𝐃𝐎𝐋𝐋 ᴰʳᵃᵍᵒⁿ ᴿᵃʲᵃ

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥

ĐⱤ₳₲Ø₦ Ɽ₳J₳ 3.2

She hoped that it bothered him, in some way.

She liked it. The way he wound sharply halted for a brief instant whenever she would step on something, particularly sharp. She wondered if he cringed too when the shards of forgotten bottles plunged deeper into the soles of her feet. The street felt like sandpaper.

Johann, however, never fully stopped.

When he first came across Doll, he looked at her like a ghost. His eyes vacillated between her and Liliya, almost as if neither looked real.

"You're alive," he said, almost like it was a question.

Doll nodded.

"There's a place we can go. I think I know the way. I'm...glad you made it." Then he turned his back and started his journey through the suburban streets of Japan.

It was a lie of course. The latter part. Doll knew best that he would prefer it if she had died. Not because of any malicious reason, but simply because that meant he wouldn't have to do the killing. The danger that is her existence would have removed itself.

She was hoping this annoyance she was causing him, this sort of torture, to snap and finally kill her and get over with it. There was nothing more aggravating than somebody resenting you for being alive.

And she was also tired of walking to who knows where. Johann didn't want to talk, a fact Doll respected, but she couldn't quite excuse the sheer distance he was making her undertake, barefoot, without breaks, across this foreign land.

It was childish, she knew. Very immature. Yet, she couldn't quite stop it, and it is not like she could help getting hurt in such circumstances. Sure, yes, she could heal herself, but for what purpose? She was tired enough as is.

Doll hoped Johann would just find the courage to kill her and get over it. They were going to die anyway. She could at least go through it with grace.

They could both tell anyhow. There's a certain smell that the air takes when you are being searched for.

It was a miracle for them to survive. Their success in avoiding death assured that Caesar would be alive, and doing well for himself. Luminous was... another story altogether. However, somehow, to Johann and Doll, his survival would be rather predictable. Some people just seem weak and helpless yet unable to die. Much like children or bugs.

She was sure that the Japanese branch was slowly going through every inch of the ocean to find their bodies. They needed reassurance. Survival breeds revenge. That Doll at least would know.

It was almost insulting how nice the suburbs were. Clean, fresh, proper. Outside of the occasional shards and cigarette butts splattered here and there over the pavement, it was remarkably absent of any trash.

The trees that lined the streets slowly danced through the sky, a leaf or two accompanied the wind on its merry way. The impending sunset had painted the sky a peachy pink and full, fluffy clouds glided overhead. Stray cats would jump and scurry and roam around without care but still held that indescribable grace that only they could hold.

It was cynical how everything looked so pretty. So inviting. The city was laughing at them. No matter how fucked up their situation was, the world would not care.

Doll generally started at Johann's back. His clothes were stolen too. A bit too big. Still, she wondered where he got that sword. Whom he had taken it from. Did her gaze burn him? Hopefully, it bothered him in some way.

This curious game was sporadically interrupted by local gangs. They were not very strong or well organized. They were simply on the lookout. Living cameras to alert the big dogs if the Ace Team appeared.