From my childhood years to my teenage years, I’ve seen it happen. People fall out of grace was a misconception, they are who they are the moment they were born. Why would I care about others when many of them took advantage of me. My families, think they could do whatever they want. Tossing me and my sister without a second thought. What are we? A piece of garbage?

We probably were… until we met her.

***

September 28, 2080 – 1 hour and 30 minutes after the incident.

*Brooooooooowmph*

A large motorbike splashes the puddles it hits. The rider rode without a helmet, one can see, her brows squeezed. Riding at 120 miles/hour, it kept speeding up. Its passenger is holding tightly to a wounded woman in her arms. Tears were shed as the rain kept pouring down. The moon is high, lighting its way towards a bridge. No other vehicle can be seen around.

One can see, that the night is dark.

They stopped at a certain warehouse. A workshop of what looks to be a place for tinkerers. The rider slams the door open, veins popping from her neck, yelling, “SCALLOPS!!!”

A man in a worker’s outfit and blue glowing eyes came. He took a glance, not at the woman in the front, but at one that is held by another woman in the back. His eyes widened with a nervous breath coming out of his mouth, “No.”

He pulled a rug from the table of things. Some have shattered when they fell, but their value was insignificant right at this moment to him, “What happened, Kurira?!”

Taking the wounded from the woman’s arms, Kurira the driver, laid her on the table. It is none other than Siola herself. Both Scallops and Kurira urgently took many equipments to bring her back. Medicine, repair tools, and many others. Rakuri watches them doing their best to revive Siola. Every second, their heart beats. Until Scallops’ hands stopped moving and punched Kurira instead.

She fell from the weight behind that punch, and he quickly mounted her. Grabbing her collars, he shouted, “YOU PROMISED!”

“Scallops!”

“You promised, not a single scratch on her. What the fuck happened?!!”

“Get out of my fucking way!”

“KURIRA!!!”

“OUT OF MY WAY!!!”

“SHE’S GONE!”

Her irises shrank as her eyes widened. Grinding her teeth, she delivers a punch straight to Scallops’ eye, pushing him away. She quickly delivers another, and again, and again. Even after his face was unrecognizable, the expression she makes as she was about to punch him again cannot be seen but it was not a pretty one. She kept biting her lower lips until it bleeds. However, she held her last punch after seeing Rakuri.

Her sister turned away and ran out of the building. Suddenly, Kurira’s heart clenched tightly. She quickly chases after Rakuri, but she’s already far away. Towards the bridge. Another beating heart clenched Kurira’s chest. Abandoned the bike to run after her sister. She quickly closes the gaps between them as unnatural forces inside her legs pump.

In this rain, fog covers the bridge. Lightning strikes frequently disturb their hearing.

Kurira was reminded how this scene has happened once before. In her eyes, at this moment, she sees the slender body of her sister turning fat as her body shrank. When she blinks, the night hour turns into daylight. It felt like the world has slowed down. Their sweat mixed with the rain, with their blood, their tears. The only thing they have in mind, is how things have led to this.

To this moment.

Seeing all three versions of her sister jumping off a bridge. How her hands are reaching out to her sister as their body falls to the sea. Lightning struck again. Hairs were separated amidst the water as its core fell into the deep. Light appears from the top, reaching out to it. Rakuri’s cold body then touches her sister’s warmth. Kurira pulled her back to the surface.

“Pwah!”

*Pant *Pant

Her eyes were blinded by the sun. Gasping for air as she went towards the shore. Quickly doing CPR after she laid her down. When the water rises from Rakuri’s body, flowing out of her mouth.

*SLAP*

Kurira hit her with the back of her hand, yelling, “What the hell were you thinking?!”

However, something was strange. The impact was less greater than she had expected, the sensation of pain that is coming through after the effect, was odd. Only after Rakuri turned her face when it all makes sense. They muttered each other’s name in question.

It is because of their face. Younger, cleaner.

Kurira dismounts her and sluggishly moves towards the water, to see the reflection. Her eyes twitched, “What the hell is this.”

