Chapter 8

"She was having a nightmare again. This time she's asleep for almost 4 days huh." Lady in a messy ponytail, hair dyed in red and fringe covered her enchanting amber eyes, are leaning in a door frame of the iron jail, while linking her strawberry flavored lollipop.

"Mizu always mumbling the names of her friends, painfully. Seems she's having a dream of that time again. Haunting her every time… she killed someone in this hell place." A blonde short hair woman, with a red ribbon neatly tied on her hair, sadly said while wiping the beads of sweat on Mizu's smooth forehead, and putting a wet towel on it. She was taking care of unconscious Mizu, laid in a wooden bed without a blanket nor pillow in her room, every time she was suffering from a drastic fever.

"If it's not for her condition, she might be ahead of us, now. Anyway, she can leave this dirty place in her next match. She was about to reach level 11 anyway." The red cool lady uttered while putting Mizu a comfortable blanket that she brought.

The cute blonde caressed Mizu, "She was different than any of us. We killed for entertainment, for a selfish reason, without taking mercy to the other. Yet, she… she was forced to do it, even offer a prayer to her victim, and suffer like this."

Suddenly, Mizu holds her hand tightly. "Seems she's about to wake up on her nightmare and live in another nightmare again."

After hours of crying, where there are no tears to be shed anymore, was her heart petrified like ice. Were the heavy feelings can't be uplift anymore. Still, she tried to stands up, hoping her peers escape the tragedy, hoping they'd didn't die,…wishing they're still alive. She starts to look around, searching for them.

"Forest!… They might escape in the forest!"

Mizu soak her wounded knee in the clear river, a sting sensation creeps on her, but she remained firm and forced her legs to walked to the other side. In the mouth of the forest, where she was about to go inside, a group of armed soldiers suddenly appeared approaching her, pointing the rifles. Mizu stiffened from her standing.

"Stop, don't shoot the child. She seems a commoner." The man in the center commanded. He seems their leader. He then added, "Go back, child. This is not a place where common people to visit. This forest is already a private property."

But Mizu didn't move, nor flustered, instead her eyes sharpened, "What do you mean to shoot me?! Did you shot people coming here if they'd come from the slums?! Trying to escape their life?!"

The soldiers frowned, it was obvious to their faces that what Mizu said was true, guilt was painted on each of their faces.

"Can't be!" Mizu struggle as she was already dragged by soldiers back towards the river.

"I thought you are a protector of people in need? Why did you kill them? They are still human! A citizen of this country! Why?" she bawled.

"We are just following orders. And those people are not under the protection of the law."

The commander firmly said, "This world is darker than what you imagined child. We can only see the surface."

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Mizu, after going to the forest, she went back to the town of District 33. She just then noticed the burnt on the thick tall walls separating the three places; painted randomly in black, proof that a massive fire did happen here. Then a notice printed in small tarpaulin was pinned on the other side of the wall facing the town. What was written was; this place, the slums, and junkyard will be under construction for business enterprise. Buildings and the like will be built here.

Reading this Mizu gritted her teeth. "Was people in the slums like harmful insects to be just pesticide for the production to grow well?" Knowing this her anger grows more. "They still a living being and those kids have a bright future." Mizu wasn't yet hopeless, she still tried to look around for them, believing Kuro find away for them to survive.

"Kuro was there, everything will be alright. Plus, Akito, he's a smart kid, he can find a way."

However, looking around, she still can't find them, not even their trace. But deep in her heart, she still firmly believe they're alive. Walking around the town, she noticed that none of the people living here are downhearted, instead, everyone was smiling like there are no horrible things happened. Like people in the other wall didn't die.

"It just happened a few days ago, why people here act like nothing."

Suddenly, Mizu heard some of the vendors and his customer's conversation, "I felt great today, you?"

"Likewise, the cause of my headache is now gone. I won't see those rat thieves anymore."

"Thanks for those rich people who came here."

"Now, this district will prosper too like other districts, without those shameful rats."

"Now that they are gone."

Those words were like a rumble of thunder on Mizu's ears, a flash of lightning that strikes her flaming heart. Eyes crazily looked around, all that caught her vision were people giggling and laughing at how thankful they are for the happening.

Hands in a clench, blood in boils, burning hatred slowly consuming her, she out cried, "ARE YOU, PEOPLE, STILL HUMAN?! Y'ALL ROTTEN AS F*CK!"

Without further ado, she hit those people who speak-ill to the people in slums, hardly, making their nose and mouth to bleed. "No one knows how those people survive without nothing. They strive each day just to live. Why people like them in an easy way life doesn't help those people in need, instead increase their sufferings. Why did they need to die? They didn't wish to born like this." Every of her hit landed firmly with all her anger.

Hugging her knees, burying her face, while crouching on the seat inside the train going back home in District 20, Mizu was trembling while mumbling to herself, "I want to see Shiro… Shiro." Hoping that if he was here, he can calm her storming feelings. Even just his presence he can comfort her troubled soul.

