'Haah~'
That was the only noise i could let out, an exasperated sigh
I tapped my barely functional, rusty pen, idly against the notepad, the dull noise being the only thing that filled the room, naturally making sure to not do it too agressively less i want the thing breaking on me...
Although im not sure i could even-
Sigh
....
''Where do i even begin...'' I muttered to myself...
I'd found this notebook somewhere in the garbage during yesterday's trip, sure the condition it was in was questionable. The covers were nonexsistant, 2 patches of leather on each side of it clinging on for dear life, just about every 3rd or 4th page was either torn in half if i was lucky or completely ripped out.
The pen i had wasn't of much better quality either although....
....
Yeah honestly what did i expect from stuff i found in a dumpster.
Even if the quality was atrocious....good way to stave off boredom. Not like i had anything better to do in the backstreets anyway...
I tapped the pen against my chin, "Now lets see here" i muttered to myself
I honestly had no clue if anyone would ever find this, much less alone if they'd take time out of their day to read the thing but, it was a comforting thought nontheless
I clicked the pen idly a couple of times, and simply got to writing
My name is Haru, im 19 years old i'm...possesed of a stature that can best be compared to a sickly child, my hair's usualy drenched in blood and sweat, unkept as all hell, i...cant exactly recall the last time i got to properly cut...
I live in the backstreets or district 24[1], currently residing in....
Well a shithole.
Theres no other way i can really put it, its atrocious even by the standards of the backstreets, but it comes with its perks.
Sure, its a barely held together windowless concrete box with the only light coming from a hole i made in the celling, something done moreso out of necessity so i could actualy see what i was doing in here...
But, on the upside, i didnt have to pay a cent in rent, even if that meant having no working water or electricity, not like i needed it anyway.
The only real possesions i own apart from my notebook and pen are a dusty, half torn open sleeping bag,a dented and beat-up safe, and a particularly sturdy, blood covered hammer.
Took a small moment to stare at the paper, my handwriting was beyond atrocious but... I was satisfied with what i'd written so far, it...was relaxing in a way to be honest, even if i felt like i was talking to myself.
I went to write another paragraph and-
Click
Click
.....
Click-Click
sigh,the ink ran out.
''Useless peice of shit.'' I mutter to myself, already having tossed the pen against a wall, running a hand trough my hair in annoyance as i shut the notebook
I sat up,making my way across the room as i bent down to pick up the same thing that i always carried whenever i went out, that bloodied up hammer,afterwards, with another heavy sigh, i made my way over to the door, taking one last look at my "House" before finnaly slamming the door shut and stepping outside.
The sunlight hitting my face felt like a thousand tiny pinpricks stabbing my eyes all at once, i covered my face with my arm, hissing in annoyance, it wasn't exactly common for there to be a day this nice in the backstreets of all places, couldn't remember a non cloudy day if i tried....
I began walking, my bare feet padding against the rough concrete below as the long trek towards the nearest highway began, you guessed it, yet another "benefit" of living in bumfuck nowhere, i am in fact, in the middle, of bumfuck nowhere, the only visits i ever get are from the local syndicate coming to take their debts.
I made my way trough the maze of alleyways, my feet were so callused and bruised it felt like i was walking on spikes instead of concrete, looking....well, past that small fact, a skill i'd gotten very good at as of late.....something about all those long, winding corridors, lined with pipes and garbage always seemed to rub me the wrong way,it honestly instilled a greater sense of dread in me than the more ''open'' parts of the backstreets ever could, no matter how hard i try to supress it.
.....
.....
...
.....
I can't handle it anymore....
I paused dead in my tracks, something was.....seriously, seriously wrong here.
Pretending like walking literaly anywhere outside in this hellhole is a pleasant ordeal would be lying to myself on a magnitude so obscene i couldn't even find the words to describe it, it sucked, it always sucked, felt like if i dropped my guard for even a second i'd get a pipe to the back of my head, drop dead, and have my guts shipped off to the local vendor for a quick buck, because....well i would.
But....this....
