Tachibana_Maki

"Mom! Wake up!" a lively voice spoke as Maki crawled over to her mother's futon trying to shake her awake.

A drowsy groan followed. "Ngghh..what is it? It's still early."

"Wake up wake up it's already 11:30 and today's my birthday!"

The woman rolled over away from the girl but found no peace nor quiet from her daughter's incessant chimes.

With an irritated sigh the woman sat up rubbing her head to try and soothe a pounding headache, peering down for a moment only to find Maki sitting on her knees with a bright smile curled across her lips.

"What do you want?..."

Maki batted off her mother's cold, uncaring tone and took her hand.

"You said we could make a cake today, remember?" Maki reminded her, her voice brimming with excitement.

'I did?' the woman thought to herself unable to recall a moment of such a conversation.

There was a long pause.

The woman stood up from her futon and slipped into a pair of jeans, Maki rushing to her feet as she watched her mother walk over to the desk where she picked up her purse.

She pulled out a few coins and placed them in Maki's hand. "Go to the store and buy some eggs, otherwise we can't make the cake."

Without even a moments hesitation Maki closed her hand around the coins. "Okay! I'll be back soon!" she called out before disappearing out the door.

A half hour later Maki returned and placed a bag full of three dozen eggs on the counter beside her mother as she puffed on a cigarrette.

"I got them!" Maki said, raring to start.

Her mother looked down at the unnecessary amount of eggs Maki had returned with and let out a long smokey sigh. 'We don't need this many...'

A little past midday after Maki's return the doorbell rang twice, Maki's head turning curiously towards the door.

"Who could that be?.." she voiced aloud before turning to check.

Upon opening the door she was met with two tall men in their late thirties, scruffy and untidy both wearing dark smiles on their faces as Maki answered.

"H-hello.." Maki said as she pulled open the door.

"Finally you're here." her mother called out from behind her, Maki stepping aside to let them in once she realized they were friends.

'Who are they?...' Maki asked herself before closing the door.

"Are you here for my birthday party?" she asked with an innocent smile on her face.

The two men looked at eachother and smirked. "...That's right, Maki." one replied before her mother approached expectantly.

"20,000 (yen). Each." she said, holding out her hand, the two men quickly planting the money in her palm in response.

The woman stuffed the money into her pocket and stepped over to the door to slip on her shoes.

"If you need me I'll be at the pachinko parlor down the street." she said as she watched the men advance towards Maki.

"E-eh?..I thought we were going to make a cake together." Maki replied before glancing up at the two men approaching, lecherous grins widening as they reached out and grabbed her.

They immediately wrestled her to the ground and started tugging at her clothes, Maki putting up a struggle as she cried for her mother.

"M-mom! H-help!" she sobbed as the pairs of invasive hands started squeezing and poking at her pure, untouched body.

Her mother returned a cold, heartless glare back at her as she pulled open the door. "So annoying..shut up for once and make yourself useful." she scolded before slamming the door shut behind her.

Maki's expression of hope faded as her own mother shot her down, tears starting to stream down her cheeks while to two men helped themselves.

Hours later the sound of the door squeaking open sounded through the apartment, the woman returning home to find Maki laying in the center of the room covered in white, still, barely conscious.

"My my...you must've worked hard, Maki." she said, her voice warm and tender. "You'll keep helping mom, won't you?"

Silence.

A few moments later Maki's hand twitched as she failed to lift her arm. A frightened "Yes." seeping past her quaking lips before things faded to black.

Some people are just luckier than others.

Born into poverty, Maki learned about the harshness of the world from a young age.

From her 8th birthday, under the 'care' of her single mother, Maki was sold to men for money and illicit substances to fuel her mother's addiction.

Raised hidden away from normal society, Maki never experienced the pleasure of school or a formal education.

Instead, she learned how to please men, spending most of her time doing so in a cramped apartment while her mother gambles away the money she earns at a local pachinko parlor.

Rescued and being looked after by Takashi_Sakamoto