"C-come on," The boy said, walking through whatever remained of his home. Looking back over his shoulder, body still trembling with aftershock, he could only bare to listen- hear his sister's tiny footsteps, slow and steady behind him. "I-it's okay, just don't look."
The house had crumbled, its remnants some surviving pieces of foundation, furniture, even some clothes not buried by the wreckage. The night shrouded the world in darkness, but it was still easy enough for the little girl at Tenko's back to see his change.
The dark, fluffy hair that grew in locks of black around his face turned gray, some strands falling out in clumps. His clothes were torn, shoes gone, entire being shaking. He'd itched so hard, his eyes were black around the sockets, hands rawed by the act. But no matter how much red stained his fingers, you still couldn't process what happened.
One second, you were asking to go outside, to go see Tenko in the warmly lit kitchen with mom, with grandpa, grandma, and Hana too. Now, you were walking behind your brother in the cold, dark outside, nothing but his frail, hoarse voice and defeated energy to follow.
At one point, when you reached where the front door would've once been, the boy's breathing hollowed. He started to cry at the rendition of what just happened, saw the blood on his hands, felt his tears return, his fear too. It was as he started to hyperventilate, falling to the ground, unable to keep from breaking that you ran to his front.
"Tenko," you said, tiny voiced, reaching out for him.
So what if his hands were red? They were still the only ones who ever reached for you.
"No, no, don't touch me!" Tenko screamed, knocking himself backwards, eyes gone wide. Staring at your shocked, unanswering frame, he steadied his breathing, swallowed down his own panicking existence. "You- you can't touch me, I'll hurt you."
Raising himself up on his knees, the boy sniffled. You didn't seem angry. You didn't even seem to hate him for what happened or blame him for anything. You just seemed confused, fingers toying together, eyes blinking softly, jaw hanging loose.
"Are you scared?" Tenko breathed.
You nodded, not sure what else to do. Mom wasn't here. Grandpa and Grandma weren't here. Hana wasn't here. Dad wasn't here. It was just dark. And Tenko looked so damaged, so hurt. So what was there to do, but be afraid?
"I'm scared too," Tenko admitted, putting it upon his shoulders that he had to act as if everything was okay even if it wasn't. Sifting through the rubble around him, he searched until he found an old scarf that somehow survived the massacre, one that once rested in the coat closet he'd also destroyed.
"B-but," Tenko stuttered, holding it with four of his fingers, tying the fabric around his wrist, taking the other end and outreaching it to you. "B-but neither one of us is alone now."
The way he propped himself up on his knees, you and him were nearly the same height. So when his eyes met yours, handing you the promise that he would never leave you behind, you took the scarf from his hold and tucked it between your fingers. Felt its hope.
Dawn arrived soon after, it's light bearing two orphans to the world, two killers yet to know what it was to live.
***
"Do you blame yourself?"
The little girl heard a voice. Inside her head. Not from outside.
Still, she rose her head from the crook of her arms, holding her knees close to her chest.