No piercing, messy red hair thinned on both sides. She looked up, seeing the busy streets of the rundown bridge. The scene of them jumping from it flashes in her mind again. It’s daytime.

Rakuri then said, “We went back to the past, aren’t we? That means Dola could be—”

“Shut up.”

Cutting the conversation short. Kurira went around to walk past the bridge with her sister following just behind her. Unlike the stern expression that Kurira makes, Rakuri kept on wondering, what if they have gotten to Siola’s place a bit sooner? Tears kept running down her eyes. She sees Kurira clenching her fists till her nails cut the skin of her palm.

They arrived at the warehouse but they didn’t see their bike parked anywhere. Once again, Kurira gritted her teeth as they walked in.

Laughter echoed through the entire space, “Bwahahaha, so, this big tits on Metro City actually went in on that guy. Spreading them juicy legs!” said one boy sitting on a tire.

“Hah, told you. There’s a lot of them bitches goin’ around. Hey, we should save up in case we see one of em around here.”

“Bwahaha, as if them fancy bitches gonna be on this shithole!”

None of these boys are over twenty, yet they are already drinking their life away. Three of them in total. One saw the two girls coming their way, and soon all of them stood.

“Yoo, ain’t this a lucky fate.”

He’s about to walk but is shoved back by a bigger muscular guy. “Ah, come on, dawg. You should leave this to us sometime.”

The other said, “Heh, just shut it. When Borong does something, we better not get in his way. Less we wanna get to a hospital we can’t afford lol.”

“Haha.”

The big guy Borong approaches them and asks, “Sure you girls ain’t lost or somethin’? Wanna accompany us boys pass time?”

Kurira with her eyes locking with a bloodshot, “Pack your panties, and get the fuck out of this place.”

The boys at the back burst into laughter, “Bwahahaha.”

“She ded.”

“Hahahaha… Haah… This girl, not even gangs are gonna mess with our Borong after having a taste of his punch.”

“Heh, man be punching boulders with that.”

*SLAP*

Their eyes widened. Hearing that noise, the Borong they respected and feared, got slapped by a woman. He glanced at Kurira with his eyes popping veins, but she asked him with the same looking eyes, “You ain’t moving?”

A fist clenched with an ugly expression was formed. He swung his body as his arms flew with his fist going towards Kurira’s face. A knee went up, extended, and the bottom of her shoes went straight to Borong’s jaw as her body leaned back.

*Bam*

*CRACK*

She didn’t fall, instead, Rakuri backed her with her back. Kurira with her teeth grinding as she looks at the ceiling, flashing the scene with the darker tone of the future, “You’re dead then.”

Borong’s still feeling the impact from the kick, he flails. He quickly opens his eyes and throws another punch but Kurira scratches his forearm as went and delivers two double tap kicks straight to his cheek and eye, ending with another heavy kick to his nose.

*BAM*

Staggered, he covered his face for a moment, but his knee was kicked. Disjointing it slightly, “Gwargh!” it was then he felt the pain. Switching from covering his face to feeling his knees, his unguarded face was damaged yet again with another heavy blow.

Rakuri swiftly handed her a weapon. It was then that Borong falls, and his head was assisted to the ground with a metal pipe.

*Thud *Thud *Thud

*Crack *BAKK *Thudd *CRACK

With each hit, his body responded with a jolt. Kurira dropped her pipe to mount his chest and opt to punch him with her own fists. Not long after, the man’s body stopped responding to her hits but she kept on punching still. The boys who are looking in terror quickly fled the scene with their legs flailing about.

Rakuri stopped her sister’s arm, “Kurira, that’s enough!”

At that moment when her arm stopped punching Borong’s face, her rage went through the roof, and with all her power, she throws a straight at her sister’s face. Fall from the impact, she caresses the cheek she got hit at and looks at Kurira.

