It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, as Sayuko Takei walked down the sidewalk after getting off of the bus she had just ridden. She was a young woman of Japanese descent with semi-long dark red hair, and today had chosen to wear a white blouse, violet mini-shirt, and red platform sandals that added two inches to her short stature of 4' 10". She also carried a red purse.

A generally shy and quiet person, she had relatively recently come to live in the United States to live with her brother Taro, the only person in the world that she could open up to. Sadly, he had disappeared.

Or rather, enslaved. Held hostage by a mad woman by the name of Melissa.

She nervously made her way down the sidewalk as she made her trek towards Melissa's house. The main reason why she was so nervous was because she knew that she would have to kill more of those tiny people, something she had been forced to do the two weeks before. A task that she hated with every fiber of her being.

Yet, doing this heinous task would ensure the safety of her brother. She could not bare the thought of losing him, especially not for something she did, or did not do. If she disobeyed Melissa's orders, no matter how petty they may be, it would mean the end of Taro. Of all things in the world, that was the one thing she did not want.

"Excuse me."

Sayuko was suddenly brought out of her deep thoughts and turned towards a man that she was passing.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You look kind of nervous."

"I'm fine," she answered. "I'm just going to a friend's house. She has a present for me."

"Oh, I see." The man smiled. "Have a nice day." He then continued on his way.

"Arigato gozaimasu. You too..." Sayuko then continued her walk as well.

This would be anything but a nice day for her.

Melissa stood before the glass cage of the Homeless. With the sun's light shining in behind her, it was clear to them that it was now afternoon.

"So, have you gotten the five that I requested last night?" she asked.

Sheryl motioned behind her, and five males stepped in front of her.

"These five," Sheryl said.

"Thank you," Melissa said, before addressing the men. "You five are about to do your people a favor. Think of yourselves as martyrs."

She then scooped them out of the cage with her hand, and then walked out of the closet.

Sheryl sighed as an older man approached her from behind.

"Sheryl," he said. "Weren't those guys just dropped in here last night?"

"Yeah," she answered. "I didn't want them to go through what we have to deal with."

"Ahh..."

"That, and I personally didn't want to deal with them."

"Huh? That's kind of-"

"If you need me, you know where to find me." Sheryl then walked away from the slightly dumbfounded man, who seemed to be trying to figure out of she was being merciful or cruel.

~~~

Sayuko had finally reached Melissa's house. She gulped, and slowly reached out and rung the doorbell. After several seconds, the door opened, revealing Melissa, who wore a grey tank top, blue capris, and black flip-flop sandals.

"Hello, Sayu!" Melissa greeted with a cheerful smile. "Please, come in!"

Sayuko slowly walked inside, after which Melissa closed the door behind her.

"I see you're wearing a mini-skirt," Melissa said while examining her clothes. "I guess it'd be a perfect view for those pervs, huh?" She laughed.

Sayuko said nothing.

"But hey," Melissa said. "You're shaking."

"I am?" Sayuko said. "I... didn't notice."

"You got the chills on a hot day like this?"

"No..."

"Then what-" A look of realization appeared on Melissa's face. "Oh I see..."

She then stepped closer to Sayuko, and brought her face very close to her's.

"Don't let them bother you. They're just bugs; bugs who must be killed. Or do you want you brother to be killed instea-"

"NOO!!!" Sayuko screamed as she backed away, with a look of fear on her face.

Melissa smiled. "I knew you's see it my way! Let's go, then."

She then made her way towards the stairs and began to climb them. Sayuko inhaled deeply as if to calm herself, and then slowly followed after her. In her mind, she was preparing herself for the task at hand. It was for Taro's sake, and for him, she would do anything.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she turned to her left and saw Melissa standing outside of her opened bedroom door, waiting for her.

"Why do you always have to be so slow?" Melissa asked.

"I... don't know..." Sayuko answered.

"Well, whatever."

Melissa then opened the door and walked inside. Sayuko did so as well. As soon as she entered the room, she saw a jar on the floor in the middle of the room. Inside were four... no, five men standing inside. More than what Melissa had told her over the phone yesterday.

"I thought you said I only have to kill three of them..." Sayuko said to Melissa, as her nervousness began to rise.

"What's the harm of adding a few more to the mix?" Melissa answered. "After all, should it matter? After all, it's four your brother, right?"

"...Yes..."

"Then let's get started!"

