This chapter may contain graphic depictions of violence and gore. Reader discretion is strongly advised.]
"Brother…" came the soft voice of a little girl, trembling with fear.
"Big Brother!" she cried again, louder this time, desperation cracking through her tone.
Splash. Splash.
Rain poured — steady and cold. He didn't respond. His eyes were vacant, staring into nothing.
"Wake… up…"
A whisper brushed his ear — a woman's voice, warm breath trailing behind the words. It came from behind him.
Snap!
His eyes flew open. Instinctively, he drew the knife strapped to his left leg and stabbed backward.
Scleench.
The blade struck nothing but a wall.
"Huff… Huff…" he panted, wiping the sweat from his face — to no avail.
It was still raining.
Splatter. Splatter.
He scanned the area, eyes sharp and alert. Then, he felt a small tug on his left sleeve.
He turned toward it — and there she was: a little girl, barely reaching his shoulder, looking up at him. Her eyes were red from crying, her face bruised and slightly dirty.
"Aria…?" he murmured.
Aria gave a heavy nod before leaping into his arms, hugging him tightly.
"Big Brother! Those bad people stopped chasing us!" she sobbed against his chest.
CriesCries
"Big Brother… those people were so scary… what will happen to us?"
Sting!
A sharp pain pierced Kaizen's head, forcing him to his knees.
His life — every memory with his family — flashed before him in third person.
His birth.
His first word: Papa.
His first day at school.
His father returning home late one night to say he'd been expelled from the knight guard.
The current day where they were hunted by debt collectors.
And the future, how they are captured.
His sister was killed, and his parents were murdered.
The moment he came into the Blackthorn Mansion, and started slaving there.
It all rushed back.
"Aria!" he shouted, his voice suddenly intense as his vision cleared.
"Yes, Big Brother!" she responded quickly.
"Aria! Are you alright? Did you get any injuries?" he questioned.
"No big brother! I am fine," she replied.
"That's…good.", he sighed in relief.
But then, a certain memory came into his mind.
If he and his sister stayed here any longer, they would get captured.
Aria would be ambushed, and his leg would be stabbed by an arrow.
He grabbed Aria's hand and went outside the alley. There was a market.
He hid himself in the crowd using the long and tattered piece of cloth he used to wear, hiding his rare black hair and silver colored eyes.
Aria also hid her blonde hair as she copied her brother.
"Follow me, Aria, don't speak anything and don't stop anywhere," he said as he started running.
Aria followed behind as they ran a zig-zag trail throughout the market.
Kaizen looked behind to check on his sister, only to find her missing.
"Shit.", he curses himself for his stupidity as he decides to follow back the trail where they went to find his sister.
He then spots his Sister.
She had stopped. And was going into an alley.
She was following a cloaked person.
"Aria!" Kaizen shouts, but to no avail.
He runs towards the alley, which is on the left side of the market street. As he arrives there, he finds that the cloaked person is holding his sister by the neck.
"Aren't you quite late… Little Big Brother?" the cloaked person who had a dark clown mask says in a mocking tone.
"NOO YOU DON'T!"
He then proceeds to crush Aria's Neck.
freeze
Everything freezes as Kaizen's vision turns black and white.
"You failed again…Didn't you Kaizen? Is this how you will save your family?"
A lady with long black hair, pale skin, and white eyes appears beside Kaizen.
She has a beautiful smile on her face as she tugs her hair behind her ears.
She had a black gothic coat and a long black skirt, white tie, and a white shirt.
"Hehehe…" she giggled lightly.
"Just give up, you will never be able to save anyone," she spoke in a playful tone.
"Give up? Why should I give up? It was just my second run," Kaizen questioned.
"Just giving up would save my time, and you did nothing and got caught like sitting ducks last time," the woman argued.
"Shut up and do it again," he said.
Kaizen will not give up on saving his parents. Never. Ever.
"Alright," she said as she snapped her fingers.
Snap!
"Big..Brother.." came a voice.
"Big..Brother!" spoke Aria as she snapped Kaizen out of his reverie again.
Kaizen wakes up, instantly grabs Aria's hand, and starts running.
"Aria! Don't say anything! Just follow me!" he spoke as they started running through the opposite side of the market this time.
splattersplatter
Sounds of raindrops falling on the stone pathways of the market filled the area.
"Buy two, get one free!" shouted someone as they arrived in front of Kaizen.
Kaizen jumped over his stall, and he jumped into the open window of a house.
Aria followed him behind.
"Who goes there?" shouted a man who had big, fat muscles, tan skin, and a mustache to be proud of. Kaizen ignores the man as he decides to start climbing the stairs.
