Chapter Text
Thump.
Thump.
Crash.
Darkness filled the snowless night. The final hour until Christmas began to tick down. Just an hour left until the happy, joyful holiday. In any other house that is.
Thump.
Thump.
Crash.
These sounds filled my childhood room, no, Kat's room. No, Kat's old room. This damned room that no one should ever return to; no matter what I hope for within the comforts of my mind. I can see the figurines of anime characters still stacked on the shelf and paper littered all over her old desk. I couldn't bring myself to clean it up. And no one else would.
Thump.
Thump.
Crash.
It happened just three years ago, right? The stupid, stupid thing that should've never occurred. The thing that damned driver never apologized for. The thing that removed Kat from this world.
Thump.
Thump.
Crash.
I eyed the amber liquid within the bottle in my hand, the liquid didn’t even fill the bottle halfway. I’d need more than this to survive the holiday. Especially if Mom and Dad fought this loud the whole time. If only Kat was here.
Thump.
Thump.
Crash.
The sounds sped up, how wonderful. Maybe I should go out, I haven't been to that place in a year. I should go; before the sounds permeate the room. Before I got involved. I glanced back down at the whiskey bottle before shrugging and downing the rest. I got up.
Thump.
Thump.
Crash.
I had to be quick and I was. The cold air caused goosebumps to form on my skin. I ignored them and just counted my luck. Dad and Mom didn't even notice me leaving. I guess it's good they've always restrained themselves to each other, but that doesn't stop the problem.
The sounds silenced with the close of the front door. It almost seems like a miracle. I took a big breath then turned and made my way down long winding streets. It seemed like so little time passed before I made it to the cemetery and stared down at the empty grave. We never recovered Kat's body, but this is the only place I can truly connect with her. An empty grave.
"Hey, Kat." I said to nothing, "Mom and dad are still fighting and Josh didn't come home this year, guess his family isn't very important to him anymore. I've missed you." I crouched down and rested my hand on the headstone. "You were the best of us, the happiest, you weren't supposed to be the one to die first." Tears began to run down my face. I quickly got up. "I should probably go, see ya Kat."
Silence filled the evening, just as before. My footsteps echoed through the quiet. Nothing happened until I reached the halfway point to my house. Two men approached me with masks covering their faces.
One brought a gun up to my face and said, "Turn around and give us all your money or we'll shoot you!"
I turned around. When I didn't get out my wallet, which I didn't have on me, the man began to get angry.
"I mean it, woman! I will kill you!" He yelled.
"Go ahead," I said back softly.
"What'd you say?" The other man asked in a much less demanding voice.
"I said, go ahead, kill me."
"What makes you think I won't, huh? Give us your money!" The first man said.
"No." The final straw broke, the first man shot. The shot penetrated my skin and my body crumpled to the floor.
"What the hell, dude?!" The second man said as he dropped down and tried to put pressure on the wound. I heard footsteps rapidly go away from me.
I pushed the second man away from me as hard as I could. "Stop," I said, "Stop, thump, thump, crash." And like that, I died with a smile on my face.
The story doesn't stop there of course, but this was the ending for a rather dull chapter of Alison's life. In case you were wondering, as soon as the second robber could no longer feel Alison's heartbeat he called the police and turned him and his partner in. He got off on lighter charges while his partner went away for murder.
Alison's mom and dad were horrified to learn of their eldest daughter's death and last words, especially as they were informed early Christmas morning. Josh came back to his childhood home as soon as he heard and things began to look up for the broken Burnett family, though they will never be perfect. Josh got back on speaking terms with both parents and the parents separated so they could pursue their own happiness. They decided to try to be better to honor their daughters.
However, this isn't important at all. This is just a summary of what was the aftermath. Alison’s story continued.
I woke up to screams. Loud, wailing screams. It took me a second to realize they came from me. That it was me that was letting out that horrid noise. I shut my mouth.
I tried to open my eyes, but the light made me want to start screaming all over again. I could hear really loud voices speak above me and large arms holding me up. The voice switched and the first set of arms passed me to another set, these ones smaller and less sturdy.
