7 <6th Fight: Iron-Blooded Orphans>

-XOXOXOX-

"Get back here 'ya fuckin' shitty brats!"

In the bleak orange afternoon outside of the Tokita Ward, your average random act of burglary was in full swing.

Chasing three children running away with a briefcase throughout the almost endless suspicious-looking alleyways, the older man ran as if his life depended on it.

While he was by no means slacking off on this fine afternoon that those three children snuck up on him and ambushed him, and he wasn't injured severely, if he were to return empty-handed after they had stolen the briefcase he was supposed to hand to his boss…

-Then soon enough, he just might be.

And it was quite sudden too. The first one, a thin and wiry-looking boy whose bones could be seen just by looking at him with black hair obscuring his eyes had been pestering him non-stop with silly and inane questions. And as soon as he went to shoo the kid off, he felt that something was amiss.

Suddenly ducking, he was almost struck with the end of a metal bat that had nearly connected smack-dab in the back of his head.

Luckily enough it had missed slightly, though he was still grazed with the end of the bat. This time it was by a kid with spiky black hair and a jagged scar across his cheek, followed by a small figure wrapped in cloth who simply took the briefcase and fled.

Stumbling a bit, the man managed to regain his balance before chasing after them, thankful that it had missed, yet furious as it meant that he would've 'really' been in 'deep waters', knowing that if it had fully connected it would've been truly unfortunate for him.

'A small mistake. No, a huge fuck-up in the making.' The man believed it to be, putting more pep into his step before the three little figures began to grow more and more distant.

'This was supposed to be my big day' The man thought. A seemingly 'simple' delivery mission would've put him in the good books for the boss, and then he would be able to make even more money as he rose up the ranks.

'The money, drugs, women… I can literally see them in the future… In the palm of my hands! But It's all gonna go far away if I don't get that damned briefcase!'

'And boy, if the boss finds out that I've lost it…'

'Those damned brats! How could they!'- The enraged expression the man wore only grew more in intensity as the man imagined the sheer magnitude of the punishment he would receive for failing this task.

'One or two fingers surely won't be enough…'

"Faster, don't slow down just yet!" The cloaked figure carrying the briefcase exclaimed.

"Don't gotta say that twice, I'm out!" Smiling, the boy with the spiky hair nudged the seemingly shy boy, "Yo, pick up the pace, we gotta go!"

Putting even more effort into his run, the shy-looking lad started to speed up as he stuttered out. "Y-yes!"

As the man gave chase, he tried to pull out his firearm, deciding that it was either their life or his before coming to another… rather grim realization.

"W-what!? Not the gun too!?"

Twisting and turning through even more alleyways, the three were like acrobats of the highest caliber as they leveraged and jumped over fences, and trash cans while keeping up their brisk pace.

"!"

-And as for the unnamed thug…

"Ku-uwaaaargh-!"

He seemed to have been an acrobat of a not-so-high caliber, perhaps hailing from the clown school of slap-stick comedy, as eventually due to gassing out from a lack of stamina the thug took a grave misstep on the street's unmaintained pavement, slipping and falling face-first.

It wasn't too damaging for his health though, but as the faint sounds of giggling grew further and further away, the thug began to boil with anger that nearly made his face the same color as his bloody nose.

"Fuckin' wait, damniiiiiiiit-!" The thug roared in vain at the escaping children.

Giving chase once more the thug stops dead in his tracks as he realized the whereabouts of which the kids had entered into

-Tokita Ward, The Inside.

From what he heard from his superiors, it was a messed up place that was located somewhere within Tokyo dating way back to the 1950s.

-But that wasn't important to him.

The important part was that 'The Inside' was a lawless place where even the Yakuza had to watch their steps, and if he'd screw around with the locals and get offed inside this place, then there was no helping him.

Dropping to the ground panting the man closed his eyes as he started to aggressively scratch his head. "Ah damn it! I'm in some serious shit…"

-XOXOXOX-

After several minutes of nonstop running, the three children finally entered one of the streets they were very familiar with.

And yes, while it housed all of the same depressingly dull grey buildings, junkies, thugs, and prostitutes that most other streets within The Inside possessed, to the locals and the three children, there existed an added bonus for this place; in fact, the only reason one would even bother to come in the first place.

-It was a pawn shop.

Albeit smaller than many of the tall buildings lining the land, only standing a single story at most, It was a somewhat 'special' shop commonly manned by an old man, that contained many goods from canned and bottled food items, to other nondescript trinkets that people may catch a liking to.

Nevertheless, it was an incredibly useful place for the random children and orphans hoping to trade something for a potential meal.

What they wanted was, of course, something to eat as the other ways of receiving nourishment for random orphans in this place required either stealing, fighting, and the other option…

-Well… Required a little bit more 'give' and 'take' per se, more along certain adults' sinister lines of carnal 'give' for the children to which they would 'take', in exchange for monetary gain.

-This, in fact, tended not to bode well for many of the unfortunate children within The Inside.