This wasn't like that, i dont usualy flinch at things like this..
I didnt have the courage to turn around and actually look but-
I.....guessed- no, knew. Something was behind me.
It exuded a presence so utterly terrifying that i couldnt compare it to anything else.
....
I kept walking regardless...
Simply ignoring whatever that "thing" behind me was, if it wasn't an immediate threat to my well being, it was none of my bussiness.
In due time, the presence behind me grew fainter and fainter, until it was just me, the cold dead concrete beneath my feet, and the suffocating, claustrophobia inducing alleyway.
And yet i still couldn't shake the strange feeling of unease that washed over me as i made my way trough it.
.....What on earth was that...
It was so...wierd...
It was utterly terrifying but it didnt seem malicous, i could feel every bloodlust coming off of it in waves and yet...
I had never once felt like my life was in any actual danger...like it was just...watching me...
....
My thoughts we're quickly redirected elsewhere, as i began hearing footsteps nearby....
Right. I had work to do today.
After about 5 more minutes of walking, i had reached my destination, the end of that godforsaken alleyway.
I was met by a sight that was completely ordinary for this place.
The alleyway had led me directly to a street, large, plain, dull, apartment buildings lined the street on each side, seemingly with no end.
The streets were unusually busy today, around 20 people were out in the open, from broad shouldered tank top wearing thugs to your average raggedy backstreet rats, simply minding their own bussiness, taking a stroll down the street..
It was a nice day after all, but something about seeing such...normalcy in the backstreets felt...fake...
It's not like i had any time to reflect on any of that though, i slid my hoodie over my head and began walking.
I ignored the chatter and stares i got as i passed by the locals, i had a target in mind today, a man i've been following around for the last 2 days.
He was tall, broad shouldered, muscular and dangerous, the exact kind of person your average rat wouldn't want to mess with.
I, am, an average rat.
But unfortunately, when it comes to making ends meet....
You have to take risks.
I turned the corner, there it was.
The apartment building he lived in.
I clutched my hammer tightly, my expression the perfect picture of calm and composure as i began making my way towards it.
As much as i'd want to, you can't exactly get a regular old dayjob in the backstreets like rich nestfolk can, instead, there are 3 different paths one can take to gain any substantial amount of money.
One, of course, was becoming a fixer, a field of work i was incompotent in due to my small stature, two being joining a syndicate, which, again, same issue as for becoming a fixer, i can't fight-at all.
Even if i could fight, joining anything but an affiliate of the fingers, or the finger directly, was the most moronic idea one could possibly undertake, working with a bunch of lunatics wasn't exactly something that screamed ''Appealing''.
Now that i think about it.....that same thing goes for joining the fingers aswell.
As for the third method of making money, well, you'l see what it is in a minute.
I made my way over to the apartment building, old, barely held together, in complete disrepair, yada-yada, you know the drill by now.
I went to inspect the door, placing my hand on the knob as i gave it a gentle pull, then a push, it was locked, to nobody's suprise.
I sighed deeply, scratching the back of my head, maybe one day i'l get an easy way of entry into one of these things.
Estimating the time was difficult without a watch, but, judging by where the sun is, it should be around 1 PM, ''Perfect'' I thought to myself, he should be the only person in this apartment building at this exact moment.
I clutched the hammer in my hand tightly, before twirling it in the air for a brief period, and then.
SHATTER
Throwing it straight at the the window, the glass shattered into a thousand shards, scattering both outside and inside the building, one of them had manage to strike me, leaving a minor cut on my cheek.
I brushed the blood off with my thumb, and stared at the broken window, walking over to pick up my hammer, naturally making sure so as to not step on any of the broken glass, if i was going to die, it wouldn't be from an infection i can tell you that much.
''And now, we wait.'' I muttered to myself, quiet enough that it was barely audible.
After about 20 seconds, i heard footsteps, followed by very angry grumbling, followed by a ''OI WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!!?'' coming from the man inside as he stomped down the stairs.
