Kon'wa! Here is chapter nine! Not many AN's..just
a short note to say THANK YOU to everyone who has emailed
me about this story! You are all sooo great! Thanks alot!
Also--
Standard Disclaimer Applies

Forest Walker
Chapter Nine
<jupiterlightning@yahoo.com>

	Usagi found herself in Mamoru's arms, but before
she could say anything to him, she was torn away faster
than she could blink, and looked up into a wrinkled face
and bright lights. She had no idea what had happened. The
last thing she remembered was hitting her head, and now
she was in the hospital? 'I must have knocked myself out
and they brought me here.' She thought. She wished that 
she had been out cold for longer. That way she could 
shut her eyes to her reality to be with Mamoru. It was
crazy...she smiled to herself. No wonder why they were
locking her up. Only crazy people *wanted* to be in a 
coma. 
	The old face broke out into a smile, and arms
reached out to help her in a sitting poistion. Usagi
found herself in bed, in a double room with windows. She
looked closer at the windows and discovered some sort of
wire mesh on them. She supposed it was so nobody could 
escape from them...or break the glass to do other things
to themselves. She shuddered at the thought. What a 
horrible way to die. 
	She turned away from the window and saw the old
lady right next to her. "I'm to be your nurse." She said,
smiling. "I see that you are feeling better. That must
have been some knock that you received on your head. Are
you well enough to eat?" Usagi shook her head. She didn't
want to eat. Especially not anything from here. She knew
that she would never leave this place. Not alive. She 
could see herself growing old in this place, screaming to
get out, to be free. Her parents would never see her again
and never acknowledge her as their daughter anymore. She
sighed. What she did wasn't "acceptable" to society, and
in fact, was the exact opposite. Well, what did she care
of society anymore? She had nothing more to care for.
She expected to be left alone when she clearly indicated
she wanted no food, but she felt her hair grabbed and her
head being yanked back. She felt a stinging slap strike
her face. and she looked in shock at the woman. No one
had ever dared to strike her before. She glared at this
woman who called herself a nurse, and had slapped her 
own patient, prepared to berate her or report her to a 
higher authority. She was stopped cold by the look on
her "nurse's" face.
	"Usagi....we don't tolerate any backtalk or any
misbehavior at all. We must train that sickness out of 
your mind. You must have been spoiled all your life...
your mind rotted into the state it is now. We can not
tolerate that type of person here. When I ask you to eat,
you *will* eat. No questions about it."
	Usagi nodded, for the woman still had a painful
grip on her hair. She wished more than ever that she 
could be with Mamoru now. Her only escape to him would 
be in her sleep.

	That was not to happen though. She was kept up
all night. She tried to close her ears to the screams
coming from the room next to hers. The sound of a fellow
"in-mate" being beaten by another so-called nurse. She 
buried her face in her pillow and let her tears run
silently down her face.
	
	It wasn't much better after that. Usagi didn't 
hardly sleep at all. When she did fall into an exhausted
slumber, she was too tired to dream...to see Mamoru. She
began to ache for him. She wished she could find some
time to herself, but they were made to clean the place
down everyday. No matter how much they cleaned the day
before. They weren't allowed to talk to one another, they
were all living in seperate worlds. And if they didn't
do something right, they got beat. Usagi tried her best
to clean right, or sew, or some other chore that the 
staff thought up, but she could hardly do it right. She
was the newest at the hospital, and was beaten everyday.
They were careful only to beat enough to make her dizzy
or slightly sick, for they didn't want to beat them into
them being knocked out. They wanted them for working, and
one who was a vegetable was no use, and would cause many
questions to arise.

	Usagi was working one day at scrubbing the floor,
when she heard a new arrival come in. She sighed in relief,
glad that she was not the newest person anymore, and they
would relent on her beatings somewhat. She looked under
lowered eyes at the new arrival, and her heart broke. A
fragile young girl...she would never survive the beatings
that would be bestowed upon her. Usagi took upon herself
to be this girl's protector. She didn't care now how many
beatings she got. Maybe they would slip up and they would
hit her too hard. She wanted to see Mamoru again. Just 
once at least. She never stopped thinking about him. He
was in her thoughts every day. 

