Chapter 16: Childhood Trauma
"Stop right there, you thieves!"
"Halt! If we catch you, you brats are dead!"
Three boys, all with white hair, were running very fast, their heavy breathing clearly audible. Behind them was a group of people in pursuit, all carrying swords and clubs.
A large stone flew from the pursuing group and hit Rei's head. He fell to the ground, his head profusely bleeding. The pain made him grit his teeth. The two boys running with him stopped. Panic was clearly visible on both their faces.
"I hit one of them! Hurry up!"
Rei turned back, filled with fear and worry.
"Run quickly! If you get caught, you'll be beaten to death! Don't worry about me!"
The most mature-looking of the three boys clenched his hands in anger.
"What the hell are you saying, Rei?"
"Don't worry about me, Big Brother. Take Mukuro and run. Remember to take care of him."
Itsuki gritted his teeth, his face darkening. He grabbed Mukuro's hand and ran. The group of pursuers had reached Rei, who lay in a pool of blood from his head wound.
"And we let those two stray dogs get away!"
Kicks, swings of clubs, and slashes cut into the flesh of the boy who lay barely breathing on the ground. They wore barbaric smiles and expressions of perverse pleasure as they beat the child. Clenching his teeth against the pain, the boy used his arms to shield his head from the kicks.
—"This dog-eat-dog life. If I ever get another chance, I'll kill everyone who's happy. Why do all of you get to be happy while I have to endure this? WHY?"
After a while of beating him, the men left, laughing loudly, having satisfied their frenzy. Rei was now nothing more than a corpse, his body covered in various large and small wounds. A corpse from which warm blood was gradually cooling. His eyes were still open, as if unwilling to accept his fate.
Running near a forest, Mukuro suddenly yanked his hand out of Itsuki's grip and turned around, a confused look on his face.
"What are you doing, Mukuro? We have to go! We'll go to another village; we've been exposed here."
Mukuro burst into tears, pointing at Itsuki's face. His anger boiled over.
"Why didn't you save Rei back there?! We promised to stay together no matter what happened! Why did you run? We could have gone back for him!"
Itsuki's face darkened, and he looked down, clenching his fists.
"I wanted to save him too, but he told us to run!"
Mukuro flailed his arms and screamed.
"What the hell is 'run quickly'?! You're the oldest! How could you not protect your little brother?! You were the one who first said we'd stick together no matter what! Were you lying?"
"I'm not lying, Mukuro! But Rei looked at me with such an urgent look. He told me to protect you. He sacrificed himself to save us, his brothers! What am I supposed to say when you talk like that? We're just kids; how can we fight those adults? I hesitated a lot back then, but when I saw Rei's eyes, I knew what my decision had to be."
Mukuro tightly clenched his fists and collapsed onto the ground, looking utterly devastated.
"What do we do now? Losing one person feels like losing a part of my own body. I don't want to live anymore."
Itsuki quickly grabbed Mukuro's shoulders and knelt in front of him, the older brother's serious expression showing through.
"Don't say that, Mukuro! Are you going to waste Rei's sacrifice? What will I tell Rei when I die if you give up now? Listen, don't ever think about dying."
Mukuro's tears of profound grief fell onto the ground. He burst into uncontrollable sobs. Seeing this, Itsuki held him close.
"Big Brother, I can't stop thinking about them beating him! What should I do? My mind is a mess right now."
The older brother's warm voice tried to reassure him.
"Then don't think about it anymore. The more you think, the more afraid you'll become. I'm scared too. So, come with me to another place, okay?"
Mukuro stopped crying and nodded.
"Okay. But I really miss the taste of the lollipop Mother used to make."
"Yeah, I'll make you one."
But they were just children, looking like beggars. The two brothers traveled to many villages to find work, but no one would hire them looking like that.
Sitting in a corner of a small alley. The rumbling sound from their empty stomachs echoed through the alley. The two brothers had gaunt, frail faces and bodies, as if they had been starved for a long time.
A noble-looking woman walked past, tossing a large bag of trash into the alley with a look of disdain. Seeing someone discard trash, Mukuro quickly ran toward it. The way he ran made it feel like a gentle breeze could knock him down.
He sat down and rummaged through the trash bag, his face suddenly lighting up with joy. He pulled his hand out of the bag; it was a half-eaten chicken drumstick. Seeing his younger brother suffer like this, Itsuki's dull eyes filled with determination. He bit his lip hard and ran out.
Seeing his brother run outside, Mukuro looked after him curiously.
"Huh? Where are you going, Big Brother?"