Cautiously walking forward even though the residents of this street were disinterested in them, not even sparing them a single glance their way, the three children headed towards the store with brisk steps.

"Ummn, B-Big sis… T-this place is?" The shy boy stuttered.

This child with his hair nearly hiding away both eyes was a real meek soul, and it had amazed the other two children to no end on how the boy had managed to survive in such a place, and for so long at that.

Without turning the face the shy boy, the cloaked figure answered "Yes it is, Kouta. This is the place we go to get some stuff sometimes." Seemingly calm and stoic, the little shrouded figure had spoken with a rather faint, yet firm voice. "You might not have been here before, but Kaito and I have many times before."

"Yup! Ain't nothing too special 'bout this place, but nobody's complaining!" The rowdy boy with a scar on his cheek named Kaito exclaimed. He and the meek Kouta were not only brothers, but fraternal twins at that as they didn't look similar at all.

"Hmmn? It's still open, and there's someone inside there as well… Let's go Kouta, Kaito." The little cloaked figure said, briskly trotting forward.

Looking at the door, the three could still see that it was business hours, so wasting no more time, they headed inside.

"Y-yes!"/ "Gotcha!" The two boys quickly replied, hurriedly chasing after the small cloaked figure.

-CREAK-

Opening the door, its rusted hinges give a sharp creak as the three enter the shop, beginning to look around.

As the familiar sight of the disorganized messy interior of the shop filled their eyes, the three children gazed at the long ebony counter that separated the customers and the shop's owner where they spotted the owner of the shop conversing with a young boy of similar age as the trio dumping a briefcase filled with miscellaneous items onto the counter.

"You've really brought in quite the haul as usual, eh?" The old man muttered, his voice deep and croaky as he spoke in an awfully dry manner.

"?"

Looking towards the newcomers, the old man raised his eyebrows as he scanned them with an inquisitive glance. "Ah, you two… I see you've brought a new face as well, heh?"

"Sup', Old Man!" Cheekily grinning, Kaito waved while the other two just simply nodded at the old man.

"Hmmn. I see you. Wait till I'm done with this boy here." The old man said.

"?"

Possibly not a day older than thirteen, the boy in front of them had wild seaweed-like black hair almost obscuring the menacing glare in his black eyes as he wore a tank top and ragged short pants. With two knife holsters strapped to the side of his body, one could tell by looking down at the calluses on his hand that he looks to be quite good at using them.

Glaring slightly at the three kids, the seaweed-haired boy was about to look away before he locked eyes with the boy with the cheek scar. Whatever it was that they saw, whether they mean glare or the challenging stare…

-Neither of the two liked it.

"What? Whaddya want?" Kaito brusquely asked, though it might've come off as more provocative than inquisitive.

"…"

"Fuck off." Snarling at the cheek-scarred boy, the seaweed-haired lad grunted.

-STARE-

As it seemed as if the tension would slowly rise, it was interrupted by the sternest tone the old man could've mustered with his croaky voice.

"Not in here you won't, go take it outside if you have to fight."

"…"

Sensing a small glare directed at him from the little figure cloaked in rags, Kaito unwillingly decided to let it go, harrumphing as he tore his gaze away from the boy in front of him, to whom the seaweed-haired boy just ignored him, focusing his attention once again on the pawn shop's counter.

Rummaging through the briefcase filled with documents, files, wads of cash, and a single firearm, the old man had briefly gone to the back of the room before returning with his hands filled with different items.

The old man had been running this shop for a long time, so the idea of people bringing in some 'suspicious' stuff wasn't too foreign to him.

Nevertheless, people had to eat to survive, and the same went for everybody, not just him, so he couldn't be too picky about what his customers brought here, especially judging by where they all lived.

What he would have to do, however, was to make sure that whoever it was that had items stolen from them wouldn't someday turn their sights at him bearing ill intentions.

"Well… Here's what I can offer you in return. Come back if you find some more good stuff." The old man said, resting a bag filled with canned goods and other necessities upon the store's counter.

"Hmmn." Rustling through the bag, the seaweed-haired boy glanced at a can of soda pop he held in his hands before silently slinging the bag over his shoulder and walking towards the exit, but before he leaves he is stopped by the old man's voice calling out to him.

"Hey. I hear you been working a lot on 'The Outside' these days…" The old man spoke.

The Outside. It was a colloquial term used by the residents of The Inside that simply meant anywhere 'Outside' of the run-down hellhole they lived in. It was popular amongst the residents for being a place with 'lucrative' opportunities, added with the fact that someone who would've left The Inside would be said to have 'made it' somewhat in life.

Turning to face the old man, the seaweed-haired boy stared at him whilst the other three children perked their ears up, listening in to what the old man had wanted to say.

"Now that's fine and all if you're up for it… But if you wanna live long, I suggest you better try to keep a low profile…"

"This goes for you three as well; if you catch too much attention meddling over there… then the only thing waiting for you from The Outside is an early death…"

It was your common cautionary tale told to the hotshots that moved all kinds of 'weight' around in and out The Inside.

