Chapter 1-1

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Getting punched in the face really hurts a lot, Kiwi thought as Plunkett rammed a fist for the umpteenth time into his cheek. Kiwi sagged in the arms of the goons holding him up, coughing up the blood that had trickled to the back of his throat.

“Yer no fun,” Plunkett growled, cracking his knuckles. “Don’t fight back no more.”

Kiwi hung his head. Just leave already.

“Let ‘im go,” said Plunkett. “We’ll give ‘im another go tomorrow.”

Plunkett’s friends released Kiwi’s arms, letting him crumple to the ground. Each of them dealt Kiwi a swift kick in the midsection as a parting blow. As he heard their footsteps fading into the distance, Kiwi rolled onto his back in the middle of the rice paddy, letting his head sink into the mud.

A quiet meow interrupted Kiwi’s reprieve. He sighed and struggled into a sitting position, turning to glance down at the glaring gray tabby cat.

“You hungry again, Saya?” Kiwi mumbled, reaching a hand out to pat the cat. As usual, Saya hissed and swiped at Kiwi’s hand, giving him another scratch to add to the grid of scars on the back of his hand. Kiwi chuckled despite the pain it caused his midsection.

“You never change, do you?” Kiwi said with a small smile, failing to notice Saya directing her view at something behind him.

“This bugger must be the cat ya didn’t kill,” Plunkett said from over Kiwi’s shoulder.

Kiwi froze as Plunkett reached down and snatched Saya up by the scruff of her neck. Saya growled and sunk her teeth into the bully’s wrist, causing Plunkett to yelp and release her. Saya scampered back several feet and arched her back, hissing.

“Bugger not so friendly, eh?” Plunkett said, motioning for his two friends to rise from the place they had been crouching. The three bullies fanned out, surrounding Kiwi and Saya.

“What do you want?” Kiwi asked, staggering to his feet.

“Shut yer trap!” Plunkett snapped, shoving Kiwi in the chest. Kiwi stumbled back and tripped over his feet, landing with a squelch in the mud. He tried once again to clamber to his feet, but the pain of the earlier beating halted his movements.

Helplessly, Kiwi watched the three bullies close in on Saya, extending their arms. Saya backed up, trying to keep an eye on all of her assailants.

“Now!” shouted Plunkett. All three of them lunged out at once. Saya leaped into the air in an attempt to escape, only to be snagged by the back leg by Plunkett. Immediately, Plunkett twisted his wrist, snapping Saya's back leg. Saya yowled and twisted with pain, desperately trying to escape.

Plunkett laughed maniacally and threw Saya to the ground with all his might, smashing her into the mud with an audible crack. Before Kiwi could lift a finger, one of Plunkett’s friends booted Saya, sending the cat flying in Kiwi’s direction.

Kiwi frantically lunged to catch Saya, but could only watch as she sailed beyond his fingertips, tumbling to a stop several feet away. Trembling, Kiwi crawled over to where Saya lay. He took one look at her mangled form and cupped his mouth with a hand, stomach lurching with shock.

“Woulda been so much easier if you did it yerself,” Plunkett said from behind Kiwi.

Kiwi’s breathing slowed and his hands tightened into fists. Try as he might, he could not suppress the flood of memories flowing into his mind. He remembered the stray tabby cat, stomach flat and mewling for food. He remembered placing the stray cat on the table lit by a single candle. He remembered taking the knife –

A guttural roar erupted from Kiwi’s mouth and he found himself lumbering through the rice paddy, dragging his feet through the mud. He caught the first of Plunkett’s goons by surprise. Kiwi drove his shoulder into the lackey’s side, sending the man crashing to the ground. The bully’s head hit a large stone with a sharp crack and his body fell limp.

The other one of Plunkett’s goons shouted with rage and smashed his fist into Kiwi’s check, sending Kiwi stumbling backwards. Before Kiwi could recover, Plunkett grabbed him by the back of his tunic and hurled him to the ground.

Kiwi gasped as all air was expelled from his lungs, vision flashing red. Giving Kiwi no chance to retaliate, Plunkett grabbed Kiwi by the hair and dragged him back to his feet. Right as Kiwi finally drew in a breath, Plunkett delivered a heavy blow to Kiwi’s already damaged abdomen. Kiwi staggered forward and dropped to his knees.

“Why was it you?” Plunkett roared, glaring down at Kiwi. “Why was it you instead of me?”

Plunkett smashed Kiwi across the face with a first, knocking him off his knees and onto the ground.

“I hate people like you,” Plunkett said, “Getting everything handed to you because of yer family.”

After aiming a few more choice words at Kiwi, Plunkett motioned to his remaining friend. The pair grabbed their unconscious partner and lifted him away, storming out of the rice field and leaving Kiwi to drown his pain in the mud. Kiwi lay there for a moment, trying to get ahold of his broken and jumbled thoughts.

Saya! Gritting his teeth and clutching his bruised stomach, Kiwi dragged himself over to Saya's limp form. She lay there, body unnaturally contorted and still.

Taking a deep breath, Kiwi reached his hand out towards Saya, wishing with all his heart that she would turn and swipe his hand away. Nothing. For just the second time since they had met, Kiwi placed his hand on Saya's body.

Kiwi opened his mouth to speak, but there was something in his throat. He wiped furiously at his eyes to clear his vision. In the end, only two words came out.

“I’m sorry.”

A moment later, the faint rise and fall of Saya's body ceased. Suddenly Kiwi felt cold, as if his blood had turned to ice. Shivering, he drew the mangled body of Saya to his chest, clutching her close as the warmth left her body. As he lay there, the blows to his battered body finally took their toll, and Kiwi felt his vision darken. Kiwi blinked several times, but he couldn’t seem to clear the blackness that was clouding his vision. In the midst of the darkness, he thought he could make out something within. ...A girl?

“I…am going to die?” a voice asked, nothing more than a murmur in the faint breeze.

“Raona?” Kiwi asked, heart thudding against his chest.

“I am going to die?” the voice said again, this time much fainter.

“No,” Kiwi whispered, willing his arm to reach towards the girl in the blackness. But no matter how far he moved, she did not get any closer. “You’re not going to die again!”

“This body is not going to last,” the voice said, almost nothing.

“I’ll give you mine!” Kiwi roared, exploding forward, reaching for the girl with all his might. As he lunged forth, the blackness in his vision dissipated, as did the girl. Kiwi staggered forward, chest heaving and heart empty, grasping for the sight which did not exist.

With a strangled sob, Kiwi collapsed to the ground, no longer carrying the will to live. Right before he closed his eyes, he became aware of Saya, clutched in his arms, looking as peaceful as a newborn kitten. Kiwi raised a trembling hand and placed it on the cat’s head. A memory came to mind and his lips curled up in a faint smile.

Then there was just darkness.