Being a part of the 'Numbered' usually implies the role of becoming a slave; someone who wasn't even treated as a human being. Back in Krama's base, the 'Numbered' usually came from a poor family – people who were discarded by their flesh and blood all for the sake of attaining money.
This is the reason why Yuzuru Aki experienced that hellish nightmare, all because her biological father sold her off. She only learned about it when one of her captives was verbally abusing her, accidentally mouthing off about how she was sold off. Back then, upon hearing those words, Aki's heart was figuratively shattered, enough to make her mute for the next couple of days.
'If Cassandra and the others weren't there to help me," The little autumn thought to herself just as she finished washing the dishes. 'Who knows if I'll ever become sane again.'
It's not like the little autumn hasn't thought of the reason why he did so, but if it led to the point of selling both his wife and daughter? Now that's messed up.
'But in the end, even Mother was gunned down.' Yuzuru Aki then closed the tap water, all the while noticing the current time. '8:14 pm… Well, I guess the only positive thing that came out of that was not experiencing those experiments.'
"Oi Yuzu~" Disrupting her thoughts, the image of Cassandra literally was shoved on her face. It was a stolen picture of the two of them when the little autumn was busy teasing an infuriated blonde lady. "Take a look! Zen sent me this image a couple of minutes ago, and I thought, 'Why not print it out?'. This is yours."
"Ah," Surprised by this sudden act, it took Aki a couple of seconds just to formulate her response. "… Did you seriously print a picture of yourself looking like this?"
Pouting, Cassandra was about to take the picture back, prompting the little autumn to swiftly move away. "Hey! I was trying not to react about that!"
"Ahaha, don't worry, you look absolutely adorable here!"
Enraged, Cassandra began to chase her friend around their apartment, one that made the little autumn chuckle. "Yuzuru get back here!"
"I'm framing this by the way!" Aki then leaped on their sofa, widely grinning at her friend. "Tell Zen that he can extend his vacation, as thanks."
"Yeah no way, we need him here by next week."
"…"
Losing her grin, the little autumn finally relented and simply took a seat on their sofa. Sensing the shift in her mood, Cassandra decided to halt in her advance and sat beside her friend. "I guess we do. He's the only capable one when it comes to groceries."
Meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables, neither Cassandra nor Aki can determine which is fresh or not. Life as a subject must have dulled their senses in living a normal life. Hence, their third roommate – Zen Macintosh – is their only hope in buying their needed necessities when it comes to food.
Her friend scoffed before sharing her thoughts. "Not going to admit that you simply miss him?"
"As if you don't."
Humming, Cassandra then shrugged her shoulders before placing her head on top of the little autumn's shoulder. "I do. But he needed this. After all, he's the least experienced one when it comes to torture."
'Yeah…' Knowing full well what her friend meant about that, Aki leaned against her friend, closing her eyes while doing so. "He'll soon come back. We did promise to update our group photo."
Cassandra snorted, prompting Aki to timidly laugh. "That photo where he was late to wake up and wasn't able to take part in? God just remembering it always makes me smile."
'Then why didn't you wait for me?!' The little autumn recalls the enraged comment of their dear friend, who even managed to make Cassandra speechless. His height was an inch shorter than the blond lady, making him look like a puppy who was angrily wagging its tail at a person. So, just witnessing him throwing tantrums in the middle of the road is a memory that's a bit hard to forget.
'The photographer had a prior appointment after our reservation.' Aki monotonously replied, prompting the boy to grovel on the ground, an act that bewildered both women and the onlookers.
"Good times~" Cassandra whispers, warming the heart of the little autumn.
As silence fills the whole room, it was that exact moment when Aki thought how blissful it is to live in peace. Not in this exact era – no – but in this precise hour when all she does is laze around their sofa, along with a person she can fully express herself.
'Surviving in that shithole proves to be full of worth… I guess.'
Nudging her sentimental friend just to get her attention, Cassandra Lou gently smiled. "What are you thinking about?"
'This'
'I was thinking how beautiful it is, to live our life serenely like this.'