Finding another window, He jumps outside over the roof of a smaller house.
He was now outside the market.
Roof by roof, he jumps from one house to another, finding all kinds of cultural…people.
After crossing many houses, he arrives at what could best be described as slums.
Kaizen and Aria walked over the road as he panted.
He had to pick up Aria on jumps she couldn't perform.
"Are you alright, Aria?" asked Kaizen as he looked over in Aria's direction.
"No…Huff! You made me run over the roofs, big brother! Who does that to his little sister!" she scolded as she pinched Kaizen from behind, a position which happened to be his butt.
"Aah~ Sorry! I just had to save us from those bad people," he explained as he held that place, and he was wounded.
"That's the only reason I'm forgiving you! Humph!", she spoke as she started walking faster.
Kaizen picked up the pace as well as he matched her pace.
He hugged her tightly from behind.
His emotions were breaking the dam.
"What happened, big brother?" questioned Aria with a worried face.
Kaizen wiped away a tear that had formed over his eye as he smiled.
"Nothing. Come, let's go home, mother must be waiting—", spoke Kaizen, but then he remembered what he said.
Mother.
Yes, he had a mother.
Will she truly be there?
In the real world.
Swish! Thwack!
"Tell me! Where did he go?!", spoke a man holding a whip.
Swish! Thwack!
"My Lord! We are searching for him everywhere! But he is missing, as if he caught the scent of danger and bolted like a rabbit. We are having a hard time looking for him!" replied the man lying on the ground.
He had various marks of whips on his shoulders, legs, and back.
His clothes were torn, and his face had many swollen areas.
"Go! Call your slaves!" shouted the man holding the whip.
He had a noble attire, was fat, and had the face of a criminal.
The slave trader got up, put on his long coat, and went outside.
They were currently in a location that looked like an office.
"If I'm not wrong, that kid got hold of The WorldFruit. Tch. Tch," he mumbled to himself.
"What a luck that boy has, but hehe…If he stole something that I own, how could I possibly let him live?" he said.
After a few minutes.
Fifteen Slaves were brought inside the office.
The Fatty Blacktorn, barely able to stand up, walked towards the line of slaves.
"So? Tell me. Which one of you all is a friend of that Brat…What was his name again?" asked the noble as he turned over to a knight.
"Kaizen, Lord Ashton.", spoke the knight.
"Yeah…Kai..zen! Kaizen! What an interesting name…", he said as he made a pondering expression while walking left to right, from the front of one slave to another.
"Kai..zen, Kaizen! It means Change for Improvement. But! heh—What would rotten, severe rats like you all know?"
Tenn Akari, who had red hair and dark green eyes, was looking at that man. He furrowed his brows on hearing it, but didn't say anything.
"Hehe…Change for improvement? Hahaha! He took a change for the worse! What improvement? Che—", he mocked as he laughed.
"So, which one of you rats is it?" asked Askton Blackthorn. His face became serious as he eyed every single one of the slaves.
None of the slaves bothered to speak.
Even if they had some good relationship with Kaizen, why risk their lives over it?
"No answers? Alright," spoke the noble as he pointed at the knight.
Making a gesture to finish them all as he turned back.
At that moment.
Smack!
A strong punch landed on the noble's face as he fell over his table.
"I am his friend, you bastard! Don't kill my other brothers!", came a voice from behind.
At that moment, the knight came from behind as he held Tenn down with his superior strength.
"Ohohohoho! So you are the most rotten rat here? Alright, finish off the other rats." Ashton gave his order.
At that moment, four other knights came inside, and soon the massacre began.
thudthudthud
Fourteen different heads fell on the ground, laid on display for Tenn.
Tenn closed his eyes. He felt pained for their deaths.
They had formed some sort of camaraderie being fellow slaves.
"Tie him to a cross outside, make sure to whip him 30 times daily, bathe him with ice water, no shirt and only pants. You can also splash some salt on him every now and then.", he spoke, "Spread a rumor in the entire Carmine city, that if Kaizen doesn't come to the Blacktorn's, his friend would be killed within the next fifteen days. till then he will be tortured."
"It shall be done, my lord.", the knight nodded.
The noble bent down slightly as he whispered something,
"If you know something and spill the beans, we could give you a painless death," he spoke with a mocking smile on his face.
Tenn's face turned solemn for a second as he gestured to come closer.
The noble bent closer and then…
splat
"Heh…you think that I will tell you anything about him? Forget it.", spoke Tenn.
Ashton wiped his face using a handkerchief.
He then took his favourite whip in his hand as he turned over to the knight to speak.
"Just for today, we will make it a hundred."
"Mother! We are back home!" came a voice.