~~~

Gloria walked out of Bruce's tent while pulling her shirt on. Bruce walked out after her, while zipping up his pants.

"You were great as usual," Bruce said to her. "I think I should keep you to myself."

Gloria rolled her eyes. "I'm heading back now."

"Aww... I'm going to miss you, Mami." Bruce then leaned in and hugged her.

"Yeah..." Gloria broke out of his hold. "I'm sure you are."

"No, I mean that I'm going back down there for a while."

"Oh. Have fun."

Gloria then began to walk away from him, not even so much as glancing back at the man behind her.

She had already decided that she would not lower herself to being a mere pleasure slave much longer. Especially not for a man like Bruce.

~~~

Thomas and Shawn stood outside of his tent, looking off to the distance as a Refugee male ran towards the colony. He seemed to be yelling towards the rest of his comrades.

"Hey! She's starting another one, and that Asian girl's back!"

Without a word, many of the Refugees stood and started to dash towards Melissa's Hole.

Thomas turned towards Shawn. "'Asian girl'? Melissa got someone else to do this with her?"

"You could say that," Shawn answered. "Though that girl isn't what you're probably thinking of."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's go, and you can see yourself. You ARE coming, right?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Thomas and Shawn quickly made their way towards Melissa's Hole. In a matter of minutes, they had arrived, as the other Refugees were already crowding the hole. They located Dawson, and headed towards him. Upon seeing them, Dawson moved slightly to the side, and Thomas moved closer to the hole. As he looked out into Melissa's room and the two young women that were standing in there, Thomas noticed something familiar about the second woman.

"...Wait a minute..." Thomas said. He then looked closer, and then became surprised as he realized who the second woman was. "I know her! That's Sayuko!"

"What?" Dawson was surprised as well. "Another person out there you know? You must get around!"

"Thomas," Shawn said from behind. "Could you explain?"

"Well," Thomas started. "The first time I really talked to her was in my Calculus class..."

~~~

It was the Tuesday in the third week of May, and the third week of classes. I was sitting on my Calculus class, working on the assignment that we have been given. It was a breeze for me, since I did most of the stuff back in high school. To my left was Sayuko; she and I only ended up sitting besides each other because of a seating chart that the teacher made. Believe it or not, I never talked to her.

Well, that changed.

"Umm... excuse me."

I turned to my left, and saw that Sayuko was looking at me.

"Do you understand this?" She asked me.

"Yeah," I answered. "This is pretty easy stuff."

"I see..." She sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm having trouble."

"On what?"

She smiled weakly. "Everything."

"Oh."

"Do you think you could help me? Please?"

I couldn't believe that she was actually asking me for help. Plus, she was pretty cute, too. There was no way that I was saying "no" to her.

"Of course," was my answer.

I spent the rest of the class period helping her with her work, covering everying that we had learned so far. Before we knew it, class was over, but our session didn't end there. I was still explaining things to her as we walked out of the classroom.

"I think that should be everything," I said as I was showing her a few problems in my textbook. "Got it?"

"Barely," she gave me that half-smile again.

"Oh... Well, you'll get it soon."

"I hope so. But, this was a nice start." This time, she gave me a real smile. "Arigato gozaimasu... Um... I'm sorry, but what's your name?"

"Thomas Kirkland," I said.

"My name is Sayuko Takei," she said. "Pleased to make your acquaintance!"

"Same here!" I smiled back. "What are you going to do now?"

"...I'm going to go home now. I don't have anymore classes today. What about you?"

"I have Psychology in two hour." I let out an exaggerated sigh in a joking manner. "It's the most boring class ever."

Sayuko chuckled. "Well, don't die of boredom. That wouldn't be any good."

"I'll try not to."

"Good. Anyway, I have to go now. I'll see you next class?"

"Of course."

I smiled, and she smiled back, before she walked away from me. Before she disappeared down the hall, she waved back at me, and I waved back.