Unlike their days of torment which were filled with screams of horror and pain, eating rotten stuff, and simply surviving with the help of their fellow numbers, this kind of reality is new yet at the same time, freer to live in.
But instead of saying those words out loud, the little autumn simply shrugged her shoulders before swiftly placing their photo in between her phone and its case.
Silently chuckling as if she had already read the little autumn's inner thoughts, Cassandra took it as her sign to finally stand from their sofa, all the while snatching her purse which was placed on top of their cabinet.
"Going somewhere?" Aki asks her friend just as she was about to put her workout shoes on.
"Grocery," Cassandra answers as she pulls her hair tie, letting her long and wavy blonde locks fall naturally on her back. "I refuse to eat another canned food for tomorrow's breakfast."
"Ah." Softly chuckling at her friend's reason, Yuzuru Aki then proceeded to snatch her jacket which was placed behind their door. Noticing her actions, Cassandra lifts her eyebrow in an attempt to ask what the little autumn was doing, one where she immediately notices and answers. "And I also refuse to let a beautiful lady like you walk around these streets during the dead of the night. Who knows if you'll meet the infamous enforcer?"
Manifesting an uninterested look, Cassandra unimpressively replied. "I met the infamous 'Enforcer' when she was 7, and we've been stuck like a 'glue' for more than a decade. Besides," After punching her left palm and showing a sly grin, she continued. "I can match her brutality."
'Oh God, this girl-' Sighing in disbelief, the little autumn doesn't know what to reply. In the end, she could only close her eyes while waving her right hand. "No can do. With me around, I can watch your back."
"But-" And with just one look, the blonde lady could only sigh in defeat. "Fine. Just don't judge my capabilities to choose a product, okay?"
Aghast, Yuzuru Aki heartfully laughed. "Are you seriously telling me, of all people, that statement? Do you not recall the time when I bought rotten bread?"
"I don't think anyone can top me after buying lettuce over cabbage." After a moment of silence, she continued. "And it was rotten too."
Dramatically, after zipping her jacket on, the little autumn slumped on the ground and cried. "Oh, Zen! When oh when will you come back?"
"…"
Chuckling at how absurd her friend was acting; Cassandra clears her throat and joined the fray. "Here we are, two bright young ladies, who continue to buy rotten goods because of our inadequate knowledge. The sorrow! How pitiful!"
"…"
"…"
"Pfft-"
Laughing at how ridiculous they currently are, both Aki and Cassandra leaned at the nearest wall and tried to tone their voices down.
'This,' Aki smiled down at her friend who continues to laugh, showing her a bright and healthy smile, unlike their past selves. 'This is what I've always dreamed of.'
'So, to whoever is hearing this prayer, please, I beg of you-'
'Protect our peace.'
***
Walking here in the streets which were located at the border of the mainland proved to be dangerous. In the past, the crime rate of the former Central Kingdom of Veto on the mainland is low. But at the border and its surrounding cities? It only gets higher and higher, till it becomes completely isolated.
Thankfully, after King Amos's reign, the people who were tasked to keep the continent afloat were able to lessen the crime rate from all over the land, not just the mainland's border. They call themselves, The Council. A group of people who highly advocate their belief in democracy.
"Is that a slide I see?" Disrupting the little autumn's thoughts, her blond friend pointed in the distance, where a park has been newly set up. "I've never seen that before."
Shrugging, Aki replies. "It's newly built. I've seen the workers coming in and out since last week."
"Huh," Both confused and weirded out, Cassandra shifts her whole body closer to Aki. "Well, that's weird. Why install a park if there's a lesser number of children in this part of the mainland?"
'Yeah…' Nodding her head in agreement, the little autumn can't help but become suspicious as well. It was then that a cold breeze passed through them, making them both shiver from the cold.
Noticing how eerie it feels not to drown the silence by talking to one another, Yuzuru Aki opened her mouth to speak. "It's one of the reasons why I started increasing my patrols around the area. With Krama being rumored to have become active in their operations, nowadays, it's wiser to become suspicious than to let our naivety run amok."
