I snorted inwardly, laughter at their little prank came easy; and it wasn't nearly as dirty as I imagined it would be. Itsuka was exaggerating how bad it was by quite a bit.
It did make me wonder though, about how children were treated in this world. There was no coddling, or witholding of information. Certain topics that in my old world would definitely not have been talked about in front of kids, were out in the open for all to see.
I refocused on the scene ahead of me, chewing contentedly on the food Judy had passed over a few moments before.
The lively pair were haggling in front of me, making wild gestures and arguing over the price of certain items I had chosen; dramatic to a fault and attracting the attention of others around them, but their smiles easily noticable.
They were enjoying it.
"These jeans are at least fifteen Eddies, look at the stylish holes ripped around the kneecaps!" Itsuka held up the item and slapped it with a hand, his voice the epitome of a sleazy salesman.
"Fifteen!? Are you mad? Holes are holes, selling a damaged piece of clothing for that much is robbery! Poor Judas will freeze to death!" Judy jabbed a finger at the holes mockingly as the warm sunlight beat down on us, her tone outraged.
"Grrr, Ten then; and no lower."
This was practically a white flag of surrender in my eyes; and evidently to Judy as well, her grin broadening as she snatched the jeans from Itsuka's outstretched hand.
"Deal."
Her optics glowed blue for a second, and Itsuka's flashed red in return; signalling the transfer of eddies.
Judy' smile became strained, and she ran her hands over the clothing I had chosen regretfully.
"Are you really going to join the Tyger-claws?" She asked, without looking back at Itsuka.
I imagined his smile dimming as he heard her question, slowly transforming from an overly excited mess to a softer and more caring version.
"Already am, it's too late to back out now."
Judy looked at him, words of disagreement ready to be spoken but ultimately held back.
She was hesitating.
By this time I had finished with the food she had given me, so with my arms outstretched; I grabbed the rest of the already purchased clothes from the stand and bundled them into my arms.
This action initiated the end of Judy's somewhat depressing conversation with this intriuging stall owner; with my guardian holding out a fist in farewell, which Itsuka bumped with his own.
"Take care ok? And stay out of trouble y'hear?"
Itsuka mock saluted, standing to attention before replying. "You got it boss. This humble stall owner will stay out of trouble for the forseeable future."
We turned around to left the marketplace, and I glanced over my shoulder to watch as Itsuka fall backwards onto the broken wheelchair behind him; suddenly looking much older than he had seemed to me previously.
Joining a gang didn't seem to be a good thing, which made me wonder why that was.
'Probably the high mortality rates, but it could easily be something else.' I thought, tearing my eyes away from Itsuka's depressed visage as his slumped figure disappeared behind the bustling crowd.
The sky darkened, gray clouds invading the blue sky above us; it was going to rain soon.
"You want some help with that?"
Judy's words snapped me out of my reverie, and I shook my head evenly.
"I'll manage." I muttered, inwardly cursing my luck at being dropped in such a limited form for what must've been the fifth time that day.
As we reached the main street; just as I was stepping down from the final stair; I tripped, falling forwards at an unnatural speed.
'Fu-'
I jolted backwards, choking slightly as my shirt constricted around my throat. Judy had grabbed the back of my top; saving me from an embarassing fall.
I watched in muted shame as Judy reached down and lessened my burden, taking the majority of the clothes from my bundle; leaving me with a much more acceptable payload.
She sighed humorously, shaking her head at the sky above. "What am I going to do with ya'?"
It hadn't actually been my fault, the last step joining the stairwell to the ground was a little higher than all of the other ones; courtesy of whichever underqualified architect had a hand in building this place.
I reached out and grabbed a hold of her dungarees, gripping at them tightly. I didn't want to fall again.
We continued our way back in silence, with Judy seemingly lost in thought; too occupied with whatever she was pondering to notice my awkward state.
By the time we reached the shoreline, the darkening clouds had given way to a light rain, which quickly turned into a drenching downpour.
Within a few minutes our clothes were soaked through, leaving us both cold and sopping wet.
While Judy shivered in the sudden cold, I didn't.
The showering rain felt cool and cleansing on my skin; and I honestly preferred it over the warm sunlight of the previous day.