I could hear the crunching of his boots against the hardwood floor as he bent over to look at the window ''OI, WHO DID THI-'' He cut himself off as he made eye contact with me, standing there, lightly brushing off my dusty cloak as i held the hammer in my hands.
It honestly felt like i could see a vein pop on his forehead, as expected of course, i knew he had a short fuse.
''YOU LITTLE SHIT! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING AROUND BREAKING PEOPLE'S WINDOWS!'' He yelled at me, to which i simply stayed quiet, sticking my tounge out at him lightly.
Once again, could see a vein almost threatening to pop on his forehead as he scrambled towards the door, ''OH YOU THINK YOU'RE REAL FUNNY HUH! JUST YOU FUCKIN' WAIT!'' He yelled again, digging trough his pockets for a set of keys, slowly cycling trough each of them to see which one fit the front door.
He slammed it open with a kick the moment he unlocked it, standing over me with gritted teeth.
''Greetings, im with the Kurokumo clan, you owe 50,000-Ahn, hand it over and i can assure you your limbs will be spare-''
''CUT THE BULLSHIT!' He yelled at me, getting so up in my face i could feel his breath, foul, of course
Maybe one day someone will fall for that trick.....
''YOU'RE THE ONE WHO OWES ME MONEY FOR THAT BROKEN WINDOW PIPSQUEAK, SO YOU BETTER PAY UP UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR SKULL CAVED I-''
THUNK
Before he could even finish, my hammer was already moving.
...Straight at his nuts of course.
...
You can't blame me, it fucking works.
It connected with a noise so sickening even i could barely stomach it, pretty sure i heard a pop in there too.....
Of course, the man's face proceeded to go from one of excrutiating anger, to one of extreme and obscene pain, as he let out a pained noise, clutching his groin profusely as he collapsed to his knees.
''YOU.....LITTLE.....FU-''
THUNK
I swung at him again, this time connecting with his jaw, hard,i could hear something clatter against the floor, his teeth most likely, he collapsed against the door without a sound afterwards, leaving a trail of blood on the door as his head slid down onto the floor.
...
''Never can be too sure i guess...''
THUNK
THUNK
THUNK
THUNK
THUNK
THUNK
THUNK
Even long, long after his face was unrecognizable, even after i heard, and felt, his skull begin to crack under the force of such obscene and relentless violence, even after the blood splatter on the floor, door, walls, and even window, stopped growing with each hit, having already grown to as large of a size it could, for he simply had no more blood in his head to be splattered, even after the horrific squelching and crunching of his skull and flesh being repeatedly bashed in stopped, signifying that i had well and truly killed the man.
I just....kept beating his head in.
Over, and over, and over.
Until finally, only after my clothes and face had been thoroughly stained with blood, he was at a point I was satisfied, not quite dead, but also, not quite alive, or atleast-
Hold on a second.
I pressed my ear against his chest.
....
Fuck I killed him.
I was confused as to how, said confusion fading very quickly as i saw the state his head was in...
I groaned in annoyance, i usually like to have my victims be alive, but of course, having them wake up later and come kick my teeth in wouldn't be very good for me, so i generally like leaving them a teensy-weensy bit alive.
''It'l do i guess'' I said to myself as i walked towards a nearby trash can, dumping out its contents as i grabbed the bag inside, dragging it over to the man's blood soaked corpse, i was thinking about taking his clothes for a brief moment but, they were alas, way too big to actually fit me, even by my standards.
I walked over to cover the body with the trash bag, flipping it over to tie a knot, firmly sealing it in place.
I walked over to the front of the body, grasped the fabric tightly, and began dragging him trough the street.
I received quite a few wierd looks as i passed trough the street, cassualy draging a corpse like i was going trough the motions, because well, i was.
This was just how i lived, if i didn't kill people, i'd starve to death. That man probably had a family, or atleast people he cared about, real shame that he'l soon end up as lunch meat.
It only took a few more minutes before i arrived at the restaurant.
It stood before me, the massive windows on each side of the front door covered in blood and sinew, both inside and outside. A large flickering neon sign hung overhead, fancy, for backstreets standards atleast, "Alice's Pies" it read.
