I'd been horrified when I saw the scratch marks on the door, and I almost threw up in my mouth. Last night had been stressful; Yukio and I talked about, well, everything. It seemed as though we were on the same page now, but I still couldn't help hiding a few things from him. As I lay in bed, the afternoon sun basking our room, I ran my fingers over Kuro's paws, an orange tint discolored the usual white mittens. His claws had been shorted to nubs or broken off completely. It must be painful just to walk, yet, he followed happily everywhere I went.

My eyes flickered over to Yukio when his phone rang. His brows furrowed and he dug out the device, becoming even more confused. "Hello?" He moved from his position on his bed, standing up and walking over to the window. "Today?" I blinked a few times, my fingers continuing to smooth the short hairs on my familiar's paw. "Why wasn't this done earlier?" Oh no, he was getting angry, who was he even talking to? "We'll be there in awhile."

That piqued my interest, and when he hung up, I spoke up. "Where are we going? What are we doing?" He didn't seem happy and the small ball of excitement in me died, "w-who was that?"

He sighed, running his hands through his hair, "the police station." I immediately shifted in bed, my heart stuttering before picking up the pace. "Don't worry, it's not about him... well, sorta. They need you to give a written testimony."

I sat stock still, "oh..."

Apologetic eyes gazed into mine, "I'm sorry, Nii-san, but the more you do for this, the easier it is to lock him away and the quicker it'll be over." He stepped toward me and held out his hand, "I'll be there with you, and you can take as long as you need."

.oOo.

I sat in a small room, a single table and a few chairs in the middle. However, unlike in the movies, it wasn't dark and monotonous. There were pictures on the walls, which were painted a light blue over the brick. The pictures were of smiling people or of inspirational quotes. The area seemed more fitting for a pediatrician's office than a cop shop. I had a feeling this wasn't the normal room people were led to when they needed to be questioned. The police officer opposite of me confirmed that much.

"Normal questioning room can be intimidating, but that's the point when you're trying to get answers from a convict. This room might be cheesy, but it's a lot more inviting, wouldn't you say?" I nodded timidly, my eyes wandering over some of the quotes.

You can do this. Can I?

Don't let another's action define who you are. His action made me who I am, though.

Always remember that the future comes one day at a time. And the past will haunt every single one.

It's never to late to be what you might've been. Actually, yeah it is.

I gave up on the quotes, focusing my attention to the man before me. "What do I have to do?" He nodded his head to the paper in front of us, it had a step by step guideline on how to write a testimony. "This will be used at the trial?"

He sighed, "yes, you'll have to give an oral testimony as well."

My eyes bulged and I abruptly stood from my chair, "I have to be there?? No, no! I can't see him, he can't see me!" I stumbled backward, tripping over the chair and falling onto my rear end.

I heard him shuffle over to me, his hands were large and gripped my shoulders. A memory flashed through my mind and I cried out, "get off of me! Stop!" There was a loud noise and I lashed out once more when his hands were ripped from my shoulders. "Stop!" I covered my face with my hands and cowered in on myself.

"Hey, hey, it's alright, you're okay." A voice broke through my reality, the sound different from the usual tone I was used to. My breathing was labored as peeked through my fingertips. A man, different than Naito, and different from the police officer from before, was in front of me. "You're alright, everything's going to be okay."

"I can't let him see me, he'll hurt me..."

"Here, can you stand? I'll explain everything to you." His breath smelled sweet, like candy, or a sugary drink.

I swallowed hard, "I... don't trust you.... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I don't trust you, please, I don't want to do this."

He waved his hands in front of him, "it's alright. Would you like a woman to help you through this instead? Don't worry, I'm not offended, kiddo."

"Please, don't call me that."

"Alright, want me to get someone else?" I nodded meekly and he rose, "take a look around while I'm gone, okay? You're not where you believe you are." Again, I nodded and he walked away, a clicking noise signaling his departure. Like he asked, I glanced around the room, the blue walls relaxing me. Christ, I was in the safest place right now, yet I was still terrified.

I swallowed hard, I was going to be at the trial? My hands shook as I ran they through my hair, my nails digging into the back of my skull. There was some sort of misunderstanding, why would the put a victim in the same room as the abuser? My face contorted, victim: the word was also synonymous with loser. The pathetic part was that I felt more connection to the latter definition.

