I Need a Hero

5

It was late at night when Father finally left me alone on the bed. He pulled his clothes back on as I cried, from pain, fear, and exhaustion. My throat hurt, both from screaming and crying, and my wrists were bruised from his tight grip, but these were the least of my problems. The worst pain, by far, was between my legs.

I had heard my brothers yelp in pain a few times in the past three-ish hours. They could feel my pain, so they knew everything that had happened. They knew before, even as Father dragged me past them and towards his bedroom, what was to happen. We all knew, as soon as we heard we would be coming back. It had started when we were seven, and was why they were so protective of me. We knew it would happen again. We had just hoped it would have been more than just three days in.

"Get dressed," Father ordered, and I flinched at his voice.

I quickly put my school uniform back on, wanting to leave as fast as possible.

"Tani," his voice stopped me. I stood in the doorway, my back to him. "Sweetheart, you've gotten better at this. Are you spending too much time with your brothers?"

I shuddered, another tear falling down my face. I left the room and entered the one my brothers and I shared, arms crossed over my chest. I leaned back against the now closed door, sliding down to the floor and sobbing. My brothers stared at me, unsure what to do. They knew they couldn't comfort me. Not really. I could feel their guilt. They were the ones who made me go to the Host Club. But it really wasn't their faults. It would have happened anyway. Finally, they sat on either side of me, holding me close to them as I cried. When I finally stopped crying, I changed into some pajamas. We layed down and went to sleep, remaining undisturbed for the night.

The following morning, we put on our school uniforms. I was glad my dress had long sleeves. I didn't want to show any skin. I was ashamed of what my father had made me do. Of the power he had over me.

"Sit down," Taro ordered gently. I sat on the edge of the bed, and he knelt in front of me, using makeup to cover my black eye. His split lip was still there, but there was no swelling to go with it, thankfully.

We left for school soon after. The stares we received seemed to penetrate my soul, the wispers fluttering back and forth. After what hapoened yesterday, after I lied to Huny, they hated me. They hated all three if us. They thought we would grow up to be like our father. And I guess one of us would. Once training was completed. I tried not to think of such things.

Father would never choose me, anyway, and that was good, but the reason was not. I was his toy. That was the only reason he even kept me around. All three of us knew Taro was the most likely pick, either way. He was stronger, faster, and the first-born son, as his name specified. Tomo was too sensitive, in Father's eyes, and that made him weak. His name meant 'twin'. My name meant 'sweetheart'. Father knew how I would be useful to him the fmday he named me. My purpose was always to be his toy, from the day I was born, and not just sexually. He constantly tried to mess with my head.

My brothers grabbed my hands, breaking me from my thoughts, and I realized how tense I was.

"Relax, Tani," Taro wispered to me. "You will be ok, now. We can't protect you from Father, but we will protect you from anyone else who tries to hurt you."

Tomo squeezed my hand, and I almost cried. "It's ok, Tani. We're here."

I forced myself to relax, squeezing their hands gently, to signal that I would be ok. Then, I made eye contact with Hunny, from across the courtyard. Mori was with him, and his gaze was hard and emotionless. Hunny was his best friend, and I had lied to his face. Of course Mori was angry with me. Or maybe he generally looked like that. I honestly wasn't sure. Hunny's eyes saddened when they met mine. He slowly walked over, Mori trailing a few steps behind him. I took a few steps away from my brothers, meeting Hunny and Mori by a nearby tree.