	Usagi watched again as small Unmei was targeted
yet again for another beating. She dropped her cleaning
rag and ran across the room, putting herself between 
Unmei and the wooden cane that was about to land on the
girl's shoulders. With Usagi in the way, Unmei was spared
and Usagi was hit hard on the head, several times over.
Taking Unmei's punishment, and her own. Punishment for
not completing her chores. Punishment for interfering
with another patients "treatment" and punishment for just
being in the way. Usagi barely hung on to being awake. 
She wanted to be sure Unmei was safe before she fainted
from the pain. Then would be the time for her to collapse.
	She barely managed to hold out the whole day. She
was given extra chores, despite the ringing in her head
and the flashing that was around her eyes. She knew that
it was slightly wrong...that they may have gone to far in
the beatings this time. She was glad though, that Ummei
had gotten out of the beatings. She was too frail. Like
the sister that Usagi had never had. Usagi felt good 
that she could look after somebody in this place. Like
she had something to cling on to when her hopes of ever
seeing Mamoru again were slowly dimishing every day. 
	Usagi didn't get the chance to sleep that night
either. In addition to her extra chores beating, she was
made to stay up all night in the "hole" room, holding up
a pile of books, holding them above her head as high as
she could reach. Usagi refused to cry, though. Even when
she was hit for everytime her arms drooped. She wondered
what she had done to deserve all this. It was like she
was an enemy in a foreign land. She didn't belong here, 
and they knew it, so they punished her more. Finally, 
when the sun rose, and she coudln't take anymore, she 
fainted, the books tumbling all around her.
	
	When Usagi awoke, she felt a cool cloth on her
head, and she was looking into a pair of deep green eyes.
It was Unmei. Usagi sighed unhappily. Why couldn't she
reach Mamoru anymore? Was it because she was too weak to
call him, or was it because she was too far away from the
forest? Whatever it was, she wanted to go back. Even if
she had to kill herself in order to get to him. It wasn't
fair for the Fates to bring them together, than yank
them apart like this. 
	"Usagi, are you all right?" Unmei asked. Usagi 
nodded, and sat up. "Unmei, why are you here? I'm sure
you've heard about my tale...running off into the forest,
and staying in that house." Unmei nodded solemnly. "I 
will tell you, Usagi. I will also tell you that I know
Mamoru. He once saved me, a long time ago." Usagi stared
in shock. Unmei shook her head. "I'm not going to tell 
you the details. My family put me in here because I was 
too frail to be a good worker. I faint alot, I get very
weak from doing much work. They saw I was unhealthy, and
declared me mentally ill and sent me here." Usagi's fists
clenched at the unfairness of it all. What was wrong with
their world? She looked to thank Unmei, but saw that she
was no longer there. 

	"Did you hear? When Usagi fainted, they beat 
Unmei so bad that it killed her! I bet Usagi feels like
it's all her fault!" Usagi stopped dead in her tracks.
Unmei was dead? They killed her because of Usagi? Usagi
couldn't believe it. She bent over her food and tried to
shut out the gossip. She had just seen Unmei. Was she 
another ghost? Usagi found that she just didn't care
anymore. She threw down her tray of food, and waited for
the beatings to began. Maybe they would hurt her enough
for them to think she was dead. She knew that the dead
weren't buried properly for a few days, when the staff
was unfortunate enough to lose a patient. They were 
tossed out back. She wondered if she could be crafty
enough to try it.

	That was the start of it. She disobeyed, day 
after day. It hurt...the pain was unbelievable, but she
bore it, knowing that she could reach a state where she
would be considered "dead" and tossed out back. She had
her arm broken one day, and fainted from the pain in the
middle of working. It wasn't enough, though. She had to
escape here. When she got tossed out, she would run, late
at night, through the board fence. She would make it to
someplace safe. Someone who would take her in. Somehow
she would make it to the forest, back to Mamoru, even if
she died in the attempt to make it there alive. She could
get word to Aiaka that she was safe someway. She had to.
She simply had to. 

	One day, she knew it was her day to do it. She 
insulted her precious nurse, who was sensitive about her
age and looks. She forgot about the rules, and began to
relentlessly beat Usagi. After awhile, Usagi became 
numb to the blows, and feigned sleep, a type of sleep 
that no one awoke from. Barely hanging on, she felt 
herself being carried to the graveyard.
	Usagi waited until it was dark and then she made
her escape. She could barely walk, she was so covered in
bruises and she ached from head to toe. Her dress was
thin, and she had no shoes on. They didn't need shoes, 
the dead. She walked carefully out, and kept to the low
points of the road, walking as fast as she could. The
only thing going through her mind was Mamoru. She had to
make it. She had to. She walked all night, and rested 
during the daytime for a short while. She didn't want to
risk being discovered. She just walked. She managed to
avoid people, and soon she came upon the forest. The 
edges of her forest. She collapsed inside the borders of
the forest, and then she knew no more.


	There! What did you all think of Chapter Nine? I
know it was a bit dark. Gomen ne! I still would love any
type of feedback!!

laz