The Princess and The Devil - Karma Akabane x OC

F I F T E E N : FLASHBACK TIME III

3rd person's POV

Hime quickly wakes up and rush out to see her father kicking Haru while he drinks. Out of reflex, Hime hugged Haru and got beaten up in his stead. Haru lost his consciousness in her arms. His tear stained face can break anyone's heart to pieces. "He's my only brother. He was just 5. To think I couldn't protect Haru from something like this.." Hime thought as she trembled in fear. Natsume's vision was getting blurrier each second when he realises he's not inflicting any pain to the little boy but rather his daughter. Out of anger to her 'disobedience', he stepped on her ankle.

Hime screamed in excruciating pain when he stomps on her ankle countless of times, again and again. There's a horrible cracking sound when Natsume steps away from Hime. He grabs the girl by the neck and slammed her against the kitchen wall and she struggles to keep herself awake.

"Hime?" He calls out and drops on the floor when his visions clears up and saw the greyish blue eyes of his daughter. "Oh my.. Hime." He cries and hugs Hime. She was scared of her father and roughly pushes him away. "You look too much like her. I miss her so much." He cries. She tried standing up but even the slightest movement makes her yelp in pain. She sucks in the pain and inhales sharply as she struggles to stand. "If Haru dies from this, I can never forgive myself." Was what she said over and over in her head. Natsume realises what she's doing and angrily slams Hime against the wall. "Where are you going, Shiragiku?!" Natsume shouts at Hime. "Come back. I love you. I'm sorry." Natsume cries as he hugs himself and slides down against the wall.

And everything went black for all three of the Sakuragi family.

When Hime wakes up, Hana was there along with Ichiro. Hana and Ichiro both flash her a similar sad face as they tackle her into an embrace. Hana told Hime that Ichiro called her and urged her to come home. Hana and Natsume were on the verge of a divorce mainly because Natsume couldn't make himself love Hana more than he loves her. Hana wouldn't accept it and threw fits. However, due to the stress and pressure being inflicted on Natsume, Hime's ankle was broken and Ichiro sent her to a nearby hospital and have the doctor semen it. She was hospitalized for 3 days and Ichiro stayed by her side and brought her jars of cookies everyday just to keep her spirits pumped up.

When Ichiro brought both Haru and her home, Karma was at the door. He didn't seem pleased when he saw the clutches beneath her armpits. Ichiro explained to Karma and had him look after Hime while Ichiro reports himself at the station. It was indeed hard for Hime to move around but with Karma around, nothing is ever hard.

When Ichiro came back, he came back with dinner for the four of them only to find Karma getting ready to the airport. While Ichiro was out, Karma received a phone call from his parents. They just got back from Morocco and asked Karma to spend 3 hours with them until their next flight to India because who knows when they'll be back this time. Ichiro offered to send him to the airport which Karma declined.

When they were in 4th grade, Hana Fujisaki and Natsume Sakuragi reconciled. Although their reasons completely differ, things stayed the way they are. Hana was content with just being Natsume's wife and Natsume couldn't bear seeing his beloved prince growing up without his mother and that made Natsume's decision to continue the loveless marriage. Hana knew along the way that Natsume has stopped loving her because he was missing the dead. In the same timeline, Hime finally finishes her piano lessons and was invited to play for her mother's celebration for opening her first couture line in Europe. Hime was nervous and was an absolute wreck. The dress Hana made her was indeed beautiful with sequins and laces decorate her dress. The dress isn't as comfortable as she hoped it would be. It was hard to walk in and she constantly fears that she might fall stumbling down. Not wanting to disappoint her mother, she wore it without any complaints