning in his own blood.

A moment later, two darts. .h.i.t me in the chest which only serves to feed my anger and hatred of these men that would dare break into our house and hurt my Mama. I let loose a feral growl as I lept at the next one, wrapping my legs around him as I jammed the knife through one of his eyes. Dropping off of him as he fell, I spun around as the last man came up on me from behind and buried two-thirds of the blade in the side of his neck.

That is the the last thing I remember, until I woke up sometime later covered in blood being held by someone and I vaguely see someone else holding Mama while they were on the phone talking. As my vision comes completely back into focus there are four bodies surrounding me with blood covering nearly every surface in the room.

It takes a few moments longer for my thoughts to finally coalesce to where I can think somewhat clearly, but when they do, "Mama!!" I scream as I scramble thru the blood trying to reach her, while the person holding me struggles to restrain me.

I"m so distraught I don"t even realize it"s my Dad holding Mama and my sister trying her hardest to hold onto me. The only thing I even comprehend is someone hurt my Mama and I will be d.a.m.ned if I let that happen again.

　◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

I feel as if I am almost drowning as I struggle against whatever is holding me down.

"Mama!!!" I try to yell, but it comes out as a hoa.r.s.e whisper.

A moment later I hear a familiar voice and a cool touch on my cheek.

"Sora, it"s alright! Your mom is okay. Please, please come back to us!"

Able to calm myself somewhat due to the familiar voice. I take a painful breath.

"Mayumi?" I say almost voicelessly.

I don"t even recognise my own voice. I open my eyes and have no idea where I am. I recognized Mayumi"s voice though, I"m sure of that. Where am I and why is my throat so raw?

It take a few moments and the world comes back into focus. I look around me and finally see Mayumi.

Focusing on her, "Thirsty...." I rasp out hoa.r.s.ely.

"Oh, thank G.o.d Sora!"

"Thirsty.…" I say again.

It"s about all I can do at the moment. My throat is so raw it feels as if it will start bleeding. I try to move my arm and can"t. I look at my arms and see I"m restrained at the wrists and elbows. My legs by the ankles with one across my waist. What the h.e.l.l is going on?

Mayumi sticks a straw in my mouth and I gratefully suck in the liquid my body is demanding.

After draining the cup, "More please."

I drain the second cup and ask for a third. After draining the third cup.

"Mayumi?"

Somehow she seems to know what I"m asking.

"She"s fine Sora. They wouldn"t let her in here though, I thought we had lost you." she tells me with tears running down her cheeks.

I want to touch her to let her know I"m fine, but I can barely move a few cm before the restraints stop me.

"Mayumi, please?"

"I can"t Sora, they would fire me."

Angry and upset, I try to yell, "No! Dad wo… le...hem. Plea… Mayu...plea…" I manage to get it out barely above a whisper while tears stream from my eyes.

She seems to understand what I mean nonetheless and removes my restraints. I immediately cling to her and pull her down to me while crying. Not that anyone else would know it. The most that came out were harsh gasps from my raw throat. That didn"t stop me from crying or holding on to her so tightly I"m sure it had to hurt. She never said a thing though and simply held me while I sobbed. We end up repeating our first night together and I finally fall asleep exhausted.

I wake up the next morning, snuggled up tight against Mayumi with her arms wrapped around me, because someone is yelling.

"What the h.e.l.l did you expect?! I"m not superhuman and neither is she! By G.o.d! She"s a little girl; what do you want from her?! She protected her mother!"

A few moments of quiet and, "Do you really think I care about your opinion?! I care about that little girl in there!"

It takes me a few seconds to recognize it, but that"s Airi voice.

A few moments later, "You tell the director that and see how far it gets you!"

"Mayumi?" I murmur.

"Yes Sora?"

"Would you tell me how long I"ve been here?"

"Hmm? Why?"

"Please, don"t play games with me. I don"t care what you"ve been told. I have a right to know."

"Nine days."

I"m literally stupefied. It takes a minute for me to catch up with what she told me. I thought a day, maybe two, but nine days? Okay, well, next question.

"Why did they have me restrained?"

"They were afraid you were going to hurt yourself or someone else. It took four men to hold you down so they could even get close to your Mother to help her."

Four men for tiny me? Isn"t that kinda overdoing things?

"I killed them didn"t I?" I ask her as tears begin slipping from my eyes.

"It"s okay, don"t worry about anything. You were trying to protect yourself and your Mother."

