Nanami and Sakiko refused to leave each other's sides after the scarring event. Nanami had to return his friend's clothes he'd borrowed to him and told Sakiko not to go home without him and to wait at the diner or store until he got back.

The sight of the tobacco store made Sakiko feel nauseous and she brings her hood over her head as she gets closer.

Daryl had seen her enough times to recognize her, though. Go figure her luck.

As he steps in front of her, Sakiko fights the urge to cry building up.

"What was it this time?" Daryl questions.

"You weren't here," her voice breaks.

Confused, Daryl bends down, "What?"

"You were supposed to be here. You're always here," she whispers.

"At the shop? Kid, I ain't that much of a chain smoker," Daryl huffs.

Sakiko doesn't react, her hooded head staring at the ground as a tear slides down her cheek unnoticed by Daryl. Daryl reaches to pat her shoulder, the girl instinctively flinching.

"Kid.." Daryl trails off.

"I know what you meant by it getting worse now," she admits.

Daryl's heart speeds up, internally panicking as he wondered if his worry had come true. Sakiko sniffles the tears out of her eyes before looking up to him, the sight breaking Daryl's heart within a split second.

Sakiko held a scar on her upper cheek and a tear in her lip. Nanami had gotten away with no visible injuries, his being able to be easily hidden away by his clothing where as she adorned the two cuts on her face. Not that anyone would pay much attention, though. They were still on summer break and Sakiko, as she'd already informed Daryl, had no friends. No one was around to question the marks.

"When'd it happen?" Daryl finally asks, his throat constricting.

"It was just me first. I ran out and came.. I came here. I didn't mean to stay out all night, it just happened," she reveals, looking to the spot beside the door that she'd sad at for hours, "I went back yesterday morning. Then, it was both of us."

"You stayed out here all night?" Daryl asks, wondering if he'd heard her correctly.

"I didn't mean to," she sighs, looking back to the ground.

"How's your brother?"

"He's okay. I'm waiting for him now.. He went to a friends to drop something off."

"And you?" Daryl asks, trying to look to her from under her hood again.

"Do you want me to say you were right?" she asks, looking back to him.

At the sight of her scars, Daryl feels his stomach churn once more.

"Cause you were. Is that what you want?"

"'s not what I want at all," Daryl denies.

Their eyes stay on each other a bit longer until Sakiko sighs again and looks away.

"My aunt said she doesn't want us after all. She said that I'm too much to handle and she doesn't want to deal with that. I guess you were right about that, too."

The bit of hope Daryl had for the kids to get out before things got even worse vanishes at her words and he finds more stress setting in again.

"Am I like you now?" Sakiko wonders.

Daryl gives a short nod.

Sakiko puffs out another exhale, all but throwing herself to sit on the concrete and hiding her face in her jacket sleeves. It was hot and she hated wearing it, but the jacket hid more bruises.

"So what? What do I do now?" she asks, voice muffled.

Daryl moves to sit down beside her, their usual seats returning after the past couple weeks.

"Depends.. You want him gone, you call the cops."

"If they don't lock him up, he'll just.. you know," Sakiko frowns, "If they do, Nanami and I will go to some home. They'll split us up and we'll never see each other again."

"You already thought about this," Daryl inspects.

"It's all I can think about."

"How old are you?" Daryl asks, something he'd continuously forgotten.

"Turn fourteen in a couple months," she mutters, "Means the court won't take anything I say living-wise in their brains. They'll just stick us anywhere."

"You're older than I was, at least," Daryl offers.

Sakiko cringes at the thought of someone younger than her going through what she was.

Daryl wasn't sure what to say anymore. He was right- her dad had done just as his own did. What did Daryl do in her position? Nothing. He took it until Will Dixon was under the ground. Then, he packed his shit and found Merle.

"I can't be too mad.. I brought it on myself," Sakiko admits.

"Nah. You ain't bring that shit on," Daryl quickly denies.

"I did. He got mad, I got mad, then he did it. If I just-"

"Hey," Daryl calls, "Cut that shit. You didn't do anything for him to pull that, you understand me?"

Sakiko only sighs, resting her chin on her palm, "Nanami got in the middle trying to stop him. That's why he got it. That's my fault, too."

"I said stop that shit," Daryl grunts the demand, "That ain't gonna help you."

"Well, what else will?" Sakiko flicks her eyes in his direction.

"You blame him. He did this shit to himself and to both of you."

Sakiko hums, returning her eyes to the ground, "Guess so."

Nanami's approaching footsteps are soon heard by Daryl who looks him over once, seeing no visual signs of the abuse- minus the limp that carried him.

"Hey," Sakiko greets her brother.

"I thought you were waiting at the diner," Nanami says with confusion, looking wearily to Daryl.

"You said diner or store," Sakiko reminds.

"And you're at neither."

"You still found me."

"He likes to pretend he's the older sibling when we're literally twins," Sakiko informs Daryl.