“If it wasn’t because of you…” her fists drenched with blood, clenched, “If only I had gone alone. She would’ve… she would’ve…”

*BAM*

Rakuri with her irises shrank, threw a punch at her sister’s cheek. Kurira, who merely got her head turned away by the impact, was enraged even more. She threw another punch with enough impact to make her sister bleed from her mouth. Rakuri gritted her bloodied teeth and went for a tackle, “Hraaaaaaaaaargh!”

The two spill blood. A punch with a punch. A kick against a kick. Their attack always hits as they both never went on defense. Kurira clenches Rakuri’s breast while she is pulling her hair. The scene continues as blood splashes on the ground, Rakuri holding Kurira’s arm as she repeatedly kicks her face, “Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck You! She chose me! Just admit that you’re jealous! You were never accepting it! Now you have a reason to deny it!”

Kurira grabbed her clenched fist and pull Rukira’s entire body that is clinging to her arm, and threw it down. Making her head hit the floor. When she staggered from the blood leaking out of it, Kurira pulled Rakuri’s legs and punched her in the face. Mounting her, Rakuri tried to resist but Kurira overpowers her in weight. Her grasping Rakuri’s neck, she’s choking her.

For the first time in a long time, she’s looking at her enraged sister in clear view. Crying in tears as she choked her. She too let out tears once again. No matter how much she struggles, Kurira didn’t move an inch and kept on choking her.

She could see it, the image of Siola – the image of Dola – smiling at her as a light shone through the holes in the ceiling. Kurira seeing her sister about to die fills her rage even more until a flash of light appears. Her shoulder was touched by the softness of Siola’s hands, her smile, “Guys, let’s go to the Capital together.”

Her hands loosened as her tears fall.

…

Walking down the road with her limp body being carried side by side. Rakuri sees the bright orange sun blinding her, turning her head to the sister who almost killed her not too long ago. Brushes her cheek to the firm shoulder.

“What’s the plan?” Rakuri asked.

Kurira stayed silent for a moment before saying, “We’ll find her.”

“How?”

Kurira sees a rusted old car parked behind fences. They found a hole on the other side and once they got close to the car. Kurira went topless, covered her hand with her top, and smashes the car window with it. Sluggishly standing, Rakuri whistled at the sight of Kurira’s pure body. She can still clearly see it despite having bruises on her face with blood leaking out.

“Nice bod you got there.”

“Shut it.”

“You oughta hold off from augment. Maybe then Dola would like you more.”

Breathing a long sigh, Kurira went to Rakuri and pulled her hair into the car, roughly. “Easy! What the hell? Did turning me into mashed potatoes not enough for you?”

There is fuel still in the tanks, Kurira hijacked the car, “Dola ain’t exist yet.”

“You don’t know that. Maybe she returned here, same as us.”

Sternly looking at the road, she gassed up.

Accelerating. Speeding through the long road while the sun is setting. Kurira vividly remembers one of the times when she embraces Siola in her arms inside a memorable place that is the old Mithra’s house near Metro City. The memory made her bit her lips.

However, when she and Rakuri arrive there, there’s only one thing that Kurira muttered, “What the hell is this.”

Rakuri stood out of the car, asking the same question. She looks at Kurira who has her eyes glittered in sparkles. The disbelief. The old Mithra’s house was partially in ruin. A big hole on one side of the wall, debris all over the place, “it’s a mess,” said Rakuri.

She found a gun on the corner of a table, “Huh, quite an old model too. You sure she was here? Dola wasn’t that into guns until we hook up.”

Hearing that made Kurira’s eyes twitch, but her attention is focused on a single thing. Lowering down her knee, she can see markings on the floor. Touching it, she knows well the shape of what was on top of it. The edge of her lips tilted as her expression lessened.

She stood, “Change of plans, we’re leaving.”

“Huh, why?”

Rakuri was stunned after seeing her sister turn around with a subtle smile and a tear in her eye. At first, she feared for the worst, but when she noticed that her sister is not running amok, she realized what it means. Tears were shed as she utters her companion’s name, “Dola.”