From my childhood years to my teenage years, I’ve seen it happening. 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 all of them wants to take advantage of us.

  ***

  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 in 120 miles/hour, it keeps speeding up. Its passenger is holding tightly to a wounded woman in her arms. Tears shed as rains keeps pouring down. The moon is high, lighting their way towards a bridge with no other vehicle around.

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

  A man in a worker’s outfit and blue glowing eyes came. He took a glance not to the woman in the front, but 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 full of chemicals tubes. Some have shattered when they fell, but that’s now what’s on his mind.

  “What happened, Kurira?!”

  Taking the wounded from the woman’s arms, Kurira, laid her on the table. It is none other than Siola herself, lifeless.

  They urgently took many equipment to bring her back. Medicine, repair tools among others. Rakuri watches them doing their best. Every second, their heart beat.

  [Kurira]: “Come on, Dola. Come on!”

  But no response.

  [Kurira]: “No. Come on! Scallops! Pass me the—,”

  He punches her face with a straight.

  *Clank *Clank

  The weight of the impact, she didn’t have time to recover as he quickly mounted her. Grabbing her collars.

  [Scallops]: “YOU PROMISED!”

  [Rakuri]: “Scallops! Stop!”

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

  [Kurira]: “Get out of my fucking way!”

  [Scallops]: “KURIRA!!!”

  [Kurira]: “OUT OF MY WAY!!!”

  [Scallops]: “SHE’S GONE!”

  Her irises shrank as her eyes widened. Grinding her teeth, she delivers a punch straight to Scallops’ eye, sending him away. The table turns, she quickly delivers another, and again, and again. Even after his face becomes unrecognizable, the expression she makes as she’s about to finish him is not pretty, but then, she lowered her hand after seeing Rakuri.

  The news of one’s passing, one who she greatly holds dear.

  Running away from it, out of the building, out of the street.

  [Kurira]: “Rakuri!”

  Pushing Scallops away as chase after her, but she’s already gone far towards a bridge. Her eyes turned bright red as she speeds up. Quickly closing the gaps.

  [Kurira]: “Rakuri!”

  No signs of slowing down.

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

  Kurira recalls a similar scene from her old days. In her eyes, in this moment, she sees the slender body of her sister turning wide as her body shrinking.

  When she blinks, the night hour turns into daylight. It feels like the world has slowed down. Their sweat mixed in with the rain, with their blood, their tears.

  The only thing they have in their mind is how things have led to this.

  Seeing all three version of her sister jumping off a bridge. How her hands are reaching out to her as their body fall to the sea. A lightning strike again. Hairs were separated amidst the water as their body sinks to the deep abyss.

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  Light appears from the top. Rakuri’s cold body. Sharp eyes, intuitive reflexes, Kurira pulled her sister back to the surface.

  “Pwah!”

  *Pant *Pant

  Her eyes blinded by the sun. Gasping for air as she swims towards the shore. Quickly pumping air into Rakuri’s lung. Her chest, push, push, and push. When water rises from Rakuri’s body, flowing out of her mouth.

  *Cough *Cough

  Her eyes opened, and she sees a flash of a back hand.

  *SLAP*

  [Kurira]: “What the hell were you thinking?!”

  However, something’s strange. The impact was less than she expected, the sensation of pain that is coming through after the effect, it’s odd.

  Only after Rakuri turned her face when it all makes sense.

  “K-Kurira?”

  “Rakuri?”

  It is because of their face. Younger, cleaner.

  Kurira dismounts her and sluggishly moving towards the water, to see her own reflection in it. Her eyes twitched, “What the hell is this?

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

  It’s daytime when it shouldn’t be.

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

  “Shut up.”

  Cutting the conversation short. Kurira walks around past the bridge with her sister following sluggishly. Unlike the stern expression that Kurira makes, Rakuri has grimace on her face.

  She sees Kurira clenching her fists till her nails cut the skin of her palm.

  They arrived to 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.

  [Man 1]: “Bwahahaha, so, this big tits on Metro actually went in on that guy. Spreading them juicy legs!”

  [Man 2]: “Hah, told you. There’s a lot of em bitches goin’ over there. Hey, we shuld save up in case if we see one of em around.”

  [Man 1]: “Bwahaha, as if them fancy bitches gonna be on this shithole.”

  None of these boys seem to be mature enough to act like one. Three of them in total. One saw the two girls coming their way, and soon all of them stood.