'Shine too violently, and you'll irritate the eyes of those who are used to living in the dark. And once you've done that…'

'Then your 'light' will be snuffed out.'

But to the kid with the seaweed hair, he couldn't be bothered to care.

"…"

"Hmph. Mind your own business, old man." The seaweed-haired boy spat, swiftly exiting the shop.

To the boy, it wasn't anyone's business whether he lives or dies, because life itself was all the same for him.

'Steal, eat, and survive. That's all there is to it. If I die, then I die. Nothing more, nothing less.' The seaweed-haired boy thought.

"..."

Gazing at the closed door after the seaweed-haired boy had left; Kaito couldn't help but shake his head. He didn't want to agree with him, but he couldn't disagree with him either. Such acts of preservation only served to extend their life expectancy by a little, as even if one were to be careful, their life would still be endangered at the drop of a hat.

In his head, even if they had successful 'outings' and ran back into The Inside, his mind would still wander on one little slight, almost minuscule possibility.

-The possibility that if those Yakuza were truly serious about it, they could just enter The Inside and get rid of those little rats.

Sure, it wouldn't be easy finding a specific bunch of homeless orphan brats, but if a young child could think of an idea like that, then what's stopping a group of fully grown adults from doing the same, but to a greater degree?

Besides, who would stop the Yakuza from offing a bunch of no-name brats in the slums? And If so, then what would they hope to gain from it?

"!?"

Being nudged by the small figure wrapped up in a cloak, Kaito snapped out of his internal musings, quickly finishing the business the trio had arrived for, which was to trade goods.

"O-Oh Yeah, here's what we got today, old man!"

Leaving the pawnshop later on with two bags filled with a variety of goods, they swiftly made their way to the southernmost section of the Tokita Ward, a place as desolate just like the others, but a place they called home nonetheless.

Fellow orphans, druggies, prostitutes, thugs, and cold unmoving bodies lying on the ground. For the young boy following the two children in front of him, these sights were all too common to him by now.

But was there something else? Could there 'be' something else? Other than day-in and day-out of endless violence and struggle? The boy didn't know, and at this rate, he felt like he would never know.

Thinking back to the furthest his memory took him, it's always been about the desperate struggle he had trying to survive day to day, and even though he was now with those two near him, the amount of danger hadn't decreased by one bit-

-No. If anything, the amount of danger had increased over the years.

Staring at the desolate night sky, Kaito couldn't help but wonder about his future…

'What next? I'm not gonna haf'ta do this for the rest of my life, right?'

-XOXOXOX-

-? COURTYARD-

-Red.

-A Very Bloody Red.

It was the color that had coated almost everywhere within the courtyard.

It had dyed not only the once pristine pure white walls, but also the sharp and clean marble statues, the bodies that lay unmoving on the ground, and everything else that it could splatter itself over with its violent ruby sheen.

As the pungent smell of Iron and Sulphur arose, the scenery left in its wake was purely the result of unabashed violence; violence at such a high level that one would assume that whatever had caused a mess through the manor would be anything but human.

A 'beast'. Or at most, something purely 'inhuman'.

Weirdly enough, there had seemed to be a sole survivor amidst what had occurred to be a callous massacre, and a single little boy at that to be exact.

Struggling to move even an inch, the brown-eyed boy had carried multiple bruises and cuts on his body as he attempted to drag himself out of the area, having to resort to pulling his upper body forward since even the act of crawling was too strenuous for his thoroughly battered physique.

And as time-consuming as it may be, after a while, his labor had finally borne fruit.

'Exiting the premise wouldn't be so hard after all' The brown-eyed boy thought.

And once he was nearly out of the compound, he could've sworn that things were just starting to look up for him…

-That was until he saw 'that' of course.

-Did it have the face of a beast? Or was it a devil?

The boy didn't know, but what he did know is that whoever it was standing before him; that he didn't like him whatsoever.

That tall, familiar fiery-haired figure that only emanated an aura of pure animalistic violence, leaving carnage in its path without care nor concern had reared its ugly head again.

"Hehe…"

Struggling to lift his head to better see the man in front of him, let alone stay conscious, the boy heard a sharp, brash sound that seemed to pierce his eardrums.

"Gwahahahaha-!"

-It was laughter.

The figure, no, the man was laughing whole-heartedly, but what was he laughing at? And why?

"Gwahahahahaha-!"

It was an uncomfortably deep pitch that reverberated within his ears and seemed to shake his very soul as it bounced around in the manor, also causing other items within to shake and vibrate as well.

'Y-you bastard… What's so funny? Stop… laughing…'

'Stop it.' He wanted to say.

Glaring at the beast of a man with utter hatred, he had wanted to say and do many things that were violent in nature to him, but alas, at this very moment such ideas would never be realized, as the boy not only had no strength to speak but his consciousness was slowly fading away, slipping out of his grasp like a slippery fish being caught with bare hands.

But as his vision began to darken, the only thing the boy could hear other than the brash, cold, echoing laughter that permeated through his mind that was one single sentence.