At that point, I started to contemplate asking her out, but I decided against it. Yeah, I may have been stupid to not pursue her, but earlier I had made a vow to hold of on romance until at least after I graduate.

~~~

"We had a few more study sessions after class," Thomas said. "And for a while, she started to improve."

"Well, that's ironic," Dawson said.

"What is?" Shawn asked.

"An Asian who's confused with math, and a Black guy who's a wizz at it."

"Isn't that kind of stereotypical?" Shawn asked.

"...I guess..." Dawson chuckled.

Thomas turned back towards the events outside of the hole. Was Sayuko also a heartless killer like Melissa was? Did she also put on a "nice girl" facade at school? Thomas felt his stomach churning as he thought about this.

~~~

Melissa held one of the tiny men pinned under her right foot. The remaining four stood at Sayuko's feet, half of them looking up at her and the other half looking towards Melissa.

"Look at them," Melissa said as she folded her arms. "They're just begging to be stepped on."

Sayuko shuddered.

"Why do you still hesitate? You should be used to this by now."

"But I could never get used to killing an actual person..."

"C'mon... It's easy. Watch."

"No!" Sayuko quickly covered her eyes and turned away. However, she could still hear the tiny man underneath Melissa foor being crushed to death. His screams were soon silenced as the sound of his bones crunching replaced it.

"Look at this. Look." Melissa ordered.

Sayuko slowly turned back towards Melissa and opened her eyes. She looked towards the floor, and saw the flattened bloody corpse of the man plastered onto the floor besides Melissa's right foot. She covered her mouth wih her hand, and her eyes began to tear up.

"It's as simple as just lifting your foot, and dropping it on them," Melissa said. "Now, get to it."

~~~

Thomas could not believe what he was seeing. Sayuko was hesitating.

"What's going on?" Thomas asked.

"Sayuko doesn't seem to want to do any of this," Shawn answered. "At all."

"Then why'd she come here?"

"Because she's being blackmailed," Gloria said as she approached the hole.

"What?! How?!"

"Melissa is holding her brother hostage," Gloria said.

"You didn't rescue him?! Or did he get thrown out by Bruce?"

The other Refugees were silent.

"Well?!"

"Here's the thing," Dawson said. "We couldn't rescue him."

"What?! Why?!"

"Rule Number Seven," Shawn said. "Bruce can refuse the aid and rescue of anyone based solely on his initial feelings of the person."

"...I don't get it," Thomas said.

"Bruce is prejudiced against Asians."

Thomas' mouth dropped. "You gotta be kidding me."

"When Melissa saw that he had not left the cage she put him in," Shawn said, "she decided to, well, 'upgrade' his living conditions."

"What do you mean?"

Shawn pointed towards the cabinet. "You see that cabinet over there? He's inside of there. Melissa actually gives him decent food and drinks that she shrinks down for him. I bet that it must be luxury compared to what we got."

"Once Melissa found out that he had a sister," Gloria said, "she decided to lure her in here and trap her. Ever since then, Sayuko's had to come over and do these killfests. The whole thing seems to be taking its toll of her."

"...When did this start with her?" Thomas asked.

"Three weeks ago."

"I see... That explains some things..."

~~~

Just this past Tuesday, Sayuko and I were the last two students in the classroom. I was standing by the door as Sayuko got the results of her most recent test. It wasn't good. I believe I saw a 56, which was a drop from the 81 she got on the previous test.

"I'm disappointed," our teacher Mr. Evans said to her. "I thought you had a grasp on the content."

"I-I'm sorry!" Sayuko apologized. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately..."

"Well, there are four more tests in the semester. You still have a good chance of passing this class if you do well on them."

"Yes, I know! I'll study harder! Thank you, Mr. Evans!"

She then quickly walked away from him... and then walked past me. I was perplexed.

"Hey, Sayuko!" I called as she started to make her way down the hall. "What about our study session?!"

She stopped and turned towards me. "I'm sorry, Thomas, but there's something I have to do at home. Maybe next time." She then continued down the hall and was soon out of sight.

I sighed. I really wanted to help her get refocused on the content, but she seemed out of it.

~~~

"Even before that," Thomas continued, "she did not seem all together in class or during our study sessions. She also missed a few days of class." He shook his head. "Never in my wildest dreams would I think that she was involved in this..."

"Yeah," Dawson said. "You never know."

Thomas nodded, and then focused back on the two young woman outside in the bedroom.

