And The Pain Ends

A/N :It mentions abuse but just so everyone knows I don't go into detail about this, it's just an implied fact more than not though it is openly admited in the story. I wrote this story to give credit to one of the character's with the biggest heart that is mostly over looked. How is it possible to overlook the boy that saved a butterfly from a spider's web? To fit Chouji I created a character with a heart just a big. Please enjoy the story
****************************************************

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. Suddenly, Taku’s alarm goes off pulling her out of the world she cared for so much, The dream world where she was happy and living in her favorite anime. She let a single tear escape her eye as she turned off the alarm and rose to yet another day. She gathered her clothes for the day a black off the shoulder sweater a spaghetti strap shirt in light blue that she would wear over it a pair of light blue bicycle shorts and a short black skirt. She then headed for the bathroom and turned on the shower to the hottest temperature she could stand. Sliding under the cascade of water she checked herself for bruises from last nights beating. Luckily she only had one on your stomach and that could be easily explained away. As she stepped from the shower she slipped and fell flat on her butt and bit her thumb to keep from laughing at herself. Taku’s stepfather was always still asleep at this time and she really didn’t want to wake him.

After dressing herself she looked in the mirror and sighed if only there was something she could do with her hair. She put everything but her bangs up in her signature ponytail and walked on catlike feet back to her room still keeping silent in fear of waking her stepfather. Taku couldn’t help but think she would make a decent spy she could be silent without even trying. Taku packed up her clean work uniform in her backpack and gathered the books that were still laying on her desk from her homework the night before. The last thing she grabbed as she walked out the door was her key. When she reached school she went straight to her locker and dumped her bag only taking out only the books she would need before next period. Taku’s locker was the only place she showed any personality at all, pictures of her favorite animes and the Japanese society were everywhere. Her stepfather hated the fact that she was 16 and still like watching cartoons like a baby as he put it.

Taku sighed and walked to class. She had been lucky enough to get in to the coveted creative writing class that Miss Urimachi held. She loved that class more than anything because it allowed her to write out her dreams and ambitions even if she knew she would never be able to achieve them. As Taku sat down the teacher stood up to announce the only project they had for today.

“Okay class, today we are going to be leaving our conscious mind behind and exploring our subconscious. I want you to write out the last dream you remember, no matter what it was about. Yes guys, that does include those special dreams you have and don’t feel embarrassed about it every one has them. It’s a normal occurrence and I would be completely shocked not to see at least two or three out of this class. After that I want you to write about how the dream made you feel, why you believe you had it, and if it is a reoccurring dream why you think it keeps coming back and what impression it leaves on you when you wake from it.” Miss Urimachi smiled at us as she continued. “Okay class this will be turned in at the end of the hour and you may begin.” It only took Taku fifteen minutes to finish the assignment so she went to the front and handed it to the teacher. It was so easy for her because the dream she had was so fresh in her mind and it came back at least once a month, whenever her step father got drunk, for the past two years, of course it was a little different every time but the characters and the setting was always the same. After reading through Taku’s paper Miss Urimachi spoke, “Miss Westley can I see you in my office for a moment?”

Taku walked behind Miss Urimachi’s desk and was ushered through an open door on the other side, once inside the door was shut so none of the other students would overhear the conversation that was going to take place. “Miss Westley, first of all I would like to say that your writing was very well put together and very detailed and you will receive an A on this but I would like to ask you a few questions. Is that alright with you?”
Taku bent her head down and smiled, the cast of her favorite anime Naruto was helping her ace this class even if she couldn’t do anything to help them. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Now, I bet you didn’t know this but even adults can watch anime and I know this show very well, I watch it every time it‘s on cartoon network. It seems that you connect with the shyest and most burdened characters of them all, can you explain this Lorraine?” You see her real name was Lorraine but everyone who talked to her outside of school called her Taku. She got the nick name because of how much she loved anime. She had even learned a little Japanese from watching it so much.

“I’m not really sure why.” Taku looked down this time because of her embarrassment. She hated lying to her teacher, to anyone to be really truthful about it, she knew exactly why and it all started the day her mom died, two years ago.

Miss Urimachi sighed, she knew Taku was lying she could see it in Taku’s eyes but she decided not to push the subject, because when you push the person your trying to help, more often than not, closes themselves off farther. “Another thing, I noticed you also answered the two reoccurring dream questions so how often does this dream come to you Taku?”

“It happens at least once a month.“ Taku looked at her shoes staring at the faded marks of dirt and the strained seams.

“Is there anything you know of that could trigger this? Reoccurring dreams often have a trigger during the day that sets them off.” Miss Urimachi was searching her face looking for a sign, any kind of sign.

“I’m sure there is, I just cant think of anything.” With that Miss Urimachi’s questioning was completed. Taku slowly followed her out of her office and sat back down in the assigned seat to stare out the window and smiled at a pair of squirrels playing in the tree beside the window. The rest of the school day went by uneventfully, to Taku’s relief.

After the three o’clock bell rang Taku headed straight for work. They didn’t need help in the kitchen today so she was stuck waiting and bussing tables for the complete slobs who ate at this restaurant. “Hey Taku!” She looked up to see the only person that actually talked to at work, other than her boss of course.

“What’s going on Jay? I thought you were off today.” Taku smiled as he came closer.

“I am I just thought I would show my girlfriend what a dump I work in.” Taku’s smile held but her hopes instantly fell. ‘So he has a girlfriend why am I so surprised, he is such a great guy.’ Jay was Taku’s first crush and she had finally found out why they call them crushes, they hurt like hell when you see them with someone else. Taku held her smile firmly in place until they left. Finally, at nine, quitting time came around and she turned over the restaurant to the clean up crew.

“Hey Taku,” her boss called from the kitchen as she started out the door to head home to her stepfather‘s apartment, “Why don’t you take home some of the cooks leftovers. You look like you need to gain some weight and without you back here watching him he made sure everything was extra fattening tonight.” She remembered about the diet his wife had put him on but she also knew that wasn’t the reason behind him giving her the free food. He wanted to help her out even if only in a small way.

“Thanks Hayes, I don’t care what the other say about you being a slave driver, your just a big teddy bear.” She began her journey back to the apartment with food in her hands a smile on her face and a deep laugh resounding behind her.

As she got home she went up to her room turned on the television. Then she opened the DVD tray and stuck in one of her many Naruto DVDs. As she was caught up in the show the skies turned dark and rain pelted the ground outside of her house. She hadn’t even noticed the thunder and lighting outside the window because she was immersed in a world of her own imaginings. As the credits came on a flash of lightning streaked across a gray and black streaked sky.

“I should probably turn off the TV it only looks like the storm will get worse.” As she reached down to push the off button a burst of lightning hit the power lines outside her house and electrocuted her in the process. She suddenly felt the sensation of thousands of the throwing needles Haku had used in the episode she was watching hitting her on all sides she couldn’t move or breath and then just as suddenly as the shock began it ended but was still left with the gut wrenching pain. She could swear as she started crawling toward her bed that she could see sparks flying from her finger tips that were sprawled out before her eyes. Two feet from her bed she collapsed hitting the floor hard and then something weird started happening to her body it slowly stared to fade almost like she had never been real only a hologram. By the light of morning the last of her presence had vanished from the world she knew as her home.