-"That's a mighty fine expression you've got on your face right now, brat."

"You'd do well not to forget that feeling that's causing it."

-XOXOXOX-

"!"

-GASP!, WHEEZE!-

Waking up with a jump, the sweat-stricken boy frantically peered in various directions, vigilant as always as he checked his surroundings for any danger, before finally calming down.

He was 'home', or at least the closest thing he would have for a home for a very long time.

"Tch! Not this again… Damn it!" Slamming his fist on his 'futon', the brown-eyed boy bitterly cursed.

"How long will this crap continue to bother me in my sleep, huh?" This wasn't the first time that he'd dreamt about events that happened a long time ago, and he had the feeling that it wouldn't be the last. Nevertheless, it still irked him to no end on how frequent they are.

Now sitting on the floor, the brown-eyed boy blankly looked up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts as he gazed at the torn paint on the walls and the missing ceiling fan.

"… fault…"

"It's all that bastard's fault…" He muttered.

"This place, I can't be stuck in this place forever… I definitely won't…" Gnashing his teeth, the boy fixed himself up before doing some light stretches and heading outside. He felt that he needed a breather of sorts, anything to take his mind off of his dreams.

"Man… What a shitty way to start my day…" The brown-eyed boy sighed as he got up and left the room. He wasn't out for a job or for food today, but for a new home. After all, in a place like this, it's not good for a child like him to become complacent and stay in one place too long.

'But first, I think it's time I look and see if a good enough place even exists.' He thought as his mind wandered on to another little detail he never really gave much thought about.

'Come to think of it... It's been a while since I've seen someone around my age…'

'What happened to all of those other brats around these parts of town? I mean, I'm definitely not the only homeless kid out in this shitty place, right?'

-XOXOXOX-

-LATER THAT DAY-

In the late afternoon within The Inside, a cruel harsh sun reigned over the rotten land. Shrouding the area in a violent reddish-orange hue, it had only worked to seemingly make the sin and vice-infested land seem even more unfriendly and eerie to the average resident that dwelled within its confines.

As per tradition within The Inside, its inhabitants had busied themselves with their own occupations, with many either trying to make a sustainable livelihood to survive or others just committing all sorts of crimes to either feed themselves or just for the sheer fun of it.

Trotting about, three children pass by several men and women plunging syringes into their arms, prostitutes beckoning their would-be customers, people gambling and drinking, and the commonly seen corpses lying next to the trash as they vigorously search for their next 'stakeout'.

"Any luck?" The little hooded child wrapped in cloth asked.

"Nah. Zero. Zilch." Kaito replied, shaking his head sideways.

Looking about the area and all its building several more times, Kouta whose hair nearly obscured his eyes lowered his head as he tiredly sighed. "No Sis, there's nothing at all around these parts..."

The three children had once again gone on their daily 'grind', looking for anything they could get their hands on at the moment.

They had been a part of a group of scavenging orphans that lurked The Inside for anything that could help them reach their daily goal of survival. And generally to the masses, they would be seen as inconsequential pests due to how many of them they were, but this was what most of them used to their advantage.

And these three were no exception. After all, with so many of the same children and orphans living in one space, how could one keep track of them all? And if one were to steal something, if you didn't stop them right away, then how were you going to get it back?

Trotting forward with one single goal in mind, the three children carried on with their task.

"Hmmn. On to the next one then." The little hooded child wrapped in the cloak said.

Spending the next few minutes walking up and down, their attention was suddenly caught by the distant yells and shouts of several men up north.

'Weird... Over in that direction, it seems like there's a lot of fighting going on... Best to ignore the north and focus here while we're able to...' The little hooded child mused, frowning slightly under the cloth hood.

'Who knows, maybe something might change in our lives...'

Going silent for a while, the little hooded child thought not only about all of the troubles and what they could gain from it up north but also about the potential near-death experiences if things hypothetically 'went south' for them and decided that it was best if they steered clear of the area altogether for now.

Also, with the way things were sounding up at north, which to the children's trained ears was clearly fighting, and tons of it too, going up there might be a tall order with all of those gangsters and homeless people wandering about causing a ruckus.

"Hey, Sis?" Kaito suddenly spoke up. "Don't you think that something's been fishy today? It's almost like you could smell those adults being thirsty for blood up over there..."

Now, this was slightly surprising to the little hooded child. Kaito wasn't known to be the sharpest tool in the shed and was prone to bursts of recklessness and foolishness, but it seemed that he did had some level of 'street smarts' that shined in certain situations.

"You felt it too, didn't you?" The little hooded child replied.

"Mhmm! These senses of mine are pretty darn good y' know!" The scarred-cheek boy boasted, giving a thumbs up.

Chuckling softly the little hooded child agreed. "You said it... But yes, it seems that there's a lot of ruckus going on up north, so while people are going up there, we will be stocking up on our supplies, okay?

Naturally, in due time their stocks would deplete, so it would be a good idea for them to restock.

"This one."

"?"