~~~

Sayuko had been staring at the small men for nearly two minutes now. She still had not made a move, though she was shaking nervously. The tiny men at her feet must have sensed that she was not a threat, as they have now become a bit relaxed; they probably felt safer to be near her than near Melissa.

Melissa moaned heavily. "Sayuko."

"Y-yes?" Sayuko answered.

"What... the fuck... is taking you so long?"

"Umm-"

"Will you just fuckin' kill one already?!" Melissa had lost her patience. She then walked towards the cabinet and grabbed the lock. "Or do you want me to kill him instead?!"

"N-NO!!" Sayuko yelled. "Please..."

"Then do it. Now."

Sayuko gulped, and looked down at one of the men below her. She closed her eyes, and lifted her foot over him, before dropping it down onto him. She fully prepared herself to hear his death screams, and then the sound of his body breaking underneath her foot.

Instead, she heard nothing. She opened her eyes, and saw that the man had dodged her footfall. She had apparently moved too slowly.

She looked towards Melissa, who was shaking her head in frustrated disappointment.

"Goddammit, Sayuko." She slapped her palm on her forehead.

Ten minutes have passed. The four remaining men have all been bound by their arms and legs to the floor with scotch tape, each one seperated a foot between each other. They were trying desperately to free themselves, but their current sizes made it a futile effort.

"Alright," Melissa said as she backed away from the men. "They can't get away now. There's no excuse for you to not kill them now."

Sayuko whimpered.

"I mean... This is the third time I've had to do this. It's kinda pathetic." Melissa shook her head. "Most normal people are able to stomp running bugs."

Sayuko slowly made her way to the beginning of this trail of men. She stared nervously at the first man, who stared back at her before he started to scream.

"They're ready for you," Melissa said. "Are you ready?"

Sayuko did not answer.

"ARE-YOU-READY?!" Melissa repeated.

Sayuko nodded slowly. "Yes..."

Melissa smiled. "Atta girl."

Sayuko gulped and looked down at the first man in the line. She lifted her foot over the man, but hesitated to drop it onto him.

"Go on," Melissa ordered.

Sayuko exhaled, and then finally stepped down on the man, ending his screaming. She flinched as his entire body crushed under her foot. Upon seeing this, the three other man began to scream and intensify their struggling. Sayuko closed her eyes and whimpered as she slowly walked forward, treading on each of the men as if they were indeed bugs. Each of their cries for help were snuffed out with their lives.

After the final man was killed, Sayuko opened her eyes and looked on the floor behind her. Upon seeing the flattened bodies of the men she killed, she fell to her knees, dropped her face into her hands, and began to cry.

"See?" Melissa said as she approached her. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

~~~

"Well, I guess that's all," Dawson said, before turning to Thomas. "Let's go-"

Thomas seemed to be enraged at what he had just witnessed.

"I can't believe it," Thomas said. "I can't believe that Melissa put her through that, and made her cry..."

"Hey, are you alright?" Dawson asked.

"No, I'm not. I'm pissed off. At Melissa... and Bruce."

At this remark, several of the Refugees glared at Thomas.

"Screw Bruce's prejudice!" Thomas said. "He should have rescued Sayuko's brother anyway. At least Sayuko out there wouldn't have to deal with this shit that Melissa's doing to her!"

"Thomas, cool it," Shawn urged.

"I can't, okay?!" Thomas snapped. "I wish I could do something! ...No, I WANT to do something! I want to stop Melissa from doing this to anyone else! You all may be content with sitting here and rotting away, but I'm not! I'm-"

Suddenly, Thomas was punched in the back of the bed. He fell forward, though Gloria rushed to catch him before he hit the floor. She examined him. He was unconscious. She then looked up towards the assailant: Ray.

"You son of a bitch!" Gloria yelled towards him. "Why did you do that?!"

Ray shook his hand as if to ease the pain from the impact. "If he got any louder, Melissa would have found us. Besides..." He smirked. "I'm sure you all got tired of him blabbing his mouth anyway, right? None of us are 'content' with being here, but we don't have a choice. Not until Bruce decides that it's time to leave. You all trust Bruce, right?"

The majority of the Refugees voiced their agreement with Ray.

"Excellent." Ray smiled. "Now, let's get outta here. Show's over."

With his address done, the Refugees began to disperse from Melissa's hole. Gloria and Shawn pulled Thomas to his feet and threw his arms over their shoulders, and then began to slowly make their way back to the campsite.

Ray prepared to follow suit, until Dawson called out to him. "Ray."

Ray turned around. "Mmm?"

"Why did you have to hit him?" Dawson asked.

"Hey," Ray answered, "Better I knock him out than it is for him to be lynched by them, right?"

"You..." Dawson gritted his teeth and balled his fist.

"Anyway, tell him to stay out of my way, and Bruce's way. Or else I'll see to it that he gets kicked out."

"Not as long as Gloria's got his back."

"Hm... Maybe... Unless he screws up." His smirk returned.

"What do you mean?"

Ray turned back towards the campsite, and began to walk away from Dawson.

"Hey!" Dawson yelled. "I'm talking to you!"

"Don't tell your friends about this talk," Ray said as he was walking. "Or I'll get you tossed out of here, too." With that, Ray continued walking before he disappeared in the darkness.

Dawson threw his fist downward. "Goddammit! What is that guy planning...?"