The new voice cooed down at me and said lots of familiar words I couldn't quite understand but I figured out what was going on. I was a baby again, a freaking baby. It would take around a year to be in full control of my limbs and even longer to talk easily. This would be hell.
The next few years absolutely were hell.. I had to learn to answer to a new name, Kichi, and to adhere to different societal expectations. However, it wasn’t all bad. My new father, Toichi, was a famous magician and loved showing me and Kaito, my new brother, his magic tricks. Chikage, my new mom, would cook food and play with us. Together, Chikage and Toichi, and sometimes Kaito, would teach me about soulmarks and how everyone has one.
It was different and new (But the back of my mind never ceased wishing for alcohol and death. At night, I’d cry, as quietly and motionlessly as I could. Every morning after, Toichi would show me a new trick), but it was not meant to last. I had mere months left until I became three when it happened.
Kaito and I sat with Chikage waiting for Toichi to begin his show when old memories of Kat shook my brain.
"KID is my favorite character, but his backstory is kind of sad," Kat had said, spinning a pen in her hand. "I mean he acts like a cool suave thief, but KID is just a teen that lost his family. His dad died in a faked accident back when he was eight. It was eight years later that he learned his dad was the original KID and Kaito, well the new KID, decided to find out what his father was killed because of."
I laughed, "Soo realistic, sis. What was the kid's name again?"
"Kuroba Kaito, his dad was Toichi." Kat looked away a bit hesitant, "The name actually was a pun on Kaitou, meaning phantom thief."
I laughed even more.
A boy named Kaito, whose dad was named Toichi. I began to try to squirm out of mom's arms to try and stop what was to come.
"What's wrong, Kichi?" Mom asked.
"Kaito lives alone, ya know," Kat had said the next day. "Don't know why his mom decided to leave, probably couldn't deal with the grief. Toichi had basically saved her life after all."
Chikage would leave if it happened. I struggled more, but the show began. I watched Toichi get into a rollercoaster car all chained up. In the corner of my eye, I could see a man dressed in all black.
"Kaito is actually after a big bad organization that wears all black." Kat explained, "They are after a gem called the pandora and fans have theorized that it is a branch of the same organization C̵̥̰̜͖͌̒̓̃͗͛̍͑̀́̍̋̿̐͠ǫ̵̛̩͖͖̼̞̩̮̜̙͊͂̅ͅn̶̡̜͑͒̏̌̓̎͠a̶̝̜̟͒̑̌̿́̅̑n̵͙̳̬͉͇̔͛́́̍͒̈́̍̾̈́̀͘͜ is after. That might just be an excuse to make them help each other, though." Kat laughed.
I scowled as I watched the man watch dad's last magic trick. I even growled.
"Kichi, shh." Mom said, "Your dad is doing his trick."
I kept my eyes off of the doomed cart despite mom's words. I couldn't watch it, another family member's way of leaving me. Instead, I watched the dude with the handlebar mustache, did Kat give me his name?