"Kuro… Hope y'all were alright."

But the only people who can comfort her right now, are her parents; Yuri and Taiga. "I want to go home immediately..."

When she reached District 20, in their small town, it was already dark, just about the time for dinner. Standing in their gate, she was wondering why it was left open. Her Mother usually closed their gate even if they are living in a safe town. But it confused her more when their house was in pitch-black.

"They usually turned on the lights at this hour. Is this to surprise me? But it isn't my birthday, yet. And there's no special event for today."

In splits of seconds, she suddenly felt a chill down her spine. Her guts are telling her there's something wrong. Her feet then quickly moved towards their main door, cold sweat was dripping down to her face.

"Please,… not what I'm thinking about."

"Ma, Pa!" she immediately called when she opened their door. But a deafening silence responded to her. In this dark, she guides herself on the wall, finding the switch to the lights. As she walked, a sticky substance is on her feet, like sticky mud on the farm. "What's this?" A grim feeling added to her anxiousness.

Before long when she turned on the lights, her world seems turned upside-down, slowly cracking, she covered her mouth with her trembling hand repressing herself to shout, the body drops down on the floor, petrified. Tears once again drop on her eyes, "Why?… why? Why?… why why why why why why why!!!" Words repeated on her mind.

A horrible scene was on her front. A pool of thick blood tainted the tiled floor. Two corpses were lying on the opposite side. They are looking at each other with dried tears in their forlorn eyes, while hands were intertwined, and expression is in slightly smile as if both of them accepted their fateful end. Her parents are now a cold corpse, lifeless…

The way the blood blemished the floor, seems Taiga forcefully crawled his way towards where his wife was. Wishing to at least hold her before his last breath.

Mizu's heart tightened, it was the same feeling when her mother died. She weakly crawled her way towards her parents. Wishing… wishing these were all a dream, wishing nothing is real, wishing she will wake up the next day without this nightmare. Where all the important person of her life was alive.

"Ma… Pa…" Her body and voice were shaking.

Mizu hugged Yuri's corpse tightly, "N-no, no, no no! Wake up… wake up! Ma. P-please… d-don't leave me too… Mom already died, I don't want to lose you too. Please… we still have dinner together right? Ma, y-you just healed from your injury, we still have the plan to do gardening together, ain't we?…" Caressing tenderly her face while removing the hair strands on it and kissed gently her forehead, crying.

Mizu then holds her Father's hand, "Pa! Hey, stop joking around! Speak! This isn't a time from your corny joke."

She then hugs both of them tightly but it wasn't warm like before. She hopelessly waiting for their response, however, both of them are already not breathing. "MA!!! PA!!!" she thunderously outcries. It was long like all her painful feelings were mixed with that single roar.

"I don't want to be alone…"

A crisp sound of clap disturb the tranquil silence of her, she lifelessly looked where does the sound come. Her eyes suddenly dilated as soon as she saw the stranger sitting comfortably on their sofa, in folded legs, amusingly watching her. Mizu never did notice this person, "Since when he's sitting there?" she thought.

"You! Stand up! How dare you sit on my father's seat!" she terrifyingly stated while glaring at him intently.

"I see, but it's my seat now." The man smirked. "I wonder why you didn't notice me here since awhile ago. Does… their death that painful? Anyway, I have a hard killing the man. A trained police officer is really tough."

Mizu eyes sharpened, instantly he saw the blood-stained on his sleeves. And a memory suddenly flashed through her, it was the same man who gets Shiro.

"Through your expression seems you already recognized me. Nice I won't bother to introduce myself anymore."

Mizu's face darkened, in the corner of her eyes she saw a long blade knife. The weapon that killed her parents.

"Why?!…" she mumbled, while voice repressing her anger.

"I can't hear you, state it clearly."

Mizu slowly stands up gripping firmly the knife in her hand. Heads still down, dark eerie energy was like surrounding her. "I said… WHY DID YOU KILL THEM?!" Eyes are now burning with a desire to kill. Flaming intently with full of hatred.

The man maniacally chuckled, pleased to felt the chill of her tremendous killing aura. ''I'm not wrong,'' he thought. And playfully said, "Why?… simply, it's because of YOU! You got me to fall in love with your fighting skills. I drastically waiting for you these years. To be my faithful-- PET."

Those phrases were like a bolt of hot lightning that strikes her again, "What Nonsense! I wasn't the reason why they'd died… You. Killed. Them!"

With those strong aggressive words, she tried to attack the man. However, the man is just smirking at her and before the tip of the blade can touch his neck. Mizu was hit in the nape, making her lose her consciousness. "I was careless." There was another group of men in the room. His underlings.

The man stand up and whispered to Mizu, who was now carried by one of his men, like a sack. Their boss tap the back of Mizu and uttered, "Sleep well... The place you'll be staying is more thrilling. This is just the beginning little girl."