I close my eyes and take some deep breaths to try to calm down. Freaking out now isn"t going to help me. I reach up and wipe away my tears.

"You said Mama"s okay, right? I didn"t imagine that?"

"She"s perfectly fine."

"Are Dad and Chinatsu okay too?"

"They are just fine too Sora."

"What about Honoka?"

"She okay as well."

"Do you even know how they got into the house?"

"Your Father said they attacked the people watching your house."

When my eyes widen, she tells me, "No, they aren"t dead, they hit them with the same darts they did you and your Mother. A lot of the attackers were killed doing it though. It cost them forty-six people to even get into your house."

"How many people did they send after me?"

"Fifty that they know of."

"So, I killed the last four of them inside the house."

When I say that, the memories of what I did come flooding back. Thankfully, I had nothing in my stomach to throw up or I would have.

"Mayumi?"

"Yes Sora?"

"Would you take a bath with me? I want to take one because I feel gross, but I don"t really want to be alone right now."

She leans in, kisses my forehead and tells me, "I would be happy to Sora. Let me go fill the tub. I"ll be back in a moment."

A little while later she comes back into the room and asks me, "Ready Sora?"

"Definitely. Uh, do I have a change of clothes? These are kind of, well, vile."

She chuckles. "Yes, your Mother brought some panties and a nightgown for you after they admitted you."

A random thought flies through my mind, "The silk nightgown I was wearing has to be ruined from all that blood." I shake my head to clear away the thought.

Standing up, I take her hand and follow her into the bathroom. Quickly stripping off the rather disgusting hospital gown and panties, I turn on the shower to allow the water to warm up and sit down on the shower chair.

After I adjust the water to a comfortable temperature, I let the hot water run down me until Mayumi takes the shower handle away from me and gently begins washing me. After rinsing the soap away, she washes me again. If she hadn"t, I would have, nine days without a bath is far, far too long for a girl. She then washes my hair twice and then puts conditioner in it. It should be obvious, but my hair needed it badly. I"ve told you before, taking care of long hair is a pain in the a.s.s. Not kidding in the least.

"Okay, your turn Mayumi. Sit down, I"ll wash you."

"You don"t have to do that. I can wash myself."

"I do this for my sister all the time. I actually enjoy doing it, so just let me, alright?"

She smiles and tells me, "Okay, just feels odd since I"m the one that usually has to wash other people."

I lean against her back, wrap my arms around her neck and tell her, "Then it"s your turn for a little pampering."

While I"m washing her I have a question that pops into my head for some odd reason.

"Mayumi?"

"Hmm?"

"You don"t have to answer me, but I"m curious, just how big are your b.o.o.bs?"

She chuckles. "Why is that always the one question I get asked? 85D. Why? Do you want your b.o.o.bs to get this big?"

"Oh h.e.l.l no! Mine get in my way as it stands. Big b.o.o.bs are a bother, don"t you think?"

She laughs while I rinse her off. "Well, for me they are, by the end of the day my shoulders are usually stiff. I suppose others think they are worth the pain."

"Eyes closed." I tell her, wet down her hair, and wash it. Once I rinse the shampoo out, I ask her, "Do you want conditioner too?"

"No not today, it"s fine."

"Okay, well, it"s time for this to come out of mine or my hair will be as limp as a wet noodle."

She takes the handle from me and thoroughly rinsed it out. She then steps into the tub and sits down. Climbing in after her, I sit down, lean back against her with a sigh and say, "I love baths."

She slips her arms around my waist.

"I do too Sora. I would have loved to been able to do this with a daughter one day, but I suppose I can settle for this." she tells me and give me a gentle squeeze.

"Mayumi?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For staying with me and bathing with me. Can you stay with me again tonight?" I ask her because I fully expect they aren"t going to let me go anytime soon.

"Sora, I"m not going anywhere, okay? I"ll stay with you as long as you want me to."

"Do you have any idea when they will let me see my family again?"

"No Sora, I have no idea, but it should be soon since you are awake now."

I turn to look at her. "Mayumi, can I have a hug?" I ask.

"Of course, you can have as many as you want."

I turn completely around, climb into her lap, and wrap myself around her while nuzzling my face against her neck. You can think whatever you want about me, I don"t care. I"m sad, upset and I want to see my family very, very badly.

"Mayumi?"

"Hmm?"

"You would be a great Mother."