Strawberry Gashes

[Ichigo]

Part 1

Turn her over
A candle is lit, I see through her
Blow it out and
Save all her ashes for me...

Tears streamed down the young five-year old girl's face from her sad green eyes. She tried to stop them, but they were too far beyond her control. Her strawberry-blond hair lay around her, caressing her pale skin. The burn on her belly seared with pain, forcing her to lie on her back with it exposed; it was too painful to cover it with anything. Weakly, she looked over at the Natu on the floor next to her. Kizu, being her daemon, was in as much pain as she was, but he wasn't as sensitive as she was.

It was horrible; her father, in another drunken fit, had taken a candle to her belly. She had screamed for a whole minute before he let go, punched her a couple of times for good measure, and tossed her onto the floor in her room. Luckily, she had landed on her back. Kizu had taken his Vulpix form, limped over to her, and changed into his Natu form.

Why couldn't mom have taken her with her? Ichigo didn't understand. She knew why her mother left; her father's drinking problem had escalated after her birth. By why did she have to leave her and make her suffer? Ichigo's tears continued to flow, but she made no noise. If she did, things would get worse. This was literally hell on earth for her.

Kizu cursed himself angrily. Why hadn't he done something? Oh yeah, because that stupid Primeape daemon was restraining him. Why did he always have to be unable to help her when these things happened? He slowly got up, changed into his Ponyta form, limped over to her, and gently cleaned away her tears. It was the least he could do for her.

Curse me, sold her
The poison that runs its course through her
Pale white skin with
Strawberry gashes all over and over...

[Ichigo]

Part 2

Watch me fault her,
You're living like a disaster...

Ichigo wandered through town, Kizu perched on her shoulder. People were staring at her; she knew they were. They always did, and she knew why. They always noticed her bruises and injuries, but when asked about it, she just said that she 'had an accident'.

Kizu ruffled his feathers in annoyance. Why couldn't Ichigo just tell someone the truth? If he tried to tell someone, she'd stop him before he could. He hated that she was being so quiet about it. Didn't she get that if she told someone, it would all go away?

Ichigo knew that wasn't the case. She had heard him say it, and so had Kizu, but the daemon had ignored it. Her father's threat; "If you tell a soul about this, I'll kill you, you little rat!"

Ichigo cried a little as she wandered farther away from home. This was her only free time. But she knew that she couldn't stay away from home forever. She'd eventually have to go back to the hellhole. No matter how hard she tried, escape was impossible.

She said, kill me faster,
With strawberry gashes all over...