Cruelty

32 0 3
                                    

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"What is wrong with these monsters?" You asked in disbelief, "It is really that hard to not litter? "

The water in your bucket swished around as you picked up a Monster Candy wrapper.

"Can you believe these people Quacky?"

The rubber duck in your bucket bobs around with the ripples, giving no reply.

"Hmph, everything is filthy," You say as you pour some water out of the pale blue bucket.

This bucket had quite the history behind it. Mom said it was passed down from Grandad to Dad and then finally to me. The water filled in it was used to clean so many different kinds of messes. Pasta sauce, ketchup, mud, and even the occasional misbehaving child. Apparently Quacky has seen all of it, never once falling out of the bucket despite all of the shenanigans it has to witness. Mom and Dad even joke about how he is the guardian of the bucket, the cleanser of impurities.

Like magic, the water cleans up the dirt and dust off the ground, somehow leaving the stone floor shiny and clean.

"There we go! Much better."

You gave yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.

"On to the next area!"

Then you feel a chill. If felt like someone is watching you.

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Silent footsteps fall, bringing whoever closer and closer to you.

You turn around, sights landing on a human. 

Whatever uneasiness you might have had was replaced by disdain. This human, wearing a green and yellow striped shirt and some brown shorts, was covered in dust. Their hair was slightly messy, like they had gotten into some kind of scuffle that lefts some cuts and blood on their body.

Whoever they might be and what they had done was completely overshadowed by the fact that they were absolutely filthy.

"You look like you need a wash," You told them. 

It wasn't meant to be a mean-spirited comment, it was just a fact. You were happy to clean them up just as you did with all of the other rowdy children.

"Hmm. Looks like I missed one," The feminine voice murmured to itself.

"I can clean you if you want," You explained, the water in your bucket splashing around due you your nervousness. Quacky, however, was completely calm, bobbing up and down in the water.

She got closer, her facial features that were once hidden by her brunette hair could now be seen.

The human had a pale complexion. Her cheeks were slightly peppered by a light pink but otherwise, anyone could have mistaken her for a ghost.

She was also smiling. You could see a slight upturn at the corner of her lips, yet you couldn't fully understand what kind of smile it was.

Happy? Sorrowful? Or maybe that's just her resting face?

Most stunning of all, however, were her eyes.

They were like piercing red gemstones that could cut through any facade, glimmering like stars that you have never seen before.

"You won't be too hard to deal with," she said, gazing at you intently.

The world fades to black.

You held onto the bucket tightly. Mom and Dad had talked about this, this is a battle. Why did she start a battle? Was it something you said? You've never been in a fight before! You only know how to clean things up, not how to break things.

The human's soul was visible, bright red like her eye, but its illumination was low as it was covered in dust.

"Your soul is unclean..."

The human, giving you zero time to think, rushes forward with their hands clenched into fists, hitting you in the face with a force never felt before.

Pain bloomed from the impact, you couldn't even comprehend it as nobody had ever tried to hit you before. 

"Ow..." Water spills from your bucket as you rock backward from the power of the punch.

The human does not relent. Blow after blow, they struck with frightening precision and brutality. 

More water spills, Quacky violently shaking around from the jostling incurred by the human.

It hurt so much, and yet you can't fight back. You've never learned any self-defense. All you've done was good for this world, cleaning up messes left behind by others.

So what did you do to deserve this? To be beaten for no clear reason?

The red eyes of the human leaves glowing trails as she continues her onslaught.

There's nearly no more water left in your bucket.

The pain was unbearable, your vision was flashing in and out, as you struggled to stay conscious. 

Any more and you might...

"Please, let this be some kind of cruel joke,"  You thought to yourself.

It wasn't one. 

The human never intended to let you go alive.

So that was what kind of smile she was wearing.

Sadistic.

You could only stare bleary-eyed as this human struck you with a crazed smile on her face.

There was no more water left to spill.

You slowly lose consciousness as you felt yourself turning to dust.

So... that's where... all the dust comes... from...

As you take your last breath, some twisted irony made itself apparent, like the universe was playing some kind of cruel joke on you.

The water the human had caused to spill from your bucket had inadvertently cleaned her up.

The cuts from before could no longer been seen and the blood was all superficial at this point.

Even the dust covering her body was cleansed, except of course, for the dust on her tightly held hands.

At least you went out making something cleaner in the process, despite it being unintentional.

Your vision goes black.

/

[Exp: 172 —> 224. Lv: 5 —> 6. Hp: 35 —> 40. Atk 8 —> 10]


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