Suddenly halting the little hooded child had pointed to an average-looking old decrepit tall building. "This building here, it's the last one that we'll check before turning in before the night. If it has what we want, we'll loot it clean."

"Y-yes!/ Gotcha!" The two boys replied.

Fidgeting slightly, Kouta found it a tad bit tough to speak up but asked nonetheless.

"Ummm... sis... Are you really sure that this is a good idea?" He asked.

Patting his back, Kaito replied. "Of course it is! Don't be such a baby, man! People's gotta eat y' know~"

"He's right. And yes, I'm sure. You're also hungry, aren't you? Or do you want to go to sleep starving again?" The little hooded child wrapped in a cloak asked, to which the shy-looking boy shook his head.

In this land, hunger was indeed the enemy here, as it was one of the few things that separated life and death and could also affect whether one would do risky things to survive.

'When we get out of here, maybe we could live a normal life?'

'If it's possible in the first place, of course.'

-But what even is a normal life?

A safe place to eat and sleep, and a guaranteed future? They didn't know, but they wanted it.

After reaching the building, the three had performed an extensive search on almost everything the building had to offer, to out-of-service lights and machinery, the surprisingly running water, and finally…

-A room filled with quite 'interesting' items, to them at least.

"Here it is! We actually found something!" Kaito exclaimed.

The trio was pleasantly surprised that they had found something, especially inside a place as run down such as this.

It was a room with bags filled with rocks and sand, a log of wood slightly dented in the front with bloodstains on it that was somehow lodged into the ground, sharp glass protrusions lying about, and books, many, many books within different plastic bags next to what seemed to be a makeshift futon.

Whoever the person was, they sure were resourceful.

But most importantly, was the bag of canned goods and water that was hidden away in the corner of the room behind several planks of wood.

"Holy crap there's a lot of stuff here!" Kaito yelled, followed by a faint murmur from his brother. "Y-yea, a-and lots of books too…"

Walking around to inspect everything, they had only gotten even more confused. Who would live in such a place, and why were there so many bloodstains on the bags and logs?

Some bloodstains seemed to be old, and then some bloodstains seemed to be quite fresh as the log still looked like it was damp, with slight indentations on them.

"The guy that lives here wouldn't happen to be some kind o' pyscho, now would he…?" Kaito muttered, slightly taken aback.

Moving on, Kouta stepped forwards as he rummaged through the plastic bags, his expression lightening up as he finally took notice of something he would like from this place.

"Umm… Can we take these too?" He said, pointing at the books that were in the plastic bags.

Raising her eyebrows, the little hooded child began to inspect the books. "Hmmn, let's see…"

'Boxing 101'

'Yoga For Beginners'

'Business Management For Idiots'

'Learn Capoeira in 15 Minutes'

'What Is The Meaning Of Life'

'My Imouto Can't Be This Cute!'

'Super-Duper Hentai Warrior: The Rising Of The Sword Hero'

'An Edu-tainment Book For Men Of Culture Vol: 2: Launchcodes Galore'

'A Comprehensive Guide To Karmasutra Vol: 5, The Orgasmic Dongaloo'

"..."

"…"

"No." The tone was forceful and resolute, leaving no room for argument.

"Awww…"

The book collection boasted a variety of different genres all with interesting covers to attract readers; especially with the last three whose book covers featured women in rather… intimate positions. The trio was shocked as they wondered even more about the owner of these items.

Just happy to see something else that wasn't a weapon, Kouta exclaimed. "Whoa... There's a lot of books... And they're all different too..."

"Wow! The guy who owns all of these books must be a real smart person!" Kaito said, to which the little hooded child wrapped in a cloak snorted.

"Or a complete pervert..."

Not wanting to stay in this room any longer than they needed to, the little hooded child began to wonder just what kind of person would own such books, and what their appearance would most likely be like.

-Maybe a perverted thug with a bad face. Or a fat smelly ugly bastard.

"Tch."

"Yeah?" Kaito asked.

Waving him off, they continued their search. "Nothing, keep searching..."

'The atmosphere feels quite weird... I feel like something bad is about to happen...'

As the sinking feeling grew stronger and stronger, they decided to speed up their pace, and only take what they need.

"Just take the food so we can hurry up and leave, things might end up worse the longer we stay…"

"Alright, I got it! And there's a lot too! Could hold us down for a couple of nights at least!"

Turning towards the exit the little hooded child said. "Good job, now leave the rest so we can go..."

However, as soon as they get ready to move, a slight creak of the door is heard as a cloaked figure of a boy entered the room.

"Put it down." A cold voice spoke.

"!"

"Crap! Someone's here!?" Kaito jumped at the sound, becoming vigilant as he eyed the 'intruder' entering the room.

It was a brown-eyed boy covered in rags that left his head exposed that looked to be around the same age as the three, if not a bit younger. With wavy jet-black hair, alongside bright hazel-brown eyes, one could tell with a single look at his immature face that he didn't look a day over ten or twelve, maybe even younger than they thought.

Seeing that it was only a bunch of little kids within the room, both sides gave a relieved sigh, though on the brown-eyed boy's side, it was a much more hidden one, as he didn't just let up his guard yet.