I stared down at the paved ground beneath us; how the countless raindrops deformed as they splashed onto its hard surface.
"Shit, seriously?" Judy mumbled, and I looked around to see her eyeing the quickly dampening baggage she was carrying. "This'll take ages to dry."
"Sorry." I muttered, my gaze returning to the ground.
Ever since my 'breakdown', the disassocation I had felt with this world was starting to disappear, piece-by-piece. This wasn't just a game anymore.
The acceptance we were recieving from Judy wasn't something we had felt in a long time, and it was affecting us deeply.
I sighed, 'Maybe we aren't too different from our facade after all; isn't that ironic?'
I let my grip on her clothes slacken; bringing up the newly freed hand to smooth our wetted, curly fringe into a more tame, slicked back version.
My benefactor, noticing our apology; along the unexpected lack of tension pulling at her side, turned to face us.
"..." Judy slowed her pace and trailed beside me, hoisting the clothing up with one knee as she reached down and tousled my hair; again. "Its not your fault its raining, don't feel too bad."
I grabbed at the offending hand, which put up no resistance as it was gently pushed away from my head. She made an attempt at brushing her own extensive fringe aside with the same hand but couldn't, as I had grabbed it firmly and pulled it down to my side.
Judy tried the same motion again, but I didn't let her. I hadn't forgotten how she had made me dig through Itsuka's mountainous pile of threads, alone. Outright retribution wouldn't reflect well on my image; so for now I was settling with causing some minor, but irritating inconveniences as payback.
This silent struggle went on for a little while longer, and I progressively lowered my head closer to the ground as we walked onwards; ending up with me staring down at my own shoes.
"Ah-" Judy made a try at communicating her frustration with me but stopped upon seeing the small, contented smile I had allowed to cross my face.
She sighed, shaking her head ruefully before returning her gaze ahead of us.
We were home.
As she had no hands free, Judy raised a leg and kicked the shabby door ahead of us inwards; the noise echoing through the dimly lit building.
Some of the lesser population had clearly ventured inside this place to escape the rain, and they weren't too happy about the sudden noise.
"The fuck is wrong with you?!" Exclaimed a particularly obnoxious junkie, ripping off his BD wreath and yelling at us. "Open the door like a normal goddamn person."
I had a strong urge to give this parasite a piece of my mind but the more I looked at him, the more I noticed just how pathetic he was.
The man's now unobscured face revealed just how young he was; the guy couldn't have been older than seventeen. Dressed in dirty rags, unwashed and hopelessly addicted to whatever he was watching.
The way his hands shook as he held his wreath; coupled with his wild, bloodshot eyes told me all I needed to know about him.
Judging by Judy's reaction though, people like this were a-dime-a-dozen, not a rare occurance in the slightest. She stared at him; one full of undisguised disgust, along with a hint of pity hidden behind it.
The boy wilted under the glare she had thrown him, retreating back into whatever fantasy he had been living in; slipping the wreath back over his head and closing his eyes once again.
We strode onwards, climbing up the filthy stairwell as the cheap striplights above us flickered unpredictably.
I let go ofJudy's hand, and she smiled at me in thanks while brushing her soaking hair back similar to mine.
She then pushed the gate open followed by the apartment door shortly afterwards. We freed ourselves of our footwear and much like before, I stayed behind to organise them properly.
I followed Judy into the main room a few seconds later, watching as she dropped her bundle onto the table before backpeddling past me and entering the restroom which was opposite the entrance.
Mimicing her actions, I dumped my own bundle onto the pile and then stood there, unsure as to what to do next.
I tilted my chin downwards, grabbing at the damp shirt that was sticking to my chest.
Angela's blood, assumingly along with my own as well, still stained its surface; the dark red color of both contrasting the pure white beneath it. I wanted to take it off and change but the thought of seeing the ugly scars covering this body stopped me.
I didn't want to face that reality any time soon, just thinking about their existence made me feel a white-hot prickling sensation on the back of my neck; an instinctual combination of disgust, fear and shame that I would have to live with these deformities for the rest of this life.
It felt uncomfortable.
(A/N: Guys I can't lie, I skipped ahead what is probably fifty chapters or a few months ahead to write one of the best fight scenes of all time; it is absolute cinema. Truly a shame you won't be able to read it for quite a while.)