❝ 𝙉𝙤 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 ❞ LONG HIATUS

: ̗̀➛GOOD BYE

"In the present world, the most beautiful thing is a victim."
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            In the pit of his stomach, hunger is a nagging emptiness. Hunger is a troublesome, jagged hole that begs to be filled with some sort of consolation.

In his entire life of living, Atsushi has never known pain like this.

The boy lets gravity pull him down and slams into the chilly concrete ground face first. Despite the anguish building in his face, he couldn't take his mind off the excruciating pain in his gut.

Atsushi wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into a bowl of rice, sushi, or a lobster tail. He wanted to take a good bite out of the white, tender, succulent, and flavorful meat, chew it well to let the aroma interact with his tongue, and then let it slide down his throat, satisfying both his stomach and tastes.

Atsushi fantasizes of grabbing a roasted lamb leg, slicing a portion of brown, chewy, juicy, and seasoned meat off the bone, giving it a forceful chew to allow the meat's scent to clash with his tongue, and swallowing it with dreamy contentment.

He didn't mind what he got his hands on as long as it was edible food.

Unfortunately, he couldn't.

How long did he go without food? Hours? Maybe a few days. He has no recollection of what happened. All of the days and minutes seemed to blend into one hazy memory that lingered in his mind.

Atsushi groaned as a wave of sickness and exhaustion washed over him like a tsunami. He realized he was dying at this time. And by the most dreadful and agonizing means possible: starvation.

Atsushi never imagined that his final breath would be drawn from a shortage of food.

His dry, cracked lips emitted a faint chuckle. It's almost remarkable that he can find humor within himself in such a position, no matter how caustic and self-depreciating, with nothing on his back, empty pockets, and in a foreign environment.

Kicked out the orphanage without any warning, accused of murder and satanic rituals, of being sin itself. The years he's spent under the gracious care of the orphanage only makes a part of him believe he deserves this fate. Perhaps he does, after being blamed for the deaths of others and having their blood on his hands. He couldn't go back now, all he could do was accept responsibility for the sorrow and pain he had inflicted.

Now look where he ended up in. On the point of death, lying on the ground by a riverbank. Atsushi would try to rob another unconcerned passer-by, but hunger makes his body feel like lead, and tiredness seeps into his veins.