"I agree." As their feet finally brought them to the nearest convenience store, which was a couple of streets away from their home, Cassandra Lou held onto the little autumn's sleeve before looking directly at her friend's eyes. "With that said, you stay here-"
"And guard." Aki finishes her statement, chuckling at how in synch they are. "Just be quick. It's cold here."
Humming in response, Cassandra then bolted inside the convenience store, which consequently made the guy behind the cashier scream in shock – an action that made both women giggle from delight.
To be honest, Yuzuru Aki isn't a fan of traveling to this store during this time of the night. She once had the opportunity to come across this exact spot, at this exact hour, when she heard that ominous voice – a man singing some form of song that creeped the hell out of the little autumn.
It's the main reason why she couldn't let Cassandra go by herself, knowing exactly what trouble she may come across.
Like how a man is sitting on the bike rack, staring at her with his eyes covered in blood and his mouth drooling with some kind of red liquid-
"Ah," Both startled and terrified, the little autumn was too late in noticing that what she was seeing was real, and not just her figment of imagination. A shiver ran down her spine just when his eyes connected with hers, forcing Aki to curse out loud. "What the hell!"
"Good evening, young lady." The bloody man greets her, ever so smiling as if he doesn't understand the severity of his appearance. Blood covered his teeth, and a terrible number of wounds covered his body. Who knows how horrendous it must look if he decides to take his tattered and bloodied shirt off? "Do you… want to hear a song?"
'No I want you gone, thank you very much.' But after much contemplation, the little autumn decided not to say those words out loud and to simply bolt off, believing that the man would run after her.
And luckily he did.
"Fuck!" Both terrified and relieved, knowing that Cassandra is not on this crazy man's radar, Yuzuru Aki continued to run aimlessly, all with the intent of escaping from this man's sight.
"Ahaha! You're fast! Really fast!" The little autumn jumps on a nearby fence and noticed the playground just up ahead. "Can't you just give me a little portion of meat? Please? Oh pretty, please?! JUST STOP AND LET ME EAT!"
'The fuck is he saying?!' Aki then noticed a nearby structure where she can fully hide her small frame. After quickly taking a look at where the man is and seeing that he just successfully crossed over the fence as well, the little autumn immediately dived onto her hiding spot, all the while gasping for air.
"If… if you can't… give me something to eat." The man cackles – an act that made the little autumn imagine how much blood must have littered the newly cemented ground. "Then... will you just… listen to my song?"
Knowing full well of the consequences of answering and of being discovered, Yuzuru Aki placed both of her hands over her mouth, just to contain whatever noise she might let out. Darkness covered the majority of her vision, but she knew, just by the tension, that he was near.
And ready to devour.
"My master called it, the Midnight Requiem." He proceeds to move closer, just by judging the sound of his footsteps. He then proceeded to hum a few lines before continuing his speech. "He's a kind man, who continues to wish for me to get better."
"But look at me!" And just like that, he screamed – one that contained his pain and torment – something that the little autumn was prone to recognize. "Krama made me like this."
"…"
Bewildered by this sudden revelation, Aki widened her eyes in disbelief. 'What?'
"Krama…" Then the sound of his body falling over reverberated on their surroundings, alerting the little autumn. This wasn't the time to play hide and seek! This man- This man needs- "Krama… That damn organization made me like this!"
And just when the little autumn decided to get out from her hiding spot, what shocked her the most was witnessing the contorted expression of the man – his face that shows pure hatred and malice, yet at the same time, fatigue, and hopelessness.
It was a look she knew well the most since they once held the same expression.
When his gaze eventually found hers, Yuzuru Aki swore that something within her finally snapped. "Please help me. Please let me eat. Let me devour, let me taste- PLEASE JUST KILL ME!"
"Enough!" And just like that, she raised her arm and landed a blow behind his nape, fully taking his consciousness away. It was already too late when Aki realized how moist her eyes have become.
But before he drifts into the realm of deep slumber, the man mumbled a few words that eventually changed the little autumn's direction in life.
"My son… please… let me at least… hug him… for the last…"
*****