I slid the metal door open, the smell of the place was absolutely foul, my nose could never get used to it.
The restaurant was a pretty nice place if you ignored the smell of blood in the air, along with its very noticable presence on the floor, tables and seats. Said seats we're quite fancy actually, consisting of large armchairs and couches, the cushions a dark, rich red.
I had asked the owner where they got the dye from, and once i heard it wad "Locally sourced" i had quickly lost interest.
With a small grunt of effort i hauled the body onto the checkered floor inside, shutting the door behind me. I wiped some sweat off my brow with a small "Phew" Curse these feeble arms to death.
The only sound that broke the silence came from the door behind the counter, ocassional clanking of dishes in the kitchen. My suspicions we're confirmed, she was definetely here.
"Yooohooooooo, Alice.....special delivery" I said, not quite shouting but, in a tone loud enough to be heard from within the kitchen. After i said that the noise of dishes quickly stopped, followed by the sound of footsteps.
"Hm?" A soft voice made itself audible as a woman in her mid-20's tilted her head to look past the door, her hair was short and white, donning an ordinary looking chef's uniform and hat, covered head to toe in blood of course, large splatters across her entire uniform, some dried and old, some fresh and new.
"Ooooh! Well if it isn't my most prized deliveryboy~" She said with a soft smile that completely contrasted her physical state as she began skipping towards me
"Yeah yeah just...cut the drama, i want 5 handpies and a pack of cigarretes."
"Hmph! So demanding when i haven't even inspected the quality of the ingredient you brought me!" The woman pouted at me, having made her way over to me, beginning to undo the knots and ties that kept the trashbag secured around the body. "Although this one is quite plump, So i suppose il just have to let it slide!"
Stared at her blankly as she undid all the bindings, the fabric sliding off to reveal the headless body contained within. Her expression went from cheerful, to a frowning pout as she slowly turned her hear to look at me.
"You killed him!"
"I know"
The woman stood up abruptly, leaning down until she was at my eye level, still pouting like a child who didn't get their favorite toy, crossing her arms under her chest as she got up in my face.
"How many times do i gotta tell you! They taste-"
"Sigh Better when they're alive and left to marinate in as much pain as possible, i know, look just...take it, i don't really care if i get 5 pies instead of 10, im not that hungry today."
She was still clearly angry with me, but it seems like for the first time in a while she saw logic in my statement.
She uncrossed her arms and turned away with a "Hmph!", followed up with "You're lucky you're my favorite deliveryboy you know!"
"You mean your, only-"
"I SAID MY FAVORITE!"
With another annoyed pout, and general disposition that was more akin to a spoiled child, she began dragging the corpse to the back of the kitchen with low effort. "Fine though! Il take this ingredient, just dont complain about it when it ends up tasting like shit!"
"I won't, you dont have to worry about that" I said as i sprawled out across one of the couches. "Oh and also, my ci-"
"Yeah yeah i got your cancer sticks!" She yelled back, tossing me a brandless, black colored pack of cigarretes, accompanied by another angry reaching into her pocket, procuring a small lighter that she also tossed towards me. "And you should really stop smoking! It's bad for kids! You'l make a horrible ingredient if you keep doing that."
I plucked a cigarrete from, the box, bringing it up to my lips slowly, clutching the lighter with both hands as i lit the cigarrete, puffing on it absentmindedly before responding "I dont care,Just go make my food damn it."
The woman's pout deepened "Fine, whatever then! Be alone with your lung cancer, not like i care!" And after that, she dissapeared from view entirely.
The only sounds i heard from the kitchen afterwards was the loud, repeated slamming of a butcher knife, over and over again.
....
I took a deep inhale of smoke, plucking the cigarrete from my mouth as i exhaled, tapping my fingers against the table, looking past the blood smeared window.
That man probably had a family. Or people he cared about atleast.
They're probably sad that he's dead now.
.....
"Sigh, I really need to learn to care less.
[1] District 24 is X corp