The Stupid Cannon Fodder is Stunning Today

Chapter 5: Arena

This chapter is brought to you by The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives. 

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Nine celebrated his twelfth birthday by sending the children off to Church and executing three men back-to-back at the Arena. 

He has made a name for himself in the Arena as Cat, the boy with nine lives.

How that monicker came to be, Nine had no idea. Whoever was in charge of public relations needed to get a grip. He wasn't sold to the Arena just so they could make him into a circus act.  

The audience members enjoyed watching a spectacle. Large men with builds towering over his own was a sight rarely seen, and the satisfaction of seeing a child slaughter their opponent with nothing but a knife made them happy.

If the Arena hadn't sheltered the children and given him an allowance, he would have threatened to leave long ago.  

The day ended with Nine scrubbing blood out of his hair and fingernails. 

Noa approached him once he was changed into clean clothes. 

"Here you are. Happy Birthday." 

The man who had brought him to the Arena plopped a cat into his arms. 

Nine stared at the cat. It was large and heavy with long grey hair and amber eyes. 

It mewled. 

"... Another mouth to feed," he said.

"Hey now," Noa objected, "Don't call him that." 

"Coin-eater." 

"Toby--"

"Fish." 

"Not again--"

"Hungry." 

The cat mewled in response. 

Both Nine and the cat looked at Noa. 

The man blinked, and then he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Alright. Cow, Dog, and Hungry. At least it's not Fish."

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"Toby!"

"Hey, kid, you can't be in here right now--"

"No! Toby! I want Toby!"

"Kid, you're bleeding--"

The Arena cell was in disarray. The other executioners didn't know what to do about a little girl wandering in trying to find Cat. 

Nine appeared at that moment covered in blood. 

Duri saw him and pushed an executioner out of the way. She frantically ran toward him with her eyes blown wide with panic.

"They took her! Toby, they took her!" 

Nine paused. Calmly, he asked, "... Who?" 

Tears welled in Duri's eyes. "Ten," she sobbed. 

Nine froze.

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The person who took Ten was the son of a man whom Nine had previously executed. 

Someone had leaked Nine's address. 

Someone revealed the fact that there were children under Nine's care.

Someone had to pay. 

Dea was a clerical worker at the Arena. He was in charge of updating the number of criminals killed in the Arena. He had the personal information of every executioner working in the Arena.