"Why are you guys here?" The brown-eyed boy asked.

Looking at three children, he had somewhat recognized two of them; catching a single glance at the scarred-cheek boy and the one with the bangs in front of his face around the streets of Rohza, the district north of the Tokita Ward and one of the ten wards within The Inside.

'These two, they look alike. Are they twins?' Was what he thought at the time.

One or two years ago, which was considered to be a long time ago to the brown-eyed boy, he alongside many other children would routinely go on 'scavenger hunts' where they would either find items that were worth some kind of money or just resort to plain old thievery.

The kid covered head to toe in rags? No clue who they were But what he did know was the scarred-cheek boy and the hair-bangs boy.

Not personally, of course. This right here was the first time he'd share words with them. But from crossing paths before.

"To take these things?" Kaito dumbly said.

-THWACK!-

A sharp sound resounded as the little hooded child smacked Kaito's head. "Ow!"

Looking toward the brown-eyed boy, the little hooded child pointed towards the bags filled with goods they were standing nearby while asking. "These are yours?"

The boy nodded, his hands slowly reaching towards his back, as he went for his knife holsters under his cloak, and while the other two boys couldn't notice it, the little hooded child did.

The scenery before him wasn't anything new to the brown-eyed boy. After all, most of the time the children that lived in this place wouldn't immediately show hostility to each other right away. It would usually be more natural for them to get along and work together on several instances, which was quite ironic for a land that was proven to be a lawless one.

-Not in total harmony of course, but a fashion of coexistence.

In fact, even the boy himself had some experience with running along with these orphan groups, whether it was for stealing and the likes to make a living.

And though the brown-eyed boy wasn't too surprised that his place would've been found so easily, as he made sure to never have too much faith in anything that isn't himself, he did wonder just how were they able to find 'his' place out of all others. This wasn't the first time that it happened, but still…

'?'

'And their knives… They look good… 'Real' good…' The boy thought, his gaze lingering onto what was strapped to the sides of the two boys in front of him.

"Well brats, this is the end of the road, you can get lost or wish you did." Feeling slightly under the weather because he realized his strength due to events that had occurred with the 'Old Man Shintarou' earlier, he had wanted to get a good night's sleep or whatever he could afford before updating his entire training regimen.

"Hey! Who are you to call us brats when you look even younger than us?!" Kaito's lips twitched as he complained.

-WHACK!-

The little hooded child had whacked his head in an attempt to get him to behave himself to avoid escalating the situation at hand. "Ow…"

-sneer-

It was almost imperceptible, but the boy could've sworn that had seen the corners of the brown-eyed boy's lips tug upwards a little bit in a derisive sneer, but before he could register it in his eyes, the boy's facial expression had returned to its natural cold, stoic look.

'What?' The boy's expression seemed to be saying.

Feeling a slight sense of indignation, Kaito narrowed his eyes as he sighed. 'Tch! He's even more antisocial than the seaweed hair kid!'

He didn't actually know what the word 'anti-social' really meant, but he heard an adult call another adult that in an argument, and the adult in question was acting moody and broody, so he decided to use it as well.

"B-but we're not brats..." The Kouta muttered.

Without even looking at the mumbling child, the brown-eyed boy moved to pack up and collect his things as he spoke. "Whatever. And you, you're a man, right? Don't pout at me, it's disgusting. But never mind that, move aside."

Moving aside the three children watched the boy begin to clean up his surroundings before sitting down and looking at the three as he narrowed his eyes.

After what had seemed to be a long time had passed, the boy had just sighed loudly before directly looking the three in their eyes…

'Well, what do we have here...' The brown-eyed boy thought. 'We have Scarface, Mumble Mania, and somebody covered in rags... What a trio.'

"?"

"No, nothing, forget it…" The brown-eyed boy said. "So, let me guess. You want my stuff and that's why you're here huh?"

"!"

"How… How'd you know?" Kaito was shocked.

Was the brown-eyed boy in front of him a psychic?

"Because… You tried to steal my things…" He blandly looked at them.

"Oh." Kaito said.

'Heh. Dumbass.' The brown-eyed boy thought.

Narrowing his eyes, Kaito said to the brown-eyed boy as the small figure shook her head. "Hey! You're thinking of something rude, ain'tcha?…"

"Well? Do you have something you want to exchange for? I'm not gonna just give it up y'know..." The brown-eyed boy said.

And immediately, Kouta made his answer. "W-well, can I have one of those bo-"

"" Nope."" The little hooded child and the brown-eyed boy both answered for different reasons.

"Aww…" Kouta sighed.

A short while had passed as the four had discussed what they were going to trade. The little hooded child always spoke with a stoic, firm voice, unlike the really shy and stuttering lad with hair covering his eyes, and the energetic rowdy boy with the scarred cheek.

Though, the discussion had reached its climax as the little hooded child suggested. "How about these blades right here then?"

'Jackpot.' The boy internally smirked, looking at the trio of kids before him.

