Fists and Lipsticks 2: The Silver Crescent

CHAPTER 04: Good-for-nothing

CHAPTER 04: GOOD-FOR-NOTHING

I have forgotten how to cry.

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You want a fat guy like me... to join your gang?
Does this mean... that you want to be my friend?
(Buyo-kun...)

Life... *hic* ... is like an addiction to alcohol... *hic*
Something that feels so right... *hic*... turns out to be something that kills you...
A slow death... *hic* Just like love... and how it disappears in a blink of an eye... *hic*
(Kaede-kun...)

I learned how to fight so that people won't pick on me.
I have a frail body. I easily get sick. I am often teased. 
But I can fight. And I can fight for anyone, Yoshida-chan...
I can fight for you too.
(Seiichi-kun...)

Just promise me that you'll take care of yourself and don't stress yourself too much. 
Because I don't want to see my friends hurt...
So until we graduate, keep yourself safe...
(Ruri-chan...)

Now that Aya-chan's gone, you're my little sister now, okay?
(Saburo-onii-chan...)

Because of that, I'll promise you this...
One day, I'll pay you back for all the kindness you've shown to me... I swear...
I'll pay you back no matter what... Even if I had to risk my own life...
(Aya-chan...)

Aya-chan! Dinner is ready!
Look at the yummy treat Crosse and I prepared for Thanksgiving!
French turkey and marinated fish... sushi and beef steak...
Aya-chan, don't ride your bike too fast, okay? Be careful on your way to school!
(Father...)

I realized what misfortunes have fallen upon my daughter...
What she bore on her shoulders for my sake...
Whenever I think about it... the guilt... the hurt...
I wanted to just breakdown.
But I couldn't do that...because I've lost the eyes that would allow me to cry...
Thank you, Ayane-chan... Thank you for taking care of Aya-chan...
I can never hate... my daughter...
(Okaa-san...)

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

Five...

Six...

Seven...

Eight...

Nine...

BANG! BANG! BANG!

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"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I  screamed in terror, my eyes wide open as my body jerked up involuntarily from the same nightmare that haunted me for the past eight years. Those chilling visions of blood and death accompanied by ghastly voices tormented me unfalteringly. The eyes of the departed glared back as if blaming me for the lives they lost, their wretched shadows and mournful souls following me even through my subconscious.

The nightmares would play on my mind like a frightful horror movie. I would find myself once again hearing those bullets firing madly on my deafened ears. I would once again feel bloodstains on my hands to numb my entirety. I would once again see my loved ones lifeless and cold. Each episode would send me to the state I was – panting, sweating, and traumatized. Then, I would not dare go back to my slumber. For eight years, I had never slept through the night unceasingly.