~~~

Sayuko sat on Melissa's bed, still weeping as Melissa cleaned up the bloody mess on the floor.

"Are you done yet, you big crybaby?" Melissa asked as she stood upright.

Sayuko looked towards Melissa.

"Your face looks like an ocean." Melissa chuckled. "Well, it took you like a million years, but you did kill those things, so I guess you can talk to your brother."

Sayuko stood from the bed as Melissa walked towards the cabinet. She then unlocked the chains that surrounded it, and then pulled them off. She opened the doors, revealing the hamster cage that Taro had been contained inside.

"You're awake for a change!" Melissa said in a surprised tone.

Sayuko slowly walked towards the opened cabinet.

"I have your sister here for you," Melissa said. "She wants to talk to you."

Sayuko reached the cabinet, and looked upon her shrunken brother in the cage. It was a sight that she still had not gotten used to, and she began to cry once again.

"Sayu-chan..." Taro called out to her.

Melissa walked towards her bed, and sat down on it. "I'll give you two a minute to chat. You know the rules. Don't try to take him from me, or you know what will happen."

"How have you been?" Taro asked, in Japanese.

"...Horrible..." Sayuko answered, also in Japanese. "I have horrible nightmares. My appetite has diminished. My performance in school is dropping. I... I don't know how much more I can take..."

"Look... Sayu-chan... Just forget about me. I don't want you to lose your mind for my sake. Next time Melissa calls you, refuse to come here."

Sayuko's mouth dropped in disbelief. "Brother... How could you even suggest that I do that?! I could never turn my back on you! I can't live without you!"

"Sayu-chan... Please..."

"I want you to stay alive! Even if I have to... Even if I have to kill this entire town!"

"No! Are you crazy?! One life is not worth millions!"

"Yes it is! Your life is! You're the only family I have! I already lost mother and father in that terrible accident, and I can't bare to lose you as well! I would have no else to turn to!"

"What about... Thomas, was it? He sounds like a nice person."

"I don't think would want anything to do with a girl like me."

"How can you be so sure of that? Try to bond with him."

"But I-"

"Then, could you go on without me?"

"No! I could never go on without you! Our's is a bond that I could never replace!"

Melissa jumped off of her bed and walked towards the siblings. "Okay, time's up."

"I'll see you next week, Brother!" Sayuko said as Melissa closed the cabinet doors.

Taro shook his head. "...Sure..." He then disappeared behind the closing doors.

Sayuko stared at the doors for a few seconds, and then glanced at Melissa. Then, she ran towards Melissa's bed, grabbed her purse off of it, and then dashed out of the room.

"You gotta stop running like that!" she heard Melissa yell after her.

Before long, Sayuko had exited the house. She closed the front door behind her and leaned her back against it. She then exhaled deeply, before wiping the tears off of her face and regaining her composure. Then, she started to walk away from the dreaded house, making her way back to her house.

What pained her deeply was that she would have to do this again next week.