A shrill scream rang out. The woman who had just dumped the trash was shouting, pointing straight ahead.
"Thief! ... There's a thief! Everyone, catch him!"
A few men chased Itsuki into an alley but lost his trail.
"Did that brat disappear?"
"Quickly, split up and search!"
Mukuro looked outside and saw a crowd gathered, but he ignored them and walked back deeper into the alley. Looking at the half-eaten chicken drumstick in his hand, saliva continuously dripped from his mouth. He was about to take a bite but stopped and shook his head.
"No... No, I have to wait for Big Brother to come back and share it with him."
After waiting for a while, he couldn't stand the hunger anymore. His eyes were glued to the chicken drumstick. He opened his mouth, intending to take a bite, but the drumstick was knocked out of his hand and onto the ground.
"You don't need to eat this anymore. Here, take this!"
He looked up; there was a steaming hot chicken in front of him. He looked at his brother in surprise.
"Big Brother, how did you get this chicken?"
Itsuki couldn't explain and stammered.
"I... I... Just eat it. Don't worry about it."
"Don't tell me... that was you earlier?"
Itsuki lowered his head and remained silent, as if admitting what his brother had just said.
"Big Brother? I don't want us to do things like that. I don't want to see you end up like Rei."
Itsuki clenched his hand tightly.
"I'm sorry. I... I just didn't want to see you suffer like that."
"Every night, sleeping on the ground... But the truth is, I can't sleep. I see you dreaming, I see you blaming yourself, thinking it's your fault, even in your sleep."
Mukuro's face darkened, as if he wanted to hide his emotions.
"Big Brother, just leave me alone."
Surprised by what Mukuro said, Itsuki raised his voice.
"What the hell are you saying? Why would I ignore you? You're my brother!"
"But... But I don't want to lose you too. How am I supposed to live if you're gone?"
Itsuki, with a serious expression, looked Mukuro straight in the eye.
"Don't worry, I won't die. From now on, we'll be more careful. We'll move to a new place after stealing three times. That way, we won't be easily trapped. What do you think?"
Mukuro clenched his fists but then slowly released them.
"Alright, if we must."
From then on, every time they stole three times, they moved to a different location.
However, a darkness was slowly forming inside Mukuro. Every act of theft was a torture to his conscience, and every time, Rei's image reappeared in his mind. He gradually didn't want to be a thief anymore. But if he didn't steal, he couldn't survive.
He gradually wanted to escape this painful reality. Every night, he couldn't sleep as old memories resurfaced, along with every escape after a theft. He no longer wanted to face this world. In the midst of his inner torment, a shadow was slowly materializing in his mind—a mysterious black figure that constantly reached out a hand to him, as if inviting him.
He was sitting in a place filled with dense black mist. The black figure reached out its hand once more, but this time, it spoke first.
"You're overthinking it. You don't need to be tormented when you do bad things."
Surprised that the black figure was speaking, he lifted his head.
"Who are you? Why are you always in my mind?"
The black figure sneered.
"Me? I don't know who I am either, but I'll give myself a name. You can call me Kiryuu."
"Kiryuu?"
"Yes, Kiryuu."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to propose something to you. I wonder if you'll agree?"
"Propose something? What is it?"
"Do you always feel tormented every time you do something bad?"
Mukuro lowered his face, looking sad.
"Yes, and I don't want to do those things anymore. But I can't stop."
"Oh, I know, I know."
"So, how about this? Give your body to me."
"My... body?"
The black figure walked behind Mukuro and spoke into his ear.
"Yes. Every time you have to do something bad, let me take over your body and do it for you. That way, it won't be you doing it—it'll just be me. How does that sound?"
"Is that really possible?"
"Of course. Since I'm the one doing the bad deeds, it's not you, is it? We're just sharing one body. What do you think?"
"Will that truly make me stop feeling tormented?"
"You definitely won't feel tormented. And during normal times, I'll give your body back to you."
Walking in front of Mukuro once more, he held out his hand, inviting him.
"If you agree, take my hand."
After a moment of thought, Mukuro grasped the figure's hand. The figure then gave a wide, unpredictable, and sinister smile that stretched almost to its ears.
Itsuki was running into a rather large house. He pushed the large door open.
"Mukuro, where are you?"
Itsuki's eyes widened. He was stunned by the scene before him, unable to speak at that moment.
It was Mukuro standing in the middle of the room, his body covered in blood, and blood splattered everywhere. In his hand, he held a blood-stained knife. On the ground lay a woman and two boys, covered in blood, showing no signs of life. Mukuro turned his head, his face smeared with blood. His eyes stared at his older brother with no emotion.