"It seems that you also use knives too…" The little hooded child said whilst looking about. "The ones you have might be good but these may be even better for you… Why don't you think about it?"

"Sounds good, but I could just kill you and take them free of charge…" The brown-eyed boy said, staring right ahead at them. "I mean… You 'are' sort of trespassing y'know..."

"!"

"Hey! That's not cool man!" Kaito protested as Kouta flinched in trepidation.

"Well, if you could beat the three of us, then it would be true, but who's to say that you won't be injured? It would be a lot more work than it's worth to do all of that."

"Yeah, that's true." Staring at the three for a while a tense atmosphere descended into the room before being dispelled as the brown-eyed boy finally spoke. "Besides I'm even in the mood for that... Wouldn't be getting much by doing that anyway."

It seemed like a trade was the most sensible thing to do since they wanted what the other possessed, so fighting a fight that no one wanted in the first place would not only be a waste of time, but even if he had fought and won, he might not be able to use the weapons as well as he liked if he got injured anyway.

Besides, while he 'really' wanted the knives they had, he just didn't want to make it look like he wanted it 'too' badly.

'Something I read in one of those books, I guess.' The brown-eyed boy thought.

Shaking his head, the brown-eyed boy fiddled with some of the bags before tossing one in the three children's direction. "Anyways, here."

"Why don't you leave the pairs of those knives?" The boy said, marveling at how different to composition was from the ones he had gotten from Old Man Shintarou. "The ones I have currently aren't that bad, if I'm honest they're a bit better than these right here, but they've kinda worn out though. All chipped up and shit."

"Besides, these look really nice. I bet they cut like a charm too."

Nodding, the trio of children gave their thanks. "Gotcha! Thanks a lot, man! I knew ya' weren't so bad after all!" Kaito exclaimed, smiling brightly "The name's Kaito! This right here is my lil' bro Kouta, and this one... Well, I don't know her name."

'So it's a her? And you don't know her name? Well, it's none of my business.' The brown-eyed boy thought.

"So what's yours, huh?"

"Not telling." The brown-eyed boy said coldly.

"Eh? So you don't want to share your name? Alright then, just like sis over here, don't gotta if you don't wanna, it's your call." Kaito said, leaving it at that.

The brown-eyed boy was surprised. He was sure that the scarred-cheek boy would push for an answer, but then again the kid in a hood didn't give a name to these fellas either, so he think much about it.

And as for a name, more specifically, his name? It wasn't just that he didn't want to share it, it was the fact that he didn't even remember it himself. He had a name of course, but every time he tried remembering it, there seemed to be some kind of 'wall' blocking it off in his memory.

"Also, how do you even know that, huh? That I'm not so bad after all? I mean, as far as I know, this is the first time we've ever spoken to each other."

To which Kaito just replied "Small stuff, man. Don't worry about it."

Shaking his head at the trio, the brown-eyed boy thought in slight confusion as what would've been a violent situation had turned into a civil conversation and trading session between four children. 'The Inside sure works in its own funny ways…'

'Well, there's no danger in me doing this, especially since I won't be 'living' here from tomorrow on anyway, so if they tried to come back they'd be met with an empty room at best.' The brown-eyed boy mused as he collected the two pairs of knives.

They were at least twelve inches long, seven if you didn't count the handle with a silvery double, edged jagged blade. Fitting snugly in the palm of his hand, he eyed the craftsmanship of the blade right down to its other details such as the handle made from a rubbery substance that was unidentifiable to him, and the numbers and indents on the side of the blade.

"?"

Seeing that the little hooded child wrapped up in a cloak and the other two hadn't left yet, the brown-eyed boy perked his eyebrows a bit. "What now? I'm not giving you anything else..."

"No..." The little hooded child muttered. "How did you get all of this stuff?"

"'Cause I'm a little bit strong." The brown-eyed boy simply replied. 'Though I'd really like to be stronger...'

Finishing their little trade, the other three decided to leave now before it got too dark, while Kaito waved at the brown-eyed boy. "Aight'! Let's meet again pretty soon!"

"No thanks." The brown-eyed boy shook his head. "Why would I do that?"

"Oh c'mon, don't be like that!" The Kaito scratched his head whilst saying. "Just you wait, I'm sure we'll meet again!"

-And so after giving their thanks, the three children left, disappearing into the late afternoon.

'Weirdos.' The brown-eyed boy thought.

-XOXOXOX-

After watching the three children leave, the brown-eyed boy stared in that direction for a few seconds before sighing tiredly; scratching his head as he looked around the room he considered his 'home'.

'Gee, what a bunch of weird kids... The old man said that there's a bunch of capable children all over this shitty place. That means that those three should be like that too then...' The brown-eyed boy mused. 'Man, it's been a long time since I had a chance to think things over in some good old-fashioned 'peace-and-quiet'...'