"I'm twenty minutes older," Nanami also informs Daryl.

"Whatever," Sakiko glares at him.

Daryl exhales through his nose at the exchange, the bickering siblings a familiar sight to him as he lived it daily.

"We should head home," Nanami urges and Sakiko's shoulders slump even more.

"All right," she sighs, pulling herself off the step, "Bye, Daryl."

"Later, kid," Daryl nods.

The twins begin their walk back home, Daryl watching them go despite all the alarms ringing in his brain that told him not to let them live the same life he has.

--

The following couple months saw the twins both getting closer to Daryl as Nanami learned just how long the man and Sakiko had been speaking- as well as just how much of their situation he'd known.

Shinsuke had gotten worse and better somehow.

When he was sober, he was the prized father the twins knew before.

When he was high and drunk, he was that monster that left marks on them both. Though nowadays he didn't give a reason as to why.

The worst injury so far was sustained by Nanami when Shinsuke had broken a beer bottle, gotten angry about it, and took it out on Nanami by shoving him to the floor. His hand had been cut open by the glass- an injury that Daryl himself had patched up.

There was also a scary close call in which a deal was being made at night and the man had found Sakiko in the kitchen. He'd whispered vile things he wanted to do to her until Nanami rushed into the back door and swooped his sister away. Nanami and Shinsuke had gotten into an argument over that ordeal that left Nanami with his first busted lip.

Daryl felt his guilt eating him alive each day he saw the pair with new marks and bruises. He knew what was happening to these kids and what had he done to stop t? Not shit, that's what. How was he just.. watching this happen? Why was he letting this go when he knew what they were going through first hand? Was he just supposed to be the dude outside the tobacco shop forever until they got away or.. worse?

But, what was he even supposed to do?

If Daryl turned in the events, Merle would be among the dozen other people that got exposed for the drug deals. And Merle would kill him if Daryl sent him to jail amid trying to get the kids out of that hellhole.

Who knows what kind of people Shinsuke had been dealing? Daryl knew about the knife hold up incident as well. If he sent those people to jail and their buddies came after him, he'd be dead in a ditch in a week's time.

And Sakiko was right- their one out was through their aunt and she'd already said she didn't want them. The two would be put in the government system and in homes. They might get adopted, might not. But, there was a very slim chance that both get adopted, let alone both getting adopted together.

There were so many webs tied together that left Daryl feeling just as trapped as the kids were.

Merle and Shinsuke had another deal this week and Daryl couldn't even look the man in the eyes, opting to stay in the truck once again. When Merle returned, stashing his new 'treats' into the glove box, Daryl peeked over to him.

Merle hadn't even known just how far their own father had gone with Daryl. He was lucky and got out through his military enlistment. How could he bring up the kids' situation without outing himself and them?

"Something on your mind, baby brother?" Merle asks, pulling out of the driveway.

"You ever think about having kids?" Daryl questions.

"Kids?" Merle laughs, "Where's this coming from, now?"

"Don't know. Just wondering how long you gonna keep this up," Daryl nods to the house they were pulling away from.

"What? You want me to go clean, marry a nice lady, and pop you out a few nieces or nephews? Or are you thinking of having some of your own all the sudden?"

"Nah, man. It's just a question," Daryl huffs, "Forget it."

Merle makes a soft noise, pulling his lips into an involuntary frown as he shrugs, "Kids were something I thought of when I was serving. Saw kids in shitholes you ain't even able to imagine."

Daryl nods, knowing the military life must've exposed Merle to things no one else could understand.

"Came home to my own shithole. Figure it's best to not bring a little one in this life. 'sides, I already got your ass clinging on me," Merle cracks a grin to Daryl.

"What about those kids? The ones in shitholes like this?" Daryl treads carefully.

"They'll just have to learn. But, when they're older, least they'll have tough skin. Gonna need it growing up."

Daryl doesn't get any real answer that would help the kids he was concerned over and knocks his head against the seat.

"Think there's a way out of it?"

"Darlina, there's plenty of ways out of it. None are pretty, I'll tell you that. But, when you get a shit hand dealt to you, you're just playing with shit to find which one stinks the least."

Every situation to get the kids out of their predicament would be difficult and messy. Daryl really hated irony.

--

School was coming up soon and the twins dreaded the thought. Hiding their marks and faking smiles would be a daily occurrence. This time when the guidance counselor asked those questions to Sakiko, she would have to fight the urge to blurt out the reality she was living. Maybe the woman jinxed her, Sakiko couldn't tell exactly.

But, they did so.

Then they talked to Daryl outside the tobacco store. Nanami had noticed that Daryl hadn't even bought anything most days, meaning Daryl showed up just to see the kids.

They walked home.

They lived in utter hell.

They tended to each other's wounds.

They went to bed.

They got up.

They went to school and restarted the cycle over and over again.

Same thing every day. A bitter repetition.