Chapter Text
I. AT LEAST, ONE OF US DOESN’T DESERVE THIS
Sometimes, Fulgur does wonder why there are sick and wicked people that can stomach selling their loved ones for a couple of pennies. Why is that them, the children, need to pay the price of poverty with their silly little low lives? Damn, can God pick the deserving ones at least?
Like, if reincarnation really does exist like what he read on a book he stashed from the back of the facility’s book room, if past lives do really exist, at least give these plotlines to those who wronged a lot of people. Like you know, give them payback for their asshole of a character.
If I could choose a life, I want a life that’s so badass I could bag anything, anyone I want. He talked to himself. Some of us really don’t deserve this kind of life, you know?
Like his friend, Uki. Never mind him for he’s an orphan and never really got the chance to know who are his parents.
He yawned and raised his right hand, a book about transmigration on his left hand. Swaying as he tries his best to stretch while his back moves left and right, waiting for a subtle sound of cracks. With his eyes a little watery, his little hands pat his cyan colored jail-like uniform. His little reddish fingertips traced the black embroidery of numbers on the left of the chest part of his shirt.
504
Yeah, that’s right. He really doesn’t have a name he can call his. Just three digits is enough for those people on the white clothes to know who he was.
A leaf landing on his neck is what it took for him to snap from staring to his ‘Identity Number’, to snap back to reality again. He right-handedly dusts off the floor near the stairs of the ‘pavilion’ where he at. He could see an almost dead olive tree on the front and his fellow kids ‘working’ on the rectangular muddy field just right of the said tree. He fixed his grip to the book as he gently lay down on the pavement. Once his back is on the perfect reading position, his eyes wondered to find where did he stop reading, focusing again and again on the lines.
But none of the words are registering to his brain like his brain has already found another subject to ponder on.
Right, he’s thinking about Uki just a few moments ago.
Yeah, no shit! My man did not deserve some shitty parents. He’s too much of an angel to live a life like this. He internally rumbled as he gazed upon on the ‘working’ field. Those hands should be holding an instrument or a ball, not a fcking head with a knife on it!
He knew there’s really something wrong about his eyes. How come a beet looked like a head from his distance to Uki? Maybe blame it to the multiple sleepless nights he spent reading books that’s too gory for his age. Well, what can he say? If you saw a good book, might as well read it in one go.
Those are beetroots, right? It can never be those other children’s heads. I know it because we already finished that phase. We already are on 3-digits–how come Uki’s on the field again–no, no, this…this isn’t right–we’re already done with the eliminating phase, rig–where are we again?
“What’s the weird face, Fulgur?”
He looked at Uki’s state. Sweating, panting, and tired…from harvesting and carrying sacks of beetroots of course. He scanned Uki’s body from head to toe. This isn’t right? Kids shouldn’t have been this dirty?
And the image of Uki on his muddied uniform while his temples dripping wet from the heat and hands dyed in red, brown and black from mud and beet juices made Fulgur stared ‘a little too much’ and ‘think a little too much’ as the book on his left hand almost crumpled.
“You’re stained your face with beet juices again, Uki. It will stench again if you don’t wash your face properly.”
He didn’t notice that Uki flinched before he took off his cyan uniform shirt and scrape up all of the red stuff on his face. Uki came at his direction after to do the same escaping from the responsibilities as what Fulgur said he was doing.
SMACK!
“You’re scaring me, dumbass.” He got smacked by Uki’s upper uniform. Uki’s now wearing his spare black sando. Fulgur is brought back to reality.
“Bohoo~ Sorry, Uki”