'And now that I think about it... Just how long has it been since I've been 'living' in this shithole?' It feels like forever… And why?' Pulling out a cloth sack from the corner of the room, he started to pack his valuables inside it. 'Lately, I've been feeling like my memories are beginning to get kinda clearer... Some things are still a bit hazy, since other than a few stupid dreams and her face I can't remember much at all...'

While the boy was lost in his thoughts, out of nowhere a shadowy silhouette appears behind him, which greatly surprised him.

"!"

Quickly acting, the boy unsheathed a pair of the new knives he received and aimed several precise strikes at what he perceived to be the man's throat.

It was the same giant of a middle-aged man with shaggy black hair and stubble that the brown-eyed kid had gotten used to seeing around; Shintarou.

"Hahaha! Easy there kiddo! But it's good that your reflexes aren't complete trash though..." A deep and rough, brash voice lazily drawled.

Catching the blade between his fingers with an almost iron-like vice grip, the trajectory and momentum of the two blades were completely halted as Shintarou easily continued to hold on to them without any problems, despite the brown-eyed boy's insistent pulling on them.

Letting the two knives go the brown-eyed boy spat out an expletive as he sarcastically chided Shintarou. "Damn it, old man. Can't you be a bit more quieter?"

Laughing at the brown-eyed boy, Shintarou said. "Now, now. It's not my fault you got so lost in your thoughts that you didn't notice me~"

"Bullshit. My senses aren't that dull to not notice someone sneaking up on me, old man. "The brown-eyed boy spat.

His senses were good, and he knew it. Being lost in thought wasn't enough to make him miss important details and drop his guard.

But somehow they didn't help him this time.

It was as if the old man had just materialized out of thin air.

'It's just like one of my 'mangoes' this old man brought for me… What was its name again? 'Narudo Shipp'- Something?' The brown-eyed boy thought, not noticing his obvious naming errors in the comparison of his internal musings.

Twirling the two knives between his hands, Shintarou gazed at the craftsmanship of the blades, his eyebrows slightly rising upwards. "Hmmn? This knife is pretty decent, boyo, where'd 'ya get it from?"

"Oh, this?" The brown-eyed boy looked at the knives. "Some scavenger brats found my place, and we ended up doing a little trade."

Humming in acknowledgment, Shintarou continued to play with the blades before looking towards the brown-eyed boy that was lost in thought. "Alright, alright kiddo, what's up? Why the long face?"

Shaking his head, the brown-eyed boy replied. "Nothing, You said you came for something right? Why don't you help me with moving these things while you're at it so I can settle down somewhere since you don't seem that busy." Mentally exhausted with the entirety of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, the boy wanted to settle down quickly and start again fresh in the morning.

"Waah, what a lazy kid~" Shintarou teased which completely ticked the brown-eyed boy off.

After a while of pointless arguing, Shintarou laughed as agreed to help the lad, chuckling at how stoic the child was trying to be. "Sheeesh! Fine, be like that, kiddo! Well, why not. I can't exactly have you dying on me just yet 'cause you don't have a place to crash at." Shintarou said.

Packing up all of his belongings and tools, he readied himself to go to a different area to live in and was lucky Shintarou agreed so he didn't have to drag it all the way there by himself, but as he slung the cloth sack filled with various memorabilia over his shoulders his mind was stuck on one single thing, or rather a possibility.

'I wonder… What would my life be like if it wasn't for 'that' man… Would it be peaceful, or would it be just as chaotic as this one?' The brown-eyed boy mused.

'I can't remember what it was like back then clearly, but I can tell that it wasn't good for you either...'

'You know, back then, you would always smile like an idiot even though the hand you were dealt in life was rough- But from my earliest memories, it seemed as if life outside there was just as shitty as it was for you, like the Inside or whatever this old man right here calls it was for me…'

-XOXOXOX-

-? COURTYARD-

It was within a grand and pristine Japanese-styled manor, vibrantly colored as the flora and multitude of greenery and plant life only accentuated to picturesque-ness of the lovely scenery.

Looking upwards, a younger version of the brown-eyed boy was laying on the lap of a lady dressed in white as she stroked the boy's head.

-' Remember, █ █ █ █ █ █ █ , my son.'-

"…"

The woman's mouth began to move, but after the first sentence the brown-eyed boy could not hear anything, it was as if after that moment, the sound of the world had been cut off, leaving him forever in the dark about what the woman had said to him.

-XOXOXOX-

The boy thought back years ago about the situation of his former home, or should he say; 'His first and last true home'.

-Did she say anything? And if so, did he forget it?

The boy didn't know.

'It's like my memory's been fuzzy, and I can only remember the first parts of what you told me...' The boy thought.

But as they finished packing everything up and begin to leave the tall building, a faint and bright light shines in the boy's hazel brown eyes.

-GLEAM-

'They say that even though the outside has people just as shitty, it's leagues better than the shitty Inside... Then if that's the case...' The boy narrowed his eyes as he dragged his belongings alongside Shintarou to what would be his new 'home'. 'Then one day... One day I'll get out of this shitty place...'

'And once I do, then... I'll..."

-XOXOXOX-

<6th Fight: Iron-Blooded Orphans> END

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