The door clicked once more and I glanced up, an older woman, maybe in her fifties, appeared from behind it. She gave me a small smile and neared me slowly, "are you alright, dear?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm sorry."

She shook her head, the smile never leaving her face, but her eyes saddened, "it's alright, sweetheart. I'm sorry you had to go through that, he's newer at this. Here," she reached her hand out, "lets go sit back down and I'll explain everything the best that I can." I nodded and grasped her hand, which were soft and small. She led me to the table and we both sat quietly. "What do you want to know first, hun?"

"Why do I have to be there? I thought there was enough evidence to lock him away without my presence?" I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair again.

She laced her fingers and leveled with me, "our laws allow the defendant to face his accuser; you, in this case. He requested your presence after the first hearing, and we tried to get ahold of your brother yesterday, but we couldn't." I blushed deeply at that, they didn't know, thank god. "You'll be at the trial, but there is no need to fret, he won't be able to hurt you."

"He'll be there, though..."

"In hand cuffs and seated far enough away that any threats by him would be easily stopped. If he tries anything, I've been doing this for thirty years and it's only happened once." I nodded, chewing on my lip.

"What do I have to do with this?" I looked down at the paper, simple things such as my name and hometown were required at the top of the page.

"Fill it out, I'm here to help out." I sighed and picked up the pencil, writing down the necessary information.

"H-how many times have people like me had to do this?" I chewed on my lip once again, the skin growing raw.

"Sexual assault is far less common here in Japan than, say, the United States. But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen here. I've seen and helped many people just like you through this part of their lives."

I blinked, "how many are there in the U.S?"

"For every one of our victims, there's about twenty-seven in the States." My eyes widened and guilt flashed through me; so many people have been hurt by these types of crimes. "It's nothing compared to the rate of South Africa, approximately a hundred and thirty-two victims to our one report it each year." I waved my hand in front of me, asking her to stop before I threw up. "I'm sorry, sweetie."

I just nodded and returned to my paper, "there's so many people hurt by the people they trust... and complete strangers."

She hummed, "there are more victims than there are assaulters. Sometimes, they are serial rapists, taking one victim after another. Either by choice, or because their favored victim is no longer available." My eyes widened; serial rapist, favored victim, unavailability?

"C-could my attacker be like that?" I knew him personally, but even I didn't know his bad side that well. The thought that he could possibly do this to another person, or already has... I swallowed hard

"It's a possibility, but it's better to lock him away before he even gets to that point." I nodded vehemently, my eyes tracing over the questions on the paper in front of me.

"And this will help with that?"

I looked up just as she nodded, a passion residing deep inside her eyes. "Immensely, anything you can do to help will seal his fate with every word you speak." Her words were like lightning rods to my heart, sparking a determination inside of me.

I pointed to the paper, where the questions stopped, pages worth of lines the only thing printed. "What do I write here?"

She nodded, "everything."

"Everything?"

Her eyes flashed, "from when it started, to when it ended. The horrible things he'd done, and how he kept you silent. Your job is to sway the jury, because his lawyer will try his hardest to point the finger at you. He'll accuse you of lying, cheating the system to make yourself look better." She tapped her finger on the paper, "write down exactly what kind of monster he is working for, keep it simple, but don't gloss over anything."

I nodded, feeling a rock settle in my stomach. "Everything... okay." I poised my pencil at the top line, "how do I start?"

"By winning the jury's sympathy and respect."

.oOo.

"Thank you, Susan," I said as I exited the room and walked toward the waiting area. When Yukio spotted me he rose from his seated position, concern lacing his features.

"How was it, are you okay?" I nodded and he sighed, relaxing. "I got another call, you're not going to like it..." I felt my face twist and worry clutched my heart. "Dr. Hase wants a check-up. It was scheduled the first time we went to the hospital. Apparently, he still wants you to come in, even though you were just there."

I nodded, "let's get this over with."

.oOo.

It wasn't as horrible as I'd expected, in fact, I was only uncomfortable during the first part of the appointment, when he checked to see if my wounds were healing well. The rest of the appointment had another man, a licensed psychiatrist, assessing my mental health. Yukio was notified that I should receive some therapy, and he agreed. However, I begged him to wait until after the trial, far far from the trial. Or else I may just be a nervous wreck with the amount of stress it'd put me under.

Our ride back to the academy was mainly silent, until my phone rang.