Without You

Chapter 2: Past

Sumire's POV

"Hey, what are you doing here, you damn witch?!!" I woke up.

"W-witch??" A young boy stood in front of me. He was dirty and his clothes were tattered. His hair was tousled.

"Yeah, witch! You probably don't know, but this is my home, get lost!!"

"W-why?" I asked.

"You are one of them, right?! F*cking spies! They are everywhere!" S-spies? Is something wrong?

"I-I’m not a spy…" I was scared. Scared of him. He was aggressive and I didn't know what he would do.

"Then who are you?! Tell me!"

"S-Sumire. Kakei Sumire. I’m 15 years old…"

"That doesn't tell me anything. Why are you here?!" he asked coldy. He doesn’t trust me. But I looked into his eyes… There was no glitter in them. His eyes lost their luster. His eyes were dark and full of hatred. He's just like me.

"I have the feeling that you have a dark past behind you… If it helps, I'll tell you about my past…" I said sadly.

"Haah?!" He still doesn‘t trust me.

"My family and I lived in a modest house. But then my mother got sick and we didn't have the money to treat her. My father was desperate. He started drinking and gambling to make some money, he even started stealing…" He kept frowning at me, but he paid full attention to me.

"The executors took everything from us and we were forced to live in a caravan. But soon my mother died. My father started drinking even more. He was no longer himself and cursed at me. Sometimes he slapped me. In fact, whenever I mentioned my mother…" He frowned. Maybe he remembered something.

"He had been in prison before, so he left me not to be caught again and gave me a task…"

"Task?" he asked.

"I should have blown up the town hall that rejected us. But I didn't make it in time and I was caught in the act. My revenge was not fulfilled and I lost my home. I'm all alone. In addition, I am now being persecuted as a terrorist for attempting to attack. I have nothing to live for. I don't even have a future anymore…" A tear flowed from my eye.

"Kawaki."

"Huh?"

"My name is… Kawaki. I’m 17 years old." Does he trust me a little more that he told me his name?

"A-and surname?"

"I don’t have any. I rejected all my fathers!" He clenched his fists.

"Don’t look at me!!" He told me more than he wanted. I looked down.

"I’m sorry." I looked down.

"Tss!!" He was still angry.

"Get lost!!"

"B-but I have nowhere to go! Please wait until the morning. I won’t bother you anymore…"

"No, go away now!! Did you hear me, witch?!"

"Yes." I won't be anywhere I'm not welcome. But at the same time I have nowhere to go. That's why I just moved to the other side of the bridge.

"Hey, this is not what I meant!!"

"I have nowhere to go! I told you!" I yelled at him.

"Fine!! But don’t talk to me!!"

"I won’t!" I leaned against the wall. I was still soaked and shivering. It was still raining outside and it was impossible for my clothes to dry. I will probably die of cold eventually. Even so, I had to look at him again. He took some food from his pocket and ate large portions. He must be really hungry… Suddenly my stomach growled. I blushed from embarassment. It was very loud. I didn't eat for two days. He looked at me.

"Stop with the noise, witch!!"

"I can’t help it! And my name is Sumire!"

"Tss, here!" He threw a piece of bread across the river.

"I-is it for me?"

"Just eat it, or your death will be my fault." I looked at it. The bread was still fresh. He had to steal it today. I ate it.

"Hmm, it’s so yummy!" I said with a twinkle in my eye. I haven't tasted something so good for a long time.

"But don’t think that you get everything for free. If you plan to stay here, you will steal with me!" H-he won’t send me away? I can stay here?

"A-all right. It’s fair," I said. Theft is bad, but not if it can save someone's life. That's what my father taught me. I was still shaking and my skin was red from the cold. And the piece of bread Kawaki gave me was too small and I'm still hungry.

But... Thanks to him, I'll survive a little longer. I don't know why, but I even stopped thinking about suicide. I feel like I'm not alone in this anymore. It was dark and I should sleep. But I was so cold that I couldn't sleep. I didn't even have a blanket. Kawaki slept on the newspaper. He must have been cold too. But unlike me, he didn't shake. He's probably used to it… But he was still shaking at night.

"S-stop it, Dad! I didn’t do anything wrong! Don’t touch me!!!" He yelled. I’m worried about him. He certainly has a dark past behind him. And daddy issues like me… Suddenly he woke up with tears in his eyes…

"Did you hear it?!" I got scared.

"H-how do you know I’m awake?"

"Tss. Just a feeling. But forget it! It’s not your goddamn thing!" W-what’s his problem?

"I didn’t hear anything…" I lied. I don't want him to worry. He turned his back on me.

"Sleep!"

"I can’t… I'm shivering with cold, which keeps me from falling asleep, but don't worry about it." I smiled. He looked at me.

"W-what’s wrong?"

"I said that I can’t let you die, didn’t I?!" he yelled at me. Then he crossed the river and came to me.

"Here." He threw his blue vest at me.

"B-but you will be cold!"

"That’s not your business!" he said and went back. He leaned against the wall and tried to fall asleep.

"Thank you, Kawaki…" I smiled. I covered myself with his vest and tried to fall asleep. After an hour, I succeeded. But I dreamed of my mother, so I woke up early…

...

I'm really an impatient person, right?😅 Well, I hope you liked the chapter. 💜💜