"His main adversaries are Ê̸̥̭̭̞̠͓̳̮̬̹̥͚̼̬̂̂̈́d̷̢̧̛̯̗͕̦̯̭̱̠̣͓̹͈̠̐̓̈́̂̎̊̔̑̽̄͆͂̔ò̷̟̈̋͋͘͠g̸̳̩̲̜̠̈́͊̿̃̎̽́̇̂͌͂͘ͅả̷̛̛̲̥̞̌̑̕̚͝͝w̶̡̺̯̭̩̦̦̬̣̟̮͇̮͚͐̅ͅa̶͔̍̊̏̆̿͒̑̒͂͝͝ ̸̡̞̳̭͈̬̗͎̍̓̍͘͜Ć̶̛̛͓̯̋̌͊̕̕͝o̸̗̲̫̫̗̟̳̲̲̘̒̑̋̇̅̕̕͘͘̕̚͝͝n̶̼̲̂̉͌͝á̶̡͖̺͙̤̦́̀̉̎͐̚͝͠n̵̲͚̽̐̆̆̀͐̕͠,̵̼̦͇͍͊̋̔͝ ̵̤̞͙̟̱̣͇̗̗̫̪̈́͂́̓ͅͅḨ̴̢̛̛̛̮̳̗̤̜̩͎̀͌͆̈́̈̽̇a̷̼̱͙̔̿͂́̂̚k̵̡̬͖̬̈́͆̈́̈́̄̔̓̃̓͆̈́̿͘͘u̸̘̗̘̳͐̀̀̀͆͜b̸̡̧̻̼̯͋̅̓͂̊̓̌̾̉͜͠a̸̠͎͎͋̏́͆̌̓͠ ̴̢͉͚̤̪̠̪̩͈̹̣̩̥̹͙̋̄̇̉͗̿͋̾͒͑̚Ş̶̼͈̮̬̼̃̓̄à̷̢̢̟͔̫͎͓͖̮̗͉́͆̋̍͗̃̅̎̀͐͛͊͜ģ̷̛̛̝̩͖͒͗͗̋̆́̊̔͑͋̑ứ̶̰̻̮̞̰̖̳͎̖͚̥̈́̚͠r̵̨̨̼̪̝̲̗̳͋̏͂̃̃̒̐͘ũ̷̧̱͇͈͒̊͝,̴̨͍̹͔̪͇̠̮͙̟͍̃̀͆̚͘͜ͅ ̶̛̛͚͈̳̺͇̻̈́͊̈͋̀̇͛͐̏͗͘͜͝͝N̷̢̩͉͆́͑̈́͒͠͠a̵͈͚̜̫̲͚͍͕̭̦̱̼̝̙̯͋k̷̛͓͇̩̠̺̗͕͍̤̯͍̠͚̰͖͂̉̃̆̿̂̈́͘̕͠à̸̡̞̮̫̯̣͕͉̽͌̍́̐̔̎̂̃̑͘͝͝m̷̢̭͔̣̺̭̫̤͔͊̈́ơ̸̳̝̻̜̔̏͌̀̌̋̈́͊̎͝ŗ̷̡̞̤̟̖̮̫͎̯̻̔̆̏ḯ̸̬͔̭͍͕̘͉͍͓̻͎̣͑̿̄̀̊̊̓̈́̕̕͜͠-̷̛̮̹̱̣̖̯̜̖̦̣̠͚̦͊͂k̴̲̞̙̤̭̭̥̭̺̞͇͎̀̈̍̒̓͒̈́͌̑́̿̓̿̕e̴̗̬̋̌̈́̀̇̍i̸̧͚̫̻̻̫̗̭̣̝̽́́̅͑͆͛̋̋̈͂͊͘b̶̦̙͔̗̞̐ư̵̙̱̖͑̇̏̑̔͗̚̕, and Snake. C̵̥̰̜͖͌̒̓̃͗͛̍͑̀́̍̋̿̐͠ǫ̵̛̩͖͖̼̞̩̮̜̙͊͂̅ͅn̶̡̜͑͒̏̌̓̎͠a̶̝̜̟͒̑̌̿́̅̑n̵͙̳̬͉͇̔͛́́̍͒̈́̍̾̈́̀͘͜ is, well, looks like a little kid and a lot like...Snake has this handlebar mustache and a perpetually sour look on his face..."
Okay, so they call that man Snake. The man slipped into the shadows just as a loud boom filled the air. I turned around and hid my face in my mom's bosom as cries filled the air.
Four years later, Chikage entrusted us to Nakamori Ginzo, her platonic soulmate and our neighbor, to be cared for alongside his daughter before leaving just like Kat said she would. Kaito tried to argue with her, but the woman wouldn't budge. Though Kaito and I never left the house, the Nakamoris helped with food and anything else the money Chikage would send couldn’t cover. Chikage continued to call, but I couldn’t help but miss the days the whole family lived in the house.
But I worried every day as the years ticked by. Kaito did not seem like a thief. He liked pranks, sure, but a thief? That goes a step too far, so how did the young teen become KID?