  [Man 1]: “Yoo, ain’t this a lucky fate.”

  He’s about to walk but shoved back by a bigger muscular guy.

  [Man 1]: “Ah, come on, dawg. Should save some for us sometimes.”

  [Man 2]: “Heh, just shut it. When Borong wanna do some’, we better not get on his way. Less we wanna go hospital we can’t afford lol.”

  [Man 1]: “Haha.”

  The big guy Borong approach them and ask.

  [Borong]: “Sure you girls ain’t lost or somethin’? Wanna accompany us boys pass time?”

  Kurira with her eyes locking with a bloodshot.

  [Kurira]: “Pack your panties, and get the fuck out of this place, you ******.”

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

  [Man 2]: “She ded.”

  [Man 1]: “Hahahaha… Haah… This girl, not even gangs are gonna mess with our Borong after having a taste of his punch.”

  [Man 2]: “Heh, man be punching boulders with that.”

  *SLAP*

  Their eyes widened. Hearing that noise, the Borong they respected and feared, getting slapped by a woman. He glanced at Kurira with his eyes popping veins.

  [Kurira]: “You ain’t moving?”

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

  *Bam*

  *CRACK*

  She didn’t fell, instead, Rakuri got her back.

  Kurira with her teeth grinding as she looks at the ceiling, a flash of memory, an image of it with a darker tone of the future.

  Opening her mouth, “You’re dead then.”

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

  Staggered, he covered his face for a moment, but his knee was kicked. Disjointing it slightly.

  [Borong]: “Gwargh!”

  That’s when he felt the pain. Switching from covering his face to feeling his knees, his unguarded face was damaged yet again with a heavy blow of a kick.

  Rakuri swiftly handed her a weapon. It was then when Borong falls, but suddenly, his head is smashed to the ground in mid-air with a metal pipe.

  *Thud *Thud *Thud

  *Crack *BAKK *Thudd *CRACK

  With each hit, his body responded with a jolt. Until it never again.

  [Man 2]: “N-No way.”

  [Man 1]: “I’m, I’m, I’m out! I’m outta here!”

  [Kurira]: “Hraaaaaaaaaah!”

  *CRACK*

  Seeing that her sister hasn’t yet to stop pummeling, Rakuri grabbed her sister’s arm.

  [Rakuri]: “Kurira, that’s enough.”

  At that moment, her bloodshot eyes widened. She gripped her metal pipe and struck her sister’s head. Her eyes rolled as she falls to the ground.

  *Clank *Clank

  Grabbing Rakuri by the collar as her mind tries to recover, “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…”

  Rakuri grab a hold of a metal pipe and struck her.

  *BAM*

  But Kurira remains unmoving despite her bleeding mouth.

  Rakuri’s irises shrank as her consciousness returns. Kurira’s punch, she dodges it and kick her away but not before Kurira landed a straight.

  [Rakuri]: “Gohogkh?!”

  The two standing against each other. Rakuri gritted her bloodied teeth and went for a tackle.

  [Rakuri]: “Hraaaaaaaaaargh!”

  The two spills blood. A punch with a punch. A kick against a kick. Their attack always hits as they both never goes on defense.

  The scene continues as blood splashes around. On the ground, Rakuri holding Kurira’s arm in a chokehold as she repeatedly kicking her face.

  [Rakuri]: “Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck YOU! She chose me! Just admit it you’re jealous! You never accepted 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 her down. The back of her head struck to the ground.

  [Rakuri]: “Gahk?!”

  Kurira pulls her sister’s leg, and by extension, her body, and mounts her as she delivers a punch to Rakuri’s face.

  Her eyes rolled as she tries her hardest to keep Kurira’s hands away from her but she quickly overpowers her. Kurira’s hands on her neck, choking her.

  “Hnnngh… Ghhrk…”

  “Ghhrkgoghkk…”

  The grimace on Kurira’s face, she sees it for the first time clearly. The tears coming out as she feels the air getting thin.

  No matter how much Rakuri struggles, Kurira never moved an inch. Never stops.

  “Haaaaghhkk…”

  Rakuri’s eyes rolling out, her strength weakened.

  Kurira with a tear in her eyes, choke her sister even harder. But then, a flash of light. Golden and warm. A face that she recognizes, a face that she has lost. Grasping her shoulder. A smile. Brightest one she has ever seen before.

  [Siola]: “Guys, cut it out. Let’s go to the